The beauty and power of makeup will never cease to amaze me. With simple color combinations one can hide darks circles or scaring or create a beautiful smoky eye, but one look that we have learned every bride desires is that natural glow. While this can be achieved with makeup, really achieving this look starts with habits long before you sit in the makeup chair and get dolled up for your big day.
Protect Your Skin Signs of aging and sun damage can start to appear as early as your 20’s and then become more and more apparent by your 30’s. No soon-to-be-bride wants that! By starting a routine to protect and preserve your skin in your 20’s and continue it (even after your wedding) will be the best thing you can do! Cleanse, moisturizer, sunscreen (even in the winter) and a serum that offers protection and renewal for your skin.
Always Make Sure To Exfoliate If you are battling any type of skin concern, whether it be dryness and dullness or even acne can be helped with an exfoliator. Exfoliating helps remove dead skin cells and whatever dirt or oil may be on your skin. On top of your skin looking great it also feels great great. We suggest in doing this 2-3 times a week. And to really bump up your skin routine try adding a pore minimizer serum to help tighten the look of pores and reduce their appearence.
Dark Circles? No thank you! Nothing screams tired or run down quite like under eye dark circles do. Those pesky shadows that no foundation or concealer can’t quite hide. The solution? An eye cream that targets the bags, puffiness and dark circles. Bonus if it offer hydration!
Don’t Let The Rest of Your Body Feel Left Out Your face isn’t the only part of your body that needs hydration and care; you can’t forget about your arms and legs! Applying lotion two times day helps your skin feel hydrated and of course smooth and silky. To achieve that summer glow all year long try using a toning lotion in the morning and a deep hydrating lotion at night. Bonus if it has green tea in it which helps skin look more defined and toned!
As your wedding date gets closer and closer you might start getting less and less sleep. After all the planning the day is almost there and your left up at night making sure everything is alright and thinking about every detail in you head “Did I make that last deposit?” “Do I really like my bridesmaids dresses” “Will the decorations match everything perfectly” In the end all those lingering thoughts will leave you with very little sleep and some serious under eye bags. Have no fear we asked some of our stylist what the best under eye creams are.
We had the great privilege of being a part of a styled shoot at the CopperWynd Resort thanks to Arizona Weddings. It is such a wonderful thing to work with such talented and kind individuals in the wedding industry. StepOnMe Photography captured all of these gorgeous shots with a stunning backdrop of the McDowell Mountains and with details of desert plants, gold and a lace gown to die for; needless to say it is a styled shoot bursting with inspiration for a desert wedding.
One of my favorite recent beauty trends is the thick dark brows. I’ve always had more of thicker brow than other ladies (and when I was younger it was not on purpose) until I had that small stint of almost non-existent brows in college; which is a time that I am still trying to forget. But now I have fully embraced the dark thick brow and I love it; especially when there is a sharp arch and perfectly lined with the nose and eye. For the longest time I would just fill them in with out much thought but now, after learning this simple trick my brow game is strong; and your’s can be too!
First things first there are many different products that you can use to fill in your brows. There are powders, pencils, gel pots and pens. I prefer the gel pots because I feel like I have more control over the sharpness and line than other products. Try out a few different ones until you find the one you like. Secondly, if you want more of a softer look go a shade lighter than your natural brow color. I personally go a shader darker than my natural brow color (I like the boldness of it). The next four steps are all about examining your brows on their natural point as well as determining the thickness you want them at. I have included a handy instruction list complete with diagrams to help guide you. I refer to this quite a bit when I am filling in my brows. It can be quite helpful!
Lastly, regular maintance of the brows is key to help keep their shape. Whether you prefer to trim and pluck or wax or all three, keeping up on the maintance will make it easier to fill in since your brows will already be shaped so all you need to do it fill in. For more tips and tricks of the trade ask your esthetician or a brow expert. They are full of great knowledge and helpful ways to always make sure your brows look on point!
So now that you have the back story to the amazing photoshoot Babydoll Weddings did with Strut Bridal at Chateau Luxe I can now dive even deeper into the process, the looks and the creativity that we all put into this shoot. Since I feel that every look deserves their own this post will be all about one look and one stylist. And I don’t think everyone wants to read a 15 page post which is what would happen if all four looks were in one post.
We will start with the Classic look which was given to Micky. Of course as you all know before the shoot I created inspiration boards for the stylists to use to gain some idea what I wanted the outcome to be. Thanks to Pinterest and past brides I gathered pictures of what I felt looked like the classic bride. Of course when this was handed to Micky I made sure to tell her this is inspiration but please do what you feel will make your model, Megan, look like a classic bride.
With the help of Ashley from Strut Bridal we were able to pair the dresses to the looks prior to the shoot. Megan was wearing a stunning gown! A fitted champagne/ivory mermaid style gown with a ruffle bottom and lace details. It was so amazing and fit her perfectly! I have to say the ladies at Strut Bridal rock at fitting girls and dresses!
