Don't Underestimate the Power of Natural Makeup

Now, I am going to be honest...I love the idea and concept of natural makeup--especially for women who are not able to wear most makeup due to chemical sensitivities, allergies, etc. However, that said, I am one to still love my tried and true chemical makeup products that do the job. My skin is pretty tough--both in terms of being able to handle chemicals as well as tough to find things that work on it the way they're suppose to work. And I have tried some natural/mineral makeup products in the past that were an absolute waste of time/money, so before trying these, I was a little skeptical...although these were from Tarte, which I loved before I knew it was natural makeup.

So I first lined my eyes upper and lower inner rims with the emphasEYES liner in plum. I loved the very thin, no-need-to-sharpen tip that glided on the skin without a tug. It was fairly light on the first application, so I added a couple more layers which intensified the look. This seems like it would be a great choice for those who are afraid of eyeliners, can't draw a straight line, don't like the harsh look of a liner, and those who hate sharpening their eyeliner. I really loved that it went on so nicely without the thick line.


I also used Tarte's Lights, Camera, Splashes 4-in-1 Natural Waterproof Mascara. Ok, this is seriously one cool mascara. Not only is it waterproof and give you added volume and length, it has beeswax and carnauba wax (from a plant) and the packaging is biodegradable and recyclable. And did it mention the super cute anchor/marina theme?



And then around my midday shine, I used their T-Zone Travel Natural Shine Control To-Go Kit. I first used the blotting papers (yes, I did have to use multiple sheets being that my face contains more oil than the Middle East), and then I used the super cute brush to dust my face with the shine control powder. I was seriously impressed that the powder did not make me look like I had flour on my face and it kept my natural glow (a.k.a. didn't interfere with my bronzer too much). I will definitely be using this on a regular basis--not to mention, again--how gorgeous is the packaging? I feel like I want to take this and the mascara out to use in public just so I can show off how cute the packaging is. And did I mention that the powder has a ton of good-for-you natural extracts in it? No wonder Kristen Bell and Rachel Bilson love this so much!

Welcome to the Land of Hair Accessories!

Welcome to the Land of Hair Accessories!




Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of working with Madame Melange, a new company online that sells the most gorgeous and amazing array of hair accessories! Everything from headbands with large, colorful bows to vintage jeweled pieces to feathers, glitz and glamour on pins and combs.

As someone who (loved! and) lived through the '80s (translation: yes, I had and proudly wore the large lace bow headbands as seen on Madonna during the Material Girl era...), I have a deep appreciation for these hair pieces.

Madame Melange should be opening its cyber doors within the month (don't worry, we will let you know when!) to the world wide lovers of hair accessories. I had the pleasure of doing the hair and makeup for these fab pieces and worked with the owner, Chenenne Woods, the most fun, gracious and wonderful woman, and George Delgado, the extremely talented fashion photographer! I cannot wait to see the photos from the shoot (and you all will get first view once I get them back!) and will post my favs soon.

Pictures from The Knot Event at Pronovias

As promised, here are some of the fabulous pictures from The Knot's event at Pronovias on November 17th, 2009. There was quite the crowd as you can see.





The team from MG Hair and Makeup gave mini-makeovers to the brides attending.

There was also the fashion show, hosted by Heather Levine, the fashion and beauty editor at The Knot. We also had the pleasure of doing her hair and makeup as well!




The gowns were amazing--you really do need to go to the salon to see them in person!




And these wonderful pictures were by Jen Huang Photography. To see more pictures from the event, click here. To go to her blog and website: http://www.jenhuangphotography.com/

The Knot, Pronovias and MG Hair and Makeup

If you were one of the 200 brides at the event, you know what we are talking about. The Knot hosted an event at the amazing Pronovias flagship salon in midtown on Novemeber 17th, this past Tuesday. It was an amazing event complete with a fashion show, custom sweet treats, champagne, and of course, mini-makeovers by MG Hair and Makeup.

More pictures to come soon!

Headpieces, Veils and Poofs--Oh My!

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of being part of a wedding on Halloween (pictures will come in another post later). At the trial run, the bride had a myriad of different headpieces in hand and was still searching for her perfect one online and in stores.

It is a never-ending search sometimes. The hair jewelry is the missing link between the earrings/necklace, the dress and the hairstyle. You want to make sure it complements everything, doesn't outshine anything and yet adds that extra "oomph" to give you the wow-factor you are looking for.

