Bambi Got Fritzified

When my good friend (and fellow blogger) Fritz decided to pursue his dream as a photographer, I was in full out support. I've followed his blogs and seen his photos and noticed that he has an eye for color, light, and most especially, art. That's why when he took his natural talent to the next level, I really got excited for him. When he asked me to be his model in one of his practice shoots, it was a big yes!!!! Actually to be honest, I was raising my hand and volunteering already before he even asked. Heehee.

Fritz is not the usual blindly point-and-shoot photographer or just an average Joe with a camera and then clicks away 100 shots per minute and goes, "Pwede na yan!" or relies solely on photo-editing. He studies a concept, tries to see how we could execute it and make it our own, and sits down and talks to you as to how he exactly wants it done and lists them on paper or Powerpoint presentation.

Oh and speaking of crew, it was a team of two in our shoot here, no big crowds or huge teams. We brought our own outfits (No pullouts, take note) in our own suitcases. I did my own hair and makeup, and he did the styling, art direction, photography, and arranged his own lights. But I have to say, we did rock the shoot as I share three of some of our favorite shots.

And speaking of rock, here's a very biker chick inspired rockerish peg where I pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail. It was like I raided Fritz's closet here practically as he lent me his pants, shoes (love those Aldo boots mehn, they're like air), shades, and bag for this shot. As for the bra, that's obviously mine, A 200-peso black bra I sewed beads to.

The pants were a tad tight. Either Fritz is really skinny or I have been doing too many squats and lunges. I was about to freak out and say to the world, "DOESTHISMEANIMFAT????" But they did fit me well. Note: Must look at the men's department for awesome jeans. And the abs, I'm proud to say are real as a result of intense pole dance training and not eating junk for the weekend.

Prior to this shoot, I watched the James Bond movie with Grace Jones in it and I was so blown away by the bad Bond girl peg of the one-piece body suit peg. The high-cut of Grace Jones was a bit too much though, so I turned my 80-ish French cut bodysuit into something more conservative with boylegs. Lie down on them speakers and emote and PAK! From Bond villain, here's my love for music and dance.

That cuff was bought on sale and Fritz chose the cuff for me. Love how he understands and knows what things go well together and he made sure that no lock was straying and each crease was smoothed.

Bling it is as I pull my hair back again and let the accessories and bodysuit take place. My epic wedding headpiece goes with a bejeweled bodysuit in this fab headshot. The designer behind the outfit is my good friend Dennis Celestial. I love how the red pops out. It's currently my Facebook profile photo and I'm getting lotsa likes.

photo credits:
photography, styling, lights, and art direction: Fritz Tentativa
makeup, hair, and model: ME!
location: Bulb Studios

Fritz and I had so much fun in this shoot. Take note that I haven't been in front of the camera for quite some time like this but I loved how looking at the pictures, it looks like I had no rest era. Fritz made me feel very much comfortable and brought out all the best angles and assets. Afterwards, he gave me a bit of coaching as to how to improve next time with regards to modelling and what strengths to consider.

Thanks Fritz for a fabulous afternoon and looking forward for more shoots and shenanigans.

Woooootttt! Landing on DPP Magazine.

With the year as young as a newborn baby, I always make it a point to insert a bit of work in the first few days of the year. For me it brings good karma. I dunno why, but it sorta does.

Anyhow, remember my first shoot for the year? I saw in Facebook that one of them landed in DPP magazine. :) That's me on the lower right corner sweeties!
Thanks to Aly Reyes, a photographer met at Manny Librodo's workshop last January. Two of his pictures ended up at the latest issue of Digital Photographer Philippines Magazine (look for issue #32!)

Here's the portrait:The Sleeping Beauty inspired shot is one of my favorites, in fact. And I got a lot of good comments with this photo. Thanks to Manny Librodo for inviting me to his workshop and Aly Reyes for this shot. :) I wanna hang this in my wall now.

Captured By The Illuminati

Met also the Illuminati photographers, who also took shots of us. :) I get to wear a dress this time with my own accessories.

These shots were taken by Jong Clemente using available light. I love how the red necklace popped and so did my red lips. I made that necklace, by the way.

Marinel Locsin takes a monotone approach with lots of drama


Till the next shoot, you guys!

Feature photos taken by Marinel Locsin and Jong Clemente

Models: Philip Rudge Arca and Bambi de la Cruz

Black Dress: Isabel Ridon

Necklace and Makeup: Bambi de la Cruz

Year-Ender Shoot

Last Sunday, I was called to model and do makeup for a shoot. Without batting an eyelash, I was like, "Give me an hour to pack my stuff" I pulled out several dresses and a pair of heels from my closet and packed a makeup kit full of essentials before I dashed away, with my wet hair back and face hidden behind a pair of shades.

It was my shoot after the Holiday rest, where I spent the Holidays resting and gaining the weight I lost. After a week, I wanted to get back to work right away, and I mean shooting and modelling. What did you know, I did both today and I had a shoot with Manny Librodo, who I previously worked with Josa Quintas.

