Liv –The Blog

I am freshly in love…

photo taken by the fabulous Lisa Diederich

…with our life over here in Australia and with my job.
With the change of seasons and the crisp cool days. With Sydney and the colours.
I love being a makeup artist, I am in love with teaching people about skin care, I am passionate about nutrition and I rediscovered my love for writing.
I am in love with weddings and everyone I get to work with.

Lately I had the chance to collaborate with the wonderful White Magazine and I am writing a series of guest posts for them as Beauty Expert. Read the first part of my Get The Glow Series here and try my favourite smoothie recipes.
I will share my insider tips on how to achieve a healthy radiant skin step by step.
Thanks White Team, for inviting me as a guest!

happy change of seasons

Inspired by all the beautiful coloured leaves here in Sydney I have recently teamed up with Gentlemen Take Pictures for a male fashion editorial. See some more on my website here, if you like.
It’s time for soups and hot water bottles now, and I no longer go swimming at the beach.
The seasons have changed, and I love Sydney for it’s blue skies and sunny afternoons.
We also finally ordered a couch and settling up for general coziness.
I am somehow looking forward to my first Winter over here.
Happy change of seasons, where ever you are.

The coolest bride of this season…

…goes to…drumroll…
No! I am not actually awarding anyone. All weddings I work on are different and beautiful and I love working with every single bride.
This one stood out for her style though and I really wanted to share a few of their gorgeous photos with you.
What a stunner!
Wearing a vintage mini lace dress, nude heals and just rocking a minimal styling for a Coogee Beach wedding on the most beautiful sunny day.
Congrats again to Alice&Xavier! Staying true to their style on their wedding, having the best time and treating everyone involved like a friend!
A truly great couple and a wonderful wedding.
I feel incredibly grateful that I had the chance to become part of their special day doing their wedding makeup.
I love my job. Soooo much.

Brand New FB Page

First of all:
Thanks to everyone for their amazing support!
I have FINALLY created a Facebook page for my makeup artistry (that is no longer called “Blushless” like my former fashion label, Fb doesn’t allow to change the name of a page, so I had to create a new one from scratch)
From now on please find me over here!
I am looking forward to seeing you over at my new page.
Liv Lundelius Makeup Artist.
Thanks again for your support.

Grooming and Gentlemen

I have lately collaborated with Gentlemen Take Pictures for a couple of shoots, with some great results.
It was a great change to be able to some professional male grooming and male hairstyling work in between
all the gorgeous brides and bridesmaids in the peek of the wedding season over the last months.
These studio shoots were great fun and those aspiring male supermodels were a dream to work with.
Check out more of my male editorial work on my website here.

Sydney Sunrise Street Style

The other day I got up way before sunrise, for an early morning photoshoot by the beach. It was lovely being able to see the sun peeking up above the water and while I was doing the makeup on location in the dark, (with some work lights obvsly) it turned out to be a great shoot. More on the edgy street style side as opposed to my romantic, dreamy wedding shoots.
The model was a great talent Shana who is signed with The Agency Models in Sydney. The photos are by the aspiring fashion photographer Jack Grayson.
There is something magical about working in Sydney, while I am as super busy and working the early and the long hours it feels like the sun recharges me in the meantime.

A laid back garden wedding

It was such a pleasure being part of this super cool couples wedding.
Vicky & Warren and their cheeky pup Pancho the dachshound had a super laid back wedding
in the park round the corner from their house. They were just the kind of people you want to hang out with!
Plenty of DIY, fun games and a artsy vibe made this wedding really stand out.
The gorgeous photos were taken by the uber-talented Jo Bartholomew
The bride was after a super natural no-makeup makeup look, as she usually doesn’t wear makeup, she just wanted
her skin to look even and nice in the photographs and a simple loose side bun for the hair.
And so we did! In these photos you don’t even notice any makeup at all, exactly what she was after.
Can you spot me in the first photo?
Congratulations to this gorgeous couple. And check out even more photos of this wedding at Jo’s blog you will see all the super fun shots over there!

Little getaways

While I have been flat out with work lately, ranging from applying flawless wedding makeup to beautiful glowing brides, groomed and styled men fashion editorials and applied for some exciting opportunities.
I am a little flat out by now and can’t wait for our upcoming little Easter getaway.
We are going on a road trip down south to Jervis Bay in New South Wales.
Where you can watch dolphins and wales. We are staying in a little cottage right be water and I am daydreaming away already while typing this. Check out the cute little luxury cottages we are staying in!
I love how they are all painted in different beautiful colours and the interiors are looking amazing in all pastel tones too.
I am crossing all my fingers, that we will spot some dolphins!
For all of you that crave a little getaway or romantic weekend here in Sydney, I thought I share what we are up to right now.
And I can’t wait to pack my suitcase for this little trip. Only 4 more sleeps, and here is what I am packing:

Here is what I will bring with me for this little Autumn getaway:

Shoes: These are from Koah and look just like the perfect ankle boots for this trip.
A little Bag: French Connection Small Crossbody Bag.
Navy Nailpolish! This one is by Bio Sculpture.
A Hat: Jones New York Wide Brim Fedora
A natural lipstick: Like Nars Mayflower.

