Weddings are definitely not all just glitz and glamour. Behind every gorgeous wedding hair and every flawlessly executed bridal makeup, with every beautiful bride is a great deal of preparation. From the bride herself to her wedding hair stylist and her bridal makeup artists’ team. It requires thorough and careful planning.

If you are a bride-to-be, you are going to need all the help you can get from your bridal hair stylist and your wedding makeup artist to achieve the bridal look you’ve always dreamed of. Make sure you are well-informed not just on the beauty side of it but, in every aspect of your wedding day. To avoid any type of headache on your wedding day make sure all the financial, scheduling and advance organization are clear and in place.

Here are twelve questions that you should ask your bridal hair and makeup team before your wedding day.
Take this advice from an expert!

1. Will you provide the hair and/or makeup schedule for my wedding day?
It is definitely a must for you to know the availability and schedule of your hair and makeup team on the day of your wedding. A well-elaborated hair and makeup schedule will give you the peace of mind that everyone will be ready on time. Avoid the stress and make sure everything is right on schedule.

2. I do have allergies to some cosmetics, how are you going to work with that?
This is one of the reasons why having a bridal hair and makeup trial is a must. Your hair and makeup artist must do allergy tests during your hair and makeup trial. Such tests must be done before any complete makeup application to avoid any catastrophic consequences on your wedding day.

3. Can you provide service to my getting ready-location?
It is important for you to ask this question since some hair stylists who work in hair salons may not be able to their working place especially in weekends when they are busier with more clients.

4. Would you charge extra for driving to location?
Some locations could be far away from your stylist. An extra fee may be charged due to long driving distance and more time spent for time. Be sure to ask this so you can manage your finances or budget better.

5. If I want to shorten the “getting ready time”, could you bring extra stylists/artists? Is there going to be an extra charge? How much would that be?
One makeup artist/hair stylist no matter how good he or she is cannot handle a big number of parties. You don’t want people to feel uncomfortable and inconvenient for having to wait long for hair and makeup getting ready sessions. Ask for a specific price and try to check for packages so you can save some money. The usual getting ready time would be 2.5 to 5 hours, with anything longer than that you should consider asking your stylist to bring extra help.

6. Do you offer written contracts?
Why should you ask for a written contract? It is extremely important to do so since written agreements of charges and services that will be provided will make sure you won’t get last minute surprises. It well set things clear in writing and will guarantee expectations will be met.

7. Do you have bridal work portfolio?
It is important to ask for the makeup artist/stylist portfolio for you to see samples of their work. This will also give you an idea of their style and quality of work.

8. Would you provide touch up kit on my wedding day?
You will definitely need to have some touch ups before and after pictures during the ceremony and up to the reception. This will make sure you still look fresh and shine free all throughout the event. Touch ups also make your hair and makeup stay longer. Better be sure to ask your bridal hair and makeup artist if this will be provided.

9. I will need you to stay longer for hair and makeup changes and touch ups, would there be an extra charge?
You may want the artist to stay for hair and makeup retouches or make changes for photos, ceremony and reception. Make sure to know how much it will cost for these extra services.

10. Do you have cancellation fees?
If for any undesirable reason you need to cancel, you will want to know in advance the financial cost this may represent.

11. I have very specific likes and dislikes, how can we make sure I’m happy with the end results?
It is important for you to have confidence right from the beginning that you will have the look you always dreamed of on the most important day of your life – your wedding day. Your makeup artist must be able to communicate to you how s/he can make that happen.

12. Are there going to be any extra charges that I should know about?
Make sure to know what other extra charges are there for there can be many such as driving to location, vehicle parking, assistants, air-brush makeup, false lashes, hair extensions, tattoo coverings and hourly rate for waiting time.

Being well-informed is an advantage!

Aside from saving you from any unnecessary stress and unexpected surprises and charges, it also guarantees getting the perfect bridal hair and wedding makeup look on your big and beautiful day. So feel free to ask your preferred expert/artist/stylist on wedding hair and makeup in Washington, DC. Baltimore, MD and Northern Virginia area.

The post 12 Questions to Ask Your Bridal Hair and Makeup Team Before Your Wedding Day appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

Yes we love makeup, and there are always different makeup trends to follow but who doesn’t love a pair of beautiful smoky eyes?

We love having them with metallic hues and sometimes we love to experiment different makeup tricks and colors for our smoky eyes. But having smoky eyes for daytime makeup and wear can be tricky unless done the right way. While it is often tempting to reach out for the black eyeliner and silver eye shadow, there are always better and highly recommended eye makeup options.

Here’s an easy approach to get that daytime appropriate sultry smoky eye makeup.

1. Groom your brows to frame your face before applying eye makeup. This is important to make your eyes standout and your eye makeup looks beautifully finished.

2. With makeup, always start with light tone eye shadows, continue with medium and leave darker shades at the end.

3. Apply a slightly velvety texture eye shadow, light taupe color using a large brush into the center of the lid. Soften the shadow at the crease by flipping the brush. Press the color into the lower lash line.

4. Apply a darker brown shadow using a blending brush in small circular motions into the outer corner. Blend it up into the crease to create an illusion of depth. Always follow your natural eye shape. Tip: Begin with less eye shadow and build up as necessary.

