Why Changing Hair color means changing Makeup colors too…

When you change your hair color, do you change your makeup, too? Yes.  I find that changing a hair color is also a perfect opportunity to experiment with lip, cheek and eye-shadow colors too. (Your foundation, which needs to match your skin tone, should always stay a constant!!) Anyway, the rule of thumb, learned from a celebrity makeup artist-friend: If you’re taking your hair in a brighter direction – strawberry blonde, coppery red or rich chestnut – a shift to softer, neutral shades on your eyes and lips can look amazing. (I love our bestselling Motives Lip Shine in Radiant Glow)  Alternately, if you’re going blonder or darker, you can get away with bolder, more dramatic hues: red lips or a lush smoky eye.

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Be Yourself Beauty wins WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™ 2012

Congratulations!  We are excited to announce that Be Yourself Beauty – Nancy Hathaway-Hopowiec has been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012.

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.

The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™ recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ are awarded solely based on the reviews from over 1.2 million newlyweds. Awards are determined by a combination of four factors:  Overall rating (quality), total number of reviews (quantity), review performance from 2011 (recency), and consistency of reviews from year to year (consistency). This year’s recipients represent the top 5% of WeddingWire’s vendor community, across all service categories and all regions throughout the US and Canada.

A Fall Wedding in the Berkshires

Fall is my favorite time of year.  And, what a beautiful time for a wedding in the Berkshires.  Bucksteep Manor provided the perfect setting for this fall wedding, and I was honored to be a part of this special day.

Rebecca and Chris’s wedding was a beautiful, elegant affair that included special touches of the Berkshires and it’s autumn splendor intertwined with the country charm and serenity that Bucksteep Manor provides in it’s rural setting.  The wedding was truly customized and largely done by the creative bride + groom themselves along with some help from their wedding planner!   It was the perfect day for a beautiful couple.

Being a Dog Mom myself, I have a special place in my heart for anyone who includes their pooch in their wedding day.  Chris and Rebecca’s pal Truffles watched everyone get prepared for the special day, and even accompanied them into the church!  So well behaved…What a perfect pup.

Be Yourself Beauty sends All the Best and Congratulations to Rebecca and Chris on your October 1, 2011 wedding!!!

Burt’s Bees Sensitive Skin Care

I had the opportunity as a BzzAgent, to try the new Burt’s Bee’s Sensitive Skin cream Cleanser and Daytime Moisturizer.  I like how the product has made my skin feel.  The cleanser cleansed without my skin feeling tight or dry, and the moisturizer absorbed nicely leaving my skin feeling well hydrated.  Another plus, …It is 99% natural.

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Wedding Makeup Tips – Bridal Beauty Before and After

Weddings are one of the most important celebration of one’s life.  It’s a time to celebrate the union of two lives into one and share in the joy of such a special occasion with family and friends. You take the time to create the perfect day, the one you have always dreamed of.  You find the perfect wedding gown, the perfect shoes and jewelry
to match.  You’ve invested in the best photographer you could find to capture the moment.  You think
of how you’ll wear your hair and veil, and of course, you don’t want to forget, makeup.  Your hair is the frame of your
face and your face is the portrait.  Given such an occasion, your everyday look isn’t going to be enough for photography purposes.  You will want to put your best face forward with
the best makeup and artist you can find so that your Picture Perfect for the Wedding Day.  Some women are do-it-yourself
brides and might be able to create a nice look; however, they may be missing the boat
with “DIY” makeup on this special day.  Having a professional makeup artist who’s trained and
experienced in concealing, neutralizing and enhancing for photography
and specific lighting is invaluable.  After all, what is the first thing people will notice about you when you walk in the room or look at your pictures???  It’s really Not the dress, shoes, jewelry or hair, it’s Your Face.

Did you realize that when you’re photographed with a professional
lens, such as the one your photographer will use, you photograph up
to 3 shades lighter than you actually appear in person?  Having a foundation
shade that matches your skin isn’t enough; a shade that is custom
blended and applied in a seamless way is crucial to avoid that washed out, “ghostly”
look or, just as important, to avoid looking orange or “muddy” by using
a shade too deep.  I’m sure you have read that you should use a concealer
that’s one shade lighter than your foundation color.  Well, this is Not necessarily true. The color
of your under-eye circles will determine what shade of concealer should
be used and if you need a corrector.  Airbrush foundation is a wonderful invention that was hard to
come by until recent years. With airbrush you get a smooth application
that looks like second skin, feels weightless and lasts longer than any
other foundation. It’s often used for high definition television and
editorial photography therefore making it ideal for brides who need it
to last through tears and dancing while looking natural to guests and
flawless in photos.

