CARGO Blu Ray High Definition Make-Up

HD makeup has got to be one of the things I consider top on my list when scouting for make-up. As a make up artist, I see to it that the products that I use is friendly to all kinds of lights since, as we all know, a lot of cosmetics have titanium dioxide in them, the ingredient that causes the "whitish" cast on camera flashes. That is a no-no for me, that's why I love HD makeup because I know it is made for requirements like film, photography and stage.

So when I came about a make up brand called CARGO, their HD products nonetheless caught my eye. And since I'm a foundation/Powder addict, I couldn't wait to try the CARGO Blu Ray High Definition Powder and got my hands on one right away when I visited ULTA in Tanforan Mall San Bruno.

CARGO HD Powder in 30
Price: $30

Back of the Product

I have had this product for about 1 month now and I have got to say that I LOVE IT SO MUCH! I had promised myself that I would review the product weeks ago, but things happen and next thing I know I have already Hit Pan!

That is how much I love this product. I use it practically everyday! It is crazy pigmented and offers awesome coverage for the face yet feels lie translucent powder. Did I say it was pigmented? Check it out.

One swatch picks up so much product thus you have to be careful otherwise a tendency of product being wasted can occur.

Initially swatched back of hand

Spread into skin using fingers, see how it vanishes? It's so light on skin it's amazing!

Overall, CARGO Blu Ray High Definition Powder is HG quality. The only quirk I have with it is because it is so pigmented you have to be careful in picking up the product otherwise a lot will go to waste. It is also pretty hefty at $30 a piece, but it's worth it when you get to try it. :) I would definitely purchase this product again, and it seems that I need one sooner than I think. :) And yet again, HD hasn't failed me. :)

Toodles! :)

Remember how I said it was pigmented? Well check out how much product my finger still had after swatching at the back of my hand and spreading.

Nice! :)

My sisters wedding

Hola! It's been a while since my last post, I've been busy the past 2 weeks hence the hiatus from blogging. But I do hope to get back on track with regular blogging soon! :) I recently just came from a trip from Singapore to attend my sister's civil wedding. My sister's then boyfriend is based in Singapore hence the choice to have a civil wedding there. But no complaints what so ever since it gave the family a reason to have a mini out of the country get together / vacation. :)

I was ecstatic to have the privilege from my sister to do her make up on her special day (I hope she still trusts me for her Church Wedding *hinthint to sister*). So I won't really make a lengthy wordy post and just show you guys some of the images from that.

Basically, what I did for my sister was the Prime Look with a little hint of purple. The goal was to make her look stunning but not over the top. I mainly focused on giving her flawless skin so she would look great regardless what eye make up we put. So without further a do, here are the images from my sister's special day.

On her Big Day

Using the Beauty Blender to apply concealer

Checking how the foundation looked on camera with flash
(click to enlarge)

Prime look with a zest of Purple on the eyes

For some reason, I do not have an after shot of the just finished make up. I think we were all rushing by that time haha. Although here is the closest shot of the After shot I got. :)

The Bride and Groom's Family :)

Their first shot as a married couple Congratulations!!!! :)


Family Shot :) (ugh i'm so fat compared to my sister and mom)

It was such a fun fun day full of love, spent with the whole family. Like what they say, marriage is not just the joining of two people but more the joining of two families. It was such a fun loving day. Congratulations to my sister and my new brother, Anna and JR! :)

In addition, I was browsing through the pics and found this pic of me checking the foundation done on my face if it looked even or not. Then I realized, wow me and my sister look so much alike in this pic and the one I took of her to check her foundation too hahaha. I just look more uhhh androgynous she look sweet. haha

Lastly, here was my look for my sisters wedding :)




Toodles!! :)

RCMA Color Process Foundation

One of the most favorite brands of makeup amongst MUA's in hollywood is RCMA. RCMA or Research Council of Makeup Artist Professional Products is a line created by Vincent Kehoe in the 60's. The line caters to 139 foundation shades, Blushes and about everything you will need for fx in films. RCMA was created for the profession of film, tv and print thus it is not commercially available. It has no marketing strategy what so ever, not even the packaging is attractive. RCMA is no frills and mainly focused on the development of the product. The most evident reason why this is a favorite amongst artist in the industry is the ability of the foundation to photograph well and how flawless the skin looks on camera whether video or still. Besides, RCMA foundation is 50% Pigmented! Definitely higher than those commercially marketed brands.