Some of my favorite eye shadows are from NARS, I highly recommend them.

5.  For smoky eyes, one thing to remember is that the liner is meant to define the eyes but is not meant to be seen. Apply the liner starting at the outer corner using short strokes at the base of the lash line. Using a flat brush to smudge the liner in. You have the option to define both lash lines or just choose to define the upper or lower lash lines. Tip: Skip the waterline to make it appropriate for day wear.

Extra tip: If you feel it’s too dark or too much eye makeup, the solution is to blend or use medium eye shadow tones instead of dark. Doing so will create a soft and hazy finish which is perfect for daytime smoky eye look. That is exactly why we call it “Smokey”, because it is not defined nor with sharp definitions.

Do not ever forget!!!

If you don’t want to look like a “Panda Bear” or the tragic “Raccoon Eye” look, never use black and white eye shadows by itself. You will always need to use a hint or accent color.

Follow these steps and tips to get that smoky eye look with just the right amount of sexiness for daytime makeup wear. This beautiful eye makeup look is perfect for all four seasons.

Have fun and practice!

The post 5 Easy Steps and Tips to Create The Perfect Daytime Smoky Eye Look appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

From Gabbana to CHANEL and from Van Furstenberg to Dior, runway shows and fashion shoots have come to showcase the latest trends in fashion and beauty this Spring-Summer season!

Here are some of the best hair and makeup style trends that made the biggest impact and would be the ones to have for this Spring-Summer 2015.

As a rule of thumb, keep it light, natural and carefree.

In this season less is more!

THE BEST HAIRSTYLES FOR THE 2015 SEASSON

Boho Waves
This simple girl-next-door hairdo is once again in trend this spring summer of 2015 with its effortless but chic tousled with soft curls hair that look effortlessly perfect.

Bombshell Blowout
This sultry hairdo with sleek, stylish, and big curls almost never goes out of style. A look preferred by celebrities and a hairstyle that men love in their women.

Out-of-the-Water
Wet and creative just came out-of-the-water hair look is sported by models on the runways this season. Brushed all the way up or parted in the middle; gelled or splashed with water, the hair is achieved by exhibiting a slick and shiny look.

Big Buns
Long hair all pulled back into a big bun for a neat, polished, and classic look.

Long Ponytail
This is probably one of the most hassle free ways to do your hair. Yes, done in a matter of 3 seconds! Lazy but trendy this spring.

Braid and Twists and Mixed Materials
From a simple braid to an expertly made complicated twist of braided hair integrated into different hairstyles, braids and twists are definitely IN this season!
Any hairstyle adorned with any type of accessories or even flowers caught the eyes of the fashion getters this season from flowers, gems, barrettes and clips. Anything goes.

THE BEST MAKEUP LOOKS FOR THE 2015 SEASSON

When it comes to Makeup, these looks are IN!

FOR THE EYES
Eyes well outlined by black liquid eyeliner – ranging from a well defined simple and clean to a slightly flicked eye liner application.
Instead of the usual eye makeup, satin stickers, strips of leather, and even bright colored lipsticks were used to emphasize the eyes for a pop art eye makeup look. Baby blue to highlight the eyes never looked so better before this season.

FOR THE LIPS

Any bright well applied lip color for flaming high impact lips works this season. Shades of brown or a shade of purple for eye makeup for the not-so-daring girls is definitely IN!

FOR THE SKIN

Bronzed and sun-kissed skin gave the after effect feel of a well spent island vacation. One of my favorite bronzers is Nars Bronzing Illuminator in Laguna.

AND LASTLY BUT NOT LEAST, THE MAKEUP “NO MAKE” UP LOOK.

Hair and makeup trends come and go, but there’s nothing more beautiful than natural glowing skin!

Yes you could play with a bright lip color and even a dramatic smoky eye latter on the day but make sure you balance your makeup look with a natural beautiful skin.

With the use of pinky nude make up and lipstick, the trendy no makeup look is achieved. Also cream color cosmetic are wonderful to achieve this supernatural glowing makeup look.

The post Hair and Makeup Trends for Spring-Summer 2015 appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

How can I stay fresh, pretty and professional all at the same time despite my professional and hectic business schedule? I do not have time too worry about my makeup or personal appearance, but I need to be confident that I look my best at all times!

This is a common concern for many working women.

Worry no more, ladies!

You don’t have to go through trainings at the Mall and “beauty makeup workshops” to perfect the art of every day makeup that looks simply beautiful and professional and that will last all day!

Here are some tips and ideas in achieving simple yet sophisticated makeup look you can wear at work. Take it straight from me, a professional makeup artist in DC.

Before we begin with makeup tips and ideas, make sure you familiarize the basic rules in choosing the right makeup for a day at the office. Your makeup should:

• Last long so you don’t have to do a lot of retouching
• Be low-maintenance and easy so you can complete the look even in a rush.
• Enhance your natural beauty and not alter your features.
• Not be distracting (skip distracting bright colors or too shimmering and glossy products)
• Make you feel comfortable, confident and beautiful.

The Look:

Start with the base and perfect foundation then we will build up from there…

Laying the base and perfect foundation: Light, blended with a flawless finishing!

