The Weekend- In Photos

It's Monday evening, and a dvr'd episode of Once Upon A Time is playing in the background.  I've spent the day trying to catch up on the weekend's events, and my mind feels kind of blank.  I'm supposed to be writing a weekend wrap-up article for tomorrow's blog, and I keep watching the television instead.  I should be writing during the commercials.  Instead, the words only seem to come while Snow White is running through the forest, and I don't want to take the time to type.  And of course since it's DVR, my husband loves to triple fast forward through the commercials anyway.  So instead of trying to fill the page with words just for the sake of words, I'll let the images speak for themselves and just give you a quick synopsis of the weekend's events.

Friday started with filming some videos for our youtube channel, then I had a Beauty Basics seminar at the Cascades Library in Sterling, VA to teach for some young teenage girls. 

Saturday was an 11 person wedding for myself and Krystal, with Nicole having her first taste of assisting.  I think she was a little shocked that we finished everyone not only on time, but over a full hour ahead of schedule.  While the three of us were in DC, Kira, Angela, and Heather were out in Leesburg, VA doing hair and makeup for a party of 10.

Sunday was our first company meeting in months, and we packed it full of training sessions, updates on new policies {I have apparently been out voted in the "dress code" department}, employee reviews, and some video clips of our artists talking about why they love doing weddings so much.  Then it was time for Kira to do a hair and makeup trial with one of her May brides while Krystal and I diviied up the week's to do list.  She and I capped off the weekend with dinner at Logan's Roadhouse and some delicious drinks.  So that's why I'm writing this late Monday evening instead of Sunday for a morning post.  Either way, it's still as good a day as any to showcase the weekend's events!

Our video model, Kim, sporting our tutorial look. 

The fabulous updo by Angela!

My notes for the makeup seminar.

Angela loves her job, and it shows in everything she does.  She even smiles while she works!  Yeah, like I said, Once Upon A Time is playing in the background.

Kira making up the mother of the groom.

The beautiful sister of the bride.  Doesn't her tan look fantastic?  So natural you say? Why Thank You, I did it.

Her stunning eyes.

Can't forget the bride of course!  Did her spray tan, too, and of course her fantastic lash extensions!

Krystal demonstrates a bridal hairstyle while Angela films.

More demonstrating.

Krystal shows Heather the proper technique for braiding around the side of the head.

Kira hides from me and the camera.

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into the weekend life of the artists here at Bridal Beauty Associates!  We can't wait to do it all over again next weekend, too!

A New Contest

Today I came downstairs from spending the morning with my two little boys while my husband had a doctor's appointment, and I found that our Facebook Page had reached 300 fans!  I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to see this.  Krystal and I merged our companies (Faces by SAM and Bridal Glam) in June of 2011 and started our company Facebook Page.  It was grew quickly at first, as our current brides and past brides who had like our independent makeup and hairstyling business pages liked the new joint page, and so on and so forth.  Then for months we lay stagnant.  I read books, brainstormed ideas, began posting on a regular basis.  It added a few people here and there, but just not the readership we were looking for. 

In honor of my little guys, here's a quick phone pic of the three of us.

Then, we added North Social apps to the page and started a Sweepstakes.  This was two-fold for me.  I have a habit of collecting makeup and hair samples, both from my insane number of Sephora orders and my monthly Birchbox shipment.  They were piling up in my office, and I thought what a better way to share our appreciation with our brides than to put together some gifts of these items to give away as we hit 100 new fans.  It's really a lot less selfish than it sounds, I swear!  Yeah, I did need to pare down on the samples clogging my shelves. I admit that.  But really, I want to share with my brides who support my ability to spend these lazy mornings cuddled on the couch with my 5 year old and (almost!) 3 year old.  This helped us grow quickly, cuz I mean, who doesn't want the chance to win free makeup?!  If you haven't had a chance to visit our Facebook Page, please do.  Be sure to "like" us while you're there, and definately enter your name into our Sweepstakes.  You could be our Grand Prize Winner and get a Urban Bride Kit from Urban Decay with awesome products, including a full size marshmellow flavored sparkling body powder.  YUM!

