Hair and makeup for boudoir shoots...

This was something I struggled with.. whether or not to make getting hair and make up a requirement. I kind of felt like it was what people were wanting from a more luxury experience when having a shoot like this done. I polled clients asking what they would expect as part of a luxury experience and that was one of the top things.

The problem is though that I don't feel like a woman needs to have those things to feel gorgeous in her skin. It's about the experience I'm providing and how comfortable they feel while in the studio and then having that feeling linger long after they leave. 

Also since I shoot men having hair/makeup built into my base price seemed kind of shitty. So instead I ask the client if it's something they would like to have added on.
 
How have you felt when you've seen the Before/After's if you follow other photographers?
Do you think 'ohhh look how much of a transformation?'
or maybe you think 'I never wear makeup and I'm not sure how I feel about having a shoot that doesn't really show me for me'
or even perhaps 'I'm getting this done for my partner and they won't like all that stuff on my face'
here are two examples of friends who've I've done the makeup as a test for myself. I realized after that I chose green for both of them LOL but it's because their eyes had green that I wanted to bring out.​

There are many things I think people think and all of them of course are valid. At the end of the day I want you to feel amazing in your skin. If you come in bare faced, hair in a messy bun (or sticking straight up like mine does when it's crazy) and that makes you feel sexy and amazing, then I say fuck everyone else! Lets rock this shoot!

HOWEVER if you like to do your own hair and makeup here are some key things to note:

You can do a more natural look which is completely ok but know that the camera will not show you've done much. Meaning if you want to make your makeup seem more vibrant or bold then you need to go WAY BOLDER than you think. Honestly I realize that most people would think they look like an escort on the side of a shady street.. but it won't look like that in images. 

Here are some tips for basic makeup
- use a bit of concealer or powder mineral base to balance out skin tone redness
- mascara with 2 layers of coverage (my fav is Covergirl in the orange tube black/brown)
- have some kind of lip tint. I personally use a lip liner to cover my entire lips. it's easier to apply than lipstick and lasts longer. I do not put a gloss over it for shoots because gloss can make it smear more easily

If you'd like more bold
- do a dark base eyeshadow at the outer corners and work it towards the middle of the lid then add your more vibrant pop of color in the middle and blend. add a third color above those two in the crease, blend and then a lighter 'highlight' at your brow and the inner eye
- use false lashes.. I say this.. and yet I can't do them myself.. it takes practice from what I've heard LOL
- use a bold and darker lip color

For Hair:
here's the thing with hair.. we are gonna mess it up.. like A LOT! so don't worry about it too much. You can do your normal thing or if you'd like to add some curl that works too. I tend to go for a more tousled look. So nothing tucked behind your ears and all polished.. yeah no.. we are going for 'you've just been kissed, touched, maybe fucked' look. so hands in hair and disheveled most times. we tend to start off more put together of course.. but it soon devolves LOL

short haired people like me have even less to mess with.. but we can still make stuff happen look wise. Same with men with whatever hair style you might have. So I tend to say not too much product unless you really don't want hands in hair (which is ok, just let me know from the get go)
​I might add some makeup tutorials at some point so you all can see how I do my makeup for a shoot. How does that sound?

I also offer wigs.. and they are AMAZING! take a look at this video that shows off the ones I have. It's about 15 min long