1. A situation that develops in most women is dull, dry and lifeless skin appearance. For this I would strongly recommend exfoliating your skin in regular bases. This will help you to get rid of the dead cells that lye on the surface of your skin making it look dull and dry. Once you do this, the appearance of your skin will dramatically improve making it look fresh, glowing and completely renew.
2. On everyday bases we need to make sure we have a clean and moisturized face before applying any makeup. After cleansing your face, apply a moisturizer that suits your skin. Hydrating your skin is especially important during cold weather season. If you have oily skin a good makeup primer will need to be applied, this will help you with oil control making your makeup last longer throughout the day.
3. If you are blessed with naturally good skin then skip foundation, use hydrating concealer instead. Dab the concealer then pat into your skin in light taps especially around the nose, underneath the eyes (if necessary) then blend it in. Set the concealer with powder. HD Microfinish Powder by Make Up For Ever is one of my favorites. If your skin is not as flawless and there is some tone and/or undertone discoloration, you can apply a sheer foundation before applying the concealer. The important thing is to not use heavy formulas or too much product. Only applying foundation and concealers if necessary and where these are necessary.

Natural Glow

Choose blushes and bronzers with neutral shades and looks natural on your skin tone. Some of my favorite Blushes for a work environment are the Bobby Brown Blushes, they come in different colors and shades. Apply blush lightly on the top apple of your cheekbones on circular motions – upwards. For contouring and to show the architecture of your face, apply a bit of bronzer underneath the cheekbone and underneath the jawline and a little bit up on the temples and near to your forehead hairline. Laguna by NARS is without a doubt one of my first picks! Then apply a bit of highlighter on the cheekbone and down the nose.

Accentuating the Eyes

1. Curl your eyelashes to open up your eyes.
2. Apply Champagne or Taupe color eye shadow, one of my favorites is Valhalla Eye Shadow by NARS over the lids using a perfect sheer crease blush. Then apply a slightly darker color eye shadow on the outer corner of the eyes and to add a little definition with the same darker eye shadow frame the crease of the eyes. Do not let this appear too strong, use an artist brush to blend them in as much as possible. Then apply lightly a dark charcoal eye shadow along the lash line (Typographic Eye Shadow by MAC) and on the outer corner using a 212 Flat Definer Eye Brush by MAC. If you wish you could skip the eyeliner, in most cases the dark charcoal eye shadow would be enough to define the eyes.
3. Apply mascara for extra definition, one of my very favorite mascaras in the market is LastBlast by CoverGirl.
4. Do not forget to polish your Eyebrows. For this you could use an eyebrow pencil (Veluxe Brow Liner by MAC), it comes with a very handy eyebrow brush. Do not forget to brush your eyebrows before the pencil application, and to blend the color for a more natural appearance you will need to do a second time brush after our eyebrow pencil application. This work like magic!

Professional Pucker

Use a lip liner that matches the color of the lipstick. Pink nudes and subtle coral shades of lipstick always look great for a professional look and works on any skin tone. You can always apply a lip balm right after that, RoseBud Salve (available at Sephora) it is simply the very best! Or if you prefer you could apply a lipstick of your choice. Applying lip liner first before the lipstick makes the lipstick adhere better.

If you need more in depth advice or training for your personal appearance, I give private personal hair styling and makeup artistry training for your personal appearance. Contact me, I will be glad to work with you!

Pro Tip from me, a trusted makeup artist in Washington, DC:

Invest in a good set of makeup brushes. It will make a big difference on your everyday makeup applications.

The post Every Day Makeup for The Professional Corporate Women. appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

Great and Artistic Halloween Makeup Ideas

Halloween is just around the corner!

Needless to say, with a little imagination and some creative hair and makeup ideas this could be the perfect time to unveil your darker, funky or supernatural side.

Still undecided would you like to be on Halloween? It’s not the time to play safe when it comes to character makeup. It’s time to get creative and totally become someone or something else. It isn’t everyday you can completely transform into a different creature, right?

You don’t need to spend lots of money, just invest some time and creativity on creating this fun and amazing Halloween Makeup Looks! Take a look at these cool character makeup ideas, I’m sure we could make it fun! Believe it or not, this Evil Green Witch is me with a makeup transformation I created my self.

“Mexican Catrina” Beauty Makeup. Halloween “La Catrina” Makeup- Images from Pinterest.com

Mexican Catrina Beauty Makeup Look

In Mexico and other countries, Halloween is better well known as “The Day of The Dead”. This is a very important day of the year when Mexican people celebrate the life and legacy of the beloved people that have passed to better life. For Mexicans, “La Catrina” has become a symbol of our pride and culture.

Halloween Look, Mexican Catrina Beauty Makeup – Images from: Pinterest.com

Here are some beautiful makeup looks and ideas for you to get inspire with this beautiful character makeup. Do ot forget the flowers, scrolls and vivid colors of this fantastic and beautiful “Girly Look”!

Beauty Halloween Makeup, Sugar Scull – “Mexican Catrina”. – Images from: Pinterest.com

Creepy, Sexy Vampire Makeup Look

Halloween is the time you have a very good reason to play the part of your favorite character in your vampire flick or novel. There is just something about vampires that they look so dead and scary yet very seductive and attractive. It’s time to get that sultry, scary, smoky eyes and get that fake blood going on. You may also want to wear contact lenses particularly red ones or cat eye look to complete the seductive vampire makeup look.

