The Stunning Miss K | Orange County Boudoir | Grace and Lace Boudoir

She's stunning, she's the sweetest, and she SERIOUSLY knocked her session out of the park!  Like, WAY out there! She came to the studio as a gift for her soon to be husband and, of course, herself. She had recently lost some weight but claimed she wasn't quite her goal weight yet, but she was ready to do a session anyway. I love that she didn't wait because all too often, later becomes never.  If you always wait until the "perfect" time, you'll realize that it's never coming.    

We started her session with a sweet and soft, white bra and panty set but ended it with more seductive pieces.  I love seeing the transformations of our clients from the beginning of their shoots to the end! Our clients are AWESOME! Her images just make me so happy.

I cannot say enough about Sarah and Jeni! They are truly so amazing at what they do. I decided on boudoir photos as a gift for my husband on our wedding day. I was extremely nervous and researched around a lot until I came across [them]. 

The website alone was so informative and made me feel better about what to expect. Once I met Sarah and Jeni all my nerves began to leave. They make you feel so comfortable and confident about yourself. They know what they are doing and I couldn't be happier with the photos and neither could my husband. He loved them. Probably the best present I ever gave him. I have already told several friends considering doing a boudoir session and I would recommend them to anyone. 

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Thank you so much Sarah and Jeni!

Thank you for trusting us, Miss K! And for seriously bringing your most seductive A game! :) 

My own boudoir session | Orange County Boudoir | Grace and Lace Boudoir

Before this month, I've never had my own boudoir session done before.  Yup, never; I am always the one behind the camera. It seemed so hypocritical of me to tell our clients they needed to put themselves first when I haven't exactly done that myself.  But like most women, I'm not always comfortable in my own skin - and I wasn't 100% confident the day I took the photos, either. But I decided it was time to take the leap and put myself squarely in the shoes of my own clients, to practice what I preach because later becomes never, very quickly.  So I got my outfits ready and prepared myself to feel sexy and confident, to see me how my husband sees me. I loved getting glammed up and shopping for my outfits!  My goal from here on out is to do a shoot once a year or at the VERY LEAST once every other year. I gotta tell you, that was fun and addicting and I hope all women get to have a boudoir experience at least once in their lives .  I love being able to see myself like that and I LOVE how my husband will just stare at the photos, too.  I should've done this A LONG TIME AGO!  

Thanks to Amanda @ California Boudoir for the amazing photos!  There were many more from the session that I loved, but my husband is being a little stingy and wants to keep those for himself! ;)

~Jeni

Black Friday deal is here!

Offer Valid : Thursday, November 24th through Monday, November 28th, 11:59PM

Enjoy 50% Off our session fee ($150 savings) and receive a special gift - our retro viewer with 7 images (valued at $350)! Session must be paid in full during our Black Friday sale!
 

Sessions must be scheduled by March 1, 2017
 
To book your session just Click this link and we'll send you all the details! Choose a shoot date any time between now and March 1, 2017 and give the BEST. GIFT. EVER. This Christmas or Valentines Day! Also, everyone loves a friend with a hook up so feel free to share it with your bestie... Girls Day! 

*This offer is valid on all regular priced session fee only. Not to be combined with any other offer. New bookings only. Shoot date must take place before March 1, 2017.*
 

Get to know your Orange County boudoir photographer, Jeni!

What is your favorite food?

Right now, it’s plantain chips and guacamole. It’ll change next week ;)

One guilty pleasure in life?

Shopping

What is your favorite piece of clothing?

Comfy tees

What's one song on your playlist?

" My Fault “ Imagine Dragons

What's your favorite movie genre? Example?

Right now, its comedy … Bad Moms was pretty hilarious!

Favorite shoes to wear?

My pink Toms

What are you currently reading?

The Girl on the Train

What do you usually do when you have leisure time on your hands?

What is leisure time???? LOL. I like to ride bikes with my family or just my husband – even if it’s just in our neighborhood.

Do you have any strange phobias?

I am always afraid of getting stuck on an elevator. I’ll take the stairs often, especially if it’s an older building.

What, if anything, have you ever re-gifted?

Lotions, perfumes, candles ... I get headaches easily with certain smells so I’ll just give those away if they’re too potent for me.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would that be?

I’d go back to Spain but with my entire family

If you could go back and do over anything in your life, what would that be?

Nope, I don’t do that. My life wouldn’t be the same if anything changed.

Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why?

Hawaii – MOST DEFINTELY. I’ve been to Alaska, and it’s beautiful, but I’m a warm weather kinda girl.

If you could meet and photograph someone famous, who would that be and why?

Emma Stone … she’s cute as a button with her freckles and seems so down to earth.

What do you struggle with the most in life?

I’m kind of a perfectionist and I over analyze EVERYTHING. It's why my husband hates grocery shopping with me.

If you could have any one superpower, which would you choose?

Teleportation. Because, traffic!

Are you married, single, have kids, husband? Is life a juggling act for you?

