Bridal Beauty Dos & Don'ts For Your Wedding Day!

I know there's lots of commotion today w/ the Royal Wedding and lots of blogging about this and that and who wore what and all that but I'm not going to talk about that b/c to be honest I'm probably not going to add anything interesting or revolutionary to what's already been written lol. 

I will say Kate looked gorgeous and her dress w/ sophisticated and elegant just like her.  There's been a lot of talk about the fact that she did her own makeup for her wedding day...which normally I wouldn't suggest (and not just b/c I'm a makeup artist ;) ).  I think your wedding day is stressful enough why worry about your makeup and screwing up your eyeliner or trying to put false lashes on while your hand shakes like a leaf...you wedding day is YOUR one day to be a Princess afterall so why not feel like one and leave it all to a professional.

It should also be noted that Kate had professional makeup lessons before her wedding day (I don't think most brides do this but hey if they want to I DO offer private lessons ;) ).  She did follow one of my cardinal rules for wedding day makeup - Look like your best version of YOURSELF!  She kept her makeup soft and clean and let her natural beauty shine through which is how I personally like to approach wedding makeup in general.

So when I have my Trials w/ my brides after we're done I like to give them some Dos & Don'ts for Pre-Wedding  & Wedding Day Beauty and I thought I'd share some of it w/ you guys here.

DO get your hair trimmed approx. 2 wks before your wedding.  I know lots of brides are trying to grow their hair out but trust me a trim just makes it look healthier when styled and it makes it easier to style on the day of your wedding.  Plus doing it two wks before allows the ends to soften so they don't look so freshly cut on your wedding day.  Also most updos don't actually require for your hair to be SUPER long...in fact after a certain length the hair actually becomes harder to deal w/ or put up b/c there is just so much of it!

DO colour or highlight your approx. 2 wks before your wedding (if you already colour or highlight your hair).  This will allow everything to still look fresh but it won't look like you JUST coloured or highlighted your hair.  Plus if for some reason there is a problem w/ the colour this allows you enough time to fix it.

DON'T do any dramatic hair changes whether it be colour or cut right before your wedding.  1. What if you hate it?!? 2. You don't want everyone to whispering and commenting on the fact that you look like a completely different person.

DO get a facial before your wedding but again DON'T do it right before your wedding in case you have a reaction and break out...again the 2 wk rule works well here.

DO get your eyebrows shaped before your wedding.  A good eyebrow opens up and frames the eye.  But DON'T wait to do it the day of or the day before your wedding in case it causes any redness or irritation. 

DON'T just go to anybody, get a referral just b/c they say they are a professional doesn't mean they are actually good (unfortunately I know this too well from yrs of a "professional" over waxing my brows in highschool...they still don't grow completely in :( )!

DO wear sunblock EVERY DAY (this is no matter what time of year it is ladies not even just before your wedding).  Be esp. careful in the sun leading up to your wedding though b/c tan lines are REALLY hard to cover and no one wants to be burnt or peeling either!

DON'T suddenly decide to take up tanning or visiting tanning beds right before your wedding b/c you want to have some colour even if you do it reg. for some reason right before your wedding will be the ONE time you burn (plus it's just bad for you in general)...DON'T risk the spray tan or self tanners either unless you're well versed in them (no one wants to look like their from Jersey Shore...except maybe the ppl from Jersey Shore ;) )

DON'T try any new and radical face treatments or skin creams right before your wedding.  Who knows what you'll have a reaction to...plus w/ all the stress you're under if you're like me you'll be more prone to breakouts!  That means DON'T even think about Lip Injections or Botox for the First time either!

DO drinks lots of water in the wks leading up to your wedding day.  You should try and do this anyway but esp. before your wedding.  It hydrates your skin and helps flush out toxins from your body...plus no one wants dry, parched skin on their wedding...it might be even worse than oily!

DO hire a Professional Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist.  You want to look and feel your best on your wedding day and a good professional will help you look your best and make your wedding day that much more stressfree.  Plus it allows you to just relax w/ your bridesmaids and have a good time.  As well a good Makeup Artist will be well versed in products that are good for photography as well as in person and will last the ENTIRE day!

DON'T leave booking Makeup & Hair to the last minute.  Many in demand artists book up mths in advance and it would be a shame to not get who you wanted b/c you didn't book ahead of time.