Vampire Beauty Makeup. – Images from: Pinterest.com

Vampire Eye Makeup. – Images form: Pinterest.com

Halloween Womens Makeup

Halloween Zombie Makeup

Get into the trend by being a zombie on Halloween. This look can be complicated and takes great makeup skills to look convincing but it is definitely a cool and spooky look. It’s worth investing on. One excellent tip is to make sure you look like there is no blood flowing in your vein. You should look like a corpse. Having a makeup artist create this look will definitely help to make sure it looks like real Hollywood. Getting this look is also an advantage because there is no need to fix it up so much since zombies look messy.

Scary Halloween Zombie makeup – Images from: Pinterest.com

Image from: http://dy6g3i6a1660s.cloudfront.net/MlMEMZtwNN8JWV2yIn1YlgPAA8A/tlw-ed/zombie-makeup.jpg

Creepy Doll Makeup Look

Want to look cute and pretty at the same time? A sewn mouth and stitches are signatures for this look. Also, don’t forget to achieve that doe eyes look for that adorable yet creepy doll look.

Character Halloween Makeup Doll – Images from: Pinterest.com

Halloween Makeup Doll – Image From: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jy3m-xQY8qc/maxresdefault.jpg

Maleficent Makeup

Hated and loved Disney character, Maleficent, is a good choice, too. She got those extremely chiseled cheekbones and red lips. For the eyes, go for a smokey makeup to achieve that intense and sultry eyes Maleficent have. For the cheekbones, extreme contouring is key. If you are good in makeup, in contouring and in creating smoky eyes, then you will do just fine. There is no need for prosthetic makeup like Angelina Jolie had in the movie. A pair of killer color contact lenses will definitely complete the look in a stunning way.

Maleficent – Image From: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1xP6fCCMjm4/UlAd8ctX1mI/AAAAAAAAEcs/F1Aws24UJrc/s1600/Header.png

Unlike other styles of makeup, Halloween makeup can be tricky, to get that real scary look, let a professional makeup artist do the job. Besides, Halloween only happens once a year. It’s worth the scare.

Have fun with amazing character Halloween makeup and great hair ideas, Halloween is the perfect time to get super creative!

Halloween Women Makeup

Evil Green Witch Character Makeup

And finally…
What is Halloween without witches? Make sure you go all the way with this wonderful Halloween makeup Get this complete transformation look. Paint your face and skin green and get the right prosthetics with that signature large, pointed, crooked nose and chin. This Halloween Makeup Look is a favorite. Your family and friends won’t surely recognize you. It’s pretty sinister-looking too. It’s the witch in your nightmares.

With Baby Powder on the hair I achieve the ugly ratted gray hair. Don’t forget the long nails, the right witch outfit and of course the Shinny Red Apples!

Audrey Bethards as The Evil Green Witch. Halloween Character Makeup Transformation.

Have a fun, safe and happy Halloween!

Or like we say in my country of origin, que tengas un muy “Feliz Dia de Todos Los Muertos”!

Some images from: beautylish.com, funnycoolhalloween.blogspot.com, furniture.trendzona.com, flickr.com, earthlingsentertainment.com, kerli.buzznet.com, etsy.com, 500px.com.

The post Great Halloween Makeup Ideas From Makeup Artist in DC appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

Oh my!

The first week of summer is here, and the steaming heat and humidity came with it!

It may feel nice after such a cold winter, but the heat does not play nice with many types of cosmetics.

As a professional Makeup Artist in Washington, DC and working in Miami and New York City, I’ve dealt with the worst of heat and humidity over the years with my clients and my own personal beauty routine!

When it comes to applying cosmetics, it is always important to use the right products for the season to get the best results, so I wanted to pass on some of my sage beauty advice to all you lovely readers out there!

1.       Just say NO to powders!

One of the best tips you’ll ever get for summertime beauty is just to stay away from powders whenever possible. Why? Simply due to the fact high humidity, ever-present during summer days and nights, will melt and dissolve powder-based makeup. If you are lucky, the makeup with just disappear from your face, but most of the time and with the help of natural facial sweat the makeup will smear all over faces creating a “hot scary summer makeup mess”!!!

2.       Use the best waterproof products

This may seem like a no-brainer from some of you beauty experts out there, but just remember, not all waterproof beauty products are created equal. My favorite line of waterproof makeup is the line AQUA for Make Up For Ever. Whether you want to resist sweat, tears or humidity, this line of makeup really lives up to its promise of being waterproof.

For the Eyes, an absolute must-have from this line is the Aqua Eye Liner Pencil for Make Up For Ever. This will stay on even if you cry through an entire summertime flick like The Fault in Our Stars– ask me how I know!

For mascara, I personally prefer the Waterproof Mascaras from CoverGirls LashBlast. It is inexpensive, doesn’t clump and comes with a wonderful separating wand. With cosmetics it is all about exploring products that work for you, but by sticking to the main principles I suggest to you in this blog, you’ll look great even on the most humid summertime days.

