...Introducing Dustin Damron...

When we first met or spoke with Dustin, we were actually referred from a photographer. Our first shoot with him , he told us about this idea that he's had for about a year and he has everything lined up for it. His idea is pretty rad..."Ice Queen". Not just any ice queen, but a sexy, high fashion spin on the Ice Queen image. He also takes it to the next level by setting up shop inside a HUGE freezer in Santa Barbara. Model Anna Lieberman really takes on this sexy but "cold-as-ice "character, which really made this shot.



Here are some more amazing pieces of Dustin's work that we've worked on with him.

For more of Dustin's amazing work, visit his website at www.dustindamron.com

...Angelina has done it again...

Working with Angelina is always a treat. She always has this story in her mind as to what and how she wants for a shot to look. In doing that, her work is always very vivid & strong and we love that about her. Now that she's back from her work & travels in Europe, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with her as soon as we could. For this shoot, we worked with model Ashley Russell aka Skinny and man, did she deliver, like always. Angelina made it specific to us that she really wanted for Skinny to look different, so we went with textured-out , dark brown hair. Especially because she's a blonde, we were really able to switch around and contour her features. For her make-up , Ashley ( the make-up artist ;) used smokey brown on her lid and a dark brown for her brows. She also contoured her nose, cheekbones and under the jaw to really accentuate her features. For hair, remembering Skinny's hair color is blonde and really short right now. So, I definitely went the route of extra hair and in dark brown. Using extra hair or extensions give me the added effect and this shoot was no exception. For more of Angelina's outstanding work or to book with her , contact her at www.angelinadorogi.com .

...Working with Robb Klassen...

When we first met Robb, we had arranged to meet at a local coffeehouse in Santa Barbara and go over a shoot idea he'd been working on. If you've ever met Robb, you first notice how tall he is. The 2nd thing you notice is how real, genuine and down-to-earth he is. So when he said he wanted us to work with him on this idea that he's had for a long time, we knew we had to jump on the opportunity. The shoot was titled "Ruby Sky" and he paints the story for you.


Of course, these are only a few shots from this amazing shoot. So check out more of this images at www.robbklassen.com . Stay tuned for more of our work with Robb.

...Kelly & Scott...

We knew that we were truly meant to do Kelly's wedding because of a funny situation over the phone. So, we received a inquiry-call from a "Kelly" sometime in April about her wedding on Aug. 15th. She was real sweet, we answered all of her questions, but after our great conversation, she didn't call back. However, something told us to just keep "Kelly's" name on the board for Aug.15th, just in case. Three-months later, we receive a call from a bride-to-be, ironically also named Kelly, wondering if we were still unbooked for her wedding date, which also happens to be...yup...Aug. 15th. Now, that happends all the time, but we had to explain to her; "On our board, we do have another bride-to-be pending on that date ....a Kelly also." She laughs and says, "Oh my gosh, that's me!!! I called you guys a couple months back and I was calling to see if you were still available and you still have my name on your board!!". It was HILARIOUS! We all instantly hit it off, booked her wedding date OFFICIALLY and did her wedding trial the following week. If you've even been around Kelly or know her, then you know how amazingly loving, funny and how real she is. We were so blessed to have not only been her make-up & hair team, but to have met her family and friends. Kelly, you are truly a beautiful bride.
These amazing shots were taken by the well-known Mary Jane of Mary Jane Photography here in Santa Barbara. Mary Jane is unreal at capturing these priceless & candid moments on such an enchanted day. Mary Jane , you ROCK! To capture some of your priceless moments, check out www.maryjaneweddings.com.

For Kelly's make-up, Ashley first did one eye completely using warm colors like golds and browns. Then she did her other eye, using a different pallet of colors like plums. This is great because Kelly gets to see herself in two different colors and she can decide which path she wants to take. She really wanted for her eyes to pop and her skin to just look glowy and soft. Ashley knocked it outta the park!
For Kelly's hair, when we originally did her trial , we went with something more like a wave in her hair which we both liked. However, after her wearing it a bit, she really wanted to go with something more down to earth, how she would usually look with just a little "oomph". We decided to go with a non-constructive swept-look, half-up/ half-down, with just a little bump at the end of her hair. Just ....Kelly.....beautiful.



We also did the make-up and hair for all of the bridesmaids including Kelly's beautiful and HILARIOUS mom! Come visit us mom!



