Vintage fall stylized wedding shoot

Hello!!  I am so excited to share with you the pictures from an amazing stylized wedding shoot I got to be a part of this fall.  I had the privilege to work along some amazing and talented local businesses in the Calgary and surrounding area.  If you are planning an upcoming wedding please check out these local businesses that can help make your day extra special and amazing. 

Let's start with the wonderful Wedding Planners and visions for this shoot.  The two ladies, Julia & Victoria are from Darling Weddings.  These girls seriously rock!  They are absolutely wonderful to work with and are clearly passionate about what they do.  From their quick responses to emails to their vision for this photo shoot, I highly recommend them as Wedding Planners for your wedding.  Check them out here... www.darlingweddings.ca or here Darling Weddings on Facebook

 

I love all things vintage.  Brooke from Cellar Door Vintage Rentals has an amazing selection of all things Vintage and if you are looking for some pieces for your wedding day, check out her website here (I want every piece from her website!) : www.cdvintage.com or Cellar Door Vintage Rentals on Facebook

Here are some of her pieces included in the shoot.

 

 

Pies!!  Seriously, I love this idea!  Pies instead of cake for your wedding.  Patrick from Pies Plus made this beautiful pies you will see here.  Find Patrick here www.piespluscafe.com or Pies Plus Cafe on Facebook

 

 

I love stationary and I love the process of picking out the perfect paper and font for your invites.  Kimberly from Paper Panache did such a beautiful job for this shoot.  Here is where you can find Kimberly www.panacheinvitations.ca

 

 

 

Cathy Hoskins was the wonderful and beautiful lady behind the hair for the bride and maid of honor.  Not only is she very talented but was wonderful and easy to work with.  Check out more of her work here... Cathy Hoskins Hair Artistry on Facebook

All of these beautiful pictures are a result of Lisa Parrish from Parrish House Photos.  Lisa did an amazing job of not only capturing the pictures but I think she really captured the feel of this day.  That is a true talent, when you can feel the emotion through the pictures.  Find Lisa here www.parrishhousephotos.com or Parrish House Photos on Facebook

And lastly, here are some of the makeup pictures I did on the Bride and Maid of Honor.  It was so much fun doing the makeup for this shoot as I love the bride wearing her red flannel shirt with her dress.  I used some purple and bronze tones on the bride to match the fall/vintage feel.  For the Maid of Honor I used more neutral colors and gave her a natural yet slightly enhanced look. I can be found here: Makeup by Jamie-Lee or here: Makeup by Jamie-Lee on Facebook

 

I hope this can be of help for any brides planning their weddings right now.  There is so much involved when planning a wedding and when you are able to put your trust into professionals hands and let them help you plan your wedding, or have them do what they specialize in, it can truly be a stress saver. 

Please share this link with anyone you know planning their wedding.  Happy planning!
xo
Jamie-Lee

Why I love being a Makeup Artist

          I wanted to share with you today why I love being a Makeup Artist.. I am beyond grateful, thankful and so appreciative to be able to do what I love each day.  I don't consider what I do a "job", I consider it my passion.  I feel blessed beyond measure to connect with woman daily while doing their makeup or styling their hair.  I see people from so many different walks of life and my goal when I meet you is that you would feel as beautiful on the inside as you look on the outside.

          For me it's not just about the makeup.  Sounds a little odd doesn't it?!  It's more about the transformation that takes place within the person that I'm working on.  It's about bringing out their naturally beautiful features that they already have and enhancing them.  It's about connecting with my client showing them how beautiful they are.  My definition of true beauty is someone who has a beautiful heart.  When I get to work on a client who's heart is so beautiful, the outside of them shines like no other.

          In conclusion, I want to thank each of you who has trusted me and allowed me to do your makeup.  Thank you for letting me get "in your space" and letting me do what I love.  But most of all, thank you to each of you who has shared your beautiful hearts with me.  For that, I am so blessed.


“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

BEAUTY, COMPLIMENTS AND BEING AN EXAMPLE TO OUR DAUGHTERS

I think it's fair to say that we all want our children to grow up knowing how beautiful and unique they are made.  I feel that having our children know and feel this, starts with us as their mom's, aunts and grandmas.  Let me start it this way, when someone says to you, "You are so beautiful." or "You are so pretty.", think about how you respond.  Do you reply with, "Ya right!" or "I think you mean someone else, because I'm not pretty." or do you look over your shoulder thinking it's someone else they are talking too?