That being said, since I'm still in such a lovey dovey mood, thanks to hitting 300 and being snuggled to death by squirmy little warm bodies, we're hosting a new contest on our blog and Facebook today.  We want to hear all about your proposal story!  Post your story below in 200 words or less how your fiance proposed to you, and we'll narrow it down to our top 3 choices.  The top 3 brides will win a mini-engagement session with Hooghkirk Photography at our Manassas studio to have their photo taken for the contest.  We'll post the images along with their story on our Facebook Page, and our brides will vote for their favorite.  The Fan Favorite Couple will win a gift certificate to Olive Garden and Two movie tickets and popcorn from AMC Theaters.

Congratulations to all your engaged brides out there!  We can't wait to hear your stories!  Hurry, contest ends March 31st for the first portion. 

*We'll announce our Top 3 Couples on April 1st, and we'll set up the mini-esession some time before April 14th, based on the availability of our couples. Facebook voting begins April 16th and ends April 30th at midnight.  Grand Prize Winners will be drawn on May 1st.

Hair Day Wednesday: Keep Your Hair Color Fresh

I have this particular problem pretty badly, since red color fades the fastest and can turn brassy really quick.  The first week of washing my hair after a color turns my shower into a Psycho reinactment every time.  I've been a redhead for the last 13 years, and I've spent that whole time searching for products that keep my color looking fresh and my hair from looking like a September hay field in Kansas. {Since I'm not from Kanasas, I'm just going to assume that it's super dry and dead right before harvest season.  So to all you people from Kanasas who may be reading, I appologize if I'm way off the mark here.} 

While driving to an appointment with Krystal one day, I whipped out one of my many notebooks and began grilling her on ways to keep color looking fresh, both for my personal use and for "the sake of the blog".  Selfishness aside, here's what she had to say {and some of my wisdom I've gleaned over the past 13 years of color worship}.

Read more about Krystal here!


{That's me on the left there with my cool red hair!}

Tip #1: Don't wash your hair every day. 
This may be a struggle for most people.  It's ok.  I was in that same position, too.  But trust me, after a few weeks, your scalp will adjust itself and you won't look like an extra from Grease by the end of the day anymore.  Bonus: If you love getting a blowout from the salon, this will also help it last a few extra days.  √ Score!

Tip #2: Wash your hair with warm water vs hot water.
Heat expands the hair follicle and washes away the color deposited there faster.  Using warm water will still open the follicle to allow your shampoo and condition to to do their job but won't strip it as badly.  Also, a quick rinse of cool water will close that follicle back up and lock in the nutrients and good stuff they leave behind to literally nourish the hair from within.

Tip #3: Use a product with a UV shield or color protecting spray after
Apply to damp strands before you blow dry to help prevent over drying from heat products and color change from UV damage.  Ever leave a shirt in your car for too long during the summer and when you brought it inside found that the side that was in the sun faded?  UV bleaches everything out, and that may not be what you want for your color.  So when you're spending time outdoors, use that UV sheild!

Tip #4: Use a color depositing shampoo and conditioner
And don't buy the cheap stuff from the grocery store.  Invest in the good stuff.  You're paying how much for gorgeous color?  It's going to last a lot longer and save you way more money in the long run to go with quality products from the get-go.  Your stylist can direct you to the brand they sell that works with the hair color they've applied.  It's typically from the same company and forumulated to go together.  It's not always just about the sales commissions.  {Krystal bought me some from Bed Head that smells like dulce de leche- French for freakin' amazing caramel stuff- loosly translated.}

Tip #5: Condition, condition, condition
Especially if you use hot tools on a regular basis.  You don't want to burn your hair off!  Once a week, use a deep conditioning treatment to impart extra moisture and keep the cuticle healthy and strong. Your color will stick around longer, and your hair will have shine and bounce.

Tip #6: Keep up with your coloring schedule
This means going every 4-6 weeks for a touch up.  Keeping your roots blended with the rest of your hair will make everything flow together and look much better.

Tulle Kit Tuesday: Makeup Forever HD Foundation

It's Tulle Kit Tuesday Ladies!  That means I'm opening my makeup kit to tell you the best of the best makeup products every bride should have, for her wedding day and beyond.

