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

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

A few more from Scott James and Claire La Faye

Just a few more edits from my shoot with photographer Scott James and designer Claire La Faye.

Claire La Faye

I've been anxiously waiting on these images for a few months now. Scott, the photographer, finally got my edits to me tonight and they do not disappoint! These were shot for Claire La Faye's Spring 2010 collection. Claire has a gorgeous selection of clothes and accessories available at Etsy if you want to go check them out.

I drew up several looks based on the sample designs Claire sent me. I kept things simple but tried to add pops of interest here and there with a nice lip color, a little metallic on the eye, interesting hair. On the hair note--I'm usually most comfortable when I work with a hairstylist since hair is by far not my strength. However, for this shoot, Claire didn't want to book a hairstylist so I had to do some extra planning and try to figure out how to make it look like I knew what the heck I was doing! I was actually pleased with how the styling turned out and feel I can now proudly advertise myself as being hair competent (watch THAT one come back to bite me in the future...) I do have to give a shout out to the amazing Kira Pinksi; she is one of my most favorite people ever and I always feel better having her hair expertise with me on a shoot. She has taught me so much in the way of hair and I wouldn't have been able to do this shoot without all the advice she has given me along the way. Kira, I love you! Your bun trick saved my hide on this one :)


Photographer - Scott James
Models - Hailey R., Q6, Andres C., Option Models
Wardrobe, styling, and set design - Claire La Faye
Makeup & Hair - Amy Gillespie














Many thanks to all involved! It was an honor to work with you!

Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, hair, makeup, photography, fashion, beauty, editorial, Claire La Faye, Scott James, model, collection

Kate Towers collection

I can't believe I never posted these here! I guess when you get out of the habit of blogging you forget epic photo shoots altogether!

We did these in Manzanita, OR right as a storm was rolling in. It was a mad dash to try and get everything shot before we were completely rained out. I don't think I have ever been so wet other than bathing. Plus, it was freezing to boot! Hailey was such a trooper standing out there in the freezing wind and rain; you can see her hair getting progressively wetter through these shots. In the end though, pictures like these always make the stress and craziness worthwile.

Photographer - Peter Van Beever
Model - Hailey R., Q6
Wardrobe - Kate Towers
Makeup & Hair - Amy Gillespie










Thankfully, Olivia, the other model we were working with, had a beach house that her parents were gracious enough to loan to us. It ended up being a valuable base camp where we could dry our clothes and try to warm up. After the debacle on the beach, we shot some images for Peter's personal portfolio. Models Hailey and Olivia.










Amy Gillespie, professional makeup artist,beauty, fashion, editorial, Portland, Oregon, Pacific Northwest