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

Not a Zit, Not Now!

Stress does things to us. It can make us gain weight, lose weight, make our hair fall out, but perhaps worst of all, just when we NEED our skin to behave, it can give us a blemish. So what is a girl to do? This is a question many brides ask us.

Well, first of all, as tempting and somewhat satisfying as it might be to squeeze and pick--don't do it. Not when you have an important event or your wedding the next day. Mainly because makeup over broken skin is just difficult to make look nice and natural.

So, what should you do? First, if you have a clarifying mask, a good clay mask, something with salicylic acid in it, apply that product to your blemish and/or problem area(s). Good practice is to do this before you even have a breakout days before your event to help prevent a breakout in the first place. That being said, somethings are impossible to prevent and will occur inevitably.

My personal favorites to use for spot treatment are Astara's Blue Flame Purification Mask and Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion. I also like Neutrogena's Clear Pore Oil-Eliminating Astringent. Apply one (or more) of these products and wait overnight to see how it will work its magic overnight.

All this being said, just remember that no matter what, provided you have a great makeup artist (or are one yourself!) pictures can always be retouched very easily and no one will even remember (except for you) that you ever even had a blemish!

The Makeup Show

We just spent May 17th & 18th with almost 4,000 artists at The Makeup Show NYC at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Wonderfully exhausting as always. We have been a part of the show in New York City since the beginning in 2006 and thoroughly enjoy speaking with artists from across the country and around the world.

It is always a great chance to see and try new products as well--and there were plenty to see and try this year. Being committed to finding the best products available to ensure the longevity of the makeup we apply, it is a neverending search for a better product to work well on every skin tone and type. One of our goals in makeup application is that it will last for 16-30 hours touchup-free on most every skin type and that it will also look natural--like your skin--while not feel like a mask. Obviously, this is a bit of a process.

The first product we tried is the Nurturing Force Blot Out Offensive Shine + Control Cream. It is a great primer--both for brides as well as HD work. It is a bit tacky when it goes on, but once rubbed in and smoothed over, it has a nice matte finish. This would be a great product for guys who have oily skin but are opposed to makeup or other "girl" products for oil control. Nurturing Force is also an eco-friendly product line, which is always an added benefit. It is also paraben-free, silicone-free and contains aloe vera and antioxidants so it is great for those with sensitive skin.

The next product we have known about for the last year and learned more about it from The Makeup Show 2008--it is Make Up For Ever's HD Microfinish Powder. This is a wonderful, colorless powder to set any makeup and provide a nice matte finish to the skin.

Make Up For Ever's Mist & Fix is another great product. After applying your makeup, before heading out the door and into the world, spray this mist generously all over the face to set your makeup. It is important, especially if you have oily skin, to spray enough of this product all over, let it dry and reapply powder if desired to ensure maximum makeup wear. A common problem with makeup setting sprays is that often times individuals don't spray enough on the face to actually "set" the makeup, however make sure you don't spray so much on the face that it starts to drip off--you don't want to drown yourself in it.

Another great Make Up For Ever product is their waterproof mascara, Smoky Lash. It is a great waterproof, smudgeproof product while not being too thick. That being said, it can be layered to create a thicker lash, however it gives you the option to stop at one coat to leave you with a more believable "these are my natural lashes" look. It also has volumizing fibers to add volume and length as well.

The last product we tried for the show was the Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner. This liner is a great alternative to gel liner--especially for those who have trouble using a flat eyeliner brush with gel liner that is often packaged in a small pot. It comes in Mat Black 0L as well as Star Black 1L, which is black with a slight sheen. Of course, there are a ton of other colors as well. This liner stays put well for those with normal eyelids but for those with oily lids, depending on how oily their lids are, this liner may move and end up a bit messy under the eye after a while. Generally for oily lids, MAC's Powerpoint Waterproof Eye Liner and MAC's Liquidlast Liner are both better options for lining severely oily lids. Be sure to also set your liner and shadow with the Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder.


If you have questions or comments about these products or others, drop us a note at: info@mghairandmakeup.com and your question might be posted on our blog!

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to our blog for MG Hair and Makeup!

MG Hair and Makeup is the nation's premier on-site hair and makeup service. We provide services for brides and bridal parties on the wedding day as well as provide hair and makeup for a variety of other events. We also do fashion, runway, print, commercial, tv, film, beauty lessons, personal image consultations and corporate seminars.

We hope to give you a look at the various aspects of hair and makeup to help you with decisions you make for your special day or everyday!