Well I guess this post has been a long time coming. But it's a happy post, so no worries :)
So I think it's fair to say that for a while after I moved home from Utah, I was a bit of a mess. I'd never hit rock bottom before...it's not that much fun. It's fine, everyone is allowed time to be a bit of a mess and do some thinking, figure out their life, be sad...especially after losing a loved one. But after grieving, you have to keep moving forward. I say that from experience. It's easy to just get stuck in that funk. Thankfully, I'm in a good place and am living my life again, with a renewed sense of self. Onto my future!
I changed my mind a lot during this time at home. I went back and forth between Interior Design and being an ultrasound tech for an OB/GYN. I looked into each option A LOT, and determined that working for an OB/GYN would be amazing because I love babies and the money is good, but I would never want to be put in the position of worst case scenario. I just could never do it, and I know I'd always cry. Professional fail. So, onto Interior Design. It seemed like the smart, practical option, seeing as how I was always re-doing my room, always having an opinion about other people's spaces, and genuinely love home good stores more than most things. I went to the colleges around San Diego, and found some great programs, and even got an offer to intern for an amazing store in Utah...but for some reason, my gut was telling me something different. I was annoyed, frustrated, and starting to feel like I was never going to find my path. I also had a hard time finding a line between my passions and something I could enjoy doing for money. My passions, the things that make my soul smile are animals, writing and photography. But I never wanted to twist that into a bottom line...I wanted them to stay the same...things for my enjoyment, rather than money.
I don't remember exactly when the lightbulb flickered on, but it did, and it was something I was excited about, and couldn't understand how I hadn't thought of it before. I was scared to tell my family about it because I didn't know what they would think, so when I told them, I had my friend Andi Supergan there for support. Ahahaha I'm sorry, it makes me laugh. I was scared, really? What a weirdo. My family was so excited and thought it was the perfect thing for me. Finally! It was all coming together! I had officially decided to be a makeup artist.
Next step - a plan.
My mom and Greg took me to LA for the day, to emerse me in the culture, and showed me a school I had been looking at. Andi and I went up a couple weeks later and met with a school advisor and played around Hollywood and Burbank. The school was great, and everyone was really nice, but I had this gut feeling telling me that something better was waiting.
After a lot of thought, I decided to do a 4 day intensive workshop with a celebrity makeup artist, who is now my mentor and good friend. She's worked with celebrities like Zac Efron, Matt Damon, Jonas Brothers, Snookie & Jwoww, etc. It definitely was a risk doing an intensive instead of going to school, but in my gut I knew it was the right decision, and would benefit me more with the career path I wanted to go down in this industry.
Let me just say, it was one of the best experiences I've ever had, and taught me so much about the industry, working with people, branding myself, starting a business, but also taught me so much about myself. And it was four days long instead of 2 years of makeup school, but covered the same material. I was able to work on models who have become friends, who have been in the industry for a long time, who know everyone - which makes for great girl talk! I made friends in class that I'll know forever.
It's just really great seeing that all your gut feelings and spiritual promptings aren't you just going crazy...they're real. And happiness really does comes from following them. Oh life, you're funny.
Anyways, onto the pictures!
So of course the minute I knew I was going to do the workshop, mom took me shopping for all the goodies! Clothes, jewelry, got my hair and nails done, etc. I have nice clothes, but I live in sweats-leggings-ripped jeans-white vneck tshirts- so I needed something nice that I could stand being in for 10+ hours a day. Such a good mommy! We had so much fun going to Nordstrom and picking out cute stuff and getting excited. She knows just how to pump me up and help me forget about being nervous or second guessing myself.
I researched over and over hotels in the area that I would want to stay at for a week. This is the part where we didn't mind spending money because I've never really been to LA, I was going alone, I don't know anyone there, so I wanted to feel comfortable and safe. I ended up choosing the Sheraton in Universal City. I LOVED IT. And not only the hotel, but I am kind of obsessed now with Universal City and Studio City. So close to Hollywood but so quiet and relaxed.
I've never gone to a hotel by myself, so I've never thought about having to carry all my stuff up by myself, or parking, or any of that stuff you just never really give a second thought to. It was ridiculous. I felt twelve, calling my mom at work asking her...uhhh what do I do? I felt just as ridiculous valet parking my car and having the bell hop take all my bags. But nothing was as ridiculous as me realizing I forgot to pack my stuffed animal in my bag and knowing exactly where it was in my car...and having to have the bell hop go into my car and bring it up to me. Don't worry, I tipped him. And I told no one about that story-until now. Whatever, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Just wait until I have kids. Yikes.
My room was gorgeous, the view was so pretty and relaxing, and it was just the perfect place for me to get ready for the day, or to come home to and rewind. Loved it.
The view of my hotel from in and out...of course i in and out'd it...
