An Award!

Connie at Living My Glamorous Life has awarded me The Lovely Blog award. Thank you to Connie for following my blog. If you haven't read Connie's blog, please do here
Run over and give her some blog love!

So I am supposed to pass this on to some new blogs I have been reading lately. Since I am pretty new at blogging, most of the blogs I read are new to me. But, here are some of my favorites:

Living My Glamorous Life

Chanel Fashionista

For the Love of Stilettos

Makeup by RenRen


Those are just a few of the new blogs I'm reading. Some of the other's I follow are private, but LOVE them too.

Thanks for following and congratulations to these blogs!

New lipsticks for Spring

Spring is finally here!
Well, whether you believe me or not (due to lack of sunshine or hot weather where you live), in the makeup and fashion world, it is.

With that being said, it's time to revamp our look. So...out with the dark berry lipsticks and jewel toned eyes, and let's break out the pinks and corals. Yes, you heard me correct, this Spring is all about pinks (in every color) and corals.

As far as lipsticks are concerned, here are two of my FAVORITE colors right now:

MAC in Blood Red
The name is a little deceiving because it's actually not a red color, it's a fuschia. Perfect for Spring!
You will need to check your local MAC store for this as it was part of the D Squared collection from a few months back.



A swatch of the color






Sephora brand

This is a new color, so it should be in stock at your local Sephora. The lipstick shown below is not in the color, but the color you want is called Rosy Frivol. It's a sheer magenta color. I like this one because it looks like a gloss.




I am not a big coral fan, but the new Viva La Glam Lipstick by Cyndi Lauper is really pretty. I didn't purchase it because, honestly, it turned too orange on me, BUT it looked great on the Sales associate.


Remember, when trying on lipsticks, it does change on everyone. It really depends on the pigmentation your lips have. If you want to get the true color of the lipstick, add some concealer or foundation to your lips before applying the lipstick.

So go out and try new colors this Spring!

Lindsay's wedding

This past weekend, I was asked to do a wedding at One Ocean Resort in Atlantic Beach, FL. If you haven't seen the resort, you should. It used to be an older hotel, The Sea Turtle Inn, and now is completely renovated. It's definitely one of the swanky hot spots to get married here in Jacksonville. You can check out their website here .

My bride to be Lindsay, contacted me a few months ago for her wedding day makeup. Initially, I was very excited, not only to work on Lindsay, but I was also going to be working with one of my favorite wedding photographers, Jennifer DeVore. She has such an amazing eye, that I knew Lindsay's wedding pictures were going to look beautiful.
I set up her consultation and once we achieved the look she wanted, I knew she was going to look stunning. She wanted a very natural look, but wanted to accentuate her blue eyes. She looked amazing on her wedding day! Here's the picture to prove it.



Here is a list of the products used on Lindsay:

Face:
Too Faced Primed and Poreless
Eve Pearl foundation
Eve Pearl Salmon concealer and MAC concealer
MAC Creamblend blush in Florida
MAC Mocha Blush on top
MAC highlighter in Luna

Eyes:
Too Faced Eye shadow Insurance
MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre
MAC Satin Taupe
MAC Mushroom
MAC Mylar

Lips:
Sephora brand lipstick

You can also see some of Wedding by Jen's work here
Photo credit: Wedding by Jen

Must have brushes for your makeup bag...

As a makeup artist, I have a variety of makeup brushes, all for a different purpose. I also have multiples of each brush, but that's because I usually have more than 2 clients at one time.
The everyday consumer does not need a multitude of brushes, nor do they need every brush I use.
So, I'm here to tell you which one's, in my opinion, are the one's you really need.

The Stipling brush, also know as the Skunk brush



This brush is used only for foundation. If you are looking for an airbrushed look, this is the brush that will help you achieve that look. When on a job, I don't use an airbrush machine, that's because with this brush, I can use the stipling method and provide the same finish.

Concealer brush




This provides you accurate placement of your concealer. I like the pointed brush the best because it allows you to get closest to the eye and nose area.


Blush brush



This brush comes in many forms (angled, pointed, fluffy). Whichever one you decide to use is fine, just make sure you know how to use it. I usually recommend a regular fluffy one. Unless you know how to use the pointy or angled brush, I would stay away from it.

Fan brush



I like to use this brush for bronzer. It adds a very natural bronzy look to the face because the application of the bronzer is very light.


Eyeliner brush




If you want a thin liner on the top lashes, this is your brush! I absolutely love this brush. You can also use this on your bottom lashes to add some eyeliner, smokey eye effect or sparkle to the bottom lash. This brush comes angled or flat. Either will do the job, it's really just preference. I use both in my kit. The important thing is to make sure the bristles are tapered to a point. This will make the liner thin.


Eyeshadow brush




This brush can be wide or thin. Either will provide you will the same look. One may just take a few stokes less than the other.

Smudge brush



I cannot live without my smudge brush, professionally and personally, I use them everyday. You will use this brush in the crease of your eye to provide your contour color.
This is also the must have brush to have in your bag to achieve the ever coveted smokey eye look.



There are many places to buy brushes, but I will say this, you get what you pay for. With this being said, I have paid for some expensive brushes, and ended up not liking them for one reason or another. I have also bought brushes from Sonia Kashuk's line at Target and love them. It all depends on how the brush hair feels and whether or not it will grab the color.
Another tip for your brushes, KEEP THEM CLEAN. Not only for hygiene purposes, but it will also allow the brush to grab more color. If you notice your brush is not depositing a lot of color, you may want to clean the brush.

My personal favorite place to buy brushes: MAC, Sephora, Target and Michaels. Yes, I am talking about Michaels the hobby store. If you use the high quality painting brushes, they do the exact same thing the "makeup brushes" will do. And for half the price, especially if you use the 40% off coupon.

If I have left out a brush you have a question about, feel free to email me.

Hope you like my choices.