In the 90’s I was busy building a modeling agency with a friend. We were located in a small town, but had big city dreams. I remember very clearly, one of the first times we had booked a big shot photographer and a make-up and hair stylist to come and shoot at least 50 models over a weekend. Well, the photographer arrived and the stylist was nowhere to be seen. Since I have always had my hands in creative things and I had taken a few make-up lesson just prior to this, I decided I would jump in and see what happened (truth was, I didn’t want to have to refund the models and pay a cancellation fee for the photographer…) About a year later, Chanel asked me to be the Special Events Make-up Artist for the company (a position I held for over 10 years) and in 1993 I had my first national news feature as I was written up as one of the Make-up artist to watch in Canada. A funny memory was seeing friend, Tricia Helfer, backstage at the Karl Lagerfeld Collection in Paris in 1992, she hated her hair, and so I redid it for the show.

I worked mostly in Western Canada as a make-up artist, hair stylist and clothing stylist for over 15 years. Then, my little sister started dating Perry Thompson, he is a sought after photographer who shoots weddings and special moments all over the world. (you can view Perry’s work at www.imagesthatclick.com) and eventually married him. As a result, I started doing hair and make-up for weddings, mostly in Western Canada, but have traveled to Italy, Norway, Paris, Mexico and New York to create perfect looks for brides.

I have to admit; that I have hardly kept track of images of brides that I have worked with, OOPS! But if you worked with me and have any images you would like to share, I would love to post them to my site.

The images shown are from both commercial work and brides (clients).

Trial makeup     $100.00  (I recommend doing this the day of a shower or for engagement photos)
Make-up           $100.00

Hair (up do)       $100.00

Travel fee          Varies depending on location

Currently, I spend my time between New York, NY and Calgary (Central Alberta) Canada. Please send an email to K@karenscarlett.com or k@prettytwisted.com for information or to discuss your needs.

Your Skin and Make-up.
Don’t tan too much. Skin that is tanned often looks dry; if you are going to be tanning before your wedding, make sure you are drinking lots of water (which you should be doing anyways) and hydrating your skin. Light or fair skin ALWAYS photographs better, and lets face it, tanning only damages your skin anyways. Do not, I repeat, do not change skin care regimes before your wedding. You should have your own Waterproof mascara and I usually recommend false eyelashes although I prefer applying individual lashes as opposed to the full lash sets.

Hair
I prefer to work with one day, dirty hair. Clean hair seems to slip and does not hold updo’s as well. If you want your hair washed the day of your wedding, it should be dry by the time I arrive. Tiaras are best if they have no comb. The comb is irritating to work with and it is easier to place into the hair with pins.