"Just" How Disrespectful Are You To An Artist

It's been a minute since I've blogged in this tone i.e vent/mini rant.

But I wanted to share my rage feelings and thoughts about the word "Just"

Let's look at it again.....

" Just"

As a freelance makeup artist and hairstylist I hear that word often, and over the course of 8 years, it has become an instant trigger for this reaction:

But why Saj? Okay, I'll tell you

Phone call exibit A: " Hi I'm Someone That Wants Your Services But I Don't Really Respect What You Do,  I'd like to know how much it is JUST for my makeup and hair to be done for my uber important event"

Phone call exhibit B: " Hi I'm Another Person That Wants Your Services But I Don't Really See The Need To Pay You,  I too have an uber important event and JUST need makeup and hair so how much"

Phone call exhibit C: "Hi I'm One Of Those and I was referred to you by one of your clients, I'd like to know how much is it for JUST my makeup and hair to be done".

Do you see it?! ( stay with me, can u tell the emotion as I type?)

Why is there a need to add the word JUST in front of my services? I'd understand if included in a package was a new car and lifetime supply of protein powder, so you'd only JUST want makeup and hair....not the new car.

I do makeup and hair, what else could I provide but just makeup and hair?

You may think oh it's just a way of speaking. Actually, no, it's a way of being disrespectful to my profession and expertise, you are immediately, upon contact downgrading my services with the tone that this really should be craigslist cheap since it's JUST MAKEUP.

These phone calls ALWAYS end the same way, " Okay well I'm still calling other people for more prices so I'll get back to you"

(Shout out to the previous artists that they called that stuck with their rates!)

Phone Call C is always my favorite, If you were referred by a previous client, 99% sure they told you how much they paid, so you prepared your fave word "Just", because you've decided you should pay less.

I've even had the " Oh that much for just my hair? I really only need JUST curls since I'm no good at curling my own hair"

Ma'm that is actually why you should pay me.

To my fellow colleagues, understand that they are 100% aware of what you can do for them, they are 100% aware of your value, because someone at some point told them. You cannot blame someone really for trying to score a bargain, but do not be sucked into lowering yourself below your standard of business.  See this POST on standard of business and this POST on working for free.

Do you call Lowes and ask how much is it to JUST install a fence? chances are you don't.

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

My Deva Cut and Experience

It was time, time to get my curly mushroom mullet shaped.

I spent some time doing research on what the Deva Cut is, the technique for both cutting and styling. Based on the (tons) of reviews on Internet land I made an informed decision. After 2 years of growing my hair with zero cuts and trims.. girl...u need to get this mop cut.

Initially I planned on waiting until I was in New York to go to the actual Devachan salon but I realized the "Review cuts" that I saw that I really loved were done by independent stylists trained in the Deva technique.

I also figured it's the same way we advise never trust a makeup artist that uses only ONE brand of product, an independent stylist won't be forced to use only the Deva products and instead would really do what my hair needs.

That's where I found Curltopia a curly hair salon here in Georgia! I booked my appointment with stylist Staci, I saw lots of positive reviews for her and they were all telling the truth!

Now to the good stuff.

I co-washed my hair the day before and styled it as usual so that I went in with second day hair. ( look at me using all these naturalista terms! )

Air drying before and day after hair before my appointment

She started shaping my hair dry based on a picture I had of a shape I liked, from You Tuber Summer Kellsey that was similar in length to my hair.

Hair shape inspiration pic from Summer Kellsey who also had a Deva Cut

I really wanted to keep as much of my length as possible with minimal bangs ( hate those..) and flexibility in the front to switch up parts etc.

Then we went to the shampoo bowl, I have to say it was the most comfortable shampoo bowl I've ever experienced, being 6ft tall the shampoo part is always a painful neck breaking experience for me, but not this time, yay!

She cleansed and conditioned my hair with Jane Carter products and spent time de-tangling with fingers only.

The styling products proved to be the tricky part ( which I expected) the Deva styling products did not work for my hair as they were not conditioning enough for my thirsty hair ...srsly thirsty..and ended up flaking at one point. So we washed that out and went in with Miss Jessie's Curl Pudding and Buttercreme combo while "noodling"

After I was dry she went back in to cut and shape some more and bring life to my hair.

The official before picture: 

BEFORE Deva Cut, in my 4 texture, thirsty hair, mushroom mullet glory...

one more time for the mushroom mullet...in case you thought i was joking

After:

After Deva Cut Shape! Shine! Definition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Deva Cut !!!!!!!

After Deva Cut at home selfies yay! 

I love my cut so much! I also learnt a lot on how to handle the multiple textures in my hair, I have about 4.5 extremely visible different textures.

