Tuesday 30 November 2010

My Party make-up must haves!

1 Elizabeth Arden 'Eight Hour cream'. Essential Cream to keep lips moisturised.
2 Clarins 'Beauty Flash Balm' for a great lift for the skin before you apply make-up.
3 Benefit 'Girl Meets Pearl' for a radiant glowing complexion.
4 Bobbi Brown 'Longwear gel eyeliner black' for defined evening eyes that last.
5 MAC eyeshadow's in Honeylust, rice paper, nylon, patina, amberlights and bronze finished off with a little carbon for serious smokeyness!
6 Maybelline 'Volume Express the falsies mascara' in black drama for big lashes.
7 Use some False eyelashes to complete the look.
8 Topshop creme blush in 'nutmeg' for a natural flush to wear with dramtic eye or lips.
9 All shades of Barry M nail polish I love them! A definite must have for party nails!
10 Sally Hansen Airbrush legs for gorgeous pins in your LBD.
Finally a touch of MAC silver dust here and there for a bit of a sparkle :)





Monday 29 November 2010

In the News!

On Sunday 28th November I did the lovely Kate's bridal make-up for her wedding at The Fennes in Braintree, Esssex. A beautiful location for a blushing bride, if you haven't seen it you might want to check out their website here: http://www.fennes.co.uk/fennes-index.shtml

I did the make-up for Kate plus her sister and her mum at the last minute it was a bit tight compared to the weddings I have done this year...I was literally leaving as the ceremony began!

For the brides make-up I used a little Laura Mercier secret concealer under the eyes and MAC cover up for a little coverage but no foundation as at the make-up trial we decided Kate prefered as little as possible on her skin as she doesnt usually wear foundation.

On the eyes...MAC untitled eyepaint on the eyelid with a little MAC shroom on top and a little MAC Esresso(brown) at the corner of the eyes. MAC Omega was blended softly through the eye socket to complete the eyeshadow. I used Bobbi Brown gel liner in dark brown along the top of the lashline and slightly underneath and lashings of MAC black splashproof mascara. I applied quite a few individual eylure lashes along the top of the eye to make her eyes look bigger and fluttery.

On the cheeks...MAC cremeblush in ladyblush which is a beautiful soft pink for a fresh flush and MAC creme colour base in luna to highlight the top of the cheekbones.

On the lips...MAC lip pencil in dervish, MAC Viva Glam V lipstick and Daniel Sandler 3d lipgloss in galaxy to give a rose pink natural sheen to the lips.

To finish...a little MAC Blot powder in medium dark to the t-zone with a brush to take away any unwanted shine on the face.

Friday 26 November 2010

How I started my career as a Make-up Artist

I am often asked "How I started out as a make-up artist and how I became successful" so I have decided to write a quick piece for you as to how I got started.
I have always had a passion for make-up, art, fashion and colour from as long as I can remember so following school it seemed the natural step to go on to do both a successful foundation art studies course at Camberwell college followed by a degree in hair & make-up at the prestigious London College of Fashion.

During my studies I worked part time as a MAC make-up artist which provided invaluable additional make-up skills. After studying I did indeed work full time for MAC for almost a year as a resident trainer. This role involved training artists on make-up application, customer service and hygiene. Whilst doing this I did an amazing training workshop with MAC in LA which to this day remains a high point of my career!

When I decided to leave MAC and work as a freelance Make-up artist the hard work and perseverance really kicked in. I had to do an awful lot of work for free to gain experience in the field and make contacts which you hope lead to further work but quite often do not. I have assisted various make-up artists to gain further knowledge, again unpaid and finally a lot of test shoots. Test shoots if you aren't familiar are an opportunity for you as well as the photographer, model and sometimes stylist to work together creatively to gain images for your portfolio. Test shoots sometimes work and you get beautiful images and sometimes they don't for whatever reason and you may not be able to use those images. As you can tell this is a long and hard process to go through and that is before you even get any paid work so you need to be 100% committed and supported by those around you.

I had an Agency represent me for three years and I think I felt I was successful when I managed to get an Agent as it can take a lot of phone calls and meetings initially to even get that far. I left my Agent this year as I like to be in control and organise what I do myself and knew I had enough experience, work and clients to go it alone. Gradually you do start getting more and more work and start to build clients that regularly work with you. I now mostly work for advertising campaigns and editorial magazines doing both fashion and beauty and real life/makeover shoots as this is the area I enjoy most. Clients include Shout, Red, Glamour, Prima , Boots, Argos and many more. There are many diverse areas of the make-up industry to work in so you really have to find what you enjoy most.

I will start with the low points in my career as I always like to end on a high! Being over an hour late for a shoot when everyone is waiting for the make-up artist to do their work so the shoot can get going has taught me to always leave at least two and half hours to get anywhere in London in rush hour. Being prepared to be quite poor for quite a while when starting out as it can be tough and literally have no shame when it comes to getting work sometimes badgering people may not be easy but it can get you a job.

The highs... LA for training, Milan for fashion week, London fashion week and other big London shows like Fashion Rocks and Armani One Night Only, and every single day I am on a shoot working I am always happy!

Tuesday 23 November 2010

IN THE NEWS: NORTH FACE ETIP GLOVES



The Etip glove from North Face available at John Lewis (£25.00) are so amazing I had to share them with you. I constantly have the problem whereby I have to remove my gloves to operate my i-phone but no more! You can work your phone and laptop easily with these gloves on. The branded X-Static material on the fingertips manages moisture and regulates temperature to enable use in all weather conditions. Fabulous and great for make up artists on set working outside as these gloves are slim and easy to wear. The silicone grip on the palm of the gloves helps during all types of activity ie working outside in the freezing cold!
Better still they are Machine washable!

