Category: Hair and makeup

Some Lovely Things

Published on by angelaportLeave a comment

All you need is love and … some lovely things.

A curated list of things, people and places I’ve discovered this week that I love.

Bridal Headpieces

I have been lusting over  these gorgeous bridal headpieces all week.  If you want something a little bit different from the traditional veil option for your wedding headwear then these pieces totally fit the bill.  ‘Shut the front door’ create these completely original bridal headpieces and other beautiful headpieces for other events.They are truly stunning, and would add that ‘wow’ factor to your wedding day outfit.  Check out www.shutthefrontdoor.com.au for more beautifulness.

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The stunning Aurora Wings piece.
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The Bijou piece

The Penguin and the Stone

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Look, they even look like they’re holding hands.

I was reminded of this cute story during the  week, by a friend of mine.

After a long winter, the Adelie penguins make their way to their mating grounds throughout the area of coastal Antarctica. The male and female penguins strut and bray, a little bit like the guys at the pub on a Friday night, hoping to attract the attention of another Adelie penguin. When a special (read: attractive) penguin catches their eye, the Adelie penguin presents the other penguin with a stone. If the penguin accepts the stone, they start a bond for life. Each new spring, the courtship continues, the couples find each other again; and again, a new stone is presented as a token of affection. The penguin pair continues to gather stones for their nest, looking for each precious stone in the frozen ground.  I’m not 100% sure if this is true or a urban myth, but I love the cute story anyway.

Wedding Planning Mini Milestone Champagne Labels

Wedding Planning can be tough, and long, and stressful and expensive. So it’s important to take breaks and celebrate the mini milestones that you tick off on the wedding planning checklist and celebrate with your fiance or the girls, and Studio B Label Co have the perfect way for you to do this.

“Studio B Label Co make wedding planning even more fun with their custom Engagement Milestone Mini Champagne labels! The bride can celebrate every stage of her engagement and wedding planning with a mini bottle of bubbly! Perfectly sized to fit mini split champagne bottles, this label is personalized with the bride’s name.  Done in a bridal white label with black and hot pink text (customisable), each label is printed on weatherproof stock.  Just peel and stick!”  As you can see from the two photos below there are a few different options for the stickers, but how cute and fun are they?

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People We Love: Ria -Aurum Hairstylists

Published on by angelaportLeave a comment

All you need is love and … some wisdom from a wedding professional.

Now, I know a lot about weddings, but not everything, so “People We Love”is a series of interviews with wedding professionals, who will share their stories and wedding wisdom.

Meet Ria from Aurum Hairstylists

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Business Name: Aurum Hairstylists

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business: My husband and I created Aurum in 2014 – we have young children, so the commitment meant my husband built and designed the salon – then stayed home with the kids while I ran the salon as a solo operation.  I quickly realised I was busier than I could keep up with so slowly started building my team from there.  We now have 4 stylists in total.  At Aurum we pride ourselves on being open and caring about our clients and helping them manage their hair at home.  We specialise in bespoke contour colouring techniques, wedding hair, luxury hair treatments and home care advice.

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What do you love about your job? I love helping people feel better about themselves – when they leave my chair with a smile on their face and a skip in their step – that’s the moment that makes all the long hours and hard work worth it.

What do you do in your spare time, hobbies/interests? I have young children, so most of my spare time is dedicated to them and my family.  I come from a large family so the best relaxation for me is catching up with family and friends as much as possible.  I love travel, home design and decor, beach walks and yoga when I get time.

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What one thing do you wish every wedding couple knew? Just enjoy the day, as it goes so fast. Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Focus on your love and connection with your partner, not just the day and the party – everything else is a bonus.

Any wedding trends you love, or would love to see disappear? For brides hair wise –  I love classic looks whether it’s soft or structured.  It should always be timeless, so you can look at it in 20 years and still love it. I love how weddings in general progress with time and reflect the couple’s personality rather than just doing it to be on trend. Pinterest is so fantastic for ideas and themes and just creating mood boards of images that speak to you and reflect the kind of day you want.  Being able to show these to your hairdresser or anyone else involved in your wedding is so important, so everyone knows the overall look you want.

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Any great /interesting stories about working with a couple? Because I trained and worked in Arrowtown we did weddings all year round so I developed these skills early in my career, and I still have an image in my head of every single bride I have had the pleasure of working with.  Most had amazing love stories, some were dealing with devastation and family loss, and how different brides choose to honour that special loved one that couldn’t be with them was so emotional to see.

I have done weddings at the top of a ski field, near the beach in Brighton, Queenstown hotels, my own bridesmaids on a beach in Thailand, Larnach Castle.  Doing a bride’s hair on Christmas Eve, standing in the shower as there was no where else to stand while she was getting her make up done.  I tell brides during the practice that their hair should feel secure enough to run around the block – one bride actually went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for an hour with hair practice hair up in and I’m proud to say that it lasted!

