Model Bride

 I know I keep showing you guys pics of my brides from last year but I'm sorry I just can't help it!  When I get the pics I get so excited b/c they all look so beautiful that I have to share it w/ you!  I just got my latest bunch of pics from a bride I worked w/ last Nov. - Meaghan...and I'm SO GLAD I got these b/c as soon as I met Meaghan at the trial I was thinking "Oh my God she's gorgeous...I hope she send me pics after her wedding!"...then I think I asked "Were you a model?"...she's 5'11 and totally model worthy...and I'm in the biz so I know a model type when I see one.  FYI she never did actually model but was scouted (of course!)

Meaghan was having a rather small affair wedding.  Married at City Hall followed by a dinner at Luma (I believe) but like many of my brides that are having small weddings she still wanted to look her best and feel special on her wedding day.  She planned the whole thing in 4 wks and it's amazing what some ppl can pull together in such a short amount of time...her dress, which was from J. Crew was perfect for the affair - simple and understated but still very elegant and it fit beautifully...this is actually the second time this past year I've  had a bride get her dress at J. Crew and both times I've been really impressed!  She also had a vintage fur stole to help complete the look which is really a nice touch for those Winter brides.

For her makeup Meaghan wanted a very clean look - very light on the eyes but still a false lash, a nice flush to the cheeks and a nice raspberry stain to the lips.  I styled her hair in a very romantic, tousled and curled updo that was perfect for a chilly and windy Nov. afternoon.

All the photography is courtesy of Chris Bodnar who I think did a fabulous job capturing the romance and love between this couple!

Bridal Makeup - YOU On Your Best Day!

About a mth ago I received a VERY last minute call from a bride about doing her Hair & Makeup for a wedding...when I say last minute I mean LAST MINUTE - called Saturday, wedding Monday! She lived in Montreal but was getting married in Toronto and b/c of some family circumstances her and her fiance had moved the wedding date up a couple of mths.  It was the holiday Monday but I wasn't doing anything special so I of course agreed to the job.

I'm so happy I did b/c the bride Ninat was literally one of the most kind, soft spoken and gentle brides I have EVER met!  Also one of the most naturally gorgeous!  Seriously, I get a little nervous if I haven't had a chance to do a trial on a bride before the wedding but Ninat was so naturally beautiful I literally almost asked her to wash off her makeup when she came in the door b/c I don't think I've EVER seen anyone look so good w/out ANY makeup - I'm VERY JEALOUS lol!

She also had the most gorgeous curly hair and the perfect length!  Not too long as to weight the curls down but just long enough that I could do the most elegant and beautiful side updo that went fabulously w/ her amazing fascinator!

Last week she sent me a couple of pictures from the wedding and I'm thrilled she did b/c literally not only does she look STUNNING but the photographer - Jovan Matic just did an amazing job in capturing her beauty...the pics literally look like they were made for a wedding magazine IMO.  I LOVE them SO MUCH I actually switched the main image on my wedding website homepage...that's HUGE!  I think the pic just works wonderfully w/ the colour scheme of my site and also is a perfect example of the work I try to do as a bridal artist - clean, beautiful and true to the bride and her personality.  I've said it before and I'll say it again my whole philosophy for Bridal Makeup/Hair is - I want you to look like YOU on YOUR BEST DAY!  I don't want to transform a bride into someone she isn't.  It would be awful to me if ppl said to her "Wow, I didn't even recognize you!?!".  I want ppl to think she looks effortlessly beautiful and like I've just enhanced her natural beauty and I feel these new pics of Ninat are a PERFECT example of that!  I hope you do too!

Raw Beauty

Well Adamo de Pax has done it again!  Less than a wk after I put up the last story from him he already finished the next story we did that epic photo shoot day!  I LOVE how much variety we are getting all out of one shoot day...seriously it's insane!  Every story is so completely different from the other you wouldn't even know they were all shot on the same day and it's so exciting waiting to see what Adamo is going to do next!   I should probably stop bragging about him so much...soon everyone is going to want to shoot w/ him and I won't even get a chance lol ;)

I really wish I could show you the one story that we are still trying to shop around to get picked up by a magazine b/c it's seriously gorgeous...and like I said before so different from everything else!  It really is amazing how much range and variety you can get out of 4 models that all started w/ the exact same look.  Yes, I know I keep repeating it but seriously it's crazy lol!

