Cincinnati airbrushing artists/Avrita's engagement, by Penny

What a stunning couple! these images came over from the amazing Tine Hofmann yesterday and I just couldn't wait to share! Looking forward to the wedding images...

Cincinnati airbrush makeup/Datina, by Mollie

images from the magnificent Neysa Ruhl

From Mollie:

"Datina was such an amazing kickoff to the "season". I loved working with her, her sister Lynley, as well as her the rest of her friends and family. Her amazing eyes reflected off of her radiant complexion. She is truly as beautiful in person, as she is in these photographs."

Cincinnati private makeup lessons/Makeup Bag Monday; Heather

Heather brought in her extensive colllection and I weeded through it into four different categories:

-stuff she wears everyday

-stuff she should pitch
-stuff she never wears but ought to

-stuff she wears but shouldn't

The above image on the left are her everday items; mainly pretty good, except that NARS Orgasm is way too light and peachy for her skintone. I recommended the cream blush from Maybelline instead; a deeper, rosier hue. Good neutral MAC shadows, great mascaras (she wears all 3 every day-!)MAC moisturecover is an excellent concealer; it is a staple in my kit.

The pic up on the right are things she rarely wears but I would like to see her incorporate.
I sincerely apologize for my horrendous photography, but suffice it to say that I recommend
she spice up the neutrals by wearing more plums and purples. in her headshot above I have a very deep burgundy cream shadow on her lid, but it actually reads very natural on her and gives such a richmess to her big brown eyes.
I showed her how a dramatically lined eye could give her so much more pop-the liner palette below is such a great buy, has a fantastic bent liner brush, and gives her four shades to play with.Come to think of it, I want that too!

The cream shadows give her one everday neutral to wear alone or layer other colors(she would like to play with some olive-y greens in her collection) and the deeper wine shade I used. she has some bare monerals but the shade was all wrong so I steered her in the direction of my favorite tinted moisturizer instead. She has great skin that simply needs evening out and spf.

Thanks, Heather!

heather mu bag by nannobanan on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Luna Twilight Moonshadow Eyeshadow, $20
Smashbox Cream Eye Liner Palette ($55 Value) Backstage, $15
Amazon.com: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer: Beauty, $42
Amazon.com: L'Oreal HiP Cream Shadow Paints - Nervy: Beauty, $6.20

Cincinnati wedding makeup/Lindsay, by Penny for BRIDEFace

This is the second wedding BRIDEface has done for the Ficke family; we did Lisa in December!

I cannot wait to see what Lifetime has in store for their wedding film.

Laura Leppert is reponsible for these stunning shots!

Get your Spring on recap

We had so much fun on Sunday! Heather of Stella & Dot, Sally of Sassy Boutique, Tracy of Tres Belle Cakes, Julia Gibson of 1154 Lill, and of course Kristen Folzenlogen of Poeme and April Rentz of Bluebird (who took these lovely images)
I did everyone's makeup and we did an impromptu photoshoot. I just HAD to share!

Makeup Bag Monday; Jen D

Today's MBM comes from the owner of Your Wedding by Jen.

Jen has a great assortment here and I love that she lets herself play and have fun with her makeup. She even mixes up her own foundation recipe out of MAC strobe lotion (a luminizer)MAC foundation, and a tinted moisturizer... this gives her a glow and a fairly sheer coverage. She is also using a primer underneath and sets it all with a powder.
She has the fabulous Urban Decay eye shadow primer.
She has been using light purples and turquoise. I recommend trying some of the coppery shades from this kit to pop her green eyes. I recommend she play with a fun cream shadow to experiment with the intensity it can give; a smudge pot can be used on the enteire lid, or just as a liner. Burgundies also can be very striking as well. I also love a shimmery pewter; predominantly gunmetal with an undertone of green.
She favors liquid liners, which I love; she has a black and a purple. She leans toward lining her inner bottom rim with her black pencil. She may want to mix that up and bit and try lightening up that waterline instead to make her eyes look larger-a white or flesh tone on that inner rim gives a bright eyed look for a nice change of pace.
I would love to see her add in a blush; L'ancome "Pret a Plum" is a great shade for her and is really silky and easy to blend.
I also added a luminizing powder to highlight her cheekbones and give her a little warmth.
Thanks Jen for sharing your stash with us; have fun with that amazing palette!!





jen d's bag by nannobanan on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc Peach Mosaic, $38
Lancome Color Design Blush - Sensational Effects Cream Blush. Smooth..., $27
Stila Smudge Pot at Zappos.com, $20
TALIKA Eye Pencil with Essential Oils and Applicator - Flesh - Skin...

The Bridal Studio/Get Your Spring On!

Have we got a treat for you! Custom skirts from Sassy Boutique and handbags from 1154 Lill, with hundreds of gorgeous fabrics and silhouettes, both vintage and new! Plus, jewelry from Stella & Dot. Top that off with cupcakes from Tres Belle cakes, and you officially have a Spring Girly Par-tay. Join us at 610 Mainstrasse on Sunday April 18th, from 12-4!

(The Bridal Studio gals are all modeling Sassy skirts in the a-line style!)

N Ky makeup artist/Beware of overtanning for your wedding!

