Model Portfolio 101

One of several aspects I love about my job, is doing portfolio photoshoots. In the world of a working model in New York, agencies and bookers rely on good photography and grooming for their talent. This is where I come in to work my touch providing makeup and hair. Very often models get booked for jobs and do not always get images from their clients, it happens. For paid jobs, clients are not bound to give models photos so here comes the question, how do the models update their portfolios? By booking portfolio shoots! Whether it is fashion, lifestyle or beauty, models and talent rely on images to get them booked on specific jobs (just like me). The same goes for me, so many jobs I have done over the years, and sometimes I don’t get to keep or use any of the images.

I am showing off images from the work I’ve done with Liza Boone over the course of 2019. We’ve been working together collaborating and it’s been amazing. Liza has a great eye for styling and working with beautiful natural light. In all these instances I did the hair and makeup for all these lovely models. I chose my favorite images from the shoots, bear in mind we shoot at least four looks each time and different moods and locations.

Back To Blogging Sort Of

I took a break from blogging, sort of. The truth? I kind of felt burned out, overwhelmed and pulled in many directions. I also wanted to focus more on my career as a makeup artist. During this self awareness period, I also had to remind myself, you are a mother of two, a wife and a human, it’s OK to take breaks. I am also back to exercising more, doing yoga and being a Gen X in a world that wants millennials who are Instagram-perfect with 50K followers wearing the latest trends.

This is an introduction, a new beginning as well as a hello friends who used to read Norah Loves Makeup. In this new space, I am going to share things that interest me in the realm of lifestyle. I still love makeup. To this point, I also love food, CBD, fitness, skincare and fashion. I will try my best to mix it all up.

I am using very recent photos of an event I attended at Caravan Studios in New York. It was an awesome afternoon treat. I had a complimentary hair treatment thanks to Martino Cartier, Intact Hair and Janine Just. My hair has been going through it with the shedding and thinning, thanks in part to all the heat and styling I do. I went to Caravan’s beauty lounge just expecting a blowout and walked away with an amazing treatment for my hair. It was a 30 minute application of Intact Hair Scalp Primer, regular shampoo and conditioner plus a blowout. I posted the before and after on my Instagram feed. I felt amazing.

Photo credits to Thomas Concordia

Collaboration With South Orange Photographer

I finally got a chance to do a collaboration with local South Orange photographer Steve Vaccariello. We are practically neighbors and our schedules finally aligned. As it turns out, the model he booked was Victoria Winner, a model I had makeup on several times while teaching makeup in NYC. 

During our shoot, we did a few makeup changes to reflect the clothing and vibe. I am happy with the results and hope you like the images as much as I do. The fun of collaborations or test shoots is that I can try different things, and in this case, we added fabrics, black and white, color and used the rain to our advantage. 

Digital Campaign for Fila // SIX02

I wanted to share some of my latest work for Fila and Six02. We shot a streetstyle campaign using mostly Fila outfits (as well as studio photos with video). This was a rare spring day in February (a super random thing in New York city).

I got extremely lucky with the weather and an awesome team. For Maria's look, the brand wanted a very soft, glowy and free spirited hair and makeup look. Our model had the best skin and hair and made my job so easy. Fun fact, we shot this on Valentine's Day just after NYFW.

UPDATE - This campaign made it to the FILA USA Times Square store! I am elated. Below see some of the photos I took off Fila's social media. This is a milestone for me as an artist. 

A Montauk Bride

Lisa was a dream client, she knew what she wanted, took care of her skin and had the most fabulous Montauk wedding during the second week of September in 2015. For this bridal client, my friend Gloria Espinoza did the bride's hair as well as Lisa's sister. The makeup for Lisa was super clean, glowy skin, soft lines, and nude lips. For those who wonder whether I do brides or not, I do! It is hard to get images from bridal clients because this is always an after-thought. Luckily for us, Cly by Matthew provided the most stunning imagery, I highly recommend their services. 

If you have an engagement or a wedding coming up, you know where to find me.

Makeup For MeUndies Campaign

This was a series of photos that went into a new MeUndies campaign shot on location in the Hamptons and Montauk, New York. Thanks to photographer Bekka Gunther for bringing me on this project which to me felt more like a weekend away than work. I truly feel very lucky that I get to do what I do. Also, all the models were amazing humans who made this trip super fun, as well as our stylist Georgia. 

For this job, I did hair and makeup and although it was not quite summer just yet, the beaches were super stunning and dreamy.

Editorial LEICA S Magazine

Back in October 2015, I was called to work on this editorial titled The Gang shot by photographer Christian Geisselman. To date, this job was one of the most awesome experiences as far as editorials go. Our team was outstanding and the idea behind this shoot, so cool. The backdrop were the streets of Brooklyn with each of the ladies bringing their own unique beauty and strength. 

The full editorial is here http://s-magazine.photography/ceemes/en/digital-features/the-gang-1407.html

Fashion Work J. Van Such

On a balmy Sunday August night, I headed to New York to work with a super team to create some images for J. Van Such, a NYC textiles designer. Julie's scarves and headpieces are works of art and I am so happy with the way the makeup progressed during our shoot. It is great fun to be challenged and most of all, work with women of color, something I don't get to do often enough. Our model Bethany had the most lovely face. I have to thank my friend and hairstylist Gloria Espinoza, for recommending me to Jasmina Tomic and Julie of course. Girl power.