The Makeup Show NYC

We just finished out The Makeup Show NYC 2010! We have been a part of this from the beginning, so it is great to see the growth and development of the show from then to now.

Amazing pro products, seminars/workshops, and tons of industry friends to see and new ones to meet.

Makeup is such a vast wonderland with products and tools for every corner of the industry: beauty, fashion, editorial, bridal, special fx, and more.

We will be reviewing some new products we learned about in the coming days, so stay tuned for the inside scoop!

They Did It Again!

The Wedding Guys® honored with three prestigious BSPi Star Awards!

Since 2003, MG Hair and Makeup and our sister company, Bridal Beauty Artists Network, have been working with The Wedding Guys creating the gorgeous hair and makeup for the models of their main stage and couture runway shows.

The Unveiled Wedding Event produced by The Wedding Guys, Matthew Trettel and Bruce Vassar, received three Bridal Show Producers International STAR Awards for Best Show Marketing, Best Show Program and Best Show Television Commercial at the 2010 BSPI Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 1, 2010. The BSPI - STAR Awards are designed to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts, performance, and outstanding contributions in the bridal show industry.

The BSPi STAR Awards were presented to The Wedding Guys, in recognition of a mark of global distinction and the highest level of professional acknowledgement within the bridal show industry today with their national show tour of the Unveiled Wedding Event in Dallas, TX and Atlanta, GA. To date the work of The Wedding Guys has been honored with a total of eight (8) BSPi Star Awards.

The Unveiled Wedding Event is a national show tour created by The Wedding Guys redefining the typical bridal trade shows. "People communicate and interact differently in today's social networking world," said The Wedding Guys, "and the market needs to respond in the same way". No longer do brides want to walk down rows and rows of exhibits, they want a fun and exciting shopping experience. They want an experience of interacting with their wedding service providers. "As much as technology has changed how people communicate today, perhaps some traditional events such as weddings still require that face to face experience that only a bridal show can offer."

"Unveiled is the best bridal experience we've ever participated in! From the very beginning to the very end the Unveiled Team created a modern chic "New" approach to the way a bride should view their wedding experience. RSVP Special Events & Design will be there every year, to support this incredible show! Thanks Unveiled for staying true to the essence of the modern bride!         - Mrs. Randi Moore, Owner, RSVP Special Events & Design

The Wedding Guys® looking to redefine by design the state of weddings, have found themselves launched into the international wedding scene more then they have ever been before. 'Each year the bar has been raised, but now it's been raised even higher," said Trettel. Partnering with local wedding service providers, The Wedding Guys created the Unveiled Wedding Event - a wedding trunk show experience with everything a bride could need for her wedding. As one bride said who recently attended their show in Atlanta, GA, "I loved the wide assortment of vendors. I have been planning my wedding for 18 months and didn't expect to find anything new, but I found a lot! I have completely changed many elements of my wedding based on what I found at your show. "

Upcoming Unveiled events are October 10, 2010, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX and November 14, 2010, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Show information is available at UnveiledWeddingEvent.com

Photo credits: Solvara

The Knot Live (Season 2, Episode 10)

The Knot Live (Season 2, Episode 10)

See us on the "Sprays for your Day" segment where I talk about the best hairsprays and methods to use them.

To read more about the segment, visit the page featuring the details:

http://wedding.theknot.com/special-wedding-features/the-knot-live/articles/the-knot-live-season-2-episode-10.aspx?MsdVisit=1

The Makeup Challenge

On March 22nd, makeup artists from all over NYC and beyond gathered for the Spring 2010 Makeup Challenge. Amazing talent was seen by all the contestants.

I was honored to be one of the judges along with Anne and Charles of Rouge Makeup Studio and Sahara Davenport, former contestant of RuPaul's Drag Race.

The artists were hard at work...

And here are the models...

Photography by Gregory Routt

Top 10 Beauty Mistakes to Avoid Surrounding Your Wedding Day

We are excited to announce that we were interviewed for The Knot's Beauty Week coming up February 15th - 21st!  They asked for our Top 10 Beauty Mistakes to Avoid Surrounding Your Wedding Day.

As a special preview, we thought we would share our Top 10 with you:

1.  Try things out at your trial.  If you are unsure about the way you want your hair and/or makeup for your wedding day look, be sure to try out different styles and looks at your trial run through to make sure you are comfortable with whatever you choose.  Choosing a hairstyle that is more formal than your everyday look is a delicate process, and choosing a style from a picture and then seeing it on your head with your amount of hair are two different things.  Remember that the model, celebrity or bride in the picture may be wearing extensions, may have a different hair type than yours (i.e. you have baby fine hair and she has thick coarse hair), and don't forget that your head shape/face shape may be different as well.  All of these factor into if the style will "look like it did in the picture".

