Wardrobe Styling and Makeup for JLH Photoshoot

A few months ago, I was contacted by a very talented photographer (Malae Talley) and a very talented hair stylist (Jessica Halladay) and asked to be the wardrobe stylist and makeup artist for a photoshoot that would be used to showcase Jessica's new line of hair extensions. 

I jumped at the opportunity, and was given complete freedom in terms of how I wanted to style this shoot. Um, hello. That's a wardrobe stylists dream. So, the angle I took was to find out and study each model's personal style and vamp it up just a notch or two for the shoot. We pulled items from either the model's own closet or my own closet (in almost every case, a beautiful mixture of both!) and created looks that each model felt proud to wear, and that helped showcase Jessica's talent as a hair stylist.

It was a blast! Without further ado, here are some of the shots!

We had a very limited amount of time to get these models from bare face, sweatpants, and undone hair to dressed, styled and ready to rock the shoot. But, we made it happen!

Makeup on Miss Jocelyn!

Another shot with Jocelyn

Lips for Olivia

Poor Jocelyn-enduring the application of false lashes!

This model, Jocelyn, was just great. This dress is her own, just upped a few notches with a few pieces from my closet. Jocelyn was so easy to work with, and with someone so naturally pretty, she was so easy to style. I love Jocelyn's features and it was a blast to be able to play them up.

Jocelyn's navy blue dress really brings out her gorgeous hair and skin tone. I paired it with some light grey (almost white) textured tights from my own closet, sky high nude pumps borrowed from the photographer, a paisley scarf and turquoise jewelry both from my own closet, and when Jocelyn asked me pre-pictures if she should take off her rings, I said, "NO WAY!" 

Jocelyn's makeup consisted of a neutral eye with a pop of green in her outer "v" and lower lash line, false lashes by Ardell, a full contour and highlight with just a sweep of a berry blush and a berry lip. I absolutely adore the way that the berry lip compliments both her dress and her strawberry blonde hair. This girl is so beautiful!

This model, Julie, was an absolute pleasure to work with. Don't you love it when beautiful people are actually kind?! 

Julie's top and pumps are from her own closet and I paired them with my own lace tights, and animal print pencil skirt by Agnes and Dora. Julie wears skirts or dresses daily to work, and it was fun to add a pop of something different for her with  textured tights and an animal print. I also put Julie in one of my favorite large cocktail rings and an oversized pearl bracelet. Her makeup was very neutral on the eye with a peach blush and coral/peach lip. She pulled off that peach lip so beautifully! I added some depth to her brows and together, Julie and I conquered her fear of eyelash curlers! 

This next model, Shyanne, was fun to style. Though you can't see her whole outfit in this picture, her style is one of self proclaimed "ease, and lots of t-shirts and jeans". So, we rolled with it! I put her in a dark wash skinny jean and crisp button up and loaded her up with gold jewelry and bold makeup.

Shyanne's look was a very typical red lip, softer contour, and bold eye colors. A silver liner was used and feathered out in Shyanne's tear duct, and a very strong outer "v" and a cranberry color under her lower lash line.

Olivia was my next model and she was definitely the most daring of the group! During my initial interview with her, she told me how much she loved "different" kinds of clothing and that her style consisted of lots of texture and patterns. We originally had a different outfit for Olivia but then I asked her if she was willing to be a little bit more daring for me, and she was definitely game!

Olivia is wearing her own strappy heels (not pictured) and black top paired with my jewelry and aztec printed harem pants by Agnes and Dora. She pulls the outfit off excellently. I wanted to have Olivia intentionally overdo it with gold bangles in different textures as well as wear layers upon layers of necklaces in different metals and lengths. 

Olivia's makeup was much more dramatic than some, consisting of a sharp black crease, gold lid, and full liner. Her lip color was a mixture of a ruby red liner, Rebel lipstick by Mac (a red/berry color) and a berry gloss. I wanted harsh lines in Olivia's makeup and since we had such harsh lines in her eye look and a dark lip, I went with a very neutral peach blush.

Let me just tell you about this next model. This beauty queen shocked and amazed me when she told me she is just 14 years old! This is Paige and she was more than a pleasure to work with. Paige had beautiful skin and hardly needed a lick of makeup at all to look like a movie star.

Paige wore her own aztec top and black jeans and I put her in my accessories, scarf and boots (not pictured). I loved the floral scarf as a contrast against her aztec print in her top and added a pink pop in her earrings. Paige has phenomenally gorgeous skin and with a skin tone like hers, I wanted to let the natural glow show more than makeup. I added just a peach blush over a very thin layer of BB cream and then filled in and sculpted her brows and paired her neutral eye makeup with a darker nude lip liner. Over the liner I put a very light lavender lipstick and the combo was this perfect lip color. Paige's lip color was one of my favorite moments of this shoot!! 