The last story w/ Sarah was very clean and fresh and this one w/ Bea is so different from that in every way.  It's raw and edgy and I really really like it!  Bea was really great at emoting that raw sexuality and vulnerability we were looking for w/ this one and she's barely recognizable from the clean face original pic.  Yes the makeup is still really clean here but it's amazing what just changing the lighting, switching a pic to B&W and messing w/ one's hair can do to an image.  Hope you like!

Clean Beauty With A Pop of Colour!

Remember that amazing shoot I did a couple of mths back w/ that amazing, hot, new photographer Adamo de Pax.  Yes, the one where we did 5 Beauty Stories w/ 4 girls and it was the most productive shoot EVER!  Well I now have in my possession the next series of pics from this shoot!  I've shown you guys the complete Clean Beauty pics w/ all 4 models...I've also seen another set of pics from the series that I can't release yet b/c we're hoping they get picked up somewhere.  So now this is the 3rd series of 5 from the shoot...seriously it's like the gift that keeps on giving mths after it's done lol!

This was actually the first model of the day Sarah (Elite).  Sarah is So Fresh and So Young!  Really energetic and enthusiastic about everything.  Sometimes it's fun to work w/ new models b/c everything just makes them so happy b/c they haven't gotten jaded or bored of the industry yet lol.  Sarah had beautiful, soft features...very young and very innocent looking.  She also had very full, pillowy lips that I knew would be fun to play around w/.  For her "story" I wanted to keep the basic clean face look w/ the same high bun and just play around w/ her lips b/c they were so perfect and just calling out for pops of colour!  I pretty much exclusively used my OCC Lip Tars for this one...I just thought why not - they give great colour and in all honesty I don't actually use them that much.

I think this story is also a great example of the fact that you can still keep something really clean but still play around w/ it a bit and have fun!  Just b/c I'm giving her a strong lip doesn't mean I have to suddenly go in and start doing more to the rest of her face.  It looks really fresh and clean and a little more interesting to just give that one little tweak in every picture.  IMO this is still pretty much clean beauty...just clean beauty w/ an "edge" ;)

So here's the rest of the Sarah story - hope you Enjoy!

This pic and the 3rd pic are my FAVS from this story!

 LOVE This One! 

Beauty & Braids

Today I got the chance to do a little beauty creative w/ photographer Sian Melton in my apt.!  Do you know how nice it is to not have to lug my kit around and just wait for ppl to come to me.  Her and I had been talking about shooting a Beauty story for a long while now but she had been super busy, I've been busy, the model we wanted was busy and then there was the issue of where to shoot it b/c she's in Oakville and doesn't have a proper studio out there.

So about two wks ago now I approached her again w/ the idea of a creative and I offered up my apt. as the shooting space to lure her in lol.  Apparently, my amazing apt. is the perfect place to shoot a small beauty creative b/c it has lots of natural light, blank walls and high ceilings.  Sian then approached Vienna, the model we wanted to use before and she was totally game so it was set and I was super excited!

I've had this one concept in my head for a beauty story literally since I was in Paris and bought these amazing magazines.  There was this one article about this one runway show and I just loved the Hair & Makeup so I was dying to create something w/ a similar feel but of course put my own spin on it.  I'm just so happy I finally got to shoot it b/c these concepts sort of have expiration dates and of course they lose their appeal after awhile.  Sometimes it's hard to get a photographer to agree to a beauty story when it's not even their concept to start but Sian is totally laid back and loved the concept so that was great.

