Sewn Together: Magical Makeup Power!

I woke up, alone in a huge suite, on the morning of our wedding day. It was really, really early. And since I obviously could not fall back asleep, I first spent some time in prayer. I watched the still-slumbering streets of Waikiki from the lanai, taking in the perfectly warm morning weather with a relaxed, calm mind.

I booted up the laptop and waited for the internet to behave itself - and read all the beautiful comments and emails of encouragement and support that everyone sent. It was the perfect start to our wedding day, and I cannot fathom a better one. Thank you.

But eventually I got hungry.

After showering, I went downstairs to my parent's suite and consumed half a loaf of sugar-glazed Hawaiian bread with some fresh-brewed hotel coffee. I awkwardly dodged my parents attempts at getting me to share how I was feeling. I've never been good at sharing my emotions, especially if they are of the mushy variety. In fact, I forbade Sak from even holding my hand when we were around people I knew for the first five years of our relationship. I guess I couldn't turn on the sappy, even on my wedding day.

Anyway, upon the arrival of our hair and makeup artist, Dorys, it was time to get ready.

The whole process went by quickly as the Maleana team worked magic on two mothers, one sister and one bride. It was very similar to the trial session I had, and she had all the shades we used last time written down. Apparently I got one shade darker on my face! How's that for a couple days on an island!

Sak showed up at some point, and someone forced a camera into his hands since he was just standing around.

He took some pictures of us ladies, at least until he got hungry.

There would be no grand, emotional "first look" for us - and I'm okay with that. We are the type to embrace the process just as much as the end result, so I think it is fitting he was around to watch me get made-up.

Dorys started with my hair. Like a good bride, I remembered the no-wash rule that morning!

An assistant did my mom's makeup in the meantime.

Yay, I've got pretty curls!

Next, Sak's mom took a spin in the magical chair.

And after a huge wad of concealer, I headed to the bathroom for some airbrushing!

Dorys also airbrushed my shoulders in an attempt to even out the nasty sunburn I had accumulated at the zoo and beach. Yeowch.

Now what about my sweet little sister?

Well, she had quite the experience during her makeover.

But does she approve?

That's a yes, believe it or not.

With the fine spray of foundation applied, it was back to the chair for finishing touches.

Who is this person?!

Dorys added my homemade hair flower and some lip color, and we were finished! Bravo, Dorys - a true makeup artist.

And lastly, to celebrate our new fancy selves - my mom and I snacked on some poke and sushi. So, so good.

I look entirely too excited. Let's get this day started!

(Photos courtesy various family members)

Our wedding week in review:

• We took care of some last minute DIY details, and officialized everything.
• We vacationed with our out-of-towners, and threw a yummy welcome beach brunch.
• Sak saluted an angry dragon during our wedding rehearsal, and we sniffed at our dinner.
• Wal-Mart crashed my bachelorette.

DIY Flower Headband

How work really gets done in our house:










I'm thinking for the beach brunch? Or just to wear around in the days ahead? Headbands are fun, and are even better with giant flowers on them! And who knew that they there are great fake flowers at Ikea? I sure didn't. I like them much better than the ones from Michaels, although there aren't as many different colors.

I plan to give the orange one to my sister, since it's her favorite color, and Penga-Mom can have one too if she wants.

Headband fan? Where's the strangest place you've found craft supplies?

DIY Hair Flower

Well friends, throw me on the DIY hair flower bus, because I couldn't resist!

I loved the expensive hair flower I tried on at my hair trial, could I make something similar?

The pro-flower I tried on!

I searched around, and decided to use this tutorial by Mrs. Pineapple.

First, I gathered some supplies: a hot glue gun, a fake $1 rose from Michaels, a hair clip and an assortment of beads.
Next, I took the rose apart.

The reason I wanted to pull it to pieces was to get these plastic "structures" out. After I removed these, the flower "flopped" into place much more softly.

I glued the pieces back together, and finished by adhering some little beads to the middle.

Lastly, I added a clip to the back, again with hot glue. I initially tried with my favorite, 3 inch long clip.

