Just Makeup - Wedding Edition

I've talked a lot in the past about the importance of learning Hair for my Bridal business.  In all honesty I literally wouldn't have a bridal business if I didn't do hair or at least have ppl on my team that do hair.  I'm also expanding my wedding business this year and that means adding more ppl to my team of artists.  It's actually been very interesting interviewing and meeting other artists out there.  I was actually surprised how many of them didn't do hair, or were surprised when I even asked about hair.  Truth is almost everyone will get their hair done for a wedding...not everyone will get their makeup done.  Do I agree w/ this idea, of course not but it's the reality of the business in Toronto and if you want to be successful (like I personally do) you learn this quick, face your fears and learn how to do hair!

Of course there is the odd wedding where I have the pleasure of just doing the makeup!  It's always nice and sort of a treat to just be able to focus on one thing for the entire wedding.  Sometimes this happens b/c it's a big wedding and therefore I've hired another artist to just do hair while I just do makeup or once in awhile I literally get hired for a Makeup Only job!

So I thought I'd share a couple of my Makeup Only weddings w/ you guys.

The first one was a wonderful, sweet and beautiful bride Melissa.  Melissa lives out West and booked her wedding well in advance. I first did her trial during the Xmas holiday of 2011.  She had a large wedding - 7 ppl Hair & Makeup so I thought it would just make it easier if I hired my trusted friend and artist Ashley Readings to do ALL the hair and then I could stick to doing ALL the makeup!  Makes both of our lives easy and a little more stress free when you can just concentrate on one thing all morning and really get in a groove.

The trial went fabulously and Melissa was such a sweetheart (I think she said she was more nervous about the Makeup & Hair then anything else lol).  We agreed I'd make her extensions b/c the girl wanted BIG hair...on the wedding day she kept saying BIGGER, BIGGER lol in reference to the volume!  I did a really soft pink, brown w/ a touch of gold/bronze smokey eye and a natural lip.  Just before the wedding I actually met up w/ Melissa to drop of the extensions and I barely recognized her, literally!  I know a lot of brides say they are going to lose weight but Melissa actually did it..she was beautiful at the trial but HOLY SHIT did she look good at that wedding!  Man that girl worked hard!

And she must have about the sweetest then fiance now husband EVER!  Her engagement story had both Ashley and I "Ahhing" and on the wedding day the gifts and card her fiance wrote literally almost had me in tears...and I don't usually cry at stuff like that!  Such a sweet girl definitely deserves a guy like that!

Both Melissa's hair and makeup looked gorgeous when Ashley and I were finished!  I saw pictures at the ceremony and she still looked gorgeous (which was a relief b/c it was literally one of the hottest days that Summer)!

Photos Courtesy of Maverick Photography

So Pretty!

 Got my usual "Game Face" on ;)

 Mother & Sister

What a cute couple!

 Ashley did such a beautiful job w/ the hair that day!

Another wedding I worked on in the beg. of Nov. where I did only makeup was for a bride named Stephanie.  Stephanie wanted a clean beauty look w/ a little extra "oomph".  The look we agreed on was so pretty I actually referenced her trial pictures to a lot of other brides to see if it was similar to what they had in mind.  What was great about this wedding was I actually got to airbrush ALL the girls!  Sometimes I get to do airbrush on the bride but I never have a wedding where ALL the girls get airbrush...and the photo I got really showcases how great they look!  This was also a group that wasn't afraid of makeup!  It was so refreshing to have a bunch of girls that wanted a bit of glamour and even still in the pic I think they look really beautiful and natural...but don't be fooled ladies - these girls were wearing some makeup - trust me!  See the camera really does eat up the makeup...that's why it's always a battle w/ my brides to let me put more makeup on them...not w/ this group though they were all for it!

Also, I didn't know their hair person that day but he was AMAZING!  Seriously, sometimes I've worked weddings where I've done just the makeup or just the hair and I've looked over and though oh those poor girls.  But that definitely wasn't the case w/ this artist...he had serious talent!

Man this group of girls looked good next to one another...you'd swear they were all sisters w/ their beautiful blonde hair.  They just went so well as a group!  Esp. b/c they were all okay w/ a little more makeup, no one looked more "overdone" then the next one.

Handfuls of Irresistiful All Over The Subway!

