bb, cc, dd...and so on.

By now you've probably heard about bb creams. Otherwise known as beauty balm or blemish balm, they give medium coverage generally, moisturize, prime/smooth, and protect from the sun. Some of the them have healing ingredients, anti-ager ingredients and more. To piggyback on that craze, some companies are now creating "cc creams", otherwise known as color correcting creams. These clearly gimmicky creams have very sheer coverage and are intended to even out the skin only a bit while working on lightening spots and such. Now there are also dd creams, dd concealers and more. I guess dd stands for deliberate duplicate. Har har, "they" say it stands for dynamic do-all (via Julep, a mostly nail brand that has launched this product).

I'm open to trying it all, but who can keep up? I have tried a handful of bb creams and here is my take thus far:
1. Lioele Triple the Solution: This is truly a balm. It is quite heavy and gives full coverage, however, it's only one color- SUPER pale. If you're super pale and want a lot of coverage, go for it. I have had good luck mixing a TINY bit with a darker foundation. It gives great sun protections, covers ALL evils and evens out the skin nicely. Find it here at http://www.amazon.com/Lioele-Triple-Solution-Cream-SPF30/dp/B00356UHT0
2. Skin 79: I thought that I got a bad pump on mine until I tried for the 40th time and something came out. This was an ebay purchase and I have suspicions that it was a knockoff brand. Very light coverage, not very balmy. I may try it again in summer to see if I like it better...but as of now not recommending it.
3. Stila bb cream: This is more of a face cream meets a tinted moisturizer. Its about the same coverage as a sheer tinted moisturizer, but it's creamier. But my skin felt great with it on. It has similar ingredients to most primers, so this would work for combo or normal to dry skins. I've started using it in my kit to prime drier skins for airbrushing as it gives such a flawless canvas. It's pretty light coverage, but perfect for someone who is low maintenance by itself. And the color seems to match everyone I've used it on so far. To be fair though, I have not used it on a dark skintone. Find it at the State of Face Studio now!! I liked it so much that I started to stock it!
4. Rimmel light bb cream: This feels just like a sunscreen and smells like it too. The coverage is medium and the weight is a bit heavy, but for summertime I am liking it a lot. The color selection is decent (4 shades) and it feels like it helps my makeup stay on as well. But for those who don't want or need fuller coverage, you could definitely wear this solo. And at about $7, what's to stop you?
5. Dr.Lewinn by Kinerase bb cream: It has a very primer-like feel, yet not too slippery or heavy. Gives more coverage than a tinted moisturizer and is more balmy in texture too. It feels similar to the Stila BB Cream. The color is supposed to be universal, but seems like it would be best for light, medium and possibly tan skin. If you are ivory or dark, you may be out of the range. In that case, try the lightest or darkest shades from the Rimmel bb cream. I really like this one and carry it in my kit too!
6. Olay cc cream- I find it to be more like a moisturizer that is a bit gel-like. The coverage is super sheer, so it's only enough for me to run errands. It may lighten up spots, there is nothing noticeable happening with them.
7. L'oreal magic skin beautifier- This comes in 4 shades and is definitely more of a light tinted moisturizer than a beauty balm. There's no balmy texture. It's actually a lotion with beads of color suspended in it. I actually like it for combo skin as a light moisturizer to prep it for makeup. So...you guessed it: I carry this in my kit too :)

And if I try a DD cream, I will post something about it too.

This summer try something that will make your life easier. Whether it's a bb cream, lash extensions, or cutting all your hair off- you'll feel free of the extra steps and enjoy your time at the pool, patio, beach, or air-conditioned home.
I cut my hair off this week and I absolutely LOVE it. I do feel a little bit like Justin Beiber since there's a deep part and bangs are swinging in the eyes. :)
Happy Summer, my favorite season....