3.       Use cream-based products

Cream-based cosmetics are a blessing from the beauty goddesses for summertime looks! Most cream-based cosmetics are naturally water-proof, so they do not smudge and smear.

For blush, I highly recommend HD Cream Blush for Make Up For Ever, because it is just wonderfully weather resistant.

For eye makeup, try the Aqua Cream Eye Color from Make Up For Ever. This eye makeup is simply amazing, it will even stays on if you take a dip in the pool this summer, so be ready to spend a little extra time removing it before going to bed at night.

And for the lips, I totally love Rosebud Salve. This amazing Lip Balm will make your lips look so beautiful day and night. With out being sticky, greasy or too glossy.

4.        Care for your skin throughout the day

An important part of ensuring the long-term health and appearance of our skin over the years is not just worrying about the cosmetics of the skin, but worrying about the overall health of the skin too! With hot summer sun and humidity, summer can really do a number on our skin if we are not careful.

By using the following two products you can really help keep your skin happy. First off, you probably hear this a lot, but sunscreen is an absolute must if you are going to be out during the day.

For wearing under your makeup, I recommend MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50 which provides protection from the sun and secures the appearance of your makeup.

Next, to help keep our skin glowing, not oily from the humidity, Oil Absorbing Sheets by Clean & Clear are going to be your best friend. These little bad soak up oil, not makeup, so you can keep the skin fresh and blemish free.

5.       Get the Sun-Kissed Glowing Look!

Some of my favorite products to get that amazing Sun-Kissed Glowing look are:

For beautiful glowing highlighting, Skin Illuminator in Copacabana by NARS and

For Toning and enhancing the skin complexion with shimmery incandescence, Skin Illuminator in Laguna by NARS.

6.       Seal the deal!

To finish-off any application of cosmetics during the summer, a setting spray really can make all the difference for avoid smudginess and messiness. Setting sprays helps cosmetics stay put during the summer, and they are great replacement for powders during the summer months. I personally recommend Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray for 4 oz. for most skin types; however, if you would like to find the perfect setting spray for your skin type, I highly recommend reading this article from Allure that briefly goes over different types of setting sprays.

So Long to Summer Smudges!

By following all of these tips it really will make all the difference for the appearance of your cosmetics and your skin’s health. Stay tuned to our blogs for more insider tips from your truly!

The post My Professional Summer Proof Cosmetics’ Picks! appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

Many brides are scared away from summertime weddings due to the hot and humid weather. As a professional wedding hair and makeup artists, I’m here to tell you that we don’t need to fear the elements when it comes to bridal beauty. While we cannot make the heat and humidity go away, we can use it to our advantage when it comes to a perfect bridal look.

The following tips will help you brainstorm exactly what wedding hair and makeup styles you may want for a summertime wedding. Whether you are having a destination wedding or a summer wedding at home, these tips will help control the quality of your wedding hair and makeup during the long, hot summer days.

1. Embrace the Frizzy Style

I know with this one you may think I’m going crazy, but just give me a second to explain. No one likes overly frizzy hairstyles, but there is a way to control frizziness. First off, you need to choose a wedding hairstyle that looks good with a little bit of frizz. Anything too formal will not look good with a little frizz, but looser bridal hairstyles look great with frizz. Some bridal hairstyles I would even argue look better with frizz. By working with a bridal hairstylist like myself, you can figure out exactly what hairstyle will work with your taste and the heat and humidity!

Photo by, tulleandchantilly.com

 2. Keep Your Hair Off the Face and Skin

When the weather is hot and humid, the last thing you want is a bunch of hair on your face and skin. Not only is this uncomfortable, but the sweat off your skin can cause your hair to get wet. Wet, sweaty hair is something we want to avoid in our wedding day if at all possible. Also, when you try to brush your hair away from your face, you can smear and smudge your bridal makeup if you are not careful. For these reasons I highly recommend selecting an bridal up-do or a braid, so that your hair is out the way.

3. Light Makeup

Face powders, dark makeup and caked-on makeup are just not going to work in the hot and humid weather. That is good, because heavy bridal makeup isn’t what you want for an ideal wedding look anyways. What you do want is a more natural, cream-colored makeup. Lighter colors and cream will be your best friend for a summertime ceremony, because it won’t get all icky, runny or melty in the heat. This more natural bridal look will allow your natural beauty to shine through by highlighting your unique, gorgeous face.

4. Waterproof Makeup

The other aspect of makeup to really take advantage of is waterproof makeup. I really recommend the cosmetic line “AQUA” from Makeup For Ever. It is with out a doubt my first pick for waterproof makeup. The great thing about this cosmetic line is it guarantees that water, tears or sweat will not cause the makeup to smudge! Even on the hottest days of summer, you will still have an all natural look sans smudges, smears or any other unsightly marks.

5. Flower Braids

A really hot trend right now in summertime wedding hair is flowery braids. These loose and care-free braids offer a natural look with a fun twist. There are lots of different ways to configure a braid that will look formal enough for a wedding, but whimsical enough to withstand the heat and humidity. Hopefully, some of the sample pictures in my blog will give you an idea of some of the options available for this bridal hairstyle.

