Celebrating The Wedding Row`s 2nd Anniversary: Garden Muse

The Wedding Row is a blog dedicated to bringing its readers the most up-to-date, detailed info on weddings here in Charleston, SC.  I have had the honor and privilege to be a preferred vendor on this site since its inception.  Della MacNicholas, the founder, has been the networking genius behind making this such a success.

To celebrate its second year, TWR and Allison Long of Bella Bridesmaid Charleston teamed up with a veritable Who`s Who of vendors to orchestrate this theme: Garden Muse.  The backdrop was the pristine Governor Thomas Bennett House.  Luke Wilson Special Events made sure every detail was in place.  The highlight of the evening featured designs from Carol Hannah of Project Runway renown (represented by Maddison Row) and Katherine MacDonald of LulaKate. Please check out The Wedding Row`s blog about this magical evening to see a complete listing of all the amazing contributors.

A personal note of thanks to Jennifer Hudson Smith of Carolina Photosmith for capturing this evening so beautifully.  And to my buddy, Tanesha, for her inspired, passionate pursuit of beautiful hair; tis always a joy, Gurl;)

Without the continually jaw-dropping beauty of the Tout models, well, I wouldn't be posting these lovely faces.  Thank each of you Gurlz for your patience, humor, and inward beauty.  Those lashes were something, weren't they?  

peace and love.
Pamela

Clean Makeup Brushes = High-Performance Applications

For those of you who know me in my professional capacity, you know I'm a makeup brush snob. I have to be because they are the tools of my trade. I don't do cheap brushes. I firmly believe the quality of my brushes extends to the quality of my applications. And an extension of that philosophy is taking care of my brushes.

Perhaps you don't give much thought to cleaning your makeup brushes, but I'm here to extoll the virtues of clean makeup tools. This was instilled in me during my tenure with MAC. Part of my job as an artist was to thoroughly clean my brushes after each customer. It was part of what MAC calls "good counter practices," and it follows me today through my freelance career with my own clients.

How long has it been since you cleaned your brushes? Granted, you don't need to clean them as often as I do, but if you're the only person using them, once every week or two is a good idea. Cleaning your brushes cuts down on bacteria and product build-up. It also extends the life of your brushes if you use a good cleaner.

Parian Spirit Brush Cleaner is high-octane for your makeup brushes. I discovered this AMAZING brush cleaner at The Makeup Show this past May. Parian Spirit was one of the "mom and pop" booths at this trade show. Their demonstration pulled me in immediately. The mom-half of this duo showed me how quickly this formula cleaned a lip brush that had plenty of product still on it. Then she showed me how to use the cleaning tub to remove creamy products from eye shadow brushes and blenders. By the time she got around to demonstrating on a blush brush, I was completely sold. And before I left the booth, all brushes were dry!

They had a special package just for the show, and I bought 2 of them. The package contained an empty jar that holds a cleaning screen; a 16-ounce bottle of cleaner; and a 2-ounce bottle of spray cleaner (for on-the-go cleaning). I gave one away, to a thoughtful critic, my sis-in-law Amy, who is quality-oriented in all aspects of her life. Once she tried it out and declared it "GREAT," I knew I had a winner on my hands.

In addition to the amazing, quick cleaning results, your brushes are left with the most amazing citrusy scent. Since I've been using it, every one of my brides has commented on how great the brushes smell.

OK, so here's the only drawback, and it's in the process of being taken care of: you cannot purchase Parian Spirit directly from their website (it's in development). However you can find it at Amazon.com and Alcone.com (a makeup artist's Wal-Mart). I'd still recommend visiting the Parian Spirit site to read the pdf file about this amazing product. . . it includes directions for use, ingredients, and product descriptions. Happy cleaning!

www.ParianSpirit.com

www.AlconeCo.com

www.Amazon.com

How to Attain "Glow" Status. . .

There are many ways to attain a glow. Hot yoga; great sex; an unexpected compliment; contentment with where one is; or the quick cosmetic way: Smashbox's Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion.

