Weddings In Venice

Last year when I was in Italy leading the Corinna B's World Glam Italia Tour we spent a day in Venice.

Venice never, ever disappoints

I always think you need at least a week in Venice, but there was only time for one day. I would like to stay there for a month but I can never find a spare month to run away in.

While we were there we spotted two weddings happening.
Venice would be a very romantic place to get married, don't you think?

 We loved the bride's dress.

The guests were very chic. I loved this lady's white dress. Perfect with the beige jacket and nude heels

We were wondering if the veil was old or new?
It was just beautiful.

I also loved the short celery trench coat on the guest/family member in the background. and those legs!

The most fun was watching these two little boys who could care less about the pomp and circumstance surrounding them.
They were doing some good running and jumping instead.

A few minutes later we sat on the steps of another church eating lunch, when along came another wedding. They just swung by for photos though.
They looked so sweet and lovely, just the two of them on their destination wedding in Venice.

I would love to go out there and do some weddings...

I loved these two. They escaped the rain, taking shelter under the walkway along the Doges palace. All glamorous in a long dress and a suit, and made use of their free time with a little canoodling.
Perfect.

How To Do Perfect Makeup For Summer ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #17

Have you noticed that in summer your makeup doesn't look quite so good? 
Maybe your foundation looks super slimy or maybe it looks too dry, your eye shadow turns into greasy pools in the creases of your eyelids, nothing stays where its supposed to, and you look nothing like the fresh faced models in the magazines?

Here are 6 tricks to make your summer makeup work

1. Less is absolutely more in the summer.
The biggest mistake you can make is piling on too much makeup. Summer is all about looking fresh faced and healthy, which doesn't work when you're wearing mask-like makeup.
Aim for a gorgeous complexion. Start with a lighter weight moisturizer, next apply a dry finish facial SPF, and finally a really good primer to even out the texture of your skin. 
If you need some help evening out your color, opt for a BB cream rather than a foundation.

2. Down play your eyes.
Big smokey, bold eye makeup looks stupid in the summer time. Choose a lighter, more nude look, and accent it with loads of mascara. To avoid smudgy mascara use a water resistant formula, and only ever use waterproof mascara if you're planning on swimming or sobbing - waterproofs are so damaging to your lashes and can be difficult to remove.

3. Go easy on the bronzer.
Find a formulation that works with both your skin and your climate (pressed powder/cream/liquid), and then apply it where the sun would kiss your face if you were out and about all afternoon.
Bronzer does not take the place of blush, and regardless of what the you tubers tell you, it is not for contouring with.
Don't make the mistake of trying to color your face in with bronzer - you will look muddy, not tanned.

4. Accent your brows.
Use your brows to add a little structure and polish to your look.
Without going overboard, (as in don't do the brows you see all over Instagram) give your brows a little definition and a hint of color with a waterproof/water resistant brow product. It will frame your eyes and keep your look nicely balanced.

5. Focus on the lip
Add a pop of color to your look with a bright summer lip. If your overall look is glowy try wearing a bold matte lip. If your skin is looking a little dry, liven your look up with a fun colorful gloss.

6. A little highlight goes a long way.
If you are transitioning from day to night, or if your look feels a little flat, adding a tiny amount of highlight to your upper cheek bones, under the eye if your eyes look tired, maybe a hint to the bridge of your nose if you need it, can lighten and brighten your complexion.
Just don't overdo it. There's a big difference between brightening your look and making yourself look glittery-shiny.

Where To Buy Leather In Florence

I love Florence.

I love the art. I love the architecture. I love the city. I love the food.

I love everything about Florence.

One of the many things that Florence is famous for is being one of the very best places in the world to buy leather goods.

Everything from sensational handbags to luggage, belts, soft leather gloves, and fabulous leather jackets. Fabulous.

 

Just walking anywhere in Florence is pure magic, especially at night or in the early mornings before the tourists descend en masse.