The Miss Jessie's products did work great to give me definition and shine but I'm not 100% crazy about the slightly crunchy texture, I do prefer slightly bigger/softer curls.

I've since washed and styled my hair using my regular products after having my Deva cut and the difference is so dramatic. I usually loose about 10 lbs of hair with each wash, I kid you not, two giant balls of hair, this time only a few strands of hair came out.. did you get that? a few.strands.

Staci has a loyal customer for the rest of my curly hair life.

Are you a curly girl? I'd love to hear your experience if you've had a Deva cut!

curly hair products

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

My New Glam Makeup Vanity

A forever dream of mine was to have a Makeup Vanity where I could sit like a Hollywood starlet and get all pretty for my day. Years later now married with a new home it's been back in my thoughts even more. I finally decided that I should NEED to have my little "space". Now on to deciding what it should be!

I obsessed for months trying to decide if I should go with a vintage style or super modern, I knew for a fact that I didn't want to just have a "table", this baby had to be sparkly special.

*fast forward weeks of searching on Pinterest for vanities*

It was then I stumbled on a mirrored vanity. Need.want.please can I haz.

I found so many options online at different price points but I hesitated with them all, for me that usually means it's not the one, and I am so happy I did.

*cue music and spotlight*

The most random find in Home Goods, okay maybe not as random since I'm live in visit there often, but to my defense I didn't plan on going that day, I swear! It was perfect! The size height and finish!

*side bar* Can I take a moment to talk about a rude lady that shoved stepped in front of me while I was admiring my table, I turned and purchased that so fast she didn't even see it coming. It.is.mineeee. * evil laugh*  HA! Saj-1 Rude Lady-0

Now to find a mirror for the wall above! Originally I planned on a rectangle shaped mirror to hang above, but I decided on this piece:

Another random find, I went to Ikea to prep for a shoot and walked past this mirror. I've seen this mirror a hundred times and was never interested in it, but that day I stopped at its perfectness for this project.

Yay DIY time!

I painted it a few different shades of grey and silver to give it a Pewter finish, I was aiming for a slightly darker tone to the table.

Here is the finished set up!

My makeup now happily lives in a cute 5 drawer acrylic box, where they enjoy being on display.

I accessorized with a crystal beaded table top mirror and crystal perfume bottles and chair from TjMaxx.

I'm still hoarding adding cute little knick knacks to it, I'm trying my best not to cover the entire surface of the table lol. I also plan on printing two of my wedding photos for the small frame.

Do you have a special vanity set up? I'd love to see!

Xoxo

Saj

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

Make Up For Ever Pro Brush Launch

Event: Make Up For Ever Pro Brush Launch

@ New Museum Sky Room NYC

What They Say: 

"As the fundamental tool for the MAKE UP FOR EVER universe, the brush has always been an essential element since the creation of the brand in 1984. The brushes have been developed and improved over time, and are now close to a new level of perfection.

WITH THIS COLLECTION’S LAUNCH, MAKE UP FOR EVER HAS CREATED TOOLS THAT WILL MEET BOTH THE MOST SPECIFIC DESIRES AND THE SIMPLEST OF NEEDS.

For the choice of materials, Dany Sanz, creator & Artistic director of the brand, selected from a variety of technological breakthroughs in terms of synthetic fibers of the most perfect quality, close to the silky softness that natural hair offered in the past.

The basic essential brushes have been combined with the most technical tools, for professionals with skillful strokes who seek out specific shapes and particular effects, especially for body painting.

The collection is both useful and highly creative, and it will meet all the needs and desires of make-up artists and make-up brush enthusiasts (foundation, blush and powder application, etc.) around the world.

With this new range of brushes, there is an even stronger link to the world of painting and artistic creation. MAKE UP FOR EVER is showing more than ever how close it is to the cutting edge of innovation with this bold, radical (choosing to create a range of 100%newsyntheticfibers), ambitious (a vast offer of 76 references) and highly creative (new shapes, original tools) collection."

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

Beauty Blender Dupe Review: A Failure of Epic Proportions

...Okay so maybe I shouldn't have put that as the post title saving it for the end of the review, but I kid you not..... It was THAT bad. * facepalm*

Backtrack!

Let''s start with the original. The Beauty Blender which everyone knows, unless you've been living under a caboodle kit rock is an amazing pink egg sponge developed by makeup artist Rea Ann Silva.

Beauty Blender Duo Set with Cleanser

It's latex free, reusable and it's unique shape makes applying product a breeze. Used wet or dry, texture provides a flawless finish to your complexion products i.e no more brush streaks.

