Wedding Day Makeup

This week we are going back to our wedding theme for the blog and we are doing a post on wedding day makeup. We have been practicing different looks on Nicole for her wedding day and we have come up with a very soft and natural look for her. I will be doing her makeup and hair on the big day so I want to practice lots to perfect the look so today we will share my step by step guide to this look that we have created for her. Enjoy!

If you like this look that we are about to do and you have a different skin tone than Nicole just use a shade darker or pick shades of the colours that I use that better suit you.

First off we gathered the supplies that we needed. 

Then we prepped the skin. So we cleansed, then used blotting paper to get rid of the excess shine and oil (Nicole has a problem with this when it comes to her eyes, I will explain further later on). Then after this we moisturized. Allow the moisturizer to set for about 3 minutes.

After moisturizing I primed her skin with a green primer which helps mask any redness. Priming the skin when you are wearing makeup all day for an event is good because it helps your makeup last longer. Allow the primer to set for another 3 minutes. 

I used a foundation brush to apply her foundation next. Make sure you blend, blend, blend! If you have any red marks or blemishes then you’ll want to conceal now. I have a green one to use on Nicole because the green concealer will counteract the redness. Then set the foundation with a little bit of powder which helps hide the shine as well.

Next we focused on the eyes. Nicole has oily eyelids which is a bit of a problems because it causes the eye shadow to gather in the crease and spread funny after a short amount of time. We tried a NXY eyeshadow base today on one eye and then I used the green concealer on the other eye to see if we can figure out this problem. We have been trying different things and so far nothing has really worked.

After we let the primer and concealer set, I put on a light shade of eyeshadow all over the eyelid.

Then I put on a light shimmery pink layer.

After that in the crease I blended a matte chocolaty brown. Use a fluffy blending brush and blend like crazy into the crease. Once that is done use that light shade again and blend/smooth out the edges.

For the liner, I used a brown pencil that she had to outline and then I used the darkest brown shade in her palette and brushed that in over top. I smoothed and buffed that in with a smudge brush to soften the look.

Next I curled her eyelashes and put on black mascara on the top and clear on the bottom lashes. Remember to use waterproof because I’m sure there will be some tears on the wedding day.

Lips are next. I used a nude colour to outline her lips and then lightly filled in her lips with this shade. Over top of this I put on a pinky brown shiny lip shimmer and then over top of that we used a clear gloss to make things shiny.

Last but not least, blush! You just want to use a little bit on the cheeks and then on the nose and chin.

And there you have it, a soft bridal look.

How to Plan a Bridal Shower

I apologize for not getting the blog done for last week. I was kinda busy and this is why...Last Saturday I threw Nicole a bridal shower. Since I am the maid-of-honor, I took the lead with the planning and of course had a helpful bridesmaid and mother to help me along the way. I didn’t realize how much stuff there is to do when planning a bridal shower. It’s like a mini-wedding planning this event. So I’ve put together a Samantha guide to planning a bridal shower and now I will share it with you.

First things first, you have to come up with a guest list which keeps on getting bigger and of course the venue stays the same size. Then you have to invite everyone. If it was a smaller shower, I would say make invitations and send them out, which was what I was planning to do, but when the numbers start rising, it is way easier to email those who have email addresses and phone those who don’t. You can even make a special bridal shower folder in your email to keep things organized. You can still make an email invite look pretty with the help of fancy fonts and cute clip art, plus you’ll save on postage and will most likely get a quick response. Here is a cute shower invite that we created in the past for inspiration if you’re planning on making invites though.

Secondly, I came up with a venue. The smaller the shower, the better because you will be able to find a more interesting venue, but if you do have a large guest list, like I do with 30 ladies coming, you will have to pick somewhere that is a bit more spacious. I picked my grandma’s house because her house has more open space, but my numbers kept rising so I was worried about people being squished, but we all fit in perfectly and people were moving throughout the kitchen and dining area as well.

Next, I came up with a theme. Some people will go all out and get really into the theme, but I kept it simple and had a mini-theme. Nicole loves tea, so we are did a tea party with lots of treats and tea of course, but I have seen all sorts of themes in my planning process.

Décor can be as elaborate or simple as you want. Again, I kept mine simple so that it is easy to put up and to take down and easy to make. We made purple heart chain garlands (which we did a tutorial for Valentine’s Day), purple heart confetti, cute flower holders, we bought purple and white garland and decorated with that and I also bought a bridal banner and balloons! I put together the center pieces using some glass vases that my grandma had and then I arranged flowers in it that I bought from the store the day before. Oh, and I also made a menu that I printed on cardstock and decorated with hearts and I made name cards for the tea and fruit too.

http://paperwhitecreations.blogspot.ca/2013/09/birthday-themes.html

http://paperwhitecreations.blogspot.ca/2015/02/how-to-make-valentines-decorations.html 

Most importantly when planning a bridal shower or any party, is the food! We served desserts with tea. I had been baking for weeks. Many things were able to be frozen so I did that carefully. I made cookies, loafs, and squares in advance. I made chocolate mousse and lemon squares closer to the event. Plus I put together a fruit platter and dip for the day of as well; we needed something healthy, haha. I also made homemade fudge as a favor to give to all of the ladies. We made little purple thank you cards to go along with that. I decided on three types of tea to serve in fancy tea pots, Earl Grey (Nicole’s favourite), Green Tea for those who like herbal teas, and Orange Pekoe. I also had coffee for the coffee drinkers, juice for any kids that show up (there were two), and a couple of different teas that people could make on their own if they really don’t like the choices that I had for them.

Lastly, are the bridal shower games. I looked online and found some interesting and fun looking games. The toilet paper wedding dress thing never really amused me much and I don’t like the idea of wasting all that toilet paper so we axed that one, but you can do whatever floats your boat. I came up with a version of bridal shower bingo. We punched a bunch of purple hearts out to use as markers and then came up with a list of words to put into the squares. We had a a discovery game, a couple of purse games (memory and things you have in your purse), memory lane, words of wisdom, what is the bride thinking, who would do the task, wedding-libs, and of course the clothespin game. For the clothespin game we decorated plain clothespins to make them look a little prettier and purpler. The afternoon progressed quite quickly. I didn’t really think about how long opening presents would be so that cut into our game time. We didn’t get to all of the games, but now Nicole has some to use for my future shower, haha.

So that is my journey and guide to planning a wedding shower for my best friend Nicole. I hope she liked it and that everybody had a good time!

Springtime Dessert

This week we are going to make a yummy springtime dessert. Strawberry shortcake is so refreshing and delicious. I have only had the store bought spongy cake version that is a little cup that you fill with strawberries and top with whipped cream. Nicole told me about the different version, the “real” version, that she usually, so I found a recipe in my favorite recipe book and we are going to make a real version of strawberry shortcake for you today. 

Strawberry Shortcakes 

2 cups flour

5 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

8 tbsp. butter

2/3 cup half and half

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Whipped cream

Basically for the fruit, we just cut fresh strawberries up. You can put them in a sugar syrup if you like, but we kept it simple.

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the flour, 3 tbsp. of the sugar, baking powder, and salt together in the food processor for 3 pulses. Sprinkle the butter pieces over the top and pulse until the mixture looks likes coarse cornmeal.

Transfer into a large bowl. Whisk the half and half and the egg together, then stir into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. 

Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough come together, about 30 seconds. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. And then stamp out the shortcakes, you can use a glass or biscuit cutter. 

Arrange the shortcakes on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1 1/2inches apart. Brush the tops with the egg white and sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp. of sugar. Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. 

Let them cool and then put them together and eat.

And now here are some picture steps of us making them...

Yummy!