All Rise: Time to Judge my Beauty Trial

Hello, Hive! A fever pitch is on the horizon with W-Day less than a handful of weeks away. I've completely focused all effort and energy to crossing off to-dos and making the last decisions to impact the look and feel of our wedding. No more time to change my mind, it feels good to find some final answers!

Case in point, my beauty trials. From my initial hair inspiration, Anne Hathaway's glamorous locks clearly won out.

Image via Real Beauty

And as it has been throughout the planning process, my style turned out nothing like the original vision. This time it was totally my own fault - I fell in love with a rhinestone hair ribbon necklace from Untamed Petals at The Collection Event Studio booth during the Fizz & Frills event in San Francisco. I wore it for the entire two-hour drive home, it makes me feel so pretty!

Last week I met with my fabulous hair stylist Cathy at Euphoria Salon in Monterey. She's my go-to girl since my first Japanese straightening three years ago. Cathy took one look at the hair ribbon and suggested a style she's been dying to try since seeing it on YouTube.

Video via YouTube / Posted by Lilith Moon

And so we tried it! Keep in mind that it was her first attempt and she promised to practice between now and the wedding to get the twist down just right. Before I reveal the look, let me also share a quick word about makeup. I was lucky enough to have both my trials on the same day!

Belinda, owner of Heaven Scent Salon in Hollister, referred to my inspiration photos and got to work. I wanted to look natural and fresh with a 'bridal' glow. Here's the main picture on which she chose to base my look.

Image via Health Beauty Spot

Belinda shared these snaps from her phone after my first round of hair and her awesome makeup job! You can get a good look at the hair ribbon in these photos. And I'll apologize for not remembering to take a picture of my 'before' look. 

Cathy and I both agreed the hair looked a little flat and she re-did the 'do after Belinda finished her makeup magic. The next photos reflect some self-portrait action courtesy of my iPhone. Be prepared for lots of Teacup mug shots.

{ Are the falsies to spidery? }

{ Lashes looking good from this angle, I want more twist to show in my hair though }

{ Bump it, baby! The twist looks a little better on this side }

{ A look at the back, not an easy shot to get of yourself - ha! }

And hold on, we're not quite done yet. I took advantage of my trial to set up a test run with my awesome photographer John Kammerling. You've seen a preview of his work in our e-pics. He's slammed with the height of wedding season and yet sweetly offered a quick shoot after I explained wanting to preview my overall look in front of his lens.

Ladies, even if you don't go all out for bridal portraits, I highly recommend taking some test photos. I donned all my wedding gear and the resulting pictures were reassuring. It also helped me decide to slightly up the earring bling factor.

For now, I'm only providing head shots. I promise I will reveal my dress to you on W-Day after Mr. Hot Tea has gotten his first look! 

Photo courtesy Kaemmerling Photography 

Photo courtesy Kaemmerling Photography

Notice anything curious? Yeah, the hair didn't hold up on one side and after several attempts to recreate it, I had to scrap it for the test photos. On the other hand, the makeup lasted all day and night until I removed it with cleanser. Happy dance!

So now I'm ready for your feedback. Feel free to be honest - especially regarding those eyelashes. And know that there is zero tolerance for falling hair, it MUST hold all day!

Image via LOLcats / Photo: PancakeMomm / Caption: FurryCorona