I often find myself talking about our awesome team to clients, vendors and brides and realized recently I had never introduced any of them! What the heck is wrong with me?!! Hahaha!! I mean… these girls are myyyyyyy girls, my crew, the girls that keep me going some days, the many brains outside of my body… I could go on all day.

I love that many of us are like family… together we rise, together we accomplish, together we excel. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them. It’s funny reflecting on these things now, 4 years into business… I could have never imagined such an amazing partnership just a few years ago that would impact my life in such a positive way. I love how God always puts the right people in your path… and some stay for quite a while and make the ultimate impact on your heart. If anything, that’s what I always wish I could more quickly elaborate when asked!

In an effort for our awesome friends, fans, friendors, etc. to get to know all the depth and awesomeness of our team, I wanted to start doing guest posts from our girls! Each month, one of them (if not more), will write on a topic of their choice to share their little world of thoughts. But you gotta know them first! My first choice was our awesome Northern VA Lead Makeup Artist, Larissa! She’s the one that’s my fellow late- nighter, we love musical theatre, GIFS (we can actually have amazing, award-winning worthy lengthy fb convos via GIFs!), and she ALWAYS cracks me up. She’s the one to shrug when something bad happens, she says “oh well” and she always just keeps moving!  I personally think everyone needs a Larissa in their lives… but she’s all mine peeps, find your own hilariously awesome friend.. jk!!! Here’s a little “interview” with her……

Here she is with her most recent purple hair! #badass  hahaha!!!!

How did you get into makeup?

I have been performing in one way or another since I was 2 or 3 years old. Gymnastics meets, parades as a baton twirler, music (when I was kid I played the piano, flute, and sang) and theatre. So I’ve always had to wear makeup for those performances. Also, I LOVED dressing up. I had great Halloween costumes and the best “dress up box” in town because of all my various performances. So I’ve just always loved the process of changing a look, makeovers or just playing with makeup, wigs and costumes.

What’s your favorite part about what we do?

I love making women feel beautiful. More to the point, I like to show them that we can enhance their natural look without some of the trends they’re seeing on Youtube and Instagram. Those techniques and looks are great and fun, but not really appropriate for everyday or even for real life events. They’re best in a controlled setting like a photoshoot. And for women who aren’t models, they can be very overwhelmed or intimidated by the idea of wearing a ton of makeup. I love to show them that they can still be recognizable as themselves, not feel weighed down by makeup and still look beautiful!

Do you have a fave product or service we offer? Which one and Why?

I love that we can help a client, whether it’s one of our brides or we meet them in a different environment, with their skin care. For me, the skin is the canvas. It’s the first step and the basis of everything else. Something I’ve noticed about working with clients, specifically women, is that often women feel the need to apologize or explain away their insecurities about their skin or their own perceived flaws. We’re not judging anybody, but it’s just sort of something we’ve been taught in our society, that we should have perfect skin. I love helping a woman find out how to care for her skin so that she feels great about it and never needs to feel the need to apologize again!

What 3 items should no woman leave the house without?

So this might seem counterintuitive, being that I’m a makeup artist, but the older I get, the more I’ve learned how to leave the house without a full face of makeup. I used to think I couldn’t leave without it all being perfect. It’s a freeing feeling to be confident to show your natural look. But even then, sometimes it only takes a few makeup elements to enhance the natural appearance. On the days that I don’t go full out, I still love to use mascara, blush and lip gloss. I think having your eyelashes done makes your eyes pop and draws people’s attention. And let’s face it, you want people to notice your eyes! Blush is important to me because I think it makes you look healthy, vibrant and cheery. It just brightens your face a bit and makes you look refreshed! And lip gloss gives a little bit of a the finishing touch and also I think eyes and lips are the main features to focus on, so when those elements are played up, you look more “done” than you actually are!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in this industry?

Hmmm great question. I’ve learned that it’s more important to be able to know your audience. The average mother of the bride usually doesn’t want a face full of contour, crazy big lashes and a super smokey eye. Some do, but it’s really important talk to each person and understand how comfortable they are wearing makeup in the day to day, what is their event and what is the look they’re going for. And really to listen to them. I’ve seen it happen a few times when the artist thinks they know better and the client ends up uncomfortable or upset because they weren’t heard. Now, it’s ok for me to say that in my experience a different option worked better or suggest something else, but it’s still important to listen and make sure the person is absolutely comfortable.

Any great stories from working with a client?

Too many to name! I love working with people and being able to be a part of their special day or event.

Are there any particular trends you love or would like to see Brides ditch?

Haha , this is a tricky question. I think I’ve mentioned those big trends that are becoming popular because of the Internet a couple times already. Haha. None of them are bad. And they all have their place and time. But for your wedding, I think it’s really important that when you look back at these pictures 50 years from now, you recognize yourself. I also love hearing the significant others saying that their bride still looked like the person they fell in love with. That’s important. They want to see YOU that day, not some crazy overly made up version of you!

Do you have any advice you find yourself giving our brides? If so, what is it?

Well, I’ve never been a bride myself, but I have worked as a day-of coordinator for several weddings and events. So I can definitely understand what they’re going through. The biggest things to me are to stay true to yourself and your significant other. Don’t allow your parents or friends to pressure you or stress you out that day. Remember that at the end of the day, something won’t go exactly as you planned but when you look back, those little things won’t matter. What you’ll remember is who you married, who was there to celebrate with you and how wonderful it all was. And, also just to breathe, take a moment with your SO in between events to be together and enjoy it all!

Random Info:

What are your hobbies or non-work related activities?

Oh gosh, I’m kind of always going. Running around trying to have new activities or experiences. I’m still pretty active in theatre, so I’m often working on a show or acting in one! I’m hoping to get back on stage more. I’m also hoping to start playing softball again. It’s been MANY years since that’s happened…so we’ll see! And I’m starting a little Etsy shop selling dog and kitty toys!

What is a little known fact about you?

I don’t know what is little known about me because I’m a pretty open book! Haha. Hmmm I love pretty much any dance show, I read voraciously (but…I listen to audio books so that I can get through them faster), and my favorite song of all time is “Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge from 1985! I did a baton routine to that when I was quite little and it has always remained my fave!

(Kara side note: if you read this and starting singing the song.. here you go.. you are welcome!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAQSZhazYk8

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

l think karaoke, those dance shows I mentioned and RuPaul’s Drag Race are my top guilty pleasures! Haha

Current favorite song?

Ohhh, that’s hard. I think that music is pretty hot in general right now. I feel like it’s on an upswing! I’m still not sick of “Uptown Funk” and Ed Sheeran’s entire last album was pretty great. I also am enjoying a lot of our female vocalists these days! Demi Lovato’s “Confident” is great because we’re kind of taught that women shouldn’t be obviously confident in our society. What’s up with that?!

Celebrity you would kill to do makeup for?

Ok so I love watching celebrities for their fashion choices and makeup choices. I would love to work on A LOT of people, of course. There are few that come to mind because I haven’t loved some of their past looks or because I think it would be fun to give them a different look. I haven’t always loved Amy Schumer’s makeup on the red carpet. Also, I didn’t love Uzo Aduba’s look at the Golden Globes. She’d be fun because I think she could really become a trend setter if she has the right looks! Gwendolyn Christie (from Game of Thrones) is fun, because we’re used to seeing her look not so feminine in the show, so when she shows up soft and femme on the red carpet it’s a great change! Also how cool would it be to do Helen Mirren’s makeup? She’s so stunning and always manages to look classy, sexy and fashion forward!

Here’s a little glimpse of Larissa’s work!