The Lane Makeup Artist Natural Wedding Makeup

All wedding photos by : A Bear A Dear And A Fox Beauty Photo by Stephanie Alcaino for White Magazine

Yesterday I received an email letting me know that one of the wonderful weddings I created the natural bridal hair & makeup for has been featured over at The Lane. The bride Jenna was one of the most fun ones I have ever worked with and check out all her beyond talented friends creating beautiful details for her wedding. She is also founder of the boutique natural soap business Maple Soaps, which are the most gorgeous handcrafted vegan soaps, which smell delicous and are free of any synthetic fragrance.

I was also interviewed and asked about my tips on how to create my signature natural makeup look, as seen above. I thought I share it here with you, along with with best products to achieve this look:

One of our enduringly favourite looks for bridal beauty is this supernatural face you created…how did you do it? The right prep and base is key for this minimally beautiful look. Spritz you face with a hydrating mist, I currently love Gressa Purifying Mist. Then apply a high quality skin serum oil, for example Gressa Purifying Oil for radiant, well prepped skin. A cream highlighter applied to cheekbones enhances the bone structure. A sheer foundation like Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation or tinted moisturizer buffed into the skin with a soft foundation brush evens out skin without masking it. For extra radiance & colour corrections try using Stratus another great product by luxury organic brand Vapour. Use a high coverage concealer like Au Naturale Creme Concealer only to cover redness or blemishes for an invisible flawless finish. Use a completely translucent powder only through the t-zone to keep excess shine at bay.

And the eyes, they're 'enhanced' but not heavily made up…whats the secret to achieving that? Start with hydrating the eye area. Tata Harper Restorative Eye Crème is a real winner. Evening out the eyelid with a hint of a tinted eye-primer or foundation. Apply a dab of clear gloss as highlight in the inner corners or alternatively a shimmery light eyeshadow like Au Naturale Creme Eye Shadow. A nude eyeliner on the inner rim creates an open eyed fresh look. Enhance your eyelashes by curling them and coating them with a natural effect Mascara like 100% Pure Black Tea Mascara. It's important to make sure you apply the mascara right on the roots of the lashes to give that framing effect and a luscious thick lash line.

What about colour, what should brides keep in mind for a natural look but drawing on hints of colour like this? The only colour I used on this look focusses on the lips and cheeks. This is very soft matte peach tone, which will enhance the skin tone. To create the soft focus hint of colour, I recommend using the same product for lips & cheeks. RMS lip2cheek in demure is a great sublte colour. Dabbing it on with fingers will create that subtle effortless chic. It's best to carry the colour with you for touch-up's of the lips on your wedding day.

And any final, expert tips? Create a beauty ritual that you and your skin love as far out from the wedding as possible. I recommend keeping a routine that works for you and to avoid skincare changes closer to the day. Always choose quality products over quantity. I also believe that the actual beauty ritual is important: Take time to massage your skin daily or fit in the occasional professional spa facial massage, both will increase circulation and nutrition for the skin, delivering that glow from within and relax your facial muscles as well. Get used to keeping an hydrating spray on your desk and a multi tasking skin balm in your handbag to hydrate lips, cuticles and any dry areas in your face. This way your skin will be at it's best in time for your wedding or any occasion you might have coming up.

Intense Creme Eye Shadows By Au Naturale

What could be a better start to the week than dipping my brushes into some beautiful new makeup products by Au Naturale? They seem to be the expert when it comes to natural creme makeup products.

I had an extensive play and have been wearing their organic creme eye shadows and creme concealer quite a few times now, so it's about time to tell you how great they are. Intense pigments and beautiful colours make these a perfect addition to my green luxury makeup kit. They blend very easily, you can also mix different tones together to create unique shades. Another plus is that they multitask: the matte shades double as eyebrow colour or you can use any shade as eyeliner, used with an angle brush.

The creme concealer is a little miracle worker, hiding imperfections before you can count to three... And super easy to apply! I love it for redness and blemishes, some people do however successfully use for the under-eye area as well. It surely is creamy and has full coverage. The little pots with window are great to use in my kit, as I can easily see the colour, without having to open each and every one.

Although I mainly use pressed eye shadows in my kit, the little loose pigment shadows of Au Naturale apply with ease: wet or dry and come in rich shades. Really great for editorial makeup artists that are looking for some colour and also for sensitive eyes, these vegan eyeshadows are free of any nasty byproducts. Simply 100% quality pigment. I played with the Glam Eye Palette, which also included two eye brushes. With their simple and sleek design, durable quality and super soft cruelty free bristles, these brushes are very nice to use and blend those creme products to a real seamless airbrushed finish.

