Artistry, of the Hair and Makeup Variety

Of the many things that I love about my appearance, perhaps my very favorite physical features are my eyes and my hair.  Nearly every time I look in the mirror, I notice one or both of those and I can't help but smile at my reflection.  It's not vanity, and I hope it doesn't come across that way.  It's just that I truly believe everyone should have aspects of themselves (physical, relational, emotional, intellectual, etc.) that they can acknowledge as strong, positive features (even if, at times ,it's simultaneous with with less positive features - for instance my acne-prone skin).

So, given this love affair I have with my eyes and hair, you'd think I'd have spent more time considering my wedding hair and makeup.  But, in actuality, I had one very brief moment of hair inspiration and zero ideas about makeup.  I don't know if it was anxiety or just feeling overwhelmed with other stuff, but I showed up to my trial session with one inspiration picture and almost no ability to articulate what I was looking for.  Thankfully my amazing hair and makeup artist Lucy Flint knew just what questions to ask to get a sense of my wedding day vision, and then she began to work her magic.  (Side note: She even continued with said magic as the building was rocked by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake.  That's running a business in the Bay Area for ya!)

Over the course of a few hours we tried out a makeup look, with and without false lashes, and two different hairstyles.  I was so pleased, relieved, and excited about how great everything turned out that I wanted to go back for a second trial to do a bit of a different hair version.  You know how I love me some options!

Forgive the poor lighting - it was dark by the time we finished.

{half-up hairstyle, makeup with no lashes, and post-work sleepy eyes}

{low messy side bun, with lashes}

{with the headband}

From this trial I learned that even relatively heavy makeup can look quite light in pictures, so we're going to pump up the eyes and lips a bit on the wedding day until it looks just right in our photographs.  Also, I am absolutely going with the false lashes because they looked amazing!  Lastly, although the low side bun was oh-so-lovely, I realized that I really had my heart set on a half-up hairstyle.  The only uncertainty I had was about those frizzies along my hairline.  Hmm...

So today I returned, complete with updated hair color, to try a curlier look.

{curlier half-up 'do, my regular makeup}

Ignoring the crazy curl wisps escaping on the top of my head (which we'll smooth down in the final look), I'm thinking I like the curlier style better.  The frizzies are still there, but they're much less noticeable.  Also, this style probably has a better chance of making it through the night without becoming a frizzball since my curls weren't brushed out (as they were in my initial trial).  Mostly though, this whole look just feels a little more "me."

The only thing I'm now trying to decide is how much to pull my hair over my forehead.  The sideswept hair is very different from how I normally wear my hair, so it feels more special.

Whereas I think the pinned-back hair opens up my face more.

I'm leaning towards the side-swept hair, but if anyone has a reality check for me please let me know!  Otherwise, I'm feeling great about how my beloved eyes and hair will be showcased on our wedding day.  Yay!

I feel so grateful that I somehow stumbled across an incredible hair and make-up artist who is talented, responsive, patient, and so much fun to be around.  What more could I ask for?!  Unfortunately for my Bay Area brides, Lucy is moving to New York in January.  But good news NY brides - you have an amazing resource headed your way soon!

Would you ever consider ponying up the cash for a second trial?  Why or why not?