N Ky airbrush makeup/Casey, married!

These images are courtesy of Braun Photography, a team I had never worked with, but we had sooo much fun that day and I was thrilled with their work when I got home and facebook-stalked them. : )
Casey really has that classic movie star beauty, like a young Helena Bonham Carter (pre Tim Burton, when she did all the period pieces!)

Cincinnati makeup artist/Amanda, married!

Playing catchup on some weddings that just never got blogged. How could I neglect THIS beauty!?
These beautiful images are by Tine Hofmann

BRIDEface Covington KY makeup/Carolyn, married!

I am definitely behind in my wedding postings, but this one is worth the wait.
Every bride I have the honor of spending the day with is special, but when I have a bride I have known for years? Over The Top.
I met Carolyn's mom a few months after my twins were born nine years ago. Karen literally wrote The Book on nursing multiples and I had kinda sorta idolized her, after about a year of poring over her knowledge. I wound up in her La Leche League group, and eventually our friendship led to my hiring her daughter to do makeup at Saks while I was counter manager for Laura Mercier.
Fast forward to a year and a half ago, when Carolyn booked me before even getting officially engaged. Is that flattering, or what??
So there is an extra, added, oomph to doing a wedding for a Near and Dear.
Sherri Barber's images gives me goosebumps!

Dress Up Clothes-Dress Up Makeup?/BRIDEface Richmond Makeup Artist

Hello all and sorry for the "pause" in these updates! However I am excited to give you all a quick post on a great product.

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to work as the lead artist for Chanel at Saks here in Richmond. As many of you know I was a global artist for about 8 years for Laura Mercier and so it was nice to get "back to my roots". Being in the store is always such a great experience because it keeps me up to date on trends, new products, plus I get the opportunity to meet some new clients (hi new friends!!!) and talk with them about what they think works and what doesn't. Just as an FYI I will be back at Saks for Chanel April 19-21 in case anyone wants to come by for a bit.

Chanel has so many beautiful products and has one of the most impeccable reputations for knowing fashion and makeup. While I was there one item that almost every customer bought was a Glossimer. In many cases my clients were getting more than one. I decided to start asking these women why they loved this product so much.Some of the things that they told me that make Glossimers a must have are they:

* are non sticky

* have a great silky smooth texture

* wear longer than other glosses

* don't have any smell  or taste

* have excellent pigment and you can really see the color

* have lots of beautiful shades to choose from

In my experience, the two big complaints about lip gloss is that it feels thick or sticky and that it doesn't last. Well, according to these savvy shoppers they will pay a little more ($29.50) for a quality item if they get the payoff in the end. It certainly appears that Glossimers are a winner!

The top image is of the new Glossimers that are out for Spring. I love the one called "Amour" as it is soft and delicate like flower petals. It seems the most popular and universal of the existing shades is "Twinkle".

Now you all know I like a bargain (I can do so mean shopping at TJ Maxx), but I am also a proponent of having a wardrobe of makeup. Just like we have our play clothes, our work clothes and our dress up clothes, I believe our makeup should also have some variety. Throw on a Hard Candy gloss when you are running around but when you have that special event but on something that makes you feel special! It can really change the entire mood of the night.

Just my two cents worth...what do you think...let me know!

Makeup artistry and Experience

When I started BRIDEFace seven years ago, it was just me. I went through about a year or so alone, and after a couple missteps, happily ended up with Mollie as my wingman. Things progressed gradually from there, and now I find myself with a team of ten artists. As i prepare for tonight's training session with "my girls", I have a lot of things on my mind.

Most of us have pretty different backgrounds. But one thing we share is we all cut our teeth doing retail cosmetics. Now a lot of people sneer at those ladies behind the counter, and sometimes with good reason. There is pretty rapid turnover, so your Clinique "beauty advisor" could be a talented ten year veteran or she could be an 18 year old on her first day. But many famous makeup artists launched their careers that way; Kevyn Aucoin and Sam Fine both got their start peddling lipsticks.

Having spent about ten years in the trenches, let me say that working on nothing but models all the time is not really the way to become a skilled and resourceful artist. Here's a little "resume" of what I encountered, didn't run from, and eventually mastered, in my years at Saks:
-worked with an African American client with severe vitiligo ( spots on your skin with no pigment) I learned how to completely cover her "spots" as well as teach her how to do it herself
-camouflaged more black eyes and bruises than I can count (plastic surgery and "clumsiness")
-addressed issues with extreme roseacea (ruddiness)
-took clients with serious acne and made them feel good again by painstakingly stippling every spot
-corrected permanent makeup gone bad (ever seen bright red brows and eyeliner?)
-helped women going through chemo with creating eyebrows and compensating for lack or lashes, and with the changes in their skin
-Met Badgley & Mischka and keyed their fashion show, as well as shows for Escada and St John
-worked with people from age 13 to 93
-had a client with a severe phobia of anyone touching her anywhere near her nose
-helped a boy with Trichotillomania (a disorder that involves pulling out hair; in his case, eyebrows) to look good for his senior pictures
-learned to cover tattoos
-worked with a wide range of ethnicities and skintones
-dealt with allergies, skin sensitivity and irritations
-learned all about contouring and highlighting from a drag queen co-worker
-went to Chicago and met my favorite makeup artist , Laura Mercier...and worked with her again in NYC five more times, as well as her doing a PA here in Cincy (translated as, my life for ten weeks beforehand were consumed by hiring/training 20 artists, building 20 kits, and booking about a zillion appointments)
-Mercier flew in an NYC brow guru (seriously, you gotta book six months in advance and she's like $85 for a tweeze) and I became completely obsessed with eyebrows
-became super speedy at doing a face. You have to work quickly when a woman pops in on her lunch break.

