you can't deny, Sophia Danai

A couple months ago, I was just hanging out on my lap top with the tv playing in the background when a familiar song came on during a commercial for Appleton Rum. The song is called Higher Baby by this wonderfully talented singer & songwriting artist named Sophia Danai. The best part about hearing this familiar song on tv is that I know her personally.
It's moments like this, when I literally hear her success, that I am overwhelmed with how proud of her I am.

I guess I am just lucky that my older sister is cool and became friends with Sophia way back in high school. I remember Sophia coming over to my house with my sister after school for snacks and I always thought she was just so unique. This tall girl with crazy curly beautiful hair always laughing, and telling the best stories. I bonded with her over our love for acting and theatre.
As we both grew up, and beame more involved with our arts, thanks to knowing a "little bit" about make-up, I've been able to work with Sophia and doll her up for a photoshoot for her single "Money".



Over the past couple years, she dedicated herself to singing in coffee shops, making cute little videos online, writting songs, and all of her other efforts had paid off when Chin Injeti, a Grammy award-winning producer discovered her. 

Last week, as I got into my car and I turned on the radio to Sonic 104.9FM, I actually squealed to myself as I sat in the parking lot with my mouth wide open. My flashy little digital dashboard slowly scrolled across her name. I grabbed my phone and called her and left the most high pitched voicemail I've probably ever left on anyone's machine of how excited I was for her that she was singing on the radio for all of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to hear. 

The song on the radio is a collaboration with Madchild called "Judgment Day", and you can listen to it here on Soundcloud. You can even follow Sophia on Twitter, and "like" her on Facebook. I am so proud of her & her beautiful voice that I would never keep her to myself and that is why I have to share her music with you. 

This gal is going to be big, so start your fan club now.

Congratulations, lady!

make-up & hair by me
everything else amazing by her!

xox Celina 

Craftin' in October

Zis is Hallowe'en!

It's my favorite time of year! And not just because I am thinking about Hallowe'en costumes & makeup ideas... but I also love Hallowe'en decorations! This year I've been a bit more creative and have used my imagination, plus the help of google images, cheap dollar store items & Walmart to make my Hallowe'en a little bit more spooky this year!

Here's what I've been up to...

Bloody shower curtain & a mask for Audrey

Homemade Hallowe'en Wreath!

Skeleton hand hair pins

(something creepy is holding up my hair!)

Vampumkin

Oh, and these monster feet to put over my shoes!

Get Crafty!

xox Celina

Clarins Red Carpet

Well, Summer is over and it's back to somewhat of a routine! 

Having about 4 jobs at all times, every week is different; but now that it's September I am back to working at Clarins. Last weekend was Clarins big Red Carpet make-up event in the Bay Vancouver. It also happened to fall on one of the same days as the Bay's Gala which means there were appetizers, bevys, tons of make-overs, gift with purchases & just when you thought it couldn't get better - 

there were also Drag Queens!

There's nothing more fun than men in drag. I just can't get over how dolled up these gals were. They even performed song and dance on the red carpet & helped ladies pick out lipstick! Amazing. Also featured in this picture is the incredible DJ Chelsea who I never want to work another day without. Seriously, she can spin and mix some pretty "phat beats" and I want her to play everywhere I go to work. Sometimes I give her make-up touch ups as payment for entertaining me. 

Next week I'll be working the Clarins Red Carpet at Murale in Oakridge mall. 

Feel free to come visit me and try out some Clarins products!

xox Celina

Multiple Beauty Marks

Ho hum, what a summer!

I am beginning to realize that even though I do not have one Full Time job, having multiple Part Time jobs is just as hard! I was actually a little bit worried going into summer that I wouldn't be able to find enough work,

but boy was I wrong!

One of my jobs includes dolling up multiple brides this summer on their wedding days. I have a very important bride coming up this Saturday - my beautiful cousin Katie is trusting me with her face! Haha! So off I travel to Edmonton for this joyous occassion. 

And with all the warm weather, It's sure to be a gorgeous day!

