Un "bridal" ing Beauty

Wedding season is upon us Orange County! From the Montage in Laguna to The Villa in San Juan, these venues are booked! The brides have it all covered, from tiara down to their toes! However, there is one thing brides most commonly neglect and that's their skin! How so many classically let their faces fall to the wayside by forgetting that stress and lack of sleep along with improper skin maintenance can truly turn "The blushing bride" more like, "The blemished bride".
Here are some simple beautiful ways to ensure the angelic skin every girl desires on the day of her wedding!
First and foremost if hiring an artist for makeup, finding the right one can take time. NEVER feel stuck with the first one you try, always interview two to three different artists(expect your trial costs to run from anywhere between $45 to $100 each sitting), and making sure you have done this at least three months in advance of the wedding date as to ensure the one you choose doesn't become booked as well as giving you ample time to find the right one.
You shouldn't rely entirely on the makeup artist for perfect skin though. Skincare is an important primer to ensuring the makeup will look and stay as flawless from the moment it's applied to the moment she takes it "all off!" So the next concern is maintenance before the magical day. Keeping a regular cleansing regime morning and night, avoiding soap based cleansers that only dry out the skin. Look to Yum (vegan) Gourmet Skincares Oatmeal Apricot Creme Cleanser if your'e on the dry side or Lemon Soy Cleansing Lotion if you lean more on the oily side. Toning with an alcohol free toner after every wash to balance skins PH, try, Yum's nourishing bio-complex Pomegranate Toner. Being a big believer in serums, find the right one for your skin type, high in skin nourishing anti- oxidants, and restorative ingredients.(Melvita's organic, Regenerating Serum).
Take good care of the windows to the soul, especially when the groom stares into those eyes, you don't want him noticing the rings of sleepless nights. Take time out for a soothing eye masque once or twice a week especially right before the day of, (Shiseido's Pure Retinol Instant treatment Eye Mask). Exfoliating is key, once a week removing the unwanted dry(corneum) layers of the skin and allowing fresher smoother skin to come forth. Avoid harsh scrubs involving nuts and seeds of any sort, smooth jojoba beads, and ultra fine sugar scrubs such as Farm House Fresh's One Fine Day Flawless Face Polish. (You will have to TRY not to lick it off). A truly delicious way to pampering and caring for your skin. Hydrate and protect the skin your'e in everyday and every night. Moisturizers seal in the nourishing ingredients you have layered on prior, as well as shield the skin from outside free radicals such as smog, dirt, oils, smoke, and sun as long as you remember the SPF!(Oil free, and avoid oxybenzone because it can trigger allergic reactions). Now, for dry skin, gently hydrate with a weightless effect try Yum's Avocado Whip Moisture Creme and if your'e on the oilier side try Yum's Lychee Balacing Gel. One more savory step towards blissfully beautiful skin, take 20 mins. once a week for a relaxing, regenerating facial masque, appropriate to your skin type. On the dry side? Look to a gel or creamy based masque nutrient-rich in vitamin C, seaweed extracts and ultra hydrating shea butters to condition and restore natural suppleness.(Yum Nori Mango Butter Masque). If more on the oily side lean towards something clay based along with natural salicylic acids preferrably naturally found from papaya and pineapple which clarifies, detoxifies,and mildly exfoliates simultaneously balancing oil production, combating bacteria, as well as current and future blemishes.(Yums Red Earth Mineral Masque).
Along with remembering to drink your eight glasses of water a day, eating right, getting plenty of rest, and learning to deligate to relieve stressfull situations, these helpful hints and products will provide any bride "unblemished wedlock!"

The Makeup Show LA

The third annual Makeup Show LA, if you haven't heard, was held at the downtown California Market Center, just this past weekend. Pro makeup artists, working artists, up and coming, to wannabe artists, came from near and far to catch a glimpse of the latest in cosmetic and supply trends within the industry. There were several booths catering to special effects and film makeup such as Make Up Forever, Graftobian, Mehron, and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics to name a few. A perpetual query throughout this venue and among the cosmetic booths seemed to be the concern about HD(high definition/digital) ready makeup. "Is this makeup HD approved, certified, ready, appropriate, etc?"
What!?
High definition makeup has made its way to the forefront of the cosmetic world not only catering to the film industry but for the everyday makeup wearing woman(and man, Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme Touche Eclat). Within the past ten years makeup artists have been well aware of the need for this "finer", more perfected coverage. Since the introduction of HD and the quality imagery it provides the viewer, it was inevitable this would force the cosmetic industry to change the quality of how and what is applied to the skin and hair. High definition means we as the viewers see our actors six times as sharp as the previous, softer grained images, exposing more details, such as lines, wrinkles, skin imperfections, where basically makeup mistakes are more easily seen!
Pro makeup artists spoke on panels explaining their personal adaptations to this higher expectation for the flawless, unreadable makeup. For the everyday makeup wearer this has been the sought after dream product for decades!
Pro artists such as Ve Neill currently working on The Amazing Spiderman, Eryn Krueger Mekash of Glee, and Debbie Zollar from Mad Men, continued to explain whether how much more they carefully need to apply to actors and then there were some explaining how much less to apply. What was also expressed was the honest understanding that a makeup should be applied accordingly to what the situation demands. For example actor A who let's say has perfect skin, needs a natural makeup for a 40's era piece; give her the appropriate, flawless, undetectable finish with the accurate period styling of liner, rouging, and lip shaping. Then we have actor B who has level one acne, maybe an unwanted blemish square in the center of their forehead, requires special effects for an alien character where in "Quadrant 9", acneic skin doesn't exist. Now, the special effects pro can either use the blemishes to their advantage, or if smooth skin is a must, apply color and effects accordingly, then look to CGI(computer generated imagery) for the texture fix-ups. This is a given across the board, CGI is there to save the day when HD gets in the way!
Now just because we have CGI doesn't allow the artistry to relax just yet. The experienced artist knows the importance of accurate detail to the face and hair of their actor, along with the help of quality product, checking and double checking how it all looks on camera, and with the DP's approval, they then, maybe, can sit back and finally "take five".
High Definition may have taken away the subtleties, smoke screens, the veils that otherwise film provided the makeup artist with to hide imperfections, but todays experienced makeup artist must prove they actually can match the actors skin tone to the foundation, blend away the lines, and contours, and concentrate on those details in the looks they were hired to create, as this is also true for bridal, print, and video because across the board, the HD camera truly doesn't lie.