Sherilee @ The Westcliff

Sherilee was one of the first brides that I had seen sporting a side pony. I did her makeup a few years back and up-styles pretty much dominated the bridal industry. Since then it has become fashionable amongst brides and I am always happy to see something new and different.

I loved how Sherilee looked. She has beautiful skin (which I spray tanned a lovely bronze colour), blue eyes and fantastic features to do makeup on.  She also has a cheeky grin, as though she knows something that you don't. Got to love it! Her wedding dress was tight at the waist and showed off her figure beautifully.

You cannot see it but I had done a purple pencil on her bottom lash line. It made Sherilee’s eyes pop (not that she needed it). On the odd occasion, I do a khaki green or navy blue pencil liner for something different. Try mixing different eye liners with your natural eye shadow colours.

Well lovely ladies, I am looking forward to 2012. I hope all of my brides, future brides and readers have an adventurous year ahead. One of my New Year resolutions is to blog more often than not.  

All the best, lots of love

Candice

Francoise @ House Higgo

I adore these photographs. When I received them from Francoise, I was absolutely in love.  Funny, I had been doing makeup for about two years and when I saw these pictures I suddenly felt like a Makeup Artist. It is some of my favourite work even to this day.

Francoise had her wedding at House Higgo in Northcliff. The venue had suited her vintage taste as as well as her French theme. There was so much excitement in the air, House Higgo was buzzing. I recall Francoise having black stone hearts on her table settings as gifts for the ladies. Only in the last year or so has hearts become fashionable and already back then did Francoise have fun shabby chic ideas.

I also did the makeup for her two bridesmaids. We obviously went for red lips and liquid liner, luckily the girls were game for the red lips. Each bridesmaid had on a different shift dress and head band. We had actually decided to change the makeup on the wedding day. We had made it darker and smokier. I think it suited her dress and as well as her beauty. Francoise has eyes that are very caring (as she is a doctor) and you cannot help but smile back.

I still see Francoise for a spray tan once in a blue moon. We always have a laugh and I get to steal interior decorating ideas from her home. Anyway, please enjoy!

Jodene

Jodene’s hair is pin straight and wears her fringe just below her eyebrows. She is as tall and as graceful as a catwalk model. I was in awe of her beauty. Jodene’s mother reminded me of Kris, Kim Kardashian’s mother. A woman who has a powerful presence and who also can cook up a storm in the kitchen.

I had two trials with Jodene. I normally only have one but being very particular about what she wanted we thought we will have two. Options can sometimes be a good thing. One point I must bring up, Jodene is a beauty therapist. She has awesome skin. I used a light weight gel foundation from Makeup Forever to enhance her flawless beauty.

The first trial we did a ‘Smokey Eye’ and the look was rather dramatic. Jodene resembled a young Cleopatra. At the second trial  we did a much softer look with soft pearl pinks and browns. We finished the look with liquid liner and thick mascara. Bronzer was applied on the cheeks to define her bone structure. Smashbox has an awesome gloss called ‘Pout’. It is a bubble-gum pink. I love it! So did Jodene and most of my brides.

We I hope you enjoy Jodene as much I did. Don’t you just love her pony tail, You rarely see brides sporting a pony tail.

Emma Burton not Bunton

Last year I did make-up for a lovely girl by the name of Sherilee. I will share her wedding with you soon. When I did Sherilee’s wedding make-up, I also did her retinue. Part of the retinue was her brother’s fiancée, Emma. Emma is English and looks exactly like Emma Bunton. She is friendly and inviting. Her skin is like milk and perfectly healthy and I have got to mention her posh little accent.

I did Emma’s makeup as she was part of the retinue for Sherilee’s wedding.  She then requested that I do her makeup for her wedding. Needless to say, I was only too happy to do her makeup.

We had a trial three days before the wedding. I believe you will begin to notice that a last minute trial will always make me nervous. (Though luckily we had done her makeup at Sherilee’s wedding) The real reason for her trial just before the wedding was because Emma and her fiancé had relocated to Switzerland earlier in the year. Ps I also did Emma’s spray tan and you will notice how natural it was.

Emma’s wedding was at Avianto (Little Italy). The venue is charming and as you walk through the village hotel towards the bridal suite, one cannot help  feel that you are on holiday. It was a sunny Thursday morning, a few of the girls and moms that were in Sherilee’s retinue were in Emma’s, so it was smooth sailing.

The photographer was Adam Hilton. I remember the Adam, myself and Emma having a good laugh. If Emma was at all nervous about the wedding, I am sure these sort of moments put her at ease.
I loved the pictures Adam had taken of my kit. He has taken pics that I use regularly on my twitter account and Facebook. I hope you enjoy the pictures and Emma as much as I did.

Monique @ Morrells

Normally I book my brides well in advance. Monique called me the Monday before her wedding on Saturday.
"I am getting married on Saturday and I need makeup. Are you available?"
I stopped breathing. “It is October, one of the busiest wedding months of the year”.

The Saturday that I had booked ahead of me meant that I would wake up at 7am (keep this in mind, it is a Saturday. No one wakes up at 7am on a Saturday!) And I would more than likely be home at 8pm that evening. Time would be of the essence. I had two makeup trials, a wedding with a retinue of 5 booked and few one on ones in the arfternoon. So you can understand my predicament.

"Eish!" A word I used fairly often during the wedding months when a bride calls on the last minute. Eish always summed it up nicely. It also meant you would more than likely be doing your own makeup on your wedding day!

"I can’t, I am really sorry."

Monique is a personal trainer. She never takes no for an answer. So with the softest voice I had ever heard, she asked if there was any possible way that I could move a client around or squeeze her in.

It was as though the voice came from a young girl holding a puppy. I just could not say no. So about two hours and a couple calls later, we made a plan! The thought of her doing her own makeup with her DIY smokey eye made me cringe! She was so grateful that I was tempted to ask her the secret to thinner thighs.

We had her trial the Wednesday morning and we were set to do makeup on Saturday.

I have been doing make-up for a couple years now and I hardly ever see the groom on the wedding day. When I arrived, her brother was in the room with her (or maybe a best guy-friend I thought). I asked where the sister was so that she could join us.

Monique answered, “Candi please meet my fiancé!”

I was surprised (pleasantly) to hear that it was in fact her fiancé. Even though I was about to chase him out, she quickly said she wanted him there. We often think there are rules to a wedding but there never are. It was their wedding day, they were sharing it together! Which meant from the second they woke to the second they would fall asleep they would be together!