I was so excited to be apart of another film as well! A wonderful couple days of shooting went by so fast with some amazing people. I am beginning to love working on film sets because you meet and network with fabulous artists and the most creative of minds. (All of a sudden my friends lists on facebook goes up by about 15 as soon as shooting ends... so popular) It is hard work for sure, but it is so worth it by the end when you feel like you've accomplished something. Thanks to my new beautiful friend Kathi who is more than incredible at designing, creating, finding - insert multiple action words here - & styling Costumes, I would have never been involved with the short film Beauty Mark. I met Kathi on the set of Evil Feed and our energies clicked & she so kindly passed my name along to the Director. 

Kathi also has probably the coolest and hardest working assistant ever, Danae, who let me borrow her rhinestone glasses for this pic of Kathi & I:

Cool Cats

I am sure to see these gals again, as I have been told, film crews seem to travel together & always end up working on the same projects. I sure hope so.

In other news - I spent my life savings at IMATS Vancouver 2012 as a blue haired friend of mine talked me into buying almost everything, including Zombie shoes - I don't quite know how that happened, but I am not mad about it at all!! Good thing I do have multiple jobs cause this gal's gotta save up!

xox Celina

Movie Magic

I just realize I haven't put up a post in over a month! And because I love nothing more than talking about myself, all of you Too Dolly readers should know that I had stuff to say, I just had no time to say it!! 

I have been off in the world of film making movie magic for the last month. It is finally back to reality, thus time to blog!

My very first film production was a huge success. My film crew virginity has been popped and I now know what it's like to work 16 hour days. Thanks to my friend Tracy - who was the Key Make-Up Artist for this production - she put me on her team of make-up artists and hair stylists and I now have some film experience under my belt.

I'm not exactly sure what I am allowed to say about this film, as it is not completed yet, so if you'd like to see a little IMDB teaser you can click HERE! I am more than excited to see the final product! The cast and crew were all amazing people that I feel really privileged to have met and worked with all of them. A very funny coincidence was that I knew 3 people on the production from 3 very different times in my life. I was in acting school in Maple Ridge with one of the actors in the movie back when I was 16. I knew another actor in the film from when I was in UVIC for Theatre when I was 19. And I went to highschool with one of the camera guys who actually filmed me in a short film I did way back in the day! Small world we live in.

When shooting was done, we were treated to a night of fun & drinks where we could all see each other dolled up and not in our "work clothes". My friend Maura (who was the main beauty make-up artist for this production) let me do her hair really funky. Only Maura could really pull this off, especially with her reverse fire dyed hair. She is super unique and I have to share how cool her head looked!!

Fancy Sh'mancy!

xox Celina

Apex Secondary School

Today I was invited to be a guest speaker for the Girl's Group at Apex Secondary School. My good friend Lesley did her teaching practicum at this school and asked if I would be interested in talking to the girls about make-up, and being a Make-Up Artist. I was excited to be able to talk to some young ladies and tell them about my experience and hopefully give them some great advice. My trusy sidekick Tracy came along for the adventure, and was able to help me in giving these girls a different perspective on Make-Up Artistry and all of it's many possibilities. 

The school does not have a budget for guest presenters, so a couple weeks ago I went around town asking for some small funding or donations to be able to give these girls a goody-bag to take home with them. I wanted to be able to provide knowledge, tips & tricks, something to look forward to, as well as something to help make each and every one of them feel special and beautiful. This wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the wonderful manager of Superstore Langley, the fragrance manager at The Bay in Willowbrook Mall, and some contributions from my very loving Mother.

I think the "presentation" went extremely well. We all sat in a circle and had some great girl chat! We all had a chance to speak and ask questions and have some fun discussing our favorite make-up brands and which cleansers and moisturizers to use. Tracy and I were both a bit nervous, but after the ball was rolling it was easy-peasy and we all were comfortable jumping in and adding to the conversation.

I had a great time talking to the "youth of today" and what was so amazing was they made both Tracy and I these beautiful flower pots! Gorgeous! It's so bright and perfect for Spring (which is finally here!).

Thank you so much Girl's Group at Apex! If you are reading this, don't hesitiate to contact me about any further questions, advice, or my services ;)

xox Celina

Battle Royale &The Hunger Games

Oh, hi.

