The Benefits of On-Location Wedding Styling

After the initial excitement of getting engaged, it will dawn on a bride not so long after, "oh, I have a lot to do! I had better get on that"! Shopping around for wedding vendors can be challenging, even daunting at times, especially when you are trying to work within a specific budget. Many brides are facing even more of a financial pinch because of the difficult economic times.

When the tan starts fading from your honeymoon, and you can breathe a sigh of relief that you're not having a heart attack about your wedding flowers not getting delivered to the hotel on time, the only thing you'll have left from your wedding will be your photographs. When you get those photos back, and mount them in frames around your house, give them away for "first year married" Holiday gifts, and one day... show them to your kids and grandkids, you will be glad that you went with the very best for your hair and makeup.

The important factors to remember when choosing a wedding stylist include:

1) Having a trial before your wedding day to perfect your look, and make sure that the style corresponds to your dress and accessories

2) Using a company or stylist who has years of experience with weddings in particular, paired with a long-standing reputation of creating timelessly radiant looks for brides

3) Making sure that the makeup and hair products, and techniques used by the stylist, are long-lasting, so that the photos snapped of you cutting the cake will look just as perfect as the photos of you walking down the aisle.

4) Finding a company who travels to you, in order for you and your wedding party to get ready together, and also so that you can sit back and relax before your wedding, and leave it to the pros

When planning your wedding budget, don't settle for the "best deal" that you can find out there. The quality of professional styling from a company like TEAM Hair and Makeup will make you look absolutely flawless not only on your wedding day, but in your photographs for years to come.

Get Sexy for Summer!

Summer is here, and TEAM is ready to help you feel your most gorgeous! Even if you're cooped up in an office all day, or the weather where you live hasn't felt like summer yet, summer is more of a frame of mind.. don't lose it before it's over!

When we think summer, we think of tanned skin, beachy hair, glossy lips, brightly-colored clothing, and fun jewelry. You don't have to go out and spend a lot of money, go on a crazy diet, or spend hours upon hours tanning your skin. Getting your summer look should be simple and fun! Here are a few of our favorite tips to get you stoked for summer:

~ Pick up a new shade of nail polish! Try a color you've never dared to wear: hot pink, cantaloupe orange, or coral red. These shades all look hot with or without a tan!

~Get a tan! If you either don't have time to lounge poolside to work on a tan, or you're careful about your skin, there are tons of options to give your skin a boost of color! There are tons of self-tanners on the market that are inexpensive and won't make you look Oompa Loompa-ish. Also, TEAM will come to you and give you an expert airbrush spray tan!

~Go nude! When you have pretty tanned skin, you really don't need much as far as makeup. Try a nude shimmery gloss, a coral cheek stain, and lots of mascara! Use a concealer that closely matches your natural skin color, just to cover any blemishes or dark circles. Enhance your tan by brushing a powder bronzer over the larger planes of your face: forehead, cheeks, chin. You'll look like you just stepped off the beach!

~Let down your locks! If you typically wear your hair back in a ponytail or bun, shake it out, wear it a bit wavy, or try pinning back a few pieces from your face. It's okay if it looks a bit messy, they'll think you just went sailing!

Schedule a summer makeup lesson with one of our pros, so that you can get sexy for summer! Call 888-338-8326, or email teamhairandmakeup@hotmail.com

We Love Mary Jane Photography!

On May 19th, TEAM attended an open house for Mary Jane Photography, at her studio space in the Victoria Court in Santa Barbara. Walking in, the scent of the best ever Votivo Red Currant candle filled the room, chocolate truffles tempting us, with live Flamenco guitar playing on the patio area, and was greeted by a very tall, thin, and lovely Mary Jane, with huge smile, welcoming us to her studio.

If you've never met Mary Jane, she has maybe the biggest and most genuine smile you'll ever encounter. She immediately makes you feel special with her sweet, humble, and adorable personality. But what will impress you the most, of course, is her work. Some of our favorite photographs of our brides were shot by Mary Jane, also adorn the walls of our studio.

Speaking with Mary Jane, we commented on a photo of 6 bridesmaids, playing barefoot on the beach, all wearing apple-green dresses, "Wow, I love that photo!", one of us commented. She answered, "Well, you did the hair and makeup for that wedding last summer!". Embarassed, but also recalling that we did 250 weddings last summer (times an average of 5 bridesmaids per wedding), Mar commented, "Oh, yeah! I think I actually recognize a few of those girls!". Not only is Mary Jane an absolutely adorable person, but she has major talent.

When Mary Jane got married last summer, we felt honored that she called upon us to do her hair and makeup. Gorgeous bride, gorgeous photography, gorgeous person! She is one of the photographers in town who we highly recommend, because she will not only do a great job on your wedding photos, but will capture your heart as well.

Be sure to check out her website:

http://www.maryjaneweddings.com/

Spring Is In The Air - Update Your Look!

With spring in full swing, now is the perfect time to update your look with fresh spring tones. It is high time to pack away anything made of wool, throw out the dark, gloomy lipsticks and eyeshadows (or just put them away until Fall), let your hair down, maybe have your hairstylist throw some highlights in it, and for heaven's sake, get a pedicure!



