Everyday Heroes - Chatelaine Shoot

About a mth and a half ago I mentioned that I did a little shoot for Chatelaine magazine.  Well the new issue is out so I thought I'd share w/ you the pic from that day.

It was actually a really cool and inspiring shoot to work on b/c I got the chance to meet some truly exceptional women who do exceptional things to help the ppl around them.

It was also a really cool shoot b/c I got to work w/ a new photographer - Caitlin Cronenberg - a real up-and-comer and a totally cool girl and Sian Melton, who was the one that introduced me to Caitlin in the first place.

Going Left to Right:

Deborah (wasn't there but in the picture frame) - She opened The Olive Branch for Children, to help the most vulnerable people in rural communities around the world.  Projects include setting up medical clinics, organizing HIV testing and opening kindergartens in remote villages.

Janette - After her daughter died of a rare cancer last year she started Gilllie Beans Fund in her honour.  They've already raised over $26 000.

Sharon - She started Soup Sisters - a foundation that serves over 8000 bowls of homemade soup to women and children in shelters across the country.

Lia - A woman who lives everyday to the fullest.  Was once a homeless teen, now a successful sales executive.  She founded Up with Women to help homeless women and children rebuild their lives.

Emma - A lawyer that created a student-run program to address conflicts in schools that's reduced suspension rates by up to 82%.

Miriam - The oldest of the ladies at 92 but definitely still full of spirit.  Miriam is a holocaust survivor who walks 5 km for Breast Cancer every year, prepares meals for the homeless for Toronto's Out of the Cold program, marches in the Pride Parade and bakes and sells challah bread every week on behalf of a charity that feeds underprivileged children and seniors.

Everyday Heroes Indeed!

Timeless Elegance Updated

Back in Aug. I shared w/ you a few behind the scenes pics I took of a beautiful bride - Meghan.  Her dress, makeup and hair all looked so stunning and elegantly put together.  Meghan has been kind enough to share w/ me some of the beautiful pics that were taken that day by Nancy over at Mango Studios so of course I wanted to share them w/ you!  I'm so glad everything came together for her so well on her wedding day!  Can't wait to showcase a couple of these babies on my website!

What a gorgeous fascinator!

Bridesmaid

Such a great group of girls!

Finishing Touches!

Meghan and her mom...I think they both look gorgeous!

Bride & Groom

Sneak Peak - Old Hollywood Bride

Here's just a quick sneak peak from a wedding I did on Sunday.  The bride - Megan was so much fun and we hit it off right away at the trial.  Seriously, she was one of those brides where I thought afterward I want to make her my friend lol.

Her whole family was hilarious and I can totally see where her and her sister get their personalities from b/c her mom was just a riot!  One of those upfront, speak it like it is types...totally my type lol!

Megan wanted a very vintage Grace Kelly sort of feel to her makeup.  Soft, elegant and evoking an Old Hollywood sort of feel which totally went w/ her whole dress, fur shrug and gloves.  FYI this was the wedding where I used a couple of the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows I mentioned in my previous post.  The only thing that bugs me a bit is this pic was taken before I did  her lip at the end...can't wait to see a couple w/ the lip!  Although her natural lip colour actually looks very pretty w/ the whole look and the lip I did isn't that different.

She had the cutest short curly hair that was so much fun to work w/ and just really bring out her natural curl!

Thanks goes out to photographer Kristin Foster for sending over this little sneak peak!  I so can't wait to see the rest!

L'Oreal La Couleur Infallible Eyeshadow Review

I know I've been slacking on the blogging lately...my apologies it's just been a busy time of year...still lots of weddings, my upcoming b-day...life...you know all the fun things!  FYI I'm already booking weddings into next Summer...if you want me for your wedding you better get on it ;)

Anyway, a little while ago I was contacted to review some of the new L'Oreal La Couleur Infallible Eyeshadows and of course I said I was game.  When they arrived I was shocked at what they sent.  I was expecting 1 eyeshadow to review and instead I got this gorgeous little box w/ 9 FULL SIZE eyeshadows!

How Pretty is THIS!

I should mention right away they are actually more like pigments then eyeshadows and they come w/ a screw off lid on the back.  But they are actually kind of pressed together somewhat tightly b/c of this cap that goes over the eyeshadow so they aren't as loose and messy as a lot of pigments.  What's great about the texture is that it's a hybrid between a cream and a powder and it has a very velvety texture and feel.

So I wanted to use these several times before I reviewed them and I have now used them on myself and on a couple of brides and I will just say I LOVE these eyeshadows!  The colour payoff is seriously insane!  They are so intense and long lasting...and not just compared to a drug store brand I mean compared to a lot of professional brands as well!  The fact that you can get them at your local drug store is just a huge bonus!  FYI in Canada they retail for about $10.99/each or so....don't know about anywhere else.

One thing that tends to bug me about pigments is the fallout on to the face but overall I don't think it's too bad w/ these...as long as you firmly press your brush into the shadow beforehand and give it a little tap before you use it I think you should be fine.

