Overcast

This shoot was done during the time the Philippine Area of Responsibility was expecting another tropical depression or typhoon. Thankfully, from where we are, the raindrops and cloudy skies were our allies in this shoot that seemed to channel European fashion line's A/W collection. No angry downpours though, just happy drizzlies.

Photo: Christine Day Lorico
Styling: Ian Cartalba

Male Grooming: Thomas and Freddie

Had two shoots last week, this time on male grooming. Yes, boys do wear makeup on photoshoots and special occasions. In my wedding packages, I include groom makeup. Why? Because grooms need to look flawless and shine-free too on their wedding day. 

Here's proof  to you guys that male makeup looks natural. As much as possible, I don't want guys to look like they're wearing makeup. I just want them to look fresh and flawless but not pale. 

photo credits: 

model: Thomas of Elite

photographer: Christine Day Lorico

stylist: Rolee Umali

light design: Michael Yu

makeup: Bambi de la Cruz Makeup Artistry (in other words, MEEEE!!!!) 

And I promise you guys, to the grooms who are reading my blog, I do male makeup really fast. The makeup for the shoot (above) took only 10 minutes, tops. With hair.

And yesterday's shoot with Freddie turned out awesome and fun. The shoot took around two hours. :) I love it!

photo credits:

model: Freddie Abrahams

photographer: Michael Yu

stylist: Rolee Umali

makeup: Bambi de la Cruz Makeup Artistry 

So how are guys in makeup: Make them look like them - just minimize shine and even the skin out. And make them comfortable wearing makeup. :) 

Back In The Grind

Guess what?

I'm shooting again.

After a long hiatus from photoshoots and collaborations, my friends and I had another shoot. Christine asked if I could do a shoot with her and Mike on a Saturday morning. Of course I said yes. I love these two to bits plus I trust their work.

It's all about male makeup here, and they were styled really well. Looking at the photos, they're not your typical mail catalog shoot here in Manila. You think it was done abroad but nope, it was done right here, in a studio in Pasong Tamo.

I love how the outfits are so very wearable.

I did super minimal hair here. The model requested we let his hair be. Of course I obliged.

Slicked back hair and hammered with gel+hair spray reminds us of Leonardo di Caprio's character in Titanic, but we're not in Titanic's era so here we go.

For male makeup it's just simple - clear up the skin, add shape, mattify, look clean, spritz, and go. I only have one rule for male makeup, which I have passed to some of my gigs: No Foundation Day look. :P

Shoots gave me so much energy, and I think that's why I had that much energy that day since it was fueled with shoots. After the shoot, I flew off to an out-of-town trip and back and charged with a massage at Ton Tons. Following that was a random night out with Romina where we cooed at the cats CARA had on display at their event in Greenbelt and then dinner + coffee at Bizu. At this part of the day, I had no pictures at all to show. It was one of those super random and fun moments that I stopped documenting and just relished that moment. My kind of weekend.

credits:

PHOTOS: Michael Sy Yu and Christine Day Lorico

MODELS: Pablo Coelho and Thomas Jonathan Norder

STYLISTS: Kaye Awatin and Rolee Umali

LOCATION: Bulb Studio

Obsession

Just got to posting another shoot I did two months ago

Photo Credits:

Photos: Christine Day Lorico

Accessories and Styling: Dennis Celestial

Models: Francisco Matos and Fatima Gonzales

Makeup and Hair: ME!

till the next collaboration guys! My brushes are forever ready for any shenanigan

Spikes, Bodysuits, Bling, and Bang!

I was watching Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 when my phone rang in the middle of a very intense scene (I'm sorry guys! I really forget to put my phone on silent!) After putting my phone in silent then texting that I'll be on conversation after the movie, it was my awesomest Dennis asking me if I would like to do a shoot with him with Christine as a photographer. I love Dennis a lot and I know I'm in for a really fabulous shoot so I said yes.

The day of the shoot, I met up with Christine first and we went to the venue after my Wendy's to go. Our model for the day is Fatima, one of Dennis's close friends and actually, I did her makeup 3 years ago. She looks really great now, very happy, content, and confident. It was very easy to transform her into the ravishing beauty Dennis wanted.

Dennis's accessories are beyond my wildest imagination, like this skull ring with a spike on top. If it were an engagement ring, it would perfectly say "Till death do us part"

Dazzling bodysuit with jewels and baubles.

Fatima's gotten really good with posing. Her lines are amazing, it's really cool because in my first ever shoot with her, she was very shy and timid. She knows now her angles and what works for her. She's also super prepared. When I left the house, I forgot my dramatic falsies for the smoky eyes for her, and brought my wispy bridal falsies instead. Good thing she has a stock too at home, cut to her eye shape.

Preserving the color in this photo, here's how my makeup looked on her. She bears resemblance to two very famous beauty queens, and you could guess who.

Dennis is a bundle of energy on his own, and he does kid around in shoots, making me giggle every so often but when it's time to work, he's very serious, passionate, and hands-on, making sure that everything is not just alright, but perfect.

