West Aussie Wedding

beauty kit

For those that are interested in the minor beauty details here at the deets of my wedding day efforts.. (to those who aren't, sorry this will be boring)

I had planned to buy a brand new perfume for the wedding, but couldn't find anything that really grabbed me.

However while digging around in my old makeup case I found a bottle of the perfume I used to wear all the time back in the uni days. Good old Japanese Musk from the Body Shop (which is now discontinued- boo hoo) Maybe not the most sophisticated of choices but as soon as I saw it I thought "Oh goodie my wedding perfume" And it's the only fragrance I have ever worn that people have given me compliments on.

My manicure and pedicure were last minute jobs, done just before closing time at one of those bulk nail bars in Garden City. So I didn't have much time to agonise over the colours, (which is normally half the fun) but these are the ones I went for:

Fingernails were painted with Malaysian Mist by OPI, a nice nude colour. I was looking out for Mimosa for Mr & Mrs or At First Sight but this shop didn't have either of them.

Toenails were painted with Kreme de la Kremlin by OPI, which is a nice creamy colour, as I'm not big on pearlescent or shimmery nailpolishes.. It looked quite pink on my toes. Not that it mattered as I was wearing a long dress. but anyway

 
But the funnest beauty detail of all was my fake hair.

I have fine hair prone to limpness. Poo to that.

So I went to Wasp in North Perth and bought some clip in human hair extensions. I think they were about $160 and you get a few different pieces that clip in close to your scalp and you can use them again and again. I got them the same length as my hair as aiming for added volume not length (and the longer you get them the more they cost)

They are weird, sort of like a funny little hairy animal.. but look great when in.

Definitely recommended for girls who like big hair.

I am going to practice putting them in myself to make sure I get lots of use out of them

high brow beauty

I decided we should indulge in some pre-wedding pampering the day before the wedding.

Originally I had this grand plan to book us if for the Bridal Party package at Escape Day Spa.

You get to chose get three mini treatments (mani, pedi, exfoliation, facial, massage or aromatherapy shower) and it goes for an hour and half. It would mean fluffy gowns, scented candles, soft background music...

But it has been canned because:

We will have had our fake tans, which rules out most of those treatments listed.

BM1 couldn't do it too late because her boyfriend is arriving from Melbourne that afternoon

And BM2 couldn't do it too early as she has to work

And it costs $210/pp which is a bit steep.

So instead we are going to slum it down at the local shopping centre.

image via MixnMatch

We will head to Nails Today where the Vietmanese girls in dust masks to file our toe and fingernails into perfection for $60 and you don't need an appointment

Then we can go to the Beauticans inside the hairdressers, where we can listen to 92.9 fm blaring away while they tint the hairs we like, and wax the hairs we don't.

We will come out looking the same as if we'd been at Escape.

There is one beauty indulgence that I won't compromise on, and that is having my eyebrows done by Ainslie.

An eyebrow shaping sets you back about $40 and usually takes at least half an hour, but this is no garden variety eyebrow wax! She assesses your face shape, your natural eyebrow contour and does some magic trick where you leave her salon looking younger and healthier and foxier than you walked in. I made my appointment with her months ago, because you have to she books out about 5 weeks in advance. Highly recommened Perthies! 

And if it's your thing, there are more Brides with ciggies here and here

shades of brown

I'm back in Perth and going to the hairdresser tonight- just for a colour.

It's been a while! My hair has sort of gone a bit orangey. In a bad way.

What I'm aiming for is a rich chocolatey brown with some caramel highlights (subtle ones not stripey).

 
oh Pania. I wish I was you

 
you annoy me but I love your Emerald earrings   

 
Rose Byrne what a cutie

 
I'm loving those red lips. And the hair of course 

With all due respect I can't believe she won an oscar

I don't know who you are but I'm jealous  

But now I need to go through my stack of old magazines and try and find some examples likes these to rip out because I can't exactly email these pictures to the hairdresser can I.  
 

My Beautiful Birds Nest

I was really so happy with my hair trial.

It was done by the lovely Thiana Sperry who is also doing my makeup.

I told her I wanted a messy scruffy sort of bun sitting quite low on my head..

When I say that to hairdressers they usually give me curls. Which isn't what I mean. 