Window shopping in this beautiful, art filled city is glorious. But if you're not able to drop multiple thousands of dollars on the high end jackets and bags you see in the windows of Ferregamo, Gucci or Prada you are in luck - just make your way to San Lorenzo.

Looking around the San Lorenzo market in Florence

Not even 5 minutes walk from the Duomo (Santa Maria Del Fiore) you will find yourself at the San Lorenzo market and Mercato Centrale one of the most famous outdoor market areas in all of Europe. Mercato Centrale is inside, and is a food market, but all around it are endless market stalls and shops selling gorgeous leather handbags, luggage and jackets.

(If you haven't be to Florence in a couple of years, be prepared for a surprise. All the market stalls the used to be outside the Basilica di San Lorenzo are now gone, relegated to side streets.)

Jimmy's beautiful leather shop in Florence

There are so many vendors that it can get quite confusing, and it would be easy in the mad tourist shuffle to make an expensive mistake and purchase something sub-quality. So I advise all my friends to have fun looking through the market, but then go see my dear friend Jimmy.

I first met Jimmy years and years ago when I bought my beautiful leather travel bags (that have been featured many times in this blog and in magazines!). Over the years we have become great friends, and now Jimmy has his own shop in the Piazza San Lorenzo, named Jimmy's Leather Collection.

Everyone in the market knows and loves Jimmy, which is really helpful because I always get completely lost in the market stalls and can't find my way back, so there are always vendors who will walk me back to his shop, which is in the Piazza San Lorenzo at the very beginning of the market.

Jimmy's second store is at the tail end of the market. Travel bag in the front is identical to mine!

What sets Jimmy's shop apart from the rest is his attention to detail, and the quality of his merchandise. There is a giant area T the back end of the shop where you can sit comfortably on couches, look at clothes and bags in peace where you can really think and make wise decisions, to try jackets on and look at them in huge mirrors so you can see what they really look like, and to go over every inch of your jacket, it's stitching, it's form, and see the absolute perfection in the garment.

Jimmy does buy some garments from other manufacturers, but he also designs his own line of sensational leather jackets. 
And they are beautiful. 

Stylish, modern, and also classic.

The leathers that Jimmy uses are exquisitely soft and totally luxe.

Part of what makes shopping there so much fun is his depth of knowledge about leather, about the hide your jacket came from, about every step in the process.

He has an encyclopedic knowledge of fashion and of specific moments in fashion. I can be talking to him about a cuff style I like and he will say "Yes that was in the Fendi jacket in 2013" or he will say "Do you remember the sleeve on Balmain's jacket in 2012? That shape would look perfect on you". When you talk about that very specific shade of beige that Chanel had 5 years ago or last season, he knows exactly what you are talking about.

I can't get enough of it!

Jimmy really understands body shape and how to choose the perfect style to maximize your assets and not draw attention to your not so great bits. He also understands geographic idiosyncrasies.

He will show me styles that girls from Chicago and L.A love, and then he will show me what girls from NYC are drawn to.

I love that he gets it.

Jimmy's attention to detail is worth noting too. He sees the perfect alignment in the hides he uses, how the seams match perfectly. 

I've sent people from all over the globe to Jimmy, normally because they want to buy luggage like mine, but they tend to end up buying leather jackets. And every single time, every single person is just ecstatic about their experience and their beautiful new leather jacket.

Of course he also has beautiful handbags and travel bags. But everyone lately has been asking me about jackets.

Another thing to love? Jimmy is charming and charismatic and fun. You will have a wonderful time shopping with him, no matter where you are from. He speaks something like 12 languages, so it doesn't matter who you are, he just changes over to your language and chats away, always happy, always delightful.

Find Jimmy's Leather Collection on Facebook here

Jimmy's Leather Collection

Piazza San Lorenzo, 2

N233

Tel: 0055-292137

The Summer Survival Checklist

Summer is here at long last, which means steamy hot days outside and chilled air conditioning inside, sea water thrashing your hair, humidity making it frizzy, pool parties and beach parties to look fabulous for - so many beauty equations to have to figure out a plan for!
I've made a Summer Survival Checklist with 9 of my favorite items to take you effortlessly through the hot months and keep you looking gorgeous no matter how high the mercury rises.

