Bridal Stylist Photo Shoot

Happy Memorial Day to all! First I want to say a great big "Thank You!" to everyone who put their lives on the line for our country. You're appreciated more than you know!

I wanted to share a sneak peak into a photo shoot I was a part of yesterday. It was for my friend Melanie's (Lola's mama, for those of you familiar with my favorite dog) new Bridal Styling business that she is starting. It was a whirl-wind day for all, but mostly for Mel and her super helpful husband Andrew. It was an all day shoot, that was really 4 shoots in 1 day. I was in the last shoot of the day, the "Clambake Coral" or nautical bride/bridesmaid shoot. It was very a very fun, very long day... but I'm so happy for Melanie and everyone involved. I'm only sharing a few pics, so that the big reveal can happen on her website!... It's her business after all! I'll let everyone know more details later. :) Not only was I a part of the shoot, but so was some feature pieces of my Stella & Dot Jewelry! So perfect and such a wonderful fit with the summer line.

Here you go...

This is a quick shot that Mel took of me at the site, to give you an idea of how we were all styled. Stripes and Coral and Braids, oh my! :) (thanks for the pic Mel) How cute is that La Coco Coral necklace from S&D! Worked out perfectly!

I did a quick up-do on the "bride" before our shoot. Like I said, ours was the last of the day, so we had some time to get ready and do our hair and makeup. It was fun to play, and it turned out super cute! I was texting "approval" photos to Melanie throughout the process so that she could "yes or no" them while she was out on the other shoots. She "yes'd" this one.

Another approval shot... this time, of the style I did on my own hair, with a smidge of humor added in for Mel. ;) aka, me being a goof-ball. 

Once we were all dressed and styled by the talented Melanie, we were off to our nautical location, which due to holiday events in San Francisco, ended up being the Embarcadero...it was perfect to say the least. What a gorgeous day in the city! AND we found parking, which was amazing. (If you've ever been there on a sunny weekend you understand.)

Here's a quick shot of the bride after getting out of the car. So cute! Love that Stella&Dot necklace! 

There were so many people out and about... and we grabbed this "groom" as soon as we spotted him! How lucky for us and how sweet of him (and his understanding wife) to suddenly become part of the shoot! Perfect!

Stella&Dot was on the ready, along with my "walking" shoes. I wore patent nude heels in the shoot that, well, were not "made for walkin'."

After everything was done, we (the "bride" and me) headed home for a much needed meal. (we hadn't eaten since breakfast!) We went for the healthiest option obviously. It was the most delicious meal ever at 4:45pm. 

Then, finally, I went to Melanie and Andrew's house to take Lola for a walk since they had some other things to do in San Francisco that evening. She was very excited to see me! (or anyone probably, but I'm going to say it was totally because it was me!)

Such a fun day, and I can't wait to share more details with the you once they are all available!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

For info on the Stella & Dot jewelry you see here, contact me through my Independent Stylist site at 

www.stelladot.com/site/karachase

My Adventures in Hair Styles

As I said in my previous post, I was inspired to look through pictures of myself over the last 7 years to see how much my hair style/color has changed. I've been everything from short and blonde to long and brunette! It was fun to see! Check it out!:

 

I wore my hair mid-length and blonde for a number of years, then one day during my senior year of college I decided to drastically change to dark brown! Yikes! It was a major change but fun!

 Then I let it grow for about a year (at some point in the year I had a colorist make a terrible "mistake" by dying my hair BLACK, which thankfully I don't have any pictures of! That was my last visit to her!), and by November 2007 I lightened it up getting closer to a blonde shade.

Then in the winter of 2008, I chopped it all off! It was cute at the time, but I'm not sure I would go that short again. I kept it short and in some variety of brunette for a while.

 Then I cut it once more before a friends wedding to jump on the "somewhat A-line bob" trend that was happening. By winter 2008 I began growing it out, which of course meant I could curl it again!

I kept growing it out, and by spring of 2010 I was itching to be blonde again. It was a slow process to get back to a much lighter color. The picture above shows the first round of lightening.

By fall 2010 I was fully blonde, and then by winter 2011 I was seriously blllooonnndddeee. I realized I had gone a little too far!

So by fall 2011, I toned it down and since then I've been working with my stylist to get a soft version of an "ombre" effect. 

Fun to look back through the years! Who knows what I'll do next!

-k

December Birchbox

Do you subscribe to Birchbox?

If not, I highly recommend it! It's a fabulous new(ish) company started by a few ladies, where in short, you pay $10 per month (no shipping!) to receive hand-picked sample sizes of beauty products each month. It's a fun way to try out new products that you are either unsure of, or wouldn't necessarily have run into/tried on your own. The company also sells the full size versions of the products they feature each month in addition to other products.  The packaging is always flawless and super stylish! Check out www.birchbox.com for more info! Here is my December Box:

The company named this box, "Frolic and Fancy." (cute!) It included, from top left to bottom right: Ageless perfume by Harvey Prince, Blinc eyeliner, Jouer Lip Gloss in "Birchbox Pink," The POREfessional by Benefit, Show Stoppers fashion tape, and Eboost natural energy booster.

The perfume smells crazy good! It's super light and sophisticated, a little fruity. Not overwhelming at all. Might be a winner for me! The eboost, well while these may work wonders for some people- I usually don't take supplements at all (due to a pretty sensitive system) so I can't comment on this one in particular. I will say though that reading the ingredients list, it seems pretty legitimate. The show stoppers may come in handy someday, but again I'm not usually one to wear cut-down-to-there clothing!

I have already used both the eyeliner and lipgloss and love both. The eyeliner is really interesting- it goes on like a regular liquid eyeliner, but truly doesn't run or rub off. You have to rinse/rub it off with warm water and it comes off literally in layers of color. It leaves absolutely no residue! The Jouer lipgloss goes on pretty sheer and is a lovely shade of pink that isn't too bright. Don't let the tube color scare you!

Finally, the POREfessional primer feels fantastic on the skin and practically disappears with a few swipes of your finger. It works great under makeup.

This has been my favorite Birchbox so far and I am looking forward to January!

-kara