And last but not least I completely enjoyed my time working with Sarah. Sarah also has gorgeous skin, and wore very little makeup in this shoot. I loved the natural look she (and Paige) brought to the shoot in contrast with the ways that the other models were very glammed up. Both concepts are equally gorgeous. It was so fun to be able to experience both in one shoot!

Sarah's top, jeans and shoes were her own and I brought her a statement necklace to help pull it all together. I loved the way Sarah's outfit looked so glam yet so wearable. She was put together without being over the top

Sarah's makeup was a darker pink blush against a smoked out eye. I used a nude lipstick and liner on her lip and topped it with a light pink gloss. I kept telling her that her look was just begging me for a nude lip! She pulled it off so well. I thinks she looks gorgeous and effortless. 

Working with these women was a pleasure. They all looked so beautiful but more than that, they all FELT so beautiful. It was an honor to be able to tap into their own personal styles and interests and add my own twist to it. Each of these ladies let me into their closets and personalities and that's not easy for everyone to do. I appreciate that they would allow me into their lives so that together we could create some incredible looks that showcased each woman's style, Jessica's skill with hair and Malae's talent behind the camera. It was my pleasure to be asked to be a part of this project and work with these beautiful women. 

Mother/Son Photoshoot: Styling Madi and Maxwell

I had a blast styling my good friend Madi and her sweet baby Maxwell for a shoot a few weeks ago! It was great to dress these two, and great for Madi to have some phenomenal post-pregnancy pictures as well as pictures with her new baby, without worrying about any of the logistics. All the fun of a photoshoot without any of the anxiety or stress.

I could go on and on about their gorgeousness, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words! And though she wore several outfits, I kept the same lip color and hair for each. I was thrilled to be able to utilize one of my very favorite lip colors right now and show how it can be used in so many settings, with so many colors and during EVERY SEASON. And no, it's not a nude or neutral lip! Keep reading to see Madi and Max in all their glory and to see how Madi can pull off a dark purple lip color against so many outfit choices.

For baby Max, I put him in a studly little outfit and the photographer (Malae Talley) couldn't help but snap a few pics of baby with mom!

Khakis, White Button up and Woven Cardigan: The Children's Place

Next, I put Madi in a paisley Maxi dress and pulled the less promenant colors from the dress using her accessories, lip color and shoes. I purposely utilized a bold lip with very neutral makeup and pin straight hair. Her lip color pulls the purple from the dress and also ties together nicely with her shoes, pulling the whole look together, quite literally, from top to bottom. I'm all about contrast and with such a pastel/bright necklace so close to her face, a bold plum colored lip was the perfect contrast and also helps the necklace and dress pull the blue out of her eyes.

Dress: Alloy; Necklace: My Sister's Closet; Purple Pumps: Justfab; Makeup: Lipstick-Heroine by MAC cosmetics with Vision in Violet Lipgloss by Maybelline Elixir over the top.

For Madi's second look, I put her in a plaid/flannel shirt and black pants. I decided to make it more feminine with a pointed toe pump and scarf. The contrast of the prints in her scarf and top are one of my absolute favorite parts of this look. Without that, it wouldn't have been anything special but mixing patterns makes a boring or predictable look more interesting. It also just goes to show you that nothing in you (or your man's) closet is off limits! I kept the same lip color throughout her different looks but the reason I loved it here was because of the dark, vampy look it gives her as a contrast against such a masculine top. It's the same idea as the mixing of the patterns. We play up the "girlyness" in her look with her accessories and makeup (vampy lip, leopard print scarf, stiletto pumps) and then the skeleton of the look is very masculine and maybe even haphazard. Plus the purple and red combo are unexpected and yet...they work! This is my favorite look I put Madi in that day.

Top: Wal Mart (men's section); Leggings: Old Navy; Scarf: Nordstrom; Pumps: Charlotte Russe

Her last look was perfect for her. I put her in a very full skirt with a very fitted top. The look originally involved an oversized floral printed belt, but alas, it was left behind in the mass packing for the photoshoot. However, I think she pulled it off regardless. This is the same look she was wearing for the candid photos that were taken with her baby. The reason I stayed with this lip color for this look was because the contrast between the lip and her skin, and then her peach button up, was enough to make the look interesting without looking odd or out of place. Plus, the purple hue goes so well with the peach top, the same way that the navy skirt does. This is an outfit you'd typically see in the springtime or summer and it just goes to show you a bold lip is not taboo in the warmer months! And with such a full skirt, how could I NOT put her in t-strap pumps?!

