Lovely... why yes you are

I'm a big perfume fan. Nothing better than spritzing your favourite scent to lift your mood. And who doesn't want to smell fabulous on their big day?

It's not a new fragrance but one of my favourite fresh, summer scents is SJP's Lovely. 
It's one of those scents that's not overpowering but not too sickly sweet. And a good spritz lingers too.

Sarah Jessica Parker Beauty

And the fact you can purchase 30ml for a mere £12.99 makes it a wedding day staple I reckon.

What about you lovelies, what's your favourite perfume?

Listen to me, pool party, peeping tom...

You can't really get better names for nail polish than these Topshop delights. And delights they are for they don't chip and I've been wearing their Nails in Listen To Me for nearly a week now.

£5 Topshop

Hands down best nail varnish I've bought in a long while. And at £5 a pot rather good value for money too.  Perfect for a bride to be looking to jazz up their digits for the big day.

For my other best beauty/make up recommendation see here.

The only hand cream worth having

This hand cream from L'Occintane is the dog's you-know-whats and is a must for anyone who suffers from dry, sore hands.

It is rich without being greasy and smells AMAZING.

And it's perfect for brides as it comes in a little handbag sized 30ml tube so you can whip it out in time to have super smooth hands for the ring/holding bouquet/general hand close up shot.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

The perfect foundation? I think so.

I've been after the perfect foundation for years and think I've finally stumbled upon THE ONE! Sorry for shouting but in some small way this feels like a lifelong quest accomplished.

The texture is lovely and smooth and it feels light and moisturising. It doesn't feel like you're wearing foundation which is the main problem I've had with most of the ones I've used in the past. And it has SPF 15 which is a nice bonus.

It's not too pricey either, about £13 for 40ml.

Have you any beauty product recommendations? I'm still searching for the perfect mascara.

Interview with make up artist Liv

from Oh La La Weddings

So I got a touch excited about the royal wedding yesterday and forgot to schedule this blog post properly. Oops. What can I say, despite my initial lack of interest, when it came to the day I was glued to my screen.

So a day late here's the interview with Liv, and her skills with the brushes, curlers, and other make-up paraphernalia.

In her own words:

No bride needs to hide herself under a big layer of cakey make-up.
Every woman wants to look like herself on her wedding day, just like the best version of herself.
The key word with bridal make-up therefore is bespoke!
I am passionate about enhancing the individual bride's unique features and giving her an all day lasting, glowing look based on her skin type, style and personal preference.

Getting your wedding make up done professionally is more than just a pampering, relaxing and enjoyable experience. You can also learn more about your skin and pick up new tricks to do your own make up.

I've saved my brides a lot of bad experience and surprises advising on the right products and techniques, (the classic: veil caught in the lip gloss, reflecting make up that flashes up in photos and makes you look white as a wall, or how to deal with a stress pimple that just grew the night before the wedding).

I also offer to stay all day long, since some brides just feel more safe to have me around all day or they want a make up change for the evening. Others are happy to just book the application which will last all day long.

There are a lot of things to consider:
skin type, climate and weather conditions at the day/destination of  the wedding, skin complexion, face features, personal style and much more. 

Good stuff. On to some quick questions:

You're based in London, but do you travel for weddings?

Yes I do. I'm happy to travel anywhere from within the UK to destination weddings on the other side of the world.

Do you offer hair styling as well?

Yes, I love to do bridal hair, from natural messy looks to classic defined up-dos. Straight or curly i will be able to look after your hair as well.

How does it work when a bride books you for their big day?

During the first trial and consultation we'll decide on the look and I will discuss products. Then we'll create the full look, exactly as you'd want it on the day. I am able to give professional skin care tips so you can prepare and treat your skin in advance of your wedding day.

On the actual day I will arrive at whatever time you need and help pamper you and will create your worry-free long lasting make up. And if you wish I will design a customised colour palette for you, so you can carry the professional make up with you as well (or get one of your 'maids to carry).

Can you do any kind of look?

Absolutely. I can whatever you want from a very natural look to a more vintage glam look.

Well that's that. Got me convinced. And after seeing how amazing my skin looked and went out and bought a decent foundation. So I can definitely vouch for Liv's work.

