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Kelli Thomsen Beauty

Holistic Beauty for Your Skin, Your Day, Your Life: Portland Wedding Hair & Makeup | Makeup Lessons & Classes | Skincare Education

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the conscious blog

Understanding Skin Rejuvenation Before Your Wedding Day

Skin Care, Wedding Beauty Team, Wedding Inspiration, Wedding Prep

Wedding Makeup and Hair in Portland Oregon

Don’t hide behind your skin. Bringing out your natural beauty takes a little consistency and understanding, but once you know why and how to use the correct products for your skin type, you’ll be in harmony with creating your best skin ever. It all starts with listening to your skin. If it feels tight, dry, oily or itchy, then it isn’t in balance. Once you know how to listen to what your skin needs and you have a skin rejuvenation regimen in place to support a balanced complexion, then you are ready for gorgeous makeup application.

My Goal:

To help you feel your most radiant for your wedding day is number one! My favorite pre-wedding recommendation is a custom facial, because I want to work with healthy, exfoliated and hydrated skin that already glows. I know in my 20 years of studying and working with different skin types, that skin homeostasis translates into incredible makeup application and photos!

People often ask me what my favorite treatment is and without hesitation it’s the chemical peel series! Peels are so versatile, work on many skin types & conditions and finding the best customization for each of my clients skin types & concerns is why I LOVE DOING THEM SO MUCH – it’s a way for me to use my knowledge of science and real life problem solving with the goal of helping someone feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Peels reveal the healthiest skin, performed in-clinic by me or one of my colleagues, and the results are clear, vibrant skin with minimal to no downtime.

You asked, I’m answering:

Will your MAKEUP look natural on your wedding day?

It all comes down to how you prepare your skin and how I prep & finish the skin on the wedding/elopement day.

There is an over-load of beauty information out there and with the rise of Pinterest boards and word of mouth selling, it can be confusing and challenging when it comes to knowing what is best for ourselves!

Wedding portraits for post on skin rejuvenation

I encourage every couple to:

  • do their research
  • find a licensed esthetician
  • hire a professional makeup artist
  • reach out to your top 3 artists and make sure they get right back to you
  • make sure the artist has a brochure of services and contract system in place
  • check the artists portfolio and reviews
  • make sure the artists philosophies align with yours
  • share your beauty inspiration and don’t be afraid to ask questions and have expectations

A professional makeup artist wants to hear exactly what you want, with room for changes if necessary. Setting those expectations over a trial run is going to be important. These key elements at the beginning of the booking process are ideal to connect with the right artist.

Believe it or not, it’s not the makeup products I use that encourages the makeup to last – it’s what I do before and after makeup application that gives it the real vibrancy and longevity. I also provide everyone with a lip touch-up kit that adds to peace of mind.

Recently, I teamed up with the talented film & fine art wedding photographer to share all of my favorite go to products for keeping wedding day beauty flawless all day.

Bride and groom wedding portrait

My Top Skin Rejuvenation Tips:

  1. Pre-wedding & Wedding Day – Keeping skin clear with oil cleansing (oil attracts oil and this cleansing method controls oil, by lifting impurities and leaving skin soft, not dry).
  2. Pre-wedding >>> Exfoliating weekly to keep the pores clear and any dead skin from accumulating.
  3. Pre-wedding & Wedding Day – Skin Mists will keep the skin extra hydrated and encourage serums and moisturizers to deliver deeper into the skin as well as boost results.
  4. Pre-wedding – Serums, Vitamin C & Peptides and a life-changing Om Beauty Oil packed with healthy nutrients are all great for repairing the skin and rejuvenating in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Makeup looks smoother when these ingredients are used weekly within a skin regimen.
  5. Wedding Day – Makeup setting spray to lock in the thinly layered makeup, powder, creams and additional products used to create the look.

PS – I typically don’t use a primer, because the foundation options I use have a primer built-in or the skin type doesn’t call for it.