And then comes Micky with all of her talents and experience and turned Megan into exactly what I expected a classic bride to look like! She used a dark red lipstick which made the ivory color of the dress pop! And then Micky pulled her hair back in a gorgeous bun and completed the look with the two details that screams classic bride to me; the veil and the pearls. Absolutely in love! I am not talented in hair and makeup so being able to see an image you have created in your imagination come to life and be everything you wanted it to be a more; it’s a great feeling!
I’m sure I mentioned how excited I was to be able to book this shoot at Chateau Luxe and if not, I was very excited to be able to have this shoot there. With the glamorous chandelier when you first walk in, the beautiful and unique rooms and all of that wonderful furniture and decor that fills the halls; it seemed like the perfect fit for this shoot! It was such a success and I’m so excited to continue sharing photos and experiences from the other stylists and models from this shoot!
I got lash extensions the other day and can I just first say; I am in LOVE with them. It has become one of those things where you can’t imagine your life without it. Yes I know how that sounds but I can’t help it, I love them! So, in spirit of my new eyelashes I wanted to make a post about lash extensions and the best ways to take care of them!
Lash extensions are not strip lashes they are individual lashes that with adhesive are attached to your individual lashes. The process can take up to two hours for a full set but if you take care of them well they can last up to four weeks. But it is generally suggested to have a fill every 2-3 weeks. In taking care of your lashes, especially right after the application it is important to sleep on your back. I know how hard it may be, especially if you sleep on your side like me but it’s important. The adhesive can take some time to fully dry and by sleeping on your back it will help avoid weird kinks in your eyelashes.
With eyelash extensions comes more maintenance and love than what normal lashes require. Avoid pulling or tugging on them and when washing your face it is best not to rub the towel over your eyes. Instead wash your face as normal but use a gently cleansing wipe to remove any eye makeup. Try to avoid cotton pads, they can weaken the extension and no one wants cotton stuck on your lashes. And make sure to comb them. They can get a little crooked after sleeping.
And something so incredibly important to remember is, do not use an oil based or water proof mascara. Once again, do not use an oil based or water proof mascara. These types of mascara can dissolve the adhesive and can shorten the life of your lashes dramatically.
Even with the time and little more maintenance than I’m used to I will never go back!
The beauty and power of makeup will never cease to amaze me. With simple color combinations one can hide darks circles or scaring or create a beautiful smoky eye, but one look that we have learned every bride desires is that natural glow. While this can be achieved with makeup, really achieving this look starts with habits long before you sit in the makeup chair and get dolled up for your big day.
ow than other ladies (and when I was younger it was not on purpose) until I had that small stint of almost non-existent brows in college; which is a time that I am still trying to forget. But now I have fully embraced the dark thick brow and I love it; especially when there is a sharp arch and perfectly lined with the nose and eye. For the longest time I would just fill them in with out much thought but now, after learning this simple trick my brow game is strong; and your’s can be too!
ave more control over the sharpness and line than other products. Try out a few different ones until you find the one you like. Secondly, if you want more of a softer look go a shade lighter than your natural brow color. I personally go a shader darker than my natural brow color (I like the boldness of it). The next four steps are all about examining your brows on their natural point as well as determining the thickness you want them at. I have included a handy instruction list complete with diagrams to help guide you. I refer to this quite a bit when I am filling in my brows. It can be quite helpful!
hether you prefer to trim and pluck or wax or all three, keeping up on the maintance will make it easier to fill in since your brows will already be shaped so all you need to do it fill in. For more tips and tricks of the trade ask your esthetician or a brow expert. They are full of great knowledge and helpful ways to always make sure your brows look on point!
So now that you have the back story to the amazing photoshoot Babydoll Weddings did with Strut Bridal at Chateau Luxe I can now dive even deeper into the process, the looks and the creativity that we all put into this shoot. Since I feel that every look deserves their own this post will be all about one look and one stylist. And I don’t think everyone wants to read a 15 page post which is what would happen if all four looks were in one post.
We will start with the Classic look which was given to Micky. Of course as you all know before the shoot I created inspiration boards for the stylists to use to gain some idea what I wanted the outcome to be. Thanks to Pinterest and past brides I gathered pictures of what I felt looked like the classic bride. Of course when this was handed to Micky I made sure to tell her this is inspiration but please do what you feel will make your model, Megan, look like a classic bride.
excited to be able to have this shoot there. With the glamorous chandelier when you first walk in, the beautiful and unique rooms and all of that wonderful furniture and decor that fills the halls; it seemed like the perfect fit for this shoot! It was such a success and I’m so excited to continue sharing photos and experiences from the other stylists and models from this shoot!
