Lash Love

I LOVE false eye lashes! They can look as natural or as glam as you want them to...

it depends on what look you are going for and your comfort level.

Most Bride's have some sort of strip applied whether it's a corner lash, 3/4 strip, or full lash. I love the effect it gives in photos and think it is a must have when doing portraits. Remember, you are usually shooting larger scale that day, so you can carry a more dramatic lash. The day of the wedding can be more subtle. Either way, I promise you will not be able to tell you have "lashes" in, they blend right into your own lash. I apply the same concept to lashes as I do make up in general..."you"-just better!

In a sea of lashes, here are some of my favorites...

My favorite 3/4 strip...perfectly tapered towards the inner eye. Easy to wear, giving your lashes an extra bump.

 These are my favorite (and the top selling) full strip. Once applied, these can look super natural or curled into your own lash with a touch of mascara-they can look like easy glamour.

 These are my favorite and affordable at $36.00 100% MINK lashes. Lux, lux, lux!!

 These accent pieces ROCK! They give just enough pop to bring eyes out and really light up a face. They are the fastest to put on and easiest to use...perfect if you have never tried lashes and just want a little extra. Favorite corner strip...hands down.

These 2 adhesives are my favorite. I like the darker color....it dries faster and clearer than any other glue.

I think it is easier to apply lashes on someone else versus on yourself...but pratice makes perfect.

I think step 1 is to select the proper lash...what is your eye shape and what look are you going for?

Step 2-apply a thin coat of glue to the lash band allowing the glue to be tacky before placing them on the lash line.

Step 3-wiggle the strip as far into your lashline as possible (note, take a look in between setting lashes to get the placement of both exactly in the same spot)...eyes can be different shapes, so placement might be different for each eye.

Step 4-After they dry completely, gently curl lashes together and comb as much or little mascara to marry your lashes to the false lashes together.

When you are done with your lashes, gently pull them off and replace them in their case-they can be used several times.The adhesive will also release with professional eye make up remover.

Good luck and go glam!!

Next post, summer must haves!! xo

Sweet Home Alabama!

Well, Sweet wedding Alabama! We are up to our eye lashes in wedding season, consulting, and a surprise wave of print work-but I had to take a few minutes out to write about this wedding!

I am one blessed gal-I get to work with the most amazing, talented people.

I have always said, "Working with the best of the best, is well...the best!".

This wedding was certainly NO exception. I have been working with the fabulous Soiree team for many years now and I continue to be blown away by their incredible vision and production process. Tara has revolutionized the entire wedding industry, especially here in the Southern Region (mind you, we are the # 1 wedding destination location in the country). Kate must have eyes in the back of her head, because her immaculate attention for detail could leave Colin Cowie jaw dropped. I go back to the "best of the best" whenever I know Liz is shooting. Her images speak for themselves, she can tell a complete story in one single frame (how does she do that?).

Sooo, when asked to join the team for a destination wedding in Alabama-I said YES!

I was excited, but I also knew it wasn't going to logistically be the easiest trip. My adventure goes a little something like this.. book my flight, map out the 2 hour drive from Huntsville to Gorham's Bluff (which if you throw a stick from there, it will land in Tennessee-honestly), had to flight pack 2 huge kits of make up, fed ex my wardrobe, find a local assistant, and oh yeah-I had just finished up 8 months of chemo and radiation.

I knew the wedding and working with Soiree was going to be great, I wanted to travel to this mountain side slice of heaven, and the best part...my sweet Grandparents live in Huntsville, so I got to spend the most amazing quality time with them. I did more healing in that 4 days, than I did in the following 4 months.

The wedding was stunning to say the least. Beth, the bride was as sweet as she could be and gorgeous in all 3 dresses! Yes, I said 3! She had 1 for the ceremony and 2 for the reception-the last (my favorite) was her Mother's very own wedding dress-Divine!! It was a fabulous event, one of my absolute, all time favorites.

 I was grateful to be part of the team that weekend, it is a trip I will not forget.

Here is a link to the spread featured in Southern Living Weddings. Soiree also has several fantastic posts on their blog Bon Bon.Check them out when you can!

I love being in the Bridal Biz...the best of the best!   

Until next time...xo

http://www.southernliving.com/general/southern-weddings-ideas-beth-graham-00417000070938/

http://www.taraguerardsoiree.com/2011/01/24/a-wedding-in-alabama/

Spring has Sprung!

We hope everyone has had a fabulous week so far...over here in the land of make up, we have been so busy filming and shooting, we didn't realize we stumbled right into one of our busiest wedding seasons.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by the best of the best, it keeps us inspired to continue to raise the bar in our industry. Make Up in Charleston is pretty diverse...you can go from shooting a fitness video one day, to filming a documentary, then off to one of the most gorgeous weddings you have ever seen (where you might have 14 girls in 4 hours!). That is a typical week around here and we LOVE it! We write and post about some of our adventures, but I still prefer to write about the people we love and the products we find.

This week, my favorite project was being a part of a documentary on an Affordable Housing Initiative. If it sounds ho-hum, let me tell you...I learned more on this shoot, than on any other shoot. I got to work with the most amazing Jack Alterman, Mark McKinney, and Cindy Tew and along the way got to shoot with some of the most well respected power players in our community and political world.

Between the talent of these pros and the passion of these advocates...I was blown away and soaking it all in.

It was a lesson in humility for me and I was honored to be traveling in this pack!

In the meantime, I FINALLY got my new kit-whahooooo!! I LOVE it and it will make life so much easier. The other served me well, but bye bye bye!