Although summer is not quite here, you can still fake a bit of sunkissed glow, like you've recently been frolicking through fields of daisies in flowy sun dresses, with your hair flowing behind in the breeze, by applying a bit of bronzer. Pick a powder bronzer with a hint of gold shimmer, and apply to your forehead, tops of your cheeks, bridge of your nose, and very lightly to the rest of your face and décolleter. For an all-over tan, don't take the chance of skin damage by going to a tanning booth, invest in a quality self-tanner like Clarins Self-Tanning Gel (my personal fave), or get a spray tan from a professional. Be careful not to pull a Lindsey Lohan and wind up with orange wrists and ankles. The best way to avoid what we call "The Lindsey Effect", is to wash hands and wrists after applying self-tanner, and also exfoliating then moisturizing before application. Contact TEAM as well on-location spray tanning, in the privacy of your own home. It lasts 7-10 days, and we use a bronzed based color, so that it never looks orangey.



As far as makeup, try one of these two looks:

• Green and gold shimmery eyes, using a light wash of gold over the entire eye lid, then lining the eyes with a shimmery green eye shadow, above and below the lash line. Follow with a healthy helping of mascara. For cheeks, use a fan brush to accentuate the under side of the cheekbones, by sweeping a matte bronzer lightly along this area. For lips, try a very sheer apple red gloss, lipstick, or lip stain (think cherry chapstick, but a little bit darker). Use the very same lipstick to dot the apples of your cheeks for a hint of "I just got winked at by a really gorgeous guy" flush, and blend out with your fingertips.



• Start off with a soft wash of shimmery light blue or lavender all over the entire lid. Don't go overboard like Mimi from Drew Carey Show, a very light amount will look ethereal, instead of 80's. Take a slightly darker shade of the very same color (for instance, if doing a lavendar lid, use purple) to line above and below the lash line, smudging a bit as you go. Always follow with black mascara. For the final touch, apply a peachy cream blush (no shimmer), and a cool pink or nude cream lipstick.

When trying to look as fresh as a spring tulip, ditch any heavy foundation, or powdery matte makeup, and trade for an oil-free liquid foundation, or a tinted moisturizer. To really rev it up, mix a bit of a shimmery lotion into your foundation, before applying to your skin, like Lorac's Oil Free Luminizer, or Rimmel's Dare to Bare Face and Body Luminizer. If your skin has been looking a bit dull, consider either purchasing a gentle face exfoliator, or even getting a facial. Sloughing off that dead skin can do wonders to make your skin look young and refreshed. Speaking of refreshed, don't forget to hydrate by using a good moisturizer, and also drinking enough water throughout the day.

So, get yourself a new flowery little dress, paint your tonenails pink, and prepare to bare the new spring you!

Wows for Brows!

When I am doing a client's makeup, and I start to work on the brows, I ask the woman whose makeup I am doing, "Do you ever fill-in your brows?". 90% of the time, she answers no, and gives me a look like she's scared that I'm about to make her look like Groucho Marx. But after the full makeup is done, and I show her the finished look, she thinks her brows look fabulous!

Because the brows essentially frame the eye area, it is critical to pay attention to your brows. Especially when women become older, the brows tend to thin out, and become lighter in pigment. I always tell my clients about 50 years of age or more that the simplest and fastest way to take 10 years off your face is by filling-in your brows.

That said, there are do's and don'ts when it comes to brows.

DO'S:

-Go to a professional to have your brows shaped, if you have not had them shaped before

-Bring in a photo of a model or celebrity whose brow shape you like when going to a professional

-Consider having your brows tinted to match your natural hair color

-Use a matte powder like Smashbox Brow Tech, in a color that is one shade lighter than your hair color, to fill in the brow area in the most natural way possible, using an angled brush to apply the powder

-If tweezing at home, only tweeze below the brows and not above. Feel free to tweeze any hairs in the middle (a.k.a. the "uni-brow")

-Do use a brow wax to tame the brows (apply with the same brush you would use to apply the powder). Again, Smashbox has a great product called Brow Tech that has both the brow powder and the brow wax. http://www.smashbox.com/BROW-TECH

DON'TS:

-Do not "over-pluck" the brows because they rarely grow back.

-Do not let professionals talk you into the following: shaping them too thin, cutting your brows (unless they are really long).. and if you're unsure, DON'T TRY IT AT HOME!!

-Do not use a pencil to fill-in the brows. Brow pencils are oil-based, and leave too dark of a line. You don't want the brow to look like a line. It should be a subtle "filling in" of the brow area. That is why matte powders are best for filling in the color!

Fashion Photo Shoot With Jasmine Star!

We were thrilled with the opportunity to work with Jasmine Star last Thursday, March 12th, at a really cool location in LA, called the Marvimon. Mar and Emily did makeup and hair f0r all three female models, (and a little bit of touching-up on the male model), having a blast doing non-traditional makeup and hair, getting to hone in on our creative sides. We did three different looks for each female model, from dramatic sexy looks, to fun, bubble-gum pink lips, to heads wrapped in touile, to gorgeous flowing curly blonde locks, using feathers, flowers, lace and fun jewelry in the hair. The photos speak for themselves!

Most Importantly, Be Yourself!

When planning your wedding, remember that your wedding is all about you and your fiancée, and the love you share together. It’s not about your parents, it’s not about your pregnant sister, and it’s not about your fiancee’s mother! Listen to your heart, and do what feels right. Talk things over with your fiancée, and plan the wedding based on how you and he envision your big day.

Whether you want a huge wedding or a tiny one, don’t let others influence your guest list. If your mom wants you to wear her circa 1982 wedding dress with puffy sleeves, don’t feel badly about saying, “You know, Mom, although it is a lovely dress, I envisioned going with something more streamlined, but thanks anyways”.

When it comes to your hair and makeup, we want to help you achieve the look you have always dreamed of. Although Nicole Kidman may have looked awesome at the Oscars a few weeks ago in blue eye shadow, when you show your wedding photos to your grandchildren someday, you’ll be glad that you went with a classic look that enhances your natural beauty.