Think about your dear daughter for a moment.  If you heard someone say to her, "You are so beautiful!" and your daughter responds with "Ya right, I'm not beautiful!", wouldn't that break your heart?  It starts young having them feel that they are each made so beautifully.  Once your children reach the teenage and early adolescent years, life can be hard enough.  We want our children to see and know how beautiful they are and have confidence in themselves.  Beauty is individual, we need to celebrate what we have been given and be thankful and love ourselves for who we are, flaws and all.

I struggle with people who think that makeup is all about being vain.  Sure, to some it may be.  But what I believe is this...do we all want to look and be the best versions of ourselves?  Do we want to settle for less?  Why is it bad if someone puts on some makeup and makes themselves feel and look a certain way that they love.  It is not for us to judge what makes one person happy.  Why not celebrate and be happy with what in our heart makes us smile.

Let's start taking note of ourselves when someone gives us a compliment.  Own it, feel it, and appreciate it.  Love yourself for who God made you to be.  You are unique, you are beautiful, and you are treasured.  If someone tells you how pretty or beautiful you look, try responding with "Thank you" and then believe it.  And tell your children everyday how beautiful and loved they are.

Love & hugs,
Jamie-Lee

Makeup lessons with Jamie-Lee

Have you ever wondered how to achieve a specific look for yourself?  Or do you just wish you knew HOW to apply makeup?  Makeup by Jamie-Lee offers makeup lessons either one on one or in a group setting, whichever you would feel more comfortable with.  I don't only show you how to apply your makeup, I also leave you with a detailed outline of what we applied, where we applied it and how to apply it with what brushes or sponges.  It's something you can go back to time and time again after the lesson, and remember what we did together. 

It can be so overwhelming walking into a makeup store or any place that sells makeup and see all the different brands in front of you promising you the next best thing.  By having a lesson with me you can leave feeling more confident on your makeup needs and not wasting money on things you don't need. 

And not only do I give you the detailed outline, I also go through your makeup bag with you.  Most people get slightly nervous here.  Please don't be! :) I would never judge your makeup bag or what's in it or what's not in it or how old some products might be.  I'm here to help you and go through it with you and tell you what you should keep, what you can incorporate into your everyday routine and what you may want to add.  And when we have completed everything, I will leave you with a list of products that you may want to add into your makeup bag. 

It's that easy...you will leave with a new look as I will have applied your makeup on you and I'm always here for follow up questions or concerns. 

My feedback on makeup lessons has been extremely positive.  I have seen some of my clients around town and I can tell they are using some new techniques I taught them and they look amazing!!  If this is something that interests you, send me an email at makeupbyjamielee@gmail.com or call/text me at 403-829-4100 and we can sign you up for a makeup lesson, I would love to teach you some new techniques and ideas.

XO
Jamie-Lee

How to take your makeup off and eliminate raccoon eyes

I'm having a laugh at my title...because it's so true.  If I do an intense eye look the only thing I dread is having to take it off at the end of the night because no matter how much I try I usually still have  black mascara left over and it's a pet peeve of mine.  I have tried a lot of different skin care routines, some I liked and some not so much and didn't live up to the hype that it was built up to be. 
I have heard a lot of the different uses of coconut oil, everything from cooking to hair & skin care.  I have a large jar in my pantry that I use for cooking.  My oldest sister Julie loves this stuff and got me into it a while ago.  Recently I read how some people use it to take off their makeup and wash their face.  Honestly, I was grossed out by this.  How could someone use and put oil on their face!!??  After researching it some more I realized how amazing coconut oil is for your skin so I had to try it out.  The first time I used it to wash off my makeup I did not melt it first and used it in it's hardened state.  It worked but not as well as when you melt it a bit.  So the next time I took less than a tsp of coconut oil from the jar and put it in a small container in the microwave for 22 seconds.  (I choose 22 instead of 20 or 25 because 22 is my favorite number lol.  Odd, I know ;) )  Anyway, once it's done this is what I do....

1. Take warm water and splash it on your face.
2. The some coconut oil in your finger tips and using circular motions rub it into your skin and all over your face and neck.
3. Take a wash cloth and put warm water on it, ring it out, and go over your face with it also rubbing it into your skin. (using a face clothe also helps exfoliate your skin a bit).
4. Wash out the cloth and go over your face one more time if you'd like.
5. Use any excess coconut oil left over and put on any dry areas on your face or for a moisturizing mask put all over your face and leave it on.