The first time RCMA was tried on my skin was when Maui and I had a make-up weekend when she got back from the states. And I was sold. I was crazy flawless, and the best part was If my skin was flawless in person, the better it looked on camera. So now I'm so happy I have them in my train case. :)

I ordered 2 RCMA weels, Wheel 1 is KO 5-8 and wheel 2 is Shinto 1-4. Shinto shades are created for the people who have yellowish-green undertones. Since that line became so famous, the KO line was created as fillers for the lacking shades on the current Shinto line.

Both wheels look very similar and actually almost identical, but after swatching and testing, you will see how different the wheels are from each other. Now proceeding closer at each wheel.

This is wheel KO 5-8, I bought this because I wanted a line that I could use for men. And upon reasearch, the KO 5-8 and Shinto 5-8 wheel were the ones recomended for males. But none the less this can also be used for females. :) I initially chose KO 5-8 instead of Shinto 5-8 because I was already getting Shinto 1-4 and didn't want another Shinto Wheel.


This is the Shinto 1-4 wheel with its corresponding swatch. Maui used Shinto 2-3 for my face months ago when it was first tried on me. And I am still Shinto 2-3. :)

Here's a photo of the KO and Shinto swatch together for comparisson.

Without Flash

With Flash

KO 5-8 Top Row
Shinto 1-4 Bottom Row

Now from the swatch they look very very very similar, but from what I have noticed, the Shinto line is a tad bit more yellow and warer than the KO shades. To illustrate further their differences, I mixed the first 3 shades of the top and bottom (since from the swatch the first 3 colors of KO 5-8 and Shinto 1-4 are very similar to each other).

Without Flash

With Flash

After mixing the first 3 colors each from the KO (top row) and Shinto (bottom row), the difference can now be clearly seen. The Shinto (bottom row) shows that it is warmer than the KO (top row). The KO definitely is the "in-betweens" of the Shinto shades. This is useful for those who aren't too keen on mixing their foundations.


Overall, I am very excited to use this and happy looking in my train case with these RCMA inside. I'll definitely use my RCMA foundation when I know I'll be taking pictures. Haha.

As a bonus, here's an image of me and my girls using RCMA foundation (taken months ago).



Toodles! :)

GRAFTOBIAN High Definition Color Palette in Warm 2

Hey girls, so another HD make up I bought from Steph is the Graftobian High Definition Color Paletter in Warm 2. I decided to get the palette instead of the single pots since:

1) I was having a hard time choosing which color would be best for me
2) Getting 5 colors in a palette would be perfect to just mix and match for different clients
3) A little goes a long way, the palette will last me a long time

GRAFTOBIAN HI-DEF GLAMOUR CREME WARM PALETTE #2
Formulated to yield flawless High Definition results whether or not you're in front of a camera.

Directions: Apply with white foam sponge wedge or makeup brush. Set with face powder.

Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric/Triglyceride, Octyl (Ethylhexyl) Palmitate, Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax, Petrolatum, Lanolin oil, Bees Wax, Ozeokerite Wax, Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol, PTFE, BHA, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, N-Butylparaben.

May Contain: Castor (Ricinus Communis Seed) Oil, Candelilla (Euphorbia Cerifera) Wax, Microsystalline Wax, Hydrogenated Lanolin, Polybutene, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Talc, D&C Red #7 Ca Lake, D&C Red #6 Ba Lake, FD&C Yellow #% Al Lake, Ultramarines, Chronium Oxide Green, Mica, Polyester Mylar Glitter Dust. (CI 77891, 77499, 77491, 77492, 15850, 19140, 77007, 77288)

From Left-Right
Buttermilk
Desert Sand
Golden Sunset
Deep Xanthe
Midnight Marigold

Swatches

From Left-Right
Buttermilk
Desert Sand
Golden Sunset
Deep Xanthe
Midnight Marigold

The HD Cream is very very veryyyy pigmented! As you can see from the swatch the coverage is great! Mind you I used very very very little for the swatch. Also the consistency is like Cinema Secrets foundation. Smooth, silky and easy to spread. The only thing I noticed about this is it should be kept in a cool place otherwise oil settles on the surface of the product. But its pretty simple just put it in the fridge for a bit, take it out and store it back in your train case.