It's Skin Facial Solution Powder Mist is perfect for those days where humidity has you feeling slimy, when you have excess oil or when you are getting breakouts from summertime oily/greasy skin. Keep one in your handbag or your desk drawer and spritz as needed to soak up oils, clear up breakouts and keep you looking fresh.

Madison Reed Tame I recently found this company 
(Madison Reed). They are a salon quality home hair color company, that also has some fabulous shampoo and styling products. They even have color specialists that consult with you and help you choose what you need.(click here).
This product, Tame,  keeps the frizzies at bay, helps to style summer hair that's getting fried by surf, sun and chlorine and keeps your frazzled flyaway hair looking groomed, tamed and glossy. It also gives your hair some UV protection, which is an extra bonus for those with color treated hair!

Nars The Multiple In South Beach is perfect for summer bronzing with a glow. Powder bronzers can sit on the surface of the skin and look artificial, especially on days where you're not wearing a full face of foundation. The Multiple in South Beach is a gorgeous shade of bronze that you can blend into your skin with your fingers, a beauty blender or a duo fiber brush for a natural look with a healthy, glowing finish. You can even add it over your makeup if you want to juice your look up before leaving work.

Tildon Metallic Floppy Straw Hat at Nordstrom  I love big, floppy straw hats that shelter your face and neck, but also look chic and stylish. Nordstrom has a wonderful selection of sun hats to choose from.

Prada Baroque 55mm Round Sunglasses. Let your sunglasses be a statement piece, making even the most simple outfit look chic.


Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist keeps your skin fresh, dewy and hydrated either on it's own or under moisturizer. In dry climates or when traveling it gives your skin a super boost, on days where its too hot or humid to pile  on moisturizer you can use Dewy Skin Mist on its own. Love it.

You need two good lip colors for summer. One super saturated bold shade in a slightly matte finish, to offset dewy skin and make you look polished when you're dressing up or making a statement, such as Temptu Color True Lipstick in Pink Hype  and one lipgloss with a pop of color. I love Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre Lip Laquer in Portobello Girl

Madison Reed Semi Permanent Gloss comes in a variety of shades and lets you brighten hair color that is fading from sun, swimming and beachtime as well as giving your hair a beautiful glossy shine.

What's in your summer survival kit?

Bridal Beauty Tip # 17 What The Groom Wears

I recently had the honor of being part of the team shooting one of the covers for the 15th Anniversary issue of Phoenix Bride And Groom Magazine.

For those of you not living in Arizona, this is a gorgeous, glossy magazine full of fabulous ideas and resources, not just for local brides and brides coming to beautiful, sunny Arizona for a destination wedding, but for brides anywhere in the world.
You can see a digital version of the magazine here:
Phoenix Bride and Groom Magazine online 
I also write and shoot bridal beauty based stories for their blog

The story that I shot with them for the 15th Anniversary Issue
was all about what the groom wears. Rather than the traditional black tuxedo, the magazine paired up with designer Ted Baker and explored some fashion forward options for the guys in the wedding party.

The story was shot at one of our stunning wedding venues in north Scottsdale, Sassi
Photography by Ben And Kelly Photography
Styling by Jennifer O'Bannon
Hair by Amber Tillinghast
Makeup by Corinna Cooke

in the makeup room for the Phoenix Bride and Groom 15th Anniversary cover shoot

Beauty Tip Of The Week # 16 Tatcha Travel Size Skin Care Products And Discount Code

I absolutely love the Japanese luxury skin care line Tatcha.
Love them!
If you follow this blog you will already know that I have written about them often, and that I always take Tatcha products with me when I'm traveling the world. Nothing revives your skin after a long international flight quite like Tatcha's Luminous Deep Hydrating Lifting Mask 


and I love to fly with Tatcha's 
Luminous Dewy Skin Mist in my handbag to spritz on my face during the flight.

Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

I was super excited to see that Tatcha has a complete list of skin care products ready for summer travel in TSA friendly travel sizes

This is also a great chance to try out some new products.
I've been saving some of the products from my gift sets to travel with this year.

I'm working on my personal stash for this year's travel

And to make everything even better Corinna B's World has a private discount code for Tatcha products, valid through June 21st 2015.
Get 10% discount with the code SUMMER10 when you spend $150 or more and get 15% discount when you spend $250 or more by using the code SUMMER15
To use these discounts you need to access the Tatcha website via this link
Read more about my favorite Tatcha products here and here and here

Behind The Scenes, Google Campaign

I always mean to post behind the scenes stories from makeup jobs that I do. I seldom get around to it.
There are so many things to factor in to the equation:
*much of what we do cannot be shown before the project/ad campaign/ magazine goes live.
* as a makeup artist you seriously have to protect the privacy of your celebrity clients, and the sanctity of the makeup room
* you don't want to be showing the photographer's lighting
* when shooting fashion you can't be posting the clothes and styling before the shoot goes live
... there are many more factors too. So I mostly don't write about it.

But today I'm giving you a look behind the scenes at a week long campaign we shot recently for Google.
The key to any project going smoothly is to 
a) have a great leader, in this case our handsome and fabulous photographer Eric Cassee
who b) assembles a group of like minds who function seemlessly as a team.

Our handsome leader. 

There is always a group of girls (crew and models) sitting behind Eric, waiting for him to bend over and shoot. The general consensus is that he has the absolute perfect butt. 
Eric is both brilliantly talented and fun to be around, so his set is always a really happy and cool place to be.

For me it all starts with setting up my makeup room. The studio we were shooting in has several different makeup rooms and makeup bays. I always take this one because it is huge, and it has really comfortable lounge chairs in it. 
Also it is directly across the hallway from the wardrobe room. I like to be able to zip back and forth, checking details on a model's wardrobe so I can make sure my work is 100% on point.
I also love being next door to our amazing wardrobe stylist Zoe Hennessey. She has the 3 F's in spades - she is fun, completely fascinating and endlessly fabulous.
The makeup room is always a place where everyone wants to hang out, so I like it to be comfortable, clean and always smell good.

My friend Diana Elizabeth was one of our model/actors. She and I have worked together for years. Back in my SheKnows.com days we worked together often, and I would sometimes be the beauty expert guest on her show. ( I just found my SheKnows Chat Pack bio online! See it here)
We always have fun together!

Diana wrote about the shoot on her fabulous blog, Diana Elizabeth Blog. 
Below see one of the photos from her blog, sitting in my makeup chair. 

The fabulous Diana Elizabeth in the makeup chair

Read her blogpost here 

The international glam squad

The beauty team on this shoot was from all over the globe.
If you follow me on Instagram (@Corinnamakeup) you will already have seen this image. I called it "The United Nations Of Glam"  because we had my assistant, Persian beauty Zee, who lives in Bahrain but works Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Dubai, and I think Lebanon too. She is a makeup artist and was in town for a couple of months to take a class I was teaching and to work with me. I hope to get out to the Gulf sometime soon to work alongside her.
Then there's me, originally from New Zealand, and here via London (5 years) then Los Angeles (10 years). The hot blonde on the right is our hairstylist Patrycja who is from Poland but came to us via 17 years in New York.
We are a really fun team!

#SQUAD

touch ups on set

As much as we fool around in between shots, when it's work time we are all on set, watching, touching up, making sure everything looks perfect.

Wardrobe stylist Zoe Hennessey and the beauty team

Zoe's assistant Ale on set

On our last day of shooting we had gorgeous model Zack with us, Patrycja couldn't resist  making her own matching beard.
Have I mentioned how much fun this shoot was?? 

Zee trying on a fringe wig

Every shoot ends with a crew shot.
This campaign was so much fun to be a part of. I can't wait for the next one!