Engagement Photo Makeup!

In November, the amazing Elizabeth Buergler took our engagement pictures at Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega, Georgia. Shane and I really wanted to use a location and setting that would be natural for us.... something that we might actually be caught doing, and lets say.... WINE TASTING FIT THE BILL!!! (we wanted to look at Sweetwater Brewery, but the venue fee was a tadddd more that we could bargain for :) ) Elizabeth is a friend of ours and it was so easy to feel comfortable with her shooting us! We were both MORE than thrilled with how the shots came out!

I had my hair dyed for a while at that time with Garnier Nutrisse, 4UR, a cherry cola color that I really liked for fall!
I didn't do anything extravagant to my hair because I wanted the photos to be timeless and for the focus to really be on us. My hair is naturally thick and straight/wavy (depends on the day!!) so I just straightened the kinks and added some additional volume with teasing and Suave flexible hold spray to enhance what was already goin' on!

Photo makeup is a tad different than I would use for every day, but I really wanted to concentrate the fall colors and richness into my look, while still looking natural and not too made up. These pictures last forever, people!! :)


For my makeup I used:

I used:
Hard Candy, Just Face It foundation in Medium buffed in with the Coastal Scents Kabuki Brush
Maybelline Pure Stay Powder (discontinued. worst day EVER!)
Wet n Wild Bronzer in Starlight Bronze (one coat underneath my powder and then on top of powder and blush for contour)
Covergirl Blush in iced plum
Almay Intense I-color for blue eyes (as directed on package)
Loreal bronze eyeshadow in 825, Gilded Bronze (as a mid-lid color to blend everything together)
Covergirl Perfect Blend Pencil in Mink for brows and to line lips
Maybelline Lipstick in Please Stay Plum


Enjoy, I know we did!!! :)

Beautiful Inside and Out... The Carlisle's Dreamy Winter Wedding

In December (yes I am JUST getting around to posting these, I'm terrible.) I had the truest pleasure of doing hair and makeup for the most gorgeous group of girls, inside and out! I've known Hannah and most of her bridesmaids for at least 5 years, and for some of us it's more like 7 or 8! Time flies when you're playing hair and make up with your friends! :) They were some of my very first beauty guinea pigs, (all success stories I'm happy to report) and I really had an advantage of knowing each person's skin type, hair type and makeup routines and preference before I started this whole gig. It helped me create such a special and unique hair and makeup look for each of them. I went mostly with cool toned smokey eye to offset the gorgeous royal blue dresses and was able to create something sophisticated and grown up for the evening affair!!
Check out the beautiful maids below! (note the two maids on the left were not styled by CBC)
From L to R: Vanessa, Hannah (bride), Caroline, Rachel, Liz

Rachel is a minimalist who rarely wears heavy makeup. I WISH I had captured the before picture because it just emphasized what gorgeous natural features she has!! I paired a pale pink/peach blush with a eggplant eye and peachy pink nude lip. Her hair was a mock fishtail braid in the back. 

I love this picture for so many reasons! I decided to share it with Liz's bio because it gives you a really close up look at her makeup and colors. Liz doesn't venture to the darker side of makeup very often, mostly opting for rose tones and glosses, but I just love how the plum and bronze and light brow powder tan her skin and bring life to her face! 

This was just the most amazing shot of Liz and her sweet Will, but also of her messy yet elegant spin on a french twist. 

Vanessa loves a lose curl and a smokey eye as her daily hair/makeup routine but I decided to take that to the next level for the Carlisle's spectacular affair. She gravitates toward brown/gray tones so I added some eggplant and reddish dark brown shadows in to liven it up!
Vanessa often has problems with her hair holding curl, so I used Redken Crema Care before she blow-dryed to help the curl stay in place. I curled small sections with a ceramic straightner and lightly ran a brush through the hairsprayed curls. Kate Middleton would be jealous!!

 This picture of Vanessa shows her true colors, which I ADORE! What a great shot by Hannah's Photographer.... I included it to show how well her makeup held up nearly 6 hours after application!

Caroline has the rarest combination of gorgeous Auburn hair and medium toned skin!! I just adore her coloring!! I decided to add some extra glow to her look by using a light bronze hi-liter on the tops of her cheekbones that just made everything pop!
Her hair was a messy loose side bun that held amazingly well through some pretty great dance moves :)

During this wedding I also had the pleasure of creating a mother of the bride look for Susan, Hannah's mom!!! I just love working on MOB's, it's such a treat to make them feel just as beautiful as they did on their wedding day and the pride that radiates from their smile make my job so easy!!! She was so excited about her look she even said her husband loved it!! 

I loved the contour on Susan's cheeks!! I used blush for this actually, a rosy brown color from my coastal scents palate. With Susan's dark hair and dark dress I loved having the freedom to darken her makeup a bit to balance everything!

..... and last and most importantly, the RAVISHING BRIDE. I've never seen someone more filled with glee and not a trace of nervousness! Hannah was in EVERY ESSENCE of the word, RADIANT. What a LUCKY guy Matt is!!

After she got back from her honeymoon, Hannah actually asked me to write out a list of everything I used for her face look that day... She liked it so much that she switched foundations from her long time love of Estee Lauder Doublewear!! And trust me when I say that that is a HUGE move for Hannah, as she is a makeup lover like myself! Here are more pictures of the beautiful Mrs. Carlisle!

Her hair: Swoopy, wavy half up with lots of volume. It's one of my favorite half-up do's of all time. Part french braid, part twist, not a bobby pin in sight. It was just absolutely lovely on her!

Her Makeup: I wanted to make sure that Hannah had a flawless and glowing complexion with lots of warmth, as she tans beautifully! I'm going to do a post on her full face routine soon. 

She wanted a rose gold and bronze eye with some depth and I used warm rosy blush to compliment that. 

note**The picture taken at the fountain was taken about 6-7 hours after styling. 

Photos taken by Joe Jackson