The sponge also has it's special cleaner which removes all product leaving your egg like new, ready for it's next use. I don't recommend using any other cleaner besides the Beauty Blender cleaner. I've made that mistake in a rush and there was soap coming out of it for weeks! It was like my egg had rabies. >_<

These pink babies are a staple in my kit and almost everyone of my clients that I've used it on have gone out to purchase one for themselves. I even had one client who said she is buying it to put moisturizer on because the feeling of sponge is simply therapeutic  I didn't have the heart to tell her that's actually my touch lol I kid!

The company has since launched the Beauty Blender pure which is a white egg and now the Beauty Blender Pro which is a black egg.

Single Beauty Blenders, Original, Pro, Pure $19.95

A Beauty Blender comes in at $19.95 for a sponge only and $32.95 for sponge and cleaner set.

So naturally when I came across the Yellow Egg at T. J Max for $4.99 I thought hmm... why not! ..honestly it was the yellow that got me...not even the price tag. Yellow egg sponge will now be known as Yolk.

I used it last weekend while working. As I took Yolk out of the package for the first time, I instantly knew it would be a fail. The texture of it was completely smooth and slick, not porous at all and very heavy, not squishy. ( yes you love my technical terms)

On the package it said " Use wet, sponge expands when wet"  I only use my Beauty Blenders wet so naturally I wet Yolk and set it down to let it absorb the water while I prepped my client.

Mr. Yolk...was barely damp. Not even the water could absorb, I had to literally drown it for it to absorb the water. Then it was just like a rock and lost it's shape in a very deformed way as I squeezed the excess water out. The Beauty Blender just bounces back to it's glory, I actually started making faces and different shapes on Mr.  Playdough Yolk

Left: Beauty Blender        Right: Yolk 

Sponges wet.  Scrambled Yolk? O_o

Naturally as I like to torture myself, I still decided to use it with my beloved Face Atelier foundation, it just smeared over the sponge and disappeared with nothing left but a stain.

R.I.P Face Atelier swatch :(

I placed Yolk back in it's box.

The End.

Sajies Say: " I can't"

You don't even go here Yolk!!!

P.S I've decided I'm going to attempt to clean it then stick jewels on it for a super cute paper weight! yay!

Beautyblender sponge

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

My (Natural) Hair Routine

Since I've posted a few instagram pics of my hair, I've been asked quite a few times as to what products I use, what my "hair routine" is etc.

I've shied away from answering because I in no way consider myself a "naturalista", not that there is anything wrong with it, I however simply consider my hair an accessory that I choose to change, wear , style as I feel like.

I've also been asked what my hair texture is, and I've heard a few "grades" being thrown around, same like weave, I only know tripple A batteries and Grade A eggs.... hair...I have no idea.

It's curly, puffy and confused at times lol, thats the best I can do!

Insta-fro

poof!

I went through a few products, some were products I always used when I was natural, but they didn't work any more, ( my hair and skin is not happy with Georgia water so everything is confused, bear with me..) others I liked but they left such awful residue in my hair by the second day, others made my skin (forehead) break out.

What I finally ended up trying was Curls: Effortless, Fizz Free Custom Curls Cocktails 

I really like the way these products work and smell! they smell amazing like marshmellows and coconuts..nom nom!

There is also ZERO product build up...no matter how much you gunk on daily and has no effect on my skin, which is important. When hair products get heated by the environment and by your scalp/body temperature, they can melt and run on to your face during the day causing massive breakouts.

This is why hiding acne with bangs is a no no!

Did I mention they smell amazing?! ^_^

Now for my routine, It really isn't anything special but here it is!


Cleansing:

-Shampoo with Cleansing Cream and Condition with Coconut Sublime Conditioner every Sunday

-Detangle with Quenched Curls

-Twist or Braid with Whipped Cream

-Air Dry

Styling:

-Refresh with Quenched Curls

-Comb out twists or braids

-Apply Whipped Cream

-Scrunch curls lol depending on the work day

-Done!

Products Used:

Cleansing Cream $15.00

Coconut Sublime Conditioner $20.00

Quenched Curls $16

Whipped Cream $17

My only need or want for these products would be shine, it could be my greedy hair, but I definitely feel the need to add a shine product to the mix, I will prob grab some coconut oil to add to the mix and see how it goes!

These can be purchased at your local Beauty Supply or Target

What do you use on your natural hair? Comment below!

More Iman...

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

Clarisonic Mia

So yes I might be late to the party but have no fear I'm here!

I picked up my new Clarisonic Mia along with a Deep Pore Cleansing Brush Head from Sephora yesterday! I'm so excited to use it and hopefully get rid of the un-welcomed guests  ( eek!) that have been clogging my pores.