The shoot ended when the sun decided to dip down the horizon. After packing up, it was a lot of more catching up with everyone without me hurling into laughter every so often. I really love working with fabulous and talented people. They give me such positive energy, especially needed for me to be inspired.

My Hairflip Moment

Christine did a double whammy text the other day. First she posted the postnup pictures of Bryan and Ethel and plus she posts this on her wall. This lovely, lovely picture:

That photo was one of our many many shoots. And whaddya know, it was bought by a company to be a book cover of an Elizabeth McGregor book. The book cover there is the French version of the book, so anyone in France, that's our work out there! You could see that photo from our collaboration here, if you're a friend of Christine's in Facebook.

model: natasha chystsiakova

photographer: Christine Day Lorico

Ethel and Bryan Postnup shoot

"BAMBIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That would have to be Christine when I answered her call on a Sunday night as I was trying to digest the orange chicken lauriat from Chowking walking from Chowking Fort to Burgos Circle.

"Yes Christine?" I asked her in between sips of hot tea to un-distend my full-to-the-brim stomach.

She reminded me that our scheduled post-nup shoot would be the following day and hopefully it hasn't gotten out of my system that we had a shoot scheduled that day. "I'm all yours that morning!" I told her. "I just have pole class at 5 pm after." She said we would be done by that time, with the number of layouts already planned and how fast she shoots.

We met at our usual place to meet (Shell McKinley). The location would be at the couple's house in QC, and it would be near the epic Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon Ave. We had a map already with us just to be sure, but since maps do not tell one-ways and all, I whipped out the directions to Quezon Ave from my phone. Beyond going to Quezon Ave, I'm lost.

Sto. Domingo Church was on the other side of Quezon Ave, the one going to Manila, and how to get there I didn't know, since I'm more familiar with the one going to UP Diliman. Thankfully, Christine spotted a U-turn to that side to Quezon Ave, and sure from that point, the map was our guide.

When we got to the place, Christine fell in love with the location as it was a quaint old-school compound with lots of areas that she sure could play around with. We didn't even have to go out and guerilla-shoot on the street.

We met the couple, Ethel and Bryan who shared us their story in between makeup, hair, and yummy trail mix. Ethel and Bryan have been married already for one year (hence this is why it's called a post-nup shoot). Bryan is based abroad working in the US and Ethel is currently teaching at a university. They only get to see each other once a year, but as Ethel says, it's love and commitment and they already had in their minds that the long distance is only temporary and they'll be together soon. I'm glad Bryan was game for a post-nup pictorial.

Ethel was absolutely cute and Tin, Aisa, and I felt like we were playing dress-up with a life-size Barbie doll. She really looks like a doll and I was all giggly with this set-up.

This set-up was inspired by our Tinsel Rose photoshoot last December with our dual-role model Kate. Need a refresher? Click here and here. The theme was a special request by Ethel.

Looks like Bryan's searching for something here.

I found a pretty fairy!

When Ethel smiles, it's not just her face that lights up. EVERYTHING lights up. Aisa is such an amazing stylist, with how she plays up color and texture into something playful, pretty, and wearable. She and Tin complement each other with their own tastes as well.

By this time, Ethel's curls have flattened out from humidity and external elements so I just brushed it out to this cute flipout. I love pastel pink lips since they pop out really well on cam.

Just a little tidbit, I did see Ethel and Bryan before, but not in person. Their wedding photo was in the front page of the We Heart Weddings site a year ago. You could click on my entry on it here. It was a fun, fun, fun shoot with these guys and I hope to see them again in the near future.

Credits:

Couple: Ethel and Bryan

Photography: Christine Day Lorico

Stylist: Aisa Ipac

Makeup: Bambi de la Cruz Makeup Artistry using traditional method.

Summery Bridal Shoot

June may be the default season for bridals and all, but for some reason, avoiding another heaven forbid flood or typhoon, brides have moved their wedding dates to summer where our only enemy is the scorching sun and traffic is relatively less than say a December wedding. Well, technically June is sorta summer-like as well as the showers start pouring in July. Anyway, praying for sunny wedding days to all my brides and (future) brides this year and in the future as I journey on to wedding makeup, here are the results from our bridal shoot a few weeks ago:

I told you guys, Karina looks very much like Nicole!

We did makeup here using the traditional method, since the very outdoorsy location didn't have outlets for hair equipment or for my airbrush compressor, but I used long-lasting products so her makeup withstands makeup meltdown. I experimented on using pewters and plums as well on her too, so I get to have more color palettes for brides.

credits:

Model: Karina Cabiling

Photographer: Christine Day Lorico

Gowns: Jazel Sy

Casting: Yeoh Egwaras

Blogged! Thank You Vatel Manila!

When I got home, I did the routine account checks and one of them was logging in Facebook. While at it, I saw our client Jeff tag me in a link and what a pleasant surprise, our prenup shoot from Subic was blogged in Vatel Manila! By the way, Jeff and his lovely Eds recently got married last month so a big congratulations to them!