I wanted to do something w/ a very ethereal feel to it so I can't wait to see want Sian is going to do in post b/c  it will look totally different then the pics she took today...which were already pretty cool!  I wanted the makeup to be mostly underneath the eyes and blended and faded out but I also still wanted it to have a bit of a messy feel if that makes sense.  For the hair I wanted to do an awesome braid story again but this time I wanted to crimp the hair first which I did w/ a really tiny crimper.  Time consuming but SO WORTH IT b/c it just gave the hair this amazing texture and gave so much volume and bulk to the braids.

I know I already have a braid story and I do love that one but it's getting a bit old so I wanted to update it w/ something new.  Plus that was in black and white so not the most useful to me and the makeup was super clean in it and being that I now have some new amazing clean beauty the story is not that useful in my book even though I still think it's really pretty.  Sometimes it's hard to get rid of a story even though you still love it b/c it's either a little stale or you just have a better story that represents a similar concept.

So I'm just giving you a taste of some of the looks...you'll have to wait and see for the real things ;)

After the crimping everything else went really quick...even after the 1st look was done all the changes were fast!  What a great team!

 Sian & Vienna doing their thing!

So Fresh & So Clean - Now THIS is Clean Beauty! UPDATED

Adamo is back from his wedding (Congrats) and of course like the AMAZING professional he is he went straight back to work and finished editing the one clean beauty shot he couldn't get to before the wedding  - Sarah (Elite). She was actually the first model we shot that day.  She's from Elite and such a pleasure to work w/ - So Fresh, So Soft and So Young!

So here's the finished pic of Sarah!  Stay tuned for other shots from this day b/c there are literally SO MANY!  I will be posting stuff about this epic shoot for mths probably lol!

I'm also posting the other pics again just so you can see everything together in all it's glory!  Plus I just think they look so cool together b/c each girl is so different in her features - some sharper, some softer, different ethnic backgrounds, different hair colours etc. but I just love how the same concept looks so different w/ all these different girls!  They all do their own thing and look gorgeous but each still looks very natural.  Such a skincare ad I swear!  I'm not going to lie my only bit of sadness is that we didn't get any girls w/ darker skin tones...c'est la vie you can only work w/ what the agencies are offering you :(

On my website I have them laid out Alex, Sarah, Andrea, Bea - kind of goes from Light Hair to Dark and I really like it!

Cover FX - Full Coverage Without The Cakey, Heavy Feel!

Late one night after a particularly fun evening out (aka drunk night) I decided to do a little online shopping and I decided to FINALLY indulge my desire and satisfy my curiosity for some Cover FX makeup.  I've long had an interest in the brand and wanted to try their foundation and concealers that SO MANY ppl rave about but for some reason still hadn't...even though I had a 40% Pro Discount (yes pros sign up and get 40% off - AMAZING!).

I had even been to Shoppers Drug Mart several times and played around w/ the products and even figured out what my colours were and yet I still for some reason hadn't ordered.   Anyway, maybe it was the fact that I was tipsy + the fact that I was running VERY LOW on my Yaby concealer and powder foundation + my skin was(is) a mess that I decided hey enough is enough I want to look decent and pretend I have good skin right now so let's give this stuff a try!  

So I ordered and waited patiently for a few days for the order to arrive (they were shipping from Canada so I expected it to be quick).  I'm not going to lie - I'm not sure if it's always the case but their shipping was EXTREMELY slow...it may have just been a one off but if their products weren't so FUCKING AMAZING I'd probably not order again...man you're lucky your products are GOOD Cover FX!  If you're just a reg. person w/out a discount just go to Shoppers or where ever and get the products...Pros I hope your shipping experience is better than mine that's all I can say (to get the discount you have to order online).  

Once my products FINALLY arrived I was SO EXCITED to finally try them and can I just say I was NOT disappointed!  I really do LOVE them!  I got a shit load of stuff: Camouflage Concealer (Light), Natural FX (Water Based Liquid Foundation) E20, Cover FX (Total Coverage Cream Foundation SPF 30) E20, Powder FX (Pressed Mineral Powder Foundation SPF 10) E20, Primers - SkinPrep FX & ClearPrep FX, Setting FX Translucent Powder and 3 Brushes - #160, #170 & #190.  The SkinPrep FX, Translucent Powder, Cream Foundation & Brush #160 came in the Maximum Coverage Kit which was already a discounted kit + I could use my 40% discount on it so it was an even BETTER deal!

