Honeymoon Style

banner

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Wedding Day Beauty Starts With Great Skin

Cindy, our favorite skin guru who is also a
wedding makeup artist is sharing her expertise
on how to look fab-u-lous on your wedding day!



Weddingzilla: What is the number one thing that
brides can do to look beautiful on their wedding
day?

Cindy: Every bride needs to start a skin care
regimen in advance of the wedding. Great glowing
skin is THE number one beauty accessory. Great skin
is the palette that makeup artists use to do their magic.
We only have to enhance your features for the
photographs.

You have to cleanse your skin with a soft gentle
makeup remover morning and night. You need
to tone your skin with a skin toner to tighten your
pores and give your skin an even tone. You need to
moisturize your skin and moisturize under your eye
area to keep your skin supple and soft. Every few
days you need to use an exfoilant to clear away
dead skin and stimulate the skin. Once a week
you need to do a skin mask or masque. Masking the
skin makes a HUGE difference in the appearance of
smooth and healthy skin.

My customers like
philosophy

Dermalogica


Dr.Hauschka Skin Care Cleansing Clay Mask

and JOEY New York for lip plumpers and
fixes for eye bags that give instant results.

You can use witch hazel as an astringent toner. Use it
sparingly on your face with a cotton ball. It will tighten
the pores. You can buy witch hazel at your pharmacy.

If you really want to treat yourself before the wedding,
schedule a facial at a day spa several days before the
wedding. There is something about the hot steam treatments
and the hot towels that just do wonders for the skin.

Weddingzilla: What happens if you have a breakout
before
the wedding?

Cindy: There are products that will zap the zit.
Peter Thomas Roth Acne Treatment Kit
gets raves from my clients. You have to use it in advance to
clear the skin and prevent breakouts.

There is a handy dandy device that will help with
blackheads and whiteheads Tweezerman Skin Care Tool

Heres my secret acne treatment, drink green tea! It helps
prevent acne breakouts. You can also dot the spot with a
cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. Just be careful to use
the alcohol sparingly or it could irritate your skin instead of
drying the spot. DO NOT pick the spot, it could get infected.
Put a clean hot compress on the spot and then the alcohol.


Weddingzilla: What do you recommend for skin discolorations?

Cindy: There is a product called Meladerm that lightens
skin spots. It is especially helpful for Afro American skin.
Meladerm Skin Lightener - Natural skin lightening products
for fading age spots, sun damage, skin discolorations and
hyperpigmentation. The company will even let you try it
risk free for 30 days! It contains no hydroquinine and its
gentle on the skin. I've had great results with my clients.


Weddingzilla: How do you get long eyelashes without
having eyelash extensions?

Cindy: I use a product called LiLash. It is an eyelash
stimulator cosmeceutical product that is non irritating.
You apply it like eyeliner and start to see results in
2 weeks. The company is great, they guarantee you'll
get results.

Weddingzilla: Do lip plumpers work? I tried one
brand used by Hollywood celebs and I didn't get
the Hollywood results.

Cindy: Some do work and some only work as a lip gloss.
You won't get the same results as collagen, but the
results won't look as phony as collagen, either.
One that we've had success with is
DuWop Lip Venom 2nd Sin Lip Gloss
You'll get some tingling and stinging,
it is supposed to increase circulation to your lips which
will plump the lips.

Stay tuned for part two with Cindy: Wedding makeup

FREE Lancome lip color with any purchase over $25 USD at StrawberryNET (new customers only, while supplies last).

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Plus Size Bride, the Dress Shopping Dilema


Brides with curves are beautiful and deserve
to look ravishing on their wedding day. But
shopping for a dress that looks fabulous on a
full figured bride is tough.
Why are all the dresses on the racks small?
How am I supposed to know what I will look
like in the dress?

It's hard searching for a plus size wedding
dress in the sea of anorexic sized sample
dresses hanging on the racks in bridal salons.
Blame the dress manufactures and NOT the bridal
salon. The dress manufacturers cut samples sizes
for the racks in sizes 8 to 12, bridal size.

When a bridal salon orders larger sizes for their
racks, the sample takes us 16 to 20 weeks to receive
at the bridal salon. Its the same amount of time
if you were to special order it. They don't cut
anything extra for us to hang on our racks. When
a bride comes in, the sample fits, she wants it now.


Bridal size is smaller than everyday clothing size.
Why? Who knows. One reason is that the dresses
are cut close to the body and there is no wiggle room
as in our everyday clothing. Bridal shops have been
battling for sizing changes for years. The wedding gowns
are manufactured in Asia where the women are teeny.

Some wedding dress manufacturers simply upsize a regular
wedding dress and the cut isn't right when you
get the dress. The armholes are too large or too small
or the bustline is on the collar bone. Plus sized
dresses have a different cut to allow for the curves.
Look for dresses cut specifically for your size.
You'll have leaner look, a better fit and less
alterations.

