A Second Go-Round?

A while back, when I started sifting through WeddingWire for hair and make-up artists, I also decided to shoot Mrs. Cookie a note asking who did her hair and make-up as her wedding was held only about two hours from my venue. Now, two hours away may sound like a lot for a vendor to travel but because our wedding is rather remote (two hours from Denver in the mountains), like Mrs. Cookie's, there was a good possibility that Mrs. Cookie's make-up artist would be willing to work mine as well.

Yesterday, I headed up to Colorado Springs to meet with Mrs. Cookie's artist, Liz (the regional manager at Bobbi Brown), for a make-up trial. Previously, I had a trial with Katelyn Simkins.

I headed to The Broadmoor (where Liz works sometimes) armed with more inspiration photos, such as these two:

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Liz told me to have a seat and she went to work. I told her I was going for a natural, coral, gold, and the "less-is-more" look.

Here's what came out on the other side (Note: It was very, very humid outside, although I'm supposed to look a little dewy).

I'm loving the natural, yet glowing result. She told me she'll do everything a tiny bit more dramatic on the day of the wedding which is good because I love me some cheek color. Blushing bride, anyone?

It took us 15 products (not counting brushes) to achieve the overall look. My daily routine consists of about five: moisturizer, blush, mascara, eyeshadow, and gloss. So, this feels like a ton for something so natural-looking. That said, it didn't actually feel like a ton on my face.

Here are the Bobbi Brown products we used:

SKIN

Face Oil for my desert-like skin ($60)

Hydrating Face Cream = "A glass of water for your skin" ($50)

Hydrating Eye Cream ($45)

Foundation Stick ($40) in color 3.5 or 3--she used it only in places I needed, not all over

Corrector in Bisque ($22), applied with a concealer brush ($25). This is extra coverage for under eye circles. I had had a late night the night before.

Creamy Concealer in Beige ($22)

Sheer Finish Loose Powder in Pale Yellow ($34)

Bronzing Powder in Light ($33), if needed (we didn't use it at the trial)

EYES

Birch Eyeshadow for my eyebrows ($20), applied with an eyebrow brush ($25). We also used this color in the crease of my eyes.

Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Sandy Gold ($22) for my lower lid

Metallic Eye Shadow in Gold Dust ($20) over the Sandy Gold

Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Sepia Ink ($21) applied with an ultra fine brush ($25)

CHEEKS

Apricot Shimmer Brick Compact ($38)--I've used the shimmer brick for years

Shimmer Blush in Coral ($22)

LIPS

Lip Gloss in Buff ($20)

And one more shot of how it came together:

For the big day, I definitely want her to make everything a little more dramatic--my lips and cheeks in particular.

What do you think of this make-up trial? Anything I should have Liz do differently?

Wedding Weekend: Make-Up Trial

On Monday, before heading back to Santa Fe, I had my make-up trial with Katelyn Simkins, one of Denver's favorite make-up artists. It took almost two hours and we still didn't quite achieve the look I like, but we got darn close.  My inspiration was heavily based on the Vogue cover I blogged about here. We were aiming for dewy skin, a pewter, smudgy eye (although, not too smoky), rosy cheeks, and a glossy, stained lip. Before I show you the results, though, you deserve a make-up less picture (even though I wear a little bit of natural-looking make-up on a daily basis). 

Me (left) hiking with my two MOHs

Now, onto the trial. Here's the first iteration:

It could've been the light in her kitchen, but I looked pale. My eyebrows looked too dark. And the false eyelashes were making me feel weird about my eyes. The look was a little bit vintage, and not sun-kissed enough for what I want. Not really knowing how to tweak this look in order to achieve what I'm going for, I asked her for more cheek color and gold eyeshadow, as opposed to pewter. I really had these things in mind: gold, apricot, peach, coral, and dewy. 

This is the second version:

She didn't take much off, but she added gold to my lids and another layer of blush to my cheeks. She also added a little under-eye smudge to get the look that's on Vogue's cover. Unfortunately, the gold she used is a little more green than yellow. I became obsessed with gold eyeshadow when a friend of mine showed me MAC Goldmine. Luckily, Katelyn said she could pick some up before the wedding. 

