Like all my clients, it’s always so special to be a part of such a special day, but with Alice and Amanda, it was extra special to be getting both brides ready together and see the excitement unfold for their wedding day.
We wanted their hair and makeup to feel like them and not overdone. Zorthian Ranch in Altadena has a very whimsical, boho vibe, and we wanted to tie that into their hair and makeup looks.
All photos are by Diana Lake (dianalakephoto.com).
Marina wanted her natural curls enhanced- We went with embracing her volume, and doing a middle part.
My bride Marina wanted a look that was “her” and ultimately we all want to feel like the best version of ourselves. We opted for a natural makeup look with hair down for her classic church wedding.
I really love how the placement of Marina’s veil gives a vintage feel, and it’s so sheer that you can see her gorgeous curls and makeup shine.
Colorful, Trendy Long Beach Wedding
When asking this bride what the vibe of her wedding was, she wasn’t sure how to respond. Colorful, wild flowers, unique, and mostly, she said that everything was just truly them. The end result was beautiful!
For the bride, Katie, she explained to me that she never wore a lot of makeup, but was into a little glitz and an ethereal look. I enhanced her curls by diffusing her hair, and using a small wand to polish up any waves that weren’t behaving. We did a super sparkly eye, and dewy bright skin.
For the bridal party, we wanted to add pops of color that enhanced their looks! I loved doing this purple disco inspired eye, and a baby blue wing liner.
Vendor Team IG Handles:
Venue: @ebelloflb
Wedding Planner: @bestdayeverla_events
Photographer: @dee.lake_
Caterer + Bar: @treslacatering
Cupcakes: @saintsandsinnersbakeshop
Videographer: @cyb3rbraden
DJ: @djkeelez
Cocktail Hour Pianist: @pianistoncall
Florist: @flowerduetla
Event Signage: @simplystatedstationery
Linen Rentals: @stephanieslinens
Hair + Makeup: @desiedes
Officiant: Family Friend
Couple: @katieneuhof @danny_chap
When your “something blue” is your eyeshadow
I love cute traditions, like the whole saying “Something old, something borrowed, something new, something blue” to bring good luck on your wedding day.
For my Jenn’s wedding in Pasadena, California, we wanted her makeup and hair to tie in to her whole wedding vision. The wedding vibe was romantic, vintage, and playful- yet still had this traditional feel.
One thing I love about being a Los Angeles Makeup Artist is the countless venues and areas that my brides get married in! We got Jenn and her girls ready at an adorable house in Pasadena- not too far from the Quaker Meeting House.
For Jenn’s makeup look, we did airbrush makeup for her complexion using Temptu. I do the WHOLE complexion (foundation, bronzer, blush, highlight) with airbrush makeup for extra longevity. Let’s be real, I just imagine everyone crying LOTS of happy tears.
To create this gorgeous eye moment, I mixed Half Magic Beauty “Sky Juice” with a touch of concealer, and packed a silver-y highlight from Danessa Myricks on top. We did a small cat eye, also referred to as a “kitten eye” by me, and topped the eyes off with subtle individual lashes. I always feel like coral tones go well with baby blue, so I did a coral glossy lip and warmer coral toned blush to compliment the pink and coral colors in the wedding color palette.
I love how there is a consistent theme with color, and everything in this wedding ties so beautifully together!
One of my favorite things is that Lauren, my hairstylist, pinned Jenn’s hair so she could take it out for a second look without the curls being crazy. She added a headband, and I adore the final look for makeup and hair.
Congrats Jenn + Chris!
-Desiree Penaloza, Los Angeles Makeup and Hair
This wedding was planned by One Darling Day: Claudia Casanova
All images are by Taylor Mosby Photo
Venue is The Orange Grove Friends
Hair styling by Lauren Rebelo
When doing makeup and hair for my clients, I get asked a lot how my own wedding turned out… How I had my own hair done, how I did my makeup (yes, I did my own makeup!), where it was, what my dress was like… etc.
I love how all the details turned out. Our wedding was so much more DIY than I could have anticipated, but being able to be in charge of every little detail resulted in a wedding that was so much more authentically US.
Don’t get me wrong… I love weddings. But there will always be the weddings that just feel more generic and like a performance. We wanted to focus on having a big party, celebrating our love, but with amazing music, food, and keeping the tequila flowing. Needless to say- it was one hell of a party.
