I can’t stress enough how exciting a time it is to work in the Washington D.C. area! Sure it’s exciting in terms of the amazing and influential people one gets to meet throughout their time working here, but it’s also exciting in terms of not knowing what is on the schedule from one minute to the other. Those elements combined with random Presidential motorcades , having constant background checks to do makeup/hair on someone,and the obvious historical landmarks surrounding the entire area – one can’t help but be reminded just how amazing this city is.

Yesterday I had a scheduled photoshoot for a national publication that I have worked with a few time in the past. The topic of the photoshoot? The Women of Obama’s Cabinet. This shoot was very hard to pull off as President Elect Obama was actually in DC for the first time to have meetings with some of them on economic and domestic issues. Well, it what hard for that reason as well as the fact that they are major players in the Obama administration and definitely have their plates and schedules FULL.

I was assigned to go early to do makeup for a couple of the women involved in the photoshoot at a different location. They would be in the meeting with The President Elect right up until the time the photo would to be taken, not allowing them time to get ready on set.  I went over to the address I was given thinking I may be heading to their house or apartment. Approaching the building I got stopped by security asking if I was looking to enter. If not I would have to go across the street.  At this point, I realize I’m not at an apartment complex. From there it was X- Rays and Gates and Badges..Oh My!

When I started doing makeup full time, right around my “mia” makeup is art  days, I looked to the internet to find many inspirations. I didn’t have to travel far to find one of my immediate favorites , Alex Abagiu.

I first ran into Alex more than four years ago on a popular pro makeup artist forum called “EmElle’s” that I frequented. I was so in awe of his work but even more in awe that someone with his talent and credibility gave back so willingly to the makeup community. The preciseness, cleanliness, and creativity of his work still comes through in every face he touches.

Elle/ Photo: Steven Eskey

Alex seemed to dissapear from the scene for a while and his website and his beautiful gallery of work went with him. I was devasted! I wrote EmElle and asked her about him and she reported back with a note she got from Alex mentioning he had been busy with his new role as one of L’Oreal’s lead artists in Romania! 

When thinking of the first person to spotlight for this blog there wasn’t a more obvious choice than Alex. He was my original inspiration in the makeup field and years later his work has stood the test of time. His website is now back up with a fresh body of work and it’s just as immaculate as ever.  Alexandru Abagiu shows that Makeup is indeed Art.

More of Alex’s work can be found at : Alexandru Abagiu

Welcome to my new baby of 2009!

My name is Kathy Aragon, or Kat for short, and I am a professional makeup artist and hairstylist in and around the DC Metropolitan area up to NY. My work ranges from doing hair/makeup for CNN and  high society events  to doing commercial and fashion editiorials for popular national magazines.

I started my relationship with the name “Makeup Is Art”  after my first little girl, Mia, was born. She was an inspiration to me and when my family and I developed our makeup line we named it after her- “mia” makeup is art.  After working on the line for a while I realized my passion started shifting from marketing with doing occasional makeup to wanting to be the creative artist behind the products I believed in.  I didn’t want to go the route of using stock pictures for marketing as it didn’t feel genuine to me.  I wanted to take the reign and start doing the photoshoots on my own.  That is when the makeup bug hit me big time.

The instant gratification I got from creating something beautiful all the while lifting someone else’s spirits was addicting. After the bug hit, I realized I couldn’t do both sides of the job wholeheartedly. My heart just wasn’t in the paperwork anymore. That was when I decided to become a full time freelance makeup artist and retired the “mia” makeup is art line.