Boston's Best Bridal Makeup :: No "Plain Jane" Here!

No matter what look you choose for your wedding day, it’s important to pick a look that that will make you stand out.  Your makeup should reflect your personality, compliment your features, and ultimately flatter you!  It’s not really about the intensity of the colors applied on you; it’s about having the right balance without looking overdone.  

Brides can wear bright lip colors, such as red, and still look stunning, or they can wear a softer lipstick color, but  intensify their eyes, wearing stronger eye makeup along with false eyelashes of course.

Lindsay chose a glowy look.

(September 20, 2014)

Siobhan chose to go for a bolder look with her lipstick color 

(September 13, 2014)

Preparation :: Tips for Trial and Wedding Day

I often encounter brides who have no idea how they envision their wedding makeup. It's a big day, and there are a lot of decisions to make! With so many little details on your wedding day, it's easy to become a bit stressed. Your makeup should be something to get excited over, never to stress over. So, even though most brides are open for ideas, I find that it makes a difference if they do a little homework before arriving to their wedding makeup trial.

Some tips I like to offer brides are:

1.     Search for some photos (at least 3) of made-up women that you like and bring them to your trial.  The photos should be of women who have similar features as yours.This helps the makeup artist have a better and more clear understanding of what you're hoping to achieve.  You can search on google, on wedding websites, or even in wedding magazines. Visuals are a key factor in ensuring that you have the look you want! 

2.   Take good care of your skin, especially in preparation for your wedding! Although many skin imperfections and blemished can be covered with makeup, it is important to have a skin regimen that will lead to healthy skin.  There is nothing like a healthy glow!  I find that that the better and healthier the skin is, the better the smoother the look will be! A smooth and clear complexion also makes your photographer’s job a little easier; they have to do less retouching. 

3.  Drink enough water and stay hydrated! Drinking water is essential to all parts of your health, including

     your skin. Making sure to drink enough h2o will decrease dry skin, and your makeup look will last all night! 

     With that being said, following these few steps will surely help both you and your makeup artist accomplish the best wedding look that works perfectly for you!

photos via google image

African American Makeup : Glam night from Canada to Boston!

On May 31^st, I had the pleasure of working with a beautiful woman by the name of Joyce, who came to Boston all the way from Canada to attend her 10 year college reunion.  Because Joyce doesn't typically wear makeup on a regular basis, she asked me to give her a “natural” look. Natural makeup looks can be beautiful and stunning, however, since she was going to a night event, and it was going to be more than just a cocktail event, I convinced her to go for a "glam" look instead!  

Before

After

I made her up with smokey eyes, consisting of gray and black shadow. These colors compliment each other fabulously and can really add that "pop" to the eyes! and finished her smile with soft pink lips.  Once I completed her makeup, and she got dressed in her reunion attire, she looked like she was ready to walk the red carpet!

When I bean applying Joyce's makeup, the sun was still shining, and by the time we finished, the sun had just about faded into night time, perfect timing for Joyce to make her appearance at the reunion!

Asian Makeup/Bridal Makeup in Massachusetts

We had an early 6:00 am morning start to Jenny's wedding on May 18th because thee bridal party had to get ready for an Asian tea ceremony. Luckily, we had perfect weather.. it couldn't have been better! Not to mention, the view from the Liberty Hotel was fabulous.  The beautiful sunny day was certainly inspiring! Jenny and her bridal party were all easygoing which always makes the day go smoothly.  

When it comes to teamwork, working with Ann (the bridal party's hair stylist, Ann of Updos By Ann, Updosbyann@verizon.net) is always a pleasure. We've done countless wedding together, and we make a good team! 

I airbrushed the bridal party as they were preparing for a long day ahead. Jenny was going to have her tea ceremony in the morning, and changing to a traditional bride dress in the afternoon. We wanted to ensure that her look would last all day.  For her makeup, I decided to use colors that would not clash with either of her dresses.  I gave her a soft pink look with glowing skin.  False lashes were of course a must!   

I always love the look of traditional Asian dresses on brides!

African American Makeup & Urban Decay's Naked Palette 3

Testing Naked Palette 3 on Medium/Dark Skin Tones

As you've probably seen and heard, there's a big buzz about all three of Urban Decay's Naked palettes. First was Naked, then Naked 2, and recently the Naked 3 was released. Last weekend, I contacted my friend Saraia, to test the latest palette from Urban Decay.  Because I'm a big fan of many products from the Urban Decay line, I was curious to find out how the palette could work for medium to dark skinned women.  The palette contains some warmer shades and tones that can work for darker skin without making the skin look ashy.  

Here is Sarai before I applied her makeup:

After I airbrushed Saraia’s foundation (see photos below), I proceeded by using mainly three colors from the palette, and I added a little matte black eye shadow from a different brand to create a softer day look. 

For darker skin tones, it is often necessary to add a little black eye shadow to contour the eyes in order to really see the contrast in the eye shadow colors.

Sarai was happy with the end result, as was I.  I finished her look by adding a little blush, some bronzer, and of course some false eyelashes, and voila! 

Eyes:  Urban Decay Naked Palette 3

Lips: Urban Decay: Super Saturated: High gloss lip color in Naked

Massachusetts' Finest :: Asian Bridal Makeup

Here's a little update I'd like to share with you! Last weekend I had the pleasure of performing a makeup trial on Jenny, who is getting married in May.  Like many brides, she wasn't sure how she envisioned herself with makeup on her wedding day. The only thing she told me was that she wanted a soft look, with a hint of a glow. This look just happens to be my specialty!  

This is Jenny's look before we applied her trial:

This is Jenny's look after her trial was applied:

I created a look for her based on the information she gave me about her own personal style, and some details about her unique wedding day.   She told me that she would be wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress in the morning, which was red, and a white Western dress in the afternoon.  How pretty! Her makeup has to last a very long time, so I definitely went for airbrush foundation (see this previous post on airbrush makeup to see why it's so great for long lasting wear) and I chose just the right color for her lips that would not clash with her morning red dress.

What do you think?

Best of Boston :: Glamorous Wedding Parties!

I had the pleasure of applying Lisa Plante (Czekanski)'s makeup for her wedding day on August 24, 2013. This was the second time I had worked with Lisa as I had applied her friend's wedding makeup the previous year.  I was flattered and humbled by her early decision to book my services for her wedding.  Even though it was a large bridal party of nine, in late August, it was a fun day as I was familiar with some of the faces.

Lisa told me she wanted her eyes to stand out with soft lips, and that's what I gave her! 

 Before

 After

What was most interesting about working with them, was that they wanted to be "glamed up," not your typical "natural look" with lashes for the whole bridal party, and the bride was no exception!  I convinced Lisa's mom to try some strip false lashes, and boy was she happy she did!  She was so cool like the rest of the girls.

 I didn't get to see her in her gown on her wedding day, so when she sent me these photos, I was excited.  She looked stunning!

To finish off 2013, I had the honor of working with the beautiful bridal party below. The bride wanted a natural look, and I had so much fun applying the makeup for this wedding which was at the Intercontinental in Boston.