Back in July I had the amazing pleasure of working on a REALLY COOL and HUGE campaign for Orville Redenbacher's new Ready to Eat Popcorn!  It was a two day job where we shot 3 campaigns...which meant a lot of work and long hours.  But the cast and crew were amazing and I really do have to thank my two awesome assistants that day - Ashley Readings and Jade Truscott for their help....I should also mention the catering was top notch...always a very important thing on commercial jobs in my book ;)

One of my big goals for my career is to do more commercial work so landing this job was a BIG deal to me b/c it's a big name client and it's a big campaign...NATIONAL apparently in fact!  Commercial work isn't the most glamorous or exciting but guess what it pays well ;)

So anyway, apparently the campaigns are on billboards, buses, and subways...although I've only seen the one on the subway so far :( (Ashley has seen the billboards though).

There are three scenarios:

1. A cheerleader eating the popcorn and a pyramid of cheerleaders toppling over  b/c they are distracted by the popcorn.

2. A movie star on the red carpet being ignored by the fans and paparazzi b/c they are distracted by someone eating the popcorn

3. A bride about to walk down the aisle and her family is in the front row ignoring her b/c they are too busy eating the popcorn

As you can see they are really cute, funny and creative ads!

On Sunday I was on the subway on my way to a wedding and I saw the wedding campaign ad...very exciting to see one's work on the subway!  I snapped some shots w/ my iPhone so please excuse the not so great quality.

If you're out and you see the other ads I'd love to hear where...maybe I can track them down myself!

Btw the campaign was shot by the incredible photographer team of Raina + Wilson...they have some really great work.  I really hope I get the chance to work w/ them again in the future!

I've tried the Sweet & Salty and it's Delish ;)

I'm Going Places With Car2Go

So you may remember just a couple of posts ago I raved about my experience w/ the new hourly car rental service in Toronto Car2Go.  Well the World Wide Web is a small place and funny enough the ppl at Car2Go Toronto happened to stumble upon my blog just days after.

They loved what I wrote and b/c of my little blog post were nice enough to give me my own Car2Go to use for 5 days!  And it couldn't have come at more of a perfect time - 3 weddings in one weekend and ALL of them outside the city!

So I got the car on a Fri. and drove it out to my early morning wedding in Scarborough.  Wedding went great and it made my life SO MUCH EASIER to drive to the job instead of take the TTC which would have probably cost me another hr in travel each way!

Day 2 I had a wedding in Maple...gorgeous day and a gorgeous bride!  Originally my partner in wedding crime and frequent chauffeur Ashley was going to drive but since I had the car I got to pick her up and chauffeur her to a job for once!

Me and My Car2Go in the Burbs!

Makeup Artist/Photographer Ashley taking some pics while I'm driving

One Thing I Love About Early Morning Weddings - NO TRAFFIC!

Early Morning Starbucks Run...Necessity For Weddings!

On the Sunday I was working a wedding job for Ashley this time and it was in Thornhill.  Originally Ashley was going to pick me up but again b/c I had my Car2Go I drove myself up there...loving all this driving practice I'm getting lol!

Monday was a VERY rainy day so I was SO HAPPY to have my Car2Go.  I had a bunch of errands to run, normally I would have walked or taken the TTC but it was really pouring out there so it was great to do my errands, drive and stay dry!  Plus w/ the FREE Green P Parking w/ Car2Go it's really easy to run errands around town at no extra cost to me!

Rainy Monday!

Yeah For Staying Dry (And Keeping My Makeup Pretty) In My Car2Go!

After all the errands I was meeting up w/ a friend for dinner.  We decided since I had a car why not make use of it and drive somewhere that we normally wouldn't have gone so we drove uptown for dinner...and then back downtown when the restaurant we wanted up there was closed :( (again so happy that parking is covered w/ Car2Go to cover the parking uptown and downtown lol).

The free registration is over now w/ Car2Go BUT they do have a pretty good promotion going on right now through Groupon - $17 registration and 60 mins FREE driving time so if you missed out on the free registration it's not too late to register practically for Free!

Yep, People Really Do Still Get Married In The Winter!

As I've mentioned before the longer I'm in the Makeup & Hair Bridal business the more I realize there really isn't a "wedding season" anymore.  Yes, it does slow down but even from Jan-Mar I've been steadily booking and working on 2-3 weddings a mth...not bad esp. compared to last year when I didn't start doing ANY weddings until April!

