Jenny and Eric's Wedding

UPDATE 7.22.09: Check out Jennifer Quen's blog for more photos on this event!

What: Jenny and Eric's Wedding
When: January 24, 2009
Where: Pleasanton

This was one of the most fun experiences I have had as a makeup artist! Jenny really showed her true nature and humility. Even though she was the bride, she kept on checking with others if they were okay, if they wanted anything to drink or eat...I thought that was so endearing. The atmosphere was full of happiness with friends, relatives, photographers, videographers, and a whole bunch of other people coming in and out of the hotel room in preparation for the big day.

My first client was the mother of the bride, Elaine. So cool! Completely relaxed and a really a good sport for trusting me with her makeup look for the day. I enjoyed the conversation with her and see how she has rubbed off so well on her daughter.


Before and After



Action shots!



Next, Jenny sat down for her makeup application. Again, a total pleasure to work with...

Before and After


Action shots:

Flawless skin and a happy smile




Fake lashes! Please consider them if you're a bride...they do wonders!




Lips, products, and cheeks


It was also nice applying makeup for the mother of the groom. Although I do not have photos to show you, she was an absolute sweetheart and really came alive when we started talking about dan-tats and guy-mey-bao's!

______


Jenny and Eric, wishing you two a new life together full of love, blessings, happiness, and everything else that comes naturally when you marry your best friend :)







* Thank you Honey for coming with me, supporting me, and helping to take these photos!

Katina's Wedding Day Trial!

It was neat to have Katina come in for a wedding makeup trial. During a trial, it's almost natural that I would ask how the bride and groom met. But this particular case was a bit different...I've know Katina since she was born! :) I used to teach her Sunday School! It was special to hear her story and see how God has blessed her throughout her life.



Katina wanted a very natural look with minimal makeup




Before and After with glasses



Before and After without glasses

Jenny's Wedding Day Trial!

So a fun group of friends have recently been making their rounds into my makeup corner! Yay! Remember my first referral, Cindy? Turns out her maid of honor is now the one getting ready for the Big Day. Jenny was a blast to work with! I can't wait to see the finished look put together with her hair and makeup :)

Before and After



Some additional shots with a bigger smile and closed lids



Can you see who's in the mirror? Yeah! That's Cindy! (Refer to the entry titled "Cindy and Kijoon's Wedding!" or "First Referral") It was great having her back and seeing her (now as a married woman)...and cracking jokes to make Jenny laugh. They were a lot of fun :)

Looking forward to the wedding day Jenny!

A Foundation Story

Once upon a time (less than two years ago), there was a girl named Jo who went to visit her friend Yisi. They decided to have some fun and play with makeup even though Jo had never worked on anyone else's face before and had not yet thought about becoming a makeup artist. "Fun! Fun!" thought Jo to herself as she was applying Yisi's makeup.

Although Jo enjoyed the experience and was surprised at how positively theraputic it was, she realized that the foundation colors used on her friend Yisi did not quite match with her actual skin tone. In fact, Yisi's face looked a completely different shade from her neck. Boo. What a bummer.

Fast forward to today (Veteran's Day) where one of our main characters (Jo), has gotten into the makeup artist profession after all.

Jo slowly stepped into Yisi's house ...but this time, prepared and ready with her fully stocked makeup kit and a determination to make sure the foundation colors matched perfectly.

Wow! What a difference! It's a perfect match! Woohoo! Jo and Yisi celebrated together with smiles and laughs and nods of approval.

The End.



Before and After
(These photos were taken by me...I am not a professional photographer so I'm not quite sure how to adjust the camera for the differences in lighting yet. )



Additional after shots with slightly better lighting


---------

Yisi wanted a very natural, quick and easy look she could put together for herself for a more polished look. I went pretty minimal with the eyeshadow along with no mascara. The focus really was on Yisi's skin and making her look alive and healthy with a glow.

