Andrea Wyman in New Orleans Living

Originally posted February 28, 2018 in New Orleans Living Magazine 

Fashion and beauty are the yin and yang to achieving great style. Just like understanding how to dress your figure to accentuate your best assets, the same idea holds true to achieving a flawless face: Work with what you have. The fashion world and the beauty industry are both complementary and interdependent. Imagine yourself ready for a very special event, and your dress and shoes are impeccable, yet your face looks like you just woke up after a night of binging on bad tequila. Consider the reverse, which I seem to see frequently and is a terrible side effect of the legging/yoga pant pandemic: a full face of highlighter; false eyelashes; tattooed on brows; and copious amounts of bronzer to complement nothing but a muscle-tee and lululemon tights.

Growing up I was not a big makeup aficionado. My mother and grandmother always said, “Less is more; wash your face every night; and a little lipstick and a good mascara are all you need.” Now as I get older, much older, I am obsessed with highlighters and always on a mission for the perfect nude lipstick. Like purchasing a new pair of shoes, buying a new beauty product is a fun and economical option to treat yourself. To me personally, the beauty industry is daunting and overwhelming. Luckily, we are ALG are fortunate enough to have a bevy of beauty enthusiasts at our beckoning call. Our go-to-girl for special occasions and all-day everyday looks is Andrea Wyman of Wyman Studio.

Accentuate the Positive

When Wyman is not onsite for weddings, debutante parties or photoshoots, you can find her and her highly curated products nestled inside Peony Boutique. The Wyman Studio bricks and mortar location marries Wyman’s love of beauty and fashion. Being inside of a boutique allows her clients the extra amenity of a full styling team from head to toe or from face to feet. Not only can Wyman’s ladies find a fantastic ensemble at Peony, they can get the complementary lip color to match the dress.

Like clothing trends, beauty fads come and go as well. This spring, fashion designers are showcasing the shoulder, and the beauty industry is pushing a bold eyebrow. Wyman’s favorite thing to highlight is the eyes. “A woman’s makeup look should draw your attention to the eyes, which is a woman’s most beautiful asset,” she says. “A good cream eyeshadow offers luminosity to give the eyes a wonderful glow, grab light and impart softness.”

According to Forbes Magazine, your face is a $445 billion industry. It is understandable why stylists such as us at ALG may get easily overwhelmed with the copious amounts of highlighters and brow gels out there. We trust in Wyman to keep us on the right path to gorgeousness.

Wyman’s five personal must-have products are:

Face primer that doubles as a moisturizer
Tinted moisturizer
Brow defining gel
Thickening mascara
Tinted lip balm

Andrea believes that a good moisturizer goes a long way. “Your makeup is only as pretty as the skin underneath,” she says. You can always add in a bronzer to give the skin some warmth or a cream shimmer shadow to do double duty as a highlighter. Wyman also prefers a pop of color on the lip but as a stain instead of opaque. “This [technique] followed by a lipgloss conveys youthfulness,” she says. A five-minute face is attainable for everyone, no excuses.

Wyman Studio specializes in all occasions from weddings to outlandish costuming, and in simple everyday “I am running to the grocery” looks. With wedding clients, Wyman stresses the longevity of the products, and dealing with heat and humidity. Wyman requires the face to be impeccable from the before pictures, to close-ups and kisses, and dancing throughout the evening. With costumes, she encourages clients to be open to new ideas and to play around with fun face accessories like insane eyelashes and glitter. “Have fun and think outside the box,” she says.

As stylists and makeup artists, our job descriptions are to find the beauty within, draw it out, and then showcase it all through clothing and makeup. Beauty runs deep inside every woman. Wyman Studio excels at accentuating beauty that is already there.

Wyman Studio (inside Peony Boutique)
2240 Magazine St., Ste. 101
(504) 258-7040
Happy shopping and cheers to a pretty face!