Follow your heart and do what makes you happy! This day is about you and your partner’s love, and things that make you both happy. I battled with feeling like I should have a wedding dress that was more rustic since our wedding was at a vineyard with a barn… yet I found myself in a crepe white dress from Louvienne, with a beaded bodice. I had a custom fringe jacket made that I wore with my dress, adding that rustic flare, and I felt like this combo was very much ME.
For my makeup, I used Danessa Myricks Color fix in a pink/copper chrome on my lids. It was so fun that people could notice in person up close, but you can’t tell in photos! I tell my clients this all the time, because people are often afraid of color for weddings. If you love color- go for it!!!
My hair I wanted to just be like having a perfect hair day. My business partner, April, from D+A Bridal did my hair for me. She put it in big rollers, and gave me these big waves, adding little gems. It was so special having her style my hair for me.
While we were getting ready, I was a bit of a nervous wreck. Because my bridesmaids were all pros in the beauty and fashion world, I opted to just have them get themselves ready. As a pro myself, I should’ve known this was a bad idea. After splurging more on our food (one of the top priorities for us), I couldn’t afford to have a team get all my girls ready, and I also waited till the last minute to consider hiring a pro makeup and hair artist for my girls.
Even though my bridesmaids and family is skilled at getting themselves ready- it was chaos having such a large group of women ALL fight over mirrors and outlets to get themselves ready. The best thing about having a pro makeup artist and hairstylist for your wedding, is that they keep everyone on time, and stagger everyone so no one is fighting over space to get themselves ready. These little details were something I didn’t totally consider, since this scenario wasn’t something I had witnessed before.
So basically, take it from me, and hire yourself a beauty team (like myself!).
I also was in such a weird head space over some drama that happened the night prior. Basically, none of this mattered AT ALL once the ceremony began, and it was still the best day of my life. Lesson: don’t sweat the details that you can’t control on the wedding day. Things are already rolling in motion, and just soak up every moment!
Wedding days are LONG. Can’t recommend getting a second outfit enough.
After cutting the cake and doing our first dances, I ran off and quickly changed into white sequin pants by “Made with Love Bridal” and a satin 70s style top from Isalis. I felt like this second outfit really matched our decor in the barn, which was very disco inspiried! We had our disco ball, and handmade bright colorful fringe. We also had a custom neon pink sign over our bar.
And if you have no children at your wedding, have a friend be your flower girl. This was a last minute decision for us, and having the bright pop of flowers in our ceremony photos made a HUGE difference. I really love how the red rose petals stand out, but add to the overall aesthetic.
We wanted a photo booth- so we got a VW bus booth! We wanted the barn to feel like one of our favorite bars in San Francisco where we met- the Makeout Room, mixed with other fringe decor I saw on Pinterest. We wanted the best tacos anyone ever had. We wanted a mariachi band. We wanted people to dance their asses off!
And all of that happened. If you want it- go for it!
Cheers, and happy planning.
XO
Dez
All photos by Gage Allen, Gaging Life.
Florals by The Floral Parlor
Location: Private Ranch in San Miguel, CA
Dress: Louvienne
Butterfly earrings: Untamed Petals
Fringe Jacket and custom Groom bolo tie: Opal Milk
I am OBSESSED with how this wedding makeup turned out. I love that it is unique and speical, yet I feel like our bride, Gabbie, still totally looks like herself.
I focused on keeping this look ultra fresh, dewy, and bright. I wanted the eyes to really pop, so I used every glitter I had in all my Pat Mcrath palettes, especially the lightest glitter shade in the Divine Rose Palette.
With the wedding color palette being shades of purple, pink, and blue at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco, Gabbie and I really wanted her makeup look to match this. After her trial, we decided that going TOO matchy-matchy wasn’t the best, so we toned the look down from a full on purple eye, to a more subdued peachy pink eye, with a holographic icy highlight. For the inner corner highlight, I used Danessa Myricks Lightwork Palette using “Like Duhh.” I also used “Piece of cake” and “Smooth Sailing” from the same palette mixed with the peachy pink shade in the same Divine Rose Palette mentioned earlier.
For Gabbie’s complexion, we used Armani Luminous Silk foundation, and I used my Temptu Airbrush to give her a holographic peachy pink highlight, by mixing “Pink Pearl” and “Peachy Pink Shimmer.” This really took Gabbie’s glow to the next level!!
I love how Gabbie and her whole party have a fresh, angelic, fairytale vibe. This wedding is such a great example of how makeup and hair can really tie everything else together!
