Bridal Styling with Perle Jewellery and Makeup

If you haven't already noticed, I LOVE all things bridal, and I am so passionate about bridal styling with beautiful accessories and picture-perfect makeup.

When it comes to weddings, so much of the beauty comes from the small details- the bits and pieces that someone has painstakingly created, designed and put together for that overall Wow factor. My job is quite a lot like that too I guess. I love it when brides come to me with details of their gown/wedding and ask me to create jewellery especially for them. It gives me a real sense of pride that they would value my opinion and my creativity in such a way, and trust me to come up with a design that is personalised to their taste.

In a recent bridal photoshoot, I was able to put my creativity to the test, from concept to final product. I took inspiration from the stunning beauties in the 1940's- Glossy red, luscious lips, and sultry, defined black liner on the eyes. For the hair, I chose to create a deep side part with softened barrel curls, pinned up to one side with a gorgeous handcrafted headpiece, made by me :)

 1940's Glamour inspired beauties

For the hair accessories, I created a stunning headpiece using pieces of lace as the base, and *lovingly* hand-stitched every bead and crystal until my hands were well and truly cramped. The result however, was beautiful- a radiant headpiece that sparkled with elegance and class. Finished off perfectly with birdcage netting for the veil, this headpiece looks wonderful on its own as well as with the veil.

For the jewellery, I wanted to keep things classic, but with a bit of a modern twist. For the brides wrist, she wore a gorgeous multi-strand ivory pearl cuff with a feature pendant- just enough sparkle to look stunning against the gorgeous bouquet of flowers!

The bridal gown was so beautifully detailed, with a soft, feminine sweetheart neckline. Our gorgeous model, Kirstin, had a stunning decolletage, so I didn't want to over-complicate things with a heavy necklace. Instead, I created a lovely pair of drop earrings using Cubic Zirconia pendants which finished off the look beautifully.

The end result is this stunning compilation of Kirstin's natural beauty, with 1940's inspired glamour hair & makeup, teamed together with sparkling, custom-made accessories.

DRUMROLL Please..............

 Check out those gorgeously defined eyes!!

Intricate detail within the headpiece- And yes, every bead was hand-stitched!

And as you can see below, the pearl cuff bracelet looks divine alongside the brooch detail on the bouquet.

If you would like to receive my special bridal styling treatment and look fabulous on your wedding day or for a photoshoot, I'd love to be involved! 

Please send an email enquiry to: perlejewellery@hotmail.com

A special thanks to our lovely model bride, Kirstin- a true beauty inside and out.

Flowers lovingly created by: Flower Emporium, Adelaide, SA
www.floweremporium.com

All jewellery pieces and makeup artistry was created by Katie Dawson from Perle Jewellery & Makeup.

Photography was also taken by Katie Dawson.

My Other Love - Jewellery Design

Busy at my "work station". Beats working in an office for me any day!

My Formal Necklace- Yr 12, 2004

So far, my other blogs seem to have focussed on my passion for makeup artistry, but today I want to share with you the other part to my business which is of equal passion and importance to me. 

I have been designing and creating jewellery for a long time now....  :)

It first started when I was in year 12 at highschool, and I wanted to create something unique to wear with my formal dress. It was important to me to have something special and unique, that no one else would be wearing, and on top of that, my dress was "orange" so not the easiest match for accessories at the time. 

What initially began because of my need for formal jewellery, soon turned into a fierce passion and obsession. I was attracted to the beads, all of the different colours, shapes and sizes, and how they could be put together to create something fabulous. But even more than that, it was a relaxing therapy for me. I really owe a lot to this passion of mine, as it saw me through the stresses of year 12 and beyond. I would often retreat to the backroom of my parent's house, where they had graciously allowed me to sprawl my entire bead collection out on a blanket on the floor. I would prop myself up against the couch and bead for hours, quite literally. My mind would wander off to other things- my assignments, my exams, my relationships with friends and family- but I was doing something positive so it was a good time for me to process things whilst creating at the same time. 

My journey as a jewellery designer has taken many roads to get to where I am now. I've worked with a variety of different mediums and techniques, from glass, gemstone and crystal beads, to creating  handmade epoxy resin pendants, and now onto diamonte-set evening jewellery. I've loved creating chunky, bold statement necklaces for fashion and everyday wear, but my direction in the past couple of years has changed slightly. Working in the bridal industry with my makeup art has made me realise how much I love the styling aspect of weddings and formal occasions. I like to think that I can look at an outfit, it's colour and shape, along with my client's own style & personality, and come up with a design that is just perfect for them. Nothing makes me happier than when a client comes to me with her dress (or a photo) and says, "Make me something gorgeous that you think will match this!" Not only do I feel extremely honoured that they would trust me with such a task, but I also get so excited because it gives me the chance to really flex my creative juices. 

