Im feeling the post wedding bliss of my bride! =) Congratulations Kristine and Jimmy! Many blessings and babies your way!

Thank you DEI people and the beautiful models for a wonderful shoot =)

Beauty from a young girl's eyes

The past few weeks have been busy for me on a personal note. My daughter had her first confession and first communion last week. It was an overwhelming feeling pala. Im sure the other moms felt the same way as attested by some of the mom friends I have who shared the same sentiments with me. =)  For some reason yesterday, I happened to end up hearing mass (for immaculate conception) and having confession at my daughter's school. I suppose it wasnt coincidental because I brought home with me a very valuable reminder and lesson. 

The priest during the homily told of his conversation with a young student who approached him and told him that she was sad. Sad because she wasnt "hot". What do you mean she's not "hot" goes the priest. (And I go 'what the heck?? silently in my seat! ) And I'm glad with little more explanation the priest finally understood what she meant.  And she goes with a wishy washy explanation of how she fails in the looks categories and how she doesnt meet up with the current look standards etc etc. Im sure you can imagine how this conversation somehow went.  Im glad the priest had been able to make 'hot' seem uncool.  He was right to emphasize that beauty is truly from within. That what matters at the end of the day is that your heart is clean and beautiful, warm and yes, hot. The priest was right to remind the girls that they dont have to change anything about themselves physically in order to conform- that they are beautiful as they are, that they are perfectly all right, that they can dress simply and still be pretty. The important thing is to be clean and beautiful from within and it will surely emanate and radiate to others.

It was an eye opener for me, especially from the perspective of my profession,  because day in day out, we simply forget. We neglect to realize that so many of today's commercialism is aimed at remolding people's standards of beauty and goodness and it affects people of all ages, races and faces.  So much so that even young kids, bless their tender hearts, start to measure themselves and account themselves as failures in the looks department. So much so that they have to look a certain way, dress a certain way to be acceptable or to feel accepted. There is our direct and indirect contribution to these so called measures and standards that hover over all of us.

In this line where we encounter people who silently or openly bank on your capability to magically transform them, sometimes, you cant help but question whether it requires purely a skill to make it happen. Because at the end of every encounter with a client, it becomes equally intrinsic to possess confidence to radiate it out. A confidence that can only come with the right set of beauty standards  and mindset to begin with.

I suppose as a makeup artist, what I realize to be more important for me now more than ever is that people end up feeling beautiful from within, beyond borders, definitions and standards. That my skill and my make up becomes an enhancer rather than a mask, or worse, a step to meeting up with worldly standards and expectations.  At the end of the day, if I can make someone feel beautiful despite of and without the makeup frills, I would've made my little difference.

And that little difference could perhaps one day make up for the right definition of beauty from a young girl's eyes.

Just for FYI,I will be taking a little over a month sabbatical. I'll be back with an updated site by then. For any inquiries or concerns, you may email me through TMroxas@gmail.com. Thanks =)

Kindness is always...always an option, no matter how difficult or how people can make it close to impossible. No matter what you are at the receiving end of, you are responsible for how you choose to respond. Choose wisely. =) Have a good week to start with. My cousin in here from San Francisco..it will be a busy August. =)

Lets offer moments of prayer, silence and intentions for the eternal repose of the soul of Pres. Cory Aquino. Her passing though brings us momentary grief and sadness is a gain for heaven where she will continue to watch over our country. She died on the feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and at the precise hour of Jesus Divine Mercy's resurrection (3am) and mercy (3pm)- truly it is a gift, a grace and a manifestation of how overwhelmingly good and faithful our God is to His promises to all who trust and entrust their lives to Him.

Unwrapping Spontaneity

(This is one of my online notes for my daughters Gaby and Mishka which I keep under gabandmish.multiply.com ....)

If there were words I could use to describe myself, the way I know me- that would be close along the lines of ‘custom built, predictable, safe, moderate risk taker, transparent’. I’m sure you girls would have a different impression of mommy, to my comic relief.

It took over 30 years for me to find myself beguiled by the fact that I could learn to be spontaneous and unlearn the tempo I’ve grown so accustomed to. Daring that decision to pursue artistic make up after all these years of interest and hesitancy, I feel this to be one step I will look back on with self discovery, happiness and not one ounce of regret. Not only have I found myself and my creative whims incrementally advancing, I found ‘a place’ for me.

I enjoy showing and rediscovering the beauty in people. And in discovering them, it was a surprise to discover what there is still of me to give. Makeup after all should not be kept superficial. It should be a means to show, if not to re-illuminate, the real beauty that we are born with. The only limitation would be the limits you set to your definition of what is beautiful. I realize now that beauty is an equation. It embraces what’s inside and what’s on the outside, preferably in equal proportion. It’s not just about what I, or any other artist would decide to do with a blank palette of a face. It banks on what is inside the person that will be drawn out. Most makeup artists say they can only do so much when confronted by an atypical beauty. I suppose that accounts to facial features, proportions, marks, contours and imperfections, all of which impose a challenge or a bonus. I suppose that’s part truth especially when you are confined to creating a look. Thats where skill, models and photoshop all merge into the picture.

As for the rest and the majority? What I’ve personally discovered in both the short and long of it, is that over and beyond the physical side of the equation, not even the greatest primer or foundation can conceal what is inside a person or mask what they truly feel. We can make people look close to pretty but not make them glow. At the end of a day or a look, the real challenge is half about what the makeup artist is capable of achieving. The rest relies on that inner glow. And that my mijas, can only thrive on goodness, kindness and a clean heart, among many other positively illuminating features.

I’ve had years where I literally banked on my make up to make or break my mood for the day, to carry me through the day and mask my fear, my insecurity, my inhibition, my self doubt. I totally missed out on the part where I learned I cant give what I don’t have.... I missed out on the part of the equation that accounts for that glow that defies the superficial look. This time, I know a little bit better.

My love affair with makeup began so long ago, I remember one aunt from the US who composed a nice tune about meeting a 5 year old me all donned with Mamita’s make up and heels. To retell you that story would be nice one day. Let me give you a glimpse not so much of the journey or ending, but the beginning in advance. The beginning which started pretty much thirty years after...

My Makeup Musings

Finally after months of planning, I've resolutely created this blog to share my makeup musings and my progressing adventures in a 'career' Ive long postponed pursuing. Almost all 'girls' can relate, if not, connect and agree on some absolute and sheer love and passion for makeup. I know I have...having encountered a handful of some of the wonderful hands this industry has to show for. I will remain grateful to them for teaching me, many times imparting skills and techniques and selflessly offering opportunities. I will most especially remember the kindest gestures and words that have shown their confidence in what I have to offer.

Here's to my much awaited beginning and the promise of finding absolute radiance in people.