Does your blush tend to fade into your skin or your eyeliner smudge
towards the afternoon? Well, we can’t have that happening on your big
day where all eyes will be on you and cameras are clicking everywhere
you turn!  There are techniques and unique cosmetics a professional
artist will use to ensure your makeup looks and stays fresh from the moment of
application until the very last dance and you rest your head next to your spouse later that
evening.  Have you ever gone to a makeup counter at Nordstrom or
Macy’s to have your makeup done and find it looks much different outside the store??   A well trained makeup pro knows how to capture the best you in all lighting scenarios and can personally attest to how the makeup will wear, feel and look.  Having a
beauty arsenal that is ready for whatever the day throws at her or him
is what differentiates the average makeup artist from the professional
makeup artist.  The Professional makeup artist will know how different products compliment
different skin colors and skin types to achieve a flawless end result.

Before

                                                                                        After

Custom Blend Foundations from BeYourselfBeauty.com and Motives

Be Yourself Beauty and Motives Custom Blend foundation is designed to match skin tones perfectly and provides the desired coverage
and finish by employing an advanced combination of bases, toners,
enhancers, and modifiers that conceal any feature for a truly signature
look. It sets a new standard in customized cosmetics with a simple
process of choosing a base, adjusting with toner, then adding personal
touches from an extensive selection of modifiers and enhancers that
adjust the foundation texture, coverage and finish to meet any need or preference.

For a more natural coverage, a thinner can be added to dilute the base for a sheer finish.  A Hydrator can be added to a foundation to help restore moisture in dehydrated skin.

For those with t-zone shine or oily
skin, a Mattifier imparts a flawless, shine-free, powder finish for
camera-ready makeup as it absorbs any surface oil.  An Oil Control
enhancer helps manage oil production for 8-10 hours by utilizing botanicals with
astringent, purifying and cleansing qualities.

Need a lift? Skip the syringe! Fringe Benefit plumps fine lines,
restores radiance and re-texturizes the skin, while Ultra Firming
botanical complex uses soy protein for an instant tightening “flash”
effect that lasts throughout the day.  It’s almost like having liquid
Botox.  Something everyone should include is the buildable Sunscreen
Additive, which provides a lightweight, non-greasy SPF protection from
harmful UV rays.

For those in need of extra coverage, Coverage Enhancers are used to increase the foundation pigment from medium coverage for slight imperfections such as rosacia, freckles and dark circles, to maximum coverage for camouflaging more severe problems like hyper-pigmentation, post-surgical bruising or discoloration, scars and tattoos.

Be Yourself Beauty and  Motives Custom Blend Foundation Bases and Toners can create the perfect shade for an individual’s
skin by matching and neutralizing natural undertones. All seven Bases
come in an oil-free formula, perfect if you are looking for an oil-free foundation.   They are paraben free and are 11% pigmented, which means more coverage
in an age defying, lighter weight texture. Toners are intensive
concentrates that come in 12 colors such as Yellow/Red which imparts
peach undertones and Pearl which gives movement for that dewy glow. 
These Toners provide the control to color-match any skin tone, adjust
the foundation and create any shade imaginable in a talc-free formula that will never turn your foundation chalky. 

Custom blend foundations retail for $39.99 to $44.99.  (Foundation price is determined by modifers needed).  They are available for purchase through BeYourselfBeauty.com For additional information about our products, please visit www.BeYourselfBeauty.com or contact Nancy Hathaway-Hopowiec at 860-289-8191 or 888-457-8797

Motives Makeup in the News!

I just got wind that Motives will be featured in Woman’s World magazine’s February issue! Such a huge publication and… Oprah is on the cover! Fabulous. Motives Lip Crayon in Retro Red was their pick for fair skin in an article about turning on your winter glow (beauty tip!):  You can buy this and other Motives cosmetics at www.BeYourselfBeauty.com

Be Yourself Beauty Chosen for Bride’s Choice Award from WeddingWire

Be Yourself Beauty has been Chosen for Bride’s Choice Award

The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™
recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire
Network that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness,
and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected
by the organization, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined by recent
reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds. This year’s
winners represent the top five percent of WeddingWire’s vendor
community, which consists of over 100,000 local wedding professionals
nationwide.

Congratulations "Be Yourself Beauty" our 2010 winner in Connecticut!