I came across a web site that caters to plus
sized brides on their wedding day:
PlusSizeBridal.com
Their prices are good, the styles are flattering.
Here is another site: Plus Size Wedding Dresses


Other manufacturers who cater to the plus sized bride
with great looking dresses and styles are Alfred Angelo,
Bonny Bridals, Casablanca,


Bonny Bridals Unforgettable collection have
dresses that will hide a regular bra! Woo Hoo! How cool
is that? No searching for a miserable strapless bra.
Their halter neckline dresses are cut high
enough in the front that there is no "fallout".
Their styles are flattering and there are a few good
looking styles with hard to find sleeves.

Alfred Angelo cuts plus sizes in womens sizing of 16W
to 28W which is a more generous cut than regular
straight sizes.

Casablanca Bridal will cut your dress to your exact
measurements for an additional charge, but the dress
will fit!! You'll save on alteration, another plus is
that you'll have the same high fashion styles.

Grooming the Groom For the Big Wedding Day


HOT!!!

As women, we spend all our wedding planning time
planning how WE and our female wedding party will look
on the wedding day. We don't think about our men
other than putting them in a tux. A tuxedo can take the
average looking man into the hunk category in less than
60 seconds. But sometimes they need just a bit more
help to really make them rock. Its HIS wedding, too!

Your man needs to be well groomed and looking hot on
his wedding day. Getting a facial or a manicure is not an
easy idea for a man to grasp. Unless you are marrying a
metrosexual, the average man is going to balk at your
suggestions that he hit the salon. He'll be afraid his
friends will rag on him.

Schedule a spa appointment for both of you before the
wedding as a special couples time.
Get your Spa Wish! A couples massage is not only relaxing,
but a chance for you to share in quiet time together and escape
from the wedding stresses. Then do a couples facial followed
by a manicure and pedicure. A mans mani~ pedi is soaking,
foot massage, buffing the nails, trimming jagged cuticles
and removing calluses. Getting the feet into beach shape,
making the finger nails look good for the pictures of the
ring at the wedding. And he's going to want to show off
his ring, too. ;)



And please, please, no three days growth of stubble on
the wedding day. That is a fad that's going to pass and
your wedding pictures are for-evah. My photographer
connection confided that its hard to get a clear photo
of a man with stubble. The stubble just magnifies any
skin imperfections. That's a tip from a pro!

And for the biggest wedding beauty tip of all,
put a big smile on your faces. It costs nothing!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The Quest For THE Wedding Dress is Universal, Why Wear White?

I came across an interesting post from the New York magazine.
The Lesbian Brides Handbook by Ariel Levy details her quest
for THE dress. Not wanting to wear white, she found her
dream dress and it was a stunning blue gown with hand painted
flowers.

The struggle to find the dress is universal, shared by all brides.

Not all brides WANT to wear white. Some gals look scary ghostly
in white. Sometimes even creamy white or ivory will give your
complexion yellow tones. White isn't for everyone. It wasn't
for me.

Soft pinks are wonderful for the complexion and giving you
the blushing bride glow in pictures. Soft blues are traditional.
Gold looks great with a tan. Silvers and platinums are harder
to wear but look great on an icy blonde.

Many of today's wedding dresses are incorporating color into
the gown. Some are solid color and bling. I've yet to have a
midwest bride bold enough to purchase an all red dress, but
I see it coming. Once a trend is fully entrenched, the local
fashionistas will be all over it.

I attended a wedding in Las Vegas where the bride was in the
most stunning red gown and I was dazzled. I would wear red.
Hell, I'd wear black. Anything to make me look skinnier or to
flatter my complexion.
But I'm already married and I wore a dark champagne
dress when it was considered scandalous. Eyebrows were raised,
I didn't care, it was THE dress. It was me. Still is. I'm not one to
wear white. It makes me look washed out and I'm too much of
a slob to keep the dress pristine. Put me in an all white room free
of dust, dirt and anything but air and I'll find a way to get a spot of
dirt on it.

Who says the dress HAS to be white? And since white no longer
conveys any significance of virginity, why not express the
real you and wear color? Expand your horizons. Be real.
Be yourself. You don't want to look like every other bride
getting married. You don't want a supermarket everyone's bought
it wedding dress, find something unique and go for it.
Veils can be matched to color.
Tiaras can be matched to color.
Maids can be matched to color.

Afraid of all color? Accent with color on your dress. A sash,
a bow, a band of color across the bustline, colored embroidery,
a colored tiara, go for it!

Here are my picks for some unique colored wedding dresses.












Wedding Humor: The Delusional Bride



I found this spoof of weddings hysterical.
It came from the website Somethingawful.com

We've all known a delusional bride, the
gal who was born to plan her wedding.
She hasn't given a thought to the marriage,
rarely mentions the groom or his ideas,
but she can do two hours on her cake or
nail polish choices for the big day.
She lives, eats and breathes her wedding.
She'll bore you will details and she'll be
upset if you don't share her enthusiasm.
Hey, its not YOUR wedding, do you really care?

It will be over eventually, reality will set in
and Bridezilla will become Wifezilla. In the
meantime, its OK to have a giggle.