I also ordered a boat ton of newbie products and I thought I would share some of my favorite less expensive drug store finds!! They are great, stand up to the test, and are all under $10.00 dollars...holla!!!

Love this entire sensitive skin line...crazy good product and a crazy good price point.

LOVE LOVE all these mascaras! I love the dual ended Provocateur for upper and lower lashes...oh la la!

 This gel-powder packs a real punch and I am obsessed! I can't get enough of Pink Frosting, it is perfect from gym, to beach, to running around...it is light weight and doesn't budge-even in the heat and water (perfect for fitness videos as well!).

 Adore this entire line, so when they came out with lotion and I was thrilled. Feels like a $50.00 body lotion for less than $10.00-wowza!!

Never fails me, we use these all the time for lip conditioning and a hint of pop-fav=GUAVA!!

B B Babies!!

 All the rage...Beauty Balms or Blemish Balms aka BB Cremes have finally hit our market and in FULL force. Although they have been in the Asian market for some time, we finally have these wonder creams right in our own back yard. Many are asking what are these creams and how are they different..the short answer, think-ALL in ONE. Most are skin brightening, tone balancing, and treatment. The perfect hybrid of coverage and skin care. I think of it as a tinted moisturizer on steriods!

These are some of our favorites from Sephora, all ranging from $30.00 to about $40.00. Our favorite budget friendly BB Cream is from Garnier for under $20.00! These are light weight and have an airy feel...treating the skin and perfecting your skin tone.

Less products, less work, better results....who doesn't like that?

Spring is in the air...well, at least in my kit it is!

 With our weather here in the South, we are swinging temps ranging from 45 degrees to 75 degrees. Between the teasing of Spring and my vacation just off a cruise-I am craving everything SPRING!

 Make Up along with fashion is created several seasons ahead and typically rolls out in stores a few months before the actual "season" begins. I was thrilled to see a few lines debute some of their spring goodies...a few things are out now (like this gorgeous Chanel 2012 Spring line) and a few (lux new perfume by Jimmy Choo), we will have to wait until late March.

Love this new Lingerie Palette by Laura Mercier. The best bang for your buck- $60.00 for a spring wardrobe? Sign me up! (Notice the warmer colors on one side, cooler on the other-oh, and the 2 gorgeous blushes in the middle-this is foolproof!)

This mini bottle set of polishes has the perfect brights to jazz up toes and the greatest neutrals to keep fingers polished and on point.

Is there anything Jimmy Choo that is NOT fabulous? We don't think so! They can't launch this product fast enough (late March). It will be worth the wait!

This is the first season in a while where I feel color inspired. I have been mixing and using multiple products to get the exact color I want, especially for cheek and lip. If this is what is in store this season, I am excited for us all!!

Ciao~ take care and stay warm!

Golden Globe Goddesses!

 I love a good Award Ceremony and with Award Season in full swing-I am thrilled to seeing not who, but what goes down the Red Carpet. I love watching the machine at work and studying the looks that tooks months to prepare. From the hair to the make up, to the dress to the jewels, to the handbags to the shoes...I enjoy looking at seperate details, but am always surprised that few people (in my eyes)...seem to get it ALL right. I love when stylists take a risk with color or blur the lines with dresses that show skin with a surprise cut out...however, it is the more glamorous, put together total package that catches my eye. Like a perfect symphony-everything gets orchestrated right on key.

Here, I love Debra Messings total look. Her make up balanced out her hair that played beautifully with this brown (yes, I said brown) Monique Lhuillier gown!

 Love Emma Stone in this drapy, flowing feminine, yet risky,edgy Lanvin gown-wowza!

 Salma Hayek in Gucci...need we say more??

Even though I thought the make up took a little bit of a back seat compared to the rest of the elements this year-it was all so well put together, that it looked intentionally understated. Here is where it worked...Charlize Theron looked like a dream when she stepped out in this Dior gown. VISION!

All in all, I love the elegant look and casual vibe of the Golden Globes...I think it is a perfect dress rehearsal for the Oscars-can't wait!!

Winter WOW!

 We hope you are staying snug as a bug this winter! As the season changes, so does our skin, and it's needs. We need to be more gentle with our cleansers, more emollient with our moistuizers, brighter under our eyes, and creamier with our blushes and lips.

 We have included a few of our winter favorites, that will take your skin from whoa to GLOW! Philosophy's Purity has been a best selling product for a reason. It is gentle on all skin types and it WORKS-removing any trace of  make up. It cleanses without stripping the skin. We also love love Josie Maran's Argan Oil! This is an amazing multi-purpose produt that can be used on the face, hair,  and even nails. Don't let the word "oil" fool you-this is light weight and soaks directly into the skin. You won't even know how dehydrated you were until you use this. A little goes a long way and your skin and hair will thank you!

 We also love a simple, clean, healthy look-even in the dead of winter. This Bobbi Brown Rouge Pot has been a staple in my kit for years because, it's FABULOUS! Dab a bit on the apples of your cheek and use the rest on your lips. It will give you just the right amount of color and that lit within glow.

Last, but certainly not least- a jam up, jelly tight concealer! You want something that has some density to it (since we tend to be lighter in skin tone this time of year) and something that will cover the circles but not get cakey. I love this product from LORAC because the stick concealer is creamy (which I usually pat gently underneath the eye area) and the highlighter gives just the right amount of "glow"-feel free to be more liberal for evening. The rollerball applicator ROCKS, pushing the product seamlessly into the skin.

All in all, taking just a few simple steps-adding just a few changes into your routine will take you from Winter to WOW!

Stay warm...until next time-xo