Natural Makeup Artist- New Jersey
Meet New Jersey’s Natural Makeup Artist — Rebecca Kirkwood
Rebecca Kirkwood is New Jersey’s natural bridal makeup artist and seasoned Clean Beauty Artist — you need to meet her!
Read our interview with her below…
Rebecca is our lead New Jersey makeup artist and we adore her for so many reasons!
She's our first lead artist to join Clean Beauty Artists and she’s been with our company from the start – 4 years and counting!
Rebecca is creative, organized, a true makeup educator, and a total boss when it comes to branding and marketing. She is a mentor to budding clean makeup artists who often reach out to her wanting advice – she’s the whole package in our industry.
Rebecca is well known for her highly sought after natural makeup lessons and her natural bridal makeup package.
We especially love Rebecca’s glowy, natural makeup style and calming way with brides!
Rebecca and her family relocated from Brooklyn to South Orange, New Jersey and have been loving it ever since.
We thought we would do a little interview to honor her big move and showcase her natural bridal style that’s been such a great asset to the New Jersey area.
Natural New Jersey Brides, this interview is for you!
What is your bridal makeup style?
My bridal makeup style is all about enhancing my client’s natural beauty. I want them to feel like their most beautiful self on their wedding day and I really take into account what that means to them.
Some of my clients wear little to no makeup. The idea of wearing a full face of glam isn’t appealing to them, but they know they want to wear makeup or they are told that they should.
For this type of client, I specialize in finding the minimum amount of makeup to make them feel beautiful.
I really love when the natural skin shines through the foundation! I also love applying special enhancements like a pop of color on cheeks and lips and playing up the eyes.
If someone asked you to do more glamorous makeup, how would you answer them or interpret that question?
I really love to see inspirational photos for this reason. Sometimes what the client wants is different than what it looks like on them. For example, sometimes a very glam inspiration photo ends up being too much for the client. This is why the pre-wedding day trial is so important.
I will do glam (and I have done glam) – I prefer soft, natural glam!
What is your signature makeup look for Brides?
Photo By Fine and Fleurie
I would say my signature style is a soft, natural, radiant makeup. I love skin-centric face makeup. I use cream highlighters and blush to enhance skin and make it bright and glowy.
I also love soft romantic smokey eyes with natural yet voluminous lashes. I feel like lashes transform the look, so I do enough lashes that it still looks natural, but makes the eyes pop!
What sets you apart from other bridal makeup artists in New Jersey?
I am a clean makeup artist so everything in my kit is non-toxic and I specialize in sensitive skin. I am really comfortable with skin sensitivities and allergies, and I am used to it and understand it.
And another thing that sets me apart from other artists is my style… we all know that people assume New Jersey brides are bigger than life and high glam (hello Real Housewives of New Jersey) and there are many NJ artists that specialize in that sort of look (high coverage, contouring, smokey eye, etc). It’s quite incredible if you are looking for a major transformation with makeup. Rather I specialize in working with brides who appreciate showcasing their natural beauty!
How does your client prepare for their pre-wedding day trial?
I do my pre-wedding day trials at my home studio in South Orange – it's a two-hour process and I like to have my whole kit and all of my options – all my different lashes and my various skin care products at hand.
Travel wise, I tell my bridal clients that I'm a 5 minute drive from the South Orange train station which is 30 minutes from Penn Station or an easy drive from the city. I also tell them to take a half day (or just take the day off!) so that they can enjoy themselves after – plan a nice dinner!
Should your client plan their engagement photos on the day of the bridal trial?
Photo By BlueSpark Photography
I try to discourage them from planning the engagement photos on the day of a pre-wedding trial. I feel like they’re thinking about how they’ll look in the photos more than what they want to do for the wedding look, which is oftentimes two different things. Also, sometimes the trial can run over a bit if we decide to play around with different options and that can be stressful when going to a photoshoot.
Who is your favorite makeup artist?
I would say Katey Denno.
She is my mentor through the Clean Collective at the Detox Market and I've learned a lot from her over the last few months being a part of that. I appreciate that her style is similar in the fact that she likes the skin to look so clean on her clients and she uses all clean products. Her clients always look like the most beautiful version of themselves.
What are you Favorite clean beauty products for brides?
Okay, my favorite clean products for brides are my foundations by Beautycounter – Skin Twin. They are light to medium coverage, so it really looks beautiful on the skin. I also love RMS Living Luminizer for highlighting – it’s not too sparkly so it looks beautiful in person and in photographs!
What areas do you service for weddings?
I love to service the rustic areas of New Jersey. There's some really beautiful places that have pretty farm and barn style venues. I love Crossed Keys Estate and Bear Brook Valley wedding venues in New Jersey!
I'm less of a Jersey Shore venue artist. Clients usually book me for farm or garden themed types of weddings!
What are your favorite things to do in South Orange?
Well, I moved to South Orange NJ after spending 15 years in NYC (mostly in Brooklyn!). We decided it was the right move for our family and we love it!
We live about 10 min from South Mountain Reservation so my family and I do a lot of hiking and exploring the outdoors here. I do a lot of shuffling around (laughs) of my children to their various activities, and go to yoga every week!
I love to go to the shops in SOMA – South Orange and Maplewood. My favorite jewelry store is Meus in Maplewood and my favorite coffee shop in South Orange is Jackie and Son.