While I was in the mountains in July with Nicole Ashley for two other weddings we managed to also work with the stunning couple that is Brittney and Daniel. They drove out to meet us in Canmore and then we proceeded to watch them frolic in the meadows while Nicole did her magic, which you can see more of here! Photography by Nicole Ashley Photography Dress by Hayley Paige from Delica Bridal Florals Crown by Willow Flower Co.
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With all the planning going on our upcoming trip to Ireland for an elopement it reminded us to share some of the stunning images that Nicole took of Stefanie and Drew while we were in Croatia last year. We spent the day exploring the old city of Dubrovnik with rock hangouts, gelato pit stops and at the end of the day took in a magical sunset. Photography by Nicole Ashley and hair and makeup by us!
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I wanted to create this new series, “Behind the Beauty”, where I get to bring our followers along with me as I feed my curiosity on what is behind someone’s beauty. To be able to see what beauty products the women I admire use and love in their everyday lives as well as to try and delve a bit deeper into what they think is beautiful and worth their time in their busy lives. I started this series off by interviewing my dear friend Kristina who is a successful interior decorator who runs her own website, also runs Revive Developments with her husband, is a co-owner of Kresswell Interiors as well as being a mom to the most adorable little boy Jack. What does beauty mean to you? To me, beauty is so much more than looks. I see it every day, everywhere…and sometimes in the simplest or most unexpected places. It’s seeing someone’s confidence change with a little self-care, it’s a group of best friends laughing, it’s a passionate woman going after her goals. It’s also the way my son looks at me… no matter the time of day or state of my messy hair! Who is your beauty icon? I am an old soul through and through. I look back at people like Grace Kelly and see such class and poise. What was your biggest beauty mistake? I didn’t even really groom my eyebrows, let alone fill them, for MANY years. I look back at some of those photos and cringe. I also went through a phase when I was younger where I wore the heaviest eyeliner – eek! Are there any game-changing products you’ve found? I have incredibly dry skin so I’ve started using more facial oils (picked up some from The Ordinary line) and it’s really making a difference. I also couldn’t live without my brow kit from Benefit (see question 3 lol)! Another game changer is anything quick – so highlighters and cheek stain – that take away the need for tools. Just a quick swipe and go! I love my Glossier cheek stain and the Becca highlighter! Simple is good. Drugstore or high end? I’ve been going more high end as of late, though I would never shy away from a good Drugstore find. I think because I don’t have a lot of makeup, I am willing to invest a little more! What is…
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I’ve been a long time fan of Glossier as a brand as I had followed the blog Into The Gloss for years and could not wait until the products were available in Canada. Last year the brand started shipping to Canada and then I proceeded to fall in love with the Boy Brow, Stretch Concealer and Cloud Paints. I also got to visit their showroom in New York last November and let me say it was my pastel pink dream! Once they announced that they were bringing out an acid toner called Solution I knew I had to try it. I started this review originally on Instagram Stories when the Glossier Solution had come in the mail with the hopes of comparing it to The Ordinary Glycolic Toner. I had promised to follow up with my thoughts on the new hyped up product that had a lot of promising claims. As I tested out the product and dove a bit deeper into at home acid treatments I found that giving my opinion on the Glossier Solution would not be able to be so black and white. To set the stage for this review I’m going to give you a bit of backstory on my skin. I have very oily skin with large pores in my T-zone and skin that is prone to congestion with blackheads and whiteheads. I do also get cystic breakouts around that time of the month. I have been using acid toners for years and I surveyed my friends and found most of them had no idea what acids could do for them. I thought I should break down the type of acids out there and what they claim to do and which one you should choose based on your skin type or skin concern. I am not a doctor so please test these products first before using them. The purpose of most acid toners/creams is to help shed dead and dull cells which results in brighter, more even-toned skin with fewer clogged pores and smooths wrinkles. Once you know to look for either AHA, BHA or PHA on labels you’ll be able to narrow down what products will work for you. Keep in mind that you have to try out skin care for at least a month to see the full benefits of the product. You would use the acid product in your morning skincare routine before your SPF…
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You really never know the people who you will come across in your life or what circumstances will change your life forever. On October 1, 2017, I was in Las Vegas with Nicole during the mass shooting and ended up meeting Oksana and Ray while hiding in a bathroom until it was deemed safe to come out. We spent hours with them and decided to exchange contact info since we felt bonded to them after our experience that night. The next month we were set to travel to New York for work and it ended up that we were staying in Brooklyn where Oksana and Ray also lived. The stars aligned and we were able to do their engagement session while we were there. Nicole posted all the photos on her site with two posts which you can click on here for the first post and then here for the second. I just wanted to share a few on our site as well since the photos are just so stunning! We were all so happy to be able to make some photo magic and create some better new memories after how our last meetup went.
