Water Works (Airbrush Stands Up To the Water Test)

Jump in, the water is perfect.

I’ve been claiming the moisture resistance of Temptu SB makeup forever. Temptu is an airbrush cosmetic company that serves both the professional and consumer. From their website you can purchase either the pro or personal version of the air-gun and compressor. I use the pro compressor and gun; however I also have the modifying gun that accepts air pods.

I figured since I sing Temptu’s praises, it was time to put the product to the ultimate test. It was a hot and steamy poolside, so why not jump right in. The round shapes on the face were inspired by bubbles and created by airbrushing different sized to circles with Temptu SB makeup.

Yep, it worked!

Something for Everyone (Wedding, Beauty, Travel, and Good Eats) Part 3

Travel and Good Eats

After the wedding my husband Carl and I stayed in that vacation rental (The River Jewel) I told you about. Wow, the attention to detail was all over the place. The property owners really love making this place feel like home. We stayed in a loft style suite.

Our balcony overlooking the river

This place is very rustic and homey

I love that the owner used a lot of his own personal, trinkets, road signs, and childhood toys to decorate.

The next morning we found this cute little café/bakery called Antoinette’s. They had a menu full of natural organic and locally grown foods. It was super delicious, and the staff was very gracious. The chef and I got into a conversation about the River Jewel… he works there too (it’s a small community). He also shared with me his appreciation for the Jewel and the attention to detail. He served us up a fantastic breakfast. We will definitely be back.

Later we went to lunch at a food truck in the area. This place has quaint outdoor seating and a unique menu of natural organic comfort food. I hear in the winter this place keeps a fire burning, and the guest get to wrap in warm thick blankets that are brought to them by the owner. The food was delish.

I went for the chicken and waffles. These weren’t just any waffles; they were a brown butter sweet rye waffle with honey butter and maple syrup. I’m salivating as I write this. The other dish was a buttermilk fried organic chicken sandwich with avocado cabbage slaw. If you’re ever in Three Rivers you have to stop at The Ol’ Buckaroo.

Don’t forget to try the candy/icecream shop Reimers.

Something for Everyone (Wedding, Beauty, Travel, and Good Eats) Part 2

Beauty

The morning of the wedding was kind of fun because the bride and all of her maids were prepping at Salon Envy where I work. The bride is also a stylist there. I love this salon; it’s a quaint little boutique salon dedicated to educating the stylist and raising the bar of customer service. At Envy we love serving the brides.

The bridal party chose airbrush makeup and soft wavy knotted hairstyles. Check the images and videos below.

quick how-to demo

How gorgeous was the final product?

Beautiful enough to make a mama cry

Wedding day selfie

I love that she used a brooch to embellish her style. This is so on trend. It’s her “something borrowed”. It will look sweet when she takes the veil off.

Something for Everyone (Wedding, Beauty, Travel, and Good Eats) Part 1

Photos

I shared a post months back about an engagement session in the Sequoias. The bride-to-be Michelle told me a cute little story about how she turned down her first opportunity to date Chris. He had asked her if she would like to go skiing with him. She said no. All she could imagine was falling and making a fool of herself–not her ideal first date. She feared that he would never ask her out again. She had to come up with a plan to make sure that she had just one more opportunity. He was a bass player in a band, so she decided to go to one of his shows… The rest of this story is still being written.

The day we chose to do the engagement session, we had no idea we would find snow on the ground. I think it’s kind of cute how he got his snow date after all. It’s a good thing she was able to roll with the punches. I think she even had some fun that day.

We made a pit stop on our drive down the mountain at one of my favorite candy/ice cream shops. Reimers is just yummy. I used this great little place to do another engagement session last year. Here’s a peek.

After shooting the wonderful engagement session with Chris and Michelle, she and I got together to shoot a fun little surprise for her sweetheart. We created a gorgeous book for her to give to him on the day of the wedding. This was so outside the scope of her personality, so she knew he would be shocked. Remember earlier in the post when I mentioned he was a bass player in the band…

I can’t show you this whole image, but I’m sure you can imagine.

The look on his face was priceless.

 

Leading up to the wedding, I was making my plans. I like to map out the day for my clients so they can just kick back and enjoy the ride. I drove up the week before to scope out some shooting locations. I was very familiar with the venue that they were using for their wedding. It’s the venue where I got married, so I knew it was beautiful. I wanted to add just a little twist to their images and surprise them with an extra location. According to the schedule that we had set, I already knew that there would be time in the day to wisk them away to a more private location. On my journey the week prior I stumbled upon a glorious vacation rental. Totally by accident, my husband and I journeyed down this little country road and found this hidden treasure. I asked the host if it would be possible that I shoot my bride there in the week to come. She shared with me how they like to keep the grounds very intimate and secluded, so (oh darn) we would have to be guests if we wanted to shoot there. I kept my fingers crossed because she shared with me that they are usually booked out for a year. To my surprise they were open on that weekend. The name of this place is The River Jewel. Wait till you see the images from the wedding portrait session.

Here is some photos from this beautiful wedding.

Details

surprise guest

First Look

Extra Location

Wynn wedding

Wedding

I’m not sure she was ready to catch that bouquet

He was ready

Look for tomorrows post.

New Arrival! (Birchbox Review)

Just recently, I decided to try Birchbox.

If you don’t know what this is, it is a subscription box of custom selected product samples. I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile now. I jumped on board when the “Style Me Pretty” wedding box was announced.

I was so excited when it arrived. It was like Christmas in summer.

The packaging even felt like a gift. I like when attention is given to the details. I found a handful of sweet treasures in this pink box.

I’ve already used the waterproof makeup remover wipes from LA FRESH… Love them!! They are packed full of antioxidants and biodegradable. The wipes work well and leave my skin feeling silky soft with no irritation. The also smell wonderful will lavender oil.

I love love loved the hair tie. To see my tutorial on creating this beautiful look, go here: Low Bouffant Pony

Sweep the hair together, tilt the head forward, and wrap hair tie just lower than the base of the neck. Now grab a small section of hair from underneath the ponytail at the base of the neck and slide the whole ponytail on that strand. This should make a nice full bouffant style for your low pony.

Stay tuned for more reviews on these products!

P.S. I ordered one for my man. I’ll let you know how it goes.