Before and Afters...

MORE WEDDING MAKEUP TIPS FOR BRIDES...

I have a few makeup tips for brides on how to prepare before their wedding to assure the best possible makeup application for their big day. Please see below and feel free to comment or add any tips of your own.

WEDDING MAKEUP TIPS FOR BRIDES:

*Waxing Tip: If you are getting your eyebrows waxed for your wedding, do it at least 3 days before hand. Waxing removes a layer of skin along with the hair, and if it has been done too recently, makeup has a hard time adhering to the raw skin. If you’re worried about any strays showing up between your wax and your big day, ask your professional makeup artist to remove them. If it’s just a few, it shouldn’t leave you too red. And if it does leave you a little red, it’s probably nothing a little makeup can’t cover (at least the makeup will be able to adhere!).

*Facial Tip: If you plan on getting a relaxing facial before your big day, make sure you do it at least one week prior to your wedding day and no less! The purpose of a facial (besides feeling amazing and leaving your skin glowing) is to draw impurities to the surface of the skin, so that your skin can rid itself of these pesty impurities. HOWEVER, the impurities typically show up in the form of zits, pimples or blackheads – yuck! Did the facial make you break out? Yes! But that’s the purpose of it! Plus, some facials include extractions in which the esthetician will remove any existing impurities. All this poking and prodding can leave your skin red and tender, not to mention you may have a few impurities waiting to show up any minute after the facial. This is one of those cases where things tend to get worse before they get better. That’s why I say do it at least a week prior to your big day! Give your makeup artist a little less work : )

*Hydration Tip: Make sure you drink plenty of water and moisturize often before your wedding day! I know the days leading up to the big day can be very stressful and hectic, leaving little time to take care of yourself, let alone drink some water. But alas, it’s very important that you stay well hydrated because I know you want that dewy, fresh, glowing, blushing-bride look, and staying hydrated and moisturized is one way to help assure this! Think of a desert that hasn’t had any rain in quite some time, the dirt begins to crack. This is what will happen to your skin (and especially your lips) if you don’t stay hydrated and moisturized – eew! So make sure you drink lots o’ water and lacker on that moisturizing cream weeks prior to the big day!

*Bridesmaids, Mothers, etc. Tip: If your bridesmaids, Mothers, etc. will be getting their makeup done professionally along with you, make sure you give them these tips as well. And, most importantly, make sure they (and you) arrive with a clean, makeup-free and moisturized face! Things are going to be hectic enough that you don’t want your makeup artist to also have to worry about scraping last-night’s makeup from the bachelorette party off everyone’s face. Keep things simple for the big day! And make sure everyone is on the same page about what time they need to arrive! Better yet, give them a schedule with these tips and instructions included to make things a little easier.

*Trial Tip: I always reccomend doing a trial run with your makeup artist before your wedding day. A trial run will allow you to discuss your makeup needs and desires with your makeup artist prior to your big day, ensuring less stress on the day of your wedding, and it will guarantee that you’ll get the look you want. You can also discuss makeup ideas/colors for the bridesmaids, Mothers, etc., so that your makeup artist will have something in mind prior to the big day, making sure things run smoothly and efficiently. This is especially important if their is a large bridal party getting their makeup done. The trial will give both you and your makeup artist an idea of what to expect on your big day as well as peace of mind.

INSPIRATIONAL NEW YEAR QUOTES...

Edith Lovejoy Pierce
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Irish toast
In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want.

Sydney Smith
Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.

Anonymous
Your Merry Christmas may depend on what others do for you. But your Happy New Year depends on what you do for others.

Aisha Elderwyn
Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This
year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself.

I hope you find the quotes as inspirational as I do, and I wish you a very healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed NEW YEAR...

BIG GRATITUDE...

Here is the beginning of my 10 day quest for a worthy cause, my first blog for "Can for Comments"!
On Thanksgiving I sent many clients, friends and family a sincere message expressing my gratitude for what they have brought to my life. A few days after I received some messages from a few who expressed how special that made them feel, that it brightened their Thanksgiving day that much more. With all that being said it made me realize how important it really is to express your gratitude and what it can do to others.
So today I'm making a concerted effort to focus on gratitude this holiday season. These last few months have made me realize, more than ever, how truly blessed and fortunate I am.
There are about six weeks until the new year, and I want to spend those six weeks living my gratitude, instead of just feeling grateful. I want to recognize the things I’m grateful for, and recognize the people who make my life complete.

Consider it a pre-New Year’s resolution.

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.