DO have a Makeup & Hair Trial before your wedding.  Again it just makes things that much less stressful on your wedding day when you've already worked out w/ the artist(s) exactly what you want.  Also you want to make sure you get along w/ your artist(s) they are going to be w/ you the entire morning before your wedding you don't want to hire someone that really annoys you or just doesn't vibe w/ your personality.

DO your research when hiring a Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist.  DON'T be afraid to do more than one trial w/ more than one artist if you want (and you can afford it).  Yes, I'm confident enough in my skills that I don't mind if a person has trials w/ other artists...hey sometimes they may even like another artist's style better, I don't take it personally I know I'll get booked up that day either way ;)

DON'T be afraid to speak up!  If you don't like something or want something changed w/ your Makeup or Hair say it...a good artist will NOT be offended and they WANT your feedback.  If they do get offended you probably don't want to book them anyway.  I mean in the end it's all about YOU feeling comfortable and beautiful on YOUR wedding day.

DO send your Makeup Artist/Hair Stylist pictures before the trial or take them w/ you to the trial.  I personally LOVE to see pictures and inspiration before I meet the bride b/c everyone has a different interpretation of something - what's dramatic to me might be natural to another person therefore pictures ALWAYS help clarify things.

DON'T make yourself unrecognizable on your wedding day by wearing too much makeup or a style that's totally not you.  I always say that you should look like the BEST version of YOURSELF on your wedding day!  The last thing you want ppl to say is "Oh my God I barely recognize you!".  This is why it's important to be clear w/ your artist about how you want to look on your wedding day.  I always ask my brides how much makeup they normally wear or if they tend to wear a lot of eyeliner, lipstick etc.  If a bride normally wears a lot of black eyeliner I'm probably going to use black eyeliner even if I wouldn't normally just b/c she's going to feel more comfortable that way or if she NEVER wears makeup but wants a smokey eye I'm probably going to do a subdued smokey eye b/c anything more is probably going to overwhelm her.  A lot of brides think they want a makeup look that is more dramatic then they actually do I find.

DO wear some makeup on your wedding day...even if you normally don't.  Also DO strongly suggest this to your bridesmaids and mother as well.  If someone NEVER wears makeup it's even more of a reason to hire a professional b/c they really won't know how to do it on themselves and make it look good or if they don't wear any makeup they will stand out in the pictures in a BAD way b/c they will just look so washed out or underdone next to everyone else.  A GOOD artist will understand and know how to do a makeup look that is soft and natural and won't feel overly heavy on an unwilling particpant.  In fact a large majority of my Bridal Clientele often hire me b/c they say the Brides on my website look so Natural and NOT overdone!

DO keep some lipstick/gloss and powder on hand for touch ups throughout the day.  No one wants a shiny nose or forehead in their pics.  As well always good to  have a couple of extra bobby pins if your hair is pinned up too!  Personally, I give a complete touch up kit to my brides but every artist is different.

DO try and get a good night's sleep before your wedding!  I know it's hard b/c of the excitment and nerves but the last thing you want is to look tired and puffy on your wedding day.  To go along w/ this DON'T drink too much the night before your wedding...no one wants to risk a hang over...that NEVER looks good!

DO try and relax on your wedding day...it's your one day to feel special and it will be over before you know it.  Things are bound to go wrong on the day but try not to stress too much b/c you're marrying the person that you Love and that's what matters.  Plus frown lines NEVER look good in pictures ;)

So there's some of my Bridal Beauty Tips...hope it helps you out!

Another Contest...Just In Time For Mother's Day!

Hey

So Apothica is running ANOTHER contest!  This one w/ a REALLY BIG prize!  How BIG you ask...well let's say $250 gift card kind of BIG!  Yeah that's a lot!  Just think of all the amazing things you could buy for yourself or better yet your Beautiful Mom for Mother's Day.

How do you enter you ask?

Just follow the link and in the comment section explain why your Beautiful Mom deserves a $250 gift card!  Pretty easy...I mean who doesn't have a million stories about why their mom is the best!  Hurry though cause the contest closes soon - May 5th!

