Nina - Lavender & Lace

So I already shared w/ you a taste of Nina's wedding a few wks back when I posted her SDE (same day edit) video from her wedding back in June.  I just received some pics and let me tell you they do not disappoint at all!  If I was excited about the video and how great everything looked I'm even more pumped now after getting the pics b/c seriously it was all so gorgeous!  There are so many amazing pics I don't even know how I'm going to cut it down to 3 or 4 that I want to show on my site!

I loved Nina's whole wedding concept and theme - Lavender and Lace...it's basically my "imaginary wedding" theme lol...yes I'm actually admitting that.  And she did such a gorgeous job conceptualizing the whole idea and bringing it to life.

The pics I'm sharing w/ you are mostly from the morning of  her wedding at her parent's house in Newmarket where she got ready w/ the girls and I don't think I've ever seen so many great morning of shots...seriously I don't know how Nina will ever make a decision about choosing her pics!

Great job by her photographer Shelley K and if you want to see a full picture of the wedding theme and concept be sure to check out Shelley's blog b/c it's gorgeous!  I already told Nina that her wedding is "Style Me Pretty" material and trust me that's not a phrase I throw around lightly!

So here's some pics from Nina's gorgeous wedding...thanks again Ashley for your wonderful work on the bridesmaid's hair (as usual).

So many great Behind the Scenes pics of me working lol!  I look so concentrated on her updo lol!

I love this pic...the hair looks amazing and I don't look quite as "angry" as I normally do when I work lol!

I don't normally care about the flowers too much but I will say that Nina had gorgeous flowers throughout her whole wedding...you could definitely tell it was an area she put a lot of thought into!

Seriously how do I decide what to put on my site when they are all so gorgeous!

What a great shot of all the girls!

Amira - Elegant Egyptian Bride

So I'm continuing on my beautiful bridal countdown for the week w/ another amazing bride of mine - Amira. I did Amira's wedding back in June and it was actually one of those rare bookings where I only did the bride's hair and makeup...I don't actually do 1 person bookings that much anymore just b/c I'm too busy.

But I'm so happy I had the chance to work w/ Amira and meet all her friends and family b/c they were really a delight to be around and so happy and excited on the day.  Amira is normally a pretty natural girl but unlike a lot of my brides she actually really wanted to do something a little more dramatic and sophisticated.  Her point of view was if I don't do something like this for my wedding then when will I?  Which I think is a very valid idea and of course even w/ making things a little more "dramatic" I think I was style able to maintain my usual "Jessica style" of keeping the bride true to herself and making her look "like her on her best day" and not someone completely different.

For Amira's makeup I actually did airbrush foundation...which I've been doing A LOT more of this season then seasons past.  I also created a beautiful grey/black smokey eye.  Luminous, glowing skin and a berry lip.  For the hair I did a really gorgeous and smooth side up...you can't really see from the pictures unfortunately but it was actually quite intricate and detailed..unfortunately dark hair doesn't show off the detail as easily as blonde hair does...but it still looks great!

Thank you Amira and Reem Eissa for doing such a beautiful job capturing this beautiful couple!

Hair finishing touches!

I always do eyes before the face...esp. when I'm doing a more dramatic eye

I love when I see pics later in the night and still see everything looking top notch and beautiful!  Plus there were a lot of happy tears from her and everything stayed perfectly!

Nathalie - Sleek & Sophisticated

As the crazy, busy wedding season starts to calm down a bit (Did a record breaking 17 weddings in August!), I finally have a chance to relax and catch up on something...including blogging more ;).  This is the time of year that brides start to send me pics from their weddings this past Summer.  As anyone who follows this blog knows there is almost nothing that excites me more than getting pics from brides after their weddings!  Because of this I've decided for the next week (hopefully every day time permitting) to share w/ you some of the wedding pics I've gotten from several of my lovely brides!

I want to kick things off w/ my bride Nathalie who I worked w/ on July 6/13.  This was a VERY popular day for brides (you don't even know how many requests I had to turn away for this day)!  In fact Nathalie was my second wedding that day and the I had actually booked my first wedding that day a year in advance!

Nathalie is a gorgeous woman, seriously, model quality...and beyond nice too!  So when I met her at the trial several mths before the wedding I knew her wedding was going to be nothing less than amazing!  Nathalie wanted to do something sleek, sophisticated and polished and I'm IN LOVE w/ the hair and makeup look I was able to create for her that day.  She has gorgeous, thick, full long hair that worked so beautifully in the clean and beautiful bun.  I so rarely get to do looks like that so it was super exciting for me esp. since Nathalie has such awesome hair.  For her makeup look we decided to go w/ a very clean eye w/ a very soft wing and punch things up w/ a nice bold lip that really makes a statement and in  my opinion totally completed the glam and sophisticated look she was after.