If you haven't been living under a rock (<-- foreshadowing to this post!), I'm sure you've heard all about the book series and movies The Hunger Games. I haven't read the books.. not sure if I will.. maybe eventually, but last night I saw the movie.

But before the Hunger Games...

Last week my boyfriend and I watched Battle Royale which has a similar concept of young kids going into a war against each other with limited weapons and survival equipment and the last person standing "wins". If you haven't seen Battle Royale and you are up for reading subtitles - as this movie is in Japanese, and if you are not squeemish when it comes to blood and gore, I highly recommend it. I thought it was brilliant! I also am pretty proud that I recognized one of the actresses, Chiaki Kuriyama, who also plays Gogo Yubari in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill; another amazing movie. Here's a fun fact. Tarantino loves the movie Battle Royale, and hired Chiaki because he saw her in it. Another fun fact is that over 450 gallons of fake blood were used on the two Kill Bill movies.

Wowza. Now that's a bloody good time!

Anyways, thanks for staying with me during my movie tangent. I've been reading that people are wondering if The Hunger Games are an "American version" of Battle Royale, so I'm glad I watched both of the movies. They have similarities for sure, but have very big differences as well. Completely different movie styles for one. Personally, I liked Battle Royale more, but I definitely enojyed The Hunger Games. 

Here's the thing though... I don't understand why the people in the movie who are watching the Games are dressed up like the Alice in Wonderland colourful corset wearing Victorian clowns? Am I missing something? I mean, I love costumes and I love to play dress-up (clearly) but I was so confused why everyone looked this way. Maybe it describes how it makes sense in the books. I get the whole, we are richer and we control your destiny aspect.. but it was confusing and sort of weird. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the actress Elizabeth Banks as her character Effie Trinket:

I mean, great  make-up for sure. The head of the Make-Up Department for Hunger Games is a woman named Ve Neill who is more than creative and talented. 

Some of you may recognize her as a judge on the SFX show Face Off.

(If you are crazy about those eyelashes, you'll be jealous to know that I own those. My boyfriend gave them to me for Christmas. They are made by a company called Paperself,

check them out for some unique lashes & other goodies).

Back to the make-up madness. I just felt like I was watching a huge add for MAC or something. Like everyone was in drag and it didn't make sense why. Elizabeth Banks said it took over 2 hours every day of shooting to achieve her look and she started at 4am. Hey Banks, ever realize that your make-up artists had to start their days earlier than you to apply it, and then end their days later than you to remove it? Just saying... I'm sure you had a comfy chair while you sat there and got all dolled up. 

That was a small rant.

In other news, the butterfly make-up done on Jennifer Lawrence near the end of the film is "ooh" and "ahhh" worthy, and I did love some of the facial hair and the creative ways of shaving beards.

But, Probably the coolest part (for me at least) was the special effects done on Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta. His family owns a bakery and apparently he learned how to ice some seriously wicked cakes because he camoflauges himself pretty damn well. Obviously it's all special effects. I read that Josh had to lie down on rocks and not move for an hour and a half to have it applied for the one scene where he is completely camoflauged into the nature. Apparently the make-up team created a mixture of clay and glycerine to create the effect, because they had to make it look real enough as if Peeta did it himself.

Anyways, I don't know how to feel about this movie. Go see it for yourself. Maybe a little while down the road I'll need to watch it again. Or maybe just keep watching the whole series.  It really makes me realize that if I were ever in a War situation, or needed to be in "survival mode" I'd be screwed... unless I camoflauged myself like Peeta...

Oh well. As they say,

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

xox Celina

Look Ma, All Hands!

This first week of April has felt like an accomplishment not only for me, but for most of my dear friends. There must be something in the water, because everywhere I look great things are happening and people are being recognized for all of their hard work. And I'd like to add, hard work done by our hard working HANDS!

