Janna Pastin on Location!

It was SO MUCH FUN to work with Amber Beckham on a photoshoot.  She's beyond fabulously talented and is my favorite photographer (in case you couldn't already tell!) and I loved working with her behind her lens!  


Janna is absolutely stunning inside and out.  She is a gifted speaker, writer, life coach, teacher, coach in leading worship, and worship leader herself!  She's also one of my best friends and her friendship & encouragement is priceless.  When she contacted me about styling her for this photo shoot, I was ecstatic!  I did her hair & makeup, as well as some wardrobe consultation.  I also went with her on the shoot to change looks, do touch ups, and just watch Amber in action.  We had a blast!!!  I was honored to be a part of it, ladies!! 


All photos by Amber Beckham Photography:

Laura's Birthday bash...

My fabulous sister (and hairstylist SUPERSTAR) Laura was celebrating her birthday--a night out with her friends for dinner--and I gave her "hair and make-up services" as part of her birthday present.  We had a blast!!  She really wanted bronze on her eyes...


I used a combo of many different eyeshadows for a custom blend.  Some of the colors I used were MAC in Amber Lights & Woodwinked, and Bare Minerals in Sex Kitten and Queen Phyllis.  I used Revlon ColorStay liquid liner in Blackest Black, and Sonia Kashuk lashes.  The lipgloss was Laura's own from MAC that she wanted to wear.  

MAC Amber Lights

MAC Woodwinked

 Bare Minerals Queen Phyllis (top) and Sex Kitten

Kim C. marries Andy!

Kim C. married Andy in December 2009.  My friend Linda was coordinating Kim's wedding and contacted me about doing Kim's hair and make-up for the beautiful intimate ceremony.  


The length of Kim's hair at the time was just barely to her shoulders.  She wanted her hair in an up-do, so I set it with hot rollers to start and give a great foundation for height at the crown, then I used a curling iron to define curls as I pinned the back up.  We pinned some crystals in her hair as well--Kim wasn't wearing a veil so I wanted something special in her hair and wanted to keep with the elegant & classy simplicity of her gown.  For her make-up, I just went with a beautiful classic bridal look...


It was a joy to work with Kim on her wedding day.  She is an absolutely beautiful bride!  

I think it's important to "hide" all of the hairpins on a wedding day, as much as you possibly can.  With this kind of up-do, I just make the curves in the hair work for me...

Kim (Sandler) Rhodes--again!

I love repeat clients...it's fun to work with people multiple times because you get to know who they are, and it provides opportunities to explore different looks on the same person.  Kim and her sister Carla have hired me on many occasions and I have a blast with them every time.  On this day, Kim brought her mom with her as well and it was a joy to get them both ready for a special night here in Nashville.  Kim wanted a more dramatic eye this time, with false eyelashes to make her eyes pop. 


The false eyelashes I used are by Sonia Kashuk at Target.  My friend (and eyebrow artist extraordinaire) Melody Gall turned me on to these...and to the glue I used by Revlon.  I LOVE what she does with my brows!


The Revlon adhesive has a wand to "paint" it on the lash, and goes on the lash a slight milky blue but as it changes to clear it's tacky and ready to apply the lash.  

The day the Lord made...Christina marries Jeff!

This bride was extra special to me...

Christina was marrying Jeffrey, and Jeffrey and his family are family to me.  I grew up feeling like Jeff's grandparents were my third set of grandparents, and his mom was like another aunt.  I love them all, so I was SO excited to hear about Jeff & Christina's engagement and even more touched by the testimony of how God brought them together.  Jeff was like another little brother when I was growing up, so when Christina asked if I would do her make-up on the big day, I was honored!  In May of 2010, my husband and sister & I travelled to Memphis for the wedding.  Laura (my sister) did her hair, and I did make-up for Christina and her mom.

The wedding was outside on a great property-- a home with a classic front porch and beautiful huge trees that the wedding ceremony was held under, and the reception was in the (very nice) barn.  This beautiful southern lady (Jeff's aunt Beth is married to his uncle, John) is the "hostess with the mostest" and she made the reception and wedding details so beautiful.  Christina & Jeff are a beautiful couple who shine with the love of Jesus.

Christina is another bride that really wanted a natural look and didn't want anything that would "look like "make-up...she is so naturally pretty and has great skin, so I was thankful that I didn't need to use a lot of make-up, only enhance her natural beauty.

The photos are from her photographer:

Jenny's BIG day...

I've already worked with Rachel, Jenny's big sister, on multiple occasions.  She's my favorite bridesmaid client and also such a sweet woman!  (you can see her in past blogs)

This day, however, was all about her beautiful sister Jenny.  I was so excited to do her make-up and hair.  She has GORGEOUS natural thick hair with beautiful color, and her joy on her wedding day was infectious.  Jenny doesn't usually wear tons of make-up, and wanted to look like herself on her wedding day.  I agree that bridal make-up should just enhance the natural beauty already there, but with an extra special kick that won't give you a washed out look in photos!

She also wanted her veil to sit on toward the back of her hair and she wanted lots of height at the top.  She had a picture of what look she wanted from a magazine...and we made it happen!  I used hot rollers to initially set her hair, then a curling iron to give definition and style.  For her face, I used a combination of MAC, Bare Minerals, Laura Mercier, smashbox...and a few special extras.  The snapshots are from my camera...professional shots credited to David Molnar wedding photography.

It became apparent that Jenny's hair wasn't holding curl well, and the storm could've had something to do with it!  There was a downpour that morning, but it cleared up long enough for some cool pictures that her photographer captured of the storm clouds.  And her hair still looks beautiful and soft in the photos! 

Kim and Carla

I love working with these sisters!  I've worked with them several times before (Kim's wedding and bridal portraits and other events, see past blogs) and this time they hired me to do their make-up for a big wedding reception they were attending in Nashville:

Carla wanted turquoise touches and a smokey eye, and Kim wanted to go all bronze due to the dresses they were wearing.

Note: Carla didn't want her lips done yet because the event was hours away and she was about to eat.  :)