What are you up to this Easter?

Green smoothies, Glowing Skin…

Green smoothies, glowing skin and other essential items I couldn’t live without lately, as I have have been busy buzzing it’s all about keeping the right balance.

In January I joined a “green smoothie a day challenge” hosted by Simple Green Smoothies,I loved it so much that I am still going. Not every day maybe, but almost. And they are having another challenge in April, which I will definitely join.
It’s so good for your whole body and it’s super easy. It makes a real difference to your skin, I promise!
If you are a buzzing bee as well, or if you are on a pre-wedding detox this is definitely for you.

I put together a few things for you that really help me when I am flat out with work:

Green Smoothies: Healthy fresh food makes all the difference, and although I don’t have the time to prepare complicated meals right now,
chucking some fruit and veggies into a blender and pressing a button can be done in 5min. I make a different one every day.
My Favourite right now: 1 banana, 1 pear, 1 apple, 1 handful of baby spinach, 1/2 cup of soya or almond milk, 1 tsp. chia seeds, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp Supergreens Powder. This recipe makes about 3 sundae glasses of smoothie!

Comfy shoes: I do like to look somewhat professional at work and won’t rock up to a shoot or wedding in flip flops (although I sometimes have to bring them along when shooting on the beach!) So: Comfortable chic shoes, that look like I am happy to work in them all day, but still somewhat stylish.
The ones above are from Geox. There is nothing worse then painful feet, on a long day of work, it’s so distracting, flat shoes are the way to go!

Little Lunch Break Swims: Whenever I can I sneak out for a quick swim in my lunch break, not just a little exercise and movement, but also great relaxation for sore muscles. I also get the best ideas why swimming and find it clears my head.
Love Balm: So small, it fits in every pocket, it keeps my lips nicely moisturized, soothes any dehydrated areas or dry patches and makes a great cuticle balm too. It smells divine of natural rose oil too, the smell that opens the heart chakra. Jurlique Love Balm in Rose, sooo goood!

What keeps you balanced when you are super busy?

Hello Autumn,Hello May,Hello White!

It’s just the beginning of March, which is the beginning of Autumn here in Australia!
So why Hello May? Hello May is a lovely new wedding Magazine based in Sydney!
Definitely check them out you will find some very different unique inspiration.
They have just featured my latest work over there as well. I was lucky enough to to the makeup for the gorgeous bride to be Amelia and her Fiance John.
The photos were taken by the talented Gentlemen Take Pictures.
So go and have a look here for some more photos.
I have been living and breathing weddings lately and am so loving my work here in Sydney. I have worked with so many wonderful brides and feel incredibly blessed for my job. Autumn still seems busy and it’s great to see so many people getting hitched.

Another favorite Magazine of mine, full of incredible writing, inspiration and wedding gorgeousness is WHITE magazine based in Newcastle.
They just updated their website too and it’s looking fantastic!
Click over here to see more. You can thank me later ;)
I am so loved up with their work! And feeling delighted and excited about upcoming projects with them.

And…Kiss! Stained Lips that stay put.

One of the challenges with Bridal makeup is how to find a cute lipstick that is kiss proof and doesn’t budge throughout the day.
I am not a fan of most long wearing lipsticks for a good reason: They do stay, but they don’t last nicely.
Instead they dry the lips and flake off over time. A pretty scary thought for your wedding day.
Most of the lovely hydrating creamy lipsticks that so look gorgeous however wear off rather quickly.
Which is fine, if you are happy to top up your lipstick. Topping up is better then flaky lips!

A perfect solution however is to use a Lip Stain! They stain the skin of your lips for the day without changing the texture. You see natural stained lips a lot on the catwalks lately and I love their contemporary feel. If you prefer a sheen, you can easily wear your favourite gloss over the top, just a dot in the center of your lips, will give you the volume and shine you love without turning everything into a sticky mess. As a professional makeup artist I love using Becca Beach Tint, Stila Crush Lip and ans Cheek stain, and Benefit Tints they all do great stains in a wide colour range.

How to master the stained lip:
1.Exfoliate your lips first, to make sure you remove all dry skin.
2. Moisturize your lips with a hydrating lipbalm.
3. Remove excess lipbalm by pressing lips onto a tissue.
4. Apply lipstain- let it set for a few seconds. Layer lipgloss over the top if you like.
5. KISS!

images via 1 Imaxtree/ look for Roland Mouret, 2The Goddess Guide

Proudly listed

Hey, I got some exciting news!
I am now proudly listed on the HELLO MAY Directory!
Along with some very cool creative Australian vendors of all kinds.
Check it out!

