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A Recent Photoshoot w/ Photographer David Kafer

2011-10-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a video trailer & a few shots from a photoshoot that we did recently with photographer David Kaefer in Santa Barbara. For the photographer, his muse was not only our lovely model, Caitin, but also the Tadashi Dress. Japanese designer, Tadashi Shoji is the mastermind behind the dress on our model. His close are elegant & yet playful. To check out more of his collections, please visit www.tadashishoji.com .

And here is the video trailer from the shoot & a couple shots ...

Here is a couple of behind the scenes shots before we got started...

The crew setting up lights and ....well, the set of course.


This was our model, Kaitlin, she's gorgeous!

Our photoshoot with Samuel Grant

2011-08-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Working on photoshoots is probably one of the best opportunities for us to be artists. On this particular photoshoot, his inspiration was to go for a "cold glam" look, without making the model look harsh.
Here is what we came up with ...

This next image is probably my personal favorite out of the shots....

Ashley did such an amazing job carving out the structure of her eyes and cheeks without overshadowing her natural features.

As for the hair, I really wanted to do something different with texture. Instead of curling her hair, I wove it between a large pin and added heat. This created a textured "krinkle" in her hair and then I backcombed at the root, for added volume.

Stay tuned for more of our work with Sam Grant.

We're Featured on Style Me Pretty

2011-08-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

Photography by Jen Rodriguez

We're being featured on the Style Me Pretty Blog & website because of the amazing photographer, Jen Rodriguez and the way she captures a wedding moment. Go ahead a check out the blog with our shared client Siobhan , looking radiant as ever.

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/08/02/foley-estates-vineyard-winery-wedding-by-jen-rodriguez-photography/

Working on model Giglianne Braga at the "If I Can Dream" House

2011-04-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

When we first got the call from Christianne that we were going to be doing the make-up and hair for upcoming model, Giglianne Braga on "If I Can Dream", we were stoked for a couple reasons. First, we've worked with Christianne a couple times now and her work just truly speaks for itself. Secondly, we had only heard a little bit about the show, so when we went on the "If I Can Dream" website, we were blown away! The cameras in the house, the talent, being able to watch them LIVE? Just too cool.

So, we get to the house and meet Giglianne and she's just so down-to-earth and sweet, which always helps. The first look that we did on "Gig" was more of a sultry look. For her make-up, Ashley did a smokey eye with a peacock-like pigment accompanied with browns. On her lips, she went with a nude-pink which really made her lips pop even more and bronzer on the cheeks.

For her hair, Christianne wanted something sexy that would showcase the length of her hair also. We decided to keep her hair down with a loose-wave throughout.

Here is a couple images of the first look :

For the second look, we knew she was going to be doing some shots with Ben Elliot, an upcoming actor also from the "If I Can Dream" Show, so it needed to be a little flirty and a little elegant.

So for her eyes, we kept the same color scheme, but decided to add some gloss texture to her eyelids for an awesome effect. For her hair, we pulled it up into a half-bun and wrapped a braid around it.

Here are some images from the second look :

We even had some extra time to do some of our famous "manscaping" on Ben for some of his headshots.

If you want to see more of the behind the scenes of this shoot, check out the episode on www.hulu.com and search the episode called " If I Can Scream". You see us toward the end of the show, hard at work. Be sure to check out more of Christianne's work at www.christiannetaylor.com and be sure to check out Giglianne and her rising success at www.ificandream.com.

'Tis the Wedding Season

2010-07-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

It's now July 1st and this wedding season has been the busiest YET! Which is amazing, however, I need to keep you all updated with what we're doing and where. So please stay tuned because we're going to be uploading new photoshoots we've done, recent weddings we've done and so much more!

-Christin

Featured Blog on the lovely Santa Barbara Wedding Guide

2010-03-31T16:50:00.001-07:00

Mar 10th, 2010 | Liane

“Manscaping”

By Christin Brown and Ashley Kelly
Co-Owners of LunaBella Make-up Art
Photos by Elizabeth Messina Photography

So, you’re getting ready for your big day and your bridesmaids are looking great, you’re looking glamorous and so is the rest of your bridal party. You may be overlooking someone who deserves some pampering as well – your other half, your mate, your groom. Your groom’s skin is just as important and let’s not forget that it’s his day too.

LBMA presents an amazing new feature to their extensive line of services, it’s called “Manscaping” – which is the art of making your husband’s skin presentable and camera-ready for your wedding day. Most of the time, grooms aren’t necessarily concerned about getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, or even getting a facial before the wedding. Now you can bring the spa experience to him, at your hotel, your home, or wherever you’re getting ready. The Manscaping service includes moisturizing and prepping the skin, reducing the appearance of dark circles underneath the eyes, and also evening out the tone of the skin. We even take the step of using a matte gel on the face that will keep his skin matte and shine-free. It also includes hair styling and brow grooming. He will look as natural as the day you met him, but will remain camera-ready and confident throughout the evening.

