Playing With Colour
Make-up artists usually don't get the opportunity to use colours outside the traditional palette of neutrals for bridal make-up, but the lovely bride-to-be, Jenny, had a style all her own! From our initial bridal make-up trial, I could tell Jenny's look would be as outgoing and fun as her personality.

Jenny wanted to incorporate turquoise eyeshadow into her overall look, which makes for a make-up artist's dream - playing with colour! But of course, shades of blue are always tricky colours to work with (yes, think visions of your mom's blue eyeshadow). To keep her bridal make-up from looking 'dated', subtlety was key - especially since we were playing with such a bold colour!

Get the Look
We focused on a subtle blend of aqua eyeliner on the bottom lashline, which meant the use of waterproof make-up products was imperative. To get the look, I used Clarins Waterproof Eye Pencil in Aqua along the outer corner of the bottom lashline as a base. To reinforce the line and keep the look long-lasting, I layered FACE atelier's Transforming Gel with a turquoise eyeshadow atop of it. The result was a bright pop of blue that highlighted Jenny's gorgeous features. Check out artistrhi.com for more from Jenny's Big Day.

Congrats, Jenny! Thank you for letting me be part of your beautiful Big Day!

Special thanks to the wonderfully talented photographer, Spencer Fu, the creative eye behind the pics of Jenny's wedding. Be sure to check out his site for more!

Photos from a wedding in July with the beautiful Rose are now up on artistrhi.com! It's funny how things balance out, as I had one wedding in July, but now 11 in August (#10 and #11 are up tomorrow!) It's been a whirlwind of a month, but I'm happy to be back on the blogging tip with all the new material!

Vegas was amazing: my gorgeous pal (and bride-to-be) Michelle had a beautiful wedding day against a styling backdrop of the Wynn and Caesar's Palace (no other way to do it...it's Vegas, baby!). I'll be sure to post these pics as soon as I can, but there's about 8 weddings in between to show off until then. :)

Thank you to all my amazing August brides (and bridal parties!)! For putting up with the early call times, the laughs and the smiles...you guys rock!

Come check out The Human Body in its Natural Habitat exhibit which will feature some of Nadia's photography magic (along with make-up work by yours truly!). You'll recognize the images from the set we collaborated on here.

The exhibit will take place on August 24, 2009 from 6PM to 10PM at the MaRS Discovery District (located at 101 College St. in Toronto). Come by to support local talent and of course say hi!!!

Also, my apologies for the lack of updates this week. It's the busiest time yet this year with five weddings in six days, including Michelle's nuptials in Vegas!! With all this good stuff going on, there's much to blog about....so expect a slew of updates in about a week's time when I get back! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

This 'crushed' shoot is probably one of my most favourite shoots to date! Thanks to a stellar team of Nads and Giselle for their amazing and hard work. I had the rough ideas of adding these looks to my book, but Nads truly helped this concept come to life, and kicked it up a notch with styling et al. Thanks, Nads :)

Check out the set on artistrhi.com and of course...let me know what you think!

See more of the talented Miss Cheema here.

Last week the cancer research branch of the World Health Organization elevated the use of tanning beds to a "carcinogenic" risk - the organization's highest cancer risk category. Surprise, surprise.

Now, I'm just as guilty as the next person for sitting out in the sun for longer than recommended and I've done my share of bed tanning (couldn't get used to it though, the buzzing sound just made it seem all wrong!). I can't deny my love for how a tan gives you a healthy youthful glow, but of course I can't deny how overexposure to the sun increases the risks of melanoma and premature wrinkles! Makes for quite the trade-off.

Thankfully, there are make-up solutions around this scenario! Enter bronzers. I'm huge on bronzers for the instant glow and slimming effect they provide. I use my bronzer all year round, and especially in winter when my skin is at its palest!

Hands-down my favourite bronzers are from NARS. These bronzers glide on smoothly and evenly for a natural looking application. Long-lasting and well-pigmented - they're worth every penny! (See more of my favourite bronzers here).

To apply:
Use a large buffer brush (i.e. MAC's 182 Brush) or a large powder brush to distribute the bronzer on the face. A larger brush will help to evenly distribute the bronzer on the face and thoroughly blend it to avoid a streaky look.

Apply the bronzer on the areas of the face that are more prominent (where the sun would naturally hit). I like to use a "3-shape" motion: apply in a continuous swipe along the temple, back and forth across the cheekbone and then down along the jawline.

We haven't had much of a sunny summer in Toronto, so make the most of that bronzer sitting in your make-up stash! The benefits of bronzer are easy and instant without the risk to your skin!

Slightly biased I know, but I love this set! Our gorgeous model, Izabella, was the perfect chameleon for the multitude of looks we did with her. (But really, just look at her - the lady can pull off pretty much anything!)

We did three different hair and make-up looks, along with three jewelry changes (the beautiful hand-crafted pieces are courtesy of 3 Shahs). Nadia was behind the lens working her magic once again and Fabs was on hair duty. The amazing results of the shoot are direct results of the amazing contributors!

Go Team-a Cheema - can't wait to see what we do next :)

Check out the rest of the set at artistrhi.com!