So when Thiana started back-combing my hair I knew everything was going to be ok. She got it!  

 

More pictures of my hair from different angles here. 

She played around quite a lot, trying all the different things I was considering.. And there were quite a few- side fringe, quiff, ponytail, high bun, low bun etc.. Everything she did looked ace! 

I like my hair to be uncomplicated.. to almost look as though I've done it myself.

It will be a bit hard deciding exactly what to get.. but she was so flexible I know that whatever I go with she will be able to pull it off for me.

 

(im)perfect wedding hair

This looks to me like perfect wedding hair

 
image via tumbr

That bird clip reminds me of these bird dresses from Michelle Jank

You could use these porcelian clips from Lladro instead

makeup trial

I loved my makeup trial. My makeup artist is so cool and so much fun.

I took in a few magazine pics of the sort of stuff I like and she worked her magic.

I walked out of there feeling like a million bucks! The makeup looked so natural, not OTT at all, and my skin was all dewy clear looking.

 
image via YayEveryday 

It was about 6 hours later when the Mr. saw me the first thing he asked was "have you been crying?"

WTF. No I had not been crying. I'd been happy. I'm just going to let that comment go.

He didn't actually mention (or notice?) the makeup and he doesn't like heavy make up as a general rule, so I want to keep it natural and fresh looking as possible.

I'm hoping he just said that because my eyes were just looking watery or something.

  

colourful girl

You may have seen this girl around but I cant help myself because I love this colourful bride.. not just her bold red hair but the bright flowers she has put in there and of course those gorgeous jewels she is adorned with. The bodice of her wedding dress is a beautiful jewel toned olive green, which is a lovely compliment to her skin and hair.

Photo by Steep Street via Once Wed

No reason to be scared of colour on your wedding day!

White is actually a hard colour for most of us to pull off.

The background of your wedding dress is sort of like a blank canvas and so you can accessorise with wild abandon!

hair trial

I'm really excited because I've got a hair trial with the lovely Thiana Sperry who is also doing my wedding makeup!

So now I've got to think about how I want my hair.

As usual my problem is there are too many things I like but of course I can only chose one.

My main dilema is wether to have fringe wept to the side, or fringe swept back

here are the cases for and against

Fringe to the side:

 
 

I just love the way these all look relaxed hairstyles.. not too fussy just nice and easy.

The only thing is I have two very strong cowlicks at the front of my head which don't really want to stay in this sort of position

For that reason I usually just pin my fringe back in a quiffesque style and thinking that it might work for wedding day as well, and here is the case for the finge pinned back

 

So part of me thinks that it may be best to go fringe back which is more in line with my usual look.. and isn't fighting my hairs natural tendancy as much

Okay but that is not my only dilema! I like the idea of my hair sort of pulled into a low and loose bunch at the nape of my neck.. but then I see these styles and think maybe I should totally rock a ponytail.  

My hair is unfortunately very straight, rather fine and no where near as voluminous as I'd like it to be, so if I do go down the ponytail path I'm actually thinking about getting one of those clip on hair things just to give myself some more body out the back.

Other considerations:

Dress. It is greccian like with halter-like neckline which I try to describe here

Headgear. I think I will be wearing just a little puff of tulle on the side of my head, a bit like the one this bride is wearing.

Earrings. I have got some big and beautiful chandelier earrings. I mean really big. And they are colourful. And beautiful. (I will fill you in on those later)
  
  

head studio

This ad has made me want to change hairdressers.

I'd trade my right arm for a big curly tumble of hair.

And a waif-like body would be nice as well.

 

an ad for headstudio, seen in Russh Magazine

Blonde Bombshell

This girl makes me want to go back to being a blondie. I love her hair, not just the colour but the style too.

 

Hair by Bach Hair

Hair Ribbons

You can't really beat hair ribbons for adding a touch of sweet femininity.. for the understated Bride or Bridesmaid.

 

lesretrouvaille's Flickr

Nasty April's Flickr

 

Torpors Flickr

I like the idea of a big bow in my hair.. or even just a little one..

Scruffy Hair Strikes Again

Ooh this is nice. A messy pile of hair on the side of your head.

 

From Karen Magazine

Hair by Barney Martin

Makeup by Katrina Raferty

Vest by Fleur Wood