So let’s talk about blush because unfortunately it is so often forgotten or we’re too afraid to wear it because we don’t want to look like a clown. Got it. I understand the concern, however if you don’t wear blush, it’s a big mistake- HUGE! Blush is what finishes/pulls a look together, however natural or glam, helping you look fresh and fabulous- really livening you up. I learned this at a very young age when my Mom-Mom Rose (aka. Grandmother) would go and put her “rouge” on, that’s what they used to call it

Ideally you would want to even out the skin-tone of your face with foundation or tinted moisturizer before applying blush, so the blush doesn’t look all over the place.

If you’re skin is oily, it’s best for you to use a gel and/or powder blush. If you’re dry, it’s best for you to use a cream and/or powder blush. I always apply blush, whatever the formula, with a brush. Once you apply it to your face, you can use the brush or your fingertips to blend. If you are going to wear a gel or cream blush alone, I recommend to “set it” with a light dusting of translucent powder.

Here’s a tip: powder blush tends to last the longest because of the stronger pigment that gets diffused on the skin. Layering always helps the wear of the blush so that you don’t look in a mirror after an hour or less and say to yourself “Why did I bother putting blush on today, it’s already faded”. That is frustrating and I think almost ALL women have been there!!

I’m not a big fan of shimmery blush. I know that is a BOLD statement. Shimmer in blush tends to look placed/not natural, will emphasize any texture or imperfections that you have on your skin and can look sweaty or too shiny in pictures or on camera. Shimmer is FUN, don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of it on other parts of the face such as: eyelids, inner corners of the eyes, brow bones, cheekbones and lips- however definitely not all at one time unless you want to look like a disco ball or very made up. I prefer shimmer over glitter and YES, there is a difference. Shimmer tends to be much more subtle and not costumey.

In your life, you will read various articles, as well as be told by various people, how to apply blush many different ways… This is how I have found to be the most “goof-proof” and the way that I teach my clients when I am hired to do a Make-up Lesson for them.

Start applying your blush, whether it is gel, cream or powder, at the top of the apple of your cheek. I recommend smiling when you do this so the “apples” pop and you can control the application better. Blend the blush in, applying 3 downward diagonal strokes toward the hairline. Most of the color will be deposited on the apples, that is how it will look the most natural. The key to all of this?? I have one word- BLEND.

**Have fun with it, try new colors and don’t be scared to wear blush.

I feel extremely fortunate to be the Beauty Expert on another exciting Webisode with fabulous TV Host, Lifestyle Expert and Fashionista Tiffany Hendra: Founder of the Webshow “Sanctuary of Style“. In hosting “Sanctuary of Style“, Tiffany’s focus is all about empowering women by sharing tips, tricks and trends in fashion, beauty, health and spiritual growth.

Hopefully you were able to watch and learn some great Make-up tips from the previous 4 Webisodes we shot together, “The 5 Minute Face” Series that covered how to tips and tricks for: Eyebrows, Concealer, Powder & Bronzer and Eyes & Lips.

Check out the latest “Sanctuary of Style” Webisode, that I guest appeared, focusing on: “Make-up Tips for a Job Interview”. My hope is that this inspires you and helps you feel your most confident, so you knock that job interview out of the park!!

A BIG thank you to Tiffany and the talented crew who helped make this happen… Sarah Natasha Photography for your genius camera shooting, The Aaron Hendra Project for shooting as well as sharing your fantastic music and Singer/Songwriter Lauren de Miranda for letting me work on your beautiful face

This wedding was a mix of simple modern glam with a bit of rock and roll. Everyone got ready at The Millennium Biltmore in downtown LA and we had SO much fun!! I absolutely adore Alex- the humorous, brilliant bride- especially because we share a true LOVE of shoes!! Some brides do a “dress change”, Alex did a “shoe change”. With her stunning Carolina Herrera dress, Alex wore hot and edgy black platform Jeffery Campbell booties as well as sexy pale gold very platform pumps by L.A.M.B.

