In My Professional Opinion

PAMP IT!

2013-03-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

The Pros at IMPO are beauty obsessed…actually, let’s get a little more ghetto and say that we are “junkies!” We need and crave and must have our daily fix!

We used to spend countless hours shuffling through the “boards” we follow on Pinterest, but that never truly satisfied our craving! Thank goodness there’s a new kid in town! It’s a site dedicated to all things beauty…and only beauty! It's a new way to share paints and potions!

Introducing...drum roll please...Pampadour!

Here’s how it works…and by the way...you don’t need an “invite!” Log on, fill out your profile and start pamping! Post your "can’t live without" products on your feed and connect with professionals, brands and bloggers.

You can tag photos and videos and show off your daily looks. Plus, Pampadour is a community built by beauty professionals that are happy to give advice, recommend products and feedback.

However, you must adhere to the Pamp Commandments listed below or suffer the consequences!

What is also exciting and unique about this site is their blog called “The Daily Pamp!” It’s more like an online “paper” that showcases the world of beauty.

You can travel on beauty adventures with individuals from all walks of life and discover how they appreciate the beauty that surrounds them or maybe you want to read about specific beauty issues like Botox being a potential treatment for depression.

"The Daily Pamp" reports on a wide variety of subjects from the Top 10 Healing Spa Treatments to exclusive interviews with some of the most respected makeup/hair/nail and skincare experts in the world.

We recently enjoyed reading an article on Nick Barose as he recapped some of his great Red Carpet adventures with his very famous clients and the article called “Macho or Metro,” which featured Director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and his recent documentary called "Mansome" – this movie features models, actors, experts and comedians as they weigh in on the definition of masculinity.

Nick Barose

Jason Bateman & Will Arnett

in "Mansome"

"Mansome" Official Trailer

The Pros also loved reading the article “Imperfection is Sexy,” by Tiffany Etessami, who blurs the line between supermodel perfection and dares to ask…”are they perfect?" This article tells how, by today’s standards, models, actresses and the general public are beginning to embrace and even celebrate or highlight their imperfections.

The online paper also features beauty “muses,” like the incredible Talia Castellano, whose inspirational YouTube videos have captured hearts worldwide and Christy Turlington Burns who is a model and activist and founder of the Every Mother Counts organization dedicated to maternal health.

Talia Castellano

Talia's YouTube Channel

Christy Turlington Burns

So you see, Pampadour is not just another pretty face! It’s where the elite meet and “pamp” products that they are loving, using, testing and coveting.

You can keep up on the latest trends, get advice on products before you invest, get educated on the world of beauty and share your product story by setting up your profile and pamping your must haves!

Interact with the Pros and you never know…you may teach them a thing or two! You can also get your Pampadour fix on Facebook and Twitter! To start "pamping" click here! And don’t forget to “connect” us!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it...by Cathi Singh

2012-11-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hello IMPO readers and subscribers! I wanted to let you in on some very exciting news that our very own Melissa Street has been keeping secret until recently.

Melissa and her very good friend and professional colleague, Kim Greene, have combined forces to form a new company called Greene Street Beauty. This duo brings 40 years of experience in the beauty industry to consumers, students and professionals via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets.

Currently, Greene Street Beauty is “under construction” while forming their first beauty app for both the iPhone and Android, which will be available in 2013. In the meantime, these ladies are bringing their knowledge of the film and television industry, proper makeup application, as well as providing support to students by filming tutorials and how-to videos for their YouTube Channel.

In order to get the word out about this new venture, Greene Street Beauty is running a contest on their YouTube Channel right now for all subscribers – please see the video below and make sure to subscribe in order to be entered! Also, make sure to “Like” their Facebook page because a little bird told me that another contest is forming over there too!

But, let’s give you a little bit of background info on both Melissa and Kim, just in case you are scratching your heads and asking yourself, “Who are these ladies?”

Melissa Street has been a freelance makeup and FX artist in the film, television, print and live event industry for the past 20 years. She attended the acclaimed makeup school, Joe Blasco in Los Angeles, California, and as luck would have it she would be mentored by the late, great Stan Winston, who gave her the opportunity to apprentice in his lab and help out on some big blockbuster movies that became iconic films – Terminator, Aliens and Invaders from Mars!

In 1992 Melissa moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where she worked on several live shows at the MGM Grand and Monte Carlo Hotels, as well as other live productions and music videos. There she met an amazing makeup artist, Jim Sacca, who took Melissa under his wing and helped form her career by giving her the opportunity to work with the incredible James Earl Jones.

In 2001, she relocated back to Southern California and began to form and build relationships within the freelance production community. Melissa would spend the next 12 years working hard to expand her business Epic Makeup, which now serves clients such as NBC, CNN, CBS, Food Network, Telemundo, E!News, ESPN, HBO and Comcast to name just a few.

She has worked with celebrities from Ron Howard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Rock, Jeff Bridges and Suzanne Somers to famous musicians like Carlos Santana, Foreigner, Kenny Loggins and Chris Ledoux to comics like Carrot Top and Louie Anderson.

Currently, Melissa works on national and local commercials, non-union films and television shows, YouTube web series, industrials, corporate videos, news media productions and live theater. She also co-owns InPoint Productions, owns and writes for this blog, as well as her industry blog, Epic Makeup and she has her own personal YouTube Channel.

Kim Greene is first and foremost a “filmmaker!” She has been Union Makeup Department Head on some of the biggest and most memorable films of the century, including Terminator Salvation, Anchorman, Superbad, Charlie’s Angels, The Wedding Singer, Scream 4, The Three Stooges, The Green Hornet, This is 40 and the soon to be released Identity Thief, to name just a few.