I know a lot of ppl in the past have complained about the products being too heavy or cakey but I have to be honest I just don't think they are using them properly.  It really is about TECHNIQUE here...LESS is MORE w/ this stuff TRUST ME.  It is SUPER pigmented and FULL COVERAGE so A LITTLE  really does go A LONG WAY!  Even I was a bit worried which is probably why I had waited so long to try them out.  I mean I had seen different sales associates at Shoppers raving about the products only for me to look at them and think 1. You are wearing the wrong shade of foundation 2. You are wearing WAY too much of the wrong shade of foundation lol.  

Okay so back to me and my experience.  I'm going to do something VERY scary in this blog post just to illustrate how GREAT I think these products are.  I'm going to show you pictures of me w/ LITERALLY NO MAKEUP on - NONE.  Like I literally stepped out of the shower - you'll notice the wet hair - no moisturizer, no primer, no wrinkle creams - NOTHING!  I'm doing this to show you what a difference they can make...this is VERY scary for me b/c I'm not going to lie - I look like SHIT in these Before Pictures but I'm just doing it to illustrate an important point.  Right now my skin has been going through a bit of a prob phase for the past couple of mths.  I've mentioned before I have/had some skin issues and well it's not good right now...it was worse and has improved a lot in the past mth but I'm just getting over some side effects from a medication I was on and I guess it really messed up my hormones or whatever but anyway my skin has not been pretty lol...I'm talking lots of rock hard cystic pimples on my jaw, neck and chin area - really attractive...plus all the usual skin issues lol!

Okay here are a couple of BEFORE shots - notice the uneven blotchy skin, zits, freckles (I actually like the freckles), under eye circles...all of that!  In truth my skin was A LOT worse a couple of wks ago so I guess I should be happy lol! FYI if you didn't know this before you'll know now...I have really jacked up eyebrows from over waxing and tweezing in my teenage years.  Lesson to the girls out there DON'T OVER TWEEZE!  I use to have a unibrow - I would die to have a unibrow to tweeze again lol!

Okay to start w/ I put on all my daily eye creams, serums, moisturizers and primers (btw I LOVE E.L.F's Mineral Face Primer from their studio line...CHEAP but SO GOOD!).  Speaking of Primers I've tried the Cover FX CleanPrep FX which is a Primer for Acne skin and I gotta say so far it's the only thing I'm NOT a fan of.  Maybe I need to give it another try or use less I don't know but I had a prob w/ it rolling on my skin once I put the concealer or foundation over it...not good! After I applied all my usual skin prep stuff I started w/ the Cover FX Camouflage Concealer in Light.  I bought a full size version of this stuff and they also sent me a small little sample of it.  I've been using the sample EVERY day for like 3 wks and I'm still NOT out of it.  That's how little you need and how pigmented it is!  I find it similar to Keromask Concealer which is another Full Coverage Concealer and I find both run dark.  They do have an X-Light below the Light.  I'm definitely a Light and I imagine a Medium would actually be pretty dark but I guess this is good b/c that means  the X-Deep would probably cover even the darkest skin tone which is great for all those dark skin beauties out there that have trouble finding concealers and foundations for themselves.  

Here's me after JUST the Camouflage Concealer.  See what a huge difference just the concealer made!

 That's the sample I've been using for 3 wks!  Imagine how long the actual tube will last - no the stuff isn't cheap but it will last FOREVER!

As you may notice I really wanted to focus in on concealing around the chin/around the mouth area b/c that's where a lot of my probs right now are.  I would also like to point out that I left my freckles across my nose and on the top of my cheeks still visible.  I like them b/c I think they are fresh and cute therefore I don't think there is any need to cover them up w/ too much concealer.  I also mentioned that I bought some brushes and I have to say I have a new FAVOURITE brush now.  For years I've LOVED the MAC skunk brush for buffing liquid foundation and cream blushes into the skin and I still love it but you know what there is a new brush in town that I love for my liquid products - Brush #160 - it's a cream foundation brush and I really think it has made all the difference in my application of the product and helped it from looking cakey or heavy.  I use the brush to buff the product into my skin and in areas where I need more coverage like right on a zit I use it to sort of tap the product on to the problem spot and not just spread it around.  I LOVE this brush.  I also love my #170 Pointed Foundation Brush which is great for around the nose and under the eyes!  

