My go-to bridal makeup products

'Tis the season to be married! 
I love the spring and summer not only because of the pretty blooms and the warm weather, but because I absolutely love doing bridal makeup and it is the prime time for weddings. There's something about wedding days. There's so much chaos on the day of, but the bride-to-be is so happy, so excited for the journey she's about to embark on and they are always beaming!
The more bridal makeup I do, the more I realize that literally every bride asks for the same thing. They all want to be glowy and radiant, classy, and they want to still look like themselves...just the prettiest version of themselves! My goal as a makeup artist is never to make someone look like a completely different person on their wedding day. But I do love to accentuate their natural beauty and help them feel like the most beautiful girl on the planet. 
A common worry for brides is that they are going to do something too trendy and they'll look back in 15 years and hate their eyebrows, their lipstick, their highlight, etc. The products i'm talking about today are truly timeless options for brides. 
This is Daesha, a gorgeous client I had the pleasure of working on recently. My favorite eye look for a bride is a sultry smokey eye with browns and pinks. It complimented her so well.  She is the perfect example of timeless! 

Photopragher: Maquel Cooper (IG: @maquelcooper) 
Here are my must-haves all season long, no matter the bride!!
EYE PRIMER: Benefit Stay Don't Stray 

EYES: MAC Tan Pigment (left) and Stila Magnificent Metal Eyes in Dusty Rose on the right. 

BLUSH: I am obsessed with blush so I have a few contenders! 

From top to bottom: MAC New Romance, Becca Gypsy, Colourpop Trickery (top color), amd MAC Margin, 

HIGHLIGHTER: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light

This is my favorite highlighter for brides. It really is the key ingredient for making them look like they are glowing from within. I use a bigger brush and dust it over the entire face because it's so lightweight! 

BROWS: Anastasia of Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade

It's waterproof and lasts all day! 

*FUN TIP*

If you are dry and really want a dewy and glowy look, I love making this little concoction. The Nivea post shave balm works as a primer and I love mixing the Josie Maran Argan Illuminzer into it on the back of my hand and then applying to my face before foundation to give the skin a healthy glow! 

STRIP LASHES: My two favorite styles from House of Lashes: Boudoir and Starlet.

And last bur not least, my favorite lip products at the moment.

My number one favorite gloss for brides (or any client for that matter) is the Inglot lip paint #66. It's the perfect gloss, shiny and wet looking, but not sticky.

My other go-to's are: (top to bottom on the back of my hand) Bite Beauty matte crayon in Leche, Lorac matte lip crayon in Pink Taupe, Colourpop lip liner/lippie stix in Westie, MAC lip liner in Subculture, and the one on the bottom is the Inglot gloss which layers perfectly over everything and looks good on everyone!   

There you have it! All my must-haves. I hope this helps you if you are either getting married, doing makeup on a bride and looking for some fun products you've never tried, or if you just like the look of  bridal makeup! Heck I do it on myself all the time just because it's a beautiful look. 

And who says you can't look like a bride everyday? 

Regardless, I find these to be must-haves for anyone, anytime. 

Enjoy a few more pictures of this bridal babe! (:

How We Wore It // Holiday Plaid (& Leopard)

I have been so bad about posting lately!!! Two fashion posts in a row, and this is a beauty blog? I have been out of town for the last couple of weeks so forgive my neglect! I got to join in on this month’s “How We Wore It” post again which is so fun! Here is the inspo for this month’s look from Because Shanna Said So:

I wanted to incorporate plaid so bad in this post, it was definitely a focal point in the inspo photo for this month…..and I even have a couple plaid shirts but I just barely flew back into town from Austin, both shirts were dirty, didn’t have enough time to wash them and I couldn’t put an outfit together for the life of me! My husband even came home during his break to take these pictures because that was the only way this was happening between my eyelash clients! For those who aren’t familiar, this post is all about using what’s already in your closet to put your look together so it can be challenging at times but that’s what makes it so fun. I love seeing how other people put their looks together and what they take from the original photo.

