Moving on Up!

Hi everyone

I just want to let you all know that I've moved my blog over to Wordpress and have become an official website. If you are a follower please click over to www.leadingladymakeup.com and subscribe. It's the same blog, just cleaner and with more links!

Thank you for the years of support.

XOXO,

Christine

The Wedding Series: Hair

Happy Thursday peeps! Today I bring you the hairstyles from our wedding. 

My hair was the biggest issue of the entire wedding. I had four different hair trials, and finally, Byron Williams of Byron & Tracy Salon in Beverly Hills was able to whip my heavy, straight hair into an updo that would hold. Let me just clarify that I hate updos. I was always the girl who wore her hair down for high school dances. But the back of my dress was so pretty it just would have been a shame to hide it with my mane. So I found a photo of a modern updo on Eva Longoria that I felt I could deal with. It's important to show your hair stylist a picture of exactly what you want. The only thing I did different was part my hair on the side, and "bump up" the crown area for volume. My husband is 6' 3" and I'm 5' 4" so I need all the height I can get!

...Here is my hair brooch by Maria Elena & Lovella Bridal- it's bendable and adjustable! 

Here's the final look before I walked down the aisle

I love this photo by Rustin Michael below. It's difficult to see how intricate the hair design is because of my dark hair, but the back lighting helps. 

Here's a photo from the end of the evening after we had danced and sweated all night. It held up pretty good!

Poor Dylan had to take out about 2 lbs-worth of bobby pins out of my head that night.

The lovely Alicia Diaz did most of my bridesmaid's hairstyles. All the girls decided to leave their hair down and in wavy curls, which I thought looked fantastic with their fascinators. I felt the fascinators were a perfect touch for our Hollywood wedding :) I wanted my girls to look "Hollywood classic" without pulling the same old red lips-black eyeliner-and-victory rolls, and I think we succeeded.

From L-R: Lisa Kederian, Allyson Stagg, Angelica McDonnell, me, Chantal Guederian (MOH), Corine Goodwin and Lisa Gonzalez.

Accessories

Hair Brooch by Maria Elena
Bridesmaids' fascinators by Claire's

Hair Vendors

Bride & Maid of Honor: Byron & Tracy Hair Salon
Bridesmaids: Alicia Diaz (626-862-3732)

Wedding Series: Makeup

Next up-- the makeup! 

My fabulous photographer Rustin Michael took some great getting ready shots of me that I'll share below. For my own makeup, I used Dinair's airbrush foundation, blush and highlighter. I wish I could use airbrush foundation everyday, but I'm too lazy to clean out the gun every morning (you can't leave product in the airbrush gun because it will damage the whole machine- talk about high maintenance). Airbrush makeup is fantastic for brides because it stays on, and floats right about your skin, as opposed to sinking into your pores, giving you a smooth glow. There is a small amount of alcohol in the foundation, which helps to dry down very quickly and stay ON like nobody's business. 

Here I'm applying a small amount of MAC's Reflects Pearl glitter on the inner corners of my eyes, because let's face, everyone knew I would rock glitter on my wedding day.

Here is the finished product, complete with a combination of MAC and Urban Decay eyeshadows and Ardell lashes. I kept the lips neutral so poor Dylan wouldn't be smeared with bright lipstick all day. I'll have a video tutorial of this look as soon as the weather cools down and my studio isn't a hot box!

Here's the Mother of the Bride, in all her glory. I definitely get my makeup skills from my mom. She has always been skilled with the makeup brush. I remember watching her do her makeup as a kid in the 80's, I just couldn't wait to grow up and do winged out blue eye liner and hot pink angled blush like she did. Mom did her own makeup that day, I helped her a little with the eyeshadow and lash application.