He and Melai picked me up in Starbucks near my place and we headed off to LGV. There's also another model by the way, and that's Rudge! We called him that day to join us, so there would be two of us to be shot by Manny. Last time I saw Rudge was earlier this year, after my stint as guest MuA at MAC and after his trip to Thailand. I was glad Rudge agreed at last minute, and we really did a lot of catching up.

I did makeup on me at the car to save time. So when we got to the location, all I had to do was do makeup on Rudge and attach my falsies. Rudge really looked amazing so makeup on him was quick and breezy. So what were the pegs? Well whaddya know... we went sexy this time. Very. very sexy. We were at ease with each other, having worked with each other countless times. We both have no qualms about going sexy in pictures as for us, it's work and we're both artists. Besides, working with Manny is an absolute pleasure. I love his treatments and he made these sexy pictures look tasteful. :)

This photo looks like an adventure movie poster. Plus it shows how thin I've become already.

The group picture also shows the people I've met in the shoot. I've worked with Melai with Manny before but I finally meet the Illuminati photographers, who I've only met in Facebook and now I get to meet them in person. :D I also met Ricky Ladia, who taught Manny how to do strobes.

Another little trivia, Rudge was the first model I've worked with this year, and the last one I've worked with for 2009. :) Isn't it cool? The shoot was really fun and with the good vibes, it was a definite success! Also, I love working with real artists who are professional with open minds and creative ideas. :)

Photo Credits:

• Models: Philip Rudge Arca and Bambi de la Cruz
• Photographer: Manny Librodo
• Makeup: Bambi de la Cruz

The Corner Room

Photographer Christine Day Lorico delivers another spectacular rendition of her fashion photos with me as the willing guinea pig. This is my super utang shot to her as I promised I'd get in front of her camera but schedules didn't permit it. To think I live quite close to her. I always hang out in BF Paranaque with ruins being one of my fave spots and also the fact that I just hop and step and I'm at BoNa already.

This shot was done in less than 3 hours. I also had her shoot my statement necklaces, and she did so wonderfully. They look like magazine spreads here.

Smoky eyes were plum and blue and more on black and I made strong contours and braved heavy lashes. The lips were kept neutral and pale, and the peg here is very grungey but sexy, something that I haven't done before. I was having a slight bloat case there so I made sure I prepared for that shoot with pilates and yoga to keep lean. But I did drink the week before and pigged out at Gloria Maris. hahaha. Food. :D

Photo Credits:

Photographer and Stylist: Christine Day Lorico

Makeup Artist and Model: Bambi de la Cruz.

Window Lass

Remember my fun MAC Morning? Well, that afternoon, I had a few shots taken by my friend Andy and here are some of the pictures

Click for a larger version and up-close sight on the face. Andy's style is very candid and unique, and he captures each frame and creates a story with his shots. He's also a very good videographer and he documents everyday life and our shoots with video. When I asked him what software he uses to edit, he smiles and tells me it's Windows Movie Maker and not high-end software, yet his works are at par with international pegs.

I love how natural the mood is - natural light, natural mood, free, and living instead of pose-y. He tells me his favorite set consists of a good source of natural light, a bed, and a window. Simple but high impact.

Photo credits:

• Model: Bambi de la Cruz
• Photographer: Andrian Jutba
• Makeup: Jarwin Manosa of MAC

Oriental Beauty

This shoot depicts and celebrated the beauty of an Asian woman. I was invited to do makeup for a shoot done by Italian photographer Massimiliano Cori. He wanted the Asian woman to still look like an Asian woman - enhancing her natural beauty, her skin still the same, and her eyes keeping their natural shape. His requirement: there should be no separation of the skin and makeup. Powder should not look like powder but like part of the skin. I believe in that same concept. In beauty shots, I keep foundation light and do my tricks to make the skin look dewy instead of buried in pounds of makeup.

Here's the first model, Ann. Ann has lovely, morena skin so I chose a light foundation to match her skin tone and dusted her face with loose powder to set. I used golds and browns for her eyes plus matching sheer lipstick with a lick of gold gloss for her lips.

Jonil has very oriental features, she reminds me of Lucy Liu in this picture. She has been modelling for so long already, so the camera just adores her. Red lips were the focus of her face.

That's me, as the third model. Here, I used lilacs and pinks for my makeup and defined my brows (swear, I really need brows). Notice how I didn't enlarge my eyes and kept them as they are. and just enhanced them with little eyeliner. No falsies were used. For my hair, when I asked how my hair was supposed to be styled, they told me to leave it as it is.

I love how clean the pictures look. There was little photoshop done, just a few color adjustments, hence the texture. It actually looks like a skin campaign.

Photo Credits:

Models: Ann Casas, Jonil Benitez, and Bambi de la Cruz

Photographer: Massimiliano Cori

Makeup: Bambi dela Cruz.

Special thanks to Mr. Lon Liwen for this opportunity.

Sunday Fun @ The Mantra Studio

Mike and I had a shoot scheduled yesterday. As I just packed for the shoot early morning since I came home late the night before, Mike called me and told me that there was gonna be a change of plans - I'll be modelling too. Stomach flu and cramps do not stop me so I got another bag where I packed a pair of jeans and two pairs of heels plus my bag of modelling essentials and met up with Mike at Pancake house in Greenbelt and then went to his studio. We had 4 layouts with two photographers and finished in 3 hours.

