The Good Stuff!!

Well, the holiday season is not approaching...it is HERE!!

I cannot believe it! We are blessed to be busy throughout the season, but have gotten wiser about taking cherished time off with our families. I love my "job" and I love working hard, very hard-but at the end of the day family is what's most important. I have learned that you don't get that time back and for me it's always about finding that balance. Even after 12 years, I am still learning. I just do my best and pray it's enough :)

 

I wanted to share this sweet email I got from a young aspiring gal in Alabama. Now, I don't know how other artist/business owners would react to this, but I was thrilled! I was also honored that she would even ask me! I don't know this girl very well (yet), but I admire her moxie in reaching out. She sounds like a go-getter, who knows what she likes, has goals and plans to make them happen. She also reminded me of me at that age. I had amazing support in my life and several mentors throughout my many journeys. It would be my pleasure and my privledge to help this young artist in any way I can. This is what makes my work so cool. It is so much more than about the make up. It is about relationships, helping people, and maybe having a little something to do with making someone's life a little bit better.

 

 

Hello Mrs. Moore,

   My name is Meredith, I'm a friend of Hannah's. She told me you were
a make up artiest and showed me your website, and I was instantly
inspired by your work and wanted to ask you a few questions if that
was okay with you.
   I've been trying to decide what I career I want to pursue and what
courses to take in college. I'd love to be a make up artist, I'm
currently Head of Hair and Make up at Grissom's Theater Department,and
although theater make up and daily or special occasion make up use
vastly different styles, it inspired me to look into cosmetology  and
becoming a make up artist. I have some experience doing special
occasion make up but nothing extravagant or professional. My friends
ask me to do their hair and make up for Homecoming, Prom and the
occasional pageants. I love doing make up and I'm really thinking
about pursuing it as a career.
    I was wondering how you got started in the make up business, if
there are any techniques i could start trying to develop and practice
or where i could possibly be trained by professionals and if there are
any particular make up brands and tools i could use that are good
quality.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email. I hope to hear from you soon!

Meredith Darwin

 

What a sweet sweet girl, her email made me smile and I look forward to connecting with her soon!

 

Peace~Love~Lipstick xo

 

Thanksgiving 2012

 

Wow, is Thanksgiving really tomorrow?!

It has always been my favorite holiday and we are really looking forward to spending some quality family time together!

 

I simply cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. It has been such an amazing year.

I am blessed and we are grateful for so much-our bookings, clients, vendors, planners, photographers, and of course our Brides!

 I have some the best Brides out there and I want to say Thank You~I love what I do, but you make me get up and really look forward to going to "work"!

 

I have to blog about my trip with the Make Up Mavens to The Make Up Show in Orlando. MUMs is a group of 5 of us, who are artists, professional confidants, and good friends.

 We regularly get together to talk shop and speak on ways to not only keep our industry standards high, but to continually raise the bar. Well, we all blocked this weekend (5 days) off on our busy books and it was THE best trip ever, like EVER!!

 I will probably write about this trip from many different perspectives, but since it's is Thanksgiving-I found it appropriate to give thanks to my group of mavens and for the opportunity to experience and learn so much.

 Not only about makeup and the industry, but each other.

 

Margaret, Kelly, Elizabeth, and Pamela-I am grateful to know you all. I admire, respect, and appreciate not only your talents, but your integrity.

Without the qualities of trust and integrity~talent is of no use.

We were all inspired by so much from that trip. We all took away such treasured moments, some of them life changing (thank MDV) true inspiration should be passed on and shared.

 

I feel blessed to be a part of such a fabulous group of artists, but what I am most thankful for is my friendship with each one of them.

 

Happy Thanksgiving my Mavens.

May this year be just the begininning of more fabulousness to come!

I love you all!

These are a few of my favorite things...xo

 

As many of you know, I am a breast cancer survivor!

 I was diagnosed June 1, 2009.

 I worked all the way through surgery, chemo, radiation and yes...I worked BALD!

