Miranda's Makeup Application [MOH]

Who: Miranda

When: Saturday, March 24

Where: Pasadena, CA

Miranda and I grew up together at church, and it was great seeing her again and having her in my makeup chair! As Valerie's Matron of Honor, and more importantly, older sister, she came into the room and supported Valerie right from the start. Here they are, nice and cozy as they were both waiting to get their hair and makeup done :)

As I had mentioned in other blog entries, getting hair and makeup done for a number of girls can be like a juggling act between the hair and makeup artists.

 Miranda got her hair done first, then came over to me for makeup.

Before and After

Adjusting the false lashes

While we were waiting for the lash glue to dry, I applied cream blush to the apples of Miranda's cheeks. I would go over her cheekbone area with powder blush later.

With Miranda's monolid eyelid shape, I used a darker brown eyeshadow color right at the base of her lids, then brought it up higher so that it could be seen when her eyes were open.

Eyeliner and blending

Finishing up with the lips

Again, always so much fun doing makeup for a friend from long ago. Miranda, glad that you're enjoying your work with the little kiddies and that you're at a place where people care more about the children than anything else :)

Stay tuned for Lizzy's Makeup Application!

Grace's Makeup Application [BM]

Who: Grace

When: Saturday, March 24

Where: Pasadena, CA

Grace definitely came with an idea for a makeup look that she wanted. As a makeup artist, this is actually something that is REALLY helpful. It gives me an idea of the style a client likes, along with how dramatic they are willing to go with their own makeup look. She had sent the bride, Valerie, a photo of the makeup look she liked, who then forwarded it to me several weeks before the wedding.

We came up with a look that had a slightly more extreme smokey outer edge compared to the other bridesmaids, but still worked really well with Grace's specific eye shape. 

Before and After

Slowly building up the smokey layers to the outer corners of Grace's eyes

Cleaning up under the eyes

Repeat shot from an earlier blog entry with Grace and Amanda

A behind the scenes shot at the ladies relaxing as hair and makeup are getting done. I can't help but notice how colorful everything is.

Stay tuned for Miranda's makeup application!

Vivian's Makeup Application [BM]

 

Who: Vivian

When: Saturday, March 24

Where: Pasadena, CA

Vivian was the 2nd bridesmaid that sat in my makeup chair the morning for Valerie's wedding. The first time I met Vivian was when she came with Valerie for her makeup trial to my home studio. They have such a funny "how we first met" story!

What was so amazing as the morning wore on, was just how apparent it was that these ladies loved music. I guess meeting in Band Class helped with that! At one point Vivian pointed out that we were listening to a song from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Think back to when all the mighty heroes and evil villains were preparing for war...yep, that's the song. Bizarre, totally funny, and so neat how everyone was just cool with it. 

Before and After

 

Filling in lips with lipliner

 

Lashes

 

Lining the eyes with gel liner

 

Blend, blend, blend!

 

I filled in Vivian's brows toward the very end to make sure it was as balanced as possible with the makeup look we created. I didn't use a brow pencil though, as I felt the dark brown brow shadow would be enough. Scroll back up to the before and after shot to get an idea of the balanced brows.

This is such a cute shot! Vivian getting some down time with Valerie and Miranda.

 

Stay tuned for Grace's makeup application!

 

Amanda's Makeup Application [BM]

Who: Amanda

When: Saturday, March 24

Where: Pasadena, CA

A couple of Saturdays ago, we loaded up into the car and headed down to LA for a friend's wedding. It was a whirlwind trip... fast, quick, super-packed, and most of all, fun :) 

I'll introduce you to the bride, Valerie in a bit. The wedding prep started early in the morning at 6am. Yep! You heard me right, 6am! When Honey and I knocked on her hotel door, I still remember Valerie opening the door in her usual laid back, relaxed manner with a quirky, "Welcome." I had to laugh. Although she would be the last one getting her makeup done, she was still up to help open the door.

With a total of five bridesmaids and a bride needing their makeup done before 11:30am rolled around, we really needed to make sure we started on time. Yay for Amanda! Turns out she didn't get a choice in her time slot, but she had a great attitude. Plus, as Valerie added, she get's up early to surf anyway :)

Before and After

The room was still dark since the sun hadn't quite come up yet. We turned ALL the lights on.

 

Valerie watching on as Amanda sat in the makeup chair. I love how Valerie had wrapped herself up in blankets.

Adding some more color to Amanda's lids after the false lash application. 

 

Lining the lips with lipcolor

Blush had just been applied

I had a great time chatting with Amanda and was so amazed to hear about all the wonderful things she's doing for Christ. Amanda, it's so awesome to know how you're connecting your love of surfing to your ministry. The kids must've had such a memorable, and fun experience. Way to go!

Here are some additional shots of Amanda with another bridesmaid, Grace, and Valerie. 

Stay tuned for: Vivian's Makeup Application

Jenny's Wedding Makeup Trial!

Who: Jenny

What: Wedding Makeup Trial

When: Saturday, March 17

It's always a pleasure when I get to do makeup for a fellow teacher. This time was no different when I had the opportunity to work with Jenny! (GO EVERGREEN!) Thanks so much to my friends Kristen and Alison for sending Jenny my way. We had a blast!

Onto the before and afters:

     

Before and After #1

Red hair, blue eyes, pale skin...what beautiful features to work with! We talked a lot about finding a good balance with the makeup so that Jenny would still look natural, but be wedding and camera ready. One of the first things I concentrated on was Jenny's brows. I wanted to make sure there was a good shape and form that could be picked up by the camera, without overdoing it. I ended up using a pencil to draw in the outer arch of Jenny's brows, then used a very light brown, matte eyeshadow color to even everything out.

     

Before and After #2

I LOVE Jenny's naturally rosy cheeks and think she's one of the lucky ones who never has to worry about looking like a dead fish :) However, for the wedding's sake, I made sure to even out Jenny's skin tone. Three specific areas I focused on were the cheeks, under the nose, and the chin area. I then went back and blended in a coral colored blush along her cheekbones.

      

Before and After #3
Oh my gosh!!! Jenny's eyes!!! I love how blue and vibrant they are.

   

Before and After #4

    

Before and After #5 

We also talked a bit about finding someone's camera angle. For Jenny's case, shifting her head slightly to the right while keeping her eyes on the camera gave a really good angle that showed off her features really well.

Other shots:

Jenny looks alive, and happy, and beautiful! Love the hair, the bright eyes, and the lipcolor.


Speaking of hair, I did a bit of research before Jenny came in, knowing she had red hair. For you redheads out there, here's a couple links worth checking out:
http://howtobearedhead.com/
http://www.weddingbee.com/2011/03/04/redhead-makeup-inspiration/



The happy couple :)

Jenny, it was so wonderful having you over to get your makeup done, and James, it was a pleasure meeting you! You two are really cute together. Happy planning and looking forward to working with you on your special day :)