When it came to the Make-up looks… For Alex, I created ultra smoky eyes, using black, grey and plum shadows, black eyeliner and then applied natural looking false eyelashes- all by Shu Uemura. I finished her look by using Chanel Vita-Lumiere foundation, angelic soft color on her cheeks using a Julie Hewitt Cheekie with a “pop” of Bobbi Brown sheer pink powder blush a neutral pink glossy lip by Nars. For Alex’s oh so fun and fabulous sister aka. MOH, I created a 60′s inspired look with plush Shu Uemura false eyelashes to go with her bouffant hairstyle and rocker charcoal/blackish navy dress. For the wonderful and lovely MOB and MOG, I was sure to work with their comfort level of wearing Make-up and the dresses they were wearing- it was all about a natural look with a soft smoky eye (all products by Bobbi Brown) with a few individual false eye lashes- less was more

If you want to experience this stunning wedding, Papertape Films shot a bunch of footage that Jeff, the very cool groom, edited… this is a must see video below.

Also, check out the A-MAZ-ING images below, shot by 2 FABULOUS Photographers Meg Perotti and Heather Kincaid. The wedding was featured on Glamour.com/Weddings if you’d like to see more! I’m having an issue with spacing of the images, so be sure to keep scrolling down…

Wedding Planner: Miriam Yoo

Venue/Food/Cake: Cafe Pinot

Film: 50 Foot Films

DJ: Daisy O’Dell

Band: Greta Salpeter and Gold Motel

Flowers: Peony and Plum

The amount of love that was in the room at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel while Ashleigh and her large Bridal Party were getting ready was beyond amazing. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of lovely Ashleigh’s wedding, a BIG thank you goes to to Wedding Planner Extraordinaire Sarajane Landun of SJL Events for referring me Any day I get to work with Sarajane and her clients is a fantastic day… I’m fortunate to work often with Sarajane on weddings, photoshoots and fashion shows.

From the moment I had the pleasure of meeting Ashleigh, her warm personality and smile alone let me know that I wanted to be a part of her special day! The Make-up style I applied for Ashleigh, her family and Bridal Party was fresh, clean and modern with a hint of smoky eyes. To enhance Ashleigh’s eyes, I used Smashbox grey and plum eyeshadows with a silver shimmer powder, Bobbi Brown Granite Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner and a few individual eyelashes. On Ashleigh’s pretty face I used Shu Uemura Liquid Foundation and Concealer, a pink/brown cream and powder blush (both by Bobbi Brown) and finished her look with a very soft berry lip (products by Nars).

A BIG thank you talented Photographer Laura Grier of Beautiful Day Photography for your beautiful images!!

WOW!! I have to share this fabulous blog post written by the lovely Carolyn Chen, Principal and Event Specialist of The Special Day Event Planning & Design, as well as the AMAZING Same Day Edit Video from brilliant Elysium Productions. Thank you Carolyn for referring Nicole (the wonderful bride) to me and for the Make-Up Therapy recognition.

I LOVED being a part of Nicole and Matt’s wedding at The Langham Huntingdon, Pasadena having myself and one of my Associate Make-up Artist’s, Rachael, assist me in taking care of the bride, bridal party and family. When the images are ready from Photographer Aaron Delesie, I can’t wait to see and include them in a Make-Up Therapy’s blog post while sharing many more details and the Make-up inspiration. Until then, read and watch this…

Nicole & Matt’s Same Day Edit Video || Elysium Productions || Langham Hotel Pasadena Wedding

Jilly was referred to me by one of my favorite people, Julie Jones, Owner of the fabulous couture bridal consignment and resale boutique Encore Bridal.

From the moment Jilly and I spoke on the phone we totally clicked, I knew exactly what she was looking for and couldn’t wait to make it happen for her wedding day… Everyone got ready at The Four Seasons in Los Angeles, then the ceremony and reception were at the oh so romantic Il Cielo in Beverly Hills.

As you can see from the images below, Jilly is gorgeous. She is an actress and comedienne, marrying a musician and actor. They are an amazing, magnetic couple who live life and are SO in love! When it came to us deciding on the “look” for Jilly’s BIG day, we decided it was all about sexy, smoky and fun… keeping the skin fresh and flawless while enhancing her to-die-for cheekbones. For Jilly’s Hair, I had one of the Associate Hairstylist’s from my Beauty Team create a Bridget Bardot feel with lots of volume, yet now overpowering… My dream hair!

On Jilly’s eyes, I blended grey and silver shadows on her lids and contoured with a black shadow in her crease, all by Shu Uemura. I then layered and smudged lots of Smashbox Black Eyeliner Pencil and Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Black Gel Eyeliner above and below her lash lines as well as tight-lined the liner in the upper and lower in the inner rims. I used plush Shu Uemura false eyelashes to carry the sultry look of Bridget Bardot.