The swatches were done on my inner arm therefore it is at least 2 shades lighter than the shade on my face. So basing it from the swatch, Desert Sand and Golden Sunset are the closest shades to my face. So what I did was I mixed both colors together to see the outcome, and it seemed right. I couldn't swatch it on my face right then since I wasn't in the mood yet to put anything on my face.

There you can see Desert Sand and Golden Sunset mixed

I still have yet to see the different combination I can come up with using the 5 different shades. But it seems that the possibilities are endless. Weeeh! :) So later in the evening I had to go to a Christmas party, Perfect time to use my new products. Here's my FOTD using this palette.

Click image to view larger

Face:
Smashbox photo finish primer
Graftobian HD foundation in Desert Sand and Golden Sunset
Graftobian HD Pro Powder in Cleopatra using a stippling brush to lightly set
NARS Casino Bronzer
Nars Albatross for highlights
Nichido in peach glow for blush

Eyes:
Cinema Secrets concealer palette in kit #2
UDPP on lids
28 Neutral Palette for neutral e/s

Lips:
Ever Bilena Lip Liner in Nude
32 Lip Palette for lipstick

Finally tried the Graftobian HD Pro Powder with this. I used it to set the foundation very very lightly since I didn't want heavy coverage and it was perfect!

Again you can get this palette at www.hdmakeup.multiply.com from Steph on hand! So yayyy! :)

Definitely worth it for 5 colors! Yayyy!

Get your HD makeup now. :)


Toodles! :)

GRAFTOBIAN HD Pro Powder Foundation

Move over MAC Studio Fix and Hello Graftobian HD Pro Powder Foundation! Why settle for your favorite powder foundation when you can go HD? HD or High Definition is the future of make up. Or let me rephrase that; HD or High Definition is what all make up should be. Make up should help you enhance your features in any situation, whether for everyday, in photographs (pro or non pro), on film or what have you! And HD make up does that!

Graftobian along with Cinema Secrets, RCMA, Kryolan, Ben Nye and a few other brands are what I consider non-commercialized products. They are not what you usually find in your local beauty stores in malls. These brands were designed as Theater and Film make up to give you that flawless complexion usually found only online or specialty beauty stores in the US. These products are very pigmented and very affordable. HD is the way to go. :)

Here's a review on Graftobian's HD Pro powder foundation in Cleopatra:

Our Silky Smooth Pressed Powder Foundation is Highly Pigmented for Exceptional Coverage and Blends Easily for a Natural Finish. Ideal for creating a matte HD finish following the use of Graftobian's High Definition Glamour Cremes.

Directions: "HD Pro Powder Foundation can be applied dry with either a brush or the provided sponge. Using a brush will allow more translucency, while a sponge will provide more opacity to the coverage. Apply with a wet sponge for even greater coverage. When using over a creme foundation application, it is suggested that a light brush (like a fan brush) be used to apply the HD Pro Powder for a soft and natural looking finish to the makeup" -Suzanne Patterson

Contains: Talc, Lecithin, Silica, Isopropyl Palmitate, Squalene, Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ultramarines.

The Product


With sponge included


Sticker on inside compartment

Cleopatra shade is in between NC40-NC45. My usual MAC shade is NC40-42, I say this product is in between since the coverage varies from how you choose to apply this. Like what the description says, If you choose to apply this product with a wet sponge, you achieve the most coverage giving you the darkest shade it can get which is NC45-ish. However I choose not to apply the product with a sponge (wet or dry) because I won't be needing heavy coverage since I'd use this product mainly for touch ups or setting over cream foundations.

So for me the best way to apply this is with a stippling brush. :)





From left - right
Swatch of Cleopatra
Buffed in using a stippling brush
With Flash

The texture of the Graftobian Pro Powder Foundation once applied and buffed in is very smooth and silky. This is good for people who have oily skin (like me) since it gives off a matte finish. So purchasing this was right timing since my MAC Studio Fix just hit pan. And I don't think i'll be going back to that now that I have a HD powder at hand. Weeeeeh! So happy! :)

Did I forget to mention that these products are available on hand locally? Yes they are. You can get your Graftobian products at www.hdmakeup.multiply.com from the wonderful seller Steph. :)


Toodles! :)