March Update

March has been very busy!  I have had shoots for magazine's including 'Glamour', shot in a studio in London and 'Bon Marche' shot on location in Margate.  A day spent shooting website and advertising images for Asquith Yoga also in a London studio. I have been lucky enough to work with a few celeb's this month too including Adam Hills, Jerry Hall, Michael Parkinson (he had his own Make-up artist), Kevin McCloud, and Professor Brian Cox.. As well as a lot of wedding trials, wedding make up's, special occasion make up's and make-up lessons. Phew!  I am definitely ready for an early Easter break!

For Mothers day I took my fabulous mum for a lovely champagne afternoon tea at Sopwell house followed by some shopping in St Albans.  It has been absolutely freezing and unbelievably we have had yet more snow at the end of March, so lots of cold winter walks with my doggies who absolutely love the snow and a lot of film nights this month snuggled in the warm by the fire.

Easter is going to be spent decorating as for the first time in year's I actually do not have any work booked in so I will be happily swapping my make-up brushes for paintbrushes!

Asquith Yoga shoot.

Middy x

Butter wouldn't melt!

Lucas.

Filming at The Charlotte Street Hotel.

Asquith Yoga shoot behind the scenes.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Easter break and thank you for supporting my blog do please follow if you haven't already.

Niki x


For all make-up enquiries please email nikimakeup@aol.com

My Top Ten Beauty products it would be hard to live without!

1 GHD Hair straighteners, enough said already!

2 Heat protecting styling spray, my current favourite is by Elnett.

3 Creme De La Mer moisturising cream, the only cream to rid my eczema.

4 Mascara. My favourites are Lancome Defincils and Max Factor Masterpiece.

5 MAC Studio finish Concealer, a must have!

6 Bronze eye shadow, my colour of choice.  MAC and Nars both do great ones.

7 MAC Lipstick, keeps my lips hydrated and protected plus a healthy pop of colour.

8 Body shop Cocoa Butter, keeps my skin super soft and hydrated.

9 Mavadry by Mavala, marvellous product that dries nail polish in seconds with a high shine.

10 Nail polish, I have to wear it! Favourites are OPI, Champneys, Barry M and Nails Inc.

A recent shoot...

On a bitterly cold Sunday at the end of February I did hair and make-up for a fashion shoot at the beautiful Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.

This story has a 1930's feel and sees the glamorous turn into the distressed.

Photography Stephen Gunn

Styling Natasha Irons

Model Larissa Goldner @ Nevs

Below are some of the final images.

www.nikimakeup.com

February Update

February has been a busy and fun filled month for me! It was my hubbie's birthday so we treated ourselves to a holiday in Vegas(as you do!). We had an absolutely amazing time, it is definitely an experience I recommend and such a surreal place, I felt like I was on a movie set most of the time. Whilst there we saw a couple of great show's 'La Reve' a fabulous Cirque Du Soleil style show with unbelievable aqua acrobatics.  We also went to see Rod Stewart at the Colosseum at Ceasar's, this was the highlight of the trip for me, he gave an outstanding performance.  We ate at two of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants which were both great as was the buffet breakfast at the Bellagio (not to be missed). We did a lot of shopping as it is so much cheaper than the UK as well as a lot of walking around all the spectacular hotels. My favourite hotel's were the Bellagio, where we stayed, Ceasars Palace and The Venetian. The 'Warhol Out West' exhibition at the Bellagio was another highlight as were the famous Bellagio fountains and a gondola ride at the Venetian hotel.  We returned from glorious sunny, warm days to freezing cold England and yet even more snow!

Work has seen numerous wedding make-up trials ahead of weddings over the coming months. February also saw my first wedding of the year on the 23rd at The Manor of Groves hotel in Sawbridgeworth.  It was cold and snowing very lightly but was a fresh, bright day perfect for a winter wedding.
I also helped at an event at Sopwell House in St. Albans for a client team building day, it was a lot of fun.  I basically had to do glamorous hair and make-up in five minutes, yes you read that correctly five minutes!  I did this five times during the afternoon throughout a presentation being given by two presenters.  It was a really fun challenge and we were all really pleased with the results.
I also did a test shoot for some new portfolio shots on a freezing cold Sunday at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire, possibly the coldest place in the UK that particular day. My hair-dryer was very handy for defrosting fingers and toes! Images from this shoot will be posted soon.


February was also filled with some of my favourite days of the year Pancake day, Valentines day and the sixteen year anniversary of meeting my husband so all in all a busy February!

X

Oscar Make-up Brit' winners!

Huge congratulations to British make-up artists Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell for winning the Oscar for best hairstyling and make up for Les Miserables. Nominated alongside The Hobbit: An unexpected journey and Hitchcock.

Lisa Westcott has over thirty-five films to her credit including Shakespeare in Love and has now been nominated three times, this was Julie Dartnell's first nomination.

Well deserved!

Below Lisa Westcott (left) and Julie Dartnell accepting their award and Lisa can also be seen talking about the make-up in the short video below:

Mothers Day Make-up Offer

With Mother's Day just around the corner (Sunday March 10th) why not say thank you with the gift of a two hour make-up lesson.

I am currently offering one-to-one make-up lessons with a 20% discount for a limited time only throughout March and April 2013 inclusive.

Gift vouchers are available. Vouchers are also available for one hour make over session's, a perfect gift.

Please see www.nikimakeup.co.uk

Enquire now at nikimakeup@aol.com

Beauty Staple: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

The Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream can be found in many make-up artist's kits as a firm staple, also in the make-up bags of many a make-up junkie. This is because this great beauty product has many fabulous uses.

Try applying it as a lip balm daily for super glossy and moisturised lips. If you love to wear a lip colour apply eight hour cream on top to add a high gloss finish without the awful stickiness associated with lip gloss. You can also achieve dewy skin by patting a touch of Eight Hour Cream onto the cheekbones for a radiant glow.

Eight Hour Cream offers intense hydration so it is great to rub it to dry skin especially on the heels and elbows. Massage daily into cuticles to nourish and stimulate nail growth. It is especially good for any minor skin irritations and even helps to heal burns.

Finally add a sheen to finish your hairstyle by smoothing down the ends and stray hairs with a little on your fingertips.

Available at Amazon.com and Department stores.