I am married (going on 15 years!) and have 2 boys (7 & almost 13). Every day is a juggling act between sports, school, hubby, home … and oh, yeah, myself!

Who inspires you the most in life?

My family inspires me most.

If you could provide one single piece of advice to influence a young person's direction in life, what would that be?

You will never get a better return on life than when you truly invest in yourself. :)

Be Soul Food | Grace and Lace Boudoir | Orange County Boudoir

Over 4 years ago, Sarah and I sat down and had a meeting about our new business venture together.  We were not new in our prospective careers - I'd been a photographer since 2002 and Sarah had been a makeup artist for nearly as long but we were joining our two forces together.  We'd been friends for 6 years at the time and we KNEW that we wanted to do this together and so we sat down, had a meeting, and we were excited!  So excited that we came up with our business name THAT day - Eye Candy.  We'd jotted down about 10 other names or so but at that time, we didn't really have a plan of just being a boudoir studio, so to us, eye candy meant pretty things and incorporated the best of both our worlds (photography & makeup).  Well, in our naivete, we went with it.  And then realized, rather quickly, eye candy dot com is not available.  Ok.  How about eye-candy dot com?? Nope. How about eye-kandy dot com? Well, you know the answer to that. You'd think we would've moved on by now, right??  Nooooo, of course not, we were stuck on some version of eye candy.  So, we finally realized eye-kandie.com was available and so we went with it.  Now you know the backstory of our name.  Deep, riiiight?? 

So we created business cards, a logo, a website, a facebook page and we went to work.  And we started shooting everything and anybody who would let us shoot and put makeup on them. But over the years, both Sarah and I felt like we were being led to shoot solely boudoir photography.  It fit us so well, it was our speed - getting to know our clients on a deeper level, we both LOVED doing it more so than any other genre, and so we dedicated Eye Kandie to solely boudoir. Over the years, though, we started to feel like our name was amateurish and we were increasingly becoming more insecure with it.  We thought about changing it but oh! the work that would create for us.  Neither of us felt like starting over.  It's a LOT of work.  Like, A LOT of work.  But a few months ago, it started to weigh heavily on me how much I dislike our name; so much so, I wouldn't even use it in a sentence.  I struggled with this because what does that say about me? About my business?  I'm not ashamed of our business, Sarah and I have built a solid foundation and we have had some AMAZING clients come through our studio.  But I couldn't bring myself to use our name in conversation.  I just really wanted our name to mean something more.  

Then I read this quote

““Don’t be eye candy. Be soul food.””

Oh, the gut punch.  All these months of prayer over whether or not we should change our name and there I thought, did God just answer me with a quote?  Yes, He did.  I didn't think of our clients as eye candy, they were so much more than just a "pretty thing" to us. We strive for our clients to love and appreciate their bodies for all it does for her but also to see themselves beyond their physical self. We want her to see what we see and what her friends and family see.  Not just a pretty thing, but a woman who allows herself some grace and does not spend time dwelling on the past and living with regret, but works toward what she wants; a woman who values quality over quantity and understands the investment of portraiture; a woman who loves and respects her husband or fiance; a mother who teaches and loves her children but knows she should nurture herself as well.  We want her to see she is a woman of worth & beauty to us and those around her.

And so, Grace and Lace Boudoir was born.  We still have a few loose ends to tie up around here, mostly on the back side of the business but we are so happy that Grace & Lace is live and that is what we will be going by from here on out! 

Thank you to all our clients for their support along the way, for reading our blog, for trusting us with your own boudoir experience and for sending us your referrals. 

Our business is booming and it is ALL because of you!! So thank you!  We love you ALL!

~Jeni

Awe Inspiring Miss J | Orange County Boudoir

Miss J came to us to help her with a gift for her husband for their anniversary.  She came in with the perfect attitude ... she was beautiful, so smart, and incredibly sweet.  Her day to day personal life is nothing short of amazing and when she was telling us about herself and her family, I was in awe. She has had a lot of obstacles thrown at her in life.  The amount of time she dedicates toward others in her life, it became apparent to us that, while yes, she wanted to create something for her husband, she also needed to see and feel sexy for herself, as well. And we accomplished that and it was powerful. The photos below - yeah, these are the modest ones.  We took some really racy photos as well, but she wanted to keep those private.  But I'll be honest, those racy ones are some of my favorite photos to date and I'm a little sad to not share them.  But our clients feelings come first, never mine :) 

~Jeni

Just do it already!

This blog post is for all the ladies who are wanting to do a boudoir session but have been too nervous to just pull the trigger.  You know, the ones who say "someday" or "after I lose 10 pounds" - JUST DO IT ALREADY! Why wait?!? Why not just say "YES! I am going to do something for myself?!" which is then a gift for him, too??  Did someone say Christmas??!

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make. ”

We make this process as easy as it can be for you.  We help with prepping for your sessions; whether its with your wardrobe selection or sending helpful tips/tricks for skin & hair beforehand and also after the session itself with helping you select your images.  You are not on your own at all with us! Turn your nervousness into excitement.  If you're a follower on any of our social media pages, you've heard me say time and time again, the first email is the hardest.  Once you book, we'll help guide you every step of the way.  Why? Because it's exactly how we want to be treated.     

