The Retro Bride

Marcelle Double Precision Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Intense Black

Maybelline Great Lash waterproof mascara in Very Black

Ardell human hair falsies in 116

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Black/Gray

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Corallina

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Sephora lip liner in Real Red

ELF Moisturizing Lipstick in Velvet Rope

Here it is, the bridal look you've all been waiting for. One of my favourite looks for regular life, truth be told. It's the classic vintage cat-eye liner with a bright red lip. I already know this works on me, I wear it all the time. It's just a very clean face kind of look where the focus is on the eyes and lips. For my wedding, I would probably kick it up a notch with an even thicker eyeliner, more highlighting shimmer shadow on the lids, and a deeper and peachier blush to tie it all together. 

If you compare the last two images, you might notice the last photo has much longer and fuller lashes. I couldn't decide if this look really needed falsies or not so I'm asking you guys what you think. On the one hand, falsies really add such a feminine, striking touch to any look and I think your wedding is where you can really go all the way in the makeup department. But on the other hand, falsies might take over the eyeliner, which is a key feature I would really want to highlight.

Either way, this is one of my staple makeup looks that I would definitely be confident creating on my wedding day. I think this look is making it to the finals!

                                                 

Bridal Glam

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black

Sephora Collection Medium Shopping Bag Makeup Palette

Ardell Glamour Demi falsies in 101

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Annabelle lip liner in Nude

NYX Pump It Up lip plumper in Elizabeth

I have to say...

I LOVE THIS LOOK. I am not normally a smokey eye kinda gal. It looks a bit heavy in person but it photographs so beautifully, which is the main thing I'm concerned about for my bridal look. It probably helped that I used a combo of taupey and deep browns instead of straight up black, but the effect is so striking (if I do say so myself!) And you can tell by the second photo I definitely need to practice more...the shadow application is a bit uneven from lid to lid and check out those wonky falsies! Anyway, you get the idea...

I would definitely pair this eye look with a more muted lip and go light on the blush. This look is all about the eyes! And I gotta say, I love how the shadow and eyelashes accent the almondness of my eyes. I've always loved my eyes, they are one of my favourite features.

No doubt about it, look number 2 is making it to the wedding finals!
                                                                

Classic Bridal Makeup

Frockers, as you may or may not know by now, wedding bells will be tolling for me in about a year and I'm knee-deep planning. We're going to tie the knot in Vancouver since both of our families live out west and I've spent the past two months researching for a venue that 1) fits into our $10,000 total budget and 2) will do as much work for me as humanly possible for what I understand is a very small budget. Naturally, our little destination wedding will be a lot more complicated to plan since we're on the other side of the country and can't meet with vendors, venues, caterers etc. I used to live in Vancouver, but I didn't exactly frequent wedding venues on the regular. I just really wanted to find a place that's hassle-free and an all-inclusive kind of a deal so that any additional work on our part would be minimized.

Well, we've just booked a lovely little historical house turned restaurant called the Brockhouse, situated right along Jericho beach in the heart of VanCity. Their garden and lawns seem very lovely, their tent will come pre-decorated with drapey ceilings and chandeliers, they'll play classical music during lunch, provide all the tables and chairs, linens, silverware, food, servers....we practically just have to show up! And since we're reserving during the shoulder season, the price is one of the cheapest I've been able to find anywhere in the city! Even though we haven't actually visited the site yet, we were pretty confident to just sign the contract and visit later. Since we got engaged, the venue was the main thing I was concerned with since the intersect of my requirements (see above) didn't leave very many viable options. Now that the venue is booked, I feel like the biggest chunk of the puzzle has been figured out and I can start solving the smaller (and more fun) parts. 

LIKE MAKEUP! We're trying to save money wherever we can and nearly everything that's not taken care of by the venue will probably be a DIY job. However, before committing to the whole DIY makeup thing, I do think I'll need to practice, test and experiment, and that's where you Frockers could help me out. I'd love to post the makeup looks I'm considering for your feedback and tips! Let me know what you think looks good cause that'll really help me figure out if 1) I'm good enough to really be doing this on my own and 2) what would look the best on the big day. I haven't gotten a dress yet and don't really know what style I'm going to go for, which will really affect my final styling decisions, but I gotta start practicing now! Y'all may think I'm some kinda makeup guru-expert with tons of beauty know-how, but what you don't see on the blog (or in life for that matter) are all my failed attempts and terrible decisions. Really the only reason I'm remotely confident enough to walk out the door with any makeup on are a couple of undeniable facts on which I guide my makeup life: it's all about experimenting and finding out what works for you.

