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

Idle Glow

A few more from the Peter Van Beever archives.

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






Amy Gillespie, Portland makeup artist, fashion, beauty, print, bridal

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

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