BBC Review: Lauren P

I can't believe I waited so long to review BBC!

Krystyn and Samara did my hair and makeup for my April 2010 wedding. I found them online, I think just through a google search, or maybe it was on the Knot, I really don't remember. Anyway, as soon as I saw their portfolio I knew they would be PERFECT for me. I had originally wanted to wear my hair down but realized I wouldn't be able to stand it, so I was looking for a simple, pretty, slightly messy sort of up do. I could tell just by looking at the photos that they would definitely get it. As for the makeup, I *loved* how all the girls on their site looked ethereal and natural, not 'bridey' at all.

I had my trial back in February when my mom and sister were in town- they were also getting hair and makeup for the big day, but only my mom had a trial. It took some playing around with my makeup to get the colors just right, but once Krystyn did, it was great. Same goes for the hair- I showed Samara a picture I liked and she did a great job of adapting it to suit me.

When the big day came, they were not only prompt, they were actually early! They're both so cool and fun to hang out with, so that helps with those wedding-day jitters. Everything went very smoothly. . . I kind of think both the hair and makeup were a little different than at the trial, but I looked hot, so who cares? But if you're super picky about that, my advice is to take lots of pictures and bring them with you that day. My sister had taken a bunch at the trial but left them at home. In Connecticut.

Highly, HIGHLY recommended!!!

BBC NOTE: Lauren is the owner of the fabulous Rich Chocolates & Candies She has been featured in Daily Candy, Time Out Chicago, The Red Eye, The Tribune and the Chicago Reader! For "Specialty Sweets for Grown-ups" check out www.RichChocolates.com and tell Lauren BBC sent you!

Meet: Tara

MAKEUP: KRYSTYN
Well, what can we say about Tara other than we loved her from the moment we met her! And we loved her even more when she pulled out Kim Kardashian reference pics for makeup and had visions of braids inspired by Jessica Alba! Tara is half Caucasian and half Indian which made for a beautiful olive colored, flawless complexion. Normally Tara wears very little foundation as she has nearly perfect skin and she likes to play up her eyes.





So I used my OCC airbrush foundation, but applied it by hand by buffing it into her skin with a MAC 187 skunk brush. She said that she wanted Kim’s signature smokey eye and she was open to incorporating some color as her wedding colors are white and green. Excited to have the opportunity to play with colors, I got out my Yaby “Best of Both Worlds” palette and lightly applied Psychedelic Caterpillar and Spring Garden pearl paints. I then popped a little MAC Satin Taupe in the corner and crease and then lined all the way around her eye with MAC’s Kohl pencil in Smolder. And of course, Kim Kardashian's signature smokey eye would not be complete without lashes…tons and tones of lashes! I blended Ardell cluster lashes in with Tara’s natural lashes to create Kim’s dramatic, feathery lashes. To complete the look, I used a bronzer instead of blush on Tara and finished it off with a slightly nude lip. The end result was a beautiful modern, bridal look with a hint of color-definitely one of my favorite looks thus far!

HAIR: SAMARA
For Her Hair, she knew exactly what she wanted. Jessica Alba's Oscar braids!

Being a fan of braids myself and the carefree feel that they add to any hairstyle, I was on board. Tara described her every day hair as simple, opting for a messy bun most days. She didn't want her hair to look forced or too far removed from her everyday but the appeal of soft waves and french braids seemed to make her happy. We decided to pull a few loose strands to add softness to Tara's face. I intertwined some of the braids into Tara's bun to add a little something extra and to tie the whole look together.



We can't help but say... She looks pretty awesome. She was so happy with what we did, and that is the best compliment to our work. We love taking a brides vision and making it into a reality.

BBC Review: Rebecca V.

Awesome! Krystyn and Samara are the bee's knees. I used them for my June 2010 wedding.

The trial went so smoothly - they came to my place and helped me find my style since I really never have had one of my own. They were even tolerant of my cat playing with all of their gear :)

They day of the wedding, they were prompt and cheery even though it was 6am. All of my ladies looked gorgeous. I had a slight change on my makeup and it was not a problem. In fact, everything looked so good that my mom and my new MIL decided to jump on the bandwagon... Samara and Krystyn had no problem making time for them. They were able to make both our moms and us look fantastic while keeping true to our natural styles.

