Amanda
This before and after is from last summer. Amanda contacted me saying she had a catastrophe of some kind and had an event to go to so she was panicking. I’ve never seen her look anything short of totally gorgeous, so I knew it couldn’t be that bad, but I got her in for an appointment.
I was super limited on time and luckily she had a photo of the makeup look she liked (a pic of Megan Fox, she kind of looks like her, huh?) so I was able to get it done in about a half an hour (for event makeup, that’s pretty quick in my book. Well, when you incorporate the socializing and catching up time too 😉 )
This product below was the life saving element. The Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer.
It’s an incredibly durable concealer and the shade is customizable. It comes in 8 color options, and each one has 2 colors that you mix together til you get the right tone. SC-2 is the one in the photo (and this is the brush.) For Amanda, I used SC-4 and I traced along the lighter part of her skin (mostly forehead) using a color that was close to the tone of the tanner part of her skin. That way I wouldn’t have to put on several coats of foundation because the colors already looked more similar, therefore a more uniform complexion.
Are you staying with me here? 😎
This same concept works for tons of other things too! If you have a zit or a little sun damage, there’s no need to pile on a bunch of makeup to every visible surface of your skin. Just put on your tinted moisturizer or foundation and then add a little concealer to any areas that still need a bit more coverage.
There’s more useful info on this concealer under the Details and Usage tabs on this page here.
So Amanda had a drastic hair change recently, and I was elated to try a different look on her. We went super girlie with her makeup to go with her flirty new hairstyle and this adorable dress she was wearing (sorry I don’t have a pic of it!)
I think it took some getting used to for her, but once she saw it all put together she loved the fresh and super girlie vibe. I definitely loved it!
For this look I used:
Complexion: Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer , RCMA Highlight & Contour Palette, (I often use different things to contour with depending on people’s skin tone and skin type. RCMA is a brand most commonly used by professionals, in case you haven’t heard of it 🙂 The contour I used on Amanda would also look similar to the Laura Mercier contour colors or Stone by Maskcara Cosmetics.) Lancome Effacernes Concealer in Light Bisque, Tarte Cheek Stain in Fearless.
Eyes: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer, MAC Eyeshadows in Saddle, Wedge, and Jest, Lancome Le Stylo eyeliner in Cafe and Tarte Inner Rim Liner, Hypnose Mascara, Flare Lashes Combo Ardell.
Lips: NYX Butter gloss in Maple Blondie —-A little confused by the name of the gloss, but whatever it’s so pretty! And it’s only $4.99. I get so excited when I find something I like that’s a little cheaper since most of my recommendations tend to be more of the luxury brands, ’cause that’s commonly what I work with and am most familiar with.
But yay for $4.99!!!!
xoxo
Aging
A few months ago I wished a good friend of mine happy birthday and she responded by saying “Thanks girl. 29! I’m a little depressed!”
I think she was maybe referencing that she felt old or something? She’s only lived a fraction of her life (hopefully!) and she already feels like that?! So sad to me!
We’ve been listening to The Power of Now in our little household and it has so many good points. Here are a few good tidbits from it:
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without.”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
“All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
When I’m getting caught up in worry I’ve been trying to remember to just be in the moment. Sounds a little cheesy but it totally helps.
So back to aging. Last year I was prepping to teach a class to women who’s ages ranged from 21-99 and I wanted to have some good quotes. During my search, I happened upon this post written by one of my favorite people, Cara. She said pretty much everything I was thinking, but better. You can read it here.
Complexion: Lancome Absolue bx foundation, Laura Mercier Secret Concealer #2, Maskcara cosmetics to contour in Stone, Tarte Cheek Stain Flush
Eyes: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer, Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, Lancome Artliner in Noir, Flare Lashes Combo Ardell, Lancome Brow Pencil in Taupe
Lips: Urban Decay lip liner in Catfight, Bobbi Brown Crystal
Isn’t Karri beautiful?
She was one of my models for a class that I did for the darling Steph of Hair and Makeup by Steph. (ps Steph teaches hair styling classes and she’s amazing!)
I love Ms. Steph. She’s a good one. 
I will be offering some new types of classes for those who would like to be makeup artists (all levels.) If you’re interested either comment below or shoot me an email and let me know what kinds of things you’d like to learn, I want the classes to be as useful as possible!
Photos by JessaKae
What is “Natural” makeup
When you hear the phrase “natural makeup” what does that mean? Is it the number of products used? The colors of the products? The amount of the product actually put on your face? All of the above?
People will often say they want a “natural” look. After working with thousands of clients, I have learned that it means ENTIRELY different things to everyone. So as soon as I hear that, my brain instantly goes into detective mode ’cause I’ve gotta try to figure out what they mean!
I didn’t do the makeup in these photos below, I am just using them for the sake of demonstration.
The photo on the left obviously looks more natural, so a lot of people think that that means there’s less steps and that it will take less time to do, which isn’t always the case. Sometimes it is the case, but not always.
So I analyzed each pictured to see what I thought was used to create each look and my guess is that they probably took about the same number of steps. 
Kinda crazy right?
-You don’t always have to use something “dark” for it to enhance the feature. Example: In the first photo (flower crown) the illuminator color that’s on her inner tear duct is stunning and totally brings out her eyes. And it’s a light color!
-On a different note, to look real fancy super fast, line the inner rim of your eyes with a dark eyeliner and put on a bold lip. It’ll take your look up a notch and it’ll take like two seconds… or at most two minutes.
Which look do you like better? Comment below!
I promise you won’t be spammed for putting in your email address, it’s just to make sure you’re a real live human 🙂
Spring Bridal Makeup
The warmer weather here in Salt Lake is getting me excited for spring and summer! Since most brides would rather have the flowers, without the “April showers” (i’m such a poet) let’s call this look the springtime-with-summer-on-the-horizon-bridal-look 😎
Like this look? Pin it!
The details
Step 1 Apply MAC Cranberry eyeshadow from lash line to crease using MAC Fluff Brush 213.
Step 2 Darken outer corner with MAC Embark using MAC Mini Shader Brush 228.
Step 3 Apply MAC Amber Lights to crease using MAC Fluff Brush 213 (same brush as step 1) and to lower lash line using MAC Mini Shader Brush 228 (same brush as step 2.)
Step 4 Add lashes, mascara, and a nude eyeliner.
A few things, the flares I used for her lashes are twice as full as the typical individual flares from Ardell, therefore, I didn’t feel like she needed a dark eyeliner on top because her eyes were already defined by the lashes. Plus, the dark eyeshadow dupes as a liner.
Her lip color is Lancome lip liner in Charme and Dior Gloss 257 Venus. Her blush is Chanel Rose Bronze.
For brides, waterproof mascara is often a good idea, just in case.
These photos were taken by Jessica Janae, then they took some bridals after I got her ready. Pretty lady! Flowers by Soil & Stem. Headband by https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePoshSociety
Also, to follow up on my post about wavy curly hair texture, I tried the whipped creme mousse from Sebastian. I like it! It’s awesome if you do not want any crunch to your hair. I’d say it’s like 2/3 mousse with a little hold and 1/3 super light weight leave in conditioner. For something with a little bit more texture or hold, I love the Kenra mousse, and that link takes you to a sample size so you can try it out before making the big jump. Plus I’m kind of a fan of the smaller bottle for portability reasons too.
Wavy hair kind of makes me think of summer too…beachy waves….beach…..
Is it weird that now I kind of want a Big Stick popsicle?!
Oh the memories…big sticks and roller blading. Anyone know if those popsicles still exist?!