One of our favorite Manscaping stories is with one of our favorite grooms, Mario. Mario is a bubbly guy that’s hilarious but not afraid to tell you how it is. Well, on their wedding day, we’re strolling up to their villa at the Biltmore and we’re excited to see then. They open the door, and….they’re completely sick!! Mario’s poor nose and surrounding areas were red, irritated and runny. We definitely had our work cut out for us, but rest assured knowing that he looked amazing afterward. We concealed the dark circles around his eyes from sleepless nights coughing and extremely reduced the redness around nose. We even took the added step of adding the color back into his skin with a little bronzing powder . . . and voila! Mario may not have felt 100%, but he sure did look like it.

Many of our Manscaping clients have said the following:

” All guys should do this on their wedding day. You can really see what a difference it made.”

“It feels like I’m not wearing anything at all.”

“Hmmm. I look good. ”

That last comment is always our favorite. Manscaping is an awesome way to give a little pampering to your soon-to-be hubby before showtime. So remember, you don’t have to take him to the spa, now you can bring the experience to him. His skin will look fabulous and it’s a great way to make him special on your wedding day.

Luna Bella Make-up Art will be presenting at the upcoming Santa Barbara Wedding Couture event on March 27th. Tickets are available at a special price for SB Wedding Guide Brides and Grooms.

...The Final Shot...

2010-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here is the final image from the previous blog post , shot by photographer Angelina Dorogi. Her work is always telling a story. It was really rainy that day and our model, Maggie, is super soaked at this point. It's such a beautiful black & white. Amazing job, Angelina !

Whipping Up Some Hair

2010-01-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

So our beloved photographer, Angelina Dorogi, has us booked with her every Sunday for the next month & a half. So we had a shoot this past Sunday with her. The inspiration for the shoot was set in the 1930s, a beautiful woman being stood up by her love at the train station. So for her makeup, she wanted classic but sultry eyes. It was raining that day and they were going to be shooting outside. So Angelina wanted to make sure that since her makeup would be rained on, make sure it's extra gorgeous.

Now as you know, when Ashley and I do a photo shoot, she's almost always doing the makeup and I'm doing the hair. So right when we got started, for the first 5 minutes, I was kinda blanking on what I was going to do. Then, I just dove in and started twisting my T3 Curling Iron in different directions, hoping that something cool would come of this. Piece by piece, the hairstyle started to come together until.....

Ta-Dah ! This swirly-doo came about and I'm kinda loving it. It's sort of like a cross between a finger-wave and pin-up style. I really do hope that someone asks me to do this hairstyle for a wedding. How awesome would that look?

Doing make-up for the CEO of Carl's Jr. , Andy Puzder

2010-01-20T01:26:00.000-08:00

It was raining really this past Tuesday in Santa Barbara and we'd actually planned to take our 1st day off in long time. It was all going as planned until we received a call on our business phone. It was one of our fellow make-up artists, Kirsten. Now, Kirsten is awesome for two main reasons : reason #1: she's down to earth and super fun to work along side and reason #2 : if she's unable to make a shoot or is already booked, she will sometimes pass us the referred work. Well, this time the referred work was for a video interview with the CEO of Carl's Jr., Andy Puzder. Ashley says "Andy is a really chill & laid back guy. He just let me work and that was great."

The shoot was actually held at the Carl's Jr. in Camarillo, Ca ( at Las Posas Rd & Daily Dr.). At first, we assumed that this shoot was going to be for a campaign. No, even better. The interview is being used for the hilarious and educational HBO Show "Penn & Teller's Bulls**t. We'll be sure to watch that episode.

Ashley says "Andy is a really chill & laid back guy. He just let me work and that was great."
Carl's Jr. is currently partnering up with the sexy Kim Kardashian, inspiring guys to eat healthier. I wonder why? PS....Kim, give us a call!

-Christin

New Year , New You with LBMA

2010-01-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

So every New Year, how many of us say that we wanna do "something different" with our looks? Ummm, yeah that's us all the time. From changing our hair color to changing our lipstick colors, we're always looking for something to spice ourselves up for the New Year. This year, we've already had clients book us for the "New Year, New You" one-on-one's as well as our "Make-up Bag 101" class.

This year, we're going to focus a lot more on our classes & lessons. This means more classes being offered, due to high demand, classes being offered more frequently, and more locations for them.
We're definitely excited about this year and what we have in store for our clients, so for more information, check out our website for more of our features classes & private lessons at www.lunabellamakeupart.com. This year , let's try something new.

