Meet: Wendy

We are in full wedding season ladies and gentlemen! Krystyn and I have been running all over the Chicago-land area beautifying brides! We need personal drivers we decided so that we can read People magazine instead of sitting in traffic. Today we had an appointment to meet Wendy. Wendy found us via a Google search and was excited to come across our site as she said that every other website she came across was too "prom-y".

As we down with Wendy at her table and discussed her wedding and how she wanted to look and feel, the words she used were "simple elegance." We already liked where this was going. Her wedding (in 29 days!) that she described was romantic and intimate with pops of the bride and groom's personality (Blue & Orange colors a tribute to the grooms's and Krystyn's alum, University of Illinois...GO BLUE!) with Tuscan inspirations for the centerpieces and cuisine.

HAIR: Samara
For her hair, she was drawn to a picture of a bride on our website with beautiful and intricate detailing accented with a simple red rose. There are so many different ways to style hair and I really do pull from inspiration words to come up with a look for a bride. "Soft," "romantic," "classic" played over and over in my head. I set her hair to start off with so that the curls maintained their shape after i backcombed and brushed it. A good set can make hair so easy to mold and shape. After I pulled out the curls and had everything teased I began pinning. There isn't a real specific method to what I did here. It is all about having a vision, working with what the hair is letting you do, and trusting the basic skills and know how that I have collected over the years. We modified the front a bit to give her a little softness with the loose pieces falling down (random and asymmetrical so that the style looks effortless and not forced)and she brought in the rose for the icing on the cake.







MAKEUP: Krystyn
Wendy was the ideal bride when it came to collaboratively coming up with a look for her wedding! She doesn't wear much makeup on a daily basis and she said that she wants to look "made up" just not overly "made up". Her only real request was lashes...lots of lashes (which I was happy to oblige as I feel lashes complete the look and they look amazing in pictures). After getting to know Wendy a bit and reviewing a few reference pictures, we came up with a look which I would like to call "effortlessly glamorous". This look consisted of a light, shimmery smokey eye (eyeshadows: Kitten by Stila, Antiqued by MAC and Satin Taupe by MAC) and lots and lots of individual lashes. Wendy said that if she wears lipstick, it is usually just a shade darker than her natural lip color. However, I really wanted to play up her beautiful, full lips (I love it when brides say "I trust you" and give me free reign to play) and so I customized a beautiful gloss which I did by mixing two shades by Yaby and a coat of clear gloss on top. To complete the look, I added some bronzer and highlighter to give her that beautiful, red carpet glow!







Isn't she beautiful?!?! When we were finished she was beaming and we couldn't pull her away from the mirror! You can't get a better compliment than that. We absolutely loved meeting Wendy tonight. Today we walked away feeling great about what we did and what we do. Working with brides isn't always easy but its worth it to see their faces filled with such joy.

Introduction pt 2

I feel like there is a lot of pressure for a "first post" of the re-launch of our blog. Do we start off the bat with tips, trends, and pictures of our work? Or do we try and win you over with an introduction piece, with fancy words and phrases that make you feel desperate to learn more about these girls?

We wanted to have a blog to share with all of our brides, colleagues in the wedding world, and random readers who stumbled on a hair and makeup site what goes on in our heads. We want to share what its like to go on a trial session with a bride, what a Saturday is like during wedding season. To keep you posted with special projects we are working on, Share our favorite looks and tips, and whatever else we feel you need to know about us, bridal hair and makeup, and beauty in general.

We have a different approach than most people. We are inspired by fashion and red carpet looks and do not believe that every bride needs to look like a... well...traditional bride, but more the best version of herself. We respect the rules of tradition but respectfully break them when needed to achieve a bride’s best look, hands down.

We love to create. We love to meet new people. We love what we do and think we are pretty dang good at it. So we are trying to share the love and make what we do accessible to those interested in a different approach with a jaw dropping result. So stay tuned for an inside look into our beauty brains and what it’s like to be a brides beauty guru.

MEET THE FACE BEHIND THE BLENDING BRUSH!

Bridal Beauty Chicago's Lead Makeup Artist, Krystyn Johnson



20 Randoms Things About Krystyn


1. Kristin is my real name, however Krystyn is my makeup alter ego
2. I eat pizza with ketchup and ranch dressing
3. I never took drivers ed or the exam but yet I have my license
4. I have a cat, Lourdes, who I named after Madonna's daughter
5. I want to be Oprah when I grow up
6. I can write backwards in cursive-so that you have to hold it up to a mirror to read it
7. My first TV/Movie crush was Atreyu from the Never Ending Story
8. I can not eat meat off a bone with my teeth
9. I can not wear mittens-they make me feel extremely claustrophobic and can trigger an anxiety attack
10. I love making lists....especially on notecards
11. I am a true Capricorn
12. I am a work in progress...I am perfectly imperfect
13. My father is often mistaken for Lionel Ritchie...I've never been mistaken for Nicole Ritchie
14. I am a deeply spiritual person and following the teachings of the Science of Mind (NOT to be confused with Scientology)
15. I would like to train to run a marathon....I've got a long way to go since I can barely run a mile...ok, maybe a 1/2 marathon
16. I once had my lights turned off in college because I spent my electricity bill money buying Makeup
17. I worked for 5 years as a Sales Manager in the hotel industry before I decided to pursue a career as a Makeup Artist
18. I talk to my mom on the phone at least twice a day
19. My favorite snacks are pretzels dipped in mustard, apple & cheese slices and blueberries and almonds
20. As a child, I use to hate making up my bed. So I would just go to sleep on top of the already made bed using a sheet to cover me. When I got out of bed, I would stuff the sheet underneath the mattress. Now the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is make my bed