Let's start with my wonderful friend Seth. Seth works at Idea Rebel, which is a digital marketing business. I've known Seth since High School. I've had sleep overs at his apartment, spent many of my summers camping with him, and even had meatless stuffing together at his family's Christmas dinners. I can't imagine my little Celina world without a Seth in it. And that is why I am so proud that his company won an award with BC Business Online Magazine as one of the Most Innovative Companies for 2012! Way to go Seth! Look at all that hard work you've done and how it's paid off! 

Look Ma, All Hands!

Now onto my next friend.

I was just talking about the little lady the other day. She's one of the hardest working Make-Up Artist I know, Tracy Lai. Tracy just finished on set for a short film about ferrets called Jake & Jasper: A Ferret Tale and was hired back for another film by the same Director Alison Parker which is titled The Ferret Squad. The best part about this is Tracy has 3 ferrets of her own. The other day, her littlest and only female ferret Dolly crawled up into my hair and sniffed my big bun on top of my head. I think she could have had a little nap in there if she really wanted to. Anyways, a big congratulations goes out to the Jake & Jasper crew because they have been featured in the magazine Ferret USA 2012! And what's even cooler is they mention Tracy & her ferret babies in it.

Look Ma, All Hands!

And now, yours truly.

Thanks to John Casablancas, my little face & my work are now in the new pamphlet hand-out for the Make-Up Artistry program. When I first saw this picture my honest reaction was,

"I'm so glad I wore lipstick this day." 

(see kids, you NEVER know when 

you'll end up in a magazine.)

What's even cooler is they have enlarged and framed my work in the school hallways! I feel like I am officially a "published" artist. 

Look Ma, All Hands!

xox Celina

Assistant Celina - hey, that's me!

Let's start off today's post with a random quote:

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
― Confucius

Oh my gosh is that true or WHAT?

I'll give you a hint, it's TRUE.

About a week ago I had a nice little interview at my former school, John Casablancas and lucky lucky (and  hard-working, i'll add) me, was hired on as a Make-Up Instructor's Assistant.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

And you know what the even better part is. The instructor I'm working for is so far beyond talented I swear she's not a real human being! I was fortunate enough to study under her more than amazing skills, and now I get to be her little slave Assistant! Haha. Okay but seriously, I am stoked!

Her name is Tracy Lai make-up artist extrodinaire! She loves blood and gore & specializes in the Special Effects department. She also has 3 of the cutest ferrets in the world, and would drink caramel frappuccinos every day for the rest of her life if she could.

Check out all the work shes done by clicking here! Find her on facebook here! 

Stalk her in real life, by google maping her house here! LOL tricked you!

Tracy is probably the most fun person I have ever had the pleasure of working with and I love that I am constantly learning whenever I am around her.

I am also so so so proud and amazed by her and the fact that she has just created her own line of motion picture prosthetic pieces! This is huge! You can find her line called TLFX for sale at the SFX/Make-Up store in Vancouver called Holly North. What a huge accomplishment!! I'm telling you, this gal has got things going for her! She is so dedicated to her craft, a wonderful teacher, a hilarious friend, and an even better "boss". 

So far I've assisted her twice, and we life-casted faces for her class's old-aging assignment.

I talked about it in a previous blog post when I did it for school. Life Casting is when you make an impression of someone (any part of their body) to make a customized prosthetic piece for that person/actor/model. It's a very cool process involving Alginate to form the shape and make an extremely accurate negative of whatever you are casting, then when you make a mould of that impression, you can sculpt your prosthetic piece so it fits that part of the body perfectly.

I'm more than excited for my new little part-time assisting job that it doesn't even phase me to have to take the dirty skytrain some days for work. But in all honestly, I couldn't think of a better person than Tracy to help and encourage me to become the make-up artist that I want to be.

You never stop learning in this industry!

xox Celina

Future Vision 2012

Yesterday I was lucky enough to participate in the Hair Show Future Vision 2012 hosted by Wella, Sebastian and Nioxin in Vancouver! I am so fortunate to know the very creative Katie Sullivan, who was the Key Make-Up Artist behind the scenes of this amazing production.

Katie taught me how to use an airbrush as a make-up tool at John Casablancas, and I've had the pleasure of working with her on her body painting photoshoot that we did last summer. So I was more than happy to say YES when she asked me to be a Make-Up Artist for this show!