Peach Button Up: Old Navy; Polka Dot A-Line Skirt: Cozy; T-Strap heels: Old (Store Unknown)

I had a blast dressing Madi and Maxwell! Don't they look great!?

Traditional Smokey Eye Tutorial and Brushes

Hello! After this post a friend of mine asked me to do a tutorial on a traditional smokey eye look. Then, just yesterday, another friend asked me on Facebook for the same thing! So, here we are. Let's get started!

First of all, I took individual pics of my personal brushes and the products I used and then I got a new phone which deleted all of my high class iPhone pics of brushes and products. So, instead I've found pictures of the exact ones I used online. However, I used products that you can easily find dupes of as well as use your own versions.

So to start off, when working with dark colors, and especially when doing a smokey look like this, I definitely suggest doing your eye makeup before anything else. That way, if you experience fallout with your products or smudge something on your cheek accidentally, you can easily fix it without messing anything else up.

So, start out with a bare face like so. And don't be scared.

The bare face!

Next pull up your hair and prime your eyes. First, I prime with a liquid/tube primer. I typically reach for the ELF cosmetics Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (because it's affordable and works! $3!) But Nars and Urban Decay both make great options.

Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

After patting that onto my lid, I go in with an eyeshadow base. If you don't have oily lids you can skip the first step and start here. The purpose of a base is that your shadow will stick better to your lid without creasing, you'll see brighter more true to color pigmentation and you'll also cancel out any discoloration or veins on your eyelids. My very favorite is Painterly Paint Pot by Mac, but if you're looking for shimmer, Maybelline makes a great version as well for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, Maybelline doesn't make a matte color and that's what I love about Painterly. I apply this with my finger.

Here is the Paint Pot I used:

 

Painterly Paint Pot by MAC

And here is the Maybelline version. My favorite of the Maybelline version is in the color Bad to the Bronze or Barely Branded. Here are pictures of both of those. Remember, the Maybelline version is not matte, and has quite a bit of sparkle. I've also noticed it's harder to blend out, but it is a fraction of the cost.

Barely Branded

Bad to the Bronze

Next, you're going to want to lay down a transition shade. This is so that when you're finished with the darkest part of the eye (in this case a color as unforgiving as black) you have a lighter color that pulls your look together before it reaches the brow bone. You don't want black all the way from your lash line to your brow, but you also don't want a harsh change from black to highlight. The colors that I use to transition are Foxy and Naked2 in the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. (You could use only this palette and create a gorgeous smokey eye, but I decided to go all out.) I use a Sedona Lace EB 13 Brush for this. It's a fluffy brush but more dense than some. It lays down a great transition shade. It is a synthetic brush, so it transfers color well without absorbing the pigment into the bristles.

Use windshield wiper motions with your transition shade, but then make little circles in the outer "V" of your eye to really buff out your transition color.

This is the synthetic EB 13 brush by Sedona Lace.

I used the colors Foxy and Naked 2 to lay down my transition shade.

You'll take a blending brush and use windshield wiper motions to go across the crease and just up onto the brow bone. On the outer "v" of your eye, go ahead and make little circles with your brush to buff out the color, but mostly focus on a back and forth motion.

After that, you're going to take a denser, smaller brush and go in with your darker color. In this case we are using black. I like to start about 3/4 of the way toward my outer "v", create a bit of a line from there to the end of my lash line, and then go up and under my brow bone. Don't worry too much about carving out the crease at this point. Just get your product down. For this black color, I used "Crave" from the Naked Basics Palette. The brush is a dense brush by Elf Cosmetics called the contour brush.

Elf Contour Eye Brush

The color "Crave" is used on the eye look above.

Now, get yourself a fluffy (fluffier than the brush you used for your transition shade) blending brush and...BLEND, BLEND, BLEND. Be careful not to take the color too far out of your eyelid of you'll end up with the dreaded raccoon eyes, and don't take it too far up past your transition color. Use small circles with your brush and just blend. When you think you've blended enough, take a step back, look in the mirror and blend some more. And then blend some more. This is why we don't have the rest of our makeup on yet. You might see that your shadow will go too far out onto your temples (try to avoid this but I'll tell you how to fix it later) or you might see that it's falling down on your cheeks.

I use this blending brush by Mirabella. It's fluffy and sturdy and I just love it.

After you've blended it out, you can see that it's much less harsh and easier to take in.

Next, I like to go in with a bit of grey under the lash line and then carve that same grey right into my crease. I do this with the Real Techniques Details brush. I use that same brush to smudge and smoke out the lower lash line, and then go in with that fluffy blending brush from earlier (Mirabella) to blend out the crease. Really push that fluffy brush into your crease to give some definition to the "all black" thing going on. Yes, I know it doesn't look presentable yet but that's the thing about a smokey eye. It's not going to look good until you're completely finished.

