The Makeup Session

May Glam Bag!

michellemai — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:54:58 +0000

My May Glam Bag arrived just a few days ago, and considering my bit of disappointment from last month’s bag (or lack of), I was curious to see what I was in store for this month. This month’s theme was “Love is in the Air”, I felt as if the theme would have been a better choice for February (Valentines Day), but I can see how it could fit into Spring as well. This month’s bag was full of cute pink goodies to help get you in the mood for “love”.

The May Glam Bag

Although I’m not technically a nail “bling” person, I did appreciate the other products in the bag. I got two more My Glam makeup brushes to round out my collection, (which I may end up holding a mini giveaway for), as well as a full sized lipstick from Studio Gear (retails for $19). I would say I certainly got my money’s worth this month.

See the photos below for more details on what I got for May!

Studio Gear Lipstick in Pink Blush

Bridal Photoshoots – Part 5

michellemai — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:03:02 +0000

Here we are! Our last set from this bridal series!

This time, we strayed a little from the “traditional” bridal look. Model Kai wore a stunning vintage 1950′s red dress which also doubled as a fabulous wedding gown. It is very true that brides often wear colors other than white for their wedding in other cultures. Even some of my current brides celebrate with a traditional white gown and a second outfit traditional to their culture, or sometimes no white dress at all! I am a firm believer that brides shouldn’t be held down to wearing white for their wedding day, there are many great options out there, and we should all be free to explore them! Even if you don’t do a red wedding dress, try a pop of color in your accessories, shoes, or even your makeup, to instantly brighten and modernize your look.

For this shoot, we accessorized Kai in black, white, orange and pinks. We opted for a more natural eye with a winged liner and paired it with a strong bold lip color to match her dress. Her cute short ‘do just needed a little straightening and smoothing, and it was good to go. Pop in a few clips in her hair, and voila, a beautiful non-traditional bride!

Hope you enjoy this set, thanks to everybody involved that made these shoots happen!

Bride: Kai (Jennifer)
Hairstylist: Michelle Mai Smith
Makeup Artist: Krystle Corpus
Dress and Accessories: Vintage Costumers
Flowers: TLB Events
Photography: Dutta Photography

The “Non Traditional” Bride

Behind the Scenes!

May Birchbox! Gossip Girl Edition!

michellemai — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:52:10 +0000

I was pretty excited to see my May Birchbox arrive this month with a Gossip Girl theme on the cover. I just recently started getting into the show, I’m up to the midle of the 4th season on Netflix, and I’m hooked! It’s definitely become a guilty pleasure of mine…

I love the fashion, the makeup, and of course, the drama! Now if I could only have that kind of money…

This month, Birchbox partnered with ”Gossip Girl” to fill the box with Manhattan inspired girly goodies to help make yourself feel a little more glamorous.

My birchbox included:

- Miss Dior Eau de Parfum
- Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF in Glow – A tinted treatment to erase blemishes and scars on your body.
- SHU UEMURA: Cleansing Oil Shampoo – An oil that transforms into purifying foam to leave your coif clean and bouncy.
- stila: Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner – A shimmery intense pencil pigment. (Mine came in “Rock Candy”)

(I was a little dissappointed to see that my “Lifestyle Extra” was missing from my box this month. Would have been nice to see what the stationary looked like…Between last month’s expired products and my missing item this month, I think Birchbox needs to step it up!)

Also remember to tune into Tonight’s “Gossip Girl” Season Finale on the CW at 8/7 central for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree!

Take notes during the show and answer the Trivia Questions on their Facebook page to Enter!

Fresh, Coral Spring Time Makeup

michellemai — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:14:09 +0000

Hi Guys! I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a tutorial, so I’m finally getting around to doing videos again! Today I’m going to show you a bright and fresh spring time makeup look. I was sort of making up the look as I went, and it ended up being a monochromatic look with bright pops of coral ( a really hot color this year!).

Hope you enjoy this tutorial, and remember to subscribe to my Youtube channel for even more videos!

See below for photos and product lists.

Tools You’ll Need:

- Blush Brush
- Large Eyeshadow Brush
- Small Eyeshadow Brush

Products Used:

- Makeup For Ever Eyeshadow/Blush Orange Coral Matte No.5
- Yaby Dramatically Neutral Eye Palette – Champagne, Gold/Copper Eyeshadows
- Coastal Scents 88 Color Eyeshadow Palette – Red/Orange and Hot Pink
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion
- L’Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara
- Maybelline Super Stay 14 Hour Lipstick in Keep Me Coral
- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Sunset Peach

Wedding Showcase: Elizabeth and Brett

michellemai — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:34:59 +0000

I’m so excited to share our first bridal showcase of 2012!

Elizabeth and Brett were married this past February 25th, 2012.

I first met with Elizabeth for her trial run a few days before her wedding date, we booked her last minute, but I’m so glad that we could accommodate her!

We spent a few hours deciding on her perfect hair and makeup look, and made any tweaks that were necessary to make sure that she would look flawless for her wedding day.

The morning of her wedding, I brought along stylist Jessica to help me as we had to not only get Elizabeth ready, but her maid of honor, bridesmaids and her mother as well! It was a busy morning, but we were able to get everybody’s hair and makeup done and photo ready!

Elizabeth’s wedding colors included a beautiful shade of turquoise, so she wanted to incorporate that look into her makeup. At the trial, we decided that we didn’t want to be too dramatic and take away from her natural beauty. For her wedding day, I chose to do a soft smokey eye with hints of turquoise and gunmetal grey, I even added a touch of gold sparkle on her lids to add warmth and a hint of “something extra”. For even more drama, we added a strip of false lashes for a lush effect. To balance with her smokey eyes, I paired them with a nude lip with just a hint of pink and a clear gloss to top it off.

