Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Welcome to Beauty Diary: seven days of getting glam with an industry insider. From publicists to professional makeup artists, this a week in the life of someone who lives and breathes beauty.
- My Liquid Bling came in today! It is a glitter gel that you can draw on the face and body with. I am obsessed with it. I wear it every time I paint.
- This is the fast and simple eye design that I wear to every job. Liquid Bling really kicks it up!
- Tonight's gig: painting at the Friar's Club for Children's Brain Tumor Foundation Talent Show. The funniest thing was watching the comedians squirm as they tried to tell only clean jokes as there were children in the audience.
- My beautiful assistant Sheila came to help me and we had such a good laugh.
- My dear friend Mary asked me to paint her head for the Breast Cancer walk. She finished her last round of chemo recently. She is a fighter!!! I got up at 6:30 am to paint her before she had to go.
- Found this beautiful sweater set at Christina Lari's Olivia & Owen pop up on Madison. It's so soft—makes me want to have just one more baby…
- Instead, I focus on the kids I already have and take them to the zoo. This is my son, Jackson. Those big brown eyes just melt me!
- Feeling run down from last weekend—my little company did over twenty events in four days. When I start feeling like I'm catching something, THIS is the BOMB. I used to tour singing in Europe with no understudy and this saved me many a time. Seriously the
- Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads and Un-Wrinkle Night are two of my go-to products. I like to leave a package of the peel pads at the gym also, and after I use one on my face, I use it on the back of my hands. My hands take such a beating!
- Just discovered these beautiful products, made by Elizabeth Santiago of CeleBritAy: Organic Rose Geranium Toner with Aloe Vera and Organic Rose Geranium Daily Moisturizer with Borage and Argan Oil. They sme
- I can't live without this fabulous Organic Persian Olive Sugar Scrub from O Live Brooklyn, a shop that's known for its olive oils and balsamic vinegars. I also LOVE the Conditioning Body Cream!
- Tomorrow night's clients are going to a masquerade party, so tonight I'm looking at color combinations from my kit and picking out the jewels I want to use. (Not real jewels, unfortunately!) My client wants a rainbow bling mask. I use a lot of different b
- Just one job today: a client who is going to a work Halloween party. She loves Instagram!
- I painted my daughter Zivie today for a run through before my masquerade clients tonight. She is my best model!! I started painting faces at her fifth birthday five years ago and cannot believe where that has taken me. Did I mention that I love my job?
- Another product I love is the Ben Nye Lumiere Palette. They are shimmer powders that you can use as eye shadows or over water-based makeup to enhance and deepen the colors. They are so beautiful. Here I have them with some arty cakes and the rainbo
- Tonight's gig was a blast. Here's a picture of my top design request for males: the Mike Tyson.
- Started my day out face painting on The Circle Line Cruise. I love the sweet ladies who work on the boat—my favorite is Dijane, who I did a fancy web design on.
- Here's another gorgeous model on the cruise.
- This is the cutest little heart princess ever. This was her first time being painted! Love her!
- After six hours of painting kids, I headed downtown for private Halloween makeup appointments. First stop was Devrin and Jane Carlson-Smith. They host a 1,000 guest party each year called Halloween Bling. Their costumes were "NYC Ninjas" and asked for sim
- Next was another fabulous couple: Leo and Yvonne Villareal. They were so much fun to paint! They were going to a Gauguin Jungle theme party in these incredible costumes. I wrap up my day at 9:30pm after five jobs in 12.5 hours. Tired but happy.
- Today I was booked to paint sugar skulls for a birthday lunch! I had so much fun painting myself before the party. I had to wear the new gorgeous coat I got from Royal Jelly Harlem. They have a cool clothi
- After my gig, I got 10 inches of my hair cut off for Locks of Love. They make wigs for kids who have their hair because of cancer treatment. I go to Deborah's Hair D
- Here I am, 10 inches lighter! Not sure what was harder, cutting my hair or washing the sugar skull off my face. Ah well, hair grows and there's always more to paint!
In honor of Halloween, we asked pro face painter Melissa Munn to document a week in her life during "high season." Melissa's work began at her daughter's fifth birthday party, and ranges from painting pre-school princesses to adorning model bodies for fashion week. The high concentration of costume parties this time of year means long days filled with lots of Liquid Bling for the girls and Mike Tyson requests from adult men.
· All Beauty Diary posts [Racked NY]