There are so many things to consider when choosing a headpiece. First of all, you want to decide if your hairstyle will determine the hair jewelry (and veil) you choose or vice versa. This is one of the most important and yet most forgotten/ignored criteria in choose a piece. Generally, the bride is at the bridal salon trying on dresses, she finds one she likes, the salesperson puts a veil on her head (and/or a jeweled comb/tiara) and the bride, overcome with the emotion of "I'm getting married! I am a bride!", says "yes" to everything--the dress, veil, and headpiece. Only later when she has her trial run through does she realize that the veil and/or hair jewelry may or may not go with the style she wants for her day.

There are headpieces (and veils) to complement every hairstyle--a low bun/chignon, a high mound of curls on top of your head, slicked back, loose, elegant and simple, romantic and artistic, half-up or all down, straight or curly, gold or silver--so don't be discouraged if the piece you chose isn't working with your hairstyle vision you had in mind. Be sure to check with the bridal salon (before removing the tags!) to see what their return policy is on headpieces and veils. You may be able to exchange or return it if you decide differently. Check out one of my favorites, Tigerlilly, for some great headpieces. And don't forget about the beauty and versatility of flowers (fresh or fake) in the hair!

The other important thing you want to decide is regarding your veil. Do you want to keep it in all night long or do you want to take it out? Do you want a blusher or no blusher? Do you want it above the style, below the style, on the top of your head or near the back/crown of your head? The reason you need to be aware of these things before choosing a veil is because veils are made differently and not every veil is able to be placed just anywhere.

For instance, if there are sequins, jewels, pearls, etc. on one side of the veil, that is the "up" or "out" side. Depending on how the veil is attached to the comb, this will determine whether the veil can be worn under the hairstyle with the "out" side facing out so you can see the embellishment.

The same goes for blushers. If you have a shorter blusher on your veil (note that blushers can be purchased separately from the longer veil if you so desire), wearing the veil under the hairstyle will cause the shorter blusher layer to be underneath the longer layer. You can still do it this way and wear the longer layer as your "blusher", however it will be a long blusher and may look awkward depending on where it ends on the front part of you and your dress.

Whatever you decide, try to do your best in restraining the giddy, emotional purchases before determining the return/exchange policy, your hairstyle and what components of your bridal accessories are important to you.

Photo credits: Jenn Barnett, Perspective Studio, Life on Prints, Lina Jang, Scott Dahlseid, Dietrich Gesk, Olive Juice Studios, Michael Edwards, Daniel Coyle, Gene Higa, Tom DiBella

Unveiled in Dallas

So here are some pics from the Unveiled wedding event October 4th, 2009, in Dallas, Texas! It was an amazing show, produced by The Wedding Guys, sponsored by Stardust Celebrations, Texas Monthly, Get Married, Dallas Brides, Hakimsons Films, Cort Event Furnishings, --if you missed it, March 6th, 2010 is your next chance--don't miss out!






For the models' makeup, we did a smokey gray eye, luminous skin, flushed cheek and berry stained lip.


For the hair, we did loose curls in a romantic updo that is flattering on everyone regardless of face shape or hair type.


You can also see one of the big trends in birdcage veils this year--the veil has clips on both sides, some have flowers or feather poofs on one or both sides for added drama. The clips make it easy to put in and take out if you desire.







And here are the models backstage getting ready to go out on the runway!







Once we get other images, we will be sure to post those for your viewing pleasure as well!

Wedding TrendSpot Press Fashion Show

MG Hair and Makeup is proud to present to you video from our work with The Wedding Guys at the Wedding TrendSpot Press Fashion Show at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel from Bridal Fashion Week, also known as Bridal Market, in New York City October 18th, 2009! The show featured the work of Alisa Benay Bridal Couture, ARIA dress, Casablanca Bridal, Toni Federici, AKAY Bridal, Pixton Couture Bridal, Katerina Bocci, Valena Valentina, AcQuachiara, Augusta Jones, Karen Hendrix Couture, Beth Elis, Jorge Manuel, Debra Moreland is Paris, and Martinez Valero.

We have been going non-stop with the premier of the Unveiled wedding fashion show at the beginning of October in Dallas, Bridal Market two weeks ago and this past weekend The Wedding Fair fashion show in the Twin Cities. All looks were slightly different and images will be posted to our website soon, however we wanted to share our work at Bridal Fashion Week with you now. These images below are by Paul Newland of Solvara. More images can be seen at the links below the video links.

For the hairstyle, we did large barrel curls and pulled it back for a romantic half-up look.



For the makeup, the skin was fresh and slightly bronzed with a little shimmer. We used a copper shadow on the eyes with a sheen to keep the look from going to dark. The lip was a bitten berry stain with a sheer bright pink gloss on top.

The show got rave reviews from Darcy Miller, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Get Married.com's Fashion Reporter!