Yep, that's the ring boy in the corner

Here is my bridesmaid Angelica representing all the girls' makeup. Allyson Stagg of The Las Vegas Style Sirens (and of being my best friend) did my girls' makeup. Knowing my love for dramatic eye makeup, she created this jaw-dropping teal and champagne smoky eye topped with MAC's Reflects Teal glitter and whipped them up for each girl within three hours. I couldn't believe how sexy and bold my bridesmaids looked! As if you guys don't know already, I'm not really a fan of the "natural look." I LIVE for jewel tones and sex-pot makeup, and that's exactly what Allyson delivered. All of my girls looked like Playboy models, and I'm pretty sure their boyfriends/husbands didn't mind at all. ;)

Cappy and his Godmother

I wish I had photos of all the girls, we are still in the process of editing. I'll go back and update this blog once the photos are ready :)

Wedding Series: Bridal Nails

Hi beauty lovers, 

We are finally back from getting married and going on our honeymoon :) 

Now that I've got the house in order and our lives have gone back to normal, I want to share all my beauty experiences as a bride with you. 

The first part of my wedding series will be on the nails. Here are mine below. I got these done professionally at Bellacures in Hollywood by the lovely Rebecca:

I came up with the idea and did it on my own about 8 months ago, but I knew I wanted a professional to execute it for my big day. I got the idea for the ring finger on Pinterest. It was in silver, but I wanted it done in gold so it would look like my rose gold engagement and wedding rings :)

This look was created with gel nail polish, and man did that stuff stay on! It lasted through the wedding, the entire honeymoon (including snorkel and swimming excursions) with a single chip or crack. I finally removed them the other day (17 days later!) simply because my nails were growing out. 

HOW TO REMOVE GEL POLISH AT HOME: I soaked cotton balls in acetone and wrapped each one against my nail, then wrapped each finger up with aluminum foil and waited 10 minutes. I was able to easily scrape the polish off without much damage to my naturals.

I asked all of my lovely bridesmaids to do some form of nail art and they delivered. All the girls chose to incorporate my wedding colors, purple and teal, into their fun nail art designs! It was just so moving (to me) to see all these fun nail art designs on all my loved ones, because they all know how much I love crazy nail looks.

...And my mother SHOCKED me by getting a peach and silver glitter reverse-French nail design for her digits. I was SO excited to see this! Go Mom!

YB Skin's Moulin Rouge Debuts August 1st

Hi beauty lovers! Today I bring you a brand-new, not-yet-released product by Youngblood Cosmetics. Debuting August 1st, Youngblood presents the Parisian-inspired Moulin Rouge eye shadow quad. Moulin Rouge features three nudes and a gorgeous burnt orange. Can-Can is a caramel peach and a great "in-between" shade that works well in the crease and for blending the other colors together. Revue is a brightening shell shade, great for the brow bone, inner corners and lid. Cabarets is a dark chocolate with a hint of red shimmer (heart stopper!). Red Light is that show-stopping, matte orange-red.

These eye shadows are made with finely milled, pressed minerals that sweep on like silk and last for hours. I love using them with my Urban Decay Eye Primer. Don't be intimidated by this palette, this is  actually a pretty tame quad. I amped up the look with the Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Fierce underneath (to give it that pop of orange). 

WATCH THE TUTORIAL BELOW

Moulin Rouge will go on sale August 1st on www.YBskin.com

Perfect Moment Photography- New Venture Featuring Baby Nordquist

Hi everyone! I'm pleased to announce that I have teamed up with my good friend and photographer Demecio Sandoval to bring to you Perfect Moment Photography. PMP consists of myself and Demecio, and our specialty is family portraits and maternity paintings. I get you primped and pretty, and Demecio snaps the shots!

Our first client, is the lovely Tessa, my yoga instructor. I had missed yoga for a few months and when I went back to class in May, I noticed her cute little bump and was delighted. She has got to be the tiniest preggo I've ever met. You gotta see her in class too- she can balance on one leg and even still do the downward dog with baby Nordquist! It's really inspiring to watch her do the poses that my non-pregnant self still has trouble with.

Here she is at seven months with their baby girl :)

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

It took about an hour to complete the design on Tessa's belly. Tessa requested a "yogic" theme, so we chose a pink lotus, with the celestial moon and sun double-face in the center. 

I always start my designs by looking up inspirational photos on the internet, then I make a sketch. After the client approves, I follow my sketch and inspirational photos to create the design.

