CANS FOR COMMENTS 2009...

The holidays are here and as always this time of year reminds me of the many blessings and the amazing support I have been given by family, friends and my wonderful clients. So I've been inspired to give back by this wonderful idea I came across on my nightly web searching.
I wanted to let everyone know about a little thing I'm doing this holiday season, to give back to our community.It's called "Cans for Comments". The site has challenged bloggers to donate cans to their local food bank for every comment left on our blogs. As any blogger knows it a great feeling to get comments on your posts.
So from Dec 1- Dec 10th, I will be blogging every day (hopefully) and donating 1 can to the local food bank for every comment, question or compliment left on my blog.
10 comments = 10 cans of food.
It's just that simple. That's 10 days to raise awareness for the Cache Valley Food Pantry, and help out families in need this year.

WORRIED YOU WON'T LOOK LIKE YOURSELF ON YOUR WEDDING DAY?

This might have happened to someone you know… you go to your friend or coworkers wedding to be surprised by her face covered in a mask full of makeup.
You can hardly recognize her and your thinking…
“Oh my… she has waaaay too much makeup on and it doesn’t even look like her, or she is as pail as a ghost.”
To avoid this from happening to you on such an important day, follow these steps prior to the event:
*8 months prior - start collecting, printing hair and makeup styles of looks you like from magazines to websites. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity the models are in your picture. What matters is that you pick either the complete style or different parts of the hair and makeup styles you like or want. For example, if you like the bangs of one picture and like the curls of another, that’s what you want to find. And same goes for makeup: If you like the eyes of a picture and skin of another. This helps visually the exact look you want.
*7 months prior - At this point you need to decide if you want to go to a salon to get your hair and makeup done or have a personal bridal beauty hair and makeup artist come to you. Salons are not experienced in catering to a brides and their needs so I recommend an experienced bridal beauty consultant coming to your event. It is less stressful and you would save a lot of time , you should discuss your needs and options with your personal bridal beauty hair and makeup artist to determine what is best for you.
*6 months prior - Meet with 3 to 6 of your top bridal beauty stylists your are considering for a consultation to discuss your needs and options. If you are deciding to go with your regular hair stylist, BE AWARE. Few stylist really know how to put up hair, even in a simple up-do, and that because they mainly specialize in hair coloring or cutting. Also you many be one of 15 people the stylist is going to service that day with so many DISTRACTIONS. Another option you may be considering is going to your local department store makeup counter. Their main purpose is to Sell You Cosmetics NOT what looks best on you. The best option would be having a personal hair and makeup artist that specializes in bridal beauty. Be sure they are professionals, experienced, and most importantly you are comfortable with.
*5 months prior - Schedule your Trial Hair and Makeup Session with the stylist of your choice. However make sure you still keep your 2nd and 3rd choices on hand just in case it doesn’t work out with your first choice. The Trial Hair and Makeup Session should be the full hair and makeup process that will be performed on the day of. This way you get to see exactly what you will look like. Since this is several months before the actual wedding, It is critical for the stylist to take photographs, notes and log everything so nothing is forgotten and there are no surprises on the your wedding day.

Being the Model and the Artist for a Photo Shoot....

So what better way to experience what I love to do then to book a photo session to get a few head shots created for business purposes, and of course I would look to the very talented and creative Kellee Smith of Moments by Kellee Photography. For the first time in my career outside of my education and training days have I placed myself as the talent to receive the talent....

For those artists out there who are familiar with mixing, matching and creating a beautiful work of art on yourself, I can honestly say "IT WAS NOT SO EASY'! I am my biggest critic so making sure my tone was correct, the placement of my contour and highlight was proper so they did what they are supposed to do, and then to get the lashes on without messing up the shadow... on any other client its much easier then it was on myself. Thank goodness my hair was already done and I was happy with it before I began my makeup procedures!

Then to place myself in front of the camera (I'm usually behind it), that was an experience for me and I can honestly say that is a feeling anyone has to get comfortable with, WORKING THE CAMERA! I'm pretty happy being behind it, but I am even happier that I had this wonderful experience and VERY HAPPY with the results in what I produced on myself for Kellee to produce for me. Thank you Kellee for your support and talent.

Client Testimonial

Coming from a retail makeup background, I was hesitant to give the airbrush makeup a try, first for not knowing much about airbrush makeup and second I was comfortable with what I am familiar with. I decided to give it a try for a professional photo shoot I was aked to do for one of my best friend's website sherryssite.com, she asked me to be a model for her merchandise. With Carrie's training and reputation in the beauty industry, I trusted her judgement and her advise on trying the airbrush make-up for the photo shoot. To my suprise, it is not like theater make-up that is thick and uncomfortable, the airbrush makeup was flawless lightweight invisible coverage! We began hair and makeup at 6am, I was scheduled for a 10:00 am photo shoot. After I completed the photo shoot, I headed to the airport for an 8 hour trip home to North Carolina. I arrived home around 12:30 am at night and went straight to bed without washing my face. I woke up in a mad panic to get to work on time, looked at my make-up and was so impressed that I could go to work without having to do anything to touch it up! I was totally amazed that I had the make up on over 24 hours and it still looked fresh and flawless and felt light! Carrie is such an amazing Make-up Artist and Hair Designer! I can't wait for her to come to North Carolina for my Son's wedding next May, 2010, to do my hair and make up again for one of the most important events of my Son's life! Thank you Carrie for your professionalism and expertise in making me look and feel beautiful! I absolutely love how my pictures turned out.

Marcelene White-Cook

Burlington, North Carolina

Makeup for Icon

Local talent Geno, photography by Dunker Imaging.

from Blonde to Chocolate with extensions....

I love it when my clients really want to step out of their comfort zone and try an entirely new look. Although most might think a change is having a new style, but as a professional I can say when a client has been a blonde most her life and goes dark that is a HUGE change, and what a beautiful change it is for Joni.