Before & Afters ::: Orange County Boudoir ::: Grace and Lace Boudoir

We are firm believers that all women are beautiful – and WE LOVE giving our clients an experience where they can see themselves in a new light and celebrate themselves. We don’t share before and afters to show how different you can look for your session or to insinuate that you are not enough in your day to day look - the reason why we share these is that we hear over and over again from women who say, ‘I could never look like that’… Ummm, YES YOU CAN! Our boudoir clients come from all over and they are everyday women just like you – of all ages, all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life. These women ARE YOU!

We also believe that you are in control of the entire shoot. You have a say in how you would like your makeup - you’ll let us know when you fill out your questionnaire by choosing from below (multiple answers are allowed, too ;)

Natural (Freckles are still visible, minimal eye makeup, neutral lip color)

Natural with a touch of sexy (Soft glam with glowy skin and a soft smokey eye; almost bridal like makeup)

Full Glam (Sultry smokey eye, glowy contoured skin, bronzed)

Dramatic (Sultry smokey eye, contoured face with a dramatic lip)

I have no idea, I trust the makeup artist

Before & After photos are here so that you can see that ANYONE can do this!

Anonymous Bridal Boudoir ::: Orange County Boudoir ::: Grace and Lace Boudoir

Come take a peek into this stunning, anonymous bridal boudoir. Just because it is a gift for your wedding day, definitely doesn’t mean it has to be all white or with your vail. By all means, if that’s what you want to do, let’s do it … it just doesn’t HAVE to be. You could do blue like this stunner below. And nude. ;)

Whatever you end up deciding, let it be something you’ll be thrilled about later on, too.

Sexy Siren

When Mindy sat in my chair, the first thing I noticed was her beautiful skin. It was smooth and tight and I that's where i wanted to put the focus. Above everything else, the skin is my favorite. There is nothing better than  flawless skin! 

For Mindy's eyes, I used some MAC shadows and the Anastasia of Beverly Hills modern renaissance palette, My obsession.  I used a light warm brown color in here crease as her transition. I then used Cyprus umber on her lid to darken it and then put a little bit of red ochre over that for a beautiful burgundy smokey eye. I then blended it all together with a bit of burnt orange and raw sienna. I lined her lids with Bobbie Brown gel eyeliner in black and smudged it out a bit with a black shadow. I topped off her eye look with some demi wispies

For her skin, I used maracuja oil for some hydration as I was doing her eyes. I then primed her skin with a smashbox primer. She had some brown marks under her eyes, so I went ahead and color corrected with an orange shade by derma color. For foundation I Used the Amazonian Clay full coverage foundation with a flat top kabuki brush. I concealed under her eyes with Tarte shape tape and blended that out with a beauty blender.  I also used the shape tape to highlight her forehead chin, and small bit on the top of the nose. I then set her skin with Laura Merciers translucent powder. I contoured Mindy's face with hoola benefit bronzer, and then used the Lorac tantalizer for a beautiful bronzed glow all over. For blush I used buff by mac, and for highlight I used Becca champagne pop. For her brows I used Anastasia Beverly Hills pencil in soft brown and then a the same soft brown powder to set it. Last but not least, Lips! I used MAC lip pencil in stridown with dose of colors in truffle and inglot #53 lip paint.  

Makeup brush cleaning 101

I get asked a lot about how to clean makeup brushes and its really quite simple. I used to stand at my sink for hours on end cleaning every single brush with soap and then having to wait overnight for them to dry. I seriously don't have time for that, considering I have to wash my brushes after every client. Now, if your not cleaning your makeup brushes you should be, and yes, I'm judging you! There is so much bacteria and build up on your brushes, it's definitely not good for your skin. So what I do is grab some rubbing alcohol, make sure its 91% or higher, and put it in a small bowl. now you can dip your brush in it and wipe it off on a towel. Repeat a few times with the same brush until it swipes clean on the towel. This is a great because your smaller brushes will dry within a few minutes and they will be ready for use again. Now everyone, go grab those brushes and get to cleaning!