It wasn't so bad, but I had a kick a$$ village of people around me!

I am happy & healthy and business continues to boom! I am beyond blessed!

 

October is one of the busiest months for weddings and it is also BCAM-Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

The month my two worlds collide! In the best way!!

There are so many amazing things that "go pink" in October and many go on to support organizations that really impact our sisterhood.

 

Here are a few of my favorites for this year...

 Did you know that the amazing Donna Karan is a survivor herself??

Just one more thing I love about her!

 This company continues it's mission to make a difference!

    

    

 

 

We HEART Smashbox!! Especially this color in Inspiration!!

                                            
                                                     A must have staple in PINK!

 

 

 

 

Found these customized TOMS on Etsy!

 

 

 

 

 

 One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite icons!

Happy October and Happy PINK!!



PREP School!

I love this time of year!

Walks in the park, the fair, college football (I AM a southern girl at heart-Go Clemson Tigers!!), jeans, cowboy boots, hats & scarves (too hot to wear either in Charleston during the blazing summer)...just the anticipation of cooler, less humid weather makes me GIDDY!

This is also the time of year where we revamp our kits, including such important basics as PRIMERS!

 Now as professionals we have always been a fan of primers, but with their easy access and affordability-they now have found their way into the homes of moms, models, and yes...even men!!

Their purpose is simple-to create the smoothest possible "canvas" for make up application. You get to use less actual make up AND get the benefits of it staying on longer! Perfect! Now, there are so many types of primers I know it can get confusing. You have to know not only your skin type, but what type of elements (heat & humidity, cold & dryness) you might be up against.

 My favorite mattifying and pore refining primer....LOVE this product and have used it all summer!

 This is hands down the best in organic and anti-aging...loves Korres products!!

 I have 3 basic primers for "normal" skin...Spackle, Laura Mercier, and Make Up Forever HD Primer. Great price point on this one and it also comes in several "shades".

 Brilliant, no seriously....this radiant primer gives you that perfect "lit within" skin. Healthy~GLOW!!

One of my tried and true go to products, the pump is a plus!

 

 

There you have it... my favorites! They are all in my kit and serve different purposes. 

This is a quick "go-to" for different skin types and needs.

 They all can be used alone or with your favorite foundation!

I know it is an extra step for some, but trust me...it's worth it!!

xo

Beach Beauty on a Budget!

Beach Beauty on a Budget!!

These fab five are all under $10 bucks!!

 Love this highlighter pen! Perfect to throw in your purse or pool bag for touch ups on the go! It reminds me of another best selling (and much more expensive) product!

Perfect nudes, no brush required!

 Love love these gel to powder blushes! Amazing colors and fabulous staying power!!

 Want mega watt lashes for under $10 bucks...than ZaZaZu is all for you!

I am a huge fan of Burt's Bees Lip Shimmers in every color (my currently fav is Cherry), but this gorgeous Champagne has just a hint of pink and all the shimmer needed to look smokin' hot this summer!

Although I am already on the hunt for fall inspriation, the reality is....it is still summer,still 100 degrees outside, and still beach weather! People have been asking me all summer what are some of my favorite hot products that stand up to summer. I have more than 5 picks, but usually in the summer I narrow my own make up routine down to around 5 steps (after skin prep...latest obsession is Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Sun Damage SPF 28).

Summer is a great time to go lighter, sheerer,

and LESS!!

These are a few of my favorite picks for running around town or hitting the beach.

 Perfect for any gal on the go!

Alesya Bag Shoot=Pure Love, Pure Lux

Wowza!! Work, travel, work, travel...where has the summer gone?!

I have been so blessed with being able to balance my workload, finishing up a book, and precious (okay, often crazy) time with the kids!

I have been working on location a week, traveling a week and will continue to do so throughout August. I love it and am grateful, and fortunately I have a nice 3 day pit stop in between. I am working on hiring someone to help with social media becuse my schedule keeps me too busy to write as much as I would like to...favorite products, favorite Brides, favorite locations.