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Alex and Farsai were in contact with Nicole to schedule a potential couples shoot in New York sometime in the spring of 2018 but little did Farsai know that Alex had been in contact with Nicole to do a surprise proposal of a lifetime! He had worked it out that Nicole and I would fly into New York in time to do a proposal on the rooftop where they had their first date in Brooklyn. He got her friends and their adorable puppy named Pretzel involved in the surprise proposal. The rooftop was decked out in cafe lighting and dozens of candles. Even the imminent threat of rain didn’t stop this romantic surprise that Nicole was able to capture. Of course, she said YES and they went off to celebrate their news with close friends. The next day I did Farsai’s hair and makeup before their engagement session started. Nicole captured their love story starting in their apartment with Pretzel and then we took off on a stroll to their favorite ice cream shop. Their session was highlighted by the beautiful fall colors and the epic New York scenery. We are just so thankful to have amazing clients who fly us out and include us on such momentous occasions. Congratulations to Alex and Farsai and we wish you all the happiness in the world!
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It’s been over a month now since we met up with Nadja and Rolf who came from Switzerland to Las Vegas to celebrate their anniversary and to attend the Route 91 Harvest Festival. If you’ve been following our social accounts then you know most of the story about how all four of us thankfully survived the deadliest shooting in US history. We don’t want to use this post to expand more on the experience except that our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims and that we hope to meet up with Nadja and Rolf in the future to create some new memories. We wanted to share the beautiful images and behind the scenes of the photo’s that Nicole was able to capture out in Red Rock. To see the full blog post visit Nicole Ashley’s site here.
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This past May we were hired to travel across the ocean to Positano, Italy for an elopement! As many of you follow our blog posts, Facebook and Instagram we are sure you saw the sneak peeks and experiences that we had but no words can describe how amazing this little nook of the world is! We were lucky enough to all share an amazing villa which was only a short 15-minute walk to the main downtown/beach area of Positano. Maybe it was the time of year, but this place was seriously magic. The flowers were all in bloom, the weather was at a perfect mid 20’s (with no bugs) and it smelled like flowers and salt water everywhere you went! Our roles for this trip were basically to make Kim and Chris, our couple, feel little to no stress and we stepped up in more ways than our typical job roles would require. From helping with dinners, picking up greenery, decorating for the ceremony. We had the opportunity to do two days of shooting with the couple Kim and Chris for the wedding day and then the day after shoot in a boat! The wedding day was a very early morning as we started at 3:30 am for hair and makeup to have her dressed and prepped for sunrise. Chris also had some pampering, and their friends who joined us- Rob and Megan even snuck in for a quick men’s cut and hair/makeup styling before the ceremony later that evening. The beautiful thing about an elopement is the only rush or agenda at all as we are just working with Nicole to make sure we have the best light for the photos. We have been beyond blessed with the number of travel opportunities for weddings, elopements and engagement sessions and we are so excited to finally share all the images with you! Nicole Ashley, our dear friend, and amazing photographer has been a big reason for all of our success and shared even more photo’s over on her site.
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If you are a beauty junky then you too may have heard of the Fenty Beauty range brought out by the beauty queen herself Rihanna this past Friday, or you want to read a review on some of the products before you shell out your hard earned cash. Some people may not be as up to date on all the beauty launches but this one was pretty significate to the beauty community for a few reasons! Instead of testing the waters by launching a few limited edition pieces, a la Kim Kardashian with KKW Beauty, a huge range was brought to over 1600 stores world wide as a permanent launch without giving any sneak peaks to beauty bloggers or magazines. The foundation color range alone rivals the range of MAC with 40 shades to suit skin tones from very light to dark with warm, neutral or cool undertones. The types of products she brought out are innovative in that she bypassed traditional blush, bronzer, or eye shadow powders by introducing a line with a soft matte primer, soft matte foundation, blot power, blot sheets, stick products called Match Stix that click together with magnets, a singular universal gloss and then several colors of highlighters. Packaging wise Rihanna killed it with the nude tones and geometric shapes. Many people have been commenting that she copied the KKW Beauty launch but production for these lines would have started months ago and I would just chalk that up to a coincidence. The products are also produced by the same lab that Kat Von D and Marc Jacobs Beauty are created in which stands to point out the higher quality of Fenty Beauty products and also that they are cruelty-free. From the products that I’ve tried, I noticed the foundation and Match Stix may suit people more of a combination to oily skin type vs someone with a drier skin type. The price range is just right also with nothing being over $45 CAD (the trio of Match Stixs come in at $67 or $31 individually). I also got a sample of the foundation and primer but didn’t find them to be anything to write home about for my super oily skin type as I found the matte finish didn’t last as long as my YSL All Hours foundation or the MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation when combined with my favorite Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. Perhaps the…
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Sometimes schedules and fate really work out in your favor as we ended up booking a second session when we were planning on being in Europe in May/June of this year. Kailey and Dave had Nicole and I fly out to Nice, France to shoot their engagement session in May after we finished the elopement in Italy that originally brought us out to Europe. You have to check out even more of the photos and their full love story here on Nicole’s site! I had been to Nice once before but I had forgotten how really beautiful and magical Nice really is. After I did Kailey’s hair and makeup and helped them decide what to wear we headed out to some of their favorite spots in Nice while Nicole captured their love. From eating gelato in the Old Town of Nice to swishing the perfect basket of flowers on a pebbled beach and then finishing the photos at sunset on a cliff by a light house. We couldn’t have asked for a better couple to work with and we are even more excited for their upcoming wedding in September!
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