View from my room (NBC building on the left)
One of my favorite things about my hotel was that it was directly next to the NBC building...so driving to and from my hotel everyday, I thought of my beloved 30 Rock and my favorite rainbow colored peacock...
What I saw everyday on my drive into Hollywood
So the workshop was at my mentor's studio in West Hollywood off of Melrose. The first day I left like an hour early because I didn't want to be stuck in traffic and be late. I ended up getting there in like ten minutes, so I had a chance to get to know the neighborhood. I loved West Hollywood way more than I expected to. At the end of the week it started to feel like home. I started to get to know all the quick ways to get everywhere, knew where and when there would be traffic. We got to go to different little spots only the locals know about. It was just amazing. Everyday we started with a lecture and overview about what class was that day. Then she would bring in a model and demo the look, and we took diligent notes of what she was doing, what she was using, why she did it the way she did, stories and experiences, etc. And then it was our turn. We each had a model and we had to recreate the looks. At the end of the classes, we were able to do free style. In the classes we learned:
Bare Minimum
Natural
Smoky
Contouring
Bridal
Lash application
Lash extension
High Fashion
Era
Men's grooming
Avant-garde
Undertones
Brow shaping
Skin matching
Theory
Color corrective
Brush and product knowledge
Individual face and eye shapes
Shadow/Lash placement for face types
Tattoo coverage
Sanitation
Airbrushing
Business and marketing
We met so many great people, and having only 3 people in every class was great because we all became really close.
The studio kitchen. The natural light was so much easier to work in rather than under the portable lights. Those things made you bust a sweat.
I became an airbrushing pro :) So much fun!
One of my models was Palar. We became good friends, would walk down to Starbucks on our breaks, talked about the church a lot, and I just really enjoyed getting to know her. She's a dancer, and got a scholarship to one of the best dance studios in the country. She's best friends with all the SYTYCD and Dancing With the Stars people, and hearing her stories and gossip about all the drama was really funny. I made her look like a Geisha, so naturally I made her pose appropriately.
A lot of times, we would end up doing makeup on each other as well for fun, or for more practice. I lucked out by volunteering to do makeup more than I volunteered for having it done. But my friend, out of spite, volunteered me to get the high fashion makeover. So for the rest of the day I got to look like a hooker.
The best was the reaction from people driving next to me and the valet guys. So embarrassing.
Maybe the best part was going back to my hotel and Skyping Jenny in Utah and having to meet her boyfriend for the first time over Skype looking a fool and having to explain to him that I actually have a job that doesn't consist of me working the corner. Thanks for taking Skype pictures boo.
So after classes, I usually would go sight seeing around the neighborhood. The beautiful thing about Melrose and the neighborhood where the studio is, is that there are a lot of local artists whose medium is spray paint and graffiti, among their other mediums like paint and photography. So on every building on Melrose there are little hidden gems. And for a visual person like me, especially with my adoration for all things art, it was like a little piece of heaven.
I love this street
Traffic was a even more insane than usual since it was Oscar week. They started putting up the tents early. All the locals told me over and over not to take Highland because it would be jammed with traffic. But what did I care? I'm never in LA...I have time to drive for a while and enjoy the scenery right?
The tents
Nothing is as relaxing as coming back to your hotel room after a long day, ordering room service, eating in bed, and watching tv and movies. I think I ate the same thing every night. Caesar salad and tortilla soup. So good, there are no words.
My friend Monique lives up near LA, so she came and met me for dinner at my hotel one night after class. Don't worry, I still had caesar salad and tortilla soup. You guys just really have no idea how good it is. We went to the hotel restaurant which was really nice.
We walked in and there was the VIP table filled with music producers and all other ridiculousness.
Midway through dinner Monique and I are like what is that music? Don't worry...it was their table with a HUGE boombox on top of their table blasting music they were playing for each other...and they were all bopping their heads around "overcome" by the beats. Really? Isn't this why you spend so much on music studios? I will not be buying that music.
It was so nice being able to see Monique. I hate that she's not in my ward at home anymore. But I'm glad we still get to see each other from time to time. There's no one like Monique. She's the nicest, most reliable, loyal person you'll ever meet. She is always doing service for others, relating to everyone, and she's just such a sweetheart, there's no words to express how much I care about her.
So after the workshop was over, Kim talked to me for a while. She told me that she was working the Oscar's gifting suite all weekend at the Beverly Hilton and asked me to assist her. As if I even needed to be asked! I was so giddy, like a little girl. I ran outside and called my mom at work and told her. Mom and I screamed and giggled, and she told me of course I had to extend my trip and do this. So I called the hotel, extended my trip 3 extra days for Oscar weekend, and got ready for this new adventure. It was amazing. I was so nervous, but during the week had gained so much confidence, so I was really just more excited than nervous. I met Kim at her house, and we drove over to the Beverly Hilton together. I love Beverly Hills. I mean duh, every girl loves it. But it didn't seem so stuffy...it just seemed nice.