The lip gloss in a very humble packaging really surprised me: The colour was intense and almost opague, very long wearing (for a gloss!) and without any annoying smell or taste. Formulated without bee's wax, preservatives, parabens, fragrances, additives, bismuth oxychloride and nano-particles these suit the most sensitive flowers. Lip gloss is such a simple product, yet I find that many brands don't get it right. Most are too goopy, with strange flavours that remind me of kindergarten (not in a good way) These glosses however are pro quality. A powerful gloss in simple sturdy packaging.

All Au naturale products are professional grade, made in USA by the very inspiring founder Ashley Prange. All products are made fresh and without preservative. It's amazing to yet discover yet another 100% natural, green and toxin-free brand that really delivers professional results.

A Simple Green Beauty Routine For Everyone

I feel super honored to be featured over at the wonderful Nourish Every Day blog. You recently met the inspiring and smart Monique from Nourish Every Day already here on my blog. She asked me to share a simple routine that is suitable for everyone along with some product recommendations with her readers.

I connected instantly with Monique when she booked me to create her wedding makeup, and while I took away some awesome nutrition advice and health food shopping lists, she was really interested about my move to a toxin free makeup kit and working as a green makeup artist.

It's all about Cleanse, Hydrate, Moisturize & Exfoliate. You might know some of this already and also might already know a few of my current favourite brands. Check it out and also browse all of Monique's healthy recipes, they are amazing!

NŪDUS Lip Euphoria

Are your lips ready for the ultimate treat? NŪDUS is the clever lipstick range that I have been waiting for. Creamy, luxurious, rich pigments beautifully packaged and certified organic. This range of high-end lipsticks was over two years in the making and contains a superior blend of 27 active naturals. A specially designed tasteful formula incorporating super foods, antioxidants, vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, essential fatty acids and high-end anti-aging ingredients to keep your lips soft and help protect them from environmental stress. WOW! You can tell that the beautiful founder Diana Saltoun Goltsman has done her researched and developed a wonderful range for intelligent, forward thinking women, like herself.

If you are a bit of a beauty nerd like I am, read on for even more amazing information about this unique luxury range: All NŪDUS lipsticks are handcrafted. What this means for you is that they are carefully made in small batches in a certified organic environment in Sydney Australia. The colours are very different from anything else on the market: NŪDUS pigments are a special mix of ancient Ayurvedic pure bioactive colour extracts from flowers, fruits, herbs and minerals. Each colour extract has a dual purpose of bioactivity and therapeutic function. These color extracts have been chosen on the basis of their properties promoting preventative healthcare. The extracts not only provide longer lasting colours, but safer active moisturising properties, based on the technology of an ancient progressively vibrant traditional medicinal system.

Ayurveda means ‘ life-wisdom’. Pronounced (aa-yer-vay-da) it is believed to be one the oldest healing systems originating from India over 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda revels the wisdom of life ‘ the whole of life’, by unveiling secrets of nature that helps keep a person healthy and in harmony with their soul.

All the colours apply true to the colour they show as stick, and I can't even decide which one my favourite is. I have tried 6 shades and they are all great. (which rarely ever happens!) I am in LOVE.

Tips for beautifully lasting bridal lips

Photo by Luisa Brimble Hair & Makeup by Liv Lundelius One: It's important to prep your lips and make sure they are smooth and hydrated. Besides drinking enough water in the lead up of your wedding, it's a good idea to exfoliate your lips with a special lip scrub or with a soft toothbrush and some lip balm.

Two: Apply a generous layer of lip balm while you get your makeup done.

Three: When you are ready for lipstick, blot off excess balm and use a creamy lip liner in your lip colour or the colour of your choice to apply all over the lips. This will improve the staying power of your lipstick immensely.

Four: Stay with your natural lip shape and don't draw outside of your lip line. If your lips are uneven you can balance them with lip liner to make them appear more symmetric. Once the colour fades it disappears evenly and you won't be left with a scary outline of lip liner, which is never a good look.

Five: If you choose to wear a bright or deep lipstick shade keep in mind that it will transfer and stain your future husband. When kissing, many brides wear a lighter more neutral lip colour for the ceremony and a more colourful one for the reception.

Six: If you choose to wear red or bold lips, blot the lips with a tissue and apply another layer, you can repeat this step to achieve more staying power and a deeper colour.

Seven: Apply your lipstick with a lip brush for a professional finish, you will be much more precise.

Eight: Have your lipstick with you for touch-up's after drinks, food and kisses.

Nine: Have fun and get married!

Ten: Live Happily Ever After.