Now on The Knot

Hello readers,
I've just gotten an ad on The Knot. If you go to "Local Resources" and click on Ohio, then Columbus. I'm listed under the vendors for "Health and Beauty". I hope this brings me lots of wonderful brides and maybe some other biz too!

Even google can't find it...

I'm a little distraught over a discontinued product. Just because it's discontinued by the brand, doesn't usually mean that it's unpurchaseable. But after much traversing the internet- it appears that Cargo's melt-proof bronzer is gone for good. What was so different about this bronzer? For one, it's totally matte. Secondly, it's much darker than traditional bronzers and has less orange or gold. I ended up using it for countless photo shoots on dark skins as the perfect mattifying powder. It never got cakey or heavy looking and gave the skin a flawless look.

I still have half of one left, since it seems to last and last. But once that's gone, there is no more in the entire universe apparently.

If anyone can lead me to a secret stash, I'd be eternally grateful!

Individual style

I think the most exciting thing about doing makeup for a wedding party is making a cohesive statement with the makeup while still approaching each person as an individual. I think that Kate's recent wedding was such a wonderful example of this. If you look at the picture of Kate with her attendants:

On the left:
This bridesmaid was a warmer skintone and had a down-to-business, straight forward personality. She wasn't a girly-girl, but obviously wanted to look great. I did a very natural look for her with a focus on her lashes and upper lash line.

Second from the left: This girl had a very upbeat, outgoing personality so I wanted to give her a pop of color on the cheeks. Plus, she said that she wasn't afraid of cheek color!
The next girl is a sister of the bride, so I wanted to set her look apart from the others just a little. She was quiet, but had a little of a retro edge to her, so I gave her a liquid eyeliner cateye.

Then there's Kate. She's a really down-to-earth girl with a lot of creativity. I gave her highlights in the inside of her eyes that really stood out, along with a soft, smoky look focused on the upper lashes.

Kate's other sister was outgoing and sweet, she definitely had a glow about her that called for vintage. I gave her a 20's look then put a glow on her upper cheekbones to modernize it.

The 2nd girl from the right was Kate's best friend. She was the lowest maintenance girl of the bunch and the only one who didn't want lashes. Her eyes were gorgeous without much of anything! I just focused on concealing imperfections and warming up her skin with some bronzer, then finished with light shadow and mascara. Still a major transformation if you look at before and after shots below.

The last girl is the sister of the groom. She was younger and quieter than the other girls, so I expected her to not want much makeup. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. The first thing she said was "I've always wanted to try a smokey eye, but I don't know how to do it." Voila, your first smokey eye! I opted for browns as to not overwhelm her too much for a first-timer.

Then, naturally the Moms were very unique. Obviously, they are older, but they are always more surprised at how great they can look with a little more time spent on their face. I always focus on making the skin look smooth, even, glowing and warmed up a little. Subtlty is key for anyone, but especially over 40. Then, add lashes, brows (SOOOOO important!), soft liner (set with powder eyeshadow), mid-tone eyeshadow (shimmer is great on the lid!), a matte mid-tone or lighter shade in the crease (dark looks too heavy and will actually make them look older), and I skip the highlight under the brow at this age unless a natural or semi-matte is used. Cheeks are usually pinky or peachy, stay away from dark colors unless the skin is also dark. Lips are great in a mid-tone rosey color that looks healthy on cooler complexions or a tawny copper for warm skin tones. It sounds like a lot, but if you look at the picture of Kate with her Mom below, it looks even, natural and younger. And she was incredibly pleased, as were all 3 of her lovely daughters.

I can't wait until the next wedding season so I can start again by approaching each person as a unique and wonderful challenge. It comes pretty naturally to me, but in breaking it down it sheds a whole new light to what the point is of hiring a professional makeup artist to do your wedding. I'm not here to toot my own horn, but the point is that we can see the face separately from the person and also as part of the person. You need to separate it for the skill-set of actually applying each part of the puzzle, but you need to see the person as a part of their face in order to get a concept for the colors and styles you will use in the execution.

I've been getting a lot of bridal inquiries for next Spring and Summer already. I wonder if there are any Winter brides out there who have yet to book a makeup artist. I'm free and I'm already jonesing for another!

