Beauty | Blanche Macdonald Centre Blog

Empire State of Mind

March 9th, 2011 / Posted by natasha

While the rest of us wish we could have visited NYC for Fashion Week, we’ll just have to live vicariously through the photos of those lucky enough to have been there in person. Fortunately, a few Blanche Macdonald grads and instructors were able to take a few bites from the Big Apple and they’ve been kind enough to share some fun pics to satisfy our travel cravings!

Remember our incredibly talented makeup grads Sladja Markovic and Sherry Chen who battled it out back in November and became the only Canadian official 2011 Sephora PRO Beauty Artists? Well, they’ve been jetting in and out of Canada ever since! Amongst the whirlwind of fun and excitement, these beauty experts bundled up and showcased their talents at New York Fashion Week!! But, of course, not without a little bit of sight seeing, shopping and great eats. One of the judges from the competition, Beauty Editor Emily Dougherty of ELLE Magazine, even invited the Sephora Pros to tour ELLE’s headquarters, which included a visit to their “beauty closet” which pretty much consisted of jaw-dropping wall to wall shelves of the latest beauty products. If two Sephora Pros were in awe, how amazing must it be for the rest of us?

In between, the Pro team trained at the LVMH Headquarters and learned how to mix mediums at the Make Up For Ever Academy. Fun stuff. Extending the eyebrows in both directions (as you can see in the bottom right beauty shot) is one of the next trends in the makeup scene. And as for NYFW, our girls were in arms reach of many celebs and had an amazing time hanging out and working with their Sephora PRO team members backstage for the Edun, Charlotte Ronson, Dennis Basso and Cynthia Steffe runways!

Plus, Blanche Macdonald’s Esthetics Goddess, Barb B, won a trip to New York City (lucky lady!!!) and took our brilliant Fashion Queen Peggy with her! For walking fashion encyclopedias like Peggy, no trip to NYC could be complete without hitting up some the shops of some of the world’s most respected fashion labels. Gotta love how fun they are! Bright, whimsical balloons at Lanvin, tons of hearts on the doors and light fixtures of Moschino (feel the love!), gorgeous flower headed mannequins at Stella McCartney (the dark purple one is Iris!), a fun red stairway right next to the Opening Ceremony shop (which is probably the most welcoming flight of steps ever!) and butterflies at McQueen’s! Click to see full story »

Tags: Backstage Makeup, BMC Staff, Fashion Week, Makeup Grad, New York, Sephora PRO Team
Posted in Beauty, Blanche Overseas, Our Students and Grads | No Comments »

The Bigger The Better

October 14th, 2010 / Posted by natasha

Every once in a while, our PRO hair students pull out every single crimping iron and can of hairspray within a ten-kilometre radius and play “let’s see who can build the highest, frizziest hair” for TV & Film 80′s hair day!!Check out that ‘stache……. bad perms, spiral hair, mullets, teased bangs, posing with Wonder Bread… did ya happen to see my neon scrunchie amongst all those gargantuan hairdos?? Blanche Macdonald of ’86 anyone? hahaha love it!! Thanks for the sweet decade pics, Marcy!

Tags: 80's Hair, Hairdo, Marcy Hodel, PRO Hair, TV & Film
Posted in Beauty, Campus Life, Our Students and Grads | No Comments »

The 2011 Sephora PRO Beauty Team

October 12th, 2010 / Posted by natasha

If you haven’t heard already from our Facebook page, then we have some awesome news for you….. Huge congrats to not one, but two of our Makeup grads, Sladja Markovic and Sherry Chen for making it onto the 2011 Sephora Pro Beauty Team!!

The SEPHORA Pro Beauty Team: You know that friend who always looks glam, has drool-worthy makeup, and gives you the best beauty tips ever? Now imagine 14 friends like that – and you’ve got the Sephora Pro Beauty Team. These makeup idols know everything there is to know about getting gorgeous, and they’re always ready to dish up pro secrets.Meet our girls, Sherry and Sladja! If you ever get a chance to meet them in person, they’re so fantastic and outgoing and their passion for makeup literally radiates for miles on end. They both paid us a lovely visit to tell us about their life-changing experiences. After beating out 191 contestants who competed in San Francisco, New York, Houston, and Salt Lake City for the second round, Sherry and Sladja, along with 26 others, were off to an intense five-day final competition in Las Vegas. At the end, only 14 were chosen as the best of the best artists to represent Sephora for 2011!

