"Pretty in Punk" by Nick Eucker for NOI.SE Magazine

I am obsessed with the Ramones. Just about anyone who knows me well, is aware that I wish I could have attended a Ramones concert during their hay day. Hashtag PuNk iS nOt dEaD! I just got back from London a few weeks ago and was living for and absorbing every second I spent in Camden- where the real punk scene still thrives. From mohawks and crazy bright hair color, to the Docs, leather jackets everywhere, studs, band patches, more studs and ripped vests-everywhere you look you will see a punk vibe.

I am always thrilled when anything involves The Clash, Sex Pistols, Crass, The Misfits, Bad Brains or a little Rancid. So when my photographer friend, Nick told me about a shoot that had punk rock vibes I was so with it. 

The thing about fashion is that you can always take inspiration from anything and put a spin on it and interpret it in whichever manner you like. For this shoot, we made her pretty in punk. I had worked with the model Dom before and was excited to be reunited with her. 

Pretty in Punk was a cool shoot and I had fun with the makeup. I had recently returned from Europe when we had the shoot and I was inspired by graphic liner because that was all the rage for many shows during FW 2016 season. Dom the model also had perfect lips so we opted for statement lips to offset her bleached hair and brows. 

When I first started doing makeup I really wanted my work to be in NOI.SE magazine one day. This was something I was finally able to scratch off my list. Many artists gravitate to the indie magazines geared towards creatives. 

Below are the images as well as team credits:

Photographer: Nick Eucker 

Producer: Jaime Ritcher

Model: DOM @ State MGMT NYC

Stylist: Z Schaderova

HMU: Maria Ortega using OCC

Summer Twist on Liner: Bright Blue & Mint Hues

It's good to switch things up a bit, especially with makeup. Sometimes we get into the routine of doing the same exact thing day after day. I am guilty of this, I usually rock a black liner and red lips all the time. Summer is here and we should be happy, even though not all of us have the luxury of being beach bums like those of you who live near a beach. So, why not bring a bit of the beach to your makeup routine to spunk it up a bit?

During the SS2015 Runway shows across the world we saw aquatic hues as well as mint and pastel colors grace the lids and bottom lash lines at the show. There was so much inspiration. These were my favorite:

*Peter Philips, the key at  the Fendi runway show created a bold graphic blue liner, but not in pencil, gel or cream...they used leather, he also used satin on the lids in pastel colors at the Dior show!!!

*Holly Fulton even had a statement ombre water line that started with bright blue at the outer edges and faded into a white.

*Terry Barber kept minimal makeup with a strong lower liner in black for Just Cavalli.

*For the Ellie Saab, key makeup artist Tom Pecheux kept it very interesting with bright aquatic hues, primarily in the blue family.

The great thing about being a creative artist is that all my friends are also fellow creatives and sometimes we get together to play and have fun. A couple weeks ago I got to spend the day with two of my best friends here in NYC. Photographer: Eduardo Acevedo and Hairstylist: Andrita Renee. We shot some fun looks.

For the makeup, I wanted to keep the skin clean and healthy and play with the eyes. Gathering inspiration from all of the SS2015 runway shows, I decided to do my own little spin by interchanging and mixing some of my favorite looks of the season.

For Carola @ Major, I opted to go with a color that would contrast and pop against her beautiful skin color. I did bright blue graphic line on lids, winged out in a straight angle.

The pencil I used is OCC Cosmetic Colour Pencil in "Pool Boy," it's also vegan and cruelty free. 

With Lauren @ Major, I decided to go a complete different route than to do a typical heavy liner on top lids like most people do with models and women that have smaller creases or no creases. It was a great opportunity to enhance her eyes by lighting filling in her full brows and going with a pastel, mint green lower liner. For this I used the pencil from the tear duct and drew going outward, finishing the wing detail with a Hakudo Pro Series liner brush. Using a small pencil brush also from Hakuhodo, I topped with the green color from the Dior 5 Couleurs Trianon Edition #234 Pastel Fontanges.

The eyeliner I used is by Nars, the Larger than Life Long-wear Eyeliner in "Barrow Street." 

Dior 5 Couleurs Trianon Edition #234 Pastel Fontanges.

I hope you ladies are courageous and switch up your makeup look during the summer, at least on one weekend outing. It doesn't even have to be something extreme, just a pop of color! Both liners I used are amazing but if not, use a bit of water, setting spray or rose water to foil your eyeshadow and apply with a brush to create a liner. 

*Photographer: Eduardo Acevedo, Hair: Andrita Renee. 

*Product images obtained from Sephora.com, Ebay.com and OCCmakeup.com

Agniezska @ MC2 photographed by Leriam Gonzalez

I was beyond thrilled to finally be able to collaborate with young, talented and beautiful, Mexican photographer Leriam Gonzalez. Due to conflicting schedules, we had not yet had the opportunity to work together. We worked with fresh face Agniezska from MC2. It was a beauty shoot with a focus on a pop of color on the lips and a noticeable flush on the cheeks.

Both Agniezska and Leriam were a pleasure to work with. The atsmosphere at the shoot was calm and serene but fun. I am stoked to work with Leriam again, her talent is superb and has a definite vision in mind while shooting. Simply amazing.

Below are the images of the beauty shoot:

Model: Agniezska @ MC2 NYC
Photographer: Leriam Gonzalez
Makeup/Hair: Maria Ortega

*All photos copyright of Leriam Gonzalez*