As a Portland wedding hair and makeup artist specializing in natural looks, I was thrilled when Lindsey expressed her desire to highlight rather than hide her gorgeous natural curls. For brides with textured hair, the right approach makes all the difference. She was totally open to any type of style or shape so long as the curls remained. So, we focused on refining and defining her natural curl pattern, creating a style that was both elegant and authentically her.

There's so many beautiful places to get married in Portland where you can blend the natural beauty with your own personal style—and Ana and Matthew's celebration at the Shakespeare Rose Garden was a perfect example. As a Portland-based wedding hair and makeup artist specializing in natural bridal beauty, I was thrilled to help Ana create the light, fresh bridal style she envisioned for their ceremony at the rose garden and reception at Cooper’s Hall.

I turned 35 last month, and in a post on Instagram that garnered a lot of DM’s from my followers, I shared one of my mantras about aging:

Hotter, smarter, funnier, kinder, every single day.

Some context: I came up with this mantra around age 27, and it has served me well for the last 8 years. At the time that I came up with this, I wasn’t where I wanted to be in life. I felt like I had hit a setback in my career. I wasn’t feeling secure in my closest friendships. I was single, and wanted to be in a relationship. I was trying to figure out what city, state, and country I wanted to live in. All of that resulted in me starting feeling completely disconnected from my confidence and flirting with the resurgence of an eating disorder. I felt like there was so much going on that was outside of my control, so what could I control: How I saw myself.

Tucked away in her Southeast Portland apartment, surrounded by all of the women in her sphere, Vanessa’s wedding morning was a very “the more the merrier” moment—a warm and welcoming group, coffee flowing, 90’s and early 00’s bops on rotation. I love a quiet wedding morning but there's something magical about being immersed in a group of girlfriends.

Creating the perfect bridal look requires understanding both the bride's personal style and the overall wedding vibe. For Abbey's October wedding at Cooper's Hall in Portland, Oregon, we worked together to design a natural-yet-elevated makeup and hair style that complemented her fair complexion, modern style, and non-traditional modern vintage wedding theme.

As the weather gets chillier, our skin faces new challenges. Most people notice a change in their skin during winter months: uncomfortable, tight, or flaky skin are common complaints that can be caused by cold, dry air. Even if you have oily skin, the change in winter weather can cause dehydration. But with the right tweaks to your skincare routine, according to your skin type, you can keep your skin balanced, hydrated, and healthy all winter long.

Flying is tough on your skin for two main reasons: the air is super dry and dehydrating, and the UVA/UVB exposure is much higher than normal. So, how can you keep your skin happy and healthy when you’re flying?

If you haven’t already heard, we’re boycotting makeup wipes because our skin deserves better. Still doubtful? I give the lowdown of why you should throw out your wipes and switch to skin and environmentally-friendly alternatives here. To sum it up, makeup wipes are way too harsh on the skin, invite fine lines and wrinkles, especially to the delicate eye area, and even leave behind makeup and dirt residue — babes, I rest my case! I’ve briefly discussed double cleansing but here’s everything you should know about the skin-changing routine.

Today we’re going to cover different types of SPF, different types of UV rays, some of my favorite facial sunscreens, and why you deserve better than the SPF in your foundation or moisturizer.

One of the most frequent questions I receive, either in my DM’s or IRL, is some variation of “what’s a good moisturizer?” which is kind of like asking me what a good vitamin is. It’s an extremely vague question that begs a very specific answer. Knowing your skin type is, in my opinion, as important as knowing your shoe size. If you don’t have this critical information, you’re going to be really uncomfortable and make a lot of bad choices. I’d love to be able to answer every product Q that comes my way, but skin type needs to come first. So let’s save the moisturizer recommendations for another day, and instead let’s talk about skin types.

Welcome to Beauty 101: A Repository Of Everything I found Valuable In Beauty School, And A Lot Of Shit I Was Never Taught, But I’m Reading The Peer Reviewed Studies So You Don’t Have To.

A while back on instagram I shared a meme from one of my favorite skincare experts, Caroline Hirons, beseeching everyone to stop using makeup wipes, and you all were not having it. And I discovered that an alarming number of you sweet baby angels are using baby wipes to remove your makeup.

This makes sense: makeup wipe are convenient, and they appear effective. Baby wipes are made for literal babies, so they seem gentle. Effective + gentle = happy skin, right…? Not this time. I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but makeup wipes are not your friend. They’re fine for occasional use (camping, traveling, illness, etc) but if you are using a makeup wipe, baby wipe, or water wipe as your primary mechanism for removing your makeup or cleansing your face, you are doing long-term damage to your face.

From my earliest encounters with makeup as a young child to my professional growth as a beauty expert, the world of "beauty" has captivated me. Like everyone else on the planet, my relationship with “beauty” is deeply personal and complicated. But unlike everyone else on the planet, my relationship with beauty has a profound impact on my work, and I think my clients are entitled to part of my story.