LunaBella Make-up Art
(805) 450-7049
www.LBMAinc.com

...Photographer Ashley Hill...

2010-01-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

When we first worked with Ashley Hill, it was with one of our favorite models ( don't think we have un-favorites lol ) Anna Lieberman, who's a rockstar. She's a chameleon ! On the first shoot we did with Ashley, it was like a fairytale-inspired shoot. You can actually view it on our website (she's pee-a-booing next to a tree and "wishes" are falling from the sky). For example, for this different shoot, Ashley Hill had this amazing idea on merging hi-fashion & darkness. She wanted her hair to be up, semi-wavy but really teased and messy. I love the idea already.

For the make-up, she wanted a smokey eye, pale skin and skelton-like contouring. LOVE IT!!! She really wanted to pull the skelton out, so to speak. And we think that they shot is awesome. It's fashionable, kinda creepy, but still beautiful.

...Eun Ju & Jeff...

2010-01-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Eun- Ju called us one day looking for a second opinion , so we set up a trial run at her house. We were really excited to work with Eun-Ju because she had this amazingly thick, jet black hair, beautifully high cheekbones and nice full lips. We started her trial, just like any other; asking a couple questions about preferences : " what are your likes and dislikes about make-up/ hair?", "what look are we wanting to acheive?', etc.

With her make-up, she really wanted her eyes to be the main focus, so Ashley used a soft berry in the crease and a dark plum on the outer lid. Ashley made her eyes stand out more by applying individual lashes which are natural & custom tailored to Eun-Ju's eyes. Like many of the brides we work with, Eun-Ju wanted a pro long-wear lipcolor that wouldn't kiss off on her hubby to be.
I was really excited to work with Eun-Ju's hair for two reasons: 1.) the thickness 2.) I knew it would hold a curl damn good . At the time of the trial, she wanted something half-up/ half-down with a lot of curls. So, we did that and it looked quite nice. However, she was sure that her sister would approve of something up and told me " don't be suprised if we do an updo on the day-of" ;0) The funny thing is on the wedding day, we did the updo and it looked AMAZING! Her curls were springy and shiny. We used Kenra Perfecting Spray which kept her curls in place, with a flexible hold. After we put the feather hairpiece in, TA DAHHH! Eun-Ju looked amazing!

These amazing snapshots were taking by the AMAZING Tim Halberg of Halberg Photographers. Tim is quite a Da Vinci at capturing these candid & "once in a lifetime" moments, especially with Eun Ju. Please check out his website at www.halbergphotographers.com.

Working with Leisha Hailey from "The L Word" and stand-up comedian, Vicki Shaw

2010-01-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

(on the left: Leisha Hailey, on the right:Vicki Shaw)

When we first propositioned the amazing Tisha Floratos, VP of Travel with OLIVIA Vacations, we knew this was a gig we wanted BAD!! We wanted it so bad for a few reasons and here they are in no particular order.... Reason #1 : Working with OLIVIA Travel & Vacations is reason enough. Reason #2: Doing make-up & body art on a cruise ship going to Belize, Cozumel, Guatemala & Key West. And Reason #3: Doing Leisha Hailey & Vicki Shaw's make-up.

We've seen Leisha Hailey on "CSI: Las Vegas", "Grey's Anatomy", and most popularly for the groundbreaking Showtime TV Series "The L Word" as "Alice". When we found out that we were going to be on the OLIVIA Halloween Caribbean Cruise, we freaked out because we knew what entertainers were going to be on board....like Leisha Hailey! So, we tried to do some kick-ass body art and make-up while on board, especially so the entertainers could represent our work. Well, one day on board, one of the OLIVIA directors approaches us and says " Hey ladies, we have some news for you....Leisha Hailey's manager wants to know if you'd be interested in doing Leisha's make-up before he hits the stage tonight for her interview...". We're like "UMMMM YEAAAA!!!" She was seriously the coolest , most down-to-earth chick, and 100% real. So glad that we got that opportunity to be her artists for the day. Leisha.....call us ! LOL .

Vicki Shaw, the other hot mama-blonde in the picture, is probably one of the funniest stand-up comedians today. With her southern belle accent and signature red-lip, we knew we had to coax her into letting us do her make-up too. She actually came up to our booth during our "Meet-n-Greet" and said (with her southern accent) "I heard that ya'll are the make-up ladies, is this true?" We gave her our room number, she showed up & we did her make-up ! SCORE ! We also did her make-up for her hilarious stand-up show on board as well as formal night. Vicki, you're hilarious!

It was an amazing opportunity and cannot wait for the next!