Laughing Through the Rain - Vanessa & Matt's Wedding

So last Sat. I got to assist a really nice makeup artist - Victoria Fedosoff on a wedding out in Brampton for a couple named Vanessa & Matt.  Victoria was in a jam b/c her hairstylist flaked w/ less than a wk before the wedding...seriously ppl this is a paid job NO EXCUSE!  Anyway, that person's LOSS is my GAIN $$$ :)  Funny thing is I had never worked or even met Victoria before last wk but we're both Libras and our birthdays are practically the same (1 day apart) so it was like we had been working together for years!  We had talked through Facebook and Toronto is a small industry so we both knew of each other and each other's work and had planned to meet for a coffee and now I'm glad we got a chance to meet!

Thank God this group of girls including the bride was so light hearted and fun b/c the weather was NOT good and it seriously would of had a lot of brides in tears!  Not Vanessa, she was just like pass me the champagne and let's have some fun...I mean really what can you do it's April in Canada there is a chance for some nasty weather lol!

So I was basically in charge of doing 4 bridesmaids & 2 flower girls hair and it turned out great b/c they all wanted my fav type of updos - Modern & Not too perfect/A little messy.  Btw look at me a yr later doing all sorts of hair and rocking it!  I already have two weddings booked this May where I'm just doing Hair and not Makeup!  I've said it before and I'll say it again - LEARN HAIR WELL!  I literally have no weddings booked so far where I'm JUST doing Makeup EVERY wedding is Both Hair & Makeup or Just Hair!!!!

So anyway, despite the awful weather the girls were all having a ball and getting a little tipsy lol during the getting ready process and Vanessa had hired a really great photographer named Aron Goss (Calculated Style) to shoot the fun.  It's really important when you hire a wedding photographer that you like that person and that they mesh well w/ your group and your style.  Just like a makeup artist a photographer might be great but it doesn't mean they are the right fit for YOUR wedding just b/c of personalities and everything.  But Aron was great at getting amazing pictures of this super fun group and he has a blog where he posts photos and this guy is QUICK b/c he ALREADY had some amazing pictures from that day up on his blog!  So make sure to check it out and see some of my Hair handy work ;)  I did all the bridesmaid's hair except the Asian one (I know shocking since it's my specialty ;) ) and the 2 Flower Girl's hair.  You can even see me working in one of the pics...and boy do I look a little rough lol!

Stay tuned Next Wk I'm doing a wedding where the Bride is getting 50's Makeup & Hair and the Mother in Law is doing 20's Makeup...should be interesting to say the least...I'll make sure to take pics!

And The Winner Is....

The WINNER of my FIRST GIVEAWAY & a $50 Gift Card from Apothica.com is...

slgkag

If you're curious how the winner was chosen I went to random-draw.com entered in all the entries and it randomly picks a winner :) 

I will be contacting the winner and forwarding your info on to Apothica and they will send you a Gift Card code that you can then use on their website or their sister websites - SkinBotanica.com and SkinCareRx.com

Congrats to slgkag and THANK YOU to EVERYONE that entered my FIRST GIVEAWAY!  Hopefully I will have many more for you guys in the future!

slgkag I'll be contacting you via email for your information so I can pass it on to Apothica.com so you can get your Gift Card Code so make sure to check your junk mail!

Wholesale Lashes & ES Lash Review

The WONDERFUL ppl at kkcenterhk.com sent me some ES Eyelashes to review WAY too long ago and I apologize for not reviewing them earlier...totally my bad on this one!

KKCenterHk is an amazing place to get wholesale lashes.  Seriously, this place has an insane selection of pretty much any style lash you can think of at prices that WILL NOT break the bank (if you need handmade feather lashes - they have them for $2.50/pair...not $10 or $20 - $2.50!). 

Whether you're a makeup artist who needs a constant supply of lashes for your clients (I know I go through a TON during wedding season) or just a girl that LOVES to play around w/ and wear false lashes I totally recommend checking out their site b/c they have great brands like Ardell, ES, Jealousness, Red Cherry and a whole bunch of brands I didn't even know existed!  Plus some brands like ES sell value packs w/ up to 10 pairs of lashes in each pack (ES sells some 10 pair packs for UNDER $5!!). 

Okay now on to the ES lash review. 

From what I can tell from the website and the pricing they kind of break into two categories.  There is the more synthetic cheaper styles that run just under $5 for 10 pairs and then there's the more premium handmade styles that run just under $11 for 10 pairs - Both AMAZING deals depending on what you need the lashes for.  W/ both styles the bands are really thin and plyable making them very easy to blend into the natural lashes.  Some styles like A52 even have an invisible band which is always great. 