Monday 22 November 2010

Christmas Wishes!

Today I am feeling festive maybe because its freezing outside and Christmas is now only a little over four weeks away! I thought I would share with you some lovely things that are on my Christmas wish list...

Bobbi Brown pink pearl eyeshadow no.16

Nicky Clarke compact heated rollers

Chanel Etrait de gloss no. 57 pink

Bodyshop cocoa butter

Aveda Hand cream

Chanel Allure perfume

Benefit brightening primer 'That gal'

Benefit 'U rebel' and 'U Rebel light' tinted moisturiser

Make up Forever HD microfinish powder

YSL Ltd edition shimmering gold highlighter pen

Thats all for now!

Monday 15 November 2010

INSPIRE:A recent test shoot...

Last Friday I did a test shoot with Photographer Ian Hooten. The make-up and hair began quite natural and simple as you can see below. Next I went stronger with the eye make-up and for the last shot I experimented with some felt.... I am not sure I achieved what I was looking for with the felt but thats why I did the test, some tests work some don't! These are not however the final images just an example of what we did.
Eye Make up products I used were all by MAC and included carbon black shadow plus the following matte brown shadows (espresso, symmetry, cork and embark). Untitled eyepaint was used as a base, eyeliner consisted of MAC smoulder kohl pencil, Bobbi brown gel eyeliner and MAC splashproof black mascara. False lashes were added from Mister Mascara and applied using Duo adhesive. I also used this glue to stick pieces of felt onto the face in the third look. Base products used include Chanel Vitalumiere foundation, Laura Mercier secret concealer and MAC blot powder. On the lips... Daniel Sandler lipgloss in super femme worn over MAC Oak lip pencil and MAC lipstick in fleshpot. When the images are ready I will hopefully choose a favourite one or two for my portfolio.




















Thursday 11 November 2010

INSPIRE: Images in my workspace...

Today I thought I would share with you some much loved images that I have collected and have dotted around my office at home to keep me inspired and smiling. I have to have colourful, visual and decorative works around me as I just couldn't work in a dull boring environment!
Hope you enjoy as much as I do!




























































































Wednesday 10 November 2010

IN THE NEWS: WATERCOLOUR BLUSH


My make-up product of the moment is Daniel Sandler's award winning watercolour liquid blusher in shade 'Cherub'. Many of my clients ask about this product as I apply the liquid to my hand from its dinky bottle it seems to attract immediate attention. I love Cherub watercolour because it gives the effect of a natural, fresh looking cream blush yet is waterproof and lasts all day. I like to apply with my fingertips to the cheeks, blend a little then use a foundation brush to blend further for a perfect finish. A tiny dot of this product goes a long way and there are a variety of other shades to choose from. Cherub is my favourite as it is a subtle baby pink that I find suitable for most skin tones. This oil free product is particularly great if you are prone to blush disappearing by lunch time!

Available from Harrods Urban retreat & http://www.beautique.com/ at £12.00.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Inspire: Moodboard fun!

I have been having so much fun creating a moodboard for a test shoot I am doing this Friday. My inspiration came from December's Star Vogue issue and my love of christmas and all things twinkling! After seeing a photograph of the model I think she has a look of Sophia Loren about her so I am thinking make-up and hair will be hollywood 'starlet' themed and painfully glamorous! I am going for dramatic eye liner and an abundance of lashes, big soft loose curls in the hair and then maybe a modern twist on a french pleat for a variation. To be a tad more creative, inspired by my favourite artist Henri Matisse and his cut out artworks I have decided to use felt attached around the eye using eyelash glue in the form of a gigantic star. Its a new medium for me as I have never worked with felt before so I am really looking forward to it. After the shoot final images will follow so I will keep you posted!




Friday 5 November 2010

IN THE NEWS: A day in the life...

Wednesday this week started earlier than most at five am due to the tube strike in London. I left the house at 5.40am to miss any potential traffic nightmares. As a result I was at my destination, a beautiful location house in Ealing at 6.20am! It was still dark and felt like the middle of the night, not so surprisingly I felt tired so I tried (emphasis on tried)to snooze in my car as I was at least two hours too early.....

At 8.30am I saw the Photographer arrive so I entered the house, introduced myself and started to set up my kit. I set up at the kitchen table as the light was amazing through the huge glass doors and windows surrounding me. After a quick read of the call sheet the photographer and I realised it was to be a very busy day. The morning consisted of a fashion shoot with four different outfit changes. Hair consisted of natural loose waves and gorgeous shine and the make-up was natural with radiant skin, these remained the same throughout the shoot I just had to tweak the model's hair occasionally and retouch the lipgloss. By 12pm we had covered the fashion shot and set about shooting two options for the magazine cover, once that was in the bag it was time for a well earned lunch break. A delicious selection of sandwiches and cakes were delivered to keep us going!

After lunch I did make-up and hair for two ladies who were being photographed for a fitness article within the magazine. The make-up was very natural and fresh faced and hair was basically in loose ponytails. Finally at 3pm I did hair and make-up for a columist who was to appear in an article in the magazine. The styling consisted of various shades of grey so I opted for two shades of grey on the eyes to create a soft smokey look. Hair was left long and loose with a mixture of soft curls just through the ends of the hair which I created using straightening irons and sea salt spray to give texture.

All in all a very busy shoot day we wrapped at 5pm which was very good considering the amount we did in one day. the journey home was't too hellish either it took me an hour, only twenty minutes longer than it should have taken, considering the tube strike and rush hour that was pretty good going!

Well that's all for now folks! A typical day in the life..