Being on the make-up team for Trend Vision was a lot of fun! A fast paced environment with creativity just bursting out of every artist back stage. I got to see some really fabulous hair styles and see all of the up coming trends for hair for 2012.

The show was held at Venue on Granville in Vancouver which was a perfect location for the show. They had professional hair stylists "performing" and showing off their talents right in front of their audience and explaining how they were styling as they did it. It was a great! I've never been to a hair show before, so it was quite fun to watch and be able to be apart of.

Lots of models! Lots of hair styles! So much hairspray!

Here are some photos that Katie took backstage/during the show!

backstage madness

The very talented Phillip Ferreira

ROXY look, make-up by Katie!

 Amazing hair superstar stylist Anthony Crossfield

a look at the 2012 trends

Phillip Ferreira styling Elizabeth's hair.. make-up by ME

Our Make-Up team!!

Brittany,  Rebecca, Katie, and Me! 

xox Celina

Introducing "Cee-Jaze" Hair Jewelry!

“Cee-Jaze”
made by hands of the Too Dolly Make-Up Artist

Your hair will be giddy with this collection of unique hair jewelry. Warning: You will get attention and look far too fabulous to be an Average-Josie. 

All Cee-Jaze are nail-polished-hand-made with great precision and hopes the owner will take good care & wear their Cee-Jaze in a flirty, fun, or creative manner.

All Cee-Jaze are made with only the finest feeling feathers and the cutest of gems. Some Cee-Jaze are made with genuine leather, and others with cute fabric prints.

Feathered Cee-Jaze … $15

Flowered Cee-Jaze … $15

*prices subject to change*

Contact me if you are interested!

  

 Front & Back in detail

xox Celina

Bully in the Workplace

Time for a little story about being bullied in the workplace...

Some of you may have known that I was employed as a Beauty Expert at a certain Shoppers Drug Mart that shall remain nameless (unless you know me personally, then you know exactly which one…)

In October, some of you Too Dolly readers may remember a Post that I put up about my lovely manager resigning from her position. What I never mentioned was the manager that just happened to take over...

Slowly my shifts were being taken off of the schedule and I was cut down to one or two, 5 hour night time shifts a week. (Wow, can you pay your bills off a 10 hour work week?) 

Having very little income from these shortened shifts, I started searching for secondary means of employment. Other Beauty Experts in that Boutique work for other cosmetic company’s as make-up artists and demos, so I applied to work for Clarins. But Shoppers didn’t approve that a couple days a month I wouldn’t be fully available… even though I’m part-time…

My manager had me come into the store to have a meeting. During this meeting she told me I don’t meet the needs of the business, and if I could not be flexible and open up my availability to every day of the week, but remain a part-time employee; she would no longer have any shifts to offer me. She stated she would have never hired me given my availability. She said she would have had this conversation with me in November when she was hired, but decided to be nice enough to let me get through Christmas. She gave me a day or two to decide if I wanted to make Shoppers Drug Mart my number one priority, and possibly quit my new Clarins job.

After much consideration, I decided I could offer the Beauty Boutique full time availability with the exception of some dates I have already booked off (for Clarins, upcoming weddings etc) and I would work around both schedules. We arranged this, and I was given my full February 2012 schedule.

One week later, I walked into Shoppers to start my evening shift and there stood my Manager who took me into the office and informed me that they have come to the decision that I no longer fit in with this company. I asked why, and she repeated the same sentence back to me, then handed me a letter from the owner discussing my termination was effective immediately. Oh, and the cherry on top? I was ESCORTED out of the building. Maybe so I didn’t knock every bottle of perfume off the shelves on my way out…

In conclusion, Shoppers gave me the decision of making Shoppers my number one priority. I gave my full availability and she took my decision away from me and let me go with no warning. I have never had a problem “fitting in” in a work place. My record of employment states I have all positive customer service feedback. I have never had a warning, I have never been written-up, I have never had a bad performance review. I have been an employee for 1 full year and my business self meets all the job requirements… It is my general self that New Management disliked. And now, she has denied me my Gratis of products I ordered based on my own sales and productivity. Apparently I’m not entitled to my own Christmas bonus…

Ladies and Gentleman, this management is what I like to call POISON IN THE WORKPLACE. You know what’s worse? I sent the Cosmetics Coordinator, the District Manager, and the Human Resource Specialist of this Shoppers location all an email of concern about the way I was treated and you know what they said?... NOTHING. That’s right. Never got a response!

