Lindsay – Here’s my beauty cabinet!

1. Pssssst! Dry Shampoo – a must have hair product, especially when you’re traveling and on the go! Just spritz on your roots, add a quick blast from your hair dryer and you’ve got volume and texture for days!

2. Ocean Potion Sunblock – The absolute BEST sunblock I’ve ever used. Lightweight and effective, plus, it smells divine! This was a staple for me and my husband on our honeymoon, and has become an everyday product for me! The common thread between all of my clients with amazing skin is… SUNSCREEN. Wear it. Love it.

3. Dr. Alkaitis Nourishing Treatment Oil and Soothing Gel. AMAZING PRODUCTS. I use these two all-star products every night before bed, and wake up with baby soft skin. We sell these products at the boutiquerie — come try them for yourself!

4. Neutrogena Naturals Face Wash. Super cleansing, paraben-free daily cleanser that removes make-up like a charm. I am OBSESSED with this drugstore buy!

5. Jennie Fresa Tinted Moisturizer. Love-love-love this product. It gives a light, clean, dewy finish, and I use it on a daily basis. It’s loaded with an antioxidant blend, is super moisturizing, and perfect for sensitive skin since it is hypoallergenic. An added bonus? It has 20 SPF!!!

6. Beauty Blender – a little, pink, egg-shaped sponge that is perfect for blending any spot on your face. Washable and re-usable. Total awesome-ness.

7. Urban Decay All Nighter. This makeup setting and finishing spray sets makeup for 16 hours, keeping color nice and fresh looking. I did makeup for a friend, set it with this spray, and her makeup lasted through a hot yoga session!!!  If that isn’t an indicator of the quality of this setting spray, I don’t know what is! (P.S. I use this product on all of my brides!)

8. Saint Tropez Gradual Tanning Lotion – With all the sunscreen I lather on, there isn’t much room for a tan, so I use this stuff to fake a sun-kissed glow. It is the best smelling self-tanner I have found, with great results and no funky ‘tanning bed smell’. (Note: Let it be known, that with such great products like this on the market, I cannot condone tanning salons… I just can’t.)

9. Bumble and Bumble Styling Lotion, Creme, and Brilliantine. I combine all three of these products for tousled, textured, sexy hair with hold. I tried a few Bumble and Bumble shampoos and conditioners – not worth the $$. Stick with these products for style that’s worth the money.

10. DKNY Pure perfume – smells like vanilla heaven. I am a perfume junkie, but I wear this scent all the time.

Beauty loves not pictured: JF Mineral Blush in Adobe, Makeup Forever HD Foundation, Ardell Individual False Lashes (I’ll wear those to the grocery store, I love them THAT much!), and JF Mineral Eyeshadow in Moonstone and Sandstone.

Shelly: Hi beauties! Here are my personal must haves are and what I like to roll with

I am constantly looking for the perfect face wash and scrub and I’ve FINALLY fallen in love with 2 products. You’ll see the Dr. Alkaitis organic purifying cleanser next to my Vered chocolate citrus foaming face wash. Every night I lather up with Dr. Alkaitis cleanser and then one or two nights a week ill throw in a citrus scrub instead , and let me tell you my skin has never felt or looked better.

Aveeno active naturals, positively radiant daily moisturizer is a cvs must have for me. I absolutely love this moisturizer. It’s light weight, smells great and doesn’t leave any build up feeling on my face. A huge plus is that it’s also SPF 15 so I can always feel prepared for a sunny afternoon.

I CANNOT leave my house without throwing on my smiths minted rose lip balm. It’s hydrates forever and tastes delicious. I also love the natural pinks hues it brings out in my lips.

Cotton swabs are always near by. They are the perfect “clean up around the edges” for lips eyes etc..

Another obsession of mine is Jf mineral liquid foundation mixed with a touch ofJf mineral sheer tint  moisturizer. Whether im getting dolled up for a night out or applying an all natural day look, I always always start with these two favs. I’ve got my SPF again, the minerals work with my skin which is super important and it leaves my face feeling as smooth as silk. Whoot Whoot love 2 items!!

A little blush is always needed in any makeup bag or cabinet, mine is jf adobe mineral matte blush. Again it’s perfect for day and or night and has such a beautiful tint to it.

Two brushes I never let stray are my medium concealer brush and medium powder brush. Definitely two must haves.

Then we have my jf mineral powder along with jf Kenya which is a safari mineral browser. I absolutely love how these 2 work over my mineral foundation and tinted moisturizer. I use the Kenya as a fun high lite in the shape of the letter C around my temples. Love the healthy glow.

Jumping over into the men’s isle, I must have my Gillette Mach 3…I’ve tried all the others but this razor by far gets the closest shave and leaves my legs feeling silky smooth.

When I’m going out or feel like playing with fun shadows I turn to my urban decay naked shadow box. I love the sparkly earth tones and it’s one of my fave more dramatic eye looks I like to wear.

While we’re on the subject i also always have my urban decay all nightwear spray. This item is no joke beauties, it makes your mu application stay put for hours.

Super candy jf gloss??? Always!