So we walked into the Beverly Hilton, which is just incredible inside, and made our way up to the Penthouse Suite. Really? I've never been in a Penthouse before. It was so pretty.
The chandelier...in the elevator...
So the gifting suite was a "luxury suite"...so every room in the suite had a different responsibility. The idea is that the celebrity comes in, goes room to room to get pampered, and by the end of the rotation from room to room, they're ready to go out. So one room is hair, one room is jewelry, one room is couture fashion, one room is watches, one room (us!) is makeup, one room is facials, one room is massages, one room was tanning, one room was nails, outside on the balcony was all the food...and so on. The penthouse was so big that going through it was like a maze. The first couple of times going through it I got lost. Embarrassing right?
So they showed us where we were going to be setting up, and we were in the bathroom. Sounds kind of weird, but the lighting was good and the bathroom was huge. Plus we had a sink, and the shower was huge, so we were able to put all the bags and kits in there. We walked in and there was this ginormous bathtub taking up half the room...which they had put floating candles and floating orchids in. It was weird, the bathtub was so huge it was like it's own entity. By the end of the weekend it was like our other assistant. We became quite close to that bathtub. "Tubby" if you will. I miss Tubby. The Tubster. Tubby Wubby. K I'll stop.
Tubby became the main focus in basically all the pictures. It was like our prop.
Kim warming up by the fire. And by fire I mean four bathtub candles.
We quickly realized there was a flat screen tv in the bathroom. So between all the celebrities we did makeup on, we watched some favorites like Sex and the City and The Kardashians. It was like the perfect girly day. Kardashians, Carrie Bradshaw, yummy food, candles, flowers, attractive men, and playing makeup? Yes please! We were so happy. And so were the gay guys who every time they walked by would gasp "What's going on now??"
The food was so good too. Oh my.
So I was outside on the balcony getting food and water, and the view was absolutely amazing. I've never seen a view like it. Pictures don't really do it justice. You can see all of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and all the way to the LA skyline.
So I'm looking at the view, and all of a sudden I see this familiar building. I couldn't believe it. I could see the Temple. I had been there before, but I didn't realize how close it was. I saw Moroni shining in the sunlight and it was like this little hug for my heart. I was surrounded all week by things of the world...appearance, celebrities, parties, money...LA stuff. But this was just such a needed and sweet simple reminder of the things that really matter to me. It was the boost I needed to end my week.
On the way home, I decided to drive by the Temple. So worth it.
We saw a lot of celebrities, mostly from tv. I made sure to act really professional around them, and at the end of the day-they're just people. Just like you or me, only they're rich and on tv. No one really affected me...except for when the coach from Glee and the Jewish kid from Glee came in. I lost it.
Kim took this picture of me freaking out. It would probably be less embarrassing if I had taken it recreating my freak out face. Nope, totally real. What a weirdo.
It's not like they're even the main characters...okay lets be real...all I wanted to see was Cory Monteith. But it didn't matter because something came over me and I was all sorts of ridiculous. I got a picture with the coach, but can't put it up. But I can put it in my room ;) And then the other guy was walking by and I was just looking at the ground fidgeting and Kim goes "Hey! Can she get a picture? She's a total Gleek." REALLY KIM?! But what did I care? I really wanted a picture.
And that's the closest I'll ever get to Cory Monteith. Sigh.
Anyways...
A couple shots Kim took of me working.
On the last night, so late, waiting for the valet to bring her car. We were so done. We were hungry, tired, couldn't stop laughing and being hyper and ridiculous, and cranky. But we were in it together.
(Plus the absolutely amazing gift bags and free stuff we scored kept us happy!)
After I was done with all the Oscars stuff, I decided to just drive home, even though it was a rainy mess.
I was over LA and just wanted to be in my own bed, with my doggies, and see my family. My friend Monique called me as I was leaving the hotel parking lot and wanted to come meet me on my way home for dinner at Cafe Rio in Orange County. Yes please! It was so fun. We stayed there for like two hours just eating and talking and relaxing. It was the perfect way to end my trip.
I look so tired. Sad face.
I guess what happens in LA doesn't stay in LA. It comes home with me, gets texted, blogged, and talked about over many family meals.
It really was the most amazing trip, and such a great experience. I learned so much about the industry and the craft. I met such great people who have become good friends and opened more doors for me. And it really just confirmed to me that this is what I want to be doing. This industry is great because you're not stuck on one path. There are so many different options, so many opportunities and paths to take. And it's something I can do full time while I'm young, or just work events and weddings while I'm a mom. I'm finally really excited for what my future holds.
There's another part to this story that I'll fill you in on later.
Happy days are here again :)