For the competition, they had to complete two challenges: media and makeup.
Click to see full story »

Tags: BMC Makeup Grad, Competition, Sephora PRO Team, Winner
Posted in Beauty, Makeup, Media + Press, Our Students and Grads | 3 Comments »

Blanche Overseas Love

October 5th, 2010 / Posted by natasha

We had tons of fun and laughs hanging out with Japanese students from the KTC Highschools who were studying at iTTTi Vancouver for a couple of weeks! For three Mondays, we hosted an interactive International Presentation Event at our Uptown City Square campus. After a presentation (in Japanese) by the lovely Cheryl and Cody followed by a short campus tour, the students hopped from station to station where a handful of Blanche’s own star students and grads gave interactive makeup demonstrations!

In the bridal and fashion studio, Leah explains how to create a beautiful bridal look and paints some bright hot lips!Watching Andrea’s intense and sexy smokey-eye red carpet makeup demonstration on model Halston! Now, off to the the special effects and airbrushing room!
Lyren expertly paints on numerous realistic gore on the students. Where did his finger go?!
Click to see full story »

Tags: BMC Makeup Grad, City Square Campus, International, Japanese Students, Makeup Demo, Makeup Presentation
Posted in Beauty, Blanche Overseas, Campus Life, Our Students and Grads | No Comments »

Welcome to Our Cosmetic Kitchen

September 28th, 2010 / Posted by natasha

Our Esthetics students were whipping up a bunch of deliciously invigorating head-to-toe body masks in the other room and invited me to hang out with them… and the next thing I knew, I was right in there, smelling all of their concoctions and watching them slather their creations on each other! One side of the room literally looked like I’d dumped all the contents of my refrigerator and pantry out onto a giant metal table alongside a couple of blenders and mini whisks…
Oats, honey, yogurt, sugar, cocoa powder, coconut milk, extra virgin olive oil, ginseng, and tons of fruits and vegetables were spread out at their disposal… which pretty much explains why I was hit with that fresh waft of air when I walked into the room!
Mmmm a zingy lemon mask…I learnt that sugar and oatmeal are great for exfoliation and that cocoa powder is packed with antioxidants. How’s this for hands-on?!

Here is a simple and effective all-natural recipe Mama Simona shared with me. It’s probably one of the most popular homemade facemasks out there. You’ll never have to leave your kitchen to make it and it’s especially great for the upcoming Fall and Winter seasons, keeping your skin moisturized and free from dead skin. Oatmeal comforts and nourishes the skin – it’s rich in protein, potassium, iron, phosphates, magnesium, and silicon. And it’s perfect for sensitive skin because it is naturally gentle and mild.

Oily Skin:
½ cup cooked oatmeal, cooled
1 egg white
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup mashed apple

Dry Skin:
½ cup cooked oatmeal, cooled
1 egg yolk
½ mashed banana
1 Tbsp honey

Normal Skin:
½ cup cooked oatmeal, cooled
1 whole egg
1 Tbsp almond oil

Step one: Mix all of the ingredients into a smooth paste
Step two: Apply and leave on for 15 minutes (avoid eye area)
Step three: Rinse with tepid water, pat dry with towel

Thank you to Mama Simona for the recipe!

Tags: Esthetics Students, Natural Skincare, Oatmeal Masks
Posted in Beauty, Campus Life, Cosmetic Kitchen, DIY Workshop, Our Students and Grads | No Comments »

Plenty of Fish

September 23rd, 2010 / Posted by natasha

It’s a cute story how Markus met Anne eight years ago.

