A December Wedding

I had such a great time getting to know Andrea and her bridesmaids today! Besides Andrea, I came in not knowing exactly who I'd being working on today. Each bridesmaid had an opinion of how they wanted their hair and makeup done and you can truely see ones personality shine through. It's always a treat when each person has a different look they want and I get to try a variety of styles! Most of the bridesmaids had also brought something for me to put in there hair. This was a fun idea from the bride who wanted each of them to have a look of their own. Andrea was a beautiful bride!!

Before:

After :

Andrea is beautiful with no makeup (see above picture). This is rare people. So, we didn't have to do a whole lot here. She wanted it very simple. I evened out her skin tone and added a little blush for color. For the eyes I highlighted in the inner corner and underneath the brow. For the eye lids I used a peachy, brown shimmer shadow with top black liner only. I then added a couple coats of mascara with some gloss for the lips and she was done! Simple, yet beautiful.

Her Maid of Honor:

Chic, modern cut with a little "umph" (that's where I come in) and fun flower for drama!

Makeup: Smokey eye, not afraid of color...loves the occasion to dress up...aka, a makeup-artist's dream!

(Sidenote: this cutie-pa-tootie even brought me lunch, now THAT has never happened!)

Bridesmaids :

#1 Sheek, sassy, and eloquent with a touch of bohemian ( we added a little bling to the back).

Makeup: Smokey eye and some color on the lip...but not to much to take away from the hair.

#2 Girl next door, simple, but classy.

Makeup: Everyday makeup taken up a notch for evening.

#4 Soft, romantic, but with a little flair (the feather). Loose curls pinned into a messy bun.

Makeup: Emphasis on the eyes. Liner, lashes and hints of shimmer = pretty.

#4 Traditional pulled back up-do. Very classy, but out of the face (busy mom!).

Makeup: FUN! She wanted me to do whatever I wanted. As a busy mom and nurse, she rarely wears makeup. Obviously, I wasn't going to do anything very drastic, since the actual use of makeup is a change in itself. However, being that she was open, I didn't shy away either. I emphasized color near her lash line, gave her a couple coats of mascara, evened out her skin tone w/ some foundation and she felt like a million bucks. (and looked it too -- check out the smile)!

There were two other bridesmaids that got away from me before I could take their pictures. I'm still getting the hang of being the "photographer" as well as the artist. Hopefully soon learn all the cool, neat things to do with my camera, but until then I'll probably continue taking semi-decent pictures. You must trust me that these girls look amazing in real life (plus really, really good in pictures!)

It was another rewarding day in Wedding World!

Wedding- Lori and Jeff

Last Saturday I spent the afternoon with Lori getting her ready for her big day. She was so excited, happy and anxious! She was a beautiful bride and such a joy to be with!

Lori anxiously awaiting!

Her Matron of Honor, Amy. I also got the priveledge of doing Amy's hair and makeup.

I had such a blast with these girls! Congratulations Lori and Jeff.

Wedding - Leslie and Bill

Congratulations Leslie!! You were a beautiful bride!

In my makeup bag...

My makeup bag has needed a little spring cleaning lately. I am just now getting around to doing this and with the help of Carmindy, from "What Not to Wear", I have a couple of new items to add to my makeup bag and guess what, they aren't expensive!

Here are a couple things I've purchased lately that I recommend. They are all avaiable at your nearest drug store.

First, I love this product from N.Y.C. color. Oh, it's $7.00 y'all!!



If you were intrigued with my bronzing post a couple of months ago, but have had a hard time convincing yourself to spend $40.00 on a product, then go out and purchase this treat! It actually goes on lighter than my normal bronzer and is oil free and has SPF in it. PERFECT for summer.

Secondly, every girl needs a good lip gloss for her makeup bag or purse. The summer heat zaps it right out of you. This is a great lip color from Sally Hansen's and is under $10.00. It's their new Volumizing Lip Shield, with SPF 15 and I love it!




Lastly, this may not be in your makeup bad, but it definitely needs to be apart of the summer routine. If you are going to wear sandels, flip flops or anything showing your toes, please take care of your feet. This includes the men as well. A simple scrub done once a week, hey, even once a month will help with dry summer feet. I recommend this one.





O.P.I is a wonderful product that most nail salons use. This scrubs is also for the hands, which could always use a good scrub as well.

After you've indulged your feet in your weekly (okay, monthly) scrub, apply this shade of nail color. I love it! This particular color is called, "Ink a Dink a Pink", from O.P.I. as well.





Speaking of Carmindy, I receive her newletter every month. She has a bunch of great tips and good finds! It is pretty great! On, "What Not to Wear", Carmindy always uses an Airbrush foundation and after checking it out, it is pretty pricy. It always looks so natural though. In my latest newsletter she recommended the Airbrush Foundation from Sally Hansen's and I am so excited. I will be trying that out soon and will let you all know about the coverage and how good it is. All I do know is that it is $10.00 max and worth the try. It is supposedly water-resistant, has SPF 8 in it, plus it claims to be long-wearing. We shall see!

