Bridal Preview: Gloria

 

[[I can't figure out why my phone takes pictures that are slightly blurry and the color balance is off]]

This afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting Gloria, an elementary school music teacher, and created a beautiful bridal look for her big day in a couple weeks. She is very sweet and I am very happy for her and her fiance, Luky. As I listened to her story, it warmed my heart and gave me great joy. Hearing where they come from and how they met and how they got to this point; their engagement (which was a surprise!), and now their wedding & future honeymoon plans. Her dress sounds exquisite from the description she gave me [cannot WAIT to see it!] & her colors are white and yellow & since I'm currently on an "I love yellow" kick - that made me even more excited to see the decorations on her big day.

 You're almost there Gloria! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day - I couldn't be happier for you guys - your fiance is going to be blessed by you & your sweetness. 

Lipstick & Loves,
Sara

Referral Program, Bridal Contest, and Halloween Makeup!

Hello Gorgeous!
     It's been a crazy, crazy past two months between weddings, events, and photo shoots, becoming a MAC Cosmetics employee and moving across town & getting the house in order - it's still not in order (check out my personal blog for more information on that!) Anyways, I have been sitting here this morning looking over photos from previous events and photo shoots and testimonials, and I am blown away by the wonderfully kind words of my clients. I cannot thank you all enough for trusting me for your makeup needs; from weddings to a girls' night out - I am beyond blessed to be able to work with so many beautiful women inside and out!
     As we gear up for the fall season, please note that most of my September appointments are booked, so hurry and book your appointment so you can get in this month! 

In addition to that, I am launching the start of a referral program for my lovely clients. Each client will receive business cards that say "referred by" on the back and a place to put your name. Give them to your family, friends, co-workers and anyone else you may cross paths with. Once you have a friend redeem a card, you and your friend will receive $20 off your next makeup application. The discount can be redeemed for any event.
 
My annual Bridal Contest is back!                             

I'm now booking appointments for Halloween Festivities! Perfect for Halloween parties & events. Book your appointment before September 30 and receive $10 off!


Lipstick & Loves,

Tip-full Tuesday: Colors that make your eyes pop!

Kelsi J. asks, "Hi Sara - what colors will make my eyes pop? They are brown."


I love this questions as I  to accentuate the eyes, after all they are the windows to our soul. Through the eyes you can see so much about a person - they're kindness, joy, happiness - you can see the beauty of their hearts!

The first thing to remember is that the best way to make colors stand out is to choose colors that are opposite the color wheel and flattering to your skin tone.

If you have brown eyes, colors that will make your eyes pop are: blues, teals, greens and purples.

If you have blue eyes, like me, colors that will make your eyes pop are: golds, oranges, coopers, and browns. Blacks and shimmery greys will pop too, as well as dark blues.

If you have hazel eyes, colors that will make your eyes pop are: blues, greens, teals, purples, deeper pinks, plums, coppers.

If you have green eyes, colors that will make your eyes pop are: reds, warmer/deeper pinks, plums, purples, and coppers. Dark greens, while not opposite the color wheel, will bring out your eyes if they are lighter green.

If you have amber eyes, colors that will make your eyes pop are: blues, purples, teals.

If you have black eyes, colors that will make your eyes pop are: teals, purples and metallics.


Also, black liner applied to the waterline adds nice contrast to the eyes and adds some great drama to the eyes!

 Shimmery shadows will also draw attention to your eyes, just be sure to use it in moderation.

Thank you so much for the question, Kelsi!

Tip-Full Tuesday: Eyebrows

I love how eyebrows can completely change your entire face! They are so expressive and with the ability to shape them, we are able to shape them in order to better fit our personalities. However, the downside to tweezing and waxing is that sometimes it leads to sparse brows as a result of over tweezing or waxing.

But - fear not! You can always fill in sparse brows with either an eyeliner pencil or eyeshadow.

The first thing you need to do is to pick the proper shade of pencil or powder - choose a color that is close to your natural brow color (generally one to two shades lighter than your hair color). If you have very blonde hair, choose a color that is one shade darker than your brows.

Next, comb out your brows so that they are in the shape that you would like.

If using a pencil, fill in sparse areas with short strokes that mimic the appearance of natural hair. You don't want to create a line, but a texture that appears like your natural browns.

If using a powder (eyeshadow or brow powder), use an angled brush and lightly dip in the shadow. Fill in sparse areas with short strokes.

The most important thing is to make sure that you like that shape and the appearance of your brows.

 

Tip-Full Tuesday: Moving Stress

Tomorrow was supposed to be our moving day! Which means that I have been feeling very stressed and overwhelmed with getting everything packed up (and EVERYTHING is packed up - just waiting to find out when the "real" move day is lol) - so I felt like it was appropriate to post on moving stress and tips on how to avoid it. It may not be blatantly obvious that this is related to beauty, but it is.

