Oscars 2011 : get her look :: Mila Kunis

One of my favorite looks of the Oscars, Mila Kunis, revved up her eyes and played it soft with lips and cheeks.

Get her look!

Lets start with her glowing skin, as with any look - a perfect canvas will allow for a masterpiece. Without having your skin evened out, there is no way of having a polished, complete look (unless your skin is completely, incredibly perfect!)

Smashbox Sheer Focus will give your skin a beautiful glow with minimal coverage (plus it has built in sun protection, SPF 15) - Available in all skin tones, $38

A soft hint of colour from the apples of the cheeks, blended up the cheek bone with Smashbox Blush Rush in Chiffon, $29

Get her sexy, sultry eyes with a sweep of the top right colour from Dior eyeshadow palette, Amber Design - 708, and lining the center gold colour around your entire eye.

Use the bottom left matte brown shade very sparingly just at the outside corners of your eyes and bottom lashline.

Line your entire eye (inside rim) with Smashbox Jet Set Eyeliner in black, $30

Give your lashes a generous coat of mascara, focusing on your outside corners - this will give you that exotic, almond shape eye.

MAC Opulash has a nice fat brush that will give your lashes a ton of volume and curl, $17

Don't forget your brows! Alot of people often skip this step, but once you start filling in your brows - I promise you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

Brows really help to shape your eyes and frame your face.

Dior's powder pencil for brows is amazing and looks really natural, $28

Mila's soft, coral, frosted lips were a huge trend at the Oscar's this year - Get it with MAC Costa Chic, pinky coral frosted lipstick, $18

Have some fun! Remember, its just makeup and it will wash off - so try out something new and experiment!

Stay tuned for a giveaway very soon!!

And My Exciting News...

... I have been chosen by WedLuxe Magazine as

Best Make Up Artist for 2010!

For those of you that don't know about WedLuxe, or what it is... Well, its only the most prestigious and luxurious Bridal magazine out there!

This year, WedLuxe is debuting their first ANNUAL “Best of WedLuxe Awards” to recognize the individual contributions and extraordinary talent of the INCREDIBLE event professionals whose work has been showcased within their featured real-life weddings this year!

Since 2006, the mandate of WedLuxe has been to showcase the VERY best of the Canadian Wedding Industry.

Every issue, WedLuxe receives hundreds of real-life wedding submissions and narrow them down to the top 7-10 in each region. Then only the most beautiful, most stylish, most creative and most exclusive weddings produced by Canada’s top-notch wedding professionals are published.
The results? Truly, ‘award-winning’ work from everyone involved in the chosen stories! So, they decided it was time to recognize the individual vendors accordingly!

I must give a huge thank you to Ashley & Jay for having me be a part of their very special day - and I can't wait to see the feature in print (on newstands December 13, 2010).
Also, a big thank you to Angela, Carolyn and the staff at WedLuxe for this amazing recognition!

Beauty & Love at Blue Mountain :: Shannon & Matt

Another beautiful wedding of our good friends has come and gone and I am so happy that I was a part of it.

Matt and Shannon tied the knot at the end of September at Blue Mountain, and it was an incredibly beautiful ceremony and reception.

The colours of fall were reflected in the decor and the landscape outside as the backdrop.

It was perfect!

Congratulations Matt & Shannon, we wish you all the best in a lifetime of happiness together!

You can have a look at more photos at Brian McKay Studios.

Serenity and Bliss :: Morgan & Johnny

One of the most beautiful moments I have experienced as a make up artist, happened as I was working with Morgan and her family...

... We had finished Morgan's makeup, she had just got dressed when her dad walks in the room to see his little girl. He gives her a hug and the waterworks begun with no end in sight! As they calmed themselves and pulled away from each other it was clear that Morgan had a little more than just "touching up" to do...

...but it was all worth it, just for that moment.

It was a complete pleasure and honor to be a part of this spectacular day. Morgan and her family are super cute with great style, and this wedding was just that.

I can`t wait to see more photos, but for now here are a few courtesy of Laura Jane Photography.

Meeting Lori Taylor!

So I know this happened a couple months ago, but I am obviously terrible with blogging!

I was so fortunate to meet with Smashbox's Pro Lead Make Up Artist, Lori Taylor, who was in Toronto for some press and new launches back in June.

(from left: Shawn, Me, Lori, Krista, Rhomer)

I must say, Lori is totally cool and down to earth. If you have seen her work, you will know just how incredibly talented she is.

Myself and a couple other artists were asked to meet with Lori, get to know more about her experiences in the industry and Smashbox as a company.

I learned alot from her in the time we had and she definitely inspired me to reach the goals that I had set out years ago!

Shannon & Matt :: Happiness is...

With their much anticipated wedding in Blue Mountain only a couple months away, Shannon & Matt had their E-Session this past week in beautiful, historic Unionville.

It's not hard to make Shannon gorgeous, as you can see she already is - But they both have an incredible glow and happiness in these pics with their new dog, Tyler.

Can't wait for the Wedding!

Check out Brian McKay's e-session with Shannon & Matt

http://brianmckaystudios.com/blog/?p=1358

Allison & Bob - Simple Beauty

My job is awesome....

I get to meet amazing women, make them feel great AND be a part of one of the most important days of their lives.

Allison and her bridal party were no exception.

Allison went from wanting very natural makeup, to a 30's inspired look - without being over the top. The end result was nothing short of beautiful and everyone looked gorgeous!

Check out some photos taken by Tara McMullen - a photographer that is one word, Incredible.

http://taramcmullen.com/archives/4461