Some other benefits of the eyeshadow is that they have a 24 long lasting hold and are smudge, rub and blink resistant (plus I would say they hold up to creasing very well).  They say they are waterproof...I would probably go w/ more water resistant but still that's pretty impressive....so therefore especially useful for your crying brides!  And as mentioned before the colour payoff and intensity is just insane!

The only thing I'm not crazy about and it's just b/c I'm a professional makeup artist and not just a consumer using the product on myself is the packaging.  It's great if it's just in your own personal makeup kit but of course for me you know I'm all about condensing my kit and as you can imagine these 9 eyeshadows would actually take up a lot of space in my kit.

I did swatches of the 9 colours I received using a dry brush and a damp brush b/c sometimes you know the eyeshadows or pigments will just be a lot more vibrant if you use a damp brush to apply but w/ these I don't even think that's necessary unless you wanted to b/c even w/ a dry brush the colour is just so good!

Below are the swatches.  The Left (usually wider swatch) is always the damp brush swatch while the Right is the dry brush swatch!

Time Resist White 

As you can see here and you'll see w/ the rest of the pics there is barely any difference between the damp brush swatch on the left and dry brush swatch on the right in terms of intensity!

Forever Pink

Flashback Silver

Permanent Kaki 

 I hadn't used this colour yet but after the swatch I can't wait - it's so pretty!

Unlimited Sky 

This looks more pale blue in person...but for some reason more grey in the pic

All Night Blue 

This is JUST GOREGOUS...Look at the Colour Intensity!

Purple Obsession

Burning Black 

In person there is a lot more red flecks in it that didn't show up in the picture.  It actually reminds me of Beauty Marked by MAC a lot (I think that's the black one w/ the red flecks)

Hourglass Beige 

Def. the most neutral.  I used this w/ the Forever Pink on a bride this past weekend and it was gorgeous w/ a bit on brown on the outside corner

The only two colours I didn't receive are - Eternal Black and Endless Chocolat and I'm really curious about both colours b/c they are probably the two colours I would use most for msyelf.  Maybe I'll just have to go out and buy them then!

Another Beautiful Wedding at The Old Mill

I may or may not have wrote about the fact that I had two weddings in a row at The Old Mill back in Aug.  It's a very popular wedding spot for Toronto couples but it was kind of funny to be going there back to back...at least the second time I knew what to expect from the small, poorly lit "bridal suites" - rooms for brides to get ready if their hotel room isn't available yet.

My second bride from The Old Mill just sent me the pictures from the wedding and I have to say I couldn't be happier w/ how it all turned out!  I saw the whole photo album from the whole night I'm very happy to admit that she looked beautiful and fresh from start to finish (yeah me)! Thanks goes out to the wonderful photography courtesy of David A Pike.

What was interesting about this wedding was that I didn't actually get to do a trial on the bride Diane before the wedding.  I'm not going to lie this is not ideal at all but sometimes it's the way things work out esp. if I'm getting booked sort of last min...and for some reason I do tend to get a lot of last min. brides.  I'm not complaining as long as I get booked I don't really care how far in advance it is but in all honesty a trial is usually helpful not only for me but for the bride as well.

But you know what everything went so smoothly that day and I couldn't have been happier w/ the results for not only Diane but her entire bridal party.  I did the hair and makeup for her Maid of Honour (who later said I gave her her dream hair lol) but also the hair for her sister and the makeup for another bridesmaid.  I even thankfully for everyone had time to fix the mess another hair stylist inflicted on her poor sister-in-law (also a bridesmaid).  Her sister-in-law was coming from Markham and thought it would just be easier to get her hair done up there and I'm not going to hold that against her but I couldn't believe what a "professional" hairstylist did to her hair and let her leave the salon with.  I'm by no means perfect when it comes to hair trust me but I guess I was just really surprised that someone who went to school would do work like that...but then again I've also witnessed some pretty scary work by "professional" makeup artists too lol.  Despite the shit load of hairspray and poor teasing I was able to at least make it look more presentable which made me happy.

Diane and her entire group were such a pleasure to work w/ and her updo was actually a bit different from anything I had done before so w/out a trial or having never met her I'm not going to lie I was a bit nervous but she had gorgeous, thick hair and it actually went quite smoothly and looked beautiful if I do say so myself lol ;)!  Like many of my brides Diane wanted the classic natural bride look and that's just what I gave her.  I put the emphasis on the eyes and used mostly golds and browns to accentuate her lovely golden skin tones.  So thanks again to Diane and her entire wedding party for making this such a wonderful and fun wedding experience!

Diane & her Maid of Honour

Diane w/ a friend - I don't know who the friend is but I was just impressed w/ how well Diane's makeup looked well into the reception lol!

The usual me doing my thing photo!

Really LOVE this photo of the Hair!  Gorgeous Hair Piece too!