Handy fold up toothbrush to stay fresh, and my all time favorite perfume Hanae Mori perfume are a must, and last but not certainly not least ….lancôme hypnose doll lash mascara. Words can’t simply describe how much I love that mascara.

Well I hope you all have enjoyed reading about what I keep in my makeup bag, I’d love to here and hear what’s in yours!!

Till next time
Xoxo
Shelly

Kelly:
So let’s be honest, my makeup bag is a hot mess.  Keeping it super organized is tricky when you get up at 5:30 every morning.  But, although it must look like a train wreck, there are some really great products inside.  Now as you can imagine, this doesn’t even begin to make a dent in ALL the makeup/beauty products I own.  These are my “go to” items that I use on a daily basis. Now truthfully, I don’t do my makeup the same way two days in a row.  I like to switch things up.  The products I use most are shown in these pictures.  Starting from the left:

Smashbox photo finish primer (I use it on my face before I put any makeup on)
Stay, Don’t Stray eye primer by Benefit (use this on eye lids before putting on any shadow for all day wear)
Jennie Fresa Shadows:  Shown are Sandstone, Sunstone, Bronzite, and Twig
Gel Liners:  Jennie Fresa in Mushroom and MAC fluidline in Blacktrack
Smashbox Limitless Eyeliner in Smoke (for the days when I don’t feel like breaking out the gel pot and brush)
MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara
Concealers, both by Jennie Fresa:  I use the illuminating concealer on days when I don’t have so much to cover up.  The other when I need all the help I can get
I either use JF Mineral Sheer Tint or JF Mineral Liquid Powder foundation, depending on how much coverage I need.
I set either foundation with JF Mineral Powder
Blush:  JF Flirt and/or MAC Peechykeen
Highlight powder:  MAC Silver Dusk (JF’s Kenya is also great, I just of course ran out).
JF Palette (AWESOME!!  Shadow, blush, and lipsticks all in one place)  I’m a sucker for a good palette.
Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes for those oops moments.
All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray (so it all stays put)
For lips I either use a color in the palette or simply stick with Rosebud Salve (my absolute favorite lip balm) not shown.

I do use a bronzer daily, but I’m out of my fave, which is why it’s not pictured.

So there you go, an inside look at my day to day makeup bag!  – Kelly

Good morning beauties! Still soaring over our new site and new services over here and equally excited to get back to blogging. Today our very own makeup artist Maureen is guest blogging and weighs in on the debate over tipping for makeup services. So here is the scoop, xoxo, Jennie.

Maureen:

People ‘tip’-toe around this question, but brides,friends, and colleagues comfortable enough ask, should we tip on hair and makeup services or not?  There are a couple of schools of thought.  One camp would argue that the tip is included in the pricing. That the price is the price and that is the end of the story.  Another school of thought says that any time anyone provides a service it warrants a tip.

I think it’s safe to say the answer for us who provide the services,  lies somewhere between the extremes.  I also think when it comes to tipping in any field its more about the expectation than the actual rule.  Having done dozens of weddings myself I can say that about half of the time I am tipped.  I never go in expecting to be tipped.  We do set our rates to feel adequately compensated for the beautiful work we do. That being said, I completely and wholeheartedly appreciate tips.  I am not insulted if I do not receive a tip,but I feel especially complimented when I do.

So, how do you decide? Here’s my tip- I say go with your gut.  If you feel reluctant, skip the tip and don’t feel a bit guilty.  If you feel like your service was particularly exceptional, a tip will always be greatly appreciated.  Just beware of making the decision when you are ‘tipsy’ that can really throw a wrench in the decision-making process.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Photographers: Raw Photo Design | Event Planner: my girls at Jubilee Events | Getting ready: The Inn at Middletown | Ceremony & Reception: The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate  | Cake: Ana Parzych Custom Cakes | Caterer: Jordan Caterers | Floral Design: Datura | DJ: Rob Alberti

Terri -  I had the pleasure of attending and working at the International Beauty show in NYC last month. This beauty show is where some of the most highly respected international leaders and innovators in beauty come together to share their knowledge on the newest trends. I immediately noticed that one of the strongest trends, as well as one of my favorites is the look from the 50′s. It is back and I could not be happier. The look of the 50′s has always been a timeless one and I believe will always be a classic. It is always fun as a stylist to be able to revisit and reinterpret these styles for my clients. So there you have it. The biggest trend of this year in one word will be, glamor. Here are a few images that not only do I find inspiring but are also the epitome of the 50′s glamorous look. Also click here to see Prada’s new Spring campaign inspired by the this years 50′s trend.

Products I love that would be perfect to recreate these looks are Styles Oribe Gel Serum , Oribe Maximista, Oribe Creme for Style to Oribe Superfine Strong , just to name a few, Thank you! Terri Coon From the Timothy Pamment Salon.

Happy 1st day of May! and even though it looks like April showers decided to stay a little longer, May flowers will soon be in bloom. With May flowers come’s the start of full fledged wedding season, prom, graduations and lots of other celebrations. Today’s beauty trends is, caviar nails perfect for any special celebration. Caviar nails have a certain je ne sais quoi? about them. A chic black tie affair look that will look beautiful with both a long gown or cocktail dress. Cheers to a summer full of celebration! xoxo, Jennie.