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What two pieces of advice would you give a couple planning their wedding?  Have fun. Make sure it’s about you as a couple, not all about pleasing everyone else.  Book as much as you can well in advance to secure your date, as weddings tend to book a year in advance, even for hair and make-up.

One insider tip/trick to pass on? Hair wise – most brides grow their hair for the big day – but that’s not what your hairdresser needs to work with. Healthy long hair is best – get regular trims every 8 weeks and deep conditioning treatments every time you get it trimmed.  Also think about having some shaping and layers in your hair – this helps curls to sit better and last longer.  The right salon quality shampoo, conditioner and styling products you are using are the most important next to regular trims to maintain healthy hair.

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Talk to your hairdresser about what you can be using specific to your hair needs from now on to create good hair habits and have the healthiest, shiniest hair for your big day.  Also if you have a dream colour in mind start planning that well before the wedding so that your stylist has time to plan it out, as sometimes colour can take a few visits to achieve the right shade.

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If you love advice and vibe of Ria at Aurum then you can contact them here:

Website: aurum hairstylists

Facebook: Facebook/aurumhairstylists

Instagram: @aurumhairstylists

Pinterest: aurumhairstylists

“Tradie Tuesday” JC Beauty Co

Published on by angelaportLeave a comment

All you need is love and … some wisdom from a wedding professional.

Now, I know a lot about weddings, but not everything, so “Tradie Tuesday”is a series of interviews with wedding professionals, who will share their stories and wedding wisdom.

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Business Name: JC Beauty Co.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business: I am a 26 year old mum of 2, I studied in Christchurch at the National School of Aesthetics and sat 3 diplomas. I have worked both in Australia and NZ, including at the Sydney Fashion Show 2013. I was working full time in retail (in Dunedin) and my daughter was just 1 year old when I decided I’d had enough of working 36 hours a week, missing out on my kids and yet never moving forward financially so I pulled the plug on my full time job and jumped into what I knew best.

My daughter is now 2, and in this time I have managed to build a debt-free business from a bottle of oil with up to 6 staff, and now have opened 2 salons in the same month! (June 2016). We offer mobile and in-salon treatments, are licensed and fully qualified. I am really proud of how far we’ve come mostly from word of mouth, our passion really does show in our work.

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We now specialise in bridal hair and beauty, and cover the whole South Island, because there is a huge market for this. People are increasingly trying to find mobile and affordable beauty therapists without compromising on quality.  It’s about making the process as smooth as possible for the bride-to-be.

What do you love about your job?: Every day is different.  I am not tied down to the same four walls, and I have come up with a way that I can provide others the same joy and freedom I experience from working for JC Beauty.  I meed different people everyday with different backgrounds, personalities and taste in fashion/makeup trends.  I love the positive feedback and the look on our clients faces when they see our work 🙂

What do you do in your spare time, hobbies/interests? I have my two kids, Jayden is 8 and Lilly is 2. I try to spend as much time as possible with them.  I have a few other small businesses which I oversee also, I have delegated the more time consuming jobs in these so I can spend my spare time with my family.  I’d love to travel with them soon, and spend more time outdoors.  However work will be full on for a while yet.

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What one thing do you wish every wedding couple knew? How fast the wedding day is over, to enjoy the process of planning and not to stress if something goes wrong.

Any wedding trends you love, or would love to see disappear? Personally at the moment I am loving rustic styled weddings, there’s just something about them, plus alot of it can be done by the wedding party – DIY table settings etc, which would make it super affordable.

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Any great/interesting stories about working with a couple? I generally work only with the females of the bridal party, but I have recently worked and was invited to a wedding in which Angela Port was the celebrant. A beautiful bride was very lucky to have been able to marry her soul mate after being diagnosed with Leukemia about a year earlier.  It was surreal, she had the whole room in tears; so much emotion in one room.  I was honoured to have been involved with their big day, I went home and told my family how much I loved them after that.

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What two pieces of advice would you give a couple planning their wedding? Don’t do your own make up or self-tan!! Professional is always best, but be sure to research businesses and attend wedding shows! It’s amazing how many vouchers you can pick up by attending a wedding event, also by attending these you get to meet and talk with the businesses in the wedding industry directly.  You may find these businesses are more passionate about their work and will work more closely with you to ensure your day is perfect because they are more invested.

One insider tip/trick to pass on? Don’t skip your skincare! Your skin is the largest organ in your body.  It protects you! I’d recommend seeing a beauty therapist as soon as you’re engaged for a skin care routine that suits your budget. By investing in your skin you won’t only save money on photographer’s editing time, or the time and product of a make up artist but your skin will love you for it in the long run!

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 Come and have a chat with us at the Dunedin Wedding Show or the Southland Wedding Show.

We’re all over social media at

Facebook: JC Beauty Co

Instagram: @qualitymobilebeauty

Tumblr: qualitymobilebeauty.tumblr.com

and of course email: owner.jcbeautyco@gmail.com