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.

Want your eyeshadow to last all day?

If you've spent time and effort to make your eyes look good, don't you want them to stay that way throughout the day? Well, don't we all. This is one of the many things clients ask me....."How can I keep my eyeshadow on all day. It seems to wear off by the end of the day?" Alright ladies, I haven't found the miracle, but it's pretty darn close. The first thing you need to invest in is an eye primer. There are many eye primers made by many different brands for everyone to choose from (I've tried most of them). For the past 5 months, I have been using one in particular on myself and my clients. It's Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance primer. This product is AMAZING. When I tell you that your eyeshadow is not going to come off, it's not! Your eyeshadow colors will be more vibrant, cream shadow will not run or crease and you can cry all you want (brides) but this is going to stay on. I've even tried washing this product (with eyeshadow on) with only water and it still doesn't come off. You will need to take off your eye makeup with either eye makeup remover or your face wash.
It comes in a small tube. When you squeeze the product out, you will notice the cream color. It actually goes on clear onto your eyelid. Before applying eyeshadow, allow the cream to dry for a few seconds. Make sure the color you are about to apply is the color you want, because it's not coming off.
I personally wear this everyday I wear eyeshadow.


According to the Too Faced website, here are some of the benefits of Eyeshadow Insurance:

Vitamin E conditions and smoothes eye area

Has anti-aging, antioxidant moisturizers

Can use with powder or cream eye shadows

Anti creasing formula holds shadow in place

Concentrated a rain drop size goes a long way!



You can purchase eye shadow insurance at your local Sephora, Sephora online, your local Ulta, Ulta online or Too Faced cosmetics online

Photo and benefits courtesy of Too Faced Cosmetics

Enjoy!

Foundation I am loving....

I've had quite a few questions lately relating to what foundation I am currently using (on myself and clients). I feel I am very lucky in the sense that I get to test makeup. So, here are my picks on foundation. Please know, these are more full coverage foundations, since this is what is appropriate for my clients (brides, photo shoots, fashion shoots). With that said, here are my suggestions....

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet




According to the Makeup Forever website, this foundation will hide skin's imperfections, evens out skin tones and matifies with a non-oily finish. I can truly attest to this. Mat Velvet leaves a flawless, velvety finish to the skin. This foundation is also water resistant, so it will stay on all day.
When you first try this foundation, you will notice that it is a thicker than most foundation. This allows for the full coverage. Since it is thicker, you will use less foundation, so one bottle will last longer than most.

You can purchase Makeup Forever at your local Sephora store, the NYC Makeup Forever store, or at www.sephora.com

Eve Pearl HD Foundation




According to the Eve Pearl website, this foundation provides a full coverage with a non-greasy texture. I can attest to this as well. This foundation also evens out skin tones and hides skin imperfection. The main difference is this foundation leaves more of a dewy finish to your skin, where the Mat Velvet leaves a matte finish.
In case you haven't heard of Eve Pearl, she is the makeup artist for the Today show.

You can only order Eve Pearl products through her website at www.evepearl.com


Hope one of these work for you all. If you have any makeup questions, or a product you would like for me to review, let me know and I'll do a post on it.

Banana Republic coupon

Over the holidays, Banana Republic was giving out 40% off coupons for each Wednesday during the month of January. So far, this month, I've only missed one Wednesday coupon. I have carefully laid out my plan as to which full priced item I am going to get the next week. So, here is the beauty I plan on purchasing tomorrow.




I think what I like best about this necklace is that it has both gold and silver intertwined, so I can wear it with both colors. Plus, turquoise is one of my favorite colors.

There is also a bracelet to go along with it, but the BR website didn't have a picture of it.

So, what do you plan on buying?

Insider information on MAC pigments...

In case you all don't know, recently MAC streamlined (and downsized) their pigments. They now come in a new slimmer container. I was speaking with a fellow Makeup artist, who works at a local MAC store, and I asked her what they were doing with the old products. She stated they are sending them to the outlets, AKA "The Cosmetics Company Store." SOOOO, you know where I will be going for some of my new pigments! I called my local outlet store in St. Augustine, FL, and they confirmed they do have some of the pigments in store, although, they would not give me the price over the phone. They did say they are much cheaper than the retail price. These pigments retail for $19.50 a pop. I will definitely be stopping by to pick some up. Now I need to figure out what colors I want......

MAC in Lillyland

Today I picked up a few items at my local MAC store. Before you all ask, no I do not work for MAC, I just love a lot of their products. In the makeup industry, consistency is key, and with MAC, you can never go wrong (except for their foundation, not a big fan). Here are some pics of the items I bought. I'll be testing these out first and will then do a review for all of you.

Creamblend blush in "Florida"




Creamblend blush in "So sweet, So easy"




I swatched both of these colors while in the store, and the one thing I will say now is they both are very creamy and beautiful colors. The "Florida" color is bright, but actually gives a beautiful glow of pink. The "So sweet, So easy" color gives a gorgeous natural glow.

More of a review to come...