Bridal Makeup Preview in Whittier, CA

Last weekend, I met with Maggie, my bridal client, for her bridal makeup preview.  She was anxious and concerned about covering up her dark circles and dark spots/skin discolorations, but I quickly eased her nerves after she saw the end result of her trial.  She was super happy with the look we ended up with - natural, glowy & radiant with an emphasis on her beautiful eyes!  What do you guys think? 

Wedding Beauty Checklist

I have noticed a lot of last-minute brides trying to book services a week or two before their weddings, so I wanted to post this Wedding Beauty Checklist for all brides-to-be for reference.  Please book ahead! Remember, your hair and makeup should NOT be at the bottom of your to-do list or your budget - you will be looking at those wedding photos & video(s) for years to come!

Download & print the wedding beauty checklist here.

Makeup Lesson: Everyday, Simple Yet Put-Together Look

My beautiful client Lina wanted to learn how to achieve the perfect simple, everyday polished makeup look.  The only makeup item she owned was an Almay eyeshadow palette, so we started off with the basics of the importance of using primers & product suggestions/basic makeup application techniques.   I can't wait to see how her makeup application techniques improve with practice over time! 

Bridal Glam at All Saints Church, Pasadena

I had the pleasure of working with Hera for her wedding this week at All Saints Church in Pasadena.  We had a hard time finding a place to set up that had adequate lighting, but everything worked out in the end.  She was so excited the whole time - it was absolutely refreshing to work on someone who was genuinely excited for a new chapter in her life :-). Congrats, Hera & Tyler! 

The radiant bride! 

Hera's sweet mom was telling Thy & I about her 3 amazing daughters, 2 of which live in the Philippines. She was so happy with her makeup that she sent photos over to her daughters overseas! 

Makeup : Tina Tom

Hair: Thy Nguyen 

January 2015 Wedding Bridal Makeup Preview

I had the pleasure of doing a bridal makeup preview for Jenny recently for her wedding in January 2015.  She is such a funny and chill bride and the best part was that she was not afraid to give me specific instructions on areas she wanted to change - One common thing that I see among brides is that they are so timid during the trial but end up complaining or make changes as the wedding date approaches.  Remember, a bridal makeup preview is a comprehensive review and effort to come up with the perfect look on a bride's wedding day, so honesty and clarity is key (and sometimes photos wouldn't hurt, either ;-) !

Makeup: Tina Tom
Hair: Thy Nguyen

One thing that we are going to change for the day of the wedding is her lipstick - she requested a more nudey pink.  Her areas of concern were dark circles & redness around the nose.  Jenny was super happy with the outcome of her trial and loved her brows & contouring + eye makeup.  Her hair was done by Thy, a hairstylist that I team up with.  Can't wait to get her dolled up again January!

Ready, Set... Glam!

I was so happy to get a mother-daughter duo glammed up for the mom's 60th birthday party last weekend!  They were such a pleasure to work with and I am so happy that they were pleased with the outcome :) Take a look below:

This beauty was super concerned about her dark circles, but I was able to conceal the darkness with Graftobian's foundation palette.

This hot momma rocked this red lippie - and of course, it is the one and only "Ruby Woo" from MAC.

One major area of concern was their dark eye circles, which is hereditary.  I used Graftobian's cream foundation/concealer palette and lightly dabbed it onto the outer "ring" with my finger & blended with a concealer brush, then used Ben Nye's Banana Powder to set. 

The ladies loved their makeup & they even wrote about their positive experience on my Yelp page! 

Beauty Haul from Sephora, Tarte & Camera Ready Cosmetics

You guys, my wallet is crying - but I am one happy camper ;-) . I went kind of crazy buying beauty products last week - but in my defense! - most of the products I purchased were to replenish products that had already hit pan and were for my kit for my clients. 

Any of my clients will know that I use top quality, professional brands as well as mid to high-end street brands.  I put in a lot of time, money, and effort into researching products and obtaining them because I always want to use the best-quality products on my clients.  Lately, I've been hearing about some artists in the area who will offer services for a fourth of the price, but use low-quality, sometimes even counterfeit cosmetics.  It  really irks me that any true makeup artist would do that, and that consumers will actually hire these so-called "makeup-artists" and in a way, condone this type of behavior.

Anyway, away from the negativity and back onto my positivity float : I restocked on some new Clarisonic brushes, my beloved Tarte Smooth Operator finishing powder, and my favorite Tarte blush in "Exposed."  I purchased Ben Nye Banana Powder to add to my kit, as well as the Senna Contour Kit (LOVE!) and the Senna Brow Book, which has been a serious lifesaver for my past several gigs.  I also wanted to try out the Tweezerman tweezers to see what the hype's about - but really, I was not impressed at all .... For an almost $30 pair of tweezers, I expected much better. I also got Caudelie and First Aid Beauty moisturizers to use for skin prep on my clients.

Hope you have a great week!