New Tanning Product

We have more awesome news... in addition to setting up shop at Coco Beach Tanning we now are adding a new line of tanning products.  We (mostly Marissa) have been doing a ton of research on different tanning solutions and what works best and why different products work best.  We figured out what ingredients are more likely to have an orange-y hue to them and what ingredients won't.  I don't want to bore you with all the details of ingredients, but I do want to tell you that we found one.  And it is PERFECT.  It is Norvell tanning solution.  We just used the dark solution the other night on Marissa's sister-in-law, she was our guinea pig (but hey, she got a free tan!).  It looked incredible!!  Like she had just spent a week in the Bahamas or something.  We obviously want to be expanding our business and we were looking for new solutions so that we would be able to offer a variety of shades for different skin types.  After trying this one, I think we have it.  We used the dark solution on her and she has a nice olive skin tone.  I am more, how you say, white and so we are going to try to regular on me on Wednesday.  I cannot wait. One of the perks of owning this business... :)  We are also trying out some other products from Norvell.  They have a tan extender and a PH equalizer.  The extender does just that, extends your tan.  And the PH equalizer is supposed to balance out your skin before you spray the tanning solution on so that the tan is nice and even.  So far so good, but I think we need to test some more skin types on that one!  There are some other good things about this product.  It doesn't have a nasty tan smell, it actually smells kinda nice.  This is a relief for me and Marissa.  It doesn't feel sticky or dirty after it is done.  It is more comfortable to leave on the necessary amount of time.  So far we LOVE it!  So, if you are in the Simi Valley, Ventura County area, stop by Coco Beach and test it out.  I am sure we could give you some kind of deal...

Meet your new resident airbrush specialists!

Hello, we are Natalia and Marissa.  We started our company last October and recently really started pursuing the business aspect of our company in probably mid January.  As a company we have already done 6 weddings, have at least 4 weddings in the mix, proms, special occasions, multiple wedding shows, 4 tanning parties, and now we are adding resident airbrush specialist to our ever-growing resume!  We are so excited to now be the in house specialists at Coco Beach in Simi Valley.  We have our own room, which will be decorated super cute, and the best part of all is that we can now offer packages!  We have always known that 'double dipping' as they call it, is the best, most effective way to get the smoothest, longest lasting tan.  Double dipping is when you go in the bed for 5 minutes or so and then get the airbrush applied.  Now we can not only recommend this, but we can recommend a place to do it! 
We are highly motivated people.  In the short time we have been doing business we have accomplished so much and feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg!  So we have been looking for a salon to partner with that we know will be able to do their side as far as marketing and advertising our services for us.  We met with the owners of Coco Beach yesterday and were very pleased.  We think this is going to be a really great alliance and cannot wait to get started.  So if you are local, in the Simi Valley area, please stop by Coco Beach Salon in it's new location 1720 Los Angeles Ave #I Simi Valley, CA 93065 or you can call and make an appointment at (805) 520-7800.  If you do, make sure you mention the Bliss Blog and we will be able to offer you a promotion!  Please spread the news as well!  Make sure all your family and friends know that they now can have our wonderful tanning as well as a little time in the beds.  Thank you faithful followers, we are so excited for the direction our business is going in and know that we have so much more potential.  Please leave a comment of encouragement or motivation, we always love to hear from you!

This could be you!

If you can't tone it, TAN IT!

Last year about this time I tried airbrush tanning for the very first time.  I was a Matron of Honor in a wedding where I had to wear a pale yellow dress and I was not prepared.  I have pretty fair skin that can tan, it just takes a while, but I knew I had to do something.  So I went a few times in the tanning beds, which I honestly don't like to do too much because I don't want to look super old before my time, and then got the airbrush.  It was fabulous!  I don't know why I don't do it every week!  It was custom, no streaks, it didn't turn orange and I looked great for the bachelorette party and the wedding day.  Now Bliss also has an airbrush tanning machine and it is great.  Every time I get my tan I forget why I take so long to get it done!  Here are a few reasons I think you all should try airbrush tanning:

1.) Instant results!  The active ingredient in airbrush tanning products is DHA and it is clear.  So when tanning we add a 'guide color' as we call it.  It is for us to see where we have tanned and for the client to see instant results.  This guide color washes off I little bit in your first shower after the tan, but by that point the DHA has attached to your skin and you have the nice even look you were going for. 