So you can see that working retail is really what you make of it. I ran towards the tricky clients instead of avoiding them, and used them as my guinea pigs.

And that is only my retail background. Beyond that, I obtained an aesthetics license and took classes in airbrush, bridal, and runway in NYC. I worked for a modeling agency and did hair, makeup, and styling for models' portfolios. I did commercials, print work, video work, and TV news.

My point is, experience does matter. You want your makeup artist to be able to think quick on her feet and be able to handle anything. You want her to be fast so you don't run behind. You want her to be creative and instinctively know what shades and techniques work for different skin tones and bone structures. You want her to be confident and therefore put you at ease. You want her to be an expert on a wide range of products. You want her to be able to deal with any age and any ethnicity.
And you mainly just want her to have done a whole lot of faces.

That's why i am so super picky about what artists i hire. Everything I mentioned above matters, and so does bedside manner. We are often playing the part of psychologist and mind reader as well. Having a soothing presence and a sense of humor is essential.

After all, this is no rehearsal; it's someone's wedding day, and she doesn't get a do- over. I consider bridal makeup to be the most important makeup I do.

product rave from Mollie: Clinique BB Cream

In a word or 2, for me BB cream, specifically Clinique...wunderkind, wherehaveyoubeensinceIdiscoveredmakeup product. I have been noticing BB cream, particularly on Clinique, Sephora, and a few other lesser known websites for about the past year/year and a half. I watched reviews and saw more and more BB creams making there way to, or being formulated for here in the U.S. BB creams were originally formulated for asian skin, and sold in Asia only. I waited...read...waited...read and bought Clinique because I could find the most long standing reviews for their product. 'Not gonna lie when it came in the mail I was like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" running to the mailbox for his secret decoder. Unlike him, I was ecstatic upon my first use. This product lived up to it's reviews and then some. BB stands for Beauty Balm Cream. It can be used as primer, a tinted moisturizer, it packs spf 30, light diffusing particles, and antioxidants--all-in-one. It is my forecast that every major line will have a BB cream or has just come out with one. I have been using this everyday since the beginning of December as my only foundation along of course with Secret Camo from Laura Mercier to cover up any nasty places that pop up. I can honestly say--this product is fantastic--in my opinion. A tube of Cliniques will set you back around 40- bucks. I had the pleasure of doing a FACEing class with a former bridal client recently, who brought in a tube of BB cream, not Clinique, one color only, she had recently bought, she shared some with someone else in the class, they had completely different skin tones, and it "morphed" on both of them. With this product in your arsenal it truly is possible to do a 7 to 10 minute polished face, they were both amazed at how radiant and even their skin looked. Cliniques BB comes in 2 shades only (1 and 2) and is for all skin types--the only drawback of these products is the limit in shades. For those of you who know me--and how fair I am--I even use shade 2. When it comes out of the tube to me and many reviewers it looked too dark, but I was buying for my undertone online. I listened to the reviews though that said try it before you assume it's not right, they were right. You can't tell where it stops and starts once it's on. Many BB's only come in one shade because if they do what they are supposed to the really do morph into your skin-- but the lack of shades and not being able to touch the stuff at a counter--were what made me hesitant initially. Clinique may have it at the counters now, but as of late November when I was really wanting to get my hands on it, they did not. I am a consumer as much as a makeup artist and I hate buying and returning--UGH! I have been doing makeup on others now for 21 years--and ironically I started behind a Clinique counter. Prior to this I had already discovered or re-discovered a few other goodies from this long standing line. We'll leave those for another post. I had been somewhat distracted from Clinique other than my aforementioned goodies, they have my attention now. This BB cream out of 5 stars, for me personally, I give it a 6!

BRIDEface bridal makeup artists Cincinnati/Danielle, married!

Amanda Donaho
I am finally getting around to sharing this November wedding...after having a FACEing class with Amanda last night, it occurred to me that I had been remiss in my blogging! How, may I ask, could I forget this stunner?
Danielle favors a pretty natural look but loves her eyes to be accentuated. We even added some individual lashes to her lash extensions (applied by Tracey Wells of Fusion Salon)