Each makeup brush serves a specific purpose though. Certain brushes are for certain makeup products. For example, synthetic brushes are designed to be used with creams or liquids. Natural bristle brushes should only be used with powders. A common myth is that “natural” means “better.” However, just because a brush has natural bristles doesn’t make it better or a higher quality than a synthetic brush.

Using a natural bristle brush with creams or liquids will most likely ruin the brush. On the other hand, you can use synthetic brushes with powder products, you just might not get the best application. Also, there are now some hybrid brushes that combine both synthetic and natural bristles. These hybrid brushes can be used for both creams/liquids and powder products. Below are photos of some of my favorite brushes with a description and what I use them for.  Scroll down to the very bottom to see how to care for your brushes.

MAC Brush #194 (synthetic bristle, used for applying creams/liquids such as concealer)

MAC Brush #217 (natural bristle, used for applying crease eye shadow or blending eye shadow)

Laura Mercier Ponytail Brush (natural bristle, also used for applying crease eye shadow or blending eye shadow, softer than MAC Brush #217)

Laura Mercier Eye Colour Brush (natural bristle, used for applying powder eye shadow)

Laura Mercier Creme Eye Colour Brush (synthetic bristle, used for applying eye shadow base or cream eye colors, looks identical to Laura Mercier Eye Colour Brush but texture is different)

Laura Mercier Corner Eye Colour Brush (natural bristle, used for applying powder eye shadow to small areas, such as applying dark eye shadow to the outer corner of the eye or light eyeshadow to the inner corner of the eye)

Laura Mercier Creme Eye Detail Brush (synthetic bristle, used for applying creme eye shadow to more defined areas, also great for smudging/blending creme/pencil eye liner)

MAC Brush #187 or Laura Mercier Finishing Brush (hybrid brush with both synthetic & natural bristles, used for powders such as shimmery cheek color and/or liquids/creams such as foundation)

Caring for your brushes is just as important as using the right brush.  You should keep your brushes clean.  There are brush cleansers you can get from beauty supply stores.   You use these by spraying them on a tissue/towel and then wiping the brush on them.  This is good to do between uses for a fast way to remove product and germs.  However, for a deep cleaning, you should wash your brushes every so often (ideally about once a week but no less than once per month).

My favorite product for cleaning brushes is Laura Mercier Brush Cleanser.  It’s great because you can spray it onto a tissue/towel and wipe the brushes on it for a click cleaning, or you can spray it on wet brushes and it’ll lather up for a deep cleaning.  You can also use your face wash to wash your brushes.   I wet my brushes, then I squeeze some of my face wash into the palm of my hand and swirl the wet brush around in the face wash.  Squeeze the remaining product out of the brush, rinse and then squeeze the remaining water out of the brush.  Now here’s the important part: You must lay your brushes FLAT to dry! Never leave the brushes standing up while they’re wet, or the water can seep in and loosen the bristles.   Take care of your brushes, and they’ll take care of you.

THE KNOT BEST OF WEDDINGS 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA (1/23/11) – ARTISTRY BY BRIANA is pleased to announce they have been selected as a 2011 ­­winner for Makeup Artists and Hair in The Knot Best of Weddings, a special section in The Knot Los Angeles magazine and on www.theknot.com/Vendors/best-of-weddings/featured-los%20angeles/084#HBF Weddings from The Knot (www.theknot.com), the number-one wedding resource that’s most trusted by brides.

The Knot Best of Weddings 2011 provides a “by brides, for brides” guide to the top wedding professionals across the country, and is a must-have when it comes to selecting the best-of-the-best wedding resources. From New York florists and Seattle bridal salons to DC makeup artists, engaged couples will find detailed feedback on local wedding businesses reviewed by thousands of newlyweds who had great things to say.

# # #

About The Knot Inc.
The Knot Inc. (www.theknot.com) is a leading lifestage media company. The Company’s flagship brand, The Knot, is the nation’s leading wedding resource, reaching well over a million engaged couples each year through the #1 wedding website, TheKnot.com. Other products from The Knot include The Knot national and local magazines, The Knot books (published by Random House and Chronicle) and television programming bearing The Knot name (aired on the Style and Comcast Networks). The Company also owns WeddingChannel.com, the most visited wedding gift registry website.

There are several ways for you to win:

1.  Follow me on Twitter @Artistry_Briana and re-tweet this message: “Wanna win a MAC lip gloss?! Follow me & re-tweet this for your chance to win! For more info: http://wp.me/pyKNS-3B“

2.  Leave a comment below telling me your favorite lip  gloss and why!

It’s that easy!

Before & After

Aubrey is an absolute doll! She is so fit and petite! But notice in her “Before” photo that her face is lighter than the rest of her body? That’s because she has to get sprayed tan as dark as possible to show her muscle definition for the competition (she’s not this dark on a daily basis).  So the key was for me to match her face makeup to the skin tone of her body.