After the concealer I used the Natural FX Liquid Foundation in E20...if my skin was better I might just use this as it does give very good coverage as well.  Also I have skipped the concealer and just used the Cover FX Cream Foundation which is also very good and has a very good coverage...works very well w/ brush #160.

After Natural FX E20

I finished it all off w/ the Powder FX in E20...my only complaint w/ this is unlike the concealer which I think runs dark I think this runs a bit light.  It goes from E20 to E40 and I really kind of wish they had an E30...esp. w/ Summer coming up.  I have to be careful not to over apply this and I don't think I could use it alone b/c it would be too light for me but I do think it helps brighten up my under eye area!

Okay so now I've laid all the foundation work down and it's on to the stuff that actually brings out my features.  I think my skin looks really fresh and even but after you take away all the imperfections things can look a bit flat so it's important to bring them back w/ your other makeup.

The following pics and also the first pic I posted at the top of the blog are after I completed my clean, basic makeup look for the day (as you can see my hair is still wet lol).  Btw if I wasn't taking pics in between all these steps this all literally takes me 10 mins (at most).  Also it should be noted that many ppl have already mentioned to me that the "After" pics look really fresh like I just stepped out of the shower and have NO makeup on lol!  It's like on TV or the movies when a girl steps out of the shower or pool and still looks fresh and beautiful lol!  Which is great but I can tell you and I'm going to steal and slightly modify Calvin Klein's famous quote - The best thing is to look Natural, but tt takes A LOT of FUCKING makeup to look Natural lol!

Just for reference in these After Pics besides the moisturizer, primer, concealer, foundation & powder I'm also wearing: Contour, Highlight, Bronzer, Blush, Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Eyebrow Pencil, Mascara & Translucent Powder...Very Natural lol!  Isn't amazing what a little mascara, eyebrow filler and lip gloss can do!

Okay so after all this I went out for coffee w/ a couple of friends and I was gone a couple of hours and it was pretty hot out yesterday.  This is me after coming back from coffee - no touch ups!  I still think it looks good!

Couple of more hours later meeting a friend for drinks.  Curled my hair, added a little eye shadow, touched up the bronzer and blush but not really the foundation or anything - might have touched up the powder foundation just a touch to control the shine!

Sorry this blog post is SO LONG and detailed but I hope it was at least informative!  And I think we ALL learned there really is no such things as Natural Beauty just Manufactured Natural Beauty (at least for me) lol!

Also Cover FX if you're reading this and you want to send me some free stuff to try b/c of the GLOWING review I wrote I'm totally open to it ;)

So Fresh & So Clean - Now THIS is Clean Beauty!

A couple of wks ago as you remember I did a very productive shoot w/ Adamo de Pax.  The guy is amazing - he's getting married this Sat. in Ottawa and he still took the time to retouch 3 of the Clean Beauty images for me (out of 4...still waiting on Sarah).  Some photographers take mths to even show you the pics (which btw is NOT acceptable) so the fact that Adamo in between planning a wedding took the time to get 3 of these pics done is really nice.

Let me tell you the pictures DO NOT disappoint!  They are everything I wanted out of a Clean Beauty shot.  The model looks gorgeous, like she is just naturally beautiful and glowing.  To the untrained eye they might say what's so great about this picture it doesn't even look like she's wearing ANY makeup and I say EXACTLY!  Seriously, this is Clean Beauty!  Just clean up the model, light foundation and concealing, little mascara, little highlight and contour, lip balm and THAT'S IT!  I wanted the skin dewy and fresh...just like a skin care ad!