Clarisonic Mia $119

Deep Pore Cleansing Brush Head $25

I've only used it once and I love it already! I will be doing a full review in about 2-3 weeks after daily use ( morning and night time) so standby!

If you're on Vine follow me at Saj Mack! I posted a video using it for the first

Do you have a clarisonic mia? mia 2? Share! I'd love to hear your thoughts! comment below about this handy gadget! 

Clarisonic

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com

New Product Review: Make Up For Ever Pro Finish Foundation

Forgive my absence and neglect for my blog posts, I promise this year I will do better :)

Now to the good stuff!

Make Up For Ever has recently launch a new foundation, and of course being a fan of their products...guess who had to go grab one! ^_^

I picked one up at Sephora, it was a little difficult to find my shade as they didn't even have the testers yet. I almost left the store thinking they didn't have it yet, luckily they did, it just wasn't displayed. Score!

They had these cute complexion cards with 4 samples in them set in your "complexion" group. I tried all the shades in the tan but they didn't fit.

Eventually after earning my tiger facial stripes with testing the powders we settled on my HD Foundation shade which is 128.

Pro Finish Foundation Shade 128 after  wet use. I was so excited to try I forgot the brand new pic lol

Can we pause for a second for me to tell you after she gave me compact 128 I was distracted by something sparkly and dropped it! :O ...yep... I dropped it.*hangs head* We switched it to the only one left, apparently there were only two 128's. I gripped that new compact with all my life, checked out and ran home.

Only to be disappointed that it's STILL too dark. I think I will need one shade lighter for this. Keep this in mind when buying your own, they might generally be 1 shade darker than your usual MUFE shade.

Now I won't go into the fancy description of the product, but we will break it down sajville style.


Texture: It's a compact powder...but it's not. It literally feels like moisturiser when you rub your fingers on it. Super soft and creamy! so AH-MAZING.

I first tried it DRY on my left side with a buffing brush and it smoothed on like butter..literally, I applied tonns to that side ( still dry) and the coverage layered but not once did it look cakey. My skin looked like I just used a gel/liquid type foundation.

*Insert mind blown here*

For the right side I tried it wet with a brush ( similar to the brush used in the instructional videos on their website) Same thing! super smooth and not cakey. I will say that applying wet seems to make it more sheer, almost like a tinted moisturizer so it didn't cover as much so I went over it with the dry brush to finish.

Left: Sigma Flat Angled Kabuki for Dry application
Right: Sigma Tapered Kabuki for Wet Application

Seriously, it layers like a dream!

I blended it well enough to wear for the day ( approximately 9 hours with no touch ups) I did look like I was ready for summer lol.

             

 
Before fresh brow brooming, exfoliated and After..ta daa!!!!


Long Lasting: My skin remained flawless, with a tiny bit of shine ( I have oily skin), there was no creasing or cakey look which sometimes comes from wearing a lot of powder.

After I got home I experimented further by applying my HD Foundation OVER it and it looked like heaven. Like I said...Layers like a dream!

This will definitely become a staple in my kit

What They Say:

A FLAWLESS COMPLEXION IN JUST MINUTES: PRO FINISH, THE COMPACT FOR PROFESSIONALS BY MAKE UP FOR EVER

PRO FINISH, the versatile, multi-use compact foundation for a flawless complexion in just minutes.

“A compact foundation that is very quick to apply and produces true professional results—that’s what makes PRO FINISH innovative.”

PRO FINISH is easy to apply and technically advanced thanks to its innovative, sophisticated, 100% adaptable formula. With this universal compact foundation, every woman can do her own makeup like a pro.

The product’s unique texture can be used wet or dry for a natural effect every time, with a full, matte or sheer, semi-matte finish. What’s unique about that? The answer is that whether wet or dry, PRO FINISH can be reapplied as needed and yet remain light. It is extremely malleable, making it perfect for touch-ups while still achieving a natural look.

Applied dry with its sponge, PRO FINISH corrects and evens out the complexion with an instant matte coating that erases imperfections. Wet, it acts like a second skin to brighten up the skin tone and even out the color. The foundation dries in seconds, leaving a delicate, powdery finish. Whether wet or dry, the delicate material allows for greater, buildable coverage.

The results: an instantly natural, professional look, flawless matte coverage, and long-lasting performance. Impeccable.

The PRO FINISH compact hides a secret: a high-tech formula that meets all of Dany Sanz’s demanding requirements.

Sajies Say:

Love! Need! Must.Have.More!

Shop your Make Up For Ever Pro Finish Foundation at Sephora!

make up for ever pro finish foundation

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com