Also, August-we usually try and update the site-whew!!

Anyway, before I head out this morning for work I wanted to give a shout out to Alesya Bags and the team that worked this shoot! Alesya (who had just had a baby-superGIRL) Ayoka Lucas, Gals at Canvas Hair, and of course Charlotte Elizabeth Photography (that is a fabulous story in and of itself!).

If you have not heard of an Alesya Bag, you MUST hop on her site, check them out, and by all means pre-order yours now!!

We were shooting her fall edition and all I can say is Holy Cowza and HURRY UP FALL!

The real deal is still under wraps, but here is a glimpse of some of the behind the scenes.

Go onto her link to find out more...

Thank you for letting me be a part of such a fabulous team. I had a wonderful time and am always learning something. When you work with great people, you learn great things! Nuff said!

Happy July Peeps....stay safe, stay cool~see you soon! xo

 These pants were uber HOT!! I mean smoking, they were thread woven with gold!! Drool city!

 Models getting their hair done, they looked like a young Naiomi and Catherine Zeta Jones!

 Char is such a rock star, my I mention it was also 100 degrees in the shade!!

100% LUX

http://blog.alesyabags.com/alesya-llc/fall-2012-photo-shoot-peek/

Easy Elegance...

We are in the heat of wedding season down South, a wonderful blessing-but it has left us with little time to post about the amazing people we have met and worked with.

I knew when I met Jocelyn, I would want to eventually write about her.

At first glance- she is super poised, amazingly tall, uber elegant, and to call her "pretty" is an understatement.

What struck me about Jocelyn was her style, her grace, her easy sophistication.

She was a relaxed, happy and in love Bride.

Her day at Middleton Place was captured by www.whitneyannphotography.com and the spirit of that day was caught in each image. It was a quiet, intimate, sweet, and truly stunning day.

Here is a little sneak peek of Jocelyn on her special day.

 If this is not a good looking couple, than I don't know what is!!

 Pretty Profile Shot...Perfection

You can see just how at ease and relaxed she was, the energy that day was spectacular!
Hair by Tanesha DuPree

I will post more on our actual site once we do our update in August. Thank you Whitney for sharing these images and thank you Jocelyn for being a truly amazing Bride!

xo 

Lash Love

I LOVE false eye lashes! They can look as natural or as glam as you want them to...

it depends on what look you are going for and your comfort level.

Most Bride's have some sort of strip applied whether it's a corner lash, 3/4 strip, or full lash. I love the effect it gives in photos and think it is a must have when doing portraits. Remember, you are usually shooting larger scale that day, so you can carry a more dramatic lash. The day of the wedding can be more subtle. Either way, I promise you will not be able to tell you have "lashes" in, they blend right into your own lash. I apply the same concept to lashes as I do make up in general..."you"-just better!

In a sea of lashes, here are some of my favorites...

My favorite 3/4 strip...perfectly tapered towards the inner eye. Easy to wear, giving your lashes an extra bump.

 These are my favorite (and the top selling) full strip. Once applied, these can look super natural or curled into your own lash with a touch of mascara-they can look like easy glamour.

 These are my favorite and affordable at $36.00 100% MINK lashes. Lux, lux, lux!!

 These accent pieces ROCK! They give just enough pop to bring eyes out and really light up a face. They are the fastest to put on and easiest to use...perfect if you have never tried lashes and just want a little extra. Favorite corner strip...hands down.

These 2 adhesives are my favorite. I like the darker color....it dries faster and clearer than any other glue.

I think it is easier to apply lashes on someone else versus on yourself...but pratice makes perfect.

I think step 1 is to select the proper lash...what is your eye shape and what look are you going for?

Step 2-apply a thin coat of glue to the lash band allowing the glue to be tacky before placing them on the lash line.

Step 3-wiggle the strip as far into your lashline as possible (note, take a look in between setting lashes to get the placement of both exactly in the same spot)...eyes can be different shapes, so placement might be different for each eye.