I am a leopard print fanatic. I have toned it down a bit the last year but I still own tons of it so I decided to incorporate that into my look. I also was really looking for an excuse to wear this super cozy blanket scarf from Nordstrom because, well, it’s the bomb diggity and I will forever love my sister in law for getting it for me.

I stuck with the other details in the outfit I noticed like the scarf, a dress/skirt, tights and ankle booties. I love turtle neck dresses and have been wearing this one like crazy! It’s so soft and comfy I would totally sleep in it if I could get away with it. For accessories I chose a fringe clutch and gold hoops…I have become obsessed with hoop earrings lately…what is happening?!? I also paired it with my nasty yellow roots. HAHA! Kidding….but honestly…cannot wait to get that fixed it’s driving me up the wall.

And last but certainly not least….lipstick. If you have read any of my other posts you know I love a nice bold lip. When I think holiday, I think of a rich ruby red but I love how plum colors look with leopard print and grey so I chose this color instead! It’s the Maybelline color blur matte lipstick in the shade “Plum Perfect.”

Grey dress: Tj Maxx// black ankle boots: Love Culture//Scarf: Nordstrom// fringe clutch: Tj Maxx// Hoop Earrings: Tj Maxx

Thanks for stopping by! Check out these other ladies and how they rocked the look this month:

Brooke at Silver Lining

Robin at Penn & Quill

Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba

Maren at Maren and Co

Brielle at Breezy and Co

Eden at We Are Worth Saving

Bekah at These Are The Days

Tayler at The Morrell Tale

Jessica at Mason Jars and Lemon Bars

Sharlee at My New Lines

Berkley at Berkley Anne

Jennifer at The Pepper Express

Alexa at He and I

Hannah at Hannah Rae

Rachel at Rachel Sayumi

Hannah at My Life as a Baseball Bride

Amy at Harris Inc.

Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley

Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect

Charlene at From Bisons to Buckeyes

Justine at Little Dove Creations

Jennifer at Jennifer Sikora

Paige at The Happy Flammily

Bonnie at The Life of Bon

Sarah at My For Real Life

Kyla at FordOlogy

Riley at Riley Jo Blog

Shelbie at R+S Brereton

Megan at Diary of This Girl

Sierra at Sierra's View

Emma at Ever Emma

Danica at Danikan Skywalker

Deidre at Deidre Emme

How We Wore It // Darker Fall Tones

My blog is so new and I am still learning the ropes, so I was so excited when Brielle (breezy and co) and Brooke over at Silver Lining invited me to be a part of this month’s “How We Wore It” blog post. I focus so much on makeup that sometimes it’s fun to do something different, especially since I LOVE clothes!

This month’s inspo is via StyleLovely. I love that this tag is about using stuff that you already have in your closet to recreate the look. I don’t own anything gingham but I wanted to stick with the black and white for my recreation and this is what I came up with.

My style is all over the charts but I own tons of black, white and grey and as I get older and my style evolves, I realize that I really love the minimalist look. I switched back and forth between wearing B&W Nike Free Runs -I am obsessed with Street Style and how “chic sneaks” can look - but I opted for strappy heels instead because my cardigan was so long. I wanted to help make my little shorty legs look longer. The struggle of being under 5 foot is REAL! I threw on a leather jacket for more layering. Leather is a staple for me and I love layering it with long sweaters!

I realized by doing this post that Harlow is definitely my buffer in pictures. Taking pictures by myself felt pretty awkward. What do I do with my hands? Anytime a car drove by I wanted to jump into the lake. If I wasn’t running away from judgement from passing cars, I was running from geese a.k.a. Douche Birds, who looked like they were equally judging me. Why do they have to hiss? As if they didn’t look mean enough, they make a noise that literally terrifies me. If you look closely at my heels, you will see the mud from my attempts at running away through the grass, which I failed at and just ended up aerating the lawn and getting mud everywhere.  

