February Update!

I am so glad February is over it is official I HATE winter! As I am writing this hail stones are falling like giant boulders from the sky.

So this month my toy poodle Lucas has damaged his paws chasing his ball so we had to order some little black booties for protection to stop infection and a "space helmet" to stop him licking them, bless him!

I did a super cool neon inspired beauty shoot.  I am so excited to see the finished shots, but here is a teaser in the meantime.

I had a video shoot for Glamour magazine where I did make-up for the Fashion Editor...a little nerve racking I am not going to lie, here is a behind the scenes shot. It will be online in March.

A lot of wedding make-up trials ahead of spring and summer weddings all very exciting! Here are just a couple of the beauties I have had the pleasure of making up...oh and a very beautiful mother of the bride!

My husband and I celebrated eighteen years together since the first day we met In Amsterdam when we were just seventeen!  We spent a fun evening at Luton Hoo and I received these gorgeous flowers.

Roll On Spring!...

Real Techniques Bold Metals Brush collection

I purchased five of the seven brushes available as these are the ones I could unbelievably justify needing!

Those of you already familiar with the original Real Techniques brushes that launched in Boots in the UK a few years back will love these new additions that are more premium and also somewhat more designed towards professional use.

They come in three colours rose gold, gold and silver and unusually do not have rounded handles so they will not roll when laying flat.  They are also weighted so super easy to control as well as having a narrow end to easily fit into any style brush holder.

The brushes are made from premium tapered nylon fibres so can be used with both cream/liquid and powder based products.  The synthetic hair also means they are cruelty free : )

Gold  brushes include:.
100 Flat domed face powder "I love the super soft feel of this brush"
101 Triangular foundation "the shape does help to blend product into the facial contours well"

Rose Gold brushes:
301 Flat contour "a very dense brush to be used with caution. In my opinion definitely best handled by a pro!"
300 Blush "I did not purchase this as I have small blush brushes already but it would be equally as soft as the powder brush"

Silver brushes:
200 Oval shadow "this brush is particularly good for building up cream eyeshadow but I also love this for applying concealer as I tend to prefer larger concealer brushes".
201 Tapered socket "...again quite a dense brush which needs some control probably best left to pro's"
202 Eyeliner/brow " I did not purchase as I have too many already!"

Overall I love them! They are visually gorgeous brushes and feel luxuriously soft.

My personal favourite is the 'Tapered Socket 200 Brush' it is perfect for applying concealer like a pro!

Alison's wedding at Down Hall.

A recent bridal make-up for beautiful Alison and her bridesmaids at Down Hall.

Getting ready for the big event at www.downhall.co.uk

 I loved that the Bridesmaids dresses were being cut to the perfect length at the eleventh hour!

A cheeky glass of bubbles.

 Beautiful Bride Alison in her stunning dress.

 ....and then everyone fancied some chips as you do on your wedding day!

 Alison with her gorgeous bridesmaids all set to go in their beautiful dresses.

 Just because I love this image.

Fabulous Photography by James Rouse at www.jamesrouse.com

January Update!

This month has mostly been about ...

Photoshoots in Oxford, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire.

Planning and prepping for a busy year ahead of weddings.

Spanish Improvers classes.

Planning a house extension.

and...

Freezing daily winter dog walks!

Beauty testing and lots of researching inspirations and ideas, this one is about winged out eyeshadow.

Bridal trials ahead of Spring weddings!

A wedding at The Grove, Hertfordshire

Pauline recently had an intimate wedding at The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire.

Her photographer Lucy J Toms at http://www.lucyj.net/contact.html captured the day beautifully.

I did bridal make-up for Pauline, her daughter and daughter- in-Law.

Here is what Pauline had to say...

"As an older bride (age 60), I was overjoyed by the make-up that Niki provided on my wedding day. It is no exaggeration to say that I felt transformed. Niki gave me a trial session that enabled me to explain how I thought I wanted my make-up to look and then she used her specialist knowledge, skills and experience to translate my ideas into something very very special. My make-up was perfect and lasted the whole day and evening. More than this, Niki also provided the make-up for my grown up daughter and daughter-in-law and they were equally delighted. Niki’s ability to work with a range of age groups and skin types/colourings and to put us all at our ease was the perfect start to a perfect day. Niki’s professional and easy-going approach relaxed us all and her prices did not break the bank! I would highly recommend Niki for any ‘special day’ event."

All enquries via www.nikimakeup.co.uk

Pantone 2015 Colour of the year inspiration!

Marsala is the 2015 Pantone colour of the year.

Use Marsala to be inspired ...

Consider the tones of this colour in fashion and make-up, use it to help you make new changes to what you wear and how you choose to wear it.

Think about it when dining, visiting new places, decorating your home and deciding what accessories compliment a look.

Description of the colour 'An earthy wine red'.

December Update!

December has flown by a super busy month of weddings, wedding trials, party make-up's and shoots.  A great way to finish 2014! I am now looking forward to enjoying a lovely Christmas break and have been lucky enough to have had quite a few christmas celebrations already this month with such great family and friends.

I hope you have enjoyed my Advent Beauty blog posts throughout December something a little different to all the chocolate consumed and it also gave me an opportunity to do some long overdue art studies.

December also gave me a good excuse to have fun getting messy in the kitchen baking some delicious gingerbread biscuits as well as pistachio and cranberry chocolates and my annual christmas puddings.

I had my Bronzed Beauty shoot in December's issue of  fabulous online beauty TWO Magazine.

Some of my personal favourite December 'Advent Beauty Make-up is Art' blog posts...

My mum and I made a lovely festive visit to beautiful St.Albans Cathedral and the Christmas Market.

I had a fun Christmas night out in London at Maddison's rooftop bar and Jamie Oliver's Barbacoa with fellow freelancer Hairbyjaydean and our hubbies.

To top it off my last job this year was at The Luton Hoo Hotel for Hannah's spectacular 21st Birthday party celebrations.  As you can see after a beautiful bright day we had the most amazing sunset which I just had to stop and capture on my journey. My arrival at Luton Hoo to the magical twinkling lights and giant holly wreaths was just a perfect way to finish my working year.

I would love to wish my Blog followers and other social media followers as well as my friends, family, clients and colleagues a very Merry Christmas and a super happy and healthy 2015! X