For the third try, I wanted darker lips. I've always loved a bride who can pull off the less eyes, more lips look. By this point, though, I think I had too much on my eyes to try it out. 

It came out a little vampire-y. Maybe it was just the color lipstick? I think I'm sticking with a more natural-colored gloss. She'd also added more cheeks above, too. After this, we went back to the neutral lip color and my trial was finished. 

As the day progressed, I took a few more pictures to see what the make-up would look like over time. 

Immediately after the trial

Two hours after the trial. Still holding strong.

Six hours later. 

Katelyn definitely achieved the skin, cheeks, and lips. Now, I need to find a very specific picture of the overall look I want (in particular, eyes) so that she can achieve it on my wedding day. I definitely think she has the skills to pull it off and she got the dewy skin right (without too much shine) which seems hard to do. This is similar to what I want in terms of color:

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Her lips and cheeks are similar to what I want but with gold eyes

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Did your first make-up trial go as planned? Or did you have to work towards what you wanted?

A Whole Lotta Wedding Planning

This upcoming weekend, I've got a whole lotta wedding planning going on. A six-hour drive on Friday will pretty much put me into wedding wonderland for the following 48 to 60 hours. Saturday entails a hair trial and menu planning, Sunday involves on-site rehearsal dinner research, and Monday (yay for holidays from work!), I'll be testing out who I think will become my make-up artist. See some of the hair and make-up vendors work below!

Katelyn Simkin's Make-Up

There's something to be said for not getting married in New York or Los Angeles. While Denver (the nearest major city to my venue) is large, it's make-up artists and hair dressers are a bit more navigable than a city thirty-two times its size (yep, that's the Denver to New York ratio). While I tried Ms. Joey's Craigslist method of finding wedding-day beautifiers, it didn't quite work out. I got one reply and, alas, I wasn't excited by it.

Tasha Valenti's Hair Styling

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So, I scoured Wedding Wire for some recommendations. Originally, I wanted someone who could do both hair and make-up. And while the girl I think will be doing my make-up can do hair too, she had a recommendation of a superb hair stylist since all five of my 'maids want to get their hair done.

A Before and After Make-Up Job by Katelyn Simkins

As I e-mailed a few various vendors, though, I began to see that the two-hour drive to my venue was creating some massive travel fees: $50 per hour or $125 round-trip. Yikes. Then I came across Ms. Katelyn Simkins who seems to have a real talent and charges .50 cents per mile (which ends up being about $40 each way). Not only that, she recommended Tasha Valenti from Denver's Look Beauty Boutique to do hair. Tasha agreed to jump in Katelyn's car (they're friends) and charge no extras for travel. So this weekend, I'll be giving them both a shot! And, since I likely won't be driving back up to Colorado before the wedding, I hope they work out.

Tasha Valenti doing hair for a photo shoot. She looks fun anyway!

I blogged about the Vogue cover make-up inspiration before, but besides that, I haven't shown you anything else! So, below, are the images I'll be handing to the respective stylists (note: while I have a few more on the hair side, here, I actually have some magazine tear-outs for make-up that I didn't scan in time to show you). All images below are from Project Wedding.

For hair, I'm back and forth between a low chignon and a pinned-back down look. So far, I've only seen one down-do that I like (below). I have stick-straight hair so romantic curls just aren't in the cards for me. We'll try both the bun and the down style, I'm sure.








For make-up, I'm going to a dewy look with hints of peach and gold:


Where did you find your inspiration? And your make-up and hair stylists for that matter?

All Made Up

I've been looking at a lot of make-up inspiration lately. I have a trial with Katelyn Simkins in Denver in about a month to see if I want to hire her for the big day and I want to come armed with photos. 

Project Wedding's make-up gallery has been a great source, not only to sift through, but to clip pictures to when I come across looks I like via Googling "red-carpet looks" and "celebrity make-up." While in the grocery store last week, I was completely mesmerized by Vogue's May 2009 cover. The girls were glowing from the page thanks to their dewy, warm, almost natural make-up. Take a look for yourself. 

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This is the closest I've seen to what I'm aiming for (sans Photoshop, of course). I also love that there are so many variations on the looks for different skin/hair/eye colors. Now, if only they could have included a redhead...

Where did you find your make-up inspiration? Please share. I'd love so more resources!