Photo by, tulleandchantilly.com 

Photo by, tulleandchantilly.com                                                      Photo by, fashionfemale.net

6. Overall Care-Free Natural Look

Generally, the best bet for summertime weddings is to keep things simple, fun and natural to ensure that humidity, tears and the heat don’t mess up the style of the bride or anyone else in attendance of the wedding. The great thing about care-free looks is that even if it gets a bit messy, it will look like you paid a stylist to cause any frizziness, loose strands, etc. Also, when you have a care-free look you can worry less about what you look like and just let things naturally happen with out falling appart. This will give you the ability to spend more time enjoying your very special wedding day!

Don’t Forget is all About the Summertime Love!

Ultimately, beauty is only on the surface, and yes everyone looks at that. But part of really enjoying a bridal look is feeling really happy and confident about the wedding day. On the day of a wedding there are so many things to be happy about that in the end it won’t matter what season it was! What really will matter are the memories you make and the love you share for the rest of your life. Let me do your hair and makeup for weddings in DC, so that I can join in on the fun!

The post Pro Summertime Wedding Hair and Makeup Tips appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

Hello everyone,

I have been busily preparing for the spring 2014 Fashion Beauty Trend Shows at Nordstrom in the DC, MD and VA areas! I’m really excited to work with models to showcase the latest beauty trends for women in my area who love fashion and beauty as much as I do! Shows like this are one of the many reasons that I love being a part of the fashion beauty industry!

If you love fashion, hair and makeup, these shows are a wonderful chance to attend a fashion show in your local area. And yes! They do take part nationwide.  So grab your girlfriends, sisters, daughters or whoever you know who loves fashion and beauty as much as you do to come see the Beauty Trend shows at a Nordstrom’s near you! As a bonus, these shows are a wonderful excuse to come shop- not that you needed one!

At the Nordstrom Beauty Trend shows, I’m personally working to showcase the latest fashion trends in hair and makeup. Working with twelve different models, twelve different cosmetic lines including Chanel, MAC, Trisha McEvoy, Nars, Bobbi Brown and Yves Saint Lauren will showcase their different cosmetics makeup trends. It is fun work with all these different cosmetics lines! It also gives me a chance to review all the latest products, so I can choose which products I like best to use on my clients. I like using only the best products on my clients, so events like this keep the quality of my beauty tool kit up-to-date.

Events like gives me the ability to showcase the latest fashion trends of the season. Being a hair and makeup artists is not just about applying makeup and styling hair, but one must also keep up with the latest fashions. For this particular fashion show, I looked for inspiration from one of the biggest trend setting events in the world- the Oscars!

We all love watching the glamorous and elegant celebrities walk the red carpets. To me the beauty and fashion of the celebrities is the most interesting part of the show where I do invaluable research for my profession. This year the hairstyles of the celebrities especially inspired me; the hairstyles included waves, side-swept hair, soft curls and informal, girly styles that I just absolutely love. After watching the Oscars I decided I wanted to adapt this style to make it my own to showcase on models at the Fashion Beauty Trend Shows at Nordstrom’s!

Of course, being a creative artist, not a copy-cat, I wanted to add my own twist to the girlie and curly style trends of spring 2014. To make the hairstyle more dramatic and fun, I decided to feature some Wild Faux Hawks and wavy tailored pony tails on some of my models. The Faux Hawk adds a dramatic contrast to the wavy, side-swept style!

I just love spring, so these wonderful hair styles would be a wonderful way to celebrate this beautiful spring weather we are finally having in the Washington D.C. area. What is even more important to me though is that I thought it was a style you, the audience at Nordstrom’s, could adapt to your own everyday style!

For some of you, this may be more than you ever needed to know about my preparations for a beauty show, but for others out there I know you may secretly be reading this wishing to expand or start your career as a hair stylist and/or makeup artist.

Just as a friendly reminder, I do offer continuing education that can help beauty and makeup artist start and expand their careers, so that you could get a chance to do an event like this one. If working with models and the latest fashion trends sounds like something you’d love to do, make sure to check out my Hair Stylists and Makeup Artists Training in Washington, DC. I can help you make your dreams come true to expand your career as long as you are willing to put in the effort!

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When I was very young I was awed by watching my mother do her everyday beauty routine. She’d set a towel on her lap, light a glass candle then begin her beauty ritual. In a way, watching her everyday beauty ritual inspired me to pursue beauty professionally, so practical advice for everyday girls is something that is very close to my heart.

As you all well know, the everyday look is not so simple for many of us, so I needed to divide the everyday looks blog into two parts to cover all the different aspects of makeup. If you haven’t read “Part 1“, you can see it here.

Through my experience in the beauty industry, I’ve learned that what works for the runway, doesn’t necessarily work in the real life, specially when you are trying to do your makeup in the morning. But by choosing mistake proof cosmetics, makeup and techniques you can improve the results of the everyday beauty routine while lowering the stress involved in what it should be an enjoyable experience. This is beauty, it is supposed to make us feel good, beautiful and be fun!

1) Choosing a Blush that Makes You Glow!

In the morning, the last thing most of us want to deal with is creating accurate contours on our face using blush. Besides, the dark bricky and woody blushes required to create crazy contours that will not look so good in the full light of day, or in the unkind unnatural lighting of stores and office buildings.