Molly's wedding

Molly was a laid back bride, who was also really into products. After our trial the week before the wedding, she went out and bought a Nars lipstick that I had recently become obsessed with and showed her. We used it on her for the wedding day.

**Photo credit to Print photography's Kate**

She had a small wedding party and there wasn't the usual party-like atmosphere at the hotel that morning. It was just a few family members, including her Dad, who was so sweet. Her platinum hair and gorgeous dress really brought the look together. I'm hoping to get a few more pics, but this is one that captures her face right as I was finishing. Very pretty!

My own wedding...

Jay proposed last weekend: Wonder who will do the makeup for the wedding party? :) I'm thrilled to spend my life with this awesome guy. Planning a wedding? So far, so good...I bought bridal magazines, which I swore I would NEVER do. But I want a fun, creative and original wedding and what better place to get ideas than from these mags.
I'm thinking my makeup will be retro glam, a la early 60's cat eye and ruby lips. Hair idea that I had and have no idea how to execute (or if anyone else will for that matter) is to do a partial updo where the "up" part of the hair is made into a bow and the crown is teasted to high heaven- tres early 60's moment. I'm consulting a hair stylist out of New York who's a friend of a friend that wants to attempt taming my big mane. She's really into retro glam, so hopefully she can make it happen.

And check out that ring! It's a true Art Deco piece. I really wanted a vintage ring and this was my absolute favorite we saw anywhere. It's incredibly delicate as it has a ton of smaller set stones in platinum. I'm not used to sporting precious jewels!

We think the big day is going to be 10/10/10, stay tuned.

Pictures from Lauren's wedding

These are the gorgeous creatures known as Lauren and Lindsay, twin sisters whom I had the pleasure of meeting in May. Lauren is a wedding planner herself out of both Columbus and Louisville, link to her site on the right of this blog: abella event planning. She does fantastic work and she's such a sweetheart!

Kate's wedding pics

More pictures from a recent wedding

The top left pic is a "before" shot, look to the next post for the "after"

Another new wedding album

Kate's wedding was a lot of fun. We started in Lancaster at 7am and all the bridesmaids and both mothers were there...big early party. I did all 9 of them! Here are some of the best shots-

New wedding photos

Melissa's wedding was held at Jeffrey mansion in Bexley and the reception was at the Newport Music Hall since her (now) husband is the manager there. They have a gorgeous daughter that I heard Melissa call "bug" endearingly all morning while we got ready. She was a really chilled out bride and her wedding party was filled with lifelong friends. We had a good time and have kept in touch because I want to work with Melissa again- she does some modeling. Beautiful.

Melissa's pics continued

Melissa's sister is also gorgeous. And look at the beaming daughter! So cute.

I did the makeup for this magazine cover!

The big picture...

As you can see, there is a giant bottle of pills on the table...not mine. I always tell people that each wedding that I do is different and it's an adventure. Who doesn't love an adventure? I've really grown to relish the experience of being involved in such a special day. Even if the bride is fretting or the couple is bickering, it makes each one a memorable experience for me. I'm looking forward to meeting your wacky Stepmother, high-strung bridesmaid and even the quiet and easy-going Maid of Honor. They're all part of the tapestry of your wedding day and I'd love to be a part of it!

Lauren's wedding 5/16/09

Unpublished image from last shoot

Newest photo shoot

more portfolio images, my makeup artistry

Some portfolio pictures

These are pictures taken by photograper Jerry Hazard of my makeup artistry on a model.

20 years.

Inspirations....

I don't know if it's the idea of fall approaching, but this week I find myself going back to what initially got me interested in cosmetics in 1987. There's a certain vibe for Autumn that is somehow the ideal blend of sadness and optimism, newness and death, starting over and cycles of life.

Back in 1987, I was about halfway through 7th grade when my Mom announced that she was going to take this great job in Columbus. We lived in Avon Lake and had for a couple of years at that time. I think that my parents have never felt very comfortable with staying put anywhere. We'd moved from Lakewood only 2 years prior and my sis and I had already been uprooted from our schools and friends. But this time was different. This time I understood that being a new girl meant several things: all of them good. I got to be anybody I wanted to be. I got to burn any bridges I damn well wanted to at my current school. I got to have the possibility of a better social life. The promise was there, the future was open wide. My Mom started her job for the last month of school and I started letting people know that nothing I did in Avon Lake mattered anymore since I was moving. For example: Cheerleading tryouts/rejection....didn't they know that I didn't really care about making the squad? I was only doing it for fun.