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

Here's Tessa and her awesome husband and baby daddy, Adam. 

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

How cute is this shot?!

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

 I love their rings

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

Doing what she does best

Photo courtesy of DS Photography

If you or someone you know is interested in taking maternity shots, please contact me at Christine.Guederian@gmail.com. I work with a fabulous photographer, Demecio Sandoval, and we can always work within your budget. Capture this special time in you and your baby's life with Perfect Moment Photography!

Pet Peeve: Empty Eyebrows

It has recently come to my attention that the every day person isn't always educated in filling in their eyebrows. One of my pet peeves as a makeup artist is seeing someone rocking beautiful eye makeup with empty eyebrows. It's like curling your hair and then putting it in a bun: what's the point? I can't tell you how often I see this happen, to innocent bystanders everywhere. If I'm out at a bar, I'll spot a sexy smoky eye on the bartender, followed by her sparse, half-plucked-off eyebrows. It's just such a disappointment. I'll be at the grocery store and take note of the stay-at-home mom with awesome winged eyeliner....and her misshapen eyebrows.

Hello! Where are your brows?!

Lesson 1: Complete the Look. 

Eyebrows frame the face and set the tone for your makeup. My advice is to start with your eye makeup first, then fill in your eyebrows accordingly. Are you wearing a smoky eye? Better make those eyebrows a little stronger than you would normally do. Going with a basic vanilla shade? Lightly dust your angle brush through your brows with a shadow one shade lighter than your natural hair color. 

Lesson 2: Full Eyebrows Need Love Too

Just because you have full eyebrows doesn't mean you shouldn't fill them in. I have the thickest, hairiest eyebrows on the planet and I still fill them in with some eyeshadow and Makeup For Ever's corrector. Why? Because even the fullest brows can be thinning at the ends or missing hairs in the front. Also, filling in your eyebrows will help them stand out in photos. Have you ever noticed that your brows disappear in your Facebook photos? That's because the flash is reflecting off of your skin underneath. Filling in your eyebrows will help the flash bounce off the darker color and will show up on film. 

Don't even ask me where I got this photo....poor thing.

Sunscreen and You

Hi beauty lovers! Since we are smack-dab in the middle of summer, I thought it might be a good idea to post a sunscreen education refresher. Here is a list of things you may not know about sunscreen that I've compiled.

FACTS

1. Makeup with SPF isn't enough to protect your skin. 

While it's great that you chose a foundation with SPF 15, that's no where near enough to protect your skin. Consider it a supplement; you still need the real deal underneath. You would need at least a teaspoon of your foundation on your face (way too much) for the SPF to actually work. Pick an oil-free SPF formulated for the face at around SPF 35 or higher. Slather this on, apply a face primer to keep it from sliding, then end with your foundation or powder. 

2. Reapply every two hours

While it's difficult to do this on the face after you have applied makeup, this rule of thumb still applies to your body. How many times have you gone to Vegas, applied sunblock once at noon and sat at the pool til 6:00pm? Think your SPF was working that whole time? Think again. Oh, and please stick to high SPF. Trust me, you will still get a tan.

3. Sunscreen is a must even if you don't work outside.

If you notice more freckles on the left side of your face, it's because UV rays are penetrating your driver's side window. Just because it's cloudy (UV rays are still out and about), or you are technically "indoors" doesn't mean you are protected. Sunscreen please! 

4. The difference between chemical and mineral sunscreens.

Chemical sunscreens absorb the sun’s UV rays; mineral sunscreens block those rays. Both are FDA-approved. I prefer chemical because it stays on better under makeup, but it's really up to each and every one of you.

5. Sunscreens do expire.

According to many dermatologists, sunscreens should be tossed after one year. If you have left your sunscreen out in your hot car, drawer etc, it can lose its effectiveness, and even worse, grow bacteria and fungus (sick!) A skin expert also informed me that the FDA now requires the expiration date to be on every container of sunscreen, so check your bottle for the date!