Thank you so much Nathalie and Silverlight Photography for sharing these pics w/ me.  And also thank you Jen for helping me out that day...you were amazing as usual ;)

So clean and beautiful...not going to lie sometimes I even impress myself ;)

Jen and I hard at work!

Finishing touches on the lip!

What a beautiful group!

This actually made me laugh as I've never gotten a pic of my "notes"...after a trial I always write notes on the bride to bring on the wedding...to anyone but me these probably make no sense and look like some kind of code speak

Aroma Wellness Clinic - Spray Tan

Like many women out there I try to take pretty good care of my skin...esp as I get older.  That means a regular skincare regime - moisturizer, night creams, facials (should do this more often), staying out of the sun etc.

Because of these things (esp my obsessive SPF habit) I usually tend to remain pretty naturally pasty and pale throughout the year.  My pale complexion might not be the prettiest thing but guess what I figure years from now when I'm still looking young and wrinkle free it will all be worthwhile...plus that's what bronzer is for right? lol.

Anyway, a couple of wks ago I decided to pamper myself at one of my favourite (and very affordable) spas Aroma Wellness Clinic.  I had been going there off and on for a few years now for waxing and different spa treatments ever since I use to live in the Annex.  Overall, my experiences have always been pretty good (esp. for the price) so when I saw they had this Summer spa package deal I thought hey why not!

For the VERY low price of $99 I got to choose 4 different spa services from a list of services (btw this special is still going on for those that are interested).  Out of the list I opted for Facial, De-Stressing Massage, Brazillian Wax and Spray Tan.

I had never actually had a personalized spray tan before and I was a little nervous to be honest.  I'd done those booth ones years ago when they first came out w/ mixed results.  This one is actually done by a technician and I'd had clients and friends that had had it done before and really liked it (not at Aroma though).  I also had my friend's wedding coming up on the weekend and my dress was a very vibrant shade of pink and my skin definitely needed some colour to balance it all out.  The one thing I will note is I had to do the tan a day after the other spa treatments b/c you can't do the waxing and the tan on the same day so just keep this in mind when you book the appt.

So on the day of the tan appt. I followed all the rules listed on their website.  My technician's name was Siobhain (straight from Ireland - accent and all) and she's a really lovely person.  You can wear a disposable thong that they supply or you can go nude.  I actually opted for nude for two reasons: 1. I had a brazillian the day before and that girl saw my bits so why get shy now 2. I didn't want tan lines.   The whole spray tan thing only takes about 15 mins but I'd leave some extra time to stay in the room w/ the fan to dry the tan which will definitely help it from creasing, smudging on clothes or wearing off on anything.

I immediately loved the results!  Not orange at all and I had no creasing or weird tan marks around the hands or feet which was a prob w/ the spray tan booths.  I can't even tell you how many compliments I got on on the tan too!  Literally all my friends and even my makeup assistant were commenting on how healthy and natural the colour looked.  No one even believed it was a spray tan b/c the results looked so natural!

In fact I loved it so much I even went back this week for another tan!  If you get another tan within 2 wks of the last one it's a reduced price ;)  Another great thing about Aroma is they have an online appt. scheduler so I made my appt. online and I could even request my technician and I thought since Siobhain was so great last time I might as well go w/ her again.  Still loving my results and I'm not going to lie I think this may become another regular thing I'm going to add to my beauty regime!

Also, just a side note it's Vegan, PETA approved, Paraben Free, Organic and Fragrance Free!

Here's a couple of other pics from my friend's wedding...it looks so natural and for once my legs don't look pasty! Tans also make you look slimmer and help minimize cellulite, veins, fine lines and acne!

Marc Anthony - Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Collection

I get to try out a lot of new and different makeup products w/ my job but unfortunately I don't get sent hair products near as much so when the ppl at Marc Anthony offered to send me products from their new Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Collection I was super excited!  And let me tell you EVEN MORE EXCITED once I got the package - boy do they know how to treat a girl right!  I got the WHOLE collection and all FULL SIZE products!  None of those tiny sample size things!

Now I'm not going to lie in the past I've personally avoided a lot of Argan Oil products b/c I have straight and to be perfectly honest limp hair and I thought it would just weigh it down but I thought why not give this stuff a try!