LBMA featured on MyWeddingBlog.com

2010-01-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

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Happy New Year & Happy Birthday to LunaBella Make-up Art !

2010-01-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's pretty amazing. The end of a decade, begining of a New Year, a Blue Moon and the 1st Birthday of LBMA. It was just a year ago when Ashley and I decided to open LBMA down here and it was the best decision of our lives, so far ;0) So we're really excited about where this year can take us. Starting off with yesterday, we had a New Year's Eve wedding with our bride Meredith in Montecito, Ca. First, let me say that the estate was CRAZY GORGEOUS with it's view of the ocean....STOP, right?! Meredith, her sister & maid of honor , Nancy, and their 5 yr.old niece ( who was too damn cute, by the way) were just an absolute joy to be around. When we get those images, we'll definitely share them on here.

Today, New Years Day, we had Erica and Mario's wedding. We got them ready at The Four Seasons , The Biltmore in Montecito, Ca. These two are just such a comically-funny & sweet couple. We have an interesting story with their big day today, but we'll share it when we have their pictures.

Tomorrow, we have two weddings ; Ashley's wedding & Sarah's wedding! Super excited to be the team for both of these ladies and cannot wait!

We'll keep you updated , so stay tuned .

Getting Ready for 2010 . . .

2009-12-31T00:44:00.000-08:00

Goodbye '09 and HELLO 2010 ! It's been quite a year with the new business and all. This year we were able to both leave our corperate jobs and pursue our dreams together as entrepreneurs.
We have done make-up & hair for photoshoots, weddings, quinceaneras, prom, bodyart taught classes, spoke to youth outreach groups, mentoring a high school girl that wants to be a makeup artist, worked fashion shows , hosted make-up parties at clubs, worked festivals at the univerisity and so, so, so much more. We truly just want to thank everyone that has supported us with this endevour. Without our supporters and clients, none of this would have been possible. We want to let you know that we will continue to deliver the best experience & service with LBMA. Watch how we're gonna grow in 2010 ! Here are a couple of photos of our 2009 work. Thanks and Happy New Years.

This is a shoot that we did with photographer Bryant Swanstrom, who is pretty awesome by the way. We did the make-up and hair for male model, Kevin, that's getting his ass kicked, including the blood on this shirt. We showed him who's boss ;0)

This was a cool shoot that we could in Los Angeles with photographer Shiloh King Strong.

Another shot from the shoot we did with Shiloh in LA. The shot to the right , we did this shoot in a desert in Cali. It was SUPER hot that day LOL!

Here are a couple of shots from one of our favorite weddings of 2009, Janell's wedding !

She's such a character! Congrats Janell ! Thanks for an amazing experience with you and your loved ones on your big day.

Please visit our website for more of our updated work at www.LBMAinc.com. Thanks for your support.

Janell's Wedding Preview...

2009-10-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Remember the cute couple Janell & R.J.? Well, this is the "Part2" of their romance. First, we fell in love with them during their engagement photos, where we did her make-up & hair. Well, this is the BIG day and here's just a preview of it ! Stay tuned and check back ! PS...the photography company is Ohana , check them out at www.sdohana.com.

...Introducing Dustin Damron...

2009-09-30T15:28:00.001-07:00

When we first met or spoke with Dustin, we were actually referred from a photographer. Our first shoot with him , he told us about this idea that he's had for about a year and he has everything lined up for it. His idea is pretty rad..."Ice Queen". Not just any ice queen, but a sexy, high fashion spin on the Ice Queen image. He also takes it to the next level by setting up shop inside a HUGE freezer in Santa Barbara. Model Anna Lieberman really takes on this sexy but "cold-as-ice "character, which really made this shot.

Here are some more amazing pieces of Dustin's work that we've worked on with him.

For more of Dustin's amazing work, visit his website at www.dustindamron.com

...Angelina has done it again...

2009-09-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

Working with Angelina is always a treat. She always has this story in her mind as to what and how she wants for a shot to look. In doing that, her work is always very vivid & strong and we love that about her. Now that she's back from her work & travels in Europe, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with her as soon as we could. For this shoot, we worked with model Ashley Russell aka Skinny and man, did she deliver, like always. Angelina made it specific to us that she really wanted for Skinny to look different, so we went with textured-out , dark brown hair. Especially because she's a blonde, we were really able to switch around and contour her features. For her make-up , Ashley ( the make-up artist ;) used smokey brown on her lid and a dark brown for her brows. She also contoured her nose, cheekbones and under the jaw to really accentuate her features. For hair, remembering Skinny's hair color is blonde and really short right now. So, I definitely went the route of extra hair and in dark brown. Using extra hair or extensions give me the added effect and this shoot was no exception. For more of Angelina's outstanding work or to book with her , contact her at www.angelinadorogi.com .