6. Even the darkest skin needs to wear sunscreen daily.

Dark skin contains more melanin which acts as a natural sunscreen, but it only provides the same protection as an SPF 15, which is basically useless. Skin cancer doesn't discriminate, so make sure you protect yourself with an SPF 35 or higher.

Lady C's Picks

Face

Water resistant, paraben free with both UVA & UVB protection, this Alba sunblock is my daily go-to.

This dry-touch sheer sunblock gives you heavy duty protection at SPF 70, great for outdoor activities and poolside.

Body

Hawaiian Tropic is well-known and fantastic. They even have a line for sensitive skin!  Trust me, even with an SPF 50, you will still tan.

DO NOT USE

Spray SPF cans are TERRIBLE for the environment! Half the bottle gets wasted spraying into the air and ruining our  ozone. The other half gets ingested into your lungs as you try to spray yourself or your kids. Just don't do it people.

Katy Perry's Summer Vamp look with YB Skin

Hi peeps! Sorry it took me so long to post, I just got back from my bachelorette weekend in Vegas and I'm less than two weeks away from being married. Needless to say, my mind is on complete overload and I'm scatter-brained for life. 

Anyways, has anyone seen the post-divorce look Katy Perry has been rocking? I'm in love with the purple hair and vampy makeup. She doesn't quite look goth, it's more teetering on the edge of "dark pinup." It's like the goth from high school grew up and got a job. Katy's face is a makeup artist's dream: big, round, blue eyes, long lashes, strong brows and smooth complexion. So anytime she does a new look, I basically die. 

What's special about this tutorial is that all the products I will be using are from Youngblood Cosmetics. I really love that this company was created by a dermatologist who cares enough to make all of her products cruelty-free and paraben-free. Why not highlight a brand whose products are harmless to animals and whose products are actually good for your skin, right?

Here's my take below:

This look was a very clean, simple eye with strong eye brows and a deep dark lip. 

Click the video below to watch the tutorial

YOUNGBLOOD PRODUCTS USED: 

Ultimate Concealer (medium)

Pressed Mineral Foundation (warm beige)

Crushed Mineral Blush (Rouge)

Eye Illuminating Duo

Crushed Mineral Eye Shadow (Alabaster)

Pressed Eyeshadow (Merlot)

Incredible Wear Gel Liner (Eclipse)

Brow Artiste (Dark)

Mineral Lengthening Mascara

Bistro Lipstick

You can find all these awesome products on www.YBSkin.com

Vivid MD Skincare- Satin Cleanser

Hi pretty girls, 

I'm back with another product review, and this time it's up-and-comer Vivid MD Skincare's Satin Cleanser. I came across Vivid MD Skincare while at a mixer for the Hair & Makeup Artists Network. Vivid was created by Hollywood makeup artist Kim Greene. According to the site, "Vivid MD Skincare are natural products that were developed under the direction of dermatologists, plastic surgeons, clinical estheticians, and make-up artists. It is a unique and effective line that repairs and renews damaged skin. All our products are paraben free and come in 100% recyclable packaging. It is enjoyed by both the medical industry and top celebrities." 

I have to say that the satin cleanser is very gentle and removes makeup and dirt from the skin with ease. Being of oily skin, I'm always wary of creamy textures in my cleansers, but this one left my skin feeling soft, not greasy. With ingredients like Rosemary, Chamomile and Seaweed extracts, this is great for sensitive skin. One thing to keep in mind is that because Vivid MD Skincare's products are all-natural, they do have a shelf life, and will go expire if you don't use them up right away. 

Satin Cleanser $25

I would absolutely buy the Satin Cleanser again. I'm also interested in their Purifying Whipped Cleanser, which doubles up as shaving cream for me and women, while also cleaning your skin. I did have a chance to try a sample of  the Perfection C Serum, but to be honest with you, the smell was too much for me. It's a super strong orange-y scent, and unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of citrus or even perfume for that matter. I guess I can blame it on my allergies. 

Ally the Unicorn Stagg

My friend Allyson Stagg of the Las Vegas Style Sirens is sickeningly pretty, and an amazing makeup artist. After accompanying me to the IMATs this year, she sent me these photos of herself wearing all of her new purchases, and I swear to you I had to throw my phone down and walk out of the room because of  how enchanting they were.