Stress effects us all in very different ways and our skin and physical appearance knows it very well. For me, I lose weight like nobody's business (contrary to popular belief, this is NOT a good thing), I get headaches pretty constantly, I'm exhausted all the time,I break out regardless of my skin care routine and I get anxiety over everything.  Other effects of stress include:depression, hair loss, weight gain, ulcers, and many others.


So how do we avoid stress? Well, unfortunately we don't and we can't, but we can do our best to prepare for it.  As we started on this journey, I knew how I'd react towards the end so I started preparing early.

• If you're prone to anxiety or OCD (re)actions, start a list of things to do - this helps with seeing that you are actually accomplishing something on paper
• Start packing early. I started a month in advance and started with all the little things that don't really have a home - this helps with the final packing days and not trying to figure out where a logical place for them to go is. 
• Come up with a plan! I found this blog to be very helpful when we started packing
• Keep your bedroom clean - a nice place to retreat to at the end of the night is relaxing.
• Stay on top of laundry - if you're like me, you will want to wear your comfy clothes and it's a hard thing to do when they're all in the wash. 
• Light candles
• Eat healthy 
• Take a moment for yourself and take deep breaths when you need to. 
• Get out and enjoy the outside if you can 
• Go to bed at a decent time
• Exercise, the endorphins will help.  
• Ask for and accept help

And, when all else fails - make some popcorn, grab some chocolate and enjoy a movie while you regain your sanity. 

I hope that if you're moving, you have as stress-free of a move that you can!

Lipstick & loves

Tip-full Tuesday: Cleaning Makeup Brushes

Happy Tuesday! I was on a photo shoot recently for a new model and she asked me why I had a big bottle of brush cleaner with me. This launched us into a some-what lengthy discussion of the importance of cleaning brushes that are used on clients as well as the ones that are used for personal use. She quickly exclaimed "Oh gosh! I NEVER clean my brushes! Is that why I break out all the time?"

Well, I can't say that it is the sole reason that she has acne break outs, it may very well be a contributing factor. Brushes that don't get washed regularly have a build up of makeup, facial oil, and bacteria in and on them. This can definitely lead to acne breakouts as well as altering the color and effectiveness of the product and causing the brush to feel rough on your skin.

If you look on the internet there are TONS of blogs and websites with information on how to clean brushes, so here's another one.

There are two ways that I clean my brushes.
For my work brushes, I clean them immediately after each client with either, MAC's or Cinema Secret's brush cleanser and sanitizer and once or twice a week (depending on how busy I have been), I deep clean them with a shampoo.
For my personal brushes, I clean them about every other week.


To clean your brushes with MAC's/CS's cleanser:

• Get a towel you don't care for or paper towels & pour out some of the brush cleaner into a small cup
• Carefully dip the bristles of brush into the cleanser - making sure not to get the metal where the bristles meet the handle wet.
• Bring your brush along the towel in a sweeping motion, until it no longer leaves any product on the towel. Add more cleanser as you need

Lots of product build up on my personal brushes

All Clean!

 To clean your brushes with shampoo:

• Fill a cup with warm water
• Carefully dip the bristles of the brush into the cup, being sure not to get the metal where the bristles meet the handle wet. 
• Keep holding it bristles down, take a small amount of shampoo (I use the shampoo I use on my hair - UNITE Eurotherapy) and gently massage it into the bristles. 
• Rinse with water, careful to avoid the handle getting wet
• Lay flat and reshape the bristles to dry - drying time varies - some take a half hour, some take overnight.

 Happy Cleaning!

Tip-Full Tuesday: Gel and Liquid Liners

Hello Lovelies,
Kaity S. e-mailed me this question:

"Hi Sara. I recently bought new a gel and liquid eyeliner to try out. My pencil has felt really waxy lately in the Arizona heat. What is the beat way to apply these kinds of eyeliners? When I try, the libe is never straight.  Thank you for your help, Katie S."

 Thank you Katie for asking this question! I personally love gel and liquid liners - the color is much more dramatic than a pencil.

For gel liners, you want to get either an angled liner brush or a bent liner brush. Put as little of the gel liner on the brush, it's always better to start with less and add more. When applying to your eyelid, get the brush as close to the lash live as you can. Start in the middle of your lash line, and using short strokes work your way to the outer corner of your eye. Next, repeat the small strokes starting at the inner corner and connect it to it the rest of the line.  The reason  for doing the inner corner last is because the brush will have less product on it which is important due to the smaller area you have to work with.

Similarly, when applying liquid liner you want to use shorter strokes, starting at the center and working your way out and then going back to the inner corner and connecting to the rest of the line.

Happy Tuesday,
Sara