We are always looking for new talent as well. To learn more about the career opportunities with MG Hair and Makeup, visit our classes & careers page on our website.

Enjoy!

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/7/a4XedAddQxs

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/6/3A85WGKOxRU

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/5/GowU05-h2J4

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/4/ekEsTDM07FQ

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/3/AaVknjAKs6I

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/2/4x9UrxZd7GM

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/1/vKVUC0VMU1g

http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridvideo#p/u/0/s7OpSd6cUF8

Images by Shawn Punch:

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/shawnpunch/gallery/Wedding-Trendspot-Spring-2010-Runway-Show/G0000lJ_oMHhLrHU/P0000dBhoxSgvPKk/

Images by Solvara backstage: http://media.solvaraphotography.com/Fashion-Shows/Viewing/10025303_xZRRX#686456525_6E6bT

Images by Solvara runway show: http://media.solvaraphotography.com/Fashion-Shows/091019-wts-show/10020257_WTcff#685964604_j4tV8

The Trend Wedding 2009

This past weekend, Friday, June 5th to be exact, one of the best weddings of the year just took place--The Trend Wedding produced by The Wedding Guys, Bruce Vassar and Matthew Trettel. We had the pleasure of being a part of this amazing event again as we did the hair and makeup for the bride and bridal party. To see the details and read the story of this incredible wedding, see the soon-to-be-out Summer 2010 issue of Inside Weddings Magazine. The bride and her bridal party were a fairly low-maintenance group, however, as The Trend Wedding winners, we had to have them step out of their hair and makeup comfort zone of ponytails and chapstick, even if only for a day.

We decided to go with a romantic, loosely tied back updo with twisted sides and the curls cradled in the back of the style for the bride's hairstyle. We decided on a modified version of this for the bridesmaids based on the hair type and amount each bridesmaid had.

One bridesmaid even got the pleasure of receiving an entire head full of temporary extensions. We offer temporary extensions over permanent ones mainly because it allows the client (bride, bridesmaid, mother, etc.) to have the hairstyle she wants with the length and volume where she wants without being stuck with a full head of hair (that can be painful to the neck when one isn't used to the additional weight), which is often times undesired for the honeymoon--especially when the honeymoon is to a warm, tropical island.

Before even starting the makeup, we went on brow patrol--completely reshaping some and cleaning up stray hairs on others. While no one thoroughly enjoyed the "beauty is pain" speech in the midst of the plucking, everyone ooohed and aaahed at the results, thoroughly happy with what they saw (and/or didn't see!).

Next was makeup. Most who don't wear makeup on a regular basis (and even some who do) dread this part--being in the hands of a makeup artist and fearing that they will end up looking like some version of a clown or a stripper. While I have nothing against clowns or strippers, generally the type of makeup they wear is not the type one would think of for her wedding day look. Now being that this group of ladies generally didn't wear any makeup, any amount of makeup would seem like a lot at first until they got used to it. This is very common among many of our brides, which is one main reason they hire a professional--because they don't do makeup on a regular basis, they don't know where to start for their wedding day. One thing I do, and have trained all of our artists in, is use certain products and techniques to ensure not only the longevity of the makeup but also to ensure that it feels lightweight on the skin and that it looks like real skin (not makeup) in person and in pictures. This is done through the use of particular products I have tried and tested to know work on an individual based on the skin tone and type as certain brands and product lines may work great for some but not others--especially when it comes to lasting for 30 hours and still feeling lightweight on the skin. The bride agreed and ended up being quite surprised and pleased that the makeup didn't feel cakey or thick as she had imagined it would.

For the makeup look, I started with a long-wearing crease-resistant, waterproof creme-to-powder eyeshadow from Senegence called Candlelight. This brightened the eye area and also served as a great primer for the bronze crease color I used. I also highlighted the lid and under the brow bone with a lighter shimmer shadow to mimic light reflecting from those areas of the face. The eye was lined with a dark brown waterproof eye pencil on the top and a black one on the bottom. Waterproof black mascara was a must however sans any clumps. Her face was contoured with some bronzer and a light rose blush was used to give just a hint of color. Her lips were a combination of Praline Rose and Rose Ice Senegence Lip Colors and topped with the Senegence Glossy Gloss.


With her hair and makeup done, the bride was almost like a new person, giggling and reveling in her beauty. Brides like this always make my job worthwhile, seeing their face when they see their outer beauty match their inner beauty. It really is like my 6 year-old son says--my job is to help Cinderella get ready for the ball to meet her Prince. And on June 5th, 2009, that she did.

Photo credits: Coppersmith Photography