Vatel Manila is a wedding florist and you could click on their website to see all their fabulous floral arrangements that you could use on your wedding day or special event, it's up to you. They even do amazing black calla lilies! Yes! black flowers! Not as scary as you think, mind you. They actually look elegant and fabulous. I think Vatel was Eds's and Jeff's florist for their wedding.

I like what they said that it was an exciting shoot at more far-flung places! :) It was really exciting! Imagine the places where we were able to shoot there - so many textures and colors. The picture above was near lighthouse hotel. I am so thinking

Pearl Harbor here.

more shots! more shots! Eds looks so pretty in the third shot! This was before the strong Subic Bay sea wind blowed her curls away so I had to straighten it by the time the old-school fair layout came.

Yay to the credits (if you click on the picture).

Big hugs to my lovie teammates Christine, Aisa, and Mich, our happy (now) newlyweds, and of course, Vatel Manila for featuring us. I hope I get to work with all of you soon again and again and again!

Bridal Shoot BTS

It was an early start for me yesterday for a photoshoot in the morning and a client call in the afternoon. Fortunately, they were within the area anyway. The day for me started by getting to Santana Grove in Sucat to meet up with Christine and our model Karina for a bridal-inspired shoot. I got to the area first since I took SLEX, with the southbound lane faster since everyone's going north to work. While at it, I waited for Christine and Karina with a second breakfast of Chowking hot noodle soup and chicharap.

As soon as we all met up, Christine drove us to BF Paranaque for the shoot, where she did a little set-up of the venue so we could do makeup as she fixes the necessary permits. We were going to shoot bridal gown shoots today in ethereal and whimsical settings, so the one thing I had in mind was of course, bridal makeup.

Christine brought tables, chairs, and furniture as props too, but while at it, the furniture doubled as a makeshift outdoor makeup "room", throwing in my tambak.

Christine's tinted car functions as storage room/dressing room for Karina.

I spotted cute goats while shooting too. :)

For her makeup, I did a very warm palette first, my trademark bridal look inspired by Karina's golden color. Christine just said to let her hair loose since it was going to be outdoors.

She does look like Nicole Scherzinger right? This look I chose for the gowns with a clean palette, or those who want a natural no makeup look on their wedding.

The thing she's actually holding is a bag.

Look! The dress has a mini-version!

It's my third time to shoot here actually, the first one it was a hot summer day. It's a good thing that it was a warm windy day, so Karina's makeup hardly melted and the lash glue gripped on the lashline amazingly well. The location, Tropical Ruins used to be a resort hotel that burned down years ago but the place has got so much character it's been used for photoshoots and all. Would you believe delivery services could actually find the area and there was a time that KFC delivered here? How cool is that?

The second look was a sample of how I could do a smoky eye on a bride, since there are some brides that request for smoky eyes, especially those who are going to have a nighttime wedding. Smoky eyes are possible in the wedding day, but it all depends too on the time and theme of the wedding.

This time, I had to let go of the comfy chair since Christine would be using it to shoot the third layout. While at it, though I played bodyguard to Christine's camera bag.

I had to guard it with my life or die. Anyway, among the roster of furniture Christine got was a humongous antique harp, which we were supposed to use for another layout but we ran out of time since Karina and I had already appointments. But the harp was too cute so I wanted a picture with it.

Not wearing makeup today, hah. Thank you shadow of the big tree! The FitFlops I've been wearing have really lessened my back pains and are perfect for climbing uphill. I'll post the complete credits when the pictures are up. :)

Three Hours To Subic For a Prenup

Christine, Aisa, Mich and I unite again for another project last week. Got to posting this now since Christine and I were working on a catalog shoot this week and I grab pictures from Aisa since I didn't bring my camera that day. Where was the location for our shoot... travel Northbound and Stations of the Cross of tollgates to the lovely place of Subic.

I was at Subic a few months ago for a print ad shoot, which I have yet to blog about but at that time, it was the crack of dawn while travelling. Since I live at a business district, Christine told me she would pick me up at Shell McKinley at 6 am. There was horrible dawn traffic at SLEX so as soon as Christine saw my shadow, I hopped in her car and zoomed EDSA to NLEX only stopping to grab food at KFC NLEX while speeding to Subic i

n 140 kph.

We met up Aisa and Mich at Subic. They were already with our clients, Eds and Jeff. We'd be doing a prenup shoot since they're getting married in a few weeks. Since we're masters of improv, without the presence of a studio and shooting on location, here's what we used to improvise a studio and dressing room:

Converted a little table in Starbucks to a make-up station. while the trunks of Christine's and Jeff's cars were used as storages.

That's us taking directions from Christine as she lays out the storyboard... or that's what the picture says.

Touching up on Eds' strays and smears. The heat was beating literally on my back I had to shield my hair and my eyes too.

Awwww layout pre the pre-sunset, because come sunset we were at the last location, an old-school type of fair. I'm glad the guard allowed us to use their location and promise, it worked! He was even nice enough to take our group picture. All of these pictures are from Aisa's blog post.

Fun day! Great job you guys!