Winter weddings, upcoming projects

Hello blog followers, future clients, friends, etc!
This winter and spring I've seen a shift towards booking non-traditional days. I have my first-ever Wednesday wedding this March (3/13/13, anniversary of day they met too), lots of Fridays and Sundays (like a LOT), and more winter weddings than ever. In December I had 4 weddings, January there were 3, and February has brought 2. Also non-wedding work for me has been all over the place: many boudoir sessions/marathons, a TON of trials for future brides, lessons for people who want some new ideas or have no idea :), makeup for a news appearance, makeup (and light hair) for a black tie event, and some really fun things coming up soon.
Sometimes when we get a niche in an industry, it can render us doing similar things a lot. And I LOVE that niche and I really love doing sweet and saucy wedding looks. I also want to stay fresh as an artist, to inspire coming trends and be inspired by changes in fashion and launches in products. To keep on top of this, we have to push ourselves WAY out of our comfort zone. So I decided to put together a group photo shoot with a couple photographers, a fashion stylist, a couple hair stylists and a few makeup artists to push us all out of our comfort zone (we are all wedding specialists, except for the fashion stylist). I am so excited to get some new pictures that will hopefully look like they are more runway inspired than aisle inspired. Stay tuned for that.
In other upcoming projects, I will be shooting my first national magazine spread and cover this coming week for Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine. You never know what every day brings when you get hired for this type of job and that's what keeps it exciting...a little bit scary and will always keep me on my toes. The one thing you leave out of your kit that day will absolutely be the one thing you need the most. And of course you end up using about 6 products out of your several kits that you bring...such an adventure. Those pics will come in a few months.
Also this winter I have had the pleasure of getting to be close friends with 2 fellow artists in town (and another artist I have already been close with- in case she's reading this!). It's awesome to relate on such a specific level to really wonderful women- and let's just say that we happen to be a tongue-in-cheek lot, as many artists tend to be. On that note, my friend and colleague Kelli Ramey (hello!) has gotten me involved recently in Dress for Success. We will begin to do weekly classes with the consumers soon. Kelli did an AMAZING job collecting a TON of products for them and today we spent a couple hours organizing (for those who have worked with me, you know my penchant for a label maker) the bags and bags of donations. Giving back and making people feel wonderful about themselves and also the way they look (of course) is what inspires me to keep doing this.
This isn't makeup related at all, but the other charity I have been an active member of for 4 years is Harmony Project: www.harmonyproject.com. We raise money for the community, give our time to help improve it, and sing to inspire others to do the same (and it's fun music too, not traditional choir music AT ALL). We will be performing at the Southern Theatre in mid-May. I would love for you to come and see/hear what we do. I promise you will not be disappointed! Tickets always sell out though, so buy them as soon as they go on sale.
And now, I leave you with a couple pics of the beautiful winter brides I had the pleasure of doing makeup on:

A passion for fashion

A lot of women consider themself to be a slave to fashion. This was certainly the case for bride, Genevieve, who works in the industry. It can be a little intimidating to do someone's makeup who has such a specific idea and knows their stuff with all things magazine worthy. (I mean, her soon-to-be husband bought her a Burberry trench as a wedding gift!) But Genevieve immediately put me at ease. She said her favorite stores were H&M and Forever 21. (Mine are TJ Maxx and Target FYI). And I forgot that I was dealing with such a gorgeous stylish person and just felt like we were friends working together to create her vision. She was all about matte, matte, matte. Typically I am all about glow, glow, glow. I gave her what she wanted and it actually ended up being one of my favorite bridal looks I created this year. It's good to step out of your go-to and stretch your vision of "bridal". She showed me a SUPER smokey look on Blake Lively (major runway look), but said "I'm afraid of eyeliner". That, my friends, is what I get paid to do: Strike a fine line between what you show me, what you say, what my abilities are and what you will end up loving. A little tweak here, a little tweak there (she did end up with eyeliner, but very soft)....and voila: A subtle smokey matte look with major lashes. Love the photos. And I completely identify with the bridesmaid who has has eyes closed. Haven't we all been THAT girl? :)

Granville is so cute!

The last 2 weekends I've been out in Granville, OH for wedding parties and it is such a quintessential small town. So adorable! This past week was at the Byrn du Mansion for Sarah M's wedding. She had such great taste and I absolutely loved all the girls' dresses, the decor and whole vibe. Sarah's a doll and we had a great time! Thanks to Julian Allen Photography for sending me some pics so quickly, too!

Picture the Open House Love

Thank you SO much to Picture the Love for coming to our Open House a few weeks ago and taking these photos!!