Christine – Bridal

On an overcast and misty morning, I headed to Calderwood Hall in the Natal Midlands for Christine’s wedding. A more beautiful setting one could not wish for, especially when the mists are rolling in over the lake and the sun is just peeking through the clouds.

Christine was an absolute delight to work with and someone I now call friend. For her bridal look we decided on low key glamour, as she is very sporty and doesn’t wear makeup often so we wanted her to feel comfortable yet special on her wedding day. We used a palette of silver and grey to show off her blue eyes and finished off with a blush lip.

All images are courtesy of David Rees Photography and all rights are reserved.

Lip Speak Easy

One of the best ways to vamp up your day look for an after work social or dinner date, is a statement lip. One of the pitfalls of just smearing on some lip colour is that it doesn’t stay put past the first few sips of your chosen beverage. In this article I will show you how to get more mileage out of your new favourite red, berry or coral lip colour.

Step 1 – Start off by exfoliating your lips. You can use a soft bristled tooth brush along with some of your face wash, or you can use a mixture of sugar and a few drops of grape seed oil. Be gentle
Step 2 – Apply a lip balm or lip primer to lock in moisture and even out the delicate skin of your lips
Step 3 – Apply some foundation over your lips
Step 4 – Using a lip pencil in the correct shade for your lipstick, fill in your entire lip area with the liner pencil. This will help your lipstick stay put and ensure your lip colour doesn’t vanish whilst eating
Step 5 – Using a lip brush, carefully apply an even layer of colour over the lip area
Step 6 – Next, dip your powder brush into some translucent powder, place the tissue over your lips and gently dust the powder over the lip area. Use the tissue to prevent the brush sticking to your lips and smearing the colour
Step 7 – For added lip colour longevity, apply a lip stain that is within two shades of your lipstick
Step 8 – Apply another layer of lipstick, using a lip brush
Step 9 – Finally, using a cream concealer and concealer brush, perfect the outline of your lips and highlight your cupid’s bow–the highest points of your upper lip
Step 10 – Put down the lipgloss. Gloss makes lipstick slide – fast!

Have a look at this great info graphic which details the steps as mentioned above;

In conclusion, do not be afraid to experiment with colour! Deep purple shades are eye-catching on pale skins regardless of hair and eye colour. Coral and intense pinks are particularly striking on dark skin. Scarlet and berry shades look good on all skin tones.

One thing to remember when doing a statement lip, is to keep your eye makeup uncomplicated and classic. A heavily smoked eye makeup plus a statement lip will make you look like you are wearing too much makeup and no one (read: men) likes makeup that looks like you need a paint scraper to remove it.

Until next time, thank you for reading!

 

Janine – Vodacom Durban July

Special occasion make up for the Vodacom Durban July which remains one of my favourite occasions on the Durban social calendar.

Working with Janine was lots of fun, she is vivacious and obviously beautiful. She had no idea what she was wearing for the July right up until the day she flew to Durban and borrowed this gorgeous yellow creation from her friend, whom I also did make up for on the day. We quickly decided to use the turquoise on her dress in her eye make up and created a smokey turquoise eye look that would go from day into night. The turquoise accentuated her icy blue eyes and a fixing spray ensured that Janine was camera ready well into the night.

Janine’s friend, Tori, had a definite yet simple request with a smoked liner on her upper lid and a neutral lip. Tori has blue eyes and the dark, smokey liner used made her eyes truly pop but didn’t overwhelm her face.