To adapt to these daytime conditions, we need to choose a blush that makes us look good in the sun or indoor’s lighting. I recommend getting a fruity or flowery hue then applying it not too heavily. These lighter and radiant toned blushes create a rejuvenated, healthy, sun-kissed skin look that will look great for the everyday looks. Try my first pick for mistake proof blush, Orgasm by NARS. It is Beautiful! And for darker skin girls try Super Orgasm by NARS.

2) Low Effort and Fabulous, Healthy Lips!

 
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want is to be worrying about is applying lip liner accurately before I’ve had my first cup of coffee. Not to mention, checking the teeth for any lip makeup smears is not something most of us are worried about when going about our everyday routines. To avoid the stress and smudginess of ill-applied lip makeup, I recommend keeping it as simple, approachable and practical as possible.

The Rosebud Salve available at Sephora is a product that has been along for a long time, because it is just amazing! Many famous celebrities and professional makeup artists like myself just love the subtle sheen and textured that the Rosebud Salve offers. It is extremely easy to apply, and you really would have to try hard to mess up putting on this simple salve. You can easily turn any lip color into a beautiful fresh lip-stain that will look amazing at any time! Give it a try!

3) Do you even need powder?

Some of you lucky, lovely ladies just do not need powder. If you think you may not need powder, just do not wear it! It covers up your beautiful, natural skin that so many of us would just looove to have. If you got it, flaunt it! Don’t hide you natural beauty under a layer of powder.

For many of us though, we need powder to even out the appearance of our skin. For those of us who do need power, let’s make sure that choose one that doesn’t have an icky, shiny, heavy effect. Instead try to select not just a powder but the perfect powder for our face. Before you start trying different powder try HD Microfinsh Pressed Power by Make Up For Ever. This silky, colorless, and ultra fine powder is practically weightless. It leaves the skin glowing and radiant with a finish that looks absolutely natural. I highly recommend!

If your skin is very oily, I highly recommend the use of “Oil blotting paper” before any powder application.

DO NOT apply powder on top of an oily face!

This will only create a big mess by developing a fertile ground for skin irritations. Not to mention an awful cakey skin-makeup look.

This magical tissue paper will absorb any excess of oil from your skin leaving ready for a following powder application.

Conclusion

I really hope that these simple tips and mistake proof cosmetics tips will help you enjoy an everyday beauty routine. By going with what is simple for our everyday looks, we reveal our true ‘inner beauty’. As spring comes for all of us to enjoy in the Western part of the world, we should try to embrace the happiness and optimism of the season with our beauty routine by enhancing the results and lowering the stress involved in this process. To celebrate spring with our blog, stay tuned for some “Cherry Blossom” inspired beauty blogs coming up!!!

Photo Credits, xdesktopwallpapers.com, Orgasm by NARS, Rosebud Salve, HD MicroFinish Powder, Oil Blotting Paper.

The post Mistake Proof Cosmetics for The Everyday Look – Part 2 appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

As a professional makeup artist I’ve worked with runway models, brides and all sorts of fashionistas, but I’ve found the hardest makeup application is for the everyday girl. The everyday girl rushes the moment she hops out of bed. She does not have the time or assistance of a makeup artist to help put on her makeup before she needs to run out the door.

No worries, I am here to help you! Using these basic mistake-proof cosmetics you can easily create an everyday look that doesn’t take up too much time in the morning. They are also easily applied, so you can get your morning beauty routine done with and move on with the rest of your day, looking your best!

1) Start with a Good Moisturizer

Choosing the best moisturizer does not necessarily mean going with the most expensive moisturizer- instead you should be more focused on what works for your skin type. The first thing you need to do when picking out a  moisturizer is figure out your skin type actually is, so you can select a moisturizer that will treat your particular type of skin. Using the wrong type of moisturizer can lead to your skin looking too oily or dry, and either result will make your skin and makeup look bad.

The best way to pick out a good moisturizer is to choose a couple of different types of moisturizers at first. Experimenting with these to see the effect they have on your skin throughout the day. Stick with the moisturizer that leaves your skin feeling and looking the best by the end of the day.  Sephora understands completely this kind of customer’s needs and will provide you with a few free-samples of different moisturizes for you to try on before you purchase.

Image from: EileenMai.com
2) Get a Concealer that Blends Well with Your Skin Tone

It cannot be over-emphasized that you need to find a concealer that matches your skin tone. If you choose one that is to light or dark it will make you look sickly and wrinkly instead of like the ‘Diva’ your really are inside. For some people, this may mean having two different shades of concealer for different seasons, so you may need to get a light and darker concealer for different times of year.

Also, it is important to figure out if the concealer can be easily layered and well blended into the skin, so it doesn’t look like you have makeup caked on your face. I highly recommend Bobby Brown and Studio Fix from MAC these are easy to apply and blend with your natural skin. This way in the morning you can apply your concealer quickly and without worrying too much about spending valuable time blending this into your skin. Remember, you will need to apply this concealer ONLY where you need it. Dark circles, little redness around your nose, that new nasty little pimple.