Next, I work on the lid. I went for a vanilla/cream colored pigment by NYX, though you can stick with a white color and have a similar and probably even more traditional look. I take this on any old eyeshadow brush and I always spray it with Mac Fix+ when using a pigment. It gives a foiled look and creates lots of "stay" for your colors. It's a product I definitely recommend but you can really use any makeup spray for this. Pat (don't spread or smear or blend), I repeat PAT the color onto the lid until you have that half-moon shaped look on your lid. Take a tiny bit down onto the outer lower lash line and inner corner.

Mac Fix+. You can use this by spraying it directly on your brush before dipping it into a pigment or shadow, and it can also be used by spraying directly on your face to add a dewy finish. I wouldn't recommend spraying directly over your makeup unless you have dry skin.

Remember to pat the pigment on. Spraying it with Fix+ will increase the pigmentation dramatically and also help it to stay put on your lid.

Now you can take the same color you use on the lid or any highlight color to highlight your brows. I use this on a natural brush and blend it in just slightly with the transition and smoked out color. This is a Sedona Lace brush as well but instead of synthetic, it's a natural hair brush. Meaning, it absorbs more of the pigment and doesn't lay down as much color. That's why I love it for highlighting-it's not harsh and blends well.

Next, I take a pencil brush (Any pencil brush is fine) and go in with a harsh black pigment. However, you can just go back in with the black you originally used if you'd like. No need to buy two. But for me, I like having a harsher black in small amounts over the black we already smoked out. You can use the original black shadow with Fix+ to create this effect as well, though. With that pencil brush, I spray it with Fix+ and go in with the black pigment (I used Color Tattoo by Maybelline) just in the outer "v" of my eye. Then blend! Here I show you one eye with the extra black pigment and one without. In my opinion it makes a favorable difference.

You can see that the eye on the left has more definition from applying just a little bit more of a harsh color to the outer "V" of the eye. However, either look is fine and it's totally up to personal preference.

The above picture also shows liner. I line my eyes with a gel liner. The reason I use gel instead of liquid here is because I want to smoke it out. Apply your gel liner one eye at a time so that you have time to go in (with a detail brush like the one by Real Techniques) and smoke/smudge it all out. I opt not to line my waterline here since the look is already closing in on my eye, but that's a personal preference. I felt that lining it with a white or nude color would break up the look too much, and lining with black on the waterline would close my eye up too much.

Curl your lashes and then go for mascara. I always mix my mascaras. First I do a coat of They're Real by Benefit, and then I go in with my trusty Telescopic Mascara in Black.

This picture is without liner or mascara on the bottom lashes. Don't neglect your bottom lash line or your smokey eye will look unfinished and awkward. 

Then finish the rest of your makeup and you're good to go! Don't forget to put mascara on your bottom lashes. With a smokey eye, you don't want to neglect the lower lash line or you'll look unfinished.

If you do go too far outside of your temples, this is your chance to take a makeup wipe and slide it across for a sharp line or even use a concealer brush and concealer to sharpen that up. You can also take this chance to clean up any fallout on your cheeks before putting on the rest of your makeup.

My suggestion, with an eye look as dramatic as this one, is that you go easy on the cheeks and lips and just let the eyes be the focal point. This will keep you from looking clownish. I just used a light hand with a pink blush and a quick swipe of lipstick using Saint Germaine by MAC. I opted not to use a gloss here because I feel like the muted matte look on lip looks well against something as dramatic as a black smokey eye. This look would also work well with a light hand in a peach blush and a nude lip.

 

And that, is that! Much easier than you'd think. And it took me 15 minutes (including the rest of my makeup) and that's WITH taking pictures. The awesome thing is that this is easy to recreate with color like green or purple, as a neutral with browns and golds, and to tone down for an every day look.

Obviously this look is very dramatic, but like I said it's so easy to create this similar look and tone it down for daytime, or even vamp it up with a darker lip and harsher lower lash line for a night out! Let me know if you're interested in seeing colored versions!

 

Let me know if you have any other questions about brushes or if anyone is interested in ways to create this look on a budget. There are some great drugstore options available, even as far as brushes go, so let me know!!

Have fun and tag me in your versions of this look on Instagram! #thesearchingproject and feel free to follow me @alyssalynnhall5. I love it when I see I've been tagged in a version of a look I've posted, whether it's makeup or fashion. I think it's so awesome the way that everyone can put their own twist on something as traditional as a smokey eye.

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