...Working with Robb Klassen...

2009-09-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

When we first met Robb, we had arranged to meet at a local coffeehouse in Santa Barbara and go over a shoot idea he'd been working on. If you've ever met Robb, you first notice how tall he is. The 2nd thing you notice is how real, genuine and down-to-earth he is. So when he said he wanted us to work with him on this idea that he's had for a long time, we knew we had to jump on the opportunity. The shoot was titled "Ruby Sky" and he paints the story for you.

Of course, these are only a few shots from this amazing shoot. So check out more of this images at www.robbklassen.com . Stay tuned for more of our work with Robb.

...Kelly & Scott...

2009-09-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

We knew that we were truly meant to do Kelly's wedding because of a funny situation over the phone. So, we received a inquiry-call from a "Kelly" sometime in April about her wedding on Aug. 15th. She was real sweet, we answered all of her questions, but after our great conversation, she didn't call back. However, something told us to just keep "Kelly's" name on the board for Aug.15th, just in case. Three-months later, we receive a call from a bride-to-be, ironically also named Kelly, wondering if we were still unbooked for her wedding date, which also happens to be...yup...Aug. 15th. Now, that happends all the time, but we had to explain to her; "On our board, we do have another bride-to-be pending on that date ....a Kelly also." She laughs and says, "Oh my gosh, that's me!!! I called you guys a couple months back and I was calling to see if you were still available and you still have my name on your board!!". It was HILARIOUS! We all instantly hit it off, booked her wedding date OFFICIALLY and did her wedding trial the following week. If you've even been around Kelly or know her, then you know how amazingly loving, funny and how real she is. We were so blessed to have not only been her make-up & hair team, but to have met her family and friends. Kelly, you are truly a beautiful bride.
These amazing shots were taken by the well-known Mary Jane of Mary Jane Photography here in Santa Barbara. Mary Jane is unreal at capturing these priceless & candid moments on such an enchanted day. Mary Jane , you ROCK! To capture some of your priceless moments, check out www.maryjaneweddings.com.

For Kelly's make-up, Ashley first did one eye completely using warm colors like golds and browns. Then she did her other eye, using a different pallet of colors like plums. This is great because Kelly gets to see herself in two different colors and she can decide which path she wants to take. She really wanted for her eyes to pop and her skin to just look glowy and soft. Ashley knocked it outta the park!
For Kelly's hair, when we originally did her trial , we went with something more like a wave in her hair which we both liked. However, after her wearing it a bit, she really wanted to go with something more down to earth, how she would usually look with just a little "oomph". We decided to go with a non-constructive swept-look, half-up/ half-down, with just a little bump at the end of her hair. Just ....Kelly.....beautiful.

We also did the make-up and hair for all of the bridesmaids including Kelly's beautiful and HILARIOUS mom! Come visit us mom!

This was a real treat for us to be a part of Kelly's production team for this immense celebration. Congrats to you kids...Kelly & Scott.

...Colors & Amanda Bailard...

2009-09-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Whenever we work with Amanda Bailard, photographer here in Santa Barbara, we know two things : 1) we know that whatever ideas that we have, she wants to make them vivid & come alive and 2) is that Amanda is gonna bust out some music and we're grooving when we work with her. We have now done over 5 shoots with her and she always delivers.

This first image is one of our favorites in working with Amanda. We wanted to do a "rag-doll" shoot, where we section-off parts of the body and use different colors and lines to create a "patchwork look". Body art unlike regular make-up application requires a lot more attention to detail, steady-hands and a lot of stepping back to look at the full picture. This mini-project took us just under 2 and 1/2 hours to do, front and back. Our model was Rosine E, she's such a sweetheart and a great model from France.

With this image below, we had a real cool time pulling this together. Amanda instructed that she wanted the model to be "stark-white" with a huge ink-splatter on her eye. WOW! Ashley and I are like "okay...ink-splatter...we got this" but it really came out cool. First, Ashley painted her all white with MAC chroma cake to give that opaque base. Then, by hand, Ashley sketches out this "ink-splatter" on and around her eye, which looks awesome! She also added a couple more random ink-splatters to make it look as if she was really hit with a splatter of ...well, ink. She's given a cupid-lip to really ad drama to the mouth. For her hair, Amanda wanted a bun at the top of her head....but I really wanted to challenge myself. So I ask Amanda if it's alright if I give her a bun but with a twist. So, I started with the bun but instead of it laying flat down, I propped it upright. I also left a lot of the models own hair out and I used a "prop" and wrapped her hair around it. It kinda created a samurai look, which we liked, then finished with the chop sticks thru the hair. Oh, and yes, we really did make her brows and fake lashes "corvette-red". HOT!
Check out more of Amanda Bailard's work at www.amandabailard.com. Her images and saturation will blow your mind!

