You know this is going to be an epic blog when I start it with a selfie tagged up with stickers of cobwebs, a heart made out of bones and some of the most amazing artists coming together in one group selfie! If you don't know these faces, let me introduce you! Front and center is the queen of sass herself, Marisa. She is the owner and creator of all things Sassy Mouth Photo. We have worked together over the years on various personal and professional projects and she was my go to when I was inspired to work with the other ladies in the room.
I am pretty lucky in a sense. I get to do what I love every day and when I get a moment of inspiration, I have a network of women that have amazing talent and show up at the drop of a dime. I've actually never been one to "network" per say. You won't catch me passing out my cards waiting for a call. If I refer you to anyone I know, I can promise you, you will never be disappointed. Building relationships is how I network. I know all of these women in various ways and let me tell you, the talent in the room was something we HAD to document and share.
Rosie, owner of Coco Dreams is a mastermind when it comes to body painting. We met a year ago when she participated in our annual Wigs For Kids show.
Little known fact and tip from miss Roe Roe.. Hairspray is what was used to get the glitter to stick!
Marisa nailed capturing this final look. As always, she never disappoints.
"Poetry is not only dream or vision. It is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundation for a future of change. A bridge across our fears of what has never been before.."
I had two photos for inspiration. One with short hair and one with long. If you don't know already, I love to make hair pieces and I have recently started making other fun accessories to fit my vision. The headpiece I created the night before with the help of my daughter. Here she is modeling the hair piece.
I used synthetic hair wefts and melted it slightly with a texture iron. That created the crimp and the various lengths in the hair as it singed from the heat. A little baby powder to finish it off and BOOM.. Skeleton hair!
After a quick bathroom change and hair transformation... Here is the final look!
“The living are made of nothing but flaws. The dead, with each passing day in the afterlife, become more and more impeccable to those who remain earthbound.”
― Anna Godbersen, Splendor
The magic didn't end here! No no no... We had to give you glam and then... gore... Ok ok, I admit, I was scared too. Not in my wheelhouse at all but, I I would find some way to glam up the gore. Ha! Michelle from our Connecticut BE team is a new artist that joined us earlier in the season. She moved here from New York and I knew she would be an amazing new team member after meeting her. The day she moved here we met as newly found neighbors! Really! Fate couldn't have been better in this moment. It did not take us long to start chatting about make up and after seeing her excitement talking about something she loved and checking out her work on Instagram, it didn't take long for me to slip her my card and tell her to come in! Outside of bridal, Michelle also has an expertise in something else. SFX Make up! I am not going to lie, I did look at her Instagram and some of it scared me. But, the talent was undeniable!! We knew we would work together on bridal but, she knew she would eventually pull me in to the dark side and collaborate outside of my box. Halloween time was the best excuse!!
While Michelle did her thing, I jumped on hair. Full Skeleton and all!
Here comes Marisa, with the final touches of magic.....
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"Watch your back, beautiful girl, jealousy is hard for some people to control. Don't want to end up with your throat ripped. XO"
If you didn't recognize the model, let me introduce you to Jordan. She is one of our lead stylists on our Connecticut team!! She will laugh at me for saying this but, she is your girl next door! Super sweet and amazing to work with because she goes with the flow. She is also a new addition to the BE fam and she was perfect to pull in for this shoot and push her past her comfort zone. In the end she nailed it!! Thank you Jordan for taking part in our annual Halloween photo shoot!!
The crown Jordan wore was a statement piece in our finale from our Wigs for Kids show earlier in the year. I made the crown out of hair and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for it to get photographed just one last time!
I have one more amazing woman to share that was in that selfie at the beginning. Her name is Cara. She is often, behind the scenes capturing all things BE and documented this day for us. She is on our office team and is our very own personal paparazzi. Thank you Cara for tagging along on our adventurous days that is often just another work day in BE world. Marisa snagged a great photo of Cara at some point in the chaos and I had to share. Sassy Mouth Photo knows exactly the moment to capture the best shot that exemplifies a person. Thank you Marisa for this one!
Last but, not least, I know I mentioned her a few times throughout the blog but, shout out to Marisa of Sassy Mouth Photo. Girlllll, thank you! Your talent blows me away every year and it is why, I keep coming back for more. Marisa has captured so much of BE throughout the years and I am so grateful to have worked together for so long along side watching the magic happen. Check out a video of just how dedicated she is to always being an original bad ass.
Cheers to all the women inspiring, collaborating and growing their artistry!
I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!! For more info about the women apart of this shoot, feel free to check them out!!
For more inspiration and photos of everyone's work visit and follow them on Instagram:
Michelle Reynolds (SFX Make Up Artist)
Caraleigh Hawkinson Photography
Ashley Stone (Owner of Beauty Entourage)