Please note: Some Shoppers Drugs Marts are independently owned and some are unionized. But I know for a fact, I am not the only employee who has been wrongfully dismissed from this independently owned location.

I feel bullied out of a job. It’s sad when you are alone in this situation, and not even higher authority cares enough to write you back. But, there an upside to this work place abuse. I’m no longer apart of it! I’ve learned it’s very unhealthy to have anxiety or stress about going to work. I can taste my sweet beginning of enjoying life and being a respected employee elsewhere.

If you have been bullied out of a job, or are dealing with being bullied at work - this is not okay. Try and find someone who will listen so you can solve your problem, or even leave me a comment! It's not okay for the kid in the hallway to push you up against your locker and take your lunch money, so why is it okay for your boss to shut down all of your concerns and take your shifts away?

xox Celina

Fancy February

 Greetings earthlings! It is I, Celina, who comes from a whole other planet of make-up and beauty and all things creative.

A lovely gal pal of mine Miss B took a little trip to California and brought me back an amazing book! "Retro Makeup: Techniques for Applying the Vintage Look" by Lauren Rennells. And I will tell you all now, it is the perfect book to have if you are interested in Decade make-up. (I want the hairstyling book too!) 

After reading most of it and skimming through all the amazing pictures, my mind started to think (as ones mind should normally, all though I've met quite a few people who's minds don't).

How come, up until around the 1990's women truly cared about their make-up? Basically what I'm asking is, WHAT HAPPENED?? 

Make-up used to be this incredible precious gem that women would spend hours in front of the mirror putting on ever so gently and precise.

Women would follow fabulous trends. Whether it be rouging their cheeks and earlobes, shaping their brows into the perfect curve, or drawing on fake little lower lashes. It amazes me all of the possibilities and how all of these fads were worn by so many ladies.

The thing is, women used to take the time to look special. Make-up was a necessity and a secret that they kept from men so everyone thought they just woke up looking so incredible.

WHAT HAPPENED?? WHY ARE WOMEN SO LAZY?

Sorry, I started to rant there. But seriously, if you are reading this and you think I am a nut job then you probably should not be a Too Dolly reader... but I ask you, if you don't wear make-up, why don't you wear make-up? And don't give me any crap about how it's bad for you, or you have sensitive skin, or you don't know how to put it on, because I don't believe you. There are so many options it's ridiculous! It's 2012, use google! Or ask me! Use the little comment box below. I will answer your question.

Ladies, for those of you who do wear make-up.. are you stuck in the same old routine make-up day in and day out? Why? Change it up! You don't have to look like Cleopatra, but have a little fun now and then!

Here are a few things I've done in the last week or two to change up my look, just because I can and because I want life to be fun.

PINK MASCARA!! Super fun right! and EASY. 

Hello, I just PUT IT ON LIKE REGULAR MASCARA. Wow. Is your mind blown? 

And guess what? I didn't get it at some crazy expensive secretive make-up shop either! I bought it at WAL-MART for $7!! The brand is called HARD CANDY. Go get it. Wear it. It's cute. And there are many more colours to choose from.

Another look I tried out recently.. warning, it's a little advanced..

1960's inspired! I used pot liner (I used Cobalt Blue from Stila) and an angled eyeliner brush. But you can use whatever liner you want! Just set it with a power! How adorable is this? It really opened up my tiny eyelids too!

After reading my retro book I really wanted to wear my eye make-up like this. Imagine, waking up every morning in the 60's and this was your regular routine.. ohhh a girl can dream..

Please use your imaginations & get fancy. And seriously, leave me a comment if you have a question or want to tell me I am a werido or anything your heart desires. And remember.. Life is too short to look boring!!

xox Celina