Our house was on the market and we were mere weeks from a relocation. My Mom had been commuting back on weekends. After doing the job for a few months though, the hours were wearing thin. She quit the new job. That happened during the summer break. We were building a house outside of Columbus. I was already planning my back-to-school wardrobe. It was going to be so different at the new school.

Now, not only did I have to stay in Avon Lake, but I had to stay dispite telling everyone otherwise. They'd already signed my yearbook "It was great knowing you. Good luck in Columbus!". Plus, we'd already sold our house. Now I had to stay in the same city without the same house. If you're going to have to deal with going to the same school, you should really have the perk of staying in your own house, especially since it was a cool house. It was one of the only things buoying me in social circles, even with the not-very-popular crowd. Now, no more pool. Indoor. Outdoor. Nada.

The feeling of 'how will I go back being the same person I've always been' occured to me. Could this be an opportunity to be a "new girl" at my own old school? That was my fantasy.

It turned out that the only house we could get wouldn't be ready to be moved into until 6 weeks after the school year started. That meant well into October. Instead we were able to stay at my Grandparents' cottage on Lake Erie, about 10 minutes from the Jr. High. Convenient enough, but the problem was that it was definitely just a cottage. Thin walls that you can feel the wind whipping through, no heat, one bathroom. It gets cold on Lake Erie by the end of August, let alone mid-October. High gusts of wind would hit you everytime you walked out the door and being inside barely helped.

I can remember counting the number of blankets and quilts I had on me. Ten layers thick to even attempt to keep warm and I still had to sleep with my head under the covers. That September I got an issue of Vogue magazine. September Vogue is like an encylopedia: size and contentwise both. It's no less than 600 pages of glossy ads (and some fashion spreads tucked in towards the last 75 pages.) I preferred the ads. I had every perfume sample and lipstick ad memorized since I kept the issue with me in the cold bed, under the covers. Instead of dirty magazines, I had Vogue. Not being an especially rich, thin, or stylish kid didn't stop me from drooling over the lifestyle the magazine showed me. Plus, I felt like it spoke to me like no teenybopper magazine ever had. Kirk Cameron hanging on my walls? No, I wanted a spread of Animale perfume. I was inspired.

My first stop: The super amazing bright coral lipstick shown on a model from a cosmetics ad. I went to the Estee Lauder counter at May Company at Midway Mall. I found the brightest coral lipstick they had and purchased it. I wasn't sure of exactly how I could pull it off and what I would wear it with, but I needed it. When I got home and excitedly showed my sister, her response was "How are you going to wear that??! It's so bright!?" She was right, but I knew she didn't get what i was going for. High fashion. Runway. Couture in Lorain County. My 4'10 ass was at least going to try. I showed her how I could blot it on really sheer and it was kinda pretty. "Yeah. Well, what about if you actually wear it all the way?!" She saw through my thinly veiled attempt at softening a color that I wouldn't ever wear. And though she was, for all purposes, correct- I now think of that tube of absurdly orange lipstick on a 12 or 13 year old and can remember why I do what I do to this day.

That issue of Vogue will come out in the next week or so: 20 years later. I can't believe it's been 20 years of honing my lipstick skills. 20 years since I stored the issue under my 10 layers of covers. 20 years later and I'm doing what I didn't know at the time I've always wanted to do. Take my interpretation of beauty and show others how its not trite and frivilous: It's newness and death, sadness and optimism, but really it's a cycle of life and a way to start over anytime you want to: To be the 'new girl', when you're definitely not.

My new obsession

I've been an All about eyes (Clinique) fan for about a decade and now they have "All about eyes rich". It is the answer to all of my eye whoa's. Dry? Moisture comes quickly with this cream. Need to apply a concealer to hide dark circles? The finish of the cream is silky, absorbed immediately and leaves the skin looking more taught; hence, no settling into the lines with that concealer (as you've heard this battle cry before from me already!). I don't get how a cream so rich absorbs so instantly. Magic is the only explanation. Do yourself a favor and go and get this. I don't know or care if it's anti-aging in the true sense. I'll leave that to my serums.