...Photographer Mattia Balsamini...

2009-09-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Working with photographer Mattia Balsamini has been a real treat. We love that he loves to push the envelope while keeping a very regal elegance to his work. We've already done a couple of shoots with him and the way he shoots a woman is quite nice. So here is a shot of our most recent shoot with him. Check this out, this girl isn't even a model and she worked it!
Mattia wanted like the "dots" idea over half of her face and then he says " Can we do white dots or would that be too crazy?" So we rolled with the white and it came out awesome! For her hair, we kinda went with a romantic updo, not too constricted but also away from her face. Ahhhh, and the lighting?! Love it !

Check out more of Mattia's work at www.mattiabalsamini.com.

...Introducing the amazing, Angelina Dorogi...

2009-09-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION :This blog contains some brief nudity in the form of art. Please the artists involved that made this shoot possible. Thank you.
When we met Angelina, we knew that we were all just going to be a great team. From the first shoot, we remember her saying " See, that's why I love you guys; I can just tell you random words and you can formulate it into an amazing look!". One of our most memorable and favorite shoots that we've done with Angelina so far was the "Dark" shoot we did with a fierce model known as "Skinny". We she gave us the idea for this shoot, we knew that it was going to be dark, dramatic and people would remember it. For her make-up, Angelina really wanted , like we said, "something dark, but mysteriously beautiful". So Ashley literally did black on her eyes, but sketched it down to the inside-corner of her eye, giving that dimension to her eyes. Ashley really carved her cheekbones out by no only using bronzer, but by also using a grey tone to create a deeper contour. On her lips, we didn't wanna go traditional at all, so Ashley decided to do a "bitten-lip" but with this smoky grey-plum. That created a totally different look on her lips, especially because Ashley focused on the middle of her lip versus the whole lip.For her hair, Angelina wanted something so different from the norm, so we went out and bought extra hair & styrofoam. Why styro? You'll see. So, because Angelina wanted her hair to be completely up & they had to drive to the location after make-up & hair we're done, I knew that it had to last. The end result was amazing!!! It was an intricate design of different colored hair spheres atop her head. Some of it was Skinny's hair and most was extention, but this shoot ROCKED OUR WORLD!!!

Please check out more of this shoot and her other outstanding work at www.angelinadorogi.com. She just got back from shooting in Europe but contact her if you wanna work with her. Also, if you wanna work with Skinny, you can contact her at www.modelmayhem.com/Ashleyolivera . This girl can work a shoot! Seriously!

...Chandra & Larry...

2009-07-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Meet Chandra. Chandra emailed us one day, all the way from Washington, D.C. wanting to book us for her big day. We were excited for two reasons; 1.) she was one of our first "out-of-state" residence clients and 2.) she was from our hometown of Oakland ;0) On her wedding day, we met the whole family and quickly felt a sense of home.

For Chandra's eyes, she really wanted a "natural bride" look with pop but without a lot of make-up. Ashley stuck to her guns and went with colors like "go", "amber lights" and "sketch" to give her eyes that pop.

On her lips, Ashley and Chandra played around with a few colors just to ensure she's happy .

Christin just finished doing her beautiful hazel eyes and is going in for the lips .

Chandra looked AMAZING on her day and the pictures came out unreal! The photography is by Cherry Thomas of By Cherry Photography . Visit her website to view more of Chandra & Larry's wedding day and for all her galleries.

...Anna & Martin's Engagement Photos.....

2009-07-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Anna found us simply by "googling : make-up artist in santa barbara" and she went with her instinct. We first met Anna when we did her trial, in which was for her engagement photos. During her trial, Anna was the one keeping us laughing.

Her quick humor and personable personality is what makes Anna truly an AWESOME bride-to-be. Before starting our trial, we ask a few questions, so we know what you're used to wearing vs.what look you want to acheive. Anna told us that she really doesn't wear anything on her face ( i.e., foundation) but she really wanted her eyes to pop. So for her foundation, Ashley went with a real sheer foundation called MAC Face & Body, to give her a nice coverage without too much. However, later for her wedding day, we opt for an even lighter solution with flawless results.....airbrush. Absolutely AMAZING...but we'll talk about that later. Or for more info , visit our website for our airbrush rates . On her eyes, Ashley went with a golds and rusts which made her bright blue eyes pop and of course, a pro long-wear that won't kiss-off on Martin.

