THE RITUAL
~A good cleanser appropriate for your skin-type – am & pm.
~Make-up remover and cleanser at night.
~Toner for your skin type – NON ALCOHOL ONLY.
~Daily moisturizer appropriate for your current skin.
~A weekly or 2x weekly mask to deep clean and nurture.
~A GENTLE exfoliant once to several times a week.
~Eye cream and lip conditioner are nice to have on hand too.

If you are not already acquainted with a skincare routine – Try to start your skincare plan at least six months to one year before your wedding day to ensure your skin is properly cared for and looking its best. You don’t want to wait until the month of your wedding to start using new products because you could develop an allergic reaction to some products which could take up to two months to clear. Or the opposite can occur and it could take 30-60 days for new products to really work their magic.

On the morning of your wedding, skip the lotions, toners or any products that will be between your skin and your makeup before you get your makeup done. Let your makeup artist do their complete skin prep – this is optimal for a few reasons…mainly, they know their products and what skin products to use in coordination. This step will help your makeup adhere to your skin better with less chance of slippage when you start to get hot and sweat, because there is a fine line between a sweaty shine and a dewy glow. Be sure to let your makeup artist know about your skin concerns so that they may use additional products if necessary to help achieve the best application. I can’t stress this TIP enough: At any time when you do start to sweat or cry, never wipe anything off your face because your makeup will just go right off with it; instead blot, blot, blot.
Avoid the temptation to apply pressed or loose powder to absorb shine because you will only cake on the powder, so use blotting sheets (oil absorbing papers) which are the best way to eliminate shine and not smudge your makeup.

Sometimes even adding the simplest efforts to your routine can help your skin look more luminous; like drinking eight glasses of water daily, cutting back on caffeine and alcohol consumption, keeping a gentle and appropriate skincare routine (!), not stressing out about the little details before your wedding and getting plenty of rest the week of will help your skin glow and allow your makeup artist to make you into the beautiful blushing bride.

Lisa Johnson is a film/print makeup artist working in Nashville, and nationally. She is much sought after by discerning commercial and bridal clients. Beautiful faces are her calling card! View her work at www.bridesbylisa.com and www.lisajohnsonmua.com

The best way to provide for complexion care is to focus on skin care through hydration. Hydration simply means to keep the body supplied with adequate water and moisture so it functions at its optimal level and gives you healthy, glowing skin.

Importance of Hydration:
Hydration or water in the body is very important as it makes for a healthy functioning of the system and youthful looking skin that can belie your age, if you take good care to follow the thumb rules. Drinking water helps to flush out the toxins in the body and eliminate the pollutants that are present in the bloodstream and make up for dehydration suffered by the body when exposed to sunlight, faced with perspiration and harsh winds.

Prevents skin aging:
Even with all the wide variety of skin care products available today, containing the best of natural goodness; the reason why there are more complaints about premature aging is due to the lack of moisture in the skin. Most products have additives and chemical that are abrasive and strip skin of good oils, which are difficult to replace.

Following hydration therapy encourages people to intake at least 8-10 glasses of water daily along with following a healthy, balanced diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals such as fresh fruit and green, leafy vegetables, most of which contain water. Restrict use of soaps, creams and gels as they do not contain the main ingredient that the skin needs and replace them with more water to contribute to hydration therapy for healthy, happy skin.

Soothing Skincare Through Hydration
The only way to truly moisturize your skin is to get water into it. However, as simple as the advice is, the only problem is that the skin by itself is virtually waterproof and water cannot penetrate its resilient surface. Therefore, the next best thing is to provide it with necessary water through oral intake and prep it up with external elements that have essential oils rich in nourishing elements like almond oil, coco and shea butter, among others.

The reason why a baby’s skin is smooth and flawless is due to the high water content in the body, which gets depleted over time due to normal aging, exposure to the elements and sunlight, poor diet, stress among a host of other factors. Due to this wrinkles appear, normal skin function is reduced and many other problems arise like oily or dry, scaly skin.

Hydration is necessary to help raise the skin’s natural barriers and to moisturize and nourish the skin. The use of gentle cleansers can prevent stripping the natural essential skin oils and combat winter dryness.
To add moisture in your home, place cups of water throughout the house when running your heater so that the room-heating element that dries the air of moisture and robs the skin and nasal membranes of the moisture they need, can be replenished.

I work in all aspects of makeup – commercial, print ad, music video, press kits for musicians, as well as bridal makeup artistry.  My aesthetic is clean beauty – meaning not too much makeup is seen, because I love to see your natural beauty showing thru – not the makeup.  I am versed in every kind of makeup imaginable – having served well over 1000 brides PLUS in my career – I assure you will love how you look on your most special day. 

ALL images in my portfolio are of my clients and of my work – most everyone has hand applied, traditional makeup in all of my images as well.  What you see is what you get.  I’m also versed in AIRBRUSH makeup for those clients who would like this service. 

I’ll be updating my blog monthly to showcase my brides, some of their stories and all the beauty that goes on in between! 

My motto:  YOU, only better!