2.) No Sun Poisoning! Obviously we all know now, the more time you spend out in the sun unprotected the more likely you will have more trouble with your skin later in life.  Things like age spots, wrinkles, and skin cancer may creep your way.  With airbrush tanning, you don't have to spend a second in the sun and you can look like you just got back from Costa Rica!  Don't get me wrong, I think there can be a healthy dose of vitamin D for your skin, but laying in the sun for hours is definitely out.

3.) Smooth, Natural Looking Tan ~ When you have an airbrush tan there is a technician who applies the tan custom to your body.  This person should be practiced and trained and you will have great results.  There is another form of spray tanning called Mystic Tan where you stand in the both and it sprays you front and back.  This is okay, but since it isn't a person doing it, obviously it leaves a lot of room for error.  How do you get the sides or under your neck.  There are also a lot of self tanner lotions out there on the market.  Some are okay and some are good tan extenders (beware of them turning you orange).  But with applying these you can miss a spot or have hard to reach spots like the middle of your back.  And that might look a little funny, like a finger painting on your back! 

Overall, spray tanning is an awesome way to get out of the sun and still feel fabulous!  I might be a little biased, I mean I am hooked on it!  I feel like I drop ten pounds every time I do it.  Check out a salon near you and try it, comment and let me know if it works for you.

My Intercultural, Interracial Wedding

Hello all!  I recently just read a post from PlusSizeBride's blog about planning an multi-cultural wedding and it inspired me.  Check out the post ~ http://bayareabrideguide.com/planning-a-multi-cultural-wedding-2.  My husband and I have been married for 3 years on July 28, 2010.  I love him so much more today than I did 3 years ago.  

We met 8 years ago in a small, private college in Santa Clarita, California.  I played volleyball and he played basketball.  After 5 years of on and off and on again, we tied the knot!  I thought I had an idea of who he was back then, now I realize that I barely scratched the surface.  And if I feel that way after 3 years, then I can't wait for 10 or 15 or 25!  Although he is not a perfect man, he is perfect for me! 

Now to what I meant to write about in the first place... our intercultural, interracial wedding.  Going into planning the wedding I was very aware of our two cultures.  It was very important to me, maybe more than it was to my husband, to make sure both Bahamian and American traditions were represented on our day.  One of the ideas we got from the Bahamas is when the bridesmaids and groomsmen begin the walk down the isle they stop and bow and curtsy to each other before they come together to walk.  They are very proper over there!  We were able to integrate his church by having his pastor from his church back home perform the first part of the ceremony, then our current pastor of the church we attend in American did the rest and his pastor closed with a prayer.  One of the best things he said was "Two families, two people, two cultures, one God."  We try to remember that everyday.  His mother made sure that we had baskets and programs that were handmade in the Bahamas.  They were passed out to all the guests as a gift and representation of their country.  One of my favorite parts was our entry into the ballroom as they announced the bridal party and us as Mr. and Mrs. Simmons.  We entered into Junkanoo music!  Junkanoo is a festival in the Bahamas that is very popular, almost like Carinval in Brazil.  The music is like marching band-ish and personally wouldn't and don't just listen to it, but it has a beat.  The whole room was on their feet dancing and clapping and welcoming us to the reception.  So much fun!  I must admit something we didn't use.  Ceremonies in the Bahamas usually last about 2 to 2 1/2 hours!  I am sorry, but I just wanted to be married and party!  So ours was like 30 minutes.  Personally, the way they should be!

But, I must say, as the pictures below represent, my favorite part about my intercultural, interracial wedding would have to be that, besides the color, you couldn't tell which person belonged to which family.  Everyone got along, everyone mingled.  It wasn't like high school prom with the Bahamians on one side and the Americans on the other, to nervous to interact.  I loved it.  I love my interracial marriage.  I love that it is different, that it is hard and that we might have to work harder than others to make it happen, but it adds flavor to our lives!  Not to mention we visit the Bahamas every summer!!  hehe

 

My husband and my brother getting ready.

 

Me and my soon-to-be mother-in-law.

 

The moms and me.

 

Our beautiful flower girl.  She is half Bahamian half American.

 

The ladies of my new family.

 

My husband and my family.

 

The other half of Bliss Makeup giving me touch-ups!

 

One of the Maid of Honors and Best Men.

 

The baskets Lavar's mom had handmade.

The wedding party

 

One of my favorite pictures.  Kissing my husband!

 

Happily Ever After here we come!!

Tanning for The Tarr Pitt

Good Morning everyone!!

