she has flowers in her footsteps and ponies in her hair

Another set of images from a shoot with Peter...

photos - Peter Van Beever
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
model - Michelle, Q6











Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, hair, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver, Washington, wedding, bridal, fashion, commercial, photo shoot, special occasion

On the Run

oh.my.gosh.
I can't freaking believe I didn't post these pictures! All this time I have been mentally lamenting the fact that I never remember to update this blog and I've been sitting on a veritable goldmine of photo shoot fantasticness. The only reprieve I have is the fact that I have several shoots that I haven't posted and therefore will have quite a few days worth of new material.

OK, so after a slap of the palm to the forehead (I still can't believe I forgot to post these!), here are some recent shots I did with the amazing Mr. Peter Van Beever.

This series is called On the Run. Ashley, the model, literally ran the entire time in order to capture images with lots of action and movement. My job was fairly easy - natural makeup, grind dirt into her skin every now and then, add a sweat sheen to make her look really tired, rat and tease the hair from time to time. Enjoy!!

photos - Peter Van Beever
hair & makeup - Amy Gillespie
model - Ashley, Q6


Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, Portland, Oregon, fashion, photo shoot, editorial, bridal, commercial, special occasion

Cookies laced with love

Here are some stills from another shoot with Ty Milford. We mainly focused on video for this shoot but these at least give a little insight into the spirit of the shoot. The video will be posted here once available.

photos - Ty Milford
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
models - Morayma and Alexandra, Option Model and Media






And a shot of me doing my thing. FYI, the bold pink item I am holding is one of the new, limited release multiple sticks from NARS. I purchased all three shades and will probably be stocking up on all of them before they go away completely. I literally can not survive a shoot or wedding without these now! They are so sheer and beautiful but because they stain they last and last without getting dry, even when you add more layers. Unlike most other stains, they are very creamy and can easily be blended rather than staining immediately upon application. Use them on their own on the cheeks and lips or layer them on top of bronzer or other blushes for a subtle glow.




Amy Gillespie, makeup, artist, photography, commercial, wedding, bridal, lifestyle, Portland, Seattle, Oregon, Washington

If Huckleberry Finn had a sexy twin

She might look something like this.

Here is another gorgeous series from photographer Brandon Witzel and stylist Rebecca Westby! The three of us teamed up with model Hailey from Q6 to do a shoot with Old Man River. The styling is so simple and almost tomboyish so I wanted to keep that theme with simple, almost masculine, makeup and somewhat messy hair but still have a touch of tousled elegance. I have to give a shout out to Hailey for being such a good sport between all the mosquitoes (they were terrible!) and the cold swim she took at the end of the shoot. She is a dear soul and always such a joy to work with.

Enough of my jabbering and on to the beautiful pictures!

photos - Brandon Witzel
styling - Rebecca Westby
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
model - Hailey, Q6













Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, hair, bridal, wedding, Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Seattle, Washington, beauty, fashion, editorial, photo shoot

Night at the Drive-In

A few weeks ago I fulfilled a rite of passage that probably should have happened 13+ years ago: The Drive-In. But better late than never, right? I joined one of Portland's nicest photographers, Ty Milford, and a great group of models at one of the local drive-in movie theaters for some photo shoot fun. Oh, to be 16 again...

photos - Ty Milford
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
assisted by - Jessica Belknap
models provided by - Sports + Lifestyle Unlimited, Option Model and Media

Many thanks to Katie Terrill at Sports + Lifestyle Unlimited and to Jessica Belknap, my awesome assistant for this shoot!














makeup artist, hair, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, commercial makeup, fashion, special occasion makeup

a house is not a home

I recently worked with Ty Milford, a really great Portland photographer. He specializes in fresh, peppy, commercial/lifestyle work which is something I am always looking for more of. Ty was also shooting video at the same time which I will also post here upon its completion.

Many thanks to Ty, Lesley, and Maddie for a great evening! You were all fantastic to work with.

photos - Ty Milford
makeup & hair - Amy Gillespie
models - Lesley and Maddie, Option Model and Media









Amy Gillespie, makeup artist, fashion, commercial, editorial, lifestyle, Portland, Oregon, Pacific Northwest

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