Just recently, the local millionaire, Markus Frind, founder and CEO of the globally successful personal dating site, Plenty of Fish, exchanged vows with Anne (his front desk girl) in the beautiful stretch of beach of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico!! To compliment the scenery, the couple flew in our Makeup grad, Jayna Bussiere, to do all the hair and makeup for the entire wedding party at the wedding destination!
This was definitely one of those moments where Jayna had to pinch herself, “Is this for real? Can I seriously call this work?”

Unfortunately, the rain would not stop pouring on the day of the wedding so the pictures in front of the endless blue backdrop had to be postponed until the following day. In other words, Jayna had to stay an extra day. But of course, who wouldn’t mind that? Especially when it’s in the company of such a close-knit group and on a resort! Everyone was so much fun, too! After the shoot, since the gowns had served their purpose, the whole wedding party jumped into the sea behind them (yes, gowns on and all), splashing and laughing!

The couple loved working with Jayna so much, she was booked to do the bridal makeup for their Vancouver reception. Take a look at the pictures of Jayna’s makeup from their masked ball soirée on WedLuxe!

Tags: BMC Makeup Grad, Destination Wedding, Wedding Makeup
Posted in Beauty, Blanche Overseas, Makeup, Our Students and Grads | No Comments »

Make Up For Ever: Aqua Cream Review

September 7th, 2010 / Posted by natasha

We adore our makeup grad and little superstar, Timothy Hung.

We call him a quadruple threat. Not only is he extremely hard working, humble, and lovable, he’s also phenomenal at makeup, hair, styling, and photography. He has such a fun resume, too. In Italy, he interned with Dsquared2 and worked backstage at Milan Fashion Week as a makeup artist for Roberto Cavalli and Pucci (to name a couple) season after season. Plus, he did photo shoots for magazines (Elle, Maxim, Moda), agencies, and photographers every week! And guess what – Tim recently introduced his own fashion and accessories line! We’re a fan and can’t wait to see what he will come out with next. (Check out his beautiful collection here!)

So, when he was personally invited by Make Up For Ever’s Heather Nightingale to participate in the launch of the 22 vibrant shades of the new and versatile Aqua Cream product at Sephora Pacific Center in Vancouver, we naturally had to get his opinion…

Tim: As a special guest artist, my role was to create a high fashion character with an aqua theme in the store front window. Given the 5 hours period, I have transformed the model (Grace @ Lizbell Agency) from girl next door to a high fashion editorial figure through makeup, hair, and wardrobe styling. To complete the look and to add a twist on the aqua theme, I created a metallic sea shell head piece as a finishing touch. It was a fantastic experience to demonstrate my artistic skills live and to experiment with the endless possibilities of the new Aqua Cream!

Tim’s Aqua Cream Review:

I applied the new Aqua Cream from Makeup Forever in many different ways on this makeup demonstration. I’ve used them on their own and have also layered them with eyeshadows, powder, and lip gloss. The new Aqua Cream have a beautiful soft and creamy texture that makes blending quick and effortless. I was very impressed with how resistant the finishing texture is and how intense the pigments are. I would definitely recommend this product for people looking for more artistic mediums or simply for those searching for impeccable hold.

How to create the look:

Here are the details of the products Tim used, listed in the order of application:

FACE: Paint Stick in White and Mat Velvet Foundation
Super Matte Loose Powder in Translucent Natural (#12)
New Aqua Cream in Gold (#11), Snow (#4), Turquoise (#21)
Matte Eyeshadows in Sunflower (#71), Irish Green (#93), White (#00)
Aqua Black Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow
Flash Colour Pots in White (#10), Black (#11)

EYES: New Aqua Cream in Gold (#11), Snow (#4), Antracite (#1)
Aqua Black Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow
Matte Eyeshadows in Antracita (#40), White (#00), and Black (#04), Sunflower (#71)
Fashion Eyelashes (#131, #134)
Aqua Smokey Lash Mascara

LIPS: Aqua Lip Liner Pencil in Fuchsia (#16C)
New Aqua Cream in Fuchsia (#7)
Glossy Full Lip Gloss in Vibrant Purple (#5)