Sneak peak at The English Department's 2012 look book shoot

I had the privilege to work with the ever lovely Elizabeth Dye of The English Department again yesterday. She is so much fun and I'm always excited to be a part of her projects. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on some of the images when they are finished but here are a few behind the scenes instagram shots, courtesy of Lisa Warninger, our photographer extraordinaire! Hair and makeup, yours truly.








Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, Portland, Elizabeth Dye, The English Department, Lisa Warninger, wedding dresses, bridal, wedding makeup, wedding hair, look book

La Petite Magazine hair feature

A while back I had the opportunity to team up with amazing photographer, Shannon Sewell, on a feature for La Petite Magazine. The assignment was to demonstrate fashion forward hairstyles straight from the runway in an easy to use format for kids with step by step instructions. Check out the feature here on page 252.

Here are some shots I grabbed from Shannon's blog, The Blank Page.














photos - Shannon Sewell
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
boys wardrobe - Knuckleheads
girls wardrobe - The Measure and Lillipops Designs


Amy Gillespie, makeup, makeup artist, Portland Oregon makeup artist, Shannon Sewell, childrens hairstyles, La Petite, La Petite Magazine, Lillipops Designs, The Measure, Knuckleheads clothing, hair, makeup, fashion

The English Dept. Rose/Dust: Fall 2010 Editorial

Last month I had the fantastic opportunity to team up with The English Department (a Portland bridal boutique) and some other fantastic players. We really lucked out on the weather, grabbing one of the last warm, sunny days of late summer/early fall; perfect for a golden, fall inspired photo shoot!

Since it was a fall editorial, I created a look with golds, russets, oranges, browns, and reds. Some key products I used were Dolce Vita Velvet Matte lip pencil from NARS, Exhibit A blush from NARS (careful with this color, just a teeny-tiny dab will go a loooong ways!) and True Gold pigment from Bare Escentuals. **Please note, I'm not a huge fan of mineral makeup in general for photo shoots or brides but this particular eyeshadow is a shade too pretty for even me to pass up!** Hair was kept loose and messy, almost as if Thalia, our stunning model, had just taken a good roll in the hay.

photos - Brandon Witzel
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
wardrobe - The English Dept.
styling - Rebecca Westby
flowers - quince
model - Thalia, Option Model and Media










And, just for fun, here's a picture I grabbed off of Rebecca's site that really lets you in on all the behind the scenes action. You didn't really think all that glorious dust was by chance, now did you?




Amy Gillespie, Portland makeup artist, fashion, beauty, bridal, editorial, commercial, events

New Designs from Claire La Faye

I recently teamed up again with Claire La Faye, one of my all-time favorite Portland designers, to shoot her new line-up of clothes. Claire's clothes are seriously magic and full of whimsy and I think that really comes across in all of these pictures. She is truly inspiring to work with; everything is perfect and executed without flaw. No detail goes unchecked and everything is thought and planned out in advance. I wish every shoot could be this perfect! Definitely check out Claire's shop on Etsy too!

Makeup was simple, hair slightly messy, to capture a childlike feeling of playing dress up. I used soft tones and stained the lips. I also revived an old love affair with glitter towards the end. What little girl doesn't love glitter when she's playing dress up??

photos - Lavenda Memory
wardrobe & art direction Claire La Faye
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
models - Natalie, Q6 and Amelia, Muse Models




Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, fashion, bridal, wedding, editorial, Oregon, Washington

Kate Towers editorial

This last week I found out that a shoot I did with photographer Peter Van Beever and designer Kate Towers was featured in a magazine. Take a look at these beautiful tear sheets! Click for a larger image; it's a great editorial on Kate and her work.

We actually shot the majority of these images at the Oregon coast in the middle of a crazy storm; you can scroll further down through this blog for my rant on the weather that day :)

photos - Peter Van Beever
wardrobe - Kate Towers
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
models - Hailey and Tineke, Q6








Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, Portland, Oregon, makeup, fashion, design, editorial, beauty

This last weekend presented a bit of an impromptu photo shoot but it proved that with the right team, it always comes together and goes smoothly.

Matthew Brush and his designer wife, Nicki, approached me and asked if I would be interested in working with them on a shoot for some of the designs Nicki had created for Adidas. Matthew is great to work with and Nicki is as sweet as she is lovely so I was excited to be a part of this project.

They wanted natural makeup for the guys and some brighter colors for the girls. Men's grooming is pretty basic and straight forward although I think one of the models, Chris, got a little more than he bargained for. Not only did the hairdresser give him a hair cut on the spot but I took one look at his eyebrows (YIKES!) and pulled out the big guns on the tweezers and set to work. Poor guy, I don't think he knew he was getting a makeover that day! For the girls, I kept the skin a bit more natural with light foundation, a little highlight, and lots of bronzer. I played with some bold colors and graphic shapes on their eyes. I did one makeup change on Kate, transitioning her eyes into a smokey look. I'm pleased with how blended it turned out as I was given just a few minutes to change it and it was literally done in the dark!

Photos - Matthew Brush
Wardrobe - Nicki Brush
Makeup & Grooming - Amy Gillespie
Hair - Nicola Corl
Models - Alex, Kate, and Diana from Q6 and Chris from Sports Unlimited


















Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, hair, makeup, photography, fashion, beauty, editorial, advertising, Adidas, fitness, shape, sports