Now go back and look at her “After” photo – I got a pretty good match, huh? Also, the Makeup & Hair shouldn’t draw to much attention from the body because that’s really what’s being judged.  We wanted to give Aubrey a feminine look that wasn’t too “girly” or too dramatic.  So I played up her eyes and gave her soft yet defined curls for her hair.  Aubrey took 2nd place in her class for this competition! Here’s a photo from the actual Competition:

Backstage

MuscleContest 2010

And she re-hired me for another competition that took place on April 24th in Anaheim.  Here’s the “Before & After” photo of the 2nd time I worked with Aubrey:

Before & After

We went a little softer on the hair this time, and notice that she was actually darker here than the 1st time.  That’s because the judges wanted her to be darker to show off more of her definition.  And it paid off (in addition to all her hard work and training since the 1st time) because she took FIRST PLACE in her class for this competition! I knew she would win! Here’s a photo of the 1st Place Winner from the Competition:

Orange County Muscle Classic 2010

And last, but not least, here’s a photo of me and Aubrey (She makes me look so pale…and chubby! Haha!):

Me & Aubrey

*** Follow Aubrey’s blog at aubreyfit.blogspot.com for fitness tips and info! ***

This photo below was taken at a competition in June 2008. The competition was between 9 women for best makeover. They had every possible beauty treatment available to them over a period of 12 hours before the contest. Look at the before and after photos. Conclusion – there are no ugly women, only poor women. (The woman 2nd from the left won the contest.)

What a neat concept! The “My Wedding Concierge“ iPhone App allows brides to research wedding vendors on the go.  My Wedding Concierge is the only iPhone App that focuses solely on wedding vendors.  Focused on this vendor-centric view, the iPhone App forgoes traditional wedding planning tools such as seating charts and to-do lists.  As a result, My Wedding Concierge can confidently say that all 60,000+ page views last month were of brides using their app to search for wedding vendors in their local areas. Since launching, they have had over 18,000 downloads and consistently get 100-150 brides downloading their app daily. All downloads are audited by Apple and provided to us in daily reports.

My Wedding Concierge was created to fulfill an unmet niche in the iPhone market. Brides love to use My Wedding Concierge to look at the work of wedding vendors in their local areas.  My Wedding Concierge offers one touch email, phone, and visit to the vendor’s website.  Brides no longer have to carry around a huge wedding folder with pages ripped out of a magazine. Brides can click on the “Request Info” button and their email is immediately captured and sent to the wedding vendor for follow up.  Brides will be able to use our site to search for relevant information from wedding vendors, hand selected wedding blogs, images, and news articles.

My Wedding Concierge is the new face of wedding technology! Get on board today!

Guess what…

I’m the new  official “Cosmetics Expert” for The Wedding Diary Online! Click on the link below to join my “Beauty, Health & Cosmetics” group for Bridal and general beauty tips, advice and discussions!

http://www.theweddingdiaryonline.com/group/beautyhealthcosmetics

"Before" Lashes & "After" with Lashes

Discuss with your makeup artist the look you would like to create, and I’m sure you will be able to figure something out together.  I always suggest doing a Trial run before your actual wedding-day to ensure you get the exact look you want.  It’s a great way to try on different lashes to make sure you get the right ones for your eye shape and makeup style.  Plus, you can do the Trial the same day as your Bridal Shower, Rehearsal Dinner, or Engagement Photos, and that way, you’ll already be done up for the event!

However, if you’re going to try to attempt to do them yourself, Practice, Practice, Practice! Make sure you practice before the big day, and try several different types to see which ones you like best.  Don’t experiment on your wedding-day (it’s stressful enough as it is).

My best advice for putting lashes on yourself is to: 1) Tilt your head back and look down into the mirror (if you look straight on, they’ll end up in your crease), and 2) Make sure you let the glue dry for a few seconds to get it tacky before trying to stick the lashes to your lid (if the glue is too wet, it’ll go everywhere and you’ll make a mess).

Also, with any false lashes, start applying the lashes from the outer corner (trim the lashes if you need to so that they don’t poke your inner corner).  As far as level of difficulty, corner (or half) lashes are typically the easiest to apply , then full strip lashes, and finally, individual lashes are the most difficult because you have to be very precise in their application.  But don’t be scared! They’ll come off.  Just be sure not to pull your own eyelashes when pulling the false lashes off.  Start from the outer corner and pull inwards and away.  It also helps if you use eye-makeup remover first (preferably an oil-based one) to loosen the glue.

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Artistry by Briana is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Artistry by Briana is among the very best “Beauty & Health” and “Photography” within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at www.WeddingWire.com/artistrybybriana.

About WeddingWire, Inc.

WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

The 80s gave blue eyeshadow a bad rap, and many women are scared to wear it today.  Just mentioning the word blue when referring to eye makeup can make women cringe.  But that’s because they’re thinking back in the day when it was all about blue, lots of blue…in fact, too much blue! * Think Mimi from the Drew Carey Show *

However, I personally believe that any woman can wear any color eye makeup, it’s just how, when and where they wear it.  Blue is a great color for the eyes! But it shouldn’t be the main color.  Use a hint of blue to really make the eyes pop by adding it just to the lashline.  Blues help to brighten the whites of the eyes.  Also, a smokey blue can be gorgeous! Just don’t use only blue eyeshadows! Make sure you use some other colors, like a pinkish-brown in the crease to warm the look up a little bit.

Blues go great with every eye color! It will complement blue eyes, make brown eyes pop and really bring out the turquoise in green eyes! Remember, ladies…it’s just makeup, it can wash off! So have fun and don’t be afraid to try new colors (especially blue)!

See some photos below of Blue Eyeshadow I did for Event Makeup (click on the thumbnails to see the larger images):