For my bridal clients I would definitely "splurge" (can't really call it splurging w/ prices like that lol) and go for the premium handmade styles b/c the fibers are more natural, soft and fluttery looking and I like my bridal clients to have a natural look where it brings attention to the eyes but no one is thinking "Woah check out those false lashes!" instead they are thinking "Wow what gorgeous, long, thick eyelashes" b/c they can't tell they are fake.  Some of the styles I really like for Bridal are: A720, A747 and A14 (prob my fav for Bridal as I LOVE the style that starts small on the inner corner and flares out longer at the ends).

The cheaper style is still totally useable btw and depending on what you need the lashes for a great bargain that might be perfect for your needs.  I find them WAY more appropriate for things like Nights on the Town or Fancy Dates when you're getting all glammed up and you're wearing a heavier smokey eye or more liner b/c these styles do tend to be a little more heavy and not for the wallflower.  They are bigger and more dramatic and do make more of an impact but if you put them w/ the right eye makeup totally workable. 

In fact what I found to be a VERY useful tip was I cut the cheaper styles in half and just used them for the outer edges (actually they are pretty big lashes so even by cutting them in half they will most likely cover 3/4 of the lash line).  Now the lashes are a little less dramatic (still very dramatic though) AND you get twice as many b/c you're only using 1 lash for both eyes!  Therefore 10 pairs now equals 20 pairs...at less then $5 and you can totally get more than one use out of them so that's just an INSANE deal right there!  For the Night Out look I like: A26, A52 and A013.

Excuse all the silly club pics and stupid faces I'm just including these pics so that you can see that the "cheaper" style can work great when cut in half and w/ the right makeup. 

Three Different Nights w/ Three Different Makeup Looks!

Sarah's B-Day

 Svetlana's B-Day

 New Years!

My First GIVEAWAY!!!

So I have some VERY exciting news for my loyal followers and hopefully all the new followers I get from this...I'm FINALLY announcing my FIRST GIVEAWAY courtesy of the great people at Apothica!

What is this GIVEAWAY exactly you ask?  Well for one lucky winner you get a $50 gift card to use at Apothica or it's sister sites - SkinCareRx or SkinBotanica.  With 3 websites to choose from your bound to find something that you want to try out...knowing my makeup and beauty product loving readers I'm sure you'll find LOTS of things to try out and the harder question will be WHAT to spend the gift card on lol!

Might I suggest something from Duwop, Too Faced or Smashbox Cosmetics (some of the great lines available at Apothica).

We all know about Smashbox's amazing Photo Finish Foundation Primer...I mean I literally think it was the Primer that starter the Primer Revolution lol.  But they also have some other amazing products like their very popular Brow Tech Trios, amazing bronzers and great cream liners.  I'm also in love w/ their angled eyeliner brush...seriously this has helped make me a Cat Eye Pro!  I also really want to try out their Step by Step Contour Kit b/c anyone that knows me and my work knows I LOVE a nice contoured cheek lol!

You know what else is REALLY GREAT about this GIVEAWAY!?!  It's OPEN to EVERYONE!  Yes, that's right all  my Canadian Readers (or International Readers) FINALLY we can enter a giveaway b/c it's not just open to ppl in the USA (no offense to my American readers it just really sucks when we don't get to participate in cool giveaways)!  As long as Apothica ships to your country feel free to try your luck!

So how do you ENTER you ask...well there are 3 ways listed below (Do 1 or do all 3 it's up to you just let me know about it)!  Let me know which one you did by linking it me in the comment box w/ your Name & Email and we're all good!  The WINNER will be chosen on Apr 22/11!

OPTION 1: FACEBOOK
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Write on Apothica's Facebook Wall about what you think of Apothica
Bonus Entry: Opt Into Apothica's Newsletter

OPTION 2: TWITTER
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Tweet about Apothica on your own Twitter Account
Bonus Entry: Retweet Apothica's Tweet about this giveaway

OPTION 3: BLOG
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Write something on your Blog about what you think about Apothica
Bonus Entry: Write about the brand I highlighted (Smashbox) and link it to Apothica

GOOD LUCK!!!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE LINK IN THE COMMENT BOX OF WHICH WAY YOU ENTERED TO SHOW YOU DID IN FACT FACEBOOK, TWEET OR BLOG - THANKS!