I "discovered" this wonderful highlighter at the NYC Makeup Show's jam-packed Smashbox display. It comes in three shades: "Diffuse," "Flash," and "Glow" are luminous pearl, peach, and bronze colors meant for light, medium, and deep skin tones, respectively.

One pump of this water-consistency highlighter is all you need across the tops of cheekbones to give you a dewy, youthful glow. Because of its intense pigmentation, I swipe it on before I apply foundation to give faces a truly believable glow. The effect still shines through.

This is a must for nearly every bride on her wedding day.

www.Smashbox.com (Click on the "best-sellers" link;)

Strong, Decisive Women

One of my favorite kinds of people in this world is a decisive woman. I had the distinct fortune to be around 3 such ladies a couple of weeks ago: The Bride (Allison), her FSIL (future sis-in-law, Elizabeth), and the Photographer (Liz).

Each of these ladies knows what she wants. . . how she wants it. . . and when & where. Such precision on a plethora of subjects from all aspects of planning a wedding, to makeup, to true artistic vision. It was a joy to work with these ladies.

Have you ever been with the right combination of people where you know that combo could conquer the world? That was this trio. I won't ramble on, but suffice it to say that because of this nucleus of women, one beautiful wedding was pulled off.

I could be fast friends with each of these ladies.

Photography by www.LizDuren.com

A Look I Love. . .

Kara DioGuardi, judge on American Idol, has been rocking a great look this year. Just sending props her way. . . or more likely, I should send kudos to her makeup artist and stylist.

I love, Love, LOVE the combo of brunette with great, strong eye brows along with a pop of pink lipstick. (See previous post about MAC's Viva Glam in "Lady Gaga.") I think that's what Kara's sporting these days on AI (though not in the photo above). I hope her MUA has plenty of Lady Gaga on hand because it sure is hard to come by at the MAC counters right now. Thanks to this look, it's been a sell-out everywhere.

In any case. . . great look, great job!

www.maccosmetics.com

I Love a Satisfied Client. . . and Technology. And here's a Satisfied Client who is Tech-Savvy.

Have you ever met someone and clicked right away? I love when that happens. Sometimes the 'click' may take a little while. . . you "dance the dance" and get to know one another. . . and that's great too. But I got a real kick out of this lady. We hit it off immediately.

She knows what she likes and is not shy about communicating that. Rather than me rambling on, just click the arrow and watch. She took the time to send me a video message that re-capped our trial run for her wedding makeup.

I think she's happy. That makes me happy :)

Featured Photographer: Ashley Brokop

Photography by Ashley Brokop

Makeup by Pamela Lesch

As I think about Ashley Brokop and her photography, one word recurs: moments. She's about them, she catches them, she's in them.

I've worked with Ashley twice, but with someone like her who wears her heart on her sleeve, it feels like I've known her much, much longer. Maybe it's the mommy-factor we have in common; maybe it's the yearning to be here in Chucktown (I live here, and I yearn for it!). But she falls into that inexplicable category of Kindred Spirit.

Ashley's photography has a distinct, photojournalist feel to it. Her military photography background has a unique ambience; when you look at her work and see someone with a wide smile or head tilted back with eyes closed or some other small movement, you just know she immortalized a moment.

One of the first things I noticed about her is that she kneels a lot and gets shots from angles that would never occur to me. I also love that she likes to shoot my makeup and the process of getting a bride ready. There's something of a mess that I make when I'm in the zone and doing my thing . . . brushes, eyeshadows, pencils, all askew. She considers that a moment and clicks away.

The hour or so before a bride puts on her dress are some of the most intimate, closely-knit moments in a woman's life. Usually, only those in her innermost circle are around her, readying her for this occasion. It's one of the things that draws me to the bridal aspect of my line of work. That's a special time, and I get to be a part of it. Ashley's work actually captures those fleeting moments. They are precious, she knows it, and she gets it.

Ashley is based out of Sumter, SC, but she travels extensively. Please check out her website at www.AshleyBrokop.com

Thanks also to lovely bride, Kimberly Mrachek :)