Your Questions Answered - 2

Relating to your creative beauty images in your portfolio, what do you like to use when creating such images?  Would creams or pigments be ideal? 
I love using both!  Every artist has his/her way of doing things.  I use everything and anything from MUFE Flash color palettes to OCC loose shadow powders.  There are times that I forget to pack things in my kit and I make it happen by using lip/eyeliners or even scraping eyeshadows and mixing it with lipgloss or vaseline.  What you use is up to you and what makes YOU feel comfortable.

What are your favorite concealers?
There are so many great concealers on the market and I know many makeup artist that use different things than I do but for me personally, I really love the MUFE Camo Concealers and the Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Cream. The Graftobian creams I use as both foundation and concealer.  They're just THAT awesome.  I find that it's also the best cream product that mixes well with my MUFE HD foundations for when I need a little more extra coverage.

Do you contour?  What are some great tips and tricks for contouring?  What products to you use to achieve the best result?
I do contour!  Contouring is a very tricky thing to do.  Just like applying eyeliner, it takes practice. Getting to know the different types of face shapes, bone structure and facial muscles is key.  This is why I like applying moisturizer with my hands, so I can feel the bone structure and get a better sense of how I'm going to use the bone structure to my advantage.  Not everyone get's contoured the same way but some basic tips and tricks you can use are:

- Contour in the 3 shape.  With your brush, "draw" the #3 on your face.  What do I mean by that?  Start at your temples, curve down to your cheekbones and curve down again along the jaw line.  Sometimes you can even contour the forehead along the hairline for a nice sun kissed look, but wouldn't recommend doing it if you have a low hairline.  It will make your forehead look smaller and a bit awkward.

- Use the "Triangle of Light".  The triangle of light is the basic of highlighting.  Things you highlight are: forehead area between your eyes, brow bones, bridge of the nose (unless you have a larger nose, then you'd contour the bridge), under eye area and chin.

I use a number of different products to contour.  It really all depends how much contouring I'm doing, what medium I'm contouring for (TV/Film/Print), skin color and of course, the face shape.  I use both powders and creams and even use darker concealers and foundations to get the effect.  I love powders better because I feel I have more control, but again, every artist is different and you should use what works best for you.  Some pressed powder products I carry in my kit to contour are:

- NARS in "Laguna"
- MAC in "Matte Bronze"
- Face Atelier in "Brazilian Blaze"
- Black Opal in "Classic Espresso"

Do you own a Zuca?  I'd like to buy one but don't want to spend the money if I'm not going to like it.
I do own a Zuca but unfortunately this is one of those questions that's really difficult to answer because everyone has different tastes.  There are a lot of factors to think about.  Do you drive?  Do you take public transportation a lot?  Would you rather take everything out and lay it out or leave everything in and work out of your kit?  How much stuff do you carry?  Do you adjust your kit differently for different jobs and only take what you'll need?

I live in the concrete jungle of NYC where I use public transportation to get to my jobs.  The city streets are filled with cracks and pot holes and not to mention people constantly kicking and bumping into my bag on the crowded subway.  I also prefer to lay everything OUT of my kit, carry only what I need for the job and adjust my kit to the particular job I'm doing (which, when doing hair, actually allows me to fit BOTH hair and makeup into ONE bag -- I show how I do that here).  I love my Zuca, it's shock proof which is great because my eyeshadows are safe from cracking, fits perfectly between the subway turnstyle, it has a built in chair that I use while on set and it fits everything I need in there (unless I'm using the airbrush or using hot rollers in which I carry a separate shoulder bag because they don't fit in my Zuca).

Now if you like to carry lots of stuff (or very little stuff) or like to work out of your bag, then the Zuca is not for you.  I know artist who love to carry their kits on clear shoulder bags and work directly from there.  To each it's own.