Today I'm going to start with a bit of a lie.  I don't really have this foundation in my "kit" for weddings.  Simply because we airbrush every bride, mother, and bridesmaid we do.  But, I do wear this every single day I put makeup on, and people ask me all the time whether it's airbrush that I'm wearing.  So yeah, that's how good it is.  Beside, it's in my kit for photoshoots, and I even used it for all the models in my makeup how-to book.  {Want a copy for yourself?  Buy it here, and I'll even autograph it for you!}

What it is: Makeup Forever HD Invisible Coverage Foundation
Where to buy it: In stores at Sephora or their flagship store in NYC, Online at Sephora.com
Price: $40 a bottle
Pros: There's a wide shade range with multiple undertones to accomodate everybody, even the fairest and darkest of skins, concentrated color~ so a little goes a long way, mixes fab-u-lously with moisturizer to create a perfect homemade tinted mositurizer
Cons: Not available anywhere but Sephora so getting your hands on some to test a shade is a little tricky if you don't live near one, the $40 price tag is a little high for some people

I was first introduced to this product four years ago from an online makeup artist forum.  Everyone in the group was talking about what the most commonly used shades were, and what colors were easily mixed to give the most versatility and ease of transportation.  I felt so left out, since I had never used it before and rushed out to see what all the fuss was about.  I bought a bottle for myself and fell IN L-O-V-E.  I've never used anything else on my own face since.  Nothing.  Nada.  Even when I was running low on my current bottle and low on funds.  I mac and cheese for dinner that week if I had to and got the bottle.  It's that good.  I can cheap out on other things, like drugstore mascara, $1 lipgloss, even some covergirl bronzer if I have to, and with this amazing base, everything just looks and lasts better.  Finding the perfect foundation is the key to every makeup application.  If that looks like crap, everything else looks like crap.

Final verdict: √ Worth every penny

Makeup Monday- "Eye-Don'ts" For Your I Do's

A few weeks ago, my super wonderful dual artist Kira and I were talking {you can check out the awesomeness that is Kira here}, and I asked her if she could help me brainstorm some new ideas for articles on the blog.  She's got an incredibly creative mind, having been an actress and singer most of her life, and the two of us just mesh together so well.  Really, she's becoming like family to me.  So when we started calling out ideas together, it all just started snowballing into this list of amazing stuff.  One of her ideas that I loved was called "Up Don'ts"~ an article on the types of hair styles that don't particularly work for different facial shapes or necklines, etc.  I can't wait to unveil that one later in the month, but in the meantime I've got a little spin off for you that I came up with on my own perfect for this week's Makeup Monday~  "Eye-Don'ts" For Your I Do's.  {Oh, and the photo left is Kira doing her thing on the eyes, the perfect photo to accompany today's post.}

What the heck does that even mean?  Well, there are a lot of common misconceptions about doing makeup for photos.  Myths about how much makeup you should pack on, using black eyeliner, false lashes, other tricks to make your eyes "pop". {Side note: Can we just say "look uh-ma-zing" or "stand out"?  Pop makes me think of Wiley Coyote when an anvil lands on this foot or something.}  But I digress.  "Eye-Don'ts" are things that people think make their eyes look better, but can come across really harsh and frankly dragish not only in photos but in person as well.

Eye-Don't #1: Penciling in the eyebrows
Anyone who's seen me do makeup knows that I'm a major supporter of filling in the brows for everyday and especially for photos.  It's a quick way to draw attention to the eyes without having to go heavy on the eyes to make them stand out. It's like hanging a photo on the wall with no frame.  Eyebrows frame the eyes and draw attention to them.  So aside from having them nicely groomed, filling them in with a powder is the way to go.  Pencil can look to harsh, as most people use it to fill them in to within an inch of it's life.  Start at the arch and fill in towards the taper and then go back and add a few strokes on the front half of the brow.

Eye-Don't #2: Using the wrong color on your eyebrows
Along the same vein as #1, it doesn't matter what product you use for it.  I've seen little old Asian ladies filling in their greying black brows with reddish brown pencil, blondes using a brown so dark it's practically black, and brunettes using pure black.  You don't want to create more color there, or use it to change the color of your brows.  {Although, I'll admit on I do use a slightly reddish brown for my naturally black brows due to the fact that I have basically neon red hair right now~ but it's subtle.}  When looking for a color to fill in your brows, go for a grey based color, as it will look like shadow and depth created by hair and trick the eye into thinking there's more hair there than there really is.  The only time you should go for a warm tone is if you've got red hair, or it will look too ashy.  Go a shade or two lighter than your hair color. Yup, lighter.  Darker will be too dramatic.  You want them to look full in photos but natural in person.