But back to the point of this post!! For the last piece of this look, I put on a red lip from Jouer Cosmetics in the shade Simone. Since I dressed up the look with heels, I thought a bold lip would be appropriate and I think it helped add a little bit of color to this look. Awkwardness aside, I’m glad I did this! 

To be a part of the fun, head over to Silver Lining to sign up for next month’s “How We Wore It” post! Here are the other ladies that joined in this month:

Brooke at Silver Lining

Alexa at He and I

Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba

Hannah at Hannah Rae

Sierra at Sierra's View

Sharlee at My New Lines

Berkley at Berkley Anne

Amy at Harris Inc.

Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley

Amy at Lamb & Ivy

Autumn at Stay Gold Autumn

Brielle at Breezy and Co

Riley at Riley Jo Blog

Maren at Maren and Co

Tori at The Doing Things Blog

Kyla at FordOlogy

Megan at Diary of This Girl

Robin at Penn & Quill

Justine at Little Dove Creations

Bekah at These Are The Days

Lex at What Life Brings

Shelbie at R+S Brereton

Jennifer at Jennifer Sikora

Sarah at My For Real Life

Deidre at Deidre Emme

Rachel at Rachel Sayumi

Outfit deets: Leather reversible tote: Nordstroms // Sunglasses: Nordstroms // Ripped black jeans: Love Culture // Cardigan: Tj Maxx // Tahari Leather Jacket: Nordstroms // Heels: H&M

ColourPop Fall Lip Colors

For my first blog post, I chose to talk about fall lip colors because well…who doesn’t love a fun lip color for the best season of the year! I love everything about the fall. Football, leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice everything, the cute clothes, my favorite TV shows come back, and especially the makeup trends. I chose my favorite shades from ColourPop cosmetics because they have a great color selection, the quality is awesome and guess what?! Nothing is over $10. I know, it sounds too good to be true! The most I spent on any of these lip colors was SIX bucks. Are you kidding me…

PITCH // TOOTSI // OH SNAP // WET // TRAP // DR. M

Ultra matte Lips (liquid lipsticks) ($6) 

Dr. M: This is a dark emerald green and I chose it because it’s different…it’s not going to be everyone’s first choice but that’s what I like about it. I think it’s beautiful and striking. You’ll get some double-takes from strangers but who the flip cares!

Trap: a beautiful cool toned grayish-purpley-pink. It’s the perfect shade to overline your lips with and it looks good on so many skin tones! It’s my favorite and very Kylie Jenner-esque.

Lippie Stix ($5)

Pitch: This is a brownish red? Reddish brown? Eh, same thing. I chose this shade because it reminds me of the 90’s which is so in right now! Dark reds are very popular in the fall and everyone loves a rich burgundy color so I wanted to give it a spin and do something warm-toned that is still red but not your average berry lip! It’s so fun and gives you an edgy feel. It looks so good on brunettes or people with brown eyes!

Wet: This is the only one that isn’t matte! This is a pearlized shade and it is so different! It doesn’t do it justice in the picture but it is a beautiful cool-toned taupe and this is a shade that would look very different depending on what lip liner you chose to put underneath it. It’s versatile and fun!

These last two shades, Oh Snap and Tootsi are every day lip colors that look good on everyone! Tootsie is more of a dark nude which is why you can barely see it on my lips! It’s very close to my natural lip color. Oh Snap is more of a pinky nude and it is absolutely a must-have. It is a great bridal color as well!

I chose matte shades for the most part because not only are matte lipsticks really popular right now but so is over-lining your lips. Using matte lipsticks/lip pencils when over-lining is very important because the color stays put and helps hide your natural line of your lips. When you use something that is glossy or satin, the color moves around and not only can you see the natural lines of your lips, but you’ll find yourself reapplying multiple times through the day. Liquid lipsticks will literally NOT BUDGE. I can kiss my cute kid all I want without leaving a mark. WIN-WIN.

Drug store price for department store quality. Check out ColourPop and let me know what you think! Try a fun color you’ve never worn before, have FUN with it!