Bridal Hair - Low Chignon

So many gals message me to ask me for inspiration photos for their wedding - and of course, top request is ALWAYS for the low chignon!!!!!

I'm going to share with you three of my FAVORITE low chignon looks I've done and the products I used to get the perfect look :) All three of these looks have braids incorporated in different ways. In the first, there are small braids to give a bit more texture with a more texture, intertwined looked. The second (unicorn hair is the BEST!) has a fishtail braid going down the side. And the third is a dutch braid. These give more of a bit of fun rather than the traditional textured chignon!

Products I ALWAYS use when I'm making these perfect chignons: 

1. Aveda Brilliant Damage Control Styling Spray - of course, I must start with a good thermal protectant. This one help to protect your hair against any combing or heat. 

2. Aveda Smooth Infusion Nourishing Styling Creme - this allows the hair to fight against humidity from the beginning! 

3. Aveda Air Control Light Hold Hair Spray - This is my ALL TIME favorite hairspray. I think I've gone through over 5 bottles already. It doesn't add any extra weight to your hair, doesn't make it "crunchy" but allows for great holding powder. this is the PERFECT finisher to allow your hair to stay in place without it looking heavy! (MUST HAVE!) 

4. Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil - This is a must have for anyone with coarse or dry hair. I use this before I begin pinning hair! 

5. Kérastase Carré Lissant Smoothing Sheets - I RECENTLY just found these.. and they are AMAZING! They look like dryer sheets but I use them at the end to tame any extra frizz, get rid of static or flyaways - this is a perfect on the go product. I now send my brides with some of these, especially if they are taking photos outdoors and I can't touch them up!  

Read more >>

Bridal Nail Collab & Giveaway

Charmaine of b3bed0llxoxo and I decided to do a bridal collab video where I did a unique take on a bridal nail look and she shows us how she makes her bridesmaids giftboxes (omg GORG!). There is a super fun giveaway at the end of it!

Here is the look I came up with - inspired by my own wedding sash:

Products I used:
Topless and Barefoot by Essie
Butter London Hardware top coat
beads purchased off amazon
dotting tool from bundle monster

Giveaway ENDS in one week on May 24, 2013. Winners will be chosen randomly.

Giveaway Prizes for US & International on jessicalee422's channel:
Clinique Brush of Color Set
Deborah Lipmann Polish in Shape of my Heart
Stella & Dot Radiance Coil Bracelet
AB Hex Glitter Jar
My Beauty Diary Masks (7 top ten)

Giveaway Prize for US viewers on b3bed0llxoxo's channel:
Any Dogeared product up to $75!

Rules:
1. Must be subscribed to both of us:
http://youtube.com/jessicalee422
http://youtube.com/b3bed0llxoxo
2. Like our videos!
3. Comment on both of our channels: "what was your most memorable moment?" (comment as much as you like, PLS NO SPAMMING)

GET MORE CHANCE ON WINNING!
1. Follow both of us on Instagram: @jessicalee422 and @ofroyalty
http://instagram.com/jessicalee422
http://instagram.com/ofroyalty
2. Repost the giveaway picture & use the hashtag #sayyeswithjessnchar so we can find your entry.
5. You can post as much as you like.

Good Luck, my friends! Hope you enjoy this tutorial! xoxo


(I am posting this early, video will be live Friday, May 18 @ 11am EST)

Read more >>

My Best Friend's Wedding :)

Long time no post. I've been so busy! So sorry! About a month ago my best friend got married. She was one of my first friends in life. We've been through so much and it was surreal to imagine that she was getting married!

Anyways, it was such a special moment because I was able to do my best friend's hair and make up for her wedding (and her chinese banquet the next day). I was honored that she trusted me with her hair and makeup for her wedding day! It was one of the most fun and unique weddings I've been to. She and her hubs made pretty much everything for the wedding... and it was on a farm! And food? FOOD TRUCKS! so fun!!! :) It was such a wonderful and memorable day, I could not be happier for them! :)

Here are some pictures of her hair and make up from the wedding.

before the wedding:

Steph & the flower girl. 

I die. just want to bite her. SO cute.

Congrats <3 

And of course.. the happy couple biked off the farm!

 Some shots from the chinese banquet:

 Such a wonderful time with such wonderful people. I love you both and wish you nothing but joy & happiness for your future <3

Photos from Kate Murphy Photography (she's amazing!)

Read more >>

Makeup and Hair Trial - Steph

Do you know what my favorite part about doing make up and hair for other people? It's when they look at themselves in the mirror and think 'wow, i look dang beautiful' - it gives them the confidence to feel beautiful on their special day. That was just a side note.. anyways ...

Steph is my best friend -- I can't believe that my two best friends got married this year! holy bajezus! haha :D Well here's a little peekster at the beautiful bride-to-be :)

Here is the before and after :)

So you know, Steph is an extremely busy girl that is always running around/biking around, doing crazy things, exploring the wild, loving on africa, going extremely out of her way to do things... like sew quilts for people or hand make stuff --- in fact, she HANDMADE me my very first hairstyling apron! :) So it should be no surprise to you that during any chance she can get, she will sleep.... like during the trial. LOL.

