Vintage Bride Update

So I contacted a lot of my former brides today asking if they had any pictures from their wedding they'd be willing to share.  I'm planning on re-designing my bridal website and therefore I want to get as many professional pics of my brides as possible.

Kathleen, one of my fav. brides from last season got back to me immediately w/ pictures...right before x-mas she was actually thinking about  the fact that she was going to send me some (so sweet).  I'm so glad Kathleen sent me some pictures.  Not only b/c she was a beautiful bride but also b/c her style was quite a bit different then the more traditional brides.  If you remember correctly, she wore an above the knee, tight white cocktail style dress w/ a bird cage veil and did a very vintage style of makeup. 

The photographer was Shannon Ross from Little White Dress and he did a gorgeous job of capturing her wedding day.  I love the more photojournalistic and fashion influenced style that a lot of photographers are taking w/ weddings these days...gone are the cheesy, posed style of the past.  I've said it before and I'll say it again - Photographers are a VERY important part of the wedding so make sure to budget for a good one that you have good chemistry w/.  These are your memories afterall...when the day is said and done all you have left are the pictures so you want them to be beautiful.  This is also why makeup and hair is so important.  The makeup needs to look beautiful in person but also needs to stand up in pictures and therefore that's why it's important to hire a professional.  Afterall, your face is the centerpiece of your pictures don't you want it to look its best!

So here are some of the GORGEOUS pictures of Kathleen!

Don't those Model 21 Lashes look like Perfection!  Seriously, Love them for Almost ALL my Brides!

Can't Wait To See More Pics From My Wonderful & Beautiful Brides of Last Season!

Bridal Beauty At Any Age!

Gone are the days when we as women get married at 20 and had a handful of kids before we hit 25.  Nowadays b/c of schooling, our careers and overall life goals we're all getting married and having kids later...and as someone who just turned 29 (gasp!) I gotta say there is nothing wrong w/ that at all!
Many first time brides are well into their 30s or even 40s now and that doesn't mean they shouldn't get the chance to look beautiful and celebrate just as big on their wedding days. 

I had a pleasure of working w/ a couple of 30 something brides this past season and both were so much fun to work w/!

Cathy, my Greek bride readily admitted her life was straight out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding lol.  She was actually marrying an old friend from high school.  They got reconnected years later at a mutual friend's party (I think) and sparks quickly flew...ahh how romantic!  She actually was referred to me by this great hair salon in Etobicoke.  I did makeup there for a bridal party earlier in the Summer and they were all really impressed w/ my work...esp. on the Bride's mom.  So ever since then if they've had someone that inquired about a makeup artist they've referred them to me :)

For Cathy, like many of my brides the focus was on the eyes.  I decided to do a really soft grey/purple smokey eye to compliment her cool skin tones and eyes.  I've said it before and I'll say it again I LOVE Model 21 lashes on my brides!  They really open up the eyes and EVERY bride comments on how natural yet dramatic they look!  I kept the lips fairly natural and highlighted them a pink gloss.  Cathy actually had a blue vein under her eye as well as a couple of sun spots she was really concerned about covering.  I used the Yaby concealers and Cinema Secrets foundation on her and they both worked amazingly!

 My other bride Lu is Chinese so of course she was doing the typical Chinese red dress wedding attire.  She was also getting married on that magical 10/10/10 day...if you remember correctly I had 2 weddings that day.  I've been lucky w/ acquiring quite a few Chinese or Asian clients this past wedding season.  I think the fact that I've worked in Shanghai has definitely been a real selling factor w/ Asians in general b/c I'm fortunate enough to have quite a bit of experience working on Asian features.  For her I did a really nice soft gold/bronze/brown smokey eye and actually a pretty bold lip.  She had great full lips and wanted a pretty bold pink to match the pink flowers featured on her dress.  I think it looked great!  I also did a classic French twist for her hair.  The big thing for her was getting the volume through the top.  I was really happy w/ how the hair turned out...esp. since I never got to do a trial on her!

Actually, I didn't get to do a trial on either of the women!  I totally don't suggest not getting a trial b/c I think it's a really important and vital part of the bridal process and it just makes things run smoother not only for me but also for the bride too!  Unfortunately, neither of these brides wanted trials...thankfully I'm good at what I do lol...and both were very happy w/ the results!

Btw I recently updated my Wedding Website w/ Behind the Scenes pictures I took of my Brides and their Bridesmaids...really hope some of them send me some official pictures from their weddings.  Love seeing them looking gorgeous and glowing in their professional wedding pictures!

REHAB, the art of re-doing

One of the big deciding factors on my trip to Paris was the fact that my brother Steve had his art show opening the wk I just happened to be thinking about going there.  When I found that out I figured it was just meant to be and too perfect to pass up.

