I’ve been a mess lately, my mind so over worked and stressed out from all of the things running through it that I’ve malfunctioned, no longer able to do the tasks I actually need to do vs. all the things I’ve convinced myself I need to do in order to survive. Lying on my bedroom floor with stressed out tears (or sweat since I just did a workout video because I have NO time to get to the gym) running down my face, I realized I needed to declutter, de-stress and figure out where the hell I was going wrong.…
Author: Malia Miglino
Malia Miglino
Known to most as an actor and make-up artist - Malia Miglino considers herself a creative above all else. Her passion to create and chase her dreams brought her to LA at 18 where she attended the Makeup Designory and received her Journeyman Certificate. After years of both acting and doing make-up for web series and indie film; she was inspired to open her own freelance beauty and consult service, Beauty and the Brush in 2011. In 2014 Malia decided to start taking her career into her own hands and created her first web series “Macabre Mondays.” Whether it’s illustrating a children's book, filming an old haunted location, delving into a character or making up an actor on set; happiness comes from living the life of your choosing. For Malia that means creating something everyday and inspiring other women to do the same.
I get it, it’s pretty exciting when you buy a new outfit or learn a new makeup technique or decide, “yes, I can pull off lavender lipstick”but there’s a time and place where you should put all your new stuff on display….and it’s not in the audition room. Don’t understand where to draw the line? To make it easy, I’ve compiled a list of 3 DON’TS from my years of sitting in audition rooms. 1) Makeup trends DO NOT have a place in the audition room. Lavender lipstick? LOVE IT! The nurse role you’re about to read for however, may…
When teaching women how to do their own makeup whether it be a one on one consulting session or in a room full of young girls, there is one thing I always notice; they all get furious at themselves for not applying everything perfect the first time. My response? CHILL OUT! It’s just makeup! You think I get winged liner perfectly even EVERY single time on the FIRST try?! HELL NO! That’s why the cosmetic gods created Q-Tips and makeup remover! Whoa…wait….is there another meaning here? Should you be listening to your own advice Malia? Of course I should, of…
As a make-up artist, I look at each face as a blank canvas. What to shade, what to highlight, what needs a pop of color. It’s the same thing as when I’m acting and taking on a new character. What character traits do they have? What do they wear? Even moments like this, right now, as I literally type words on a white screen I am creating art on a blank canvas. But when as a society did we start thinking as canvases only in the artistic sense? Is life not just one big ass Blick canvas stretching out before…
I’ll admit it, change isn’t my favorite life experience, neither is technology, BUT after closer examination of my Facebook feeds I started taking notes on my most successful friends. The common denominator; they used the internet…and they used it well. So i decided I should stop resisting change, get off my soapbox on how its ruining human connection and start connecting the virtual way. Hence the proverbial birth of my YouTube Channel. Technically I’ve had a channel for years, and hell it’s even had some of my work on it but did I update it? Did I share it? No,…
People think Spring and they think pastels….this year, try instead to think of POPs of color. I know I know, bright color scares most people and a few of us have enough bad pictures from the past with bright makeup done the WRONG way (ahem, the 80s) but I’m here to tell you how to do it the right way and why color should be exciting not terrifying. 1) Pick ONE feature to pop. I would suggest either the eyes or lips. Picking more than one feature will end up looking clowny…unless you would like to look like Boy George…
Spring is upon us and soon it will Summer and with that comes the sun and heat heat heat. Just like your wardrobe your makeup also needs a bit of a change. Here is a list of DOs and DONTs for your makeup as the temperature rises. DO – Use sunscreen, like….a lot of it. Sometimes I even like to blend my sunscreen in with my foundation, creating my own version of a tinted moisturizer and the mixture will give your skin a nice dewy effect. Just make sure to always use oil free sunscreen, we don’t want our sun…
A hater’s guide to no makeup makeup I get it, not everyone relishes in the details of a finely done cheek contour, or a beautifully winged cat liner, or simple yet elegant red pout BUT everyone does need a little help once in a while so here are my quick tips and tricks that will leave even the makeup haters appreciating makeup….at least a little bit. 1) I raged way too hard last night and now I look like I haven’t slept in weeks and possibly was in a bar fight but I haaaaaate foundation! HELP!!! Fear not! The Makeupater…
If you are like me, you have days where balancing your freelance career (or in my case, my TWO freelance careers) and your day job can get to be too much and you are left feeling exhausted and uninspired. My cure for this is pretty simple; all creative inspiration comes from life experiences and the people we meet. Your life is the sum of every experience and every person you’ve met, who wants to look back and say you only ever spent your life working? Staying creatively inspired and happy comes from having a full life, from going out and…
I have preached a lot in my previous articles on how you need to own who you are and not cover up all your natural beauty with pounds of makeup, however, when it comes to anything industry related like headshots, actor reels, red carpet events, that tinted moisturizer is just NOT going to cut it. Not convinced? Here are a 5 reasons why you should think about either hiring a professional MUA (Makeup Artist), or consider learning how to do camera friendly makeup for yourself through a business like oh I don’t know…Beauty & The Brush. (Oh yea, I totally…
Oh the internet…..what a lovely awful informative place you are. It’s the one place you can educate yourself on literally ANYTHING and also apparently, the place you can claim to be something you’re not. (Disclaimer- these are my opinions and only mine. I mean no offense to anyone and really enjoy the makeup brands listed below, but nonetheless I WILL speak my peace.) Hey internet “beauty vloggers” …..this is dedicated to you. Back in the good ol’ days being a makeup artist meant actually applying makeup to OTHER people’s faces, not just your own. Just because you make videos of…
Judgment and negativity come easy to not only me but I believe most people. I spent a very large portion of my life seeing the dark in people before the light, searching for their flaws if only to feel that much better about myself. I had put up a barricade of judgment that I learned to hide behind; I was literally sheltering myself from the beauty all around us. I was so insecure that I wanted to only see the ugliness in people, I had convinced myself that everyone knew they were good looking and I wanted to be the…
When makeup artistry is your career choice, it is easy to think that it will be glamorous. We make people pretty and turn them into characters and turn their bodies into art! WE ARE GODS!!! Ok….maybe that’s taking it too far. The reality however is usually more grueling and a lot less glamorous in actuality. Is it rewarding? Yes. A blast? At times, hell yes. Is it hard? Harder than anyone who doesn’t actually do it will ever understand (and don’t expect them to-see below.) Allow me to shed some light on some of the lesser known but all too…
I think collectively women have a hard time owning their own self-worth (which is ridiculous…we’re awesome…we can grow humans!), whether it’s physically, intellectually or skills-wise and I think it’s even harder yet when you work in a field that requires you to name and negotiate your rate. For me personally, it’s been a very difficult journey. As a freelance makeup artist I have hit that point in my career where I can no longer accept low paying jobs for multiple reasons, the biggest being my own sanity and my survival (I’m just really tired of being hungry). For too many…