A big thanks to Liv for working on the shoots and explaining how she works. I've definitely learned nothing makes you feel so good as decent make up!

See www.blushless.com (make up website still a work in progress) and www.blushless.com/blog or emaile liv(at)livlundelius.com and call +44(0)7716354466 for more.

Introducing Liv from Blushless and her make up box of tricks

Way back in time when I started out as a wedding planner I 'met' through the power of blogs Liv from Blushless. We were both starting out in an industry that wasn't exactly famous for it's quirky suppliers and bonded over a desire to work on more alternative and creative weddings.

Fast forward a year or so and we now live round the corner from each other, which has been especially handy for these little projects. Liv makes eco friendly and super cool wedding dresses but her real passion is make up. She recently won a place on the much sought after Jemma Kidd Make up School Academy and is launching her bridal make up website very soon. In the mean time you can check out her blog here.

We thought it would be the perfect time to work together on the first of many projects in the pipeline: a Savoir Weddings introduction to Liv, her box of make up tricks, and never ending patience with a fidgety 'model'.

These pics were snapped by the amazingly talented Gaelle from Oh La La weddings. Like all wedding planners & stylists, I like to keep my cards close to my chest. Reluctant to give away all my trade secrets and all! But I have to share. Gaelle has been a music photographer for years and has also recently branched out into weddings. Seriously, this girl is good.





Liv made my skin look a-MAZ-ing which considering I'd just had a cold is particularly impressive.

Interviews, photo shoots and Royals

Happy Bank Holiday lovely readers! I hope you had a splendid Easter weekend. Here's this week's Monday Medley...

the interview/photo shoot


from oh la la weddings

On Friday I met up with two rather talented ladies to work on an interview feature with a little make up shoot. I'll be blogging full details later this week but here's a little sneak peek. One of the things I love best about my job is all the interesting and creative people I've been able to meet and/or work with. Liv from Blushless and Gaelle from oh la la weddings and I have a couple of other projects up our collective sleeve and I can't wait to share them with you.


the royal wedding

I have to be honest, I don't really care about the royal wedding. It feels almost blasphemous to say so but I get far more excited about 'real' weddings. And being self employed I can't even get excited about the bank holiday as I'll be working. Grumbling aside, however there is one aspect I am intrigued about shall we say and that's the dress. I know whatever design house and design is chosen will pretty much dominate the bridal industry for a couple of years. Whether it's Bruce Oldfield, Alexander McQueen, Alice Temperley, the much lesser known Sophie Cranston or somebody else entirely, I will definitely be checking out the gown.

On a different note, an estimated 2 billion people will tune in at some point to watch the wedding. No pressure then. I would be absolutely terrified I would trip up or accidentally swear or do something else entirely inappropriate!


the web chat

And with the Royal wedding around the corner everyone is naturally talking about weddings. Which has also led to lots of talk about being a wedding planner (which I have blogged about here). And you can join me and a selection of other fab wedding planning pros on Wednesday 27th April as part of the Guardian's live web chat discussing how to become a wedding planner. It's between 1pm - 4pm on the 27th and you can sign up here so you don't miss out.

Some bridal beauty must haves...

Lip balm

The subject of make up and beauty products is not one I feature often on my blog. I am however, working with an AMAZING make up artist soon to demonstrate some of the different looks you can have as a bride on your big day. And in preparation for this feature I've become much more interested in make up in make up and beauty products and thought I would share my new found excitement with you all!

So I'm going to be running a new blog series whereby I introduce some of my favourite products.

The first fairly unglamorous product I'm letting you know about here is Carmex lip balm.

Like mascara, a good lip balm is pretty much essential for every girl (and boys actually, as I once had an ex who was partial to strawberry flavoured lip balm).

A lot of people are all about the Vaseline but I've never been a fan of those unhygienic little pots. But since I discovered Carmex I literally can't stop using it. It makes my lips soft and has pretty much sorted out my dry chapped lips in a week of using.

I've also been on the hunt for the perfect mascara, moisturiser, and eyeliner amongst many other so do let me know if you've got any beauty wonders.