This first look is what I like to call the "classic bridal" look. It's a soft goldish-brown, muted smokey eye with some shimmer to it, paired with a nude-blush lipstick. I also slapped on some BB cream, powder and blush, but did not bother to do anything with my lashes (imagine I'm wearing some natural-looking falsies.) Mostly, I just wanted to test the eye shadow look and what kind of a lip would look good with it.

And I gotta say, I impressed myself with this attempt. I've tried this look before and it has never turned out this well. Maybe it was the several YouTube videos I watched right before trying this, but I really like how it looks. It feels like just a soft and pretty smokey eye. It's noticeably more made up than I normally would be, but not too harsh or vampy. Apologies for the weird lighting, I was sitting in front of the window and there's a bit of a glare. Also, shout out to the broken closet door behind me! I don't know if you guys can tell, but apparently, I'm super strong cause I broke the door by just attempting to close it. HULK SMASH.

Anyway....so what do you guys think? Should I put this look in the bridal makeup running?

Sephora Collection Mini Shopping Bag Makeup Palette
Annabelle Trio Eye Shadow in Quartz (just the darkest colour)
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige

Jane Iredale Amazing Base Loose Mineral Powder in Bisque

ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen

Benefit Watts Up higlighter in Soft Focus

Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Nude Delight

L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick in Nature's Blush

                                                                            

Tropical Dream

I was inspired recently by a pair of lia sophia earrings (called "Flamenco" no less) to go a little bit tropical, a little bit wild and a little bit electric in terms of a makeup look. And I'm loving it! There's nothing more fun in the summer than packing on tons of colours, whether it's your hair, your clothes, your makeup or your salad! Here's a quick how-to:

Prime your lids and dust a nude/beige base shadow all over before applying colour. Start with a really bright emerald green (shimmery or matte, I went with shimmer) and cover your entire lid going passed your outer lashes by just a bit. Follow with a bright royal blue (can be shimmery or matte, I went with matte) just on the outer half of your lid on top of the green. I also dabbed on a bit of a navy blue with sparkles on top but just a touch. Don't worry about it being messy at this stage, you just need to get the colour on there.

If this is as crazy as you're feeling, you can start blending the blue with the green where they meet and blending out the edges so they aren't as harsh and call it day. Or you can keep going and also line your lower lash line with the same colours (green on the inner half and blue on the outer half) and dab a bit of light green shimmery shadow on the inside corner of your eyes as a highlighter. This is where I stopped for my look, but if you're really feeling like standing out, finish with some black liner on your upper and lower lash line and a few coats of mascara before topping off the earring-inspired look with a bright fuchsia lip colour.

lia sophia earrings
Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Fuchsia Fusion
Sephora Collection Medium Shopping Bag Makeup Palette
                                                         

Midnight Lace

When is lace more appropriate to wear than during the holiday season? We've said it once and we'll say it again, the holidays are for going glam or going home! Maybe don't pull out all the stops at grandma's Christmas dinner and instead, save your stunning lace number for that New Year's Eve party. It's classic, it's pretty, it's 50 kinds of sexy. Just add a dash of sparkle with some jewelry or a chic headband and we're ready to ring in the New Year!

Photos by Michael Vesia

On Jackie: Costa Blanca dress/Aldo, Simons rings/Delilah earrings/Sephora Cream Lipstain in No.01 and Sephora Rouge Shine lipstick in No.07
On Debbie: Unknown dress/Joe Fresh belt/Expression (The Bay) headband and ring
                                                                 

Lip Service

Sometimes a good lipstick is the best accessory. Whether you're blessed with a plump pucker or a slimmer kisser, adding a punch of colour to the ol' lips is one of my favourite ways to add interest to any outfit.

If you're new to lipstick, a nice pink or berry is an excellent place to start your new lip-tastic adventure!

1. Revlon Super Lustrous in Fushia Fusion
2. Revlon Super Lustrous in Berry Rich
3. Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Windsor Rose
4. Sephora Color Lip Last in Rose Bouquet

If you want to go more bold, there's nothing I love more than a rich red or coral.

1. Sephora Rouge Creme in The Red
2. Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Royal Red
3. Revlon Super Lustrous in Kiss Me Coral
4. Rimmel Moisture Renew in Coral Chic

What are some of your favourite lipsticks?
                                                               

The Eyes Have It

Photos by Kyler Kelly

Classic smokey eye with a colourful twist!

1. Apply primer onto lids with fingertips

2. Sweep a light metallic green shadow across entire lid

2. Dust a metallic emerald green shadow onto the lash line and blend outwards

3. Using an eye contouring brush, dust a matte evergreen shadow onto the outside corner of the eye and extend slightly up and outwards

4. Blend, blend, blend!

5. Line upper and lower lashline with black liquid liner

6. Finish with one or two coats of black mascara

- Sephora Collection Medium Shopping Bag Makeup Palette

- Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer PRO

- Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper

- Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Mascara in Glam Black