Happy Shopping!

Becky

The Hat (Very chic and sassy)

Last Saturday I was able to spend a couple hours with Becky and her bridesmaids! I thought Becky seemed to be the shy type, that is until she pulled out the hat and my entire opinion changed! Check out that amazing hat! This girl has some sass and was able to pull it off amazingly. She was a beautiful bride! Congratulations Becky and Damon!

Conversation with a friend...

Happy Friday all! I got an email from my good friend Heather yesterday about some hair and makeup advice and thought I would share it with you all. Enjoy!

Hey Heather!

If humidity makes your hair frizzy... Begin by applying a dropperful of silicone hair serum to soaking wet hair. Use more if your hair is long or thick. Next, blot hair with a towel to remove excess moisture (Don't rub!). Now apply a smoothing balm or strong-hold gel to strands from roots to ends. Comb through. Style as you normally would. When hair is dry, rub a bit of smoothing hair cream over ends and other areas that tend to frizz.

I heard great things about this product. I would say not to blow dry it at all while you are camping.

I have used this before and I think you would like it, plus it’s not too expensive. Then I would get a gel, not smoothing balm and work w/ your curls, not against them. Plus you really have cute natural wave/curl! This gel would be good…

But don’t use too much. At that point you should either wear your bangs back in a couple of bobby pins or cute head band, to keep them out of your face.

This is a cute one, but of course…you could probably find something similar at Target. I like the two band headbands, it’s a little different than the normal headband.

As far as your makeup goes, I would skip the foundation all together like you said and stick with a tinted moisturizer. It wouldn’t be any big deal to re-apply PLUS it has sunscreen in it. A good, inexpensive one is the tinted Moisturizer from Neutrogena…so good and light! I couldn’t find it online, but I know for a fact you can get it at Target or Walmart. If you gotten some sun you may want to get the 2nd lightest.

Hope all is well!

Leslie

The Bride - Melissa-

I'm back!! Sorry for such a long delay since my last post. Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with a sweet bride and her 5 bridesmaids,plus a couple of others. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, which is why I have no personal pictures to show. However, Melissa sent me her photography website to view the wedding photos and I thought I'd share them with you all. ENJOY!

http://www.avesphotographicdesignclients.com/pickpic/gallery/splash.php?gallery_id=99

Password: wiley (all lowercase)

LF

Mitzi

Last weekend I had the priviledge of being apart of Mitzi's wedding day. She was such a delight to work with and I had the best time! Not only is she beautiful on the outside, she has a wonderful personality and is such a great person.

Enjoy!

LF

Christina D.

I enjoyed a fun Sunday afternoon with Christina preparing her for her bridal appointment. She is fun, spunky and goes a mile a minute! I can't wait for the wedding. She will be a beautiful bride! I forgot to take "Before" pictures, but enjoy the beautiful "Afters"!!

LF

Bronzer

First off, I need to state that I. LOVE. BRONZER.

I think it should be a staple in everyone's makeup bag. It can give your face life in about 2 minutes. And, if you are taking care of your skin, and staying out of the sun, you will crave the sun-kissed look.

I have to give one of my best friends, Elizabeth, kudos for introducing me the greatness that is bronzer my senior year in college. She suggested that I use a little bronzer instead of the pound of blush I applied to my face every morning (this is pre-makeup school, people). WOW, what a difference!

I would like to give you all an example...and this hurts just a little, but it's for you that I put myself out there.

This is the "NO BRONZER LOOK"

And this is the "AFTER BRONZER LOOK"

(As a added bonus, cute babies will laugh and smile when you wear bronzer.)

As you can see in the second picture, I actually look alive and not near death. All because of bronzer. It's amazing.

The older we get, the less our skin has the pretty natural coloring that we take for granted as kids. So...how to apply the bronzer???

Repeat after me...

A little bronzer goes a long way!!!

If you pile it on, you will look unnatural and your face will not match the rest of your body. This is SO important.

1. Apply with big, thick powder brush. Not a blush brush, but powder brush...I don't believe in blush brushes.

2. Smile in the mirror. You are so cute! Now, while smiling, find the spot underneath your cheek bone, past the apple of your cheeks and brush 2 or 3 strokes of bronzer from that point to your ear. Repeat with the other cheek.

3. For the summer, you should be set with just bronzer. If it is winter, I also like to add a little pink to my cheeks to give the appearance of a "flushed" cheek.

What is a good bronzer you ask? I like this kind from Estee Lauder. I also like the one from MAC. If you would like to go with something a little cheaper, try this one form Loreal (however, the cheaper you go, the less the application b/c more will come out on your brush).

So, stay out of the sun as much as possible. Fake it all the way!

Enjoy your weekend! I will have a bridal post come next week!

LF