I've personally been using the Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner for probably a mth now and I actually really like them!  I know this might sound crazy but literally days after I started using them I had several ppl comment on how shiny my hair was...it can't all be a coincidence!  Plus I really like that they are Sulfate Free and are infused w/ Keratin, Grape Seed Oil and Argan Oil.  They help control frizz (which really isn't an issue for me) and they preserve colour (which is important for me).  Plus they are a great price point at $9.99 a bottle and the whole line is available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, Walmart etc.

I've also been using the Argan Oil Treatment  mostly just on the ends of my hair where it can tend to get more dry and damaged (my hair is very long after all).  It definitely makes my hair glossier and and softer and it's good for all hair types - curly, straight, thick or thin!

In my hair kit on set and for weddings I've been using both the Oil of Morocco Volumizing Mousse and Oil of Morocco Volumizing Hairspray.  Both are like the shampoo/conditioner are Sulfate free and infused w/ Keratin and they also shield against humidity and frizz.  Like the other products they can be used on both straight and curly hair.  Both the hairspray and mousse have a medium workable hold to them which is good b/c no one likes crunchy stiff hair but be aware if you might want something stronger or a firmer hold for a final firm hold setting spray for things like bridal updos and such!

From The Lab - Primers

I'm always on the look out for a great primer so when a relatively new company called From The Lab contacted me to try out their Eye and Face Primers I was totally game!  I've actually been using these primers regularly for the past couple of mths on myself so the must be pretty good as I'm still using them lol!

First I'll start w/ the Eyelift Primer No. 328 - Like all eyelid primers it's primary purpose is to help eye makeup last longer, prevent creasing of shadow and also enhance the vibrancy of eye shadow.  I'd definitely say it does all of these things.  I don't wear eye shadow most of the time to be honest but for special occasions I do and I didn't have any sort of eye shadow creasing problems while wearing it.

What makes this primer just a little more "special" then some of the others on the market is it does have a luminous finish w/ just a touch of shimmer so it looks great alone w/out shadow if you just want to neutralize and brighten up the lid area a bit.  But beware if you're looking for a matte eye primer this is not the primer for you!

It also has beneficial ingredients like Para Cress Flower Extract which help w/ collagen production and increase skin's natural lifting capacities and it helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles so not only will this help your eye makeup stay put but it also acts as an anti-aging lid cream - bonus!

Face Primer No 327 - Like the eyelid primer the face primer's main purpose is to help your skin look more smooth and luminous and to prolong your face makeup day to day.  I do use a primer every day on my skin before my foundation b/c I have OILY skin!  What I like about this primer is that it doesn't feel greasy or thick going on like some other face primers on the market - very light!  But one thing I'll say is beware the colour - it's lightly tinted white and it says it dries invisibly and works on every skin tone but I don't know if I totally believe that for darker skin.  It worked on me but I do have hesitations that it would be a good fit for darker skin tones..that's just my personal opinion.

Like the eye primer it also has anti-aging  benefits in the form of Peruvian Rhatany Root Extract.  It also has anti-irritants to reduce inflammation, calming the skin and Sarcosine visibly minimizes the pores.

Also, it should be mentioned that all their products are paraben free and not tested on animals...I know that's a big thing for a lot of people these days!

These products are not available in stores yet and are done through a membership program on their site. They are available to both USA and Canada which is great b/c it's annoying for us Canadians when places won't deliver here ;) and they promise a 100% satisfaction guarantee promise - if you aren't happy return the products for a refund!

Hourglass - Femme Nude Lip Stylo

As everyone knows I'm a big lover of bright lipstick but even I like to go nude sometimes on the lips. Finding the perfect nude lipstick can sometimes be almost as hard as finding that perfect red.  So when the nice ppl at Hourglass Cosmetics  contacted me to try out and review their new Nude Lip Stylo I was more than happy to say yes!

And can I just say I LOVE this product!  Seriously, it has become my go-to nude lip colour and it looks great alone w/ their satin finish or w/ a gloss!  What's so great about these lip crayons is they look like fat lip liners but go on like lipstick so very easy to apply and take on the go & they come in 6 different nude shades!  Just like red lipstick there isn't one shade of nude that is perfect for everyone.  There are a lot of variables including you skin tone, natural lip colour, undertones etc.  What is a beautiful nude colour on a pale blonde might make a tanned brunette look washed out and gross.  Plus they are retractable and don't need sharpening!

I ended up going w/ #5 which is a golden peach nude w/ luminosity.  I also really want to try #4 actually so I'll definitely have to put that on my to buy list for the future.  They retail for $35 each which isn't cheap but they look and feel very luxurious and sleek so I think they are worth the splurge and are currently available at Sephora.com (.ca for Canadians) and will be launching in store in Canada this month.

My natural lip colour

#5 on my lips - no gloss

#5 w/ gloss