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4751 SW Seymour Ct. Portland, OR 97221
kellithomsen.com/ | 503-890-5355

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This is for the person who’s been scrolling weddin This is for the person who’s been scrolling wedding beauty with a quiet knot in your stomach.

The one who doesn’t wear much day to day and can’t picture themselves in a full face of heavy makeup. 

The one whose partner says “you’re beautiful without makeup” and means it. 

The one who wants to feel something special on that day without losing themselves in the process.

I see you. 
You’re not being difficult. 
You know what matters to you.

I’ve done over 500+ weddings and the most powerful moment is never the dramatic transformation, it’s the person who looks in the mirror and their eyes fill because they look like themselves, elevated. 

More luminous. 
More present. 
The version of themselves they feel on their best days, made visible.

That’s what intentional, botanical beauty means in practice. I read your skin before I touch it. I use formulas that work with your biology, not over it. I enhance instead of transform.

I’ve spent 28 years, from clinical esthetic training to eastern practices at Shiseido to evaluating 20+ professional product lines, learning how to do exactly that.

You don’t need to arrive knowing what you want. You need someone who knows how to see you. This is what we do - each artist on the team is here to help bring out your innate radiance. 

✨ Now Booking 2027 | Link in Bio ✨

#naturalbeauty #pnwwedding #botanicalbeauty #cleanbeauty #weddingmakeup
This is your reminder to be yourself in a world th This is your reminder to be yourself in a world that demands we distract ourselves with what "we should be"!

throw away the matching dresses
throw away the getting ready robes that match
throw away the presentation 
throw away others advice
throw away any noise around others traditions

It's the year of the fire horse - BE YOURSELF!

planning + design: @hostedby.co
florals: @novella_floral
photo: @elissadeline
venue: @rockyhillevents
rentals: @ardeneventcollective
beauty: @kellithomsen
bar: @bliss_bar
catering: @thehivecateringco
dessert: @milkglassmrkt / @laurettajeans
draping: @runestoneevents
photobooth: @stumptownbooth
dj: @rockyvertone
transportation: @columbiawinetours 

#firehorse #ChineseNewYear #OregonWedding #WeddingBeauty #PortlandMakeupArtist
The Year of the Fire Horse happens every 60 years! The Year of the Fire Horse happens every 60 years! Liz and Ashton's wedding at @theorchard.hr was fire meeting intention, capturing the energy of this exact spirit.

Bold beauty, rooted tradition, a dance led by the team at (@whitelotusliondance) that brought the entire room to life. The kind of celebration that reminds you what it looks like when culture, love, and beauty are honored with real care.

This is what I have been speaking to over the past few weeks - fire doesn't have to scatter. It can be directed. It can be precise. It can hold tradition and power in the same breath.

25 years of doing this work and being able to share in moments like these still stop me in my tracks. Not because they're perfect. Because they're intentional. Because every detail was chosen, not defaulted to.

That's the energy I want for all of us this year. Not more. Not louder. Not faster. Directed. Regulated. Rooted. On fire in the way that lights a room instead of burning it down.

Happy Lunar New Year 🔥 #ChineseNewYear #FireHorse #RegulatedandRadiant #WeddingBeauty #OregonWedding

Bride & Groom: @lizkmoss + @ashtonmoss13
Venue: @theorchard.hr
Planning + Design: @gatherevents @ambervotel
Photography: @emilywoodruffphoto
Floral: @colibripdx
Beauty: @kellithomsen
Catering: @celilocatering
DJ: @djcaseykay
Dessert: @edeske_patisserie
Entertainment: @whitelotusliondance
Rentals: @ardeneventcollective
Gown: @saintbridal
2025 was full of flashy 12 step skin care routines 2025 was full of flashy 12 step skin care routines! Here’s what no one tells you about these rituals: not only can they wreak havoc on your microbiome, but they have to flex with your life or you’ll abandon them completely.