I felt that this look was really meant to be since today is National Unicorn Appreciation Day (according to Lime Crime creator, Doe Deere)

She went for a monochromatic (one color) look, which I always forget is an option.

PRODUCTS USED:

Lime Crime's brand new Aquataenia Palette

NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Pink

NYX Lip Liner in Dolly Pink

Lime Crime's Airborne Unicorn lipstick

Too Faced Free Shipping

Hi guys, just wanted to pop in and let you know that Too Faced Cosmetics is offering FREE SHIPPING starting Thursday, June 28th to Wednesday, July 4th. Use the code below. 

I recently bought their 3 Way Lash Lining Tool and I love it. 

Happy Shopping!

IMATS L.A.- June 23, 2012

It's that time of year again! Every June, the International Makeup Trade Show makes its way to Los Angeles. This year, I took my fellow makeup artist and BFF Allyson Stagg of the Las Vegas Style Sirens  along. With my wedding looming in the near future, I really couldn't go berserk like I did the previous year and buy everything I wanted. I walked out of there with only $50 worth of products, can you believe it?! The IMATS were a little less crowded this year, with exhibitors ranging from makeup giants like MAC, Urban Decay, and Ben Nye to boutique lines like Lime Crime and Sugar Pill, to up-and-comers like Youngblood Cosmetics and OCC. Naimie's Beauty Supply took up an entire aisle, which I like to call "Heaven," with products otherwise unreachable to us L.A. girls like Lise Watier and Smashbox. I'm happy to report that the theme among most of the booths was paraben-free, cruelty-free products. The only thing that bummed me out this year is that I literally saw NONE of the beauty bloggers and Youtube gurus I follow there. I was so disappointed, I love meeting other people in the beauty industry and I have no idea where they were and why they weren't there. I was super sad that Kandee Johnson didn't make it out this year as well, due to her father's recent passing. Your presence was missed, Kandee, and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. 

Here's Ally and I at the entrance

My fun collage of some of my favorite products at the IMATS

Clockwise from the top: the IMATS signage outside of the Pasadena Convention Center, OCC Lip Tars, Lise Watier Lip Stains and Lime Crime's Carousel Gloss and Eye Liners.

The Youngblood Cosmetics booth, where I ran into friend Adriana Perez of the PR crew :)

Youngblood Cosmetics. I love their primer and eye cream

Some of the special effects makeup being done on the floor 

I bought Too Faced's 3 Way Eye Liner at the Naimie's booth...great stuff!

Ally and I are wearing Lime Crime's Mint To Be and Cosmopop lipsticks.We had so much fun looking at the products at their booth!

I found THE Eve Pearl doing makeup on the floor of the trade show. Amazing!

I absolutely adored these Sugarpill girls. I love how bright and fun their makeup line is.

I chatted with Doe Deere, creator of Lime Crime, again. I like to pick her brain about Lime Crime's products and just what goes on in that blue-haired head of hers. Not only is she super creative, BUT she is also a savvy business woman, something a lot of artists in this business lack.

As usual, it looked like My Little Pony threw up glitter  and rainbows on my hand.

Always testing products.

 We swung back around to the Lime Crime booth and ran into the inspiration behind Doe's "Aquataenia" line, real live moon mermaid Traci Hines. 

She's just so darn magical!

A cool body painting by Mehron Cosmetics. I love how good the painting came out on the fabric of the bra, it really looks like she's wearing nothing!

Here's my stash from the IMATS: South Seas Airbrush Tanning Solution, South Seas Coffee Body Scrub, Too Faced 3 Way Lash Lining Tool and a sample of Kollagen's 24kt Gold Eye Serum. Not pictured: Ardell Lashes and Duo Black Lash Glue.

Phew! Two happy but tired makeup artists who may as well have spent the day in Disneyland. 

Join me at the IMATS in Los Angeles next year on January 18-20th! Tickets are already on sale: https://makeupmag.com/imats_tickets/cPath/239/