Matching foundation colors with your own skin tone is a must! If you are planning on purchasing a liquid or powder foundation from a cosmetics counter or store, please ask an associate to help you find the right shade. Check if they are able to give you a small sample so you can see it and put it on your own skin before purchasing.

The pigmentation of the product you buy is also important. You don't want to have to pack on a lot of product just for the coverage. The more pigmented the foundation is, the less of it you'll need to apply (which is good.)

The last thing is, make sure you are moisturizing daily. What a difference this makes! Now that the winter time is creeping in, your skin is sure to start feeling the effects of the cold and the wind. If you're applying foundation onto dry skin, it will only emphasize the drying and flaking of your skin and make it all the more noticeable. So, start moisturizing :)



* Drinking plenty of water is another way to help your skin...but I'm a bad example of that since I don't like drinking water.

Seeing Glamour with Janely

When I first decided to step forward into this makeup industry, I remember asking several of my friends to help be my models for my initial portfolio. Janely had agreed to help out, but we just never got around to it...until now! Yay! It was a pleasure to work with Janely and have a chance to try out this beautiful dramatic RED look on her. She definitely has strong enough features to pull this look off successfully!

A desire I have as a makeup artist is to expand my portfolio to encompass many different styles of makeup... not just the natural look. How awesome was that when Janely allowed me the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do and do whatever I thought would look good on her. Wow! This really was a fun experience for me... I hope it was for Janely as well :)



Before and After

("But wait! Why is Janely wearing a different shirt?" you ask. Well, picky me, I asked Janely to change shirts so that the original orange color of her shirt would not clash with the red on her lips. Yes, this really was all done on the same evening.)


Here are some additional shots and angles for ya:


On Janely: concealer, foundation, blush, contouring bronzer, brows, eyeshadow, crayon eyeliner, liquid eyeliner, Sephora's false eyelashes, a dash of white shadow on the inner corners of the eyes, red lipcolor from Nars, a bit of Benefit's plum lipcolor, Bare Mineral's Feather Light Mineral Veil and finally, Makeupforever's Mix and Fix Spray. Plus the shirt change :)



Thank you Janely for letting me have so much freedom to do what I wanted with your face. And thank you God for allowing me to have so much fun with makeup. I LOVE this job!

Makeup Trial with Sue

Meeting and talking with Sue today helped remind me of how stressful the financial burdens can be on people who are prepping for their big day. There are so many unexpected costs and "nickle & diming" that gets thrown at the engaged couple. Being in that same place about a year ago for my own wedding planning, I really empathize with that struggle and tension it could cause.

As an encouragement though, things get better (way better!) There's nothing like experiencing that special day with your life partner and having the rest of your lives to enjoy, grow, learn from, and appreciate one another. Another plus side will be looking back at those trying times with finances and seeing how you and your loved one got through it.

Sue, I wish you the best with all the wedding planning (hidden costs and all)!


Before and After

Cindy and Kijoon's Wedding!

What: Cindy and Kijoon's Wedding
When: Aug. 16, 2008
Where: Berkeley



Makeup application in process!
FYI - I did not end up doing Cindy's hair...just the makeup. Her friends did a fantastic job in creating the pinned back loose curls look! (Scroll down for the finished look).




I love this pictures of Cindy. Even though I had not completed the look, you can really see how relaxed and calm she was just hours before her wedding.




This had to be one of the top memorable experiences while doing Cindy's makeup. It was quite fun, seeing her mom and aunties come in and check out the bride as she was getting her makeup done. It was exciting to see them involved and happy. Cindy is really blessed to have family that care so much about her :)




Here's the Bride and I after hair and makeup! Beautiful and natural!


Although I was unable to stick around to witness the wedding, here are a couple of teaser shots taken by their professional photographer (Jessie Cho Photography).





Yay! Here's a link to the "Day of" photos for Cindy and Kijoon's wedding if you would like to see more:
http://www.photobiz.com/slideshowbiz/slideshow.cfm?slideshowID=26758&photographerID=5352


Congratulations Cindy and Kijoon!