Back in Jan. I actually had a day where I had TWO weddings back to back!  The first wedding was a perfect example of the type of client I frequently seem to attract and love working with!  Anyone who has been keeping up on my bridal business knows I tend to do a lot of "alternative" or "vintage" style weddings and my brides are often not that "fussy".  They tend to be more laid back and casual and don't want anything too dramatic or overdone which I totally love b/c it tends to be my wedding style as well...or at least what I'm getting known for.

Sarah (the bride) was actually a referral from a girl I went to uni w/ Melissa which is totally cool.  I have Melissa on my Facebook and it's always nice when someone that you know refers someone to you b/c they've seen your work and think you're worth referring.

As I mentioned before Sarah was very laid back, casual and not your "typical" bride...well maybe MY typical bride lol...but I'm just lucky I suppose ;)  She wanted a bit of a vintage feel as she didn't have a typical white wedding dress but this gorgeous blue 50's vibe dress...so vibrant and pretty!  She also had an amazing fascinator and shoes!  She wanted her makeup to be fairly clean w/ a slight winged liner and she wanted her hair to be clean and classic w/ a bit of a finger wave in the front and a small bun in the back.

I really have to give a big thanks to Ashley Readings who helped me out on the wedding and to Patti Miller for taking such amazing photos that day!  Here's a couple Patti shared w/ me!

Sarah's MOH...she had the most gorgeous naturally curly hair so of course I was going to work w/ that!  It would be a crime to not leave curls that naturally beautiful IMO!

Right Angle

In case you missed it up on Lilogi's website here's the fashion editorial from last week's Geo-Graphic Inspired Week!

The model Kristy has an edgy look to her so I want to keep that edginess and do something very simple but striking.  I did that by doing a large graphic eyeliner design...so "IN" right now ;)...boy does that take some patience and a steady hand.  I've def. come a long way on the Cat Eye winged liner (literally use to be my achilles heel lol).  I also wanted to keep her the hair simple but still striking and I wanted it to sort of have a sharp feel to it if that makes sense.  I also LOVED that for once the model didn't have long hair...don't get me wrong I love long hair and it does give so many possibilities but I feel for this theme the bob Kristy had worked so well!

Photographer Renee Rodenkirchen

Stylist Alexandra Loeb

Makeup & Hair Jessica Jean Myers

Manicure Ashley Readings

Model Kristy (Elmer Olsen)

Make sure to check out this week's Sugar High on Lilogi...I didn't do the Hair & Makeup but it's still very cool don't worry ;)

Canada's Best Beauty Talent - My Entry

So some of you may or may not be familiar w/ the reality TV casting call that went out across Canada looking for the Best Beauty Talent - Makeup Artists and Hairstylists.  Basically, to enter you have to submit a little bio, some pics of your work and a video audition tape.  From this they will choose 6 Makeup Artists and 6 Hairstylists to compete to be named Canada's Best Beauty Talent!

I hemmed and hawed over whether to enter for a couple of wks...just wasn't really sure if it was my thing or I was up for it...or maybe I was a little too scared to be up for it.  Finally, I decided to take the plunge and enter...I figured what do I have to lose!...and in truth the chances of me actually getting picked are probably very slim...I mean who knows what these ppl ever look for in the castings.  I'm not really crazy or eccentric after all...but I do think I'm talented and real...and I do have an opinion and I'm not afraid to share it lol.

So w/ the help of my very good friend and fellow MUA Ashley Readings (who also made an entry video), I made a little video one day...thank you a million times to her b/c my skills are seriously limited and it would have ended up this poorly lit little video where I probably would have looked like shit lol!  This is also why I've probably never ventured into YouTube instructional videos before lol.

So the deadline for applications is tonight and they'll be deciding the finalists in the beg. of March.  Here's my video in all its glory...hope I'm not making too much of a full of myself lol.  For some of you this might be the first time you've heard my voice...I don't know might be kind of weird lol.

Enjoy!

Again thank you so much Ashley...couldn't have done it w/out you!

Full Spectrum - Video Editorial

Here's the video editorial from Prints/Patterns Week at Lilogi a couple of weeks ago!  I just LOVE this video so much it's so upbeat and makes me want to dance around my living room...I just wish it was longer lol!  Check out the white girl fro in motion lol!