After priming Jilly’s skin and under eyes, I used a shimmery lotion to help grab the light with out making her look shiny, and then mixed mineral water with foundation to help enhance her beautiful skin. I contoured Jilly’s face with Bobbi Brown Bronzer, high-lighted her cheekbones, brow bones and collar bones with MAC and Limited Edition Smashbox products. I finished her look with a medium toned pinky/brown lip… lip products by Nars.

I MUST thank creative geniuses Brian and Allie of Callaway Gable Photography, who are known for their “New Fashioned Wedding Photography”, for sharing their fabulous images with me. I always feel lucky to work with this AMAZING husband and wife team… I’m a HUGE fan and once you see their work, you will be too!!

Here it is… the 3rd of the 4th webisodes  that were shot, focusing on how to achieve “The 5 Minute Face”, there’s ONLY 1 more webisode to go! I love that Tiffany Hendra, Creator and Host of the web show Sanctuary of Style, asked me to be the Beauty Expert on her show to help teach and inspire and excite her viewers… Giving everyone some Make-Up Therapy

The webisode below is all about the significance of wearing powder and bronzer- my absolute FAVORITE thing to wear, whatever the season.

Why should you wear powder? Regardless of your skin type and age: If you want your Make-up to last longer, if you don’t want to look too shiny, if  you are going to be in pictures or filmed on camera… You want to wear loose translucent powder. Yes, as you get older less is more, however it’s all in the application and the product you use.

Why should you wear bronzer? Obviously it’s not just because it’s my FAVORITE beauty product to wear Again, regardless of your skin type and age: If you want to look healthy, need warmth added to your skin, want to contrast your face in a subtle way, if your body is tanner than your face, etc… wear bronzer! Important note: bronzer is available in a wide variety of tones. If it makes you look like you have a fake tan, you’re using the wrong color. Please watch the webisode below for guidance.

PS. Okay the 4th and last of “The 5 Minute Face” web series will be airing soon… The focus is on the last important steps: EYES AND LIPS, you won’t want to miss it!!

SOOO much fun!! I hope watching all 4 webisodes have been as helpful as I intended them to be!! If you’ve missed any, Parts 1-3, you can see them in my previous blog postings, Make-Up Therapy’s Facebook Fan Page, Sanctuary of Style’s blog postings or Sanctuary of Style’s Facebook Fan Page… Oh, and of course good old YouTube!!

Shooting this web series has been an amazing experience. The feedback I’ve received has truly blown me away and I am ecstatic that I could add some fun, inspiration and motivation to you all. Applying and wearing make-up should be a pleasant/easy experience. In the end, your goal should always be to look the BEST version of you, no matter how natural or dramatic. Of course there are exceptions… that’s another blog post

In case you didn’t know, I offer the following services to make the fabulous world of make-up all easier for you: Make-up Organization, Make-up Lessons, Buddy Shopping and Personal Shopping… ALL of the above, TOTALLY worth it- just ask my clients.

Invest in yourself to make it easier for yourself to help you look and feel your most confident and beautiful… You are DEFINITELY worth it!!

Watch Part 4 of “The 5 Minute Face” as I go over the application and final steps of how to achieve a beautiful look that’s quick and easy. Enhancing the eyes and lips are truly so important. When people are speaking with you, they tend to focus on one or both features so give them something pretty and put together to look at.

Marley is a genius. That is a true sentence. Whether she is planning a quarter million dollar celebrity birthday party through her Full Service Catering and Event Planning Company “The Party Goddess!”, doing her one-on-one business coaching, speaking as an expert on Martha Stewart Radio on Sirius, being featured in US Weekly or appearing on FOX Business, The Wedding Channel, E! Televsion and more, Marley is beyond on top of her game! This EXTREMELY creative and savvy business woman, who I am fortunate to call a client and friend, wrote the book “But Are You Making Any MONEY?” Marley’s book teaches, inspires and gives the most knowledgeable, real advice to an entrepreneur in any type of business, in a straight forward yet humorous/relatable way. She helps you understand that when it comes down to it, use/plan your time wisely because at the end of the day, it’s ALL about profitability to sustain your business.

If you want to have a successful business that will be around for a long time, click here to purchase Marley’s book… It will, by far, be one of the SMARTEST investments you’ve ever made.

Besides applying Marley’s make-up for Special Events, TV and her Professional Head- Shots, I’m excited to share a 1st for me… my work is on Marley’s book cover!!