JennySue Makeup "Student" is blogged!

One of my old sorority sisters (ZTA!) from the University of Georgia recently came into town all the way from her current home of New York City and dropped by my place for a bridal consult/teaching session. I hadn't seen her in over 9 years so it was super fun to catch up and hang out with such a cool and down to earth lady! And play with makeup the whole time!!

Since Kerri is getting married at a tropical location, she won't have access to a makeup artist there. So she called on JennySue to give her advice on colors right for her skin tone, then to teach her how to apply those colors, techniques of application, as well as how to apply false eyelashes before the big day. We wanted to keep her look simple and not too fussy since she is such a naturally beautiful girl, but wanted the lashes to add a bit more glamour!

Well after doing her consult I sent her on her way back up to NYC (with a new fabulous job working with the Ralph Lauren account!) hoping that our teaching session went well and that she learned a lot and felt comfortable applying the false lashes. And what do you know- she was able to apply all she had learned for her engagement photos! This was a great opportunity for her to try out her own makeup skills before the big day. Check out the photos of Kerri and her cutie husband-to be, on her photographer's blog, Michelle Hayes, and see what a great job she did and just the overall cool vibe of the engagement shoot taken in the Highline area of NYC.

"Kerri- the false eyelashes don't look false, just fabulous and realistic, which was the plan (we used Ardell's medium length individual lashes shown above in black, $4). And you get an A+ for effort and application! Can't wait to see the actual wedding pics next Spring."

So if you or a bride-to-be you know is getting married and needs a makeup artist, or just wants to be taught what colors and application techniques that are right for her, contact me at jennysuemakeup@gmail.com for scheduling and bookings.

Harsh Winter Months Don't Have To Mean Dry Skin!

This weekend was a whole lotta fun and was comprised of a lot of family time-my favorite way to spend a weekend! My husband AND I (shown above) took both of our boys to the Georgia football game and luckily the dawgs pulled through and won! AND both of the boys did great (no temper tantrums!) and had an absolute blast. Notice photo above that shows how good J & W did at sitting sorta still in our seats.

So, lately with the changing of the seasons (we're finally starting to get some slightly cool weather here in the south!) my skin is already showing signs of drying out and I don't like it one bit! So I've been searching for some products to reverse the drying effects of the elements.

Here are some ways you can keep your skin supple during the upcoming winter months:

1. Your Body.

• This is where I'm truly noticing the dryness happen! So take it from the skin gurus of Sonya Dakar, and avoid ultra hot showers and apply Burt's Bees Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil ($8) to your damp skin (right out of the shower) before applying your body lotion. If it's gentle and smells good enough for babies- it should be good enough for you right??

• I've just recently bought this body wash, Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash with nutrium moisture ($5), and I love it. From the fresh smell to the fact that my skin does truly feel a bit more moisturized after I jump out of the shower. Studies of this body wash have shown that it apparently improves skins moisture within a few weeks of use- we will see (I've had it for 5 days)!!

2. Your Face.

• Olay Regenerist Deep Hydration Regenerating Cream ($19) is a great drugstore option that is an incredible moisturizer. It's got Vitamin B5 and is super rich, just what a cream should be.

• For your delicate eyebeds, try out Philosophy's Eye Hope ($48). This eye cream contains a newly talked about ingredient called alpha glucosyl hesperidin-whew!- and "hopes" to treat dark circles, crows feet, AND puffiness, while being ultra creamy and hydrating ALL at the same time.

Don't let old man winter get you down...fight back with some products ladies!!

JennySue Makeup's Beauty & Fashion Portfolio

JennySue Makeup's Product Order of Importance

A big question I get all the time from clients and girlfriends alike is, "what order do I put all those products on my face in??" And I will admit, I found the perfect answer in my Laura Mercier "the new beauty secrets" book ($30) that I refer to frequently. Laura is a makeup genius and I love to take advice from this book on how to get the best from women's faces. One of her big time star clients is Sarah Jessica Parker (shown above) who always looks flawless and also wrote a foreword in the book for her longtime friend and makeup artist. Julia Roberts and Madonna also are big LM fans!

So back to the big question of when to put your face products on. And yes, order of importance matters in terms of how your face products perform. Let me preface this blog by saying that I don't think you HAVE to wear all these products I list because goodness knows we don't always have the time and patience. However this list is a good guide if you do want your products to last all day and get complete coverage.

Here's your easy breezy breakdown of what to apply when:

1. Moisturizer.

2. Primer. This product provides a smooth canvas for your foundation that is worn over your moisturizer and seals it in. It basically seals up imperfections on your face.

3. Foundation.

4. Concealer.

5. Loose translucent powder. This is the step that really makes a difference and most women don't take the time to do but should! Applying the translucent (colorless) powder actually preps the face for your colored products that follow (cheek color and bronzers). It keeps those colored pigments from grabbing onto any oily spots left on your face thus making you look blotchy. And none of us like the way "blotchy" looks!

6. Bronzer.

7. Blush. Most usually mess this up by putting bronzer on last, but definitely put your blush on top so it's not covered up by bronzer. You want those cheeks to pop!

Practice up ladies and get the best from your skin products. You wouldn't ice the cake before you put it in the oven to bake, right??!!