Step 4-After they dry completely, gently curl lashes together and comb as much or little mascara to marry your lashes to the false lashes together.

When you are done with your lashes, gently pull them off and replace them in their case-they can be used several times.The adhesive will also release with professional eye make up remover.

Good luck and go glam!!

Next post, summer must haves!! xo

Sweet Home Alabama!

Well, Sweet wedding Alabama! We are up to our eye lashes in wedding season, consulting, and a surprise wave of print work-but I had to take a few minutes out to write about this wedding!

I am one blessed gal-I get to work with the most amazing, talented people.

I have always said, "Working with the best of the best, is well...the best!".

This wedding was certainly NO exception. I have been working with the fabulous Soiree team for many years now and I continue to be blown away by their incredible vision and production process. Tara has revolutionized the entire wedding industry, especially here in the Southern Region (mind you, we are the # 1 wedding destination location in the country). Kate must have eyes in the back of her head, because her immaculate attention for detail could leave Colin Cowie jaw dropped. I go back to the "best of the best" whenever I know Liz is shooting. Her images speak for themselves, she can tell a complete story in one single frame (how does she do that?).

Sooo, when asked to join the team for a destination wedding in Alabama-I said YES!

I was excited, but I also knew it wasn't going to logistically be the easiest trip. My adventure goes a little something like this.. book my flight, map out the 2 hour drive from Huntsville to Gorham's Bluff (which if you throw a stick from there, it will land in Tennessee-honestly), had to flight pack 2 huge kits of make up, fed ex my wardrobe, find a local assistant, and oh yeah-I had just finished up 8 months of chemo and radiation.

I knew the wedding and working with Soiree was going to be great, I wanted to travel to this mountain side slice of heaven, and the best part...my sweet Grandparents live in Huntsville, so I got to spend the most amazing quality time with them. I did more healing in that 4 days, than I did in the following 4 months.

The wedding was stunning to say the least. Beth, the bride was as sweet as she could be and gorgeous in all 3 dresses! Yes, I said 3! She had 1 for the ceremony and 2 for the reception-the last (my favorite) was her Mother's very own wedding dress-Divine!! It was a fabulous event, one of my absolute, all time favorites.

 I was grateful to be part of the team that weekend, it is a trip I will not forget.

Here is a link to the spread featured in Southern Living Weddings. Soiree also has several fantastic posts on their blog Bon Bon.Check them out when you can!

I love being in the Bridal Biz...the best of the best!   

Until next time...xo

http://www.southernliving.com/general/southern-weddings-ideas-beth-graham-00417000070938/

http://www.taraguerardsoiree.com/2011/01/24/a-wedding-in-alabama/

Spring has Sprung!

We hope everyone has had a fabulous week so far...over here in the land of make up, we have been so busy filming and shooting, we didn't realize we stumbled right into one of our busiest wedding seasons.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by the best of the best, it keeps us inspired to continue to raise the bar in our industry. Make Up in Charleston is pretty diverse...you can go from shooting a fitness video one day, to filming a documentary, then off to one of the most gorgeous weddings you have ever seen (where you might have 14 girls in 4 hours!). That is a typical week around here and we LOVE it! We write and post about some of our adventures, but I still prefer to write about the people we love and the products we find.

This week, my favorite project was being a part of a documentary on an Affordable Housing Initiative. If it sounds ho-hum, let me tell you...I learned more on this shoot, than on any other shoot. I got to work with the most amazing Jack Alterman, Mark McKinney, and Cindy Tew and along the way got to shoot with some of the most well respected power players in our community and political world.

Between the talent of these pros and the passion of these advocates...I was blown away and soaking it all in.

It was a lesson in humility for me and I was honored to be traveling in this pack!

In the meantime, I FINALLY got my new kit-whahooooo!! I LOVE it and it will make life so much easier. The other served me well, but bye bye bye!