It's all pretty awesome and a big deal for him actually.  He actually got invited to be the resident artist at the gallery for 2 mths and gets funding to live and work there.  Pretty big deal for such a young artist...I mean how many 23 yr olds can open a conversation w/ "Well at my show in Paris..." lol.  I mean it even sounds cool for me to say "I'm going to my brother's art show opening in Paris" lol. 

I'm not a huge art person to be honest and sometimes the stuff goes over my head but this show was a collaboration by a lot of artists and I actually really liked the work and found the curator did an amazing job of creating a very cohesive exhibition. 

I'm not very good at explaining the show so I'll just include the little blurb from the press release:

REHAB, the art of re-doing


Espace Fondation EDF

October 27 2010 - February 20 2011

Over recent years, contemporary artists, whether they be openly eco-conscious or merely aware of the changes in the world, have found right ways to reveal an unsuspected artistic potential of ordinary materials. REHAB, the art of re-doing, the show curated by Bénédicte Ramade at the Espace Fondation EDF, invites us to follow the artists in a new creative experience, as their works, with their surprising aesthetic qualities, use familiar and everyday objects for something they surely were not meant for.

Neither ready-made, remake or pastiche nor eco-freaks, the works shown in REHAB let us rediscover materials we thought there wasn't much to them, from the Formica piece of furniture to the cardboard box. Sculptures, videos, photographs or installations are the favourite mediums used by the eighteen French and foreign artists invited.

The richness of their work is a good example of the ability of the artists to exploit double-sided things like waste: both contemporary material endowed with interesting physical properties and a perfect subject to talk about the most urgent societal issues as environment is. Neither peremptory nor accusatory, the artists express the possibility to take part to this social debate through their works, without passing judgment.

This exhibition extend the commitment of Fondation EDF Diversiterre by the side of architects, designers, landscape architects and artists who constantly offer a new perspective on the great contemporary issues. It also shows the involvement of the foundation in social cohesion and planet preservation.

Here's some of the other exhibitors:

This was in the front room right next to Steve's main piece...definitely a show stopper!

This is actually made out of cardboard

Steve's work was really well received too.  Many ppl came up to him to tell him how impressed they were w/ his work and how cool and different it was.  He actually had two pieces showing.  Lock Ness (which I had actually seen before) and Double Forgery (a new piece).  The interesting thing about his work is it's completely made from reclaimed materials found in the exhibition space so while it may be similar w/ a similar outcome during every exhibition it's actually different b/c every single time he has to deal w/ new challenges that come from the new materials he's using.

Here's his explanation of the two works b/c I suck at describing them in an educated way lol:

Lock Ness

Loch Ness is an evolving project developed over a series of exhibitions since 2008. In each exhibition, I reconstruct a photograph of a Loch Ness Investigation Bureau observation deck taken in 1965 using a live feed-video camera and materials collected from inside and around the gallery space. Assembled within the physical and material constraints of each exhibition space, a live-feed video system translates a unique assemblage of scrap construction materials (wood, cardboard, paper, foamcore board, masking tape, paint, etc…) into the image of Loch Ness on an external monitor.

Here's a the piece from behind the camera...I know it looks like a pile of junk lol

Then from that this is what the camera sees!

Double Forgery

Double Forgery is a small scale installation in which a photograph of Robert Smithson’s Nonsite (Essen Soil and Mirrors) (1969) is recreated using a live-feed video camera and materials (wood, cardboard, paper, dust bunnies, dirt) found at Espace Electra, Paris in October 2010. A “double forgery” historically involves the forgery of an already forged painting, perhaps most famously undertaken in the 1960s by Jacques van Meegeren, son of the notorious Vermeer forger Han van Meegeren. In Double Forgery, I forge not a nonsite, but a photograph of a nonsite that was already remade for a Robert Smithson retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2004.

So this is the piece as it looks just to view it

And this is the piece as it's seen by the camera and put on the TV screen...still don't get how it works!?!

So the VIP opening actually ended up being very exciting and high end!  Literally, unlimited champagne and INSANE appetizers and desserts which you know I took full advantage of ;)  This appetizers and desserts were like little works of art themselves...I can't even describe how some of them looked...and I made a point to try each and every one of them at least once...some even twice lol!  No wonder my face looked all swollen and puffy the whole time I was in Paris lol!

So now I'll actually bring the blog back to some makeup talk lol!  I did Steve's wife Ania's makeup for the opening.  Earlier that day we went to the Make Up For Ever Boutique and I had helped her choose some new colours just for her.  So I made sure to keep the look super soft and pretty b/c she's not a big makeup girl...and my brother is DEFINITELY not a big makeup guy...at least on his wife (which I found out even more at the opening).  To finish it all off and make it special I added some flirty, flared false lashes.  I used some of my Model 21 lashes and I have to admit I love these things.  All my brides go on and on about how natural they look and they looked so natural and yet dramatic on Ania.