Just a teaser of this Miss K's boudoir experience ... I seriously can't wait to share this one!

Think outside the box......

So, Jeni came over the other day to borrow a dress and we got to talking as usual about life, work and of course, makeup. Jeni was talking about how she had received a matte lipstick in her ipsy bag and how she didn't really like the formulation of the matte lipsticks. She was saying how she might just give it to me, and my first thought was.... well wait a second, why don't you just put a gloss over it? It really got me thinking about this post, and the things that would come naturally for me, but maybe not others. I thought I would share some of the things that I do with products to either change the formulation, the color or just use them in a totally different way!

1. I'm sure all of you have a beautiful shimmery vanilla eyeshadow. Did you know you can also use it as a highlight? Use it on top of your cheekbones and cupids bow for a nice glow. You can also put it in the center of your lips to make them look a little plumper. My favorite Eyeshadow to do this with is the MAC Pigment in vanilla. 

2. Shimmery shadows....... If you have a shadow that is shimmery you can spray your brush with water and dip it into the shadow and it will intensify that shadow. Its safe and will not ruin or harden your shadow. you cannot however do it with a matte shadow. 

3. Foundations..... So many things you can do with foundations! One of my favorite things to do is to mix 2 or 3 of my favorite foundations on the back of my hand and then apply it to my face. I have a foundation that looks super matte on the skin and has great pigment, but if i want a little more of a glow, i will mix it with a foundation that is glowy to customize the look I want for that day. If you want to make your foundation a BB cream, throw some moisturizer and SPF in it, mix it up and then apply it. If you want to make your foundation a CC cream, Put a little green or lavender, whatever correcting product that your skin needs, mix that up and apply it. You don't have to buy so many different products to get all these different formulations, its beautiful!

4. Lipstick.... mix it up! Play with color! Do you have a bright pink lipstick that you want to tone down? Mix it with a nude lipstick or a light colored concealer or foundation, boom! New lipstick color! want to make that red lipstick darker? scrape off some black eyeshadow or use a gel eyeliner to mix with it. There are really so many possibilities. I would suggest if you want to play with color, to go get a color wheel at micheals, its a great thing to have. 

5. Eyeshadow... If you want to change the way your shadow looks, add a dark or light base under it. If you add a white base, your shadow will be more vibrant, if you add a dark base (brown or black) your shadow will appear more smokey. 

6. Bronzer. Sometimes if I am being super lazy, I will use my bronzer to bronze my face of course, but also I will use it in my crease for some shadow and under my lashline for a little bit of smokiness. easy peasy! 

I really hope that you enjoyed these tips! As always, if you use them let me know, I love to hear about your experiences! 

Love, Sarah 

PS.... Don't forget about our $50 Sephora gift card giveaway! Here are the rules....

**Please read this post before joining in on the fun!

• Invite 25 of your friends to the Eye Kandie Boudoir VIP Group on facebook for an entry (LADIES ONLY)
• For every 25 friends invited, you get one entry into the giveaway
• Your invitees MUST reside in California
• Comment on this post saying "done!" once you have completed

The winner will be drawn at random to receive the $50 gift card to Sephora! The contest will end on November 1st. We will announce the winner over Live Video :)

*Sorry, no men allowed in the group

Best of luck ladies! :)

The best choice you can make

Miss T is a woman full of life & faith, a woman who has had her fair share of struggles in life but it hasn't stopped her or even slowed her down. The instant we met her, we INSTANTLY liked her; she gave an air of gentleness and kindness.  We loved having her in the studio and I loved her curves and how she owned them! 

In her own words, here's what she had to say about her experience ...

“Hands down I had such a great experience doing my photo shoot with Jen and Sarah. I was nervous before getting there. Once I was there both Jen and Sarah made me feel so comfortable that I enjoyed every minute and did not worry about anything else. My makeup was done so beautifully. I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. I will say my self confidence has improved greatly. When I went back to view my photos, all I could think and say was “WOW” is that me! This was one of the best choices that I made. Complete satisfaction with every step of the process. Jen and Sarah defiantly (sp) know what they are doing and are very good at their job.”

— Miss T

Tips and Tricks Thursday!

Today's tip is all about white eyeliner and the different ways you can use it to enhance your makeup application. 

1. Use it on the inner corner of your eyes and then put a neutral light shimmery shadow on top to increase the effect of brightening your eyes. 

2. Use it on your eyelid before you put on your shadow. This will help the shadow be brighter and more true to color since you are canceling out your natural lid color.  I like to use NYX jumbo pencil in Milk for this. 

3. Line the inner rim of your bottom lid to make your eyes appear larger. 

4. Use it right under your brow bone and smudge it out for a nice highlight. you can also use it on top of your cupids bow and smudge it out for a highlight as well. 

I hope you  guys find this tip useful, enjoy!