I want to thank Elizabeth once again for letting us be a part of her special day! It seems that their wedding went perfectly as planned, and after a relaxing honeymoon, we are happy to hear Elizabeth and Brett are now settling into their new home in Alaska.

Congrats Elizabeth and Brett!

Enjoy these beautiful photos from her wedding photo shoot (as well as some behind the scenes shots), courtesy of Fred Calma Photography!

(Special Thanks to Urbanista Weddings for the bridal referral!)

Behind the Scenes!

Bridal Photoshoots – Part 4

michellemai — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:11:54 +0000

We are back with Part 4 of our bridal photo shoots!

For this shoot we worked with beautiful model Simi. We aimed for an elegant and classic look, with beautiful full curly locks and soft and bright makeup to enhance all the right features. Photographers Danielle and Mrinabh took Simi out to Edmonds for a beautiful afternoon photoshoot. Enjoy!

Bride: Simi
Hairstylist: Daniela Rosaline
Makeup Artist: Michelle Mai Smith
Dress and Accessories: Davids Bridal & Vintage Costumers
Photography: Dutta Photography

Keep checking in for even more photos from our series! Don’t forget to check out Facebook as well!

April Birchbox and Glam Bag!

michellemai — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:54:45 +0000

Hey All!

So sorry for super late post this time. I’ve been so busy, didn’t have any time this month to do a video on this one, but here are the pictures of my arrivals this month!

The April Birchbox theme was all about “natural wonders”, so all of the products included in the box were fresh and took inspiration from good ol’ mother earth. Another great fact I learned this month: Every box that these products come in are 100% recyclable and are made with recycled and sustainably sourced materials. Very cool! I also love how they always put in a “Lifestyle Extra”, it’s neat to see what I get every month.

* A note about the Birchbox: Some of the Befine Daily Moisturizer Samples they sent out were expired, and Birchbox is giving 100 free birchbox points to anybody that received a bad sample. I actually got one of these samples myself so took a picture to show you were to look for the expiration date. I definitely would recommend just throwing out the products if they are expired, not worth taking any risks! To get your points all you need to do is fill out a brief survey here. Today is the last day to claim your points, so do it fast!

Where to Find Your Expiration Date

As far as my Glam Bag, I must say I was a little disappointed, I found my products were a bit lacking this month, guess I was just hoping for a little more like they usually send. The bag itself smelled a little funky too, like nail polish or something of that nature, I think I had the same complaint last time. I must say though, I think it’s great that they are sending out the My Glam makeup brushes they are super cute and pretty decent quality, and I can add them to the brush I got last time (not that I really need more brushes)!

See the pics below for the full product lists!

April Birchbox Products: Alima Pure - Organic Nourishing Lipbalm in Rhubarb; Befine - Skincare Sampler; willa - Gentle Cleansing Lavender Facial Towelettes; Wonderstruck - Taylor Swift Perfume; "Lifestyle Extra" - Dropps Laundry Detergent

Inside the Glam Bag: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in "Radium"; DermStore Lip Quench - Moisture Infused Lip Treatment; All-Belle Eyelashes, myGlam All-over Eyeshadow Brush and Eyeliner Brush

Bridal Photoshoots – Part 3

michellemai — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:48:55 +0000

The next photos from our bridal series are here!

This time we got the opportunity to work with beautiful model Jennifer, the perfect fit for this stylized shoot! With a little inspiration I was able to create the beautiful “bow” hairstyle for her, and talented makeup artist Dani made her already gorgeous face even more stunning! Photographers Danielle and Mrinabh did such a great job on capturing such perfectly elegant, and sweet images.

Thanks to everybody who made this shoot possible:

Bride: Jennifer
Hairstylist: Michelle Mai Smith
Makeup Artist: Makeup by Dani
Dress and Accessories: Vintage Costumers
Props and Furniture: Vintage Ambiance
Flowers: TLB Events
Photography: Dutta Photography

Keep checking in for even more photos from our series! Don’t forget to check out Facebook as well!

“1950′s Bride”

Behind the Scenes

Bridal Photoshoots – Part 2

michellemai — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:32:45 +0000

Hooray! Here are some new photos from our second collaboration with Dutta Photography on our extensive bridal photo shoot project. The theme for this photo shoot was “Retro-Indie” and we shot it in the very eclectic and industrial Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. Personally, this was definitely my most fun shoot; despite the cold weather and rain, we got some beautiful images, and all with great company! Bride and Groom Kyra and Brandon really made these pictures come to life!

Thanks to everybody who made this shoot possible:

Bride: Kyra
Groom: Brandon
Hairstylist: Michelle Mai Smith
Makeup Artist: Rachael Bedell
Dress and Accessories: Vintage Costumers
Flowers and Details: TLB Events
Photography: Dutta Photography

Keep checking in for even more photos from our series! Don’t forget to check out Facebook as well!

“Retro Indie Wedding”

Behind the Scenes

Applying Foundation – A Step by Step Video

michellemai — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 02:04:11 +0000

Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve done a video! I’m sorry, but I’ve been SUPER busy! I promise I will have more videos coming soon, especially the ones I still need to do from my giveaway a while back!

I’ve had quite a few requests for a video on my foundation routine, so here is a step-by-step video on my daily routine!
Hope you enjoy!

Product List:

- Primer – Boots No.7 Mattifying Primer
- Foundation – Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 240 Medium Beige
- Concealer – Garnier Skin-Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller
- Powder – L’Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Powder in W3 Nude Beige

- Kabuki Brush for Powder

As you can see, I typically just use my fingers to apply my own foundation, however you can also use a duo fiber brush, foundation brush, sponge, or whatever works best for you.

SIDE NOTE: I NEVER use my fingers to apply foundation on a model or client, always brushes or sponges to keep things sanitary!