This is by far the best skin care routine I have ever used!  I absolutely love it and my skin loves it.  And it's natural and organic!  You only need a little bit and it goes a long ways.  And not only does it completely take ALL the makeup off my face (no raccoon eyes anymore!) it also moisturizes my face.
I did have a few small breakouts which I usually don't get but they have gone away now.  Remember with most new skin care routines you can breakout from getting used to it and changing products.  The only other thing is to make sure you don't get any in your eyes...things get a little blurry for a while if you do. ;)
I'm experimenting with a homemade exfoliate too that I will also put up on my blog once I have it all figured out. 
You can purchase the coconut oil at Costco or any supermarkets I believe. 
Try it out...let me know what you think!

Want HOT nails without the mess?

This last year for my birthday one of my best girls gave me an amazing gift!  It's a box of makeup goodies that arrive at the beginning of every season throughout the year in your mail box.  It's from a company called Loose Button and the box of goodies is called "The Luxe Box".  It generally has sample sizes of everything from nail polishes, eye serums to concealers.  When I receive the next one in spring I will do a blog post on what I got and tell you how you can also sign up for it.  Thank you again L!! :)

One of the items in the last Luxe Box was a package of "Essie sleek stick nail appliques".  I'll be honest, at first I was thinking I may never use them but curiosity got the best of me and I tried them out.  And I am so happy I did!  It's super easy, mess free and they look amazing.  Follow along for the "how-to"...

Here is what the package looked like...

 

 

This is what all came in the package...the slick nail appliques (18 sizes in total), a nail file, a cuticle pusher & instructions.

 

 

1.Start by shaping your nails with the nail file provided. 

2. Clean your nails with a cotton pad & nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol.

3. Select the correct size nail applique for each nail.  As you can see the nail appliques are on a clear sheet.  This way you can put your nail underneath the nail appliques to determine which size is the best for your nail you are about to work on.  (they may not fit exactly on your nail but once you have it on it's not very noticeable if the size is slightly off).

4. Peel the nail applique off the clear sheet and stick it on your natural nail you just sized up and press down firmly for a couple seconds.

 

 

5. When one hand has all the appliques on it, use the nail file in downward strokes file off the excess applique.

 

 

6. It's that easy...you are done! 

Here is the finished result...

 (please note:  I may or may not have put them on upside down, lol.   But even upside down they look nice.)

 

 

 

 

I had mine on for 5 days at which point I took them off.  They were starting to peel on a few fingers and they were  turning white at the tips.  I didn't take it easy on my nails while I had them on.  I washed dishes and played Lego with my kids but I also did not pick at them.  Some of you are nail pickers...here is a safe place to admit it. ;)

The next 2 pictures show my nails on day 5 right before I took them off.

 

 

 

To take them off, just pick at a corner and peel them off your nail.  It's quite easy and so mess free. 

 

I loved having these on and I would recommend them.  I only wish that they could have lasted a bit longer than they did but I think if you want to use them for a special night out they would be perfect, hassle free and best of all, mess free! 

They do sell them at Shoppers Drug Mart and they sell for $13.99 (AB pricing) and there are a few varieties of them.

 

I do have a set of Jamberry Nails (same concept, different company) that I also received and I will review those one too and let you know what I think compared to these Essie ones. 

 

I hope this post has been useful to you.  If you liked it please share it with someone you know who might benefit from it.

 

Jamie-Lee

XO

New website is finally ready!! :)

Hi makeup friends! 

Thanks for joining me today on my blog.  I am so excited to share with you all my new website that went live yesterday.  I had a previous website that I made myself but wanted something a bit more glamorous and definitely needed some assistance to achieve that.  With the creativity of Julianna from JM Designs from Etsy https://www.etsy.com/people/jmdesigns12 (check her out here) my new site is created.  Julianna is amazing to work with, patient and talented at what she does. 

As you may have seen, earlier this year I also got a new logo for Makeup by Jamie-Lee.  I again used Etsy and used the creativity of Jamie (awesome name might I say) from https://www.etsy.com/people/FreshLavenderDesigns.  I told her my ideas and on the first try I got exactly what I was hoping for. 

So here is the link to my new website...http://www.makeupbyjamielee.com/
I hope you all like it and find it easy to navigate through.  It is also mobile friendly which I love.

I hope through my website you can see the love for what I do.  I am passionate about doing hair and makeup but that is not all.  What I love to see is the transformation in the person I'm working on.  My slogan on my logo reads, "Let your inner beauty shine on the outside."  We all have an inner beauty and to me that is one of the most beautiful things a person can have...inner beauty.  I see beauty in everyone I meet.  Embrace who you are, that is beauty.  I hope you all know and feel that you are beautiful...because you are. 

Sending love to you all today!
Jamie-Lee
XO