Real Brides: Colby

This past weekend we had the pleasure of working with one of our stunning spring brides: Colby!  Her and her new husband, Kellen, had their ceremony and reception at Mount Ida Farm in Charlottesville, VA. The hair was styled by Rachel (assisted by Megan Ritter), and makeup was done by Krista. 

The photography was done by Ron Dressel. 

Rachel, Megan & Krista working on the Bride

Rachel giving a few finishing touches to Colby

The bride & some special friends!

Dress by Bridal Elegance

Colby + Kellen

Congratulations to the Bride and her husband! 

xo,

Avenue 42

PRO PICKS: Five Favorites

We are really excited to introduce one of our new blog features for this summer: Five Favorites. Over these next few months we will be introducing some of our favorite Stylists, Make-up Artists, Skincare specialists, and Bridal Guru's as well as their favorite, must-have, will-die-if-they-can't-have-it products for the summer! It was hard to limit it to five products, however, for all of us girls (and guys) on the go, we really wanted to tailor it down to simply the best items for this hot and sticky season.

We caught up with makeup artist Daniel Alvarez to find out what his Five Favorites for this summer are. Daniel has trained under famed artists including Steven Arturo, Mitzi Druss, and Brigette Reiss-Andersen, and has also worked on campains for fashion icons such as Vera Wang. He is currently working with Brooklyn, NY based beauty industry trendsetters Woodley & Bunny. His eclectic,  fearlessly creative style and personality have us seriously interested in trying out these products!

1) Christophe Robin Moisturizing Hair Cream, $39, 

"it has SPF, and suits fine as well as coarse hair types,"

2) Christophe Robin Chamomille Shampoo, $39,  "it is clarifying and actually helps lighten your hair!" 

3) Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks, $28 each, (his favorite shades were Muse & Icon) "they are matte and long wearing, and these shades are great for summer" 

4) Clarsonic Brush, from $149+, "great for exfoliating and balancing skin"

2)  Herve Heraux Cream Gel $138,"nourishing and non-greasy, and it is also paraben free" 

All of our shopping for this post can be done here:

www.christophe-robin.com/en/

www.sephora.com

www.woodleyandbunny.com

                                                  Daniel at Woodley & Bunny, Brooklyn, NY

Thank you Daniel for your Five Favorites! 

xo, Avenue 42

Style Envy: Beachy Waves

With spring almost over, and summer on its way here, the ever changing weather can often create problems for more structured hairstyles. Let's face it, blow drying your hair every day is a task most of us despise! Humidity and spring showers can often ruin all of the tough work we put into taming our tresses in fickle spring weather, which makes it the time of year to perfect those beachy waves! Use our how-to and some of these must-have products to obtain this highly desired look.

•Start with damp hair (about 75% towel-dried). For those of you that already have natural wave to your hair, blot the hair dry and be careful to not "rough" the hair up with your towel (an old t-shirt often works best).  Mist the beach spray liberally. Make sure it is applied evenly. Do not be shy around your roots, applying it here as well will create volume!

•Apply curl or smoothing creme towards your ends to tame frizz and fly aways, and give your waves a bit of definition. For thicker or more unruly hair types work your desired hair creme almost up to the base of your hair.

• Twist sections of hair away from your face (smaller sections for thicker/coarse hair, larger sections for fine, to medium thickness), and begin to scrunch from the ends. Work carefully as to keep your twists intact.

• Air dry, or to speed up the process use a blow dryer that has a diffuser on low heat.

• Once hair is dry, lightly mist the beach spray on again. A curling wand can be used to "touch up" any strands that are looking a little less than defined. You can also finish with an aerosol texture spray, or dry shampoo to add a bit of a "gritty" feeling like natural ocean water creates!

(From left) Oribe Apres Beach Texture Spray, $37 www.oribe.com; Sachajuan Ocean Mist, $28 www.woodleyandbunny.com; Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray $25 www.sephora.com, Kevin Murphy Hair Resort $34 (in salon only), Mermaid Mane Sea Salt Spray $22 www.catbirdnyc.com