“Before & After”

Hair and makeup by Austie Eckley with images by Kacy Kizer

I have always been fascinated by the “before & after” page of many websites. I don’t like to do things like other people so I knew my “before & after” shoot would be something different and totally my own.

When I think of the pictures on those pages, I immediately think of improvements. The improvements on those pages though, tend to focus solely on the outside…hair and makeup aren’t the only things that make a woman beautiful. I tend to believe that true beauty lies on the inside and that awoman can be just as beautiful picking up her kids from school as when she is walking the red carpet.

When I decided to collaborate with Kacy Kizer for my “before & after” page, I knew I wanted to show not only how great makeup and great hairstyles can make a woman beautiful, but how a woman is already beautiful without anything added to her at all. I also wanted to show how fun a mini-makeover can be and how everyone deserves to be treated like a celebrity once in a while. I truly believe the way a woman feels on the inside will reflect how she looks on the outside. I really enjoyed turning the already beautiful women on my page into stunning red-carpet-ready celebrities.

I got to work with some amazing mother/daughter combos for my shoot. I think my favorite part of doing a wedding is being able to observe the intimate relationships between the bride and the women she surrounds herself with on her special day.

I want to say thank you to all the wonderful, beautiful (inside and outside) women who gave of their time to help me with this project. I also want to thank Kacy Kizer for being an amazing photographer and capturing the images that show off the true beauty of these women. Thank you to everyone!