Her IMDB credits read like a “who’s who” in the film industry and she has been a personal makeup artist to Woody Harrelson, Drew Barrymore, Christina Applegate and Neve Campbell.

Kim began her career by studying under Vincent Kehoe, who was among one of the best makeup artists of his time, as well as an author and teacher. Mr. Kehoe would help Kim development the foundation for her skill set and prepare her for a tremendously successful makeup career. She would then move forward to meeting and working directly with Ron Berkley, who was so impressed with her that he brought her on to the Black and White music video set with Michael Jackson.

Kim is also an innovative entrepreneur and developed a very successful line of cosmetic bags both for the professional and consumer. The Kim Greene Line was originally formed because she realized there was a need within the professional makeup artist community for sturdy, easy to clean and comfortable to wear set and actor bags used to store and transport makeup from the trailer to the set for touch ups during filming.

There was nothing available at the time that wasn’t heavy, canvas and dark, which when you combine those three elements make it difficult for an artist to find the makeup or tools that they need efficiently. She became so frustrated with the bags that were on the market that she set out to change the standards.

Today, almost every professional makeup artist in the film and television industry uses The Kim Greene Line of bags at work everyday and they have helped many other Department Head’s keep organized even on the most hectic sets, like American Idol! Her bag line is great for travel and can easily fit inside your carryon luggage and because the bags are "clear" passing through TSA with those 3 ounce liquid bottles is a breeze!

When Kim is not on a film or television set, she teaches at professional makeup schools, writes incredibly informative blog posts on Kim Greene’s Tips from the Set and films tutorials for her personal YouTube Channel. She has also been a guest judge on season 2 of the SyFy Network’s makeup artist show, FaceOff, hosted by McKenzie Westmore.

So as you can see, these two are really the Dynamic Duo of the makeup world (I’m just not sure which one is Batman and which one is Robin). Together they hope that their passion to educate the public about the beauty industry is welcomed with open arms.

I hope that you take the time and opportunity to subscribe to their YouTube Channel, interact by sending them a comment, suggestion or question and “Like” their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter. They are always willing to reach out and answer your most pressing beauty questions and help ease your frustrations, so give then a shout!

Get Organized!

2012-11-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

We spend hundreds, if not thousands organizing our homes, from our closets to our kitchen cabinets, buying containers and pouches of every size, shape and color to make our life more streamlined. We always want more items in less space. So why wouldn’t we apply the same tactics to our professional makeup kits or personal beauty bags?

As freelance makeup artists, we are constantly lugging an “everything kit” with us to be prepared for each client’s needs and last minute changes. Carrying a full makeup and hair kit, as well as a set chair, tools and disposables, magically transform our cars into our everyday makeup trailer!

We refer to ourselves as makeup pack mules, but we don’t like to make three trips to the car to unload our equipment at each job. So, when Z Palettes entered our lives, even the Pro's chiropractor was overjoyed!

Z Palettes are magnetic makeup palettes with a clear window lids, designed to consolidate your bulky compacts and individual eyeshadows and blushers after depotting. Instead of carrying six separate powder foundations, the Pros can depot them and place them all in ONE Z Palette, see them all at one time and stack them easily in our Pro kits.

As for consumers, they are perfect for those beauty junkies or jet set gals (or guys) on the go who want to bring a variety of makeup with them in order to be ready for any occasion! You can have all your colors right at your finger tips and not stuffed in a drawer, upside down so you can read the names of the colors on the labels! It truly is the one product that has streamlined our Pro kits and made working on the fly easier and much more efficient. If you are a collector of makeup products then the Z Palette is perfect for you!

The palettes also make it easier to disinfect and sanitize our products after each use. We recommend using Beauty So Clean spray; just line up your palettes, give them all a good spray, let dry and viola! They are ready for your next makeup look!

Z Palette creator Zena Shteysel originally launched her line with two sizes: the small square and large rectangular palette. Recently, she super-sized the large palette and gave us makeup artists the PRO Palette, which is slightly wider and longer, making it easy to fit full-sized blushes or eyeshadows...IN ONE PLACE!

Her most recent addition, the DOME Palette, was created to accommodate the rounded mineral powder products on the market today. By making the palette deeper, the half dome powders have plenty of room without touching the lid. It also makes a great carrying case by holding several brushes with your products or a powder puff or two to keep set bags or personal makeup bags uncluttered.

Made with Eco friendly and recyclable materials, Z Palettes come in the iconic Black color and also now in more options like stripes with a nod to nautical flare, animal prints if your'e feeling sassy, and bold colors making them easier to find or color coordinate your makeup depending on your mood!

Also, because some products do not have magnets attached after the depotting process, we recommend purchasing packets of round and square metal stickers from the Z Palette website ensuring that your favorite product's "pans" will adhere to the palette's magnet bottom.

If you want to consolidate lipsticks or concealers, we highly recommend purchasing the empty metal pans from Z Palette. 16 fit in a small palette, 50 in a large, and 60 in the PRO and DOME palette. The Pros love carrying our lipsticks and concealers this way because it’s easier to mix colors and customize shades.

Z Palettes are available for purchase at Naimies Beauty Center, Nigels Beauty Emporium, Frends Beauty Supply in stores and online, as well as from many other vendors. Go to www.zpalette.com for more information. The Z Palette website also has an entire section dedicated to depotting your products, which the Pros have found to be very helpful. http://zpalette.com/content/how-to-depot/