Okay, so seriously, Anna has some nice THICK....I mean THICK hair. Beautiful wave to it and everything. So we definitely decided to play off her thick mane, add some serious curl to it and make it a romantically-touseled look. Her bangs weren't quite long enough at the time, so we simply pulled them back and pinned. I used Bumble & Bumble Flexible Spray in the purple can, which also smells GREAT by the way, and it gave us the hold and flexibility that we needed.

Stay tuned because we're posting Anna's wedding pictures up here soon!

Working with Ari and Jess Iverson

2009-07-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ari Abramczyk is an alumni of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Ca. When we first saw some of Ari's underwater work, we were blown away. Right then, we kinda put it out in the universe to work with her and she emailed us 2 weeks later. She wanted to know if we were available to work with her and designer Jess Iverson on a maternity wedding dress shoot. HELL YEAH!! The dresses are lovely and the concept is beautiful, so we did the make-up & hair.

For this look, Jess wanted the make-up to enhance the glow of the expecting bride. Shimmery golds and pinks on the eyes and mineralized powder on the cheekbones. For the lips, Ashley used a mauve-pink lipcolor in the MAC pro-longwear line.

This shoot was interesting because although you cannot tell at all, this was during the one of the biggest fires in Santa Barbara, the Jesusita Fire. It was like 4:00pm and it was 96*degrees. It was CRAZY!!! However, the shots came out great and it just looks like a nice sunny afternoon ( despite the black smoke & bright orange flames).

You can check out more of Jess' dresses at jessicaiverson.com and you can see more of Ari Abramczyk's work at www.eyesopenphoto.com.

...D'Onna's Prom...

2009-07-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

D'Onna first heard about us through her friends because the previous weekend we did make-up & hair for a few girls attending Santa Barbara HS. Well, she then heard about us a second time through her mom's friend that uses Twitter. She saw us on Twitter and we are always spreading the word that "we're mobile and will come to your location". So, shortly after, D'Onna called us and the date was set.

So, over the phone, D'Onna told me that she was concerned because she has really thick, long hair and wasn't sure if we would be able to work with it. As you see, we have REALLY thick, curly hair, so we knew that her hair wasn't an issue at all. D'Onna wasn't sure what she wanted to do for both her make-up & her hair. She's more of a natural girl, so my objective was to really make her comfortable more than glam-queen.

First, I did her make-up. I went with soft peaches and soft browns on her eyes to keep it natural but played up. Yes, she already had some long lashes, but just for definition and pictures-sake, we added some falsies. D'Onna also had amazing skin with these beautiful freckles (which we LOVE) which we wanted to shine through the make-up. So, we went with MAC Face & Body Foundation, which gave her skin the most amazing glow.

So for her hair, I felt that it would have been a crime to not showcase the luster and length of it all. I used Bumble & Bumble flexible hold spray in the purple can to hold her locks without that crunch. Though it took a little longer than expected to get through all that hair, we we're really happy with the outcome. To add a romantic spin, we added some beautiful gardenias in her hair. They smelled UNREAL!!!!!

D'Onna was so easy-going and her Pandora's station of choice that we listened to while doing her make-up & hair was Lauren Hill.....awesome choice. We hope that you enjoyed your big night and we enjoyed you. Thanks for your review on Yelp.com. You can read D'Onna's review at www.yelp.com/biz/lunabella-make-up-art-santa-barbara. Thanks for supporting us and can't wait to do your sister's prom make-up and your future wedding make-up and hair ( oops...don't tell your mom we said that ;0)

~ C&A

....Jenn & Ron....

2009-07-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Photography by Adrienne Gunde of www.adriennegunde.com
We absolutely loved being Jenn's make-up & hair team. From the moment we met her, we knew that we all were going to have a good time. Jenn, a Santa Barbara Native that now resides in San Diego, found us on Yelp.com and actually gave us our first review ever. You can read the full review at www.yelp.com/biz/lunabella-make-up-art-santa-barbara. Jenn has such a great vibe and we we're really excited, so we got right in there, put on some Pandora ( Jenn's station that she requested was the 'Trip Hop" station...it's awesome) and got to work.

The trial make-up & hair went so well, that she booked us for doing her, her mother and maid of honor, Sam. They were amazing and showered Jenn with nothing but support and love.

The Make-up
For Jenn, she knew that she wanted colors that would make her eyes pop, make her skin still look like "skin" and wanted her hair to be a very clean updo with a twist. For her skin, Ashley used MAC Face & Body liquid foundation, which gives a glowy-skin finish. She also used a MAC pro-longwear lip color that won't kiss-off and will last throughout the event. For her eyes, plums & pinks really made her eyes transform and the false lashes always turn up the overall look.