This shot I like coz it made me look taller.

All photos by Mike Yu of Mantra Photography

Makeupbybambi Meets Gerswin Qua

Wednesday was just so much fun for me. I had a shoot with my friend, Bugsy. Apparently, his designer friend, Gerswin Qua needed to have headshots done so he chose us to do his headshot (Bugsy being the photographer and me being the makeup artist).

Bugsy has been shooting his creations for almost a year now and it was Gerswin's clothes that I modelled when I started modelling. His clothes are known for their intricate designs, beading, and details and they've been featured at last year's Fashion Week and celebrities have worn them too. So imagine my excitement when I'm about to meet him in person!

That's me and Gerswin as I did my retouching. That's just simple clean male makeup with a little definition on the eyebrows. He's really nice in person and even chatted with me while I did the makeup so I felt at ease.

And not only did I do his makeup, I also modelled his new dress

This is just a raw file, meaning unedited but the details are just exquisite. I love the dress. I actually lost weight and got into top shape to be able to fit :). I went for simple hair and makeup here to showcase the dress. One thing I like about it is that it made me look taller.

Thanks Bugsy for this photo and thanks to Gerswin for making me wear his clothes again! :) It was great meeting him in person and he's sure one person I'd love to work and collaborate with again.

Look What I Found

I'm kinda guilty of one of those people who google their names and see what's up. Hahaha. anyway, I googled my name again and guess what I found? I saw links to this blog, my multiply site, my dotcom site (in construction), and credits from Model Mayhem, Deviant Art, and various model/photographer portfolios. Whew! Clean slate. Anyways, I found this picture too and I shared it to Erika:




Photo Credits:
Photography: Bugsy Jimenez
Models: Bambi de la Cruz and Erika Maguad
Makeup (Bambi): Apple Mae Casumpang
Makeup (Erika): Egay Dacay
Hair: Egay Dacay
Barong Gowns: Mike Llavarez

I remember this was our ever-first shoot. The only one I knew there was Paelo, who texted me the weekend before if I could join the shoot. This was also the time I modelled after he made tampo to me that I modelled for Stan but not him and after coaxing I finally gave in. That shoot must've been my good luck charm because I've been modelling since then. In this shoot, I couldn't model yet. :P

Anyway, that was the day I met a whole lot of people who later on became my good friends, especially Erika. We hardly had much contact that time, save for this series and to put on her lashes. The first time I saw her was her series of modelling with Ate Nina.

Fast forward to almost a year, she's one of my closest friends, my constant blogging event date, and my Krispy Kreme eating butty-buddy.

Hugsy butty! >:D< Miss u! Let's eat Krispy Kremes again.

Maskara

This is my take on I Love Saturdays.....because it's photoshoot day!

Marc created his magic again on me. This was actually a test shot for his lights but it turned out so well. If you find that dress familiar... it made its first appearance at the Pantene Dare to Get Wet Presscon.

Here I pay tribute to my first love... the stage, since I was very active in theater in high school (and I really miss it). Marc was able to simulate dramatic lighting, which reminded me of the playbills in Broadway magazines. I love the mask too. I'm kinda reminded of the Phantom of the Opera scenes.

Love the picture. Love the mystery!

Checker girl

When I was still studying makeup in CAS, we were asked to color face charts in one seatwork. I designed a checker-pattern look that I wanted to recreate once I sourced the right materials. Last Saturday's shoot, I was able to do so, and Lauren was the canvas.

by Marc Yu.

By Shed Chua

First time do do face/bodypaint and it was really fun and exciting. Lauren was really game to do posing. Had to use my Kryolan palette as a makeshift rule. Also, it was my first time to use 3 falsies and put falsies on the bottom lashline. Lauren also was a sport posing for me.

I discovered how I like the Snazaroo brand of face paint better as it's water-based. It moves around easily as well and it's easier to blend. Plus, it washes out rather easily.

Review coming up!

Pinup Girl Look

I had so much fun at the photoshoot last Monday by Stanley Ong, one of my favorite photographers and one of the most-loved in the industry. So, I just want to share these pictures:

I've got the Dita Von Teese thing in me that made me fascinated with vintage anything, hence my inspiration for this shoot. I've always wanted the pinup girl look on me, even I've accepted that my upper body prevents me from donning bikini shots unless I've got a whole box of Kleenex. My love for Vintage is practiced right now, as I'm window-shopping for vintage bags on Ebay.








It does not have to mean baring a lot of skin. Just be confident and have fun! I did the makeup here, using Sally Hansen Airbrush Makeup Foundation as foundation, which did not melt. It has a matte finish, so it's perfect for vintage look. And the falsies! I just found out how heavy they are! I've never worn falsies that thick. But I laaaahv the effect.

The glow on the legs? Shimmer lotion+shimmer powder as highlight and really good lighting. :)

Shoots are fun aren't they?