3) Choosing an Eye Shadow that goes with Your Personal Style

Lately in beauty magazines there has been so much emphasis on the elaborate effects you can get with brightly colored eye shadows. These elaborate applications of eye shadow can be great for going out for a Friday night, but it isn’t exactly something you want to bother with on a Monday morning. That is why for your everyday look I recommend going with a subtle color that brings out the best “inner you”.

Well, you may think that the silvery glittery eye shadow just screams out your name, but usually you want to go with something a little more subtle and versatile that cannot be spotted 50 feet away. Try to choose low saturated color like taupe, light browns, medium browns and mauve to get the best effect. That way when you are getting ready in the morning you don’t have to worry about which eye shadow matches your outfit today, but you stick with your signature eye shadow that will make you look your best any time, any place.

 Getty Images at Glamour.com

4) Mascara to Enhance Your Eyes

I’ve never met a female who hasn’t experienced really messing up their mascara with clumps and smudges. There is nothing worse than spending valuable morning time trying to tame smear and clumped mascara. I really, really dislike clumpy eye lashes, so that is why I use LashBlastVolume from Cover Girl. This is low-budget mascara with a high-quality mascara brush that works wonderfully.

Another important part of mascara is to choose mascara that compliments your hair color. For blondes, I recommend going with a nice shade of dark brown. When blondes wear black mascara, it tends to over-emphasize their eyelashes, and you can really tell that they are wearing mascara. For brunettes and black hair, I recommend black mascara. Anything lighter than black mascara just isn’t going to highlight the natural beauty of their eyes.

Conclusion

By having a set makeup routine you can go through with ease in the morning, you’ll set a good tone for the rest of your day. No one wants to go out the door when they spent their morning wrestling with smudgy mascara, runny eyeliner or cakey foundation!  One of the most important parts of any makeup routine is to remember that it is to make you look and feel beautiful and happy, so try to find products that help make your makeup routine, especially for early mornings, something that is easy, mistake-proof, and fun to do.

Be sure to stay tuned to our blog for part II of “Mistake-Proof Cosmetics for The Everyday Look”.

Photo Credits, xdesktopwallpapers.com, eileenmai.com, BobbiBrown.com, MACCosmetics.com, Getty Images at Glamour.com, LashBlast Mascara CoverGirl.

The post Mistake Proof Cosmetics for The Everyday Look – Part 1 appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

One final view!

It does not matter if you are a Hair Stylist or Makeup Artist, this technique will apply to all stylists and artists working in the beauty industry. Great technique for Runway Shows, Photo Shots, Special events and Galas.

There is nothing better than standing about 7 to 10 feet away from your work and taking a look at it from every angle not only straight on. This will ensure your work will look great to everyone and from every angle.

Take this time for one very important final view and assessment. Analyze your work’s balance, harmony, dimension and over all your creative energy . This will help you see things from a different perspective, from the spectators’ perspective not from the hair stylist’s or makeup artist’s perspective.

This will give you an opportunity to really asses and appreciate your hairstylist and/or makeup artist work, deliver some final touches,  and improve the very final results.

Many hair stylists and makeup artists fail to do this, and it shows on the results of their work, giving a chance to say to themselves,

“OMG! I never noticed that!”, “If I only…”, “Well… next time”.

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“When we think of Valentine’s Day, we think about luscious lips, and we’re not talking about romantic Cinderella here!

There’s nothing more seductive and glamorous than sexy red lips! That is, of course, if we take the right approach. No blue tints, no orange hints – using a TRUE RED lip color is the key!

MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick is one of the best “Reds” you could ever find. Matte, Velvety and long lasting, it is a must-have in any makeup artist’s kit. Wonderful for Runway, and Bridal Makeup as well.

To stir things up, dress it up with MAC Lustreglass in LustreWhite – this will make your lips sparkle like crystal cherries! Or, for irresistible gloss and shine, glaze it up with MAC VivaGlam Lipglass in Rihanna. Your lips will glisten and dazzle into the night!

Red Lips MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick.

Red Lips MAC Ruby Woo
On Left, MAC LustreGlass in LustreWhite. On Right MAC VivaGlam LipGlass in Rihanna.

WARNING: Follow these steps at your own risk – This last combination will really HEAT THINGS UP!

I would also like to mention that every cent in the selling price of the VIVAGLAM line goes toward helping women, men and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Happy San Valentines, Sexy You!

The post Runway Red Lips, for a Sexy San Valentine’s Day! appeared first on Audrey Bethards..

“Welcome to our Grand Opening”

So finally we are here and this would be my very first blog post of many to come.
After so much research, work and headache the day to reveal my new website is here and I can not believe it is actually finish!
About 15 years ago I built and designed my first hair stylist and makeup artist website. Back in 1998 it was an accomplishment and back then, it was a “state of the art” in design and efficiency. But over the past few years my site needed not only a “Face Lift”, but a “Tummy Tuck”, “Liposuction” and a very serious “Chemical Peel”! Technologically speaking, I needed a more powerful platform, faster server and a total redesign. Basically, I needed an entire new website.
So I put all my hair brushes and makeup stuff on the side, worked hard on this website jumped on the HTML and CSS files and here it is.

I can not believe I have finally finished it and to only think that I made it myself!
Welcome to the “Grand Opening” of my new mymakeupbook.com !

I hope you enjoy it,

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