Just a side story.  I was doing a second day of shooting w/ Torlys today and the one corporate Torlys guy comes up to me and asks what I did for the male actor Jay b/c he looked so natural.  I said just a bit of moisturizer, green primer to tone down the red and a light dusting of powder foundation and some lip balm and hair pomade - That's It!  He then commented on how before when they had ppl come in to do a video one of their corporate guys that was in the video had a full face on w/ lipstick and everything.

This is not the first time I've heard of this sort of thing for male actors.  I explained to him it was kind of a dated approach and now w/ things being HD and everything you really just want to clean up the actors and make them look natural - you don't want to see the makeup.  Sometimes I feel some artists don't trust their work or skills enough to just let it be natural, it's almost like they HAVE to show that they are necessary and therefore feel the need to make sure it's obvious someone had their makeup done when in reality just doing it really clean and having ppl wonder if the person is wearing makeup is actually a lot more impressive and effective.

Anyway, here are the pics!

Alex (Next)

 Andrea (Next)

 Bea (Elite)

4 Girls + 1 Look = Awesome Shoot!

Last wk I got to work on probably the most productive shoot of my life.  Somehow in the span of a 8 hr day myself, the very talented and young photographer Adamo de Pax and 4 models were able to complete 5 beauty stories...yes that's right 5 stories!  I know you're thinking how is this even possible!

Okay I'll give a little background on the whole thing to start w/.  Adamo is actually a super young and talented photographer that I took notice of awhile ago.  I met him through Dexter Quinto (who I've worked w/ a bunch) as one of Dexter's assistants.  I saw some of his work while he was still in school and I was blown away and I saw a lot of potential there.

Here's a tip for many of you out there.  It's important to find new talent and network w/ them.  Build a team w/ them...it might not be profitable yet but when they start to get jobs they are going to hire ppl they trust and that they've worked w/ before.  It's sometimes hard to break into the inner circle of already established photographers.  The hard thing though is spotting that talent while it's still raw and in development.

Anyway, back to the shoot.  I saw previously that Adamo had some great work but I felt his book was lacking some super clean beauty and this is Toronto where clean beauty is where the $$$ is at.  So I proposed that we do a clean beauty shoot together and get a bunch of models for the day b/c I also needed some new clean beauty b/c mine was old and it's sometimes hard to get photographers to shoot a clean beauty shoot b/c let's be real it's not necessarily the most exciting thing for them.

So Adamo wondered if we were going to do anything else w/ the girls besides the one look.  I then came up w/ a concept that we would do 1 look exactly the same on each of the girls - REALLY clean face (like no makeup/makeup) and I would put their hair into a high ballerina bun using one of those donut foam roll things I had gotten before but never used yet.  From there depending on the girl, her features and style we would then experiment and do a different story tailored to each girl specifically.  So that's how we got 5 stories - the 1 original clean face story and then 4 individual beauty stories for each girl.  We shot each story in 1.5-2 hrs...I'm efficient and Adamo is a very quick shooter which I LOVE.  I sort of hate when photographers over shoot something.

FYI for those that might be confused what the term "story" means when you're working on a shoot you want a cohesive set of pictures that sort of tells a "story" just like in an editorial.  It's not useful to do random shots that don't go together at all b/c it won't make sense in your book therefore you come up w/ concepts that tell a story eg. The clean face story where every girl has the same makeup and hair - but the 4 models themselves are actually very different.

I've already seen the pics Adamo has chosen for the 1st clean face story and they look amazing already so I cannot wait to see them retouched...seriously they look like a skincare ad b/c the 4 girls all have different hair colour, skintone and features.

I'll tell you about the other stories shot that day another time but here's some behind the scenes photos from that day.  Btw Adamo is very excited to officially be part of my blog b/c apparently he's a big fan lol ;)

Sarah (Elite) So young and fresh!

 Bea (Elite) INSANE cheekbones!

 Alex (Next) She was soo sick...I felt bad for her but such professionalism!

 Andrea (Next) We did the craziest stuff w/ her!

Me hard at work...please ignore the GIANT mess of a station...it was the end of the day lol!