My hair stayed put all day - even though it was raining! My makeup did not run, even though I was positive it would with the rain. It did not look greasy and held up very well. Also, their prices are a steal for the work that they do. I would recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone looking for hair/makeup for their wedding. Love love love!

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.

Joyce Ko

I met Joyce through one of our brides from last year. I knew i we clicked when i found myself spending extra time combing out her curls during our trial just so the conversation lasted a bit longer. This is what takes my job from enjoyable, to "I can't believe i get paid to do this!" Joyce was sweet and sincere from our first meeting and waking up on Sunday to make my way to her hotel was nothing short of a drive filled with excitement.

Here we are enjoying the beauty of the back comb! You can't look awesome before you look a little... not so awesome.


Her beautiful bridesmaids






and the beautiful bride...





And the veil put in by her beautiful mother.



Such a beautiful Sunday and such a beautiful bride. I wish you the best Joyce and it was an honor to be a part of your day.

Meet: Christina

It has been a busy may for Krystyn and I. I bought my first house and attempted to move in and Krystyn has been rocking it in the makeup world shooting a training video for ULTA and a reality show that will be on Oprah's new network. So mix that with the start of wedding season and trial runs for our summer brides, and you have one hectic month!

Yesterday, we had an appointment to meet Christina-a bride who was referred to us by one of our past brides (we love when that happens) and whose wedding is just around the corner. Right off the bat we took notice of Christina's laid back personality and obvious non-amusement with the craziness of planning a wedding. We got to talking about her goals for the overall feel of her wedding and her words to describe her wedding were "Urban", "Laid Back", and "Modern." Basically, she is our kind of bride!

For her hair, she wanted something low (really low) on her neck and for her to maintain her usual side part. She did not want her hair to be too "fussy" or "traditional" since there would be no veil, but she wanted a hair piece of some sort to bride it up a bit. I wanted to keep it soft, meaning i didn't want the overall style to look slick and shiny because that wouldn't have reflected Christina's overall feel she was going for. Having it softer in texture easily makes it more modern. I also brought with me, a few hair clips to pin in her hair so that she could get an idea of the style with a little clip as she wanted, and she ended up loving the two cloth flower pins i had and will be using them on her big day! (Thank you Forever 21!)




This is what we decided to go with and I have to say... I LOVE IT...and so did she! Modern, but not over the top. Understated but still interesting, and to top it all off, Christina was a happy girl and was all smiles for the rest of our time together.

Because of the lighting, the pictures of the makeup didnt turn out all that well. However, we will be sure to take lots of pictures on the day of Christina's wedding! So stay tuned!!!

TREND ALERT: Pull it back baby!

Last year it was a, hands down, “loose curls” kind of year. I walked into most weddings prepared to recreate the loose soft styles of Taylor Swift and Eva Longoria on about half of the wedding party. Brides and bridesmaids alike were going crazy for these effortless soft styles that guaranteed a flattering look, with a dressy feel.



I don’t think that trend has played itself out yet, however I am very excited to see the loose, face framing styles being pulled back in the most glamorous way! I think the key to this look is the softness of it. You still have those loose effortless waves but by pulling it back, your look becomes more elegant, sophisticated, and dare I say… sexy!!!

These are my favorite looks that I saw showcased on this year’s red carpet that could be the perfect look for both bride and bridesmaid who wants to step it up a notch.

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

MEET THE FACE BEHIND THE CAN OF HAIRSPRAY!

20 Random Things About Samara


1. I hate the sound of plastic bags, especially the ones you get your deli cheese in.
2. I pretend i am on a cooking show when i cook.
3. When i was little i lied on my eye exam because i thought it was awesome to have glasses.
4. I hate scary movies.
5. I eat popcorn almost every single day.
6. I am half Mexican but no one ever guesses that.
7. I regularly get carded for rated R movies.
8. I started dating, got engaged and got married to my husband all in the same year.
9. I was raised in a house with one bathroom (I have a family of 6).
10. I hate cheese, and milk, sour cream, and cream cheese.
11. I hate socks.
12. I love car washes, especially if I have a snack.
13. I used to want to be a truck driver but that didn't last long.
14. As a kid I never dressed up for Halloween.
15. I love thunderstorms.
16. I love the smell of clean laundry.
17. I usually start books but never finish them.
18. When people chew ice it makes my teeth hurt.
19. I eat banana baby food.
20. I rode a bull, be jealous.