Eye-Don't #3: Using too much shimmer
Your eyes are not disco balls.  Don't coat them in lacquered glitter, or shimmer so thick you look like a time warp to 1983. {Good year!  I was born!}  And don't use all shimmer colors on the eyes.  It messes up the depth perception in a photo.  Shimmer reflects light, making that part of the face look more forward in photos.  Using a shimmery color for the contour defeats the purpose of using a darker color to make the area recede.  The end result~ no contouring, just a little darker shadow.  Although, this can be good for those wanting a smokey look in person who don't want to overdo it for photos.  So that one's not exactly a hard & fast rule of makeup. {Cuz really, there's no such thing or else we'd never evolve.}  So keep your shimmer sparingly applied.  Best bet is the inner corner and under the arch of the brow with a light color, and a little on the ball of the lid {the part right over where the iris is when you close your eyes.}  Trust me, your eyes will pop sans comic relief.

Eye-Don't #4: A thick ring of liner all around the eyes or in the waterlines
Picture this in your mind: You have a sheet of white paper, and you use a permanent maker to draw two ovals for eyes.  Then you use a colored pencil to lightly draw in the rest of the face, a nose, lips, cheeks, etc.  What is going to stand out more?  The rest of the features or those "eyes"?  The big black rings, of course!  That isn't necessarily the right way to make your actual eyes stand out though.  Too much dense black around the eye makes it recede and look sunken in.  Black {or any color really} in the waterline doesn't last for more than a few hours, and it ends up as nasty eye gunk you have to wipe away and reapply.  If you want the shape of the eye to really stand out, you can line the bottom as long as you do it right.  Keep the line tapered to a very thin point as you reach the inside corner.  This will give the most attention to the outside corner and give your eyes a much more "open" appearance in person and in photos.  It will also last longer and look more natural.

Eye-Don't #5: Using false lashes the size of your fist
Ok, not literally, although I'm sure they exist.  But when you select the style of lashes for your eyes, please keep in mind that the shape of the lashes can and will affect the way the shape of your eyes is perceived in person and in camera.  They don't need to be super long or thick to be incredibly effective.  If the longest part of the lashes are in the center of the band, this is going to make your eyes look more round.  If the longest part of the lashes are at the outside corner, this is going to make your eyes look more oval. {According to psychologists, we're predisposed to prefer the oval shape over the round shape.  It's genetically programmed into us.  Weird, eh?}  Also, the more varied in length the overall lashes are, the more natural they will look and the easier they will blend into your own lashes.  If they are straight across all the same thickness and length, that's a dead giveaway they're fakes.

Our Super Fabulous Awesome Shoot For Capitol Romance

Can you tell I was a little excited by this project?  Nah?  Ok, well let me tell you what I reaaaally think: This was amazing, super, fabulous, awesome, time consuming yet spectacular, fantastic, fun, special shoot I've done in a really long time.  Now don't you want to see the images from it?  Of course you do!

Too bad though.  I can't show you anything....yet.  But be sure to check out the week long feature on Capitol Romance's blog next week. A full article each day on each of the 6 to die for alternative bridal looks from the shoot.

So what the heck was this shoot for anyway, you may be asking.  Well, let me tell you all about it.  Bree, the talented writer behind Capitol Romance and I concocted this crazy idea of getting together a group of models, a photographer, dresses, accessories, and a team of beauty professionals {us of course!} to create a series of looks based off of different themes.  We had a Victorian bride, a Steampunk bride, a Vintage bride {yours truly got to play that part!}, a Rustic bride, a Grecian bride, and one of the funnest looks out of them all- the Offbeat bride.

We started with beautiful dresses loaned to us from Blush Bridal Boutique in Gainesville {seriously, check them out and tell Maureen we said to stop by!} in each of the themes.  Elegant fitted ivory lace for the Victorian look, a trumpet style gown with black sash for Steampunk, a flowing confection of tulle and crystals for the Vintage look, a short and sassy 60s style dress for Rustic {paired with a headband of peacock and owl feathers and knee high suede boots}, soft white beachy gown for the Grecian bride, and a black and white polka dot dress for Offbeat.

Along with modern dresses brides today wear, the accessories are all modern hair pieces and jewelry we sell on our online store, www.mybridalgems.com.  It's where the hair and makeup came in that things started to get a little fun and funky.  It was great to have the opportunity to go outside the box on some of the looks {one model had hot pink hair!} for once rather than the typical "natural" request we get for most of our brides.