The Hair
For Jenn's hair, she really wanted a clean updo without any curl or wave to the hair. She wanted a swept bang that wasn't in her face and a chignon toward the nape. She bought a beautiful hair piece, a beautifully designed clip with feathers, which we placed on the right side of her hair. That way when the ceremony is done and she wants to take the veil off, she'll still have something nice in her hair.
She bought a beautiful hair piece, a beautifully designed clip with feathers, which we placed on the right side of her hair. That way when the ceremony is done and she wants to take the veil off, she'll still have something nice in her hair.

Jenn was truly a joy to work with a for and looked absolutely outstanding. Just to show some love, these amazing photos were taking by Adrienne Gunde of Adrienne Gunde Photography. Check out her website at www.adriennegunde.com. Congrats to Jenn & Ron. We hope that you had an AMAZING time in Hawaii. Thanks and we appreciate your support.

~C&A

Mallory Morrison and the Rapunzel Shoot

2009-07-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

So from the very moment we heard the concept behind this particular shoot, we we're super excited and we're all in. Photographer Mallory Morrison came up with the concept to put a new age spin on the story of Rapunzel with the long, luxurious hair. We all met each other for the first time at the location, which was this OUTSTANDING mansion in Montecito. The owner comes out and is the sweetest lady at 8am (She shows us around her estate). The model that we worked with on this shoot is the lovely Christine Bailey as Rapunzel.

So for the make-up, Mallory's vision was for Rapunzel to be waking up in the morning, still looking lovely from last night and optimistic that her prince will come rescue her. As the frames go on, she's supposed to become less optimistic and more sad about no one rescuing her. So , Ashley started her first look using shimmery- mineral powders to create the glowy skin effect. We wanted her to look fresh and beautiful. Don't we wish that we can all look like that in the morning.

This shot is by far one of our FAVORITE shots, just because of how dramatic it looks. So for the make-up, Ashley used a spectacle of colors; oranges around her hair line, purples and pinks in the crease of her eye, blues and of course the infamous " colored tears". Ashley was the brain-child behind making the tears all different colors ( all make-up, of course). Her lip color is a deep brown, just to add depth. Ashley you ROCKED the make-up in this!

For the hair, we knew that we needed to work with extensions, given that her hair wasn't as long as Rapunzel. Christin, who has had many extensions in her hair before, started the process gradually. In the first shot, we just used Christine's real hair with a braided-wreath around her head. In this "colored tears" shot, Christin pulled up most of Christine's hair into a high ponytail and begain braiding and intertwining the different colors of extensions. In the end, we created this braided beehive...it was AWESOMELY HEAVY!!! LOL!

Mallory is getting public attention for this particular shoot in the first edition of
La Dior Magazine, premiers in September '09. It's awesome because of course, we will be in the credits of that spread, so YAAAAYYYYY LBMA!!!! To check out the full editorial spread, visit our website at www.lunabellamakeupart.com. Check out more of Mallory's amazing work, including her underwater photography, visit www.mallorymorrison.net.

...Yasmine and T.J. ...

2009-07-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yasmine was referred to us by an amazing wedding & event coordinator Joy Proctor of
Wedding Coordination by Joy de Vivre. Yasmine's wedding colors were lilacs, lavender and purples so Ashley went in with those colors in mind. For her lips, Yasmine wanted a lip color that would not kiss-off and would last all day. Ashley went with MAC pro-longwear in "Unchanging" and it was the perfect match.
She used soft purples and light golds to enhance Yasmine's deep brown eyes. On her skin, Ashley used MAC Face & Body foundation and set it with MAC Invisible powder.

...The Groom...
The bride is the most enchanting element of the wedding, however, the groom should not be overlooked. Meet Tom aka "T.J.", the groom. T.J. was cool, calm and collected on his big day which always makes it amazing. He just thanked Ashley the whole time for being there on their big day, which meant a lot to us.

Whether it's the groom, groomsmen or any gentleman in the bunch, their skin needs to look amazing.We conceal dark circles and blemishes, contour the face, moisturize and even out the skintone. Yes, there is make-up involved for the guys, all the while making you look yourself, at your best. We believe that great looking skin, groomed brows and hydrated lips are essential for a groom on his big day.

Congrats to you both!!! These lovely moments were captured by Mary Jane Photography , so check out her website at maryjaneweddings.com or visit her blog at maryjaneweddings.com/blog.

Welcome to our OFFICIAL blogspot!!!

2009-06-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone!!! Welcome to the official blog site for LunaBella Make-up Art.
On this site, we will keep everyone posted on what we're doing , how we're doing and upcoming events. The point of this site is to share our experiences with all of you as we grow. Starting NOW, you will see pictures and descriptions of our past, present, and future. ENJOY and thanks for supporting us.