However, the flower didn't lay quite right. I peeled it off and tried a smaller clip.

How's it look?


I think it came out alright, but it doesn't really look like the gardenia I tried on. It's slightly bigger, and not nearly as ruffly. Maybe next time I should buy a gardenia silk flower, and not a rose (good job, Penga). Or maybe I should just make another fabric flower like the kind I plan on putting on my dress. But at least I know that the method is sound, and it really didn't take very long - only a few minutes once the glue gun had warmed up!

Are you using a hair flower? Will you make your own, or skip the hassle?

Hair to Take the Heat - The Trial

I'm already missing the warm Hawaiian weather. San Francisco, by contrast, feels like living in a freezer. But it was a good little trip, and I got a substantial amount of planning done in my three short business days.

First up was the hair and makeup trial, with Maleana Cosmetic's owner, Dorys Foltin. Sak dropped Penga-Mom and I off at the shop, and then went to find a pair of pants that didn't have ripped spots at the knees (Sak loves riding his Razor scooter to the train station each day, but he's taken more than a few spills on it). I walked in, giddy upon seeing two bouncing heads of pretty curls leaving from the earlier appointment.

After meeting Dorys, she got right down to business - what was my wedding going to be like? What did my dress look like? What were my colors? Did I have any ideas?

"This one, please?"

I showed her some of the pictures from my blog, and she picked out the trends right away. Defined eyes and lips, and a smooth face for makeup. For hair, she suggested we start with an up-do, and release bobby pins through the night for the half up/down look. It all sounded good to me, and I was glad she noticed everything so I wouldn't have to give any newbish explanation.

We started with the hair.
It was recommended that I wash my hair the night before the appointment. Usually a morning-hair-washer, it was a little strange to feel all the oil in my hair from the night before, but I think it really does help when styling. My curls held all day, and even into the next!

Up, up, up!

Tah-dah, one up-do for Penga!

Here's later that night, when I had released a few of the pins by myself (not recommended, since it's a bit uneven):

Still very curly, no?

Dorys also let me try on one of her hair flowers at the end, just to see the effect.

I really liked the look of the flower, maybe on the opposite side of my one-strap dress? I wasn't too crazy about the high price tag though, so I'll be adding a hair flower to my DIY to-do list, it seems.

Overall, I was very pleased with my hair, and I think the up-do will be a major help for the hot weather.

Were you pleased on the first try? Or did it take many hair appointments to get the look 'just right'?

*All pictures taken by my mom, some images edited by myself and Photoshop actions by saturn-rings.

Hair to take the Heat

Have you ever decided to style your hair, only to realize that the more you poke at it, the worse it looks?

Sadly, this is the story of my hair-life. So here's hoping the professional can do better. *Raises nalgene water bottle to toast* If I'm lucky, maybe my stylist will have magic hands!

(Page from Beauty Pop, a manga about rivaling hair stylists!)

Now before I begin pulling out the inspiration pictures, let's talk about the general idea. I really want to have my hair down, as it makes me feel a tad less self-conscious about my shoulders (which ought to belong on a professional swimmer).

But Penga-Mom is having none of that.

"Your hair will be in your face and ruin all the pictures!"

Yes, that's true. So we'll pin the front back a bit. But not so much that all the hair falls in the middle of the back, instead of on the shoulders, where it belongs.

(Images pilfered from Project Wedding)

"But it's Hawaii, it'll be too hot for your hair to be down!"

Again, Penga-Mom has a point. I'll probably want to shave my head due to the Honolulu-heat. Plus, the humid weather may just crumple and destroy any delicate, romantic hair waves. I might have to tie it all up for manageability.

(Images from Project Wedding)

The grand-master-plan is this: Try out the lose, unstructured style with simple flower pins holding hair out of my face, and then see what it looks like when said curls are wrapped into a simple bun. Maybe I can convert back and forth, if it's easy enough? And then, with my sheer luck, the intermittent tropical thunderstorms will start up and then I'll have even a third hairstyle - wet dog!

What kind of hair are you planning on? Are you trying out a 'convertible' look?