Videographer Renee Rodenkirchen

Stylist Alexandra Loeb

Makeup & Hair Jessica Jean Myers

Hair Assistant Ashley Readings

Model Lauren (Elmer Olsen)

Btw just did a shoot w/ the Lilogi team on Thurs and it will be live in 2 wks...the location is SICK!  I CAN'T WAIT to see the pics and video from it!

Full Spectrum

Last week was Pattern Play Week at Lilogi featuring gorgeous clothes from Thakoon's Sping/Summer 2012 Resort Wear Collection and boy was it FUN to work on!  Even though my wardrobe mostly consists of black, navy, grey and some dark purple I'll be honest I LOVE colour...esp. in the Summer when even I've been known to wear a bright orange or pink dress every now and again lol.

I also loved the energy the clothes brought to the set...really just livened and lightened everything up.  Sometimes fashion really can take itself too seriously after all.  I also got to really play around w/ the Makeup and Hair on this one!

I got to create an AWESOME white girl fro!  I've done it before but I think this is the best it's ever looked...I think in part it had to do w/ the fact that Lauren (the model) didn't have SUPER long hair like a lot of models so it really did create a dome sort of fro when I pulled it back in a headband.  I have to give a big shout out to my "assistant" although I'd never actually think of her that way Ashley Readings who helped me "set" Lauren's hair in a million hairpins to create the fro.  Basically you have to weave the hair in a figure eight around large hair pins and then seal the shape by holding the sectioned pieces in a straightener for about 15-20 secs each, let cool and then when you take it out and brush it FRO CENTRAL!

For the Makeup again I wanted to keep it really bright and playful like the clothes.  I did a really simple sweep of intense teal shadow across the lid and a bit of a shimmery teal on the highlight very lightly.  Did both upper and lower lashes (wanted it to almost have a doll feel).  A pop of fuchsia on the lips and a nice pink on the cheeks and we were done!

Lauren did such a great job too of bringing the energy and playfulness that the clothes needed!  The only thing I felt slightly bad about was after the shoot I found out she actually had to go to work (Roots) immediately after...fro and all.  She tried to slick it down and pull it back a bit...:S

Photographer Renee Rodenkirchen

Stylist Alexandra Loeb

Makeup & Hair Jessica Jean Myers

Hair Assistant Ashley Readings

Model Lauren (Elmer Olsen)

Cruise Control - Video Editorial

Lookie Lookie!  Another Video Editorial from the Great people at Lilogi!  This actually came out a couple of wks ago but I decided to wait a bit to post it.  You may remember the pics I posted from the shoot a couple of wks ago!  Really love the cool, slick, edginess of the shoot and video...very different from a lot of the videos in the past!  Eunique the model was so perfect for it!

Videographer Renee Rodenkirchen

Stylist Alexandra Loeb

Makeup Jessica Jean Myers

Hair Ashley Readings

Model Eunique (Elmer Olsen)

Btw if you haven't been checking out this week's Pattern Play at Lilogi go check it out now!  Seriously Trippy!

Speed Factor

I hope you guys enjoy seeing my work w/ Lilogi as much as I enjoy showing it b/c there is going to be A LOT more for the next couple of wks!  Literally, it's like I'll have a whole new portfolio to print in a mth the way we keep producing such awesome work!  I know I keep saying it but it really  is fabulous to work w/ a bunch of ppl that can truly collaborate w/ and that respect and get your vision as much as you get theirs and therefore trust you enough to do your own thing!

Here's last week's pics from their Alexander Wang Sports Wear Week!  Such a great shoot and such a gorgeous model!  This was also a lot of fun b/c I got to work w/ my often mentioned Makeup/Hair partner in crime Ashley Readings.  She did the AWESOME hair you are seeing in the pics!  And I know it might be hard to appreciate b/c it looks like just a really smooth sleep high ponytail but you have to understand what she started w/!  Eunique the model has some very gorgeous and BIG natural hair w/ A LOT of curl at the root so Ashley did an AMAZING job in blowing out that hair into the sleek and slick pony you see in the pics!

Photographer Renee Rodenkirchen

Stylist Alexandra Loeb

Makeup Jessica Jean Myers

Hair Ashley Readings

Model Eunique (Elmer Olsen)