This was a real treat for us to be a part of Kelly's production team for this immense celebration. Congrats to you kids...Kelly & Scott.

...Colors & Amanda Bailard...

Whenever we work with Amanda Bailard, photographer here in Santa Barbara, we know two things : 1) we know that whatever ideas that we have, she wants to make them vivid & come alive and 2) is that Amanda is gonna bust out some music and we're grooving when we work with her. We have now done over 5 shoots with her and she always delivers.



This first image is one of our favorites in working with Amanda. We wanted to do a "rag-doll" shoot, where we section-off parts of the body and use different colors and lines to create a "patchwork look". Body art unlike regular make-up application requires a lot more attention to detail, steady-hands and a lot of stepping back to look at the full picture. This mini-project took us just under 2 and 1/2 hours to do, front and back. Our model was Rosine E, she's such a sweetheart and a great model from France.

With this image below, we had a real cool time pulling this together. Amanda instructed that she wanted the model to be "stark-white" with a huge ink-splatter on her eye. WOW! Ashley and I are like "okay...ink-splatter...we got this" but it really came out cool. First, Ashley painted her all white with MAC chroma cake to give that opaque base. Then, by hand, Ashley sketches out this "ink-splatter" on and around her eye, which looks awesome! She also added a couple more random ink-splatters to make it look as if she was really hit with a splatter of ...well, ink. She's given a cupid-lip to really ad drama to the mouth. For her hair, Amanda wanted a bun at the top of her head....but I really wanted to challenge myself. So I ask Amanda if it's alright if I give her a bun but with a twist. So, I started with the bun but instead of it laying flat down, I propped it upright. I also left a lot of the models own hair out and I used a "prop" and wrapped her hair around it. It kinda created a samurai look, which we liked, then finished with the chop sticks thru the hair. Oh, and yes, we really did make her brows and fake lashes "corvette-red". HOT!
Check out more of Amanda Bailard's work at www.amandabailard.com. Her images and saturation will blow your mind!

...Photographer Mattia Balsamini...

Working with photographer Mattia Balsamini has been a real treat. We love that he loves to push the envelope while keeping a very regal elegance to his work. We've already done a couple of shoots with him and the way he shoots a woman is quite nice. So here is a shot of our most recent shoot with him. Check this out, this girl isn't even a model and she worked it!
Mattia wanted like the "dots" idea over half of her face and then he says " Can we do white dots or would that be too crazy?" So we rolled with the white and it came out awesome! For her hair, we kinda went with a romantic updo, not too constricted but also away from her face. Ahhhh, and the lighting?! Love it !

Check out more of Mattia's work at www.mattiabalsamini.com.

...Introducing the amazing, Angelina Dorogi...

ATTENTION :This blog contains some brief nudity in the form of art. Please the artists involved that made this shoot possible. Thank you.
When we met Angelina, we knew that we were all just going to be a great team. From the first shoot, we remember her saying " See, that's why I love you guys; I can just tell you random words and you can formulate it into an amazing look!". One of our most memorable and favorite shoots that we've done with Angelina so far was the "Dark" shoot we did with a fierce model known as "Skinny". We she gave us the idea for this shoot, we knew that it was going to be dark, dramatic and people would remember it. For her make-up, Angelina really wanted , like we said, "something dark, but mysteriously beautiful". So Ashley literally did black on her eyes, but sketched it down to the inside-corner of her eye, giving that dimension to her eyes. Ashley really carved her cheekbones out by no only using bronzer, but by also using a grey tone to create a deeper contour. On her lips, we didn't wanna go traditional at all, so Ashley decided to do a "bitten-lip" but with this smoky grey-plum. That created a totally different look on her lips, especially because Ashley focused on the middle of her lip versus the whole lip.For her hair, Angelina wanted something so different from the norm, so we went out and bought extra hair & styrofoam. Why styro? You'll see. So, because Angelina wanted her hair to be completely up & they had to drive to the location after make-up & hair we're done, I knew that it had to last. The end result was amazing!!! It was an intricate design of different colored hair spheres atop her head. Some of it was Skinny's hair and most was extention, but this shoot ROCKED OUR WORLD!!!


Please check out more of this shoot and her other outstanding work at www.angelinadorogi.com. She just got back from shooting in Europe but contact her if you wanna work with her. Also, if you wanna work with Skinny, you can contact her at www.modelmayhem.com/Ashleyolivera . This girl can work a shoot! Seriously!