Two Fine Days!

See more photos of my day here

It’s been busy!
Last weekend we were part of One Fine Day, the amazing boutique wedding fair in Sydney.
It was the most beautiful little event and I am so happy we were involved.
I don’t know if all of you know what I do for work, but I am a Makeup Artist.
I work in wedding makeup as well as fashion editorials. The weekend started early by preparing the models for the show in the morning.
Managing our little stall all day long for two days was so much fun and also a lot of work.
We met the loveliest people and so many of the other vendors, which you can check out in One Fine Days Directory on their website.
I hope to collaborate with a lot of them soon! Everyone we met was so inspiring and welcoming. It was the best start I could have ever hoped for.
The whole week beforehand we were busy putting everything together, organizing photos, printing postcards and promo material, and putting together little goodies for the brides and designing the stand itself.
With every booking we gave away little samples of my favorite and highly recommended organic herbal tea,
“Cleansing Brew” from Tea Medica, which is really purifying and nourishing for the skin.
I had quite some cups, during the stressful preparations. I love that it’s such a small independent company and everything is locally grown and organic.
For the fair I filled the tea into little glass test tubes, which looked to pretty with the colourful tea, full of red rose petals, yellow calendula flowers and green herbs.
The response from the fair has been great, and it took me all week, to reply to the enquiries and bookings. We met so many lovely brides to be and their friends & families, and it makes me very happy to contribute to such an important and beautiful day in their lives.
Thanks to everyone who booked their makeup with me, I am really looking forward to working with all of you.
Dave has been my super hero, helping me out all weekend at the stand, getting coffees for my makeup artist and hairstyling colleagues and preparing the stand. He designed fantastic forms and
print material and all that at night time after he came home from work.
Yes, I am incredibly grateful for this man.
And now I am having one day off, before I start my next six day week. We might go to the beach.
We might catch up on some sleep, for a long time.
Hope you all had a great week!?

Hello Bohemian Hippie Brides

If you have followed this blog for a while, you would know that I am having a soft spot for unique weddings and i love laid back weddings
with a slight hippie chic a lot.
I do love super chic elegant and more classic weddings too and vintage weddings and to be honest, I haven’t worked with a bride yet who’s
wedding wasn’t beautiful and stylish in their very own way.
Also I love shoes, quite a lot. I am generally humble and not a crazy shopper but I do love shoes, even just checking what’s out there,
without buying the whole lot.
My latest little find I came across for the hippie-ish bride that is looking for some comfortable flat shoes for her wedding, or just for every day. You gotta love these, right? These are by Redskins , who would have thought they come up with such a fashion forward little flat.
It makes me immediately think of brides with great feather headpieces or flower crowns.
A wedding in a field with high grass and lush trees around somewhere in the country or in the forest.
A breezy summer afternoon and beautiful colours everywhere. Just looking at these little shoes brings up all these pictures in my head.

Retro Bridesmaid dresses- A guest post

We have a guest post today from London based retro fashion label Fever, telling us about how to choose a retro bridesmaid dress:

If you don’t fancy paying through the roof for bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses then there are a few options.

Vintage is one option. There are so many vintage and retro stores which have popped up, left right and centre since vintage became super trendy a few years back what with Mad Men creating a style boom. For those who are not too fussy about second hand vintage stores there is another option for cheap and timelessly well-tailored dresses.

Vintage can sometimes mean long days spent doing some high and low searching, as many stores as there are, it can still take some quality sifting to find a genuine beautiful article of clothing behind numerous rows of dusty smelling clothes, this of course sometimes being the major appeal for vintage shoppers!

If you don’t fancy sifting through second hand clothes then you can always go for the option of new vintage style dresses. Many benefits come with this option, returns being one of them, plus a less challenging search. Although in saying that there are many “retro” / “vintage” stores which don’t really adhere to the true retro rules. Retro dresses should be well tailored, with an elegant fit and often strong visual patterns. The quality in new retro dresses isn’t always the same.

Fever are a London based retro clothes store which focuses on new retro clothes, sourcing inspiration from around the world via searching high and low throughout vintage and retro clothing stores for retro patterns, styles and fabrics.

They actually have a whole collection specifically designed for weddings, including bridal and bridesmaid dresses so have kindly done most of the legwork regarding searching for that perfect retro wedding dress.

Whether you decide on old or new dress let retro be the style definer! There is so much effortless choice in this particular era of clothing and with that will never go out of fashion. Treat the bridesmaids to a dress that can be worn time upon time again.