After 25+ years of working with real people through real life - weddings, grief, moves, breakups, illnesses - I know that rigid doesn’t work. What does work? Learning what your skin is actually telling you. Dryness isn’t always about hydration. Breakouts aren’t always about oil. Redness isn’t always about sensitivity. Your skin speaks a very specific language, and once you understand it, everything changes.

That’s where modalities like LED light become powerful - not as a daily must-do, but as a strategic tool that serves your skin’s current needs. Different wavelengths address different concerns, and together we can customize your treatments to work with your life, not against it.

Consistency at home + strategic in-studio support = your healthiest skin. Let’s make 2026 about intentional, true to YOU steps with #cleanbeauty ingredients that support your optimal health.
To our future couples: We don’t transform. We elev To our future couples: We don’t transform. We elevate. We reveal. We honor what’s already beautiful in you. The moment I live for is when a bride looks in the mirror during her design session and says ‘I look like me - elevated’ - with relief in her voice.

Somewhere along the way, we were conditioned to think that wedding beauty means looking different. More done. More trend-forward. More… something.

But the people I work with? They’re the ones who want to look at their wedding photos in 30 years and recognize themselves naturally beautiful.

Radiant. Vibrant. Timeless.

Not 2025. Not Instagram. Not anyone else.

They want to see all their natural beauty brought forward, enhanced, celebrated. That’s the kind of beauty that doesn’t need updating. It’s never about covering or fixing. It’s always about being fully honored, magnified and cared for. 

photography @hollyhursleyphoto
planning @hostedby.co
floral @wildflower_portland 
ceremony venue @csrgpdx
reception venue catering: huntandgathercatering
DJ @dillonbartellmusic
beauty @kellithomsen 
rentals @powerofloverentals
paper goods & signage @kellielynnthayer transportation @shanghaipartybus
ceremony entertainment correabrandonpaul @salemstringquartet 
ceremony bartending @bliss_bar 
rings @malkadiamonds

#cleanbeauty #oregonwedding #weddingbeauty #portlandmakeupartist #weddingmakeup
I got this email from a colleague that completely I got this email from a colleague that completely stopped me in my tracks. It’s exactly what I’ve been feeling as we head into 2026. She asked: “What’s the dream you keep pushing to the side because it feels too big?” I felt that in my whole body.

Here’s what I know after 25+ years in this industry: I see it all the time - you want glowing skin, so you panic and buy seven new products at once, get overwhelmed, and then do nothing. Or you want to finally learn makeup that actually works for your face, but the idea of figuring it all out feels impossible, so you don’t start.

But that’s not how your healthiest skin gets revealed. Real change starts small. Not with the perfect 10-step routine. Not with buying out Sephora. It starts with switching ONE product to something clean. Learning ONE technique that actually flatters your features. Booking ONE skincare session. Creating ONE morning ritual that actually feels good.

One block. Then another. Then another.
And suddenly six months later you look up and realize - holy shit, my skin actually glows now. I know how to do my makeup. This actually works. I can breathe. That’s how I built my small business. That’s how I created my lifestyle and sanctuary. That’s how nervous systems regulate and your healthiest skin reveals itself. 

What’s your one small action for the next 7 days? Maybe it’s:
-Tossing one toxic product and replacing it with something botanical
-Booking that makeup lesson you’ve been putting off
-Actually using that face oil sitting on your shelf
-Spending 60 seconds on a face massage instead of doom-scrolling
-Finally trying that technique I showed you in your last session
Just one thing. That’s your first block.
And if you’re thinking “I don’t even know where to start,” I’ve got something coming that’ll help.

2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, known for unstoppable momentum, fierce independence, and breaking convention. I’m absolutely channeling that energy into what’s coming and I have a surprise coming the week leading up to Chinese New Year (February 12-17)! STAY TUNED. Happy New Year 🎆

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    4751 SW Seymour Ct.
    PORTLAND, OREGON 97221
    503.890.5355
    KELLI@KELLITHOMSEN.COM


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