Archive for April, 2009


I have a few money saving ideas that I love to share with people and this is definitely one of them…makeup brushes!! Many people do not know if it is worth paying $50-$80 for a makeup brush and I will tell you that most of the time, the answer is NO. I am guilty of spending WAY too much money on brushes because the woman behind the counter told me I had to – we all fall for it.

The only time you should pay big bucks for a brush is when you are buying a blush brush. Natural hair blush brushes (say that ten times) are worth every penny. A good blush brush will make life so much easier and it will last you a long long time if you take care of it. So, go ahead and spend $80 on a blush brush but make sure that it is a natural hair brush and not synthetic.

All other brushes you can buy for way cheaper at a craft store in the Art section. Yes, you can get the same brushes they sell for $50 at a counter for under $5 at Michaels or JoAnns. It’s especially nice when you can use the 40% off coupons that they always have in the papers. Even if it’s the same price at Michaels for the brush you want at MAC – you still have the coupon to use and when have you EVER received a coupon from MAC?!? Next time you are in a craft store, check it out and you’ll notice, they have lip brushes, eyeliner brushes, eyeshadow brushes, foundation brushes – everything…except they aren’t called by name there, you just need to know what you are looking for. When a brush is dubbed as a makeup brush, they jack up the price because they know women will pay for beauty but take that same brush and mark it for a starving artist, down the price goes. Art brushes are made of synthetic and natural hair so most of the time so they are essentially the same thing. I bet they come out of the same factories as well! Just stay away from the white bristled brushes – they don’t clean up very nice :)

For my own wedding, I searched and searched for non-cheesy wine glasses for my bridesmaids but all I found were over painted, over embellished glasses that cost way more than I

would ever pay for. Lindsay (my sister-in-law) and I decided that we needed to come up with classy and fun handpainted wine glasses that could be given as bridesmaid gifts for our new business venture, Big Day Boutique. Our first design in this line of glasses is above which can be personalized in any color scheme. I’m looking forward to seeing Lindsays fantastic design ideas for our new offering. At 15 bucks a pop, I don’t think they can be beat! They will even say “Thank You For Being My Bridesmaid” on the bottom of the glass – too cute!! We’ve put them on our etsy site http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24231506 until our www.bigdayboutique.com site is up – which should be in a couple weeks! So exciting!!

Naomi was no challenge since she is already beautiful and has an exotic look to her. My goal was to accentuate on her best feature, which is her eyes, and make sure that her makeup would compliment her fall color scheme. To achieve this, I added a beige/gold shimmer on her lid and a dark bronze color on the outer corner of lid to play up her almond shaped eyes, we then topped it off with some lashes for that little extra kick! The lip and blush is neutral to let her natural beauty shine through. I can’t wait to see the whole look come together for her wedding in October!!

The number one question I am asked by the bridal community is “What is the difference of airbrush vs regular foundation?” As a makeup artist, I don’t completely understand what “regular” foundation is but I’ll give you the run down :) Now keep in mind that all makeup artists use different formulas of foundations so I am only giving my opinion based on what I use and any other information I have gathered throughout the years…

Airbrush foundation creates a flawless finish because of the application (think of spray painting a block of wood as opposed to painting it with a brush). Usually only foundation and blush is airbrushed on the face. Some artists airbrush eyeshadow but most do not feel safe spraying anything around the eyes. Airbrush foundation is either silicone or water based. Most likely, your artist will use silicone, water based is mostly for the body. Silicone gives more of a “dewy” look as opposed to the matte finish a water based foundation gives. Either formula is waterproof and can stay on the face for up to 18 hours as opposed to the 10-14 hours you get from professional cream (cake) formulas. Of course every skin type can keep makeup on longer or shorter depending on their skin typeoilier skin will not have the same holding power as someone with a normal skin type. You usually don’t have to powder very often if at all with airbrush foundation – you can use oil blotting sheets if you seem to get shiny. Airbrush is not cakey, it looks very natural and the myths of airbrush only being for younger skin is no longer true. With the primers available recently, mature skin can handle airbrush no problem.

Cream (aka cake) foundation is versatile because it can be applied to create a sheer coverage up to full coverage. The longevity isn’t as good as airbrush but it works well for all skin types. A sealer can be airbrushed (or sprayed) over to help prolong the staying power but you will need to powder every so often.

I rarely (if ever) use liquid foundation for the weddings I do because I can thin out my cake foundation. The coverage with a cake formula is far more superb in my opinion but if you are doing your own makeup for your shower, party, everyday-use liquid foundation. The new mineral makeups are great for ease of use but I haven’t been that impressed with them personally. I have a hard time with the thought of building up powder, over powder, over powder…I have also heard from numerous photographers that it does not photograph well.

Always, always, always do a makeup trial before your wedding day to make sure that you are happy with the results!