I'm filled with humble pride and satisfaction when I get sent photos of clients wearing my jewellery, or when they send me a note to say how many compliments they had received about their accessories at an event. When you have your jewellery made by me, know that the following statement is true:

"Katie Dawson's jewellery designs are an absolute labour of love. Every piece is uniquely and lovingly handcrafted, NOT in a sweatshop, but in creative freedom. All pieces are equally as beautiful but have a unique style of their own."

***

The "essentials" in my workroom! :)

Even Celebs Have Flaws

Hey friends,
I was thinking about some ideas for what I could write for my next blog when this thought popped into my head... I think we are so quick to judge and put-down ourselves when we look at all of the amazingly trim, taught and terrific celebrity women out there. Let's face it, we don't flip through gossip mags for a quick feel-good pick-me-up...The stories in there are hardly ever desirable. More often than not (and I think I speak for most when I say this), we pick up a mag and turn the pages, "ooohing and ahhhing", wishing and wanting to be thinner....prettier....more stylish, with personal makeup artists and hair/clothing stylists on hand, so we could look just as good as those airbrushed "celebrities" out there who seem to have it all in the beauty department. It's not exactly a feel-good read, is it??
Hence why I decided to write this blog....to reassure us all that even celebs have their flaws too.
This is in no way meant to be malicious or nasty toward celebrity women- none of us like to have close-ups taken of our pores, scars and wrinkles, but I have decided to put up some images to illustrate my point- No one is perfect, even though that's often how we view those in the lime-light....Every human struggles with insecurities and flaws at some point along their journey.


At times, clients have viewed themselves after having had their makeup done and they still feel insecure about their scars or pores. These are things we unfortunately cannot change about ourselves (unless of course you have enough dosh to visit a very good cosmetic surgeon), so what I try to teach my clients is to look past that. Only YOU see your face EVERYDAY. You pick up when a tiny new wrinkle has appeared on your once non-existant crows-feet...or when another freckle has popped up after some summer-loving. The truth is, when I see you and have had the privilege to "make-over" your face, the end product is BEAUTIFUL. It is unique- your face tells the story of the journey that you have been on, and there is absolutely no shame in that. 


Instead of being our own worst enemy and critic, make it a personal challenge today to look past those bits you love-to-hate....After all, chances are none of us notices them like you do anyway. Be confident in your own skin and the REAL beauty will shine through from the inside. Nothing is more beautiful to me than a woman who is comfortable with who she is and isn't afraid to smile and say "Dang I look good!" when she looks in the mirror. :D


Incase you need more convincing, here are those unfortunate close-ups of pores and fine-lines that I mentioned earlier, just to "reassure" you all....

The Eyes say it all

I've always had a special love for eyes. I think it's so true of the saying that "eyes are the window to one's soul." Eyes say a lot about a person and if you look deep enough, you can almost see the journey a person's life has taken. With the eyes, a multitude of expressions unfold- feelings of joy, sorrow & regret, happiness, uncertainty, and hope & love prominantly display themselves through a person's eyes. That is why they are my favourite aspect of the face, and the area that I like to spend the most time on. It's my job (and privilege) as a makeup artist to bring out the strength and beauty of the eye, to give them the attention and definition they deserve.
It's amazing how much of an affect the right colouring, shading and contouring can have on an eye. Carefully chosen colours compliment tones within the iris, whilst the depth of shadowing can either draw out small eyes, or recede larger ones, depending on the light & dark qualities of the shade. And the final magic touch, the most important beauty product (in my opinion!) a sweep of dark, creamy mascara to add fullness, length and contrast to the lighter parts of the eye--- Perfection!


Here are samples of some of my past work (and love affair) with eyes.

Examples of different use of colour shadowing and intensity:

A Hair Affair

Recently, a hairdresser who I work alongside at weddings from time to time, came down sick the night before a wedding booking- Absolutely awful, I really felt bad for her because it's the last thing you expect and wish to happen on the day of a booking. She called me up the night before asking if I could help with hair, and although it's not my "specialty" I do love hairstyling, so I was glad I could help her out.  Here are a few pics from the day!

   

Glamour Photoshoot featuring Perle Jewellery

A few months back, I did a very special Perle Jewellery & Makeup photoshoot with some wonderful friends of mine. 

It was a chance for me to showcase all aspects of what I do. On the day, I enjoyed wearing many hats: Director, Wardrobe Stylist, Jewellery Designer, Hair Stylist, Makeup Artist, Photographer, & Caterer.

It was such a fun girlie day with some amazing photos for proof! A huge thank you to my beautiful model friends, Michaela & Emily who were amazingly stunning and happy to pose in a variety of random ways!  And a massive thank you to gorgeous Heidi, who was such wonderful support & help on the day with wardrobe and style assistance!  

All jewellery & hair accessories are designed and created by Perle.

Enjoy these goodies....