Halloween Fun

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween this weekend! I sure did seeing it through the eyes of my two boys who enjoyed the dressing up and ate more candy in one day than should legally be allowed! But hey, it's one day a year so I let them enjoy the cavity filled day of candy gluttony.

Thought I'd share a couple pics from the annual Halloween bash at my house! It was our 4th annual festivity that involves lots of good friends (my neighborhood girls above!), lots of candy, lots of kids, and lots of local trick or treaters! The weather in Athens was very "spooky" like with drizzly rain and clouds, but it didn't affect the amount of fun we had. I wore a hat all day since the weather was so nasty because I wasn't even going to bother with a hair-do!

My proud moment was being able to put makeup on my oldest child Jack. He was "Wow Wow Wubzy" which was a yellow character from a Nickelodeon show and no, I have no idea EXACTLY what Wubzy is. Since I don't have girls, my husband kept asking me how much I loved the fact that I now had a reason to put makeup on my children!

I didn't "dress up" for Halloween but my hubby kept kidding me that I was dressed as the famous Alabama coach Bear Bryant (photo above) because of my hat! But I prefer to channel actress Cameron Diaz (see below) as my inspiration!

This is Jack being as patient as a 3 year old can while you paint his whole face. It was like painting a moving target with him!

Jack getting excited about his new look once we checked it out in the mirror! He let me try to paint on the eyes after this, but the application had to be cut short because he got reeealll antsy, so only half his eyelids got painted (see pic below!).

Here are the two brothers together. I'm not too happy with the lack of staying power with Jack's face makeup- it ran immediately. But my husband actually brought up the fact that I didn't set it with translucent powder. Duh. My youngest was Thomas the Train- no makeup required or wanted, nor would I have tried it on him in a million years!

This was towards the end of the night when my little one had stayed up way past his bedtime and Wubzy lost his costume and made me wash that "yucky makeup" off his face! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Looking forward to November!

JennySue Makeup's Best Celebrity Halloween Costume Picks for 2009

There is nothing more fun than dressing up as someone or something on Halloween. It gives everyone a chance to show their creative side in clothing, makeup, and hair - 3 things I love!! I wish everyday could be Halloween!! So this year, I think one of the easiest categories to emulate is the tabloid celebrity. There's been plenty in the wacky world of celebrity gossip this past year for all of us to choose a famous celebrity costume from.

Here are JennySue's top picks for celebrity costumes this year. Now the problem will be how do you choose which one is the most outrageous and easy for your onlookers to guess who you are?!! And of course it always goes back to the makeup application, right??

Pick #1. The obvious. Michael Jackson.

How to get the easiest look for people to recognize right off the bat? Get yourself a shiny glove, black leather or red leather jacket, white socks with black shoes, and of course, pale skin with dark rimmed eyeliner and super drawn in black eyebrows. RIP King of Pop. Copying is the finest form of flattery right?

Pick #2. Kate Gosselin.

Yeah, she's not all that crazy obvious in the makeup department or wardrobe - but if you can find a short spiky wig in the back of the head, you've got your signature Kate look! Oh, and maybe strap a couple or 8 - fake cabbage patch kids

to your legs as you walk around trick or treating! Bonus points for having a hubby/boyfriend/partner dress as Jon Gosselin. All they need are some shades, a couple diamond studs, and Ed Hardy apparel from head to toe. Yuck.

Pick #3. Amy Winehouse.

Sure it's been a while since she's come out with any new music or any new tantrums or public meltdowns, but her look is still so distinctive that everyone will know who you are. I just saw a wonderful Winehouse wig at my local Party City for like $18.

So once you've got that on, stick on a few (or 20) fake tattoos, wing your eyeliner out like crazy, and wear a wife beater tank with jeans and some ballet slippers. Don't forget your empty Jack Daniels bottle to add to the authenticity!

Pick #4. Kim Kardashian.

Once again, a major long wig is a must but to truly complete this look, a nice plump rear attachment (small pillow?) is necessary to get Kim's curves! She is also known for her major false lashes and nude glossy lips. So be sure to pile on the strip lashes and try Revlon's Fantasy Lash line ($5). If you can snag a Reggie Bush look-a-like, that would help too;-)

Those are my top 4 picks but I'm sure there are a dozen other celebs out there just waiting to be imitated. Who are you going to be?? Oh, and the obvious Twilight character is soooo last year, so let's get more creative than a vampire on Halloween okay?!

Perfect Makeup Palette From Pixi By Petra Strand Available At Target

I was just recently browsing the makeup aisles at my local Target as I love to do when I have the time (and no little boys bouncing around my shopping cart!) and happened upon a lovely new makeup palette. Oh joy, how I LOVE to play in the testers at Target!!

Makeup palette's are God's gift to busy women who need their cosmetic products all in area. And with the holidays fastly approaching, you know these are going to start popping up all over the place! The Wakeup Kit ($34) for Pixi by Swedish makeup artist Petra Strand is a wonderful collection of some of her best sellers. Petra has worked with singers like Kylie Minogue (pictured below) and hot new Adele, as well as model Helena Christenson.

This cutesy kit includes 2 concealers/primers, 2 cheek powder duos, 8 lip colors, and 18 eye shadows! All of these pretty neutral colors are extremely complimentary for most skin tones (no weird fuschia or teal shadows) and come in a cutesy soft lime green palette with mirror included.

So at the $34 price tag, you can afford to wish yourself a Merry Christmas in October;-)