2.  Have an idea of how you want to wear your hair prior to purchasing your veil -- unless your veil is a specific item that your hairstyle choice will work around.  Veils come in many different lengths, materials, details (or lack thereof), and some are meant to be worn under your updo and others are meant to be worn above the style on the top of your head.  This is especially true when the veil has a blusher.  You want to be sure of your purchase--especially as some bridal salons will not take back veils or headpieces after you buy them.

3.  Choose a hairstyle that you will be comfortable with the whole night through.  If you are the type of person who may start the day with your hair down but puts it up by the end of the day, you will want to choose an updo or some kind of modified half-updo style so your hair is away from your face and off your neck.  You don't want to have your reception pictures with you in your dress and your hair thrown back in a ponytail, especially after you just spent all that time and money getting it done.

4.  Make it last.  At your trial run through, really "test-drive" your makeup.  If possible, try to schedule your trial run through for a morning so you can see how the makeup lasts all day long.  This will help you understand if you need touch-up products or not.  Ideally, you would want to have the makeup last with little to no touch-ups required being that once you have your dress on, the rest of the day goes by in a whirl—you have people to see, pictures to take, vows to make, dances to dance—and the touch-up products end up being forgotten until you empty out your purse the next day.

5.  Do not try any new products the week or two prior to your wedding day.  This includes facial cleansers, moisturizers, toners, serums, creams, treatments, shampoos, conditioners, styling products, makeup, etc.  Your hormones can make your skin more sensitive due to your stress level so close to the wedding day, and you definitely don't want to deal with a major breakout or reaction on the day of your wedding. 

6.  Gather together an emergency kit.  There are adorable kits available for purchase, but in reality, you can pull this together with little to no money.  Get a makeup or toiletry bag and designate it for your emergency day-of kit.  Include safety pins (small gold, small silver, regular sized), double-sided sticky tape, needle and thread/small sewing kit, small scissors, tide-to-go pen, bobby pins, hairspray, gum/mints, razor, deodorant, band-aids, small packs of tissue, nail polish remover, clear nail polish, emery board, nail clipper, makeup remover wipes, tampons, etc.  Be prepared for what can go wrong so it doesn't ruin your day.

7.  Don't be deceived by the makeup counter salespeople who tell you that you need every product and powder because "you want to make sure you look good in the pictures".  It is important to be aware of the lighting and environment of your wedding so that you understand how it will affect the way you (and your makeup) look in pictures.  However more does not always equal better. 

8.  Get rid of the old…skin, that is.  Exfoliating your skin on a regular basis leading up to the wedding will make a dramatic difference in the way the makeup sits on your skin.  Applying makeup to a fresh layer of skin versus a dry layer makes the makeup look more like your own skin and less like makeup.  Don't forget about exfoliating your lips as well.  The best time to do this is right before you get out of the shower, take a washcloth and a mild face scrub and gently rub your lips pulling them taut as you go as if you were applying lipstick.  Don't scrub too hard or you will end up with raw lips.  Afterwards, make sure you apply a lip conditioner/balm to keep the new skin layer fresh and moisturized.  Your lipstick/gloss will look a million times better!

9.  Designate someone as your point of contact for the wedding day.  Generally it is best if this person is not in your wedding party or a mother as they will have other things to tend to that day.  Give this point person all your vendor information, phone numbers, schedule and any other information to help this person act as you would when you are in "wedding planning mode".  Make sure you also give your vendors that person's phone number to call in case of emergency, if they are lost or need directions, etc., as well as the information where they should go to once arriving at the venue or hotel and who they should ask for.  This will hopefully prevent the bombardment of phone calls and inquiries you need to deal with on the day of—you certainly have enough else to do that day!

10.  Remember that this is a personal day of celebration that will be documented in pictures.  If you are uncomfortable with the amount of makeup you are wearing on your wedding day, it will be more unflattering than if you wore no makeup at all.  These are your friends and family who have seen you in all different stages of life and amounts of makeup—not to mention blue eyeshadow and 80s spiral perm with high-sprayed "wall" bangs and side "wings".  They will know if you are unhappy—and a happy bride is always the most beautiful.

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.