Alysha Tarr is a mommy and wife who had made a little business of her life. (that rhymed!)  You can check out her blog, www.thetarrpit.com for recipes, cute stories, and inspiration.  I enjoy reading it and am a faithful follower!  This morning Bliss Makeup Artistry is going to give Alysha a tan for her Vegas trip she is taking this weekend.  She is then going to write a review about it and a blog post.  Stay tuned for what she says, even though I am completely confident that she will LOVE it.  We have yet to have a client who hasn't.  There is nothing like the instant gratification of being beautifully bronzed.  I once had a client say "If you can't tone it, tan it!"  This is so true.  Tan fat looks better than white fat... hehe.  Stay tuned on our blog and hers for more updates!

Featured Vendor ~ Troy Grover Photography

As makeup artists we work with a lot of different photographers.  We are always trying to contact them to get professional pictures of our work.  So we get to see a lot of different styles of photography and to be honest, different levels of photography!  Troy Grover Photography, who shot Jenna and Casey's May 1st wedding, we were very impressed with.  His unique style is so creative and natural.  I once heard a photographer say that they take "stylized candids."  After having a not-so-great experience with my wedding photographer, I can understand what she meant.  You want the pictures to look natural, not posed like you were at prom.  But beautiful and candid at the same time.  Sometimes the brides wouldn't know how to pose every pictures, that is the photographers job!  Capturing moments like the one below where the father of the groom is getting emotional during his speech.  Then also being able to pose the pictures like the one with the bride and groom standing in front of the hills.  We were very impressed with Troy and wanted to showcase his work on our blog!  Although these are only two different weddings here, you can see more of his work on his website www.troygrover.com.  So enjoy

 

This  is the other wedding that was really impressive to us.  What a cool couple!  And it looks like Troy was able to really capture their personalities and style through the pictures.  I love these pictures!

 

Can we just say... WOW!

 

XV ~New Qunceanera Magazine Debuts

Okay, I must admit, when I connected with XV via twitter recently I knew little about quinceaneras.  I knew that they were when a girl turned 15 and it was like a coming of age party, similar to a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah or a sweet sixteen.  It is a very important rite of passage in Hispanic culture and turns into a very great party!  I did a little research and found that the celebration is close to a celebration of a wedding and the planning process is just as in-depth.  XV is a newly-debuted bi-lingual (English/Spanish) magazine in the Orange County area dedicated specifically to planning your quinceanera.  It was started when Luis Aguilar was helping his baby sister plan her quinceanera, he realized how much goes into the planning process and how much work it is to try to find vendors that meet your needs.  The monthly magazine features tips, do's and don'ts and articles on hair salons, bakeries, catering services and other vendors.  Just like wedding publications, it has budget sheets to keep the family on track.  I would say that it is a nice blend between a prom publication and a wedding publication.  It takes the amount of planning that a wedding does, but the age is more cater to younger girls (obviously!).  It is a free publication that is distributed in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, and parts of Garden Grove. 

  

XV Magazine is holding an Expo on July 25, 2010 for all girls and their families who will be planning their quinceanera.  My contact, Christa Melton describes the expo best.  "Our expo is designed to have soon to be quinceaneras meet some of Southern CA most distinguished quinceañera planning professionals. We want them to sample scrumptious cakes and hors d'oeuvres, enjoy live entertainment, receive free quinceañera information and magazines. We will have dazzling choreographed shows, quinceañera planning seminars, door prizes galore and raffles.

The event just like our publication is FREE to the public."  Bliss Makeup Artistry is planning on being a vendor at the Expo because we can see that this publication is on-track and headed for great things.  We want to be a part of it.  The Expo is on July 25th at the Pheonix Club in Anaheim from 11:00 to 4:00. 

XV Magazine has been feature in the OC Register recently with an article written about the magazine and what it is about.  It also includes an interview with the founder of the magazine.  Click here to read that article: http://www.ocregister.com/news/magazine-239015-aguilar-santa.html.  If you are not in the OC area to pick up one of these magazines, you can actually check it out online - http://issuu.com/xvmagazine/docs/binder3.  You can also follow XV on Twitter at http://twitter.com/XV_Magazine.

We feel like it would be good for Bliss to be a part of this Expo because when you have a 15 year-old getting ready for a party, they might not know how to apply makeup in the most tasteful, grown-up way.  We can make sure that the quinceanera will look beautiful and young and fresh without looking like she was playing in mommy's makeup drawer!  Since we offer airbrush makeup, it is the most natural look you can get with the most coverage.  It is also something the young girls wouldn't wear everyday so it will be special as well.  You can also follow us on Twitter - www.twitter.com/BlissMakeupArt.  We are excited to be working with this publication and excited about the Expo.  You can leave any questions or comments below and we will get back to you!  Become a follower of our blog to make sure to get updates as it gets closer!