Ok, that's all for now before I totally give it all away.  Want to see some sneak peeks of the images?  Check out the photographer's blog, www.abbygracephotography.com, for a few of the pictures from the shoot.  And then be sure to read Capitol Romance all next week for the full features!

Open Letter to Photographers About Sharing Images with Vendors

This topic has come up time and time again in conversations with other vendors for weddings, and I'd like to take a moment to address a misconception that photographers seem to have about hair and makeup artists and our portfolios we present to brides.  This is meant to educate and present the reasoning behind our requests.  Not to bash or rant about photographers in any way.  We value very very highly the work that you do, and we aren't requesting images from those we don't feel are good photographers to begin with.  So please, if you're a wedding photographer, {heck even if you're not} take a moment to read this and hopefully gain a little insight into our business.

1. It amazes me how many photographers refuse to acknowlege our emails requesting the permission to use images for our portfolios.  I get it.  You're busy.  You have weddings that need images processed, albums to create, social networking to do, client emails and phone calls to return, meetings.... Really.  I get it.  Minus the creating albums {and a vast portion of the processing images- as I've been reduced to carrying around a camera of my own lately just to get images}, we do just as much work as photographers {or any other vendor!} for our weddings.  Between our team, we can do up to 150 weddings in a single year.  Each bride has paperwork to process, emails to return, payments to collect, yadda yadda yadda for us to do, too.  At the end of each month, I have a tower of paperwork to go through to research and look up their photographers, view their websites, like them on Facebook, leave them comments on their blogs, find them on Twitter, etc.  And then send them a nice professional email asking if they wouldn't mind sharing images with us for portfolio purposes once they are processed and the brides have had time to review their pictures first.  {We already have the brides pre-approve use of images for our portfolios in our contract.}  I ask them how long that process usually takes {some photographers take weeks, some take months} make notes on when to follow up, and thank them in advance for their time.  Is it really that hard to send an email back that says "Thanks for your email.  However, I don't share images with vendors."  That sentence took me about 8 seconds to type. Although I'd rather hear "Thanks for your email.  Check back in X weeks." {That one only took 5 seconds.  See, it's really just easier for you to be polite.}

2. What I really don't understand is why more photographers don't want to give images of the vendors work to them for promotion.  Send it to me with a watermark/web size if you think I'm suddenly going to steal it, sell it to someone, alter it or whatever you think I'm going to do with your images.  Really, I would just love a picture for my website showing off the beautiful hair and makeup we do for our clients, as well as help promote the photographers who are kind enough to provide those images and maybe send a client their way now and again.  It's a FREE advertisement.  It's NETWORKING.  It's plain ol' NICE.  But hey, to each his own.

3. For those photographers that do send us images, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  You make my life so much easier, because now I can spend more time providing customer service to my brides than trying to find models, photographers, time on my calendar, etc to put together a styled shoot.  HOWEVER...  sending me nothing but images of us DOING makeup or hair on brides or their bridal party sitting around their hotel room in sweats or pjs doesn't really do a darn thing for us.  I send a nice "thank you" email and then put those pictures in a folder on my desktop titled "Completely Useless Images I Will Never Use".  Seriously, that folder exists.  I mean come on.  Brides KNOW we do hair and makeup.  It's kind of in our name, all over our website, the whole reason they're contacting us.  They don't want "proof" that's what we do on the wedding day {as opposed to maybe sipping mimosas and eating bon bons?}. They want to see a portfolio, just like any other vendor.  That means images of a bride and her bridal party, in their dresses, on the wedding day.  Final product.  Not process.  Would you present a porfolio of images to a potential client of you TAKING pictures?  I don't think so.  So please keep that in mind the next time a hair or makeup professional asks you for images of their work for their portfolio.  Just because the bride asks you to document the getting ready process of her wedding day, does not mean she wants those pictures of her half done broadcast across the internet.  And just because you happen to be there while we're working doesn't mean we want pictures of us working.

That being said, yes a few candids of us working are fun for our "behind the scenes" folder we put up as a sneak peek on our Facebook page.  It's nice to have a good working shot as profile pic for forums.  But it's nothing we'd ever put in a portfolio, and we don't want to waste your time having you send us images that are just going to end up in the "Useless" category.