I was dishing dirt with one of my favorite photographer friends the other day and she begged me to counsel my clients to not go overboard on the tanning bed and/or spray tans. I try, God knows I do.


Let me try to first dispel a few myths:


-tanning will clear up my acne-prone skin.

While it can be true that a tan might make read marks less prominent, this is a short term fix at best. It is proven that tanning can cause overproduction of sebum, exacerbating the condition. Spray tanning can sit in larger pores, giving the appearance of blackheads.


-tanning will give me a "base" so I won't burn on my honeymoon
Many people believe that having a few sessions of indoor tanning will protect them when they get to a sunny climate, but there is little evidence this is true. tanning under the sun or a tanning bed gives protection that is equivalent to a spf of 4 or less, which translates into a little extra time in the sun before you start to burn. But the larger issue is that any change in skin color is a sign of damage from UV radiation. repeated exposure can lead to premature skin aging and skin cancer.


-tanning will make me look less "pasty" in my white gown
The effect of an overly tanned bride can be just the opposite; she can look orangey, or muddy-the oppsite of the fresh faced glow you are surely trying to achieve.
I have had brides as porcelain as Scarlett Johansen or Dita Von Teese and they looked anything but washed out. Streaks from poorly applied spray tans can be very difficult to camouflage, and sun damage can cause your photographer hours of retouching.

So resist that urge to "get some color" before your wedding. It is easy to lose sight of what you actually look like and end up overdoing it. Rely on bronzers, contouring, and illuminators for a truly healthy glow!

Makeup bag Monday; Jen G

Jen is another of my former brides and we cross paths more often than I do with most of them. She loves to come see me at events if I am moonlighting at Saks and she is always eager to try new looks and get fresh products. I see a lot of my faves here; someone has been reading my blog ! Lash blast and L'oreal Beauty Tubes are staples for me, and Laura Mercier mulberry lipstain is a classic and really the perfect red for nearly any skintone.

The brow kit looks good-good netral and it seems to have a wax to keep them groomed-? (not sure;I am not that well-versed in Urban Decay products for some reason)

Of course I adore Mercier tinted moisturizer. The thing I really see lacking here is eyeliner, and Jen has beautiful eyes, with or without her glasses. Let's do a liquid liner; would love to see you rock out a slightly retro look with a tick at the end. (think Progressive spokeslady)

Jen struggles with concealer and is always on the hunt for the holy grail. Got one for ya, gurl; Makeup Forever lifting concealer is really pigmented but doesn't settle into fine lines or make you look dry. Another thing she can do is add a highlight to the inner corner of the eye; that draws sparkle to the eye and makes darkness under the eye less noticable.

Jen asked me about the Laura palette; I think it is an excellent chice; they are a great value and have versatile shades, and keeps everything really organized.

(top image, Stephanie Carson)

jen's bag by nannobanan on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
MAKE UP FOR EVER Lift Concealer Dark Beige 2, $22
Laura Mercier Polished Palette ($100 Value) Polished Palette, $55
Amazon.com: Smashbox Double-Ended Eye Brightener 1 ea: Beauty, $22
Walmart.com: L'Oreal Paris Lineur Intense Brush Tip Liquid Eyeliner,..., $7.79

Jessica, sans makeup?

Okay, so the very top image is a paparazzi shot, and the rest are all from the new Marie Claire.I have had soo many people ask my opinion on this cover, and I will say that there was definitely some enhancements made. If you compare the top pic to the bottom one, you can clearly see that Jessica does not have black eyelashes in real life.Her eyes in the top photo are absolutely tiny in comparison to the images below, and they have quite dark shadows underneath. They either tinted her lashes, used extensions, or both. She also most likely has tight eyeliner on the upper waterline; many men wear that on screen or in print and it is quite subtle.
They are even claiming her haircolor here is 100% natural, and that there was no styling done for the shoot.

She defintely had some major help in the brow department-I am guessing that they dyed them brown.
She probably had been cramming on facials up to the shoot, just as she worked out an insane amount before wearing those Daisy Dukes.Isn't she a Pro-Activ spokeswoman? I see no signs (large pores, scarring)that she was ever acnaic in her life. Hmm.
I am intrigued by how crooked her face is-I am impressed that they didn't alter that. Her makeup artist must do some wicked shading on her nose and jawline!
I am assuming they did the old Scarlett O' Hara trick of pinching the cheeks and biting the lips?Because her lips in the top image are very very light in pigment.
A lot of artful shadowing and obscuring of her face, too.
She sorta looks like Jennifer Jason Leigh.What do you guys think-?

Cincinnati makeup/Emily's engagement session

Another gorgeous session with Tine Hofmann

How about those green eyes-AYKM???Emily works for the Reds, so this is a crazy busy time of year for her. So glad she had time to squeeze in e-pics with her honey last Saturday!

Cincinnati makeup artistry/Jessica married!

florals Katie Elfers
images Michael Bambino
custom invitations Poeme

hair Liz Carter
Oh, but I love a cool blonde in a red lip! This one is Laura Mercier's lipstain in "mulberry", one of my all time favorites. It comes in a little pot and you just push the pigment into the lip, saturating them with that yummy berry stain.Isn't she just a knockout?

Jessica is the new sister- in- law of my dear friend and Bridal Studio partner in crime, Kristen Folzenlogen.