Anyways, for make up she wanted to do a really natural look that would enhance her features but that would look very nature-y. I think on the actual day, I may use a bit more matte shadows and use less glossy lips. :)

Here is her hair look- she wanted to do a really romantic, boho-ish, look with some textures and what not. Unfortunately, its not my best work because she has the thickest hair ever (and A LOT OF IT!) so when i tried to hide any of her thick hair, the end result still looked really big! She will be getting a haircut and thinning out her hair, so I believe the look will be more of what she and I are both looking for! In addition, the front section will be a bit more wavy - it isn't during the trial because she took a shower that morning so the water weighed her hair down a bit!

 What a beautiful bride Steph is going to make! I can't wait for her big day! It's gonna be on a big beautiful farm with lots of fun goodies!! She is one of the most creative people I know, so u know it'll be a goodie! Congrats bubba! love you!

Read more >>

Makeup & Hair Trial - Arianne

Arianne is such a wonderful and free spirit. It was such an honor to be able to work with her!!! Her hubster to be came along for the ride and played video games with my boyfriend the whole time and brownie points to him for complimenting her throughout the whole process ;)

Here is the before and after! 

Here is what her hair looked like :) 

She had asked for a low off to the side bun with a bit of curl details.
She wanted it to be a more structured bun, but for it to look soft and romantic.

We will be opting to pin her bangs up for the actual wedding to not only give it a little oomph, 

but so she doesn't have to worry about her bangs getting all up in her face! 

She had asked for a soft and extremely natural look that didn't look too different from her natural face.

Her Chinese teacher made her this hair piece to go with her chinese dress which will be worn later on in her wedding. She asked for it to be on the right side so it can peek out the side of her head a little bit when you see her from the front! 

Congrats (almost!) to the happy couple! 

I look forward to your wedding <3 

Read more >>

Brides-to-be!

I get a lot of questions from brides to be as to what they should buy for their make up. Rather than telling then the usual, I think that this set can really do it all! Besides two products (the mascara and the lipstick), I absolutely ADORE all the other products! I think this is a great set for all the DIY brides (given it is missing your color matching products like foundation and concealer).









For fifty dollars, I'm thinking this is a great set. Probably a great gift for a bridal shower for, even if she is getting her make up done, because there are a bunch of things you can use to touch up your face! I just wish it game with a small size of a setting spray... like the UD all nighter :) but, you know.. we can't ask for it all. sigh <3 haha!

What do you think? I think... i may need to pick it up for myself... just for fun! haha!

Click here to purchase :)

Read more >>

Bridal Hair! :)

This past weekend was a very special one. My good friend from childhood got married - in Tennesseee!!!!! :) A couple of my good friends and I went down to attend her wedding. On top of that, I went down there to do the bridal party's hair and my roommate helped to do make up!

The bride, Laura (many of you may know her as Ms. [Mrs?] Crepe on weddingbee!), did an amazing job with this wedding. Being the amazing artist she is, most things in her wedding were DIY projects for her and her hubster. My gosh, there was so much work put into it, but you would not believe how beautiful and magical this night was!










Anyway - Laura asked me to do her and her two bridesmaids' hair for the wedding. I was so nervous to do it because Laura is so artsy! -I was afraid I'd fail her!! It's like Lady Gaga asking me to write her a song. It'd be CRAZY and you know you'd have to up your game x1000! But... I think everything went well - one photographer deemed me as the faster braider he'd ever seen and another photographer asked me for my business card (which i did not have lol). It actually pushed me to want to set up a more professional website to put my portfolio and info! but I will talk more about that later ;)  

Anyway, here we go! 

The Maid of Honor asked for some loose curls with two braids at the top. A simple and classic look. 

The bridesmaid asked for a Lauren Conrad romantic chignon look. 

Lastly, the brideeeee wanted a romantic side updo with some extra texture involved. So I decided to add some little braids into the mix of her updo. She also wanted this cute little curl drooping from the side of her head. HAHA what a little artist! :D 

Laura = the new Kate Middleton and opted to do her own make up! :) 

She did such a great job!!! 

I hope you can see the braid detailing going on in her 'do! 

Wow to their wedding! It definitely dropped straight out of a fairy tale. Or maybe from a bridal magazine. It was such a beautiful and magical night. Congrats to the bride and groom! <3 

Read more >>

Bridal Hair :)

Here's some footage from the wedding party's hair that I did! :)

Here was the first bridesmaid :) --she asked for a higher updo with some curls :)

 Here's the maid of honor :) -- the bride's sister! She wanted a low messy bun on the side!

 Here's the beautiful bride gettin' her beauty on! (lol, do you like how i blurred my face? HAHA!)

 So the final look ended up being way bigger than her trial because her hair grew so long!! -but she said she preferred it bigger - so it all worked out! :)

Here's the third girl's hair that I did, she just wanted a side pony tail with some loose curls :) Plain and simple!

Here's the last girl that I did. She just wanted really soft curls with the sides pinned up a little bit!

Because we were running out of time, my sister decided to do her hair by herself :) She NEVER knew how to do her hair or make up. I used to always do her hair for her, but then when we realized that I was moving back to NY and she was staying in MA, she said, OK thats it! You are going to teach me how to do this! So I finally taught her how to curl her hair with a straightener - and now she cannot live without it! :) She did such a great job!!

Here's the maid of honor again :)

 Hope you enjoy the pictures! xoxo

Read more >>