Wedding Details: The Makeup

I went for a makeup consultation last weekend and the artist did such a beautiful job :) She came highly recommended by a good friend who also used her for her wedding. I had a few key requests in mind:

• I want my wedding makeup to be dewy and glowy - that "lit from within" look. Of course, I don't want to shine like a disco queen but I think that natural makeup will be perfect for the beach. It will also photograph well.
• I definitely want to play up my eyes for a slightly smokey look.
• I want an overall natural and neutral look, but I still want to appear a bit glam. It is my wedding day after all! I want to look like my best possible self.

Here are the pictures I brought to the consultation:

C/O Pinterest

I was pretty set on using a lot of my own makeup products, especially my Makeup Forever foundations and Nars Orgasm blush. However, after looking through the artist's work and just by meeting her in person, I instantly felt comfortable with letting her do her thing. She has a lot of experience and does weddings on a regular basis. She mainly works with MAC cosmetics.

I can't list all of the products she used on me, but I can let you in on some.

•  She did airbrushing not only on the face, but also on the chest area. She also used it to contour the planes of my face. I am not sure what foundation she used, but I believe it might have been MAC face and body.
• She lightly filled in my brows with a shadow.
• She used colors like Espresso and Girlie on my eyes. She started light, and then allowed me to check it out in a giant mirror. She gradually went a bit darker until I was happy with the level of shadow. She also used Espresso to line them instead of black.
• Lots of mascara and false lashes, although the lashes she used will not be the same kind as on my wedding day.
• For lips, she lined them in Soar and then used Viva Glam 5. I'm still unsure if that's the lipstick I want to use. I'm skipping gloss because the beach will undoubtedly be windy and I don't want a sandy mess! My friend suggested using a lip stain underneath the liner and lipstick.

It was such a fun but unexpected experience because there was a bridal expo taking place and we had an audience! I was definitely shy, but everyone was so sweet and most of the girls there were also getting married and wanted to use her for the big day.

 What do you girls think? I appreciate any input!

♥ Noelle

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Cobalt Crush

Blouse - Express (old)

Jeans - Loft

Pumps - J.Crew

Bag - Juicy Couture (old)

Necklace - Sonya Renee

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend! Mine was actually pretty awful. Literally an hour after this picture was taken, I started feeling really sick. I'll spare you the gruesome details. I went to urgent care at 2am and the doctor confirmed my suspicions - I had a bad case of food poisoning. I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, while the warm sunny weather taunted me from my window. Oh well, what can you do? At least these cobalt beauties managed to make it out of their box, even if only for an hour. After crushing on them for over a month, I decided to treat myself. Cobalt is one of my favorite colors and I know these will get a lot of wear. I also treated myself to another gorgeous item I've been crushing on, but that will have to wait until another post ;)

♥ Noelle

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Currently Loving ---> Delicate Stone Necklaces

My obsession with stone jewelry (as evidenced here and here) is going strong! I'm not entirely sure where it all started, but now that I think back, my favorite companies like Stella & Dot, Sonya Renee, and Oia Jules are known for their beautiful creations using colorful gems. The natural, earthy beauty of a stone necklace has quite an impact around the neck.

Here are some options in case you're just as obsessed as I am

Stella & Dot

Oia Jules

This was the necklace I wore in my last post. Love it.

Sonya Renee

Delezhen

Etsy has a ton of stone pendants, so I would encourage you to look there! But whatever you choose,  you can't go wrong. There is nothing as beautiful as nature's own jewelry.

♥ Noelle

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Rock Candy

Blazer - H&M (similar)

Tank - American Eagle

Jeans - Old Navy

Heels - Zara (old)

Bag - Juicy Couture (ages old, my first real leather bag!)

Ring - YSL

Necklace - Oia Jules

Lips - Revlon Balm Stain in Lovesick / Nails - Essie Peach Daquiri

My friend wore a similar outfit the last time I saw her. She had on a peach colored tank top from Forever 21, along with a crisp white blazer. The combo had me longing for Summer! I looked for the same top she purchased from F21, but I couldn't locate it. The one I eventually found was on sale at American Eagle. I wasn't sure what jewelry to wear, but decided it was time to give my lapis ring some love again. The necklace from Oia Jules complemented it really well. Now I like to call these pieces my rock candy...cue the boy laughing :) You should hear our conversations over dinner. He officially knows a lot about fashion these days!

♥ Noelle

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Revlon {Juicy Papaya} & My Love For Lip Color

Although Revlon's Lip Butters have been around for quite some time, they have come out with a new shade that I am absolutely wild about. Juicy Papaya is a must-have my friends. A must-have!

I'm not sure why it caught my eye because I haven't purchased a lip butter by Revlon in months. That's what happens when you have too much time to kill on a lunch break. Meandering around Target always ends up in a frivilous purchase of some kind, and for me, that usually means makeup. Juicy Papaya is exactly that on my lips - juicy. The prettiest wash of orange-coral that makes me long for Summer breezes on the beach. Love.

My nudes never get any attention anymore. I simply can't bear to go bare when I have so many colorful choices. I think lipstick can also be used as an accessory to complete your overall look.

Just some examples, but I've noticed that in most of my pictures I have on a bright lip :)

What's your favorite lip color?

♥ Noelle

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Saturday & Sephora

While the boy was away for his bachelor weekend, I enjoyed the most luxurious Saturday. The luxurious part? Having no plans whatsoever. Lazily waking up and taking the dog for a walk, grabbing coffee, stopping by my mom's house for a quick catch-up, and then doing some beauty shopping at Sephora. A winery trip later that afternoon may or may not have been involved as well ;)

Mint (yes MINT, my camera loves to wash the color out) blazer - H&M (similar)

Dress - Zara (old) (similar)

Necklaces - Lisa Taubes and Kate Spade

Bag - MNG Mango (love this by Solesociety)

Nails - Lacey Lilac by L'oreal

P.S. - I'm very happy with the L'oreal polishes I mentioned last week. They are really opaque. The formula is thick, which makes it a little difficult to apply but the color payoff is worth it and only two coats are needed.

At Sephora, I picked up three skin products:

1) Make Up For Ever HD Foundation - I got this in the shade 120 which is soft sand. It actually looks a bit dark in the bottle but the MUA color matched me so I'm hoping it's the correct shade. I bought this specifically to test out for my wedding. I will report back :)

2) Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + - My favorite! I've used it and loved it for years now. I'm thinking of mixing it with the HD and seeing how I like the combination. I'm in contact with a makeup artist who did my friend's wedding, and I plan on bringing both foundations to show her. She does airbrushing, but I may be more confident in wearing foundations on my wedding day that I know work well for my skin.

3) Origins GinZing Eye Cream - I picked up this eye cream because my beloved Kiehl's is completely gone and I don't have access to a stand-alone location or even a department store that carries the line. I picked up the Origins because not only does it get great reviews, but also because it's free of parabens and other harsh chemicals I'm trying to stay away from. I don't know if it'll replace my Kiehl's, but so far so good.

Be on the look-out for more wedding makeup talk within the next week or two :)

Thank you for reading,

♥ Noelle

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