I also ordered a boat ton of newbie products and I thought I would share some of my favorite less expensive drug store finds!! They are great, stand up to the test, and are all under $10.00 dollars...holla!!!

Love this entire sensitive skin line...crazy good product and a crazy good price point.

LOVE LOVE all these mascaras! I love the dual ended Provocateur for upper and lower lashes...oh la la!

 This gel-powder packs a real punch and I am obsessed! I can't get enough of Pink Frosting, it is perfect from gym, to beach, to running around...it is light weight and doesn't budge-even in the heat and water (perfect for fitness videos as well!).

 Adore this entire line, so when they came out with lotion and I was thrilled. Feels like a $50.00 body lotion for less than $10.00-wowza!!

Never fails me, we use these all the time for lip conditioning and a hint of pop-fav=GUAVA!!

B B Babies!!

 All the rage...Beauty Balms or Blemish Balms aka BB Cremes have finally hit our market and in FULL force. Although they have been in the Asian market for some time, we finally have these wonder creams right in our own back yard. Many are asking what are these creams and how are they different..the short answer, think-ALL in ONE. Most are skin brightening, tone balancing, and treatment. The perfect hybrid of coverage and skin care. I think of it as a tinted moisturizer on steriods!

These are some of our favorites from Sephora, all ranging from $30.00 to about $40.00. Our favorite budget friendly BB Cream is from Garnier for under $20.00! These are light weight and have an airy feel...treating the skin and perfecting your skin tone.

Less products, less work, better results....who doesn't like that?

Spring is in the air...well, at least in my kit it is!

 With our weather here in the South, we are swinging temps ranging from 45 degrees to 75 degrees. Between the teasing of Spring and my vacation just off a cruise-I am craving everything SPRING!

 Make Up along with fashion is created several seasons ahead and typically rolls out in stores a few months before the actual "season" begins. I was thrilled to see a few lines debute some of their spring goodies...a few things are out now (like this gorgeous Chanel 2012 Spring line) and a few (lux new perfume by Jimmy Choo), we will have to wait until late March.

Love this new Lingerie Palette by Laura Mercier. The best bang for your buck- $60.00 for a spring wardrobe? Sign me up! (Notice the warmer colors on one side, cooler on the other-oh, and the 2 gorgeous blushes in the middle-this is foolproof!)

This mini bottle set of polishes has the perfect brights to jazz up toes and the greatest neutrals to keep fingers polished and on point.

Is there anything Jimmy Choo that is NOT fabulous? We don't think so! They can't launch this product fast enough (late March). It will be worth the wait!

This is the first season in a while where I feel color inspired. I have been mixing and using multiple products to get the exact color I want, especially for cheek and lip. If this is what is in store this season, I am excited for us all!!

Ciao~ take care and stay warm!

Golden Globe Goddesses!

 I love a good Award Ceremony and with Award Season in full swing-I am thrilled to seeing not who, but what goes down the Red Carpet. I love watching the machine at work and studying the looks that tooks months to prepare. From the hair to the make up, to the dress to the jewels, to the handbags to the shoes...I enjoy looking at seperate details, but am always surprised that few people (in my eyes)...seem to get it ALL right. I love when stylists take a risk with color or blur the lines with dresses that show skin with a surprise cut out...however, it is the more glamorous, put together total package that catches my eye. Like a perfect symphony-everything gets orchestrated right on key.

Here, I love Debra Messings total look. Her make up balanced out her hair that played beautifully with this brown (yes, I said brown) Monique Lhuillier gown!

 Love Emma Stone in this drapy, flowing feminine, yet risky,edgy Lanvin gown-wowza!

 Salma Hayek in Gucci...need we say more??

Even though I thought the make up took a little bit of a back seat compared to the rest of the elements this year-it was all so well put together, that it looked intentionally understated. Here is where it worked...Charlize Theron looked like a dream when she stepped out in this Dior gown. VISION!

All in all, I love the elegant look and casual vibe of the Golden Globes...I think it is a perfect dress rehearsal for the Oscars-can't wait!!