The Life of a Hairstylist - Q & A with Marianne Parise & more....

To start off I am excited to share that I am currently booked on a movie which is going very well! One week down and I am super excited to be a part of it. I look forward to sharing details as I go along.... Now for the fun stuff.... For this round I wanted to do a Q & A with an incredible makeup artist and good friend Marianne Parise. I also asked Facebook if anyone had makeup and hair questions that they wanted answered. So here we go... Q: Favorite go to product A: Urban Decay Eye shadow Primer Q: Airbrush or regular old-fashioned foundation? A: Regular for most things. Airbrush for whole body makeup/characters. Airbrush just looks too plastic on faces. Especially with HD cameras. Q: Favorite makeup line? A: Gerda Spillman for foundation. Best I've found so far. Favorite full makeup line: Makeup Forever (love their HD powder!) They have a great variety of products but I like to mix it up and use products from multiple lines. Q: Favorite project you've worked on? A: A short student film called "Atascadero". I did A LOT of work on it, but had a great adventure Q: Any fun makeup tricks? A: use a clean makeup sponge like an eraser to remove eye makeup flaws and clean up edges of lips. Works like a charm. Blemishes-Before applying anything to your face make sure it's clean. If you have a reddish blemish put a few drops of Clear Eyes on it and give it a few minutes to absorb. This will ease the redness and inflammation a bit. Once it dries go ahead and apply moisturizer and give that a few minutes to absorb. Then either foundation or primer if you need it to last longer. Q: Do you prefer day makeup vs. night makeup? Or special effects? A: Tough question... FX. I feel like there is more creative freedom in creating characters and more challenge. With beauty makeup the biggest challenge is usually the client... Facebook Questions: Q: What's a good, polite, direct way to tell your hair dresses exactly the haircut you want without sounding too demanding and still ending up with the haircut you want. I'm always too scared to get my hair cut, and someone's too shy to speak up when the cut starts going in the wrong direction, then ending up with the cut I didn't want because I wasn't brave enough to say anything.... A: Great question! There are several ways to go about this but here is a good guideline to follow.... 1) You have to figure out the type of feel you are going for. Bring in pictures as examples and get into the specifics. Discuss the vibe you're going for. There are different kinds of long layers for example. They can be romantic or funky, or edgy. 2) Show, don't just explain. If you want the hair a certain length show them exactly where. For some reason, an inch seems to be different for everyone these days. Draw an imaginary line. The visual will be so helpful and might give them a better picture of exactly what you want. 3) Don't be afraid to be honest. As a hairstylist we don’t care how much you wash your hair, blow dry your hair etc..., just tell the truth. We can't help you with out honesty. The hairstylist really does need all the facts to be able to give you what you want in the way that can work for you and your lifestyle. 4) Ask about styling, especially if you're getting a brand new style. This can also help determine the type of cut and will help the stylist with a visual. Ask questions. 5) If you see the cut going in the wrong directions speak up! We need to know if you aren't happy. The kindest way is to be sweet but firm. "I don't mean to jump in but I can tell that I wasn't able to get my vision across." "I don't mean to butt in but can you explain your process? I don't think this is going the way I expect". Egos or not the beauty industry is a service industry. This is a service you are paying for. When you go out to eat and the food is cold or not what you expect you send it back right? Well this is very similar. Just stay calm and speak up. It doesn't help us if you freak out! Q: I am crafting a costume of Mary Todd Lincoln. The wig that I am using is beautiful but the fibers are so slick, I can't even keep it in a braid. Any ideas? A: Yes! A mattifying hairspray (non shiny) would be great. Another helpful hint would be a dry shampoo or texturizing spray. It should stop it from being so slick! Q: Any favorite hair products? A: Well that depends on what you're looking for but yes! Here are a couple of my faves: Unite 7 seconds leave in conditioner Prive product line as a whole is amazing White Sands beach spray Moroccan hair spray is light but workable Q: What is one good lesson you have learned since being a hair stylist? A: I have learned so many lessons but a good one is to always listen to you clients. When I say listen I mean listen to what they are asking for as well as the problems they love to tell. Don't give advice just maybe life experience. Also don't take things personally. Thank you for those of you who sent in questions! There were a few more and I will continue to get to them I promise! For more updates don't forget to check out my website: www.samrstyles.com Until next time....