So we got to the gallery and Steve was already there and he took one look at Ania and I literally thought he was going to cry...and not in a good way :S You'd swear he just saw her kissing another guy or something the way he looked! Turned out the false lashes were just too much for him! And I know natural makeup...they did NOT look like too much at all. Ania and I went to the washroom immediately and took them off. Now normally I would have told my brother to suck it b/c she looked gorgeous and she loved the false lashes so if she wants to wear them she should! But I agreed b/c it was "his special day" and I could tell he was really really nervous so I understood w/ all the stress he justed wanted to see his wife in her usual way that he's used to. I guess it's nice that he loves her natural beauty and doesn't think she needs anything to make her look better...although I still did ride him that night about making me compromise "my art" lol.

I took 1 pic in the washroom before I took off the eyelashes...too dramatic I DEFINITELY think not!

 Steve talking about his art

 They are so cute together!

Gothic Barbie Has A Birthday!

So last wk was my b-day...Oct 15 to be exact!  Another year has gone by and therefore that means I'm another yr older...which I'm actually handling pretty well esp. considering I'm in the twilight of my twenties which can be a little scary.  But personally I only find getting older hard when I'm not happy w/ where I am in my life and when I feel I'm not moving forward.  Thankfully, the last 6 mths or so have been amazing careerwise (fingers crossed it keeps up) so it makes the whole aging process a little easier to handle...it also helps that most ppl don't think I'm a day over 24 ;) lol. 

Having a trip to Europe to look forward to also makes having a b-day a lot easier to handle too lol.  I'm actually officially in Paris right now in the hostel bar using up the free WiFi...gotta love that!  Got here earlier today and arrived in London yesterday and not suffering from jet lag too bad at all...amazingly I've always been able switch my sleep and adjust to time zones really easily.  Visited my brother Steve and his wife Ania today...in fact they met me at the train station and I had a wonderful and very French lunch at their place which consisted of: Quiche, Baguette, Cheese, Chocolate, Macaroons & Wine - YUMMY!

So anyway, back to my b-day.  I had an amazing b-day this year which I celebrated w/ my amazing group of friends.  On my actual b-day I went out for a wonderful dinner w/ one special friend and it was amazing and yummy.  I didn't have my actual party on the 15th b/c I had a early morning wedding job on the 16th and definitely didn't want to be hung over on someone's special day.  So I had my big celebration w/ all my super amazing friends on the night of the 16th.  First I met up w/ Sarah my bff for dinner...unfortunately she couldn't come to the bar b/c she was running a half marathon the next day...which she did amazing in btw.  After dinner I headed to The Underground Garage - probably one of my FAV bars in the city (been going there for yrs and never ever have had a bad time).  Very low key and casual and always an amazing mix of ppl w/ great music and no pretenses...hell they have bras hanging from the ceiling lol!

So being that it was my b-day I let loose and everyone did a great job of keeping me well lubricated w/ liquor lol!  Surprisingly, I wasn't that bad the next day thankfully...probably b/c I was smart enough to get a good amount of water in me before bed.  I'm so grateful that I have such an amazing group of friends that always show their support for my gatherings and we had such a great time dancing the night away!

So being that this is a makeup blog I'll tell you about my makeup for the night lol!  I called the look "Gothic Barbie" (only an MUA would name her "makeup look" lol) and I must say I'm really taking advantage of the deep purple/red lips being in!  Love it!

"Gothic Barbie" Look

Foundation: Yaby Liquid Foundation and Powder Foundation - Buff mixed w/ Honey
Contour - Benefit Bronzer in Hula
Highlight - Face Atelier Ultra Sheer in Peach
Blush - Face Atelier in Peach Glaze
Eyes - MAC - Silver Highlight (can't remember name)
                       Gray Lid - Print
                        Black Outer Lid - Black Tie (also used for liner)
Mascara - L'Oreal Voluminous
Eyelashes - Model 21 (I think 5b or 5c but can't remember to be honest)...although I will be reviewing these lashes b/c I LOVE them!
Lips - MAC - Cunning (very deep purple...not for the timid!)

So here's some pics from the night so you can see "Gothic Barbie" in all it's Glory lol!  I know how to cut loose so enjoy lol!

Me w/ fellow Hot Blogger & Friend - Christine Estima

Myself w/ Friend & Fellow Makeup Afficiondo - Miz Ashley Readings ...Yup that's right FISH LIPS!

 Shot Time!...okay this one doesn't really show the makeup but it's fun lol!

Showing off my super sexy shoes...and of course no "Gothic Barbie" is complete w/out fishnets lol!