Hairstyling is by April Hall of D+A Bridal, and assisted by Alejandro Jimenez. All makeup done by me.
Planning + Design: @chloealiseevents
Photography: @dirtpearlsandcurlsphotography
Venue: @conservatoryofflowers
Florals: @floralluxe
Catering: @gracestreetcatering
DJ: Alex Storm
Rentals: @brighteventrentals
Cake: @cakecoquette
Hair/makeup: @dabridalsf
Dress: custom @pallascouture
First dance: @erinparsleyweddingdances
Yay! You are planning your wedding, and it’s time to think about your wedding day hair and makeup. How do you envision yourself? My hope is that you envision yourself like the best version of how you currently are, and how your partner fell in love with you!
I have had so many brides not know where to start with hair and makeup, and that is why doing a trial can be SO important. I always say that you also just don’t know until you try something. You may think you want a bold lip, then try it out and wear it all day, and decide you want something neutral. You may think you want your hair up and then realize that you really want it down. There could also be the most subtle changes to a look that maybe no one else will notice, but it doesn’t matter, because it is all about how you FEEL on your wedding day.
I love this comparison for my 2022 bride, Gabbie. Her wedding was like a purple fairytale, and coming into her makeup trial, she thought she wanted a purple eyeshadow look. She loved what we created at the trial, but after thinking about it, the week of her wedding, she sent me a different makeup inspiration photo with peachy eyeshadow and a bright, holographic highlight on the inner corner of the eyes. With this look, I added a touch more blush, with my Temptu Airbrush, and my Temptu highlight, which had a holographic sheen to it also. We ended up also going with a more neutral lip color.
Sometimes changes are so subtle- like how much hair (or if you want any hair at all) framing your face, or subtle tones on the eyes.
A pre-wedding trial can also just be a great way to meet and get to know your makeup artist and/or hair stylist. We spend SO much time together on your wedding day- I always love to interact with the bridal parties I work with, and have it be a fun and memorable experience. Of course, this is so much easier when we already know each other!
Trial DOs
Have inspiration photos ready. Having a photo of yourself that you like when you have your hair and makeup done is helpful too! Or any photo of yourself on a more dressy occasion that you like. Have photos also ready of your wedding dress and any accessories (or bring accessories like earrings or hair accessories so you can get a full visual of how you’ll look).
Know that Pinterest and Instagram photos are often edited, in professional lighting, filtered, etc. It is normal for skin to have texture! It is normal for it to look like you have makeup on.
Make sure that you have your wedding dress and accessories. I believe it is a whole look head to toe. I advise doing the trial 2-3 months before the wedding so you have a clear idea of your whole look. It’s also good to not do it too far in advance so you are more fresh on your artist’s brain! We see a lot of people and it’s challenging to remember all the details.
Speak up! If there is something you aren’t feeling about your hair or makeup, say so. We are not mind readers, and want to make things right. The hair and makeup trial appointment is to try anything you aren’t sure of. If we do change anything, keep in mind that it will look more seamless on the wedding day when we have a clear plan.
Have a friend or close family member with you! It makes it more fun, and they know you best and it’s great to have a second opinion if you feel you want it.
Trial DONTs
Don’t come with no inspiration photos! Any idea of what you like is better than trying to turn on psychic powers.
Don’t ask to do a trial before booking your artist if it is more than a year out. When booking with me, your trial appointment is included in the wedding beauty package!
Don’t have too many photos of very different looks. Please try to narrow down at least a couple similar things you like, as we don’t have time to create so many looks for you to choose from.
Don’t be silent! Like I mentioned, speak up when you aren’t liking the way it turned out so we can fix it.
For more trial photos vs wedding day photos of my brides, check out my instagram @desiedes or my tiktok @makeupbydes
It was an honor doing my dear friend, Kirsten’s, hair and makeup for her City Hall Wedding.
I always say that I want to make clients look and feel like the best version of themselves! In her day to day life, Kirsten hardly ever wears foundation. She loves to have her lashes pronounced with no liner, and wanted to have matte, warm tones on her eyes.
With her minimal Asos wedding dress, I thought this natural, effortless look would be perfect for her!
We wanted a chic updo, that would have some natural, effortless curls falling to frame Kirsten’s face. This look is great for brides who want their hair up, and don’t want to worry about it! Even if some pieces end up falling out, it adds to the look.
I did some twists in the back in multiple sections, and gave her a low bun. I really love how the whole look came together!
Note: Add colored glasses that match your bouquet for extra cool vibes!
