Puppy Love

People often ask me what made me want to become a make-up artist and I figured I would snap a few shots whilst on the road in answer to that question.

 I can definitely say, without doubt, aged eight that my passion for make-up was ignited in the endless isles of Walgreens pharmacy! USA.

Make-up as far as the eye can see, I couldn't believe a place like this existed and I was sold.  It has been an addiction ever since.

A long road ahead

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I am about to head off into the unknown on an experience of a lifetime.  From the East coast to the West with my favourite person by my side.  There are days scheduled full of meetings for an exciting project in the works and there are days full of nothing but adventure.  

I will still be posting whilst on my travels so look out for a false eyelash tutorial, product recommendations and most definitely some images from the road.

Bright and Breezy

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Can you believe New York fashion week has come around so quickly?

I adore Paris fashion week for its theatre and drama, I love London fashion week as it is inherently forward thinking, edgy and of course home, and I always have a soft spot for New York fashion week as you can rely on playful, wearable collections from some of the worlds greatest artists showcased in my favourite city in the world.

This season to much anticipation J. Crew debuted on the runways of NYC, with Jenna Lyons as the driving force behind a beautiful show filled with pieces I know my wardrobe is crying out for.  Bright colours and flattering stripes.  And at last, J. Crew are about to open an online retail outlet in the UK. Yes!

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Continuing the striped theme was the king of the New York fashion scene Marc Jacobs.  Not only was every garment that walked perfection but the hair and make-up was divine.  Hair swept up sleekly and make-up to match.  I just love a statement outfit paired with natural make-up I think it exudes confidence.

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If you fancy going for the simple beauty look Marc Jacobs decided upon for his show then look no further than Stila convertible colour in Gerbera.  It's creamy consistency leaves the cheeks looking fresh and dewy and its depth of pigment means it's beautiful as a lip colour also.  A quick dab of this with a light gloss over the top really brings the colour together for a cohesive look.

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And finally if you are lucky enough to live in the USA near a Target store then I do hope you have rushed there to buy up as much of the Missoni for Target collection as your budget will allow, from throw pillows to awesome chopper bikes there is something for everyone.  I hope there will be a little something left for me by the time I make it to a store!

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Work It Curl

One of the easiest ways to mix up your look is to have quick hair re-style.  Even without cutting or colouring your locks this is an easy trick to use if you fancy a change.  Curling your hair using straightening irons is so simple and effective that once you have got the technique right you will use this styling method all the time.  To begin with you need to shampoo and dry your hair.  Next, make sure you use a heat protectant or blow dry lotion as heated styling tools can do some serious damage to your mane that simply can't be rectified.  Especially if you have coloured hair as this is even more susceptible environmental damage. I like this particular product.

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It adds really good body for a blow dry, keeps curls stable and offers a good barrier between your hair and the 180º heat you are about to introduce to it!  There are so many of these products on the market now that you will be able to find one in your local chemist or drugstore. Next up you need a pair of these.

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I love using GHD's they have adapted the shape of the irons recently in order to aid curling by rounding off the edges of the casing.  The ceramic plates mean your hair glides through whilst straightening and curling with no pull or breakage, they heat up quickly to such a temperature that the look you are trying to achieve is done so with only one or two sweeps of the irons, this really minimises heat damage.  They are also available in different sizes suitable for different lengths and thicknesses of hair and different curl size.  Of course there are many other brands available.

Leslie has such fantastic long hair in great condition so we decided to quickly curl the ends just to add a bit of movement.  Different sized irons obviously create different sized curls, we used the small GHD's so the curls were quite tight and defined but larger irons will create a softer, wavier, beachier, look.  Section your hair really randomly the only thing you need to make sure is that the sections you gather are all a similar size but you really don't have to be precious about doing this it is meant to be really quick!  Hold the straighteners at the point where you would like the curl to begin, at the root, half way down or perhaps you just want to curl the ends under to neaten off a pretty sharp bob.

Once you have decided where you want to start, close the irons and start to pull them gently down along the length of your hair twisting as you go....

Keep twisting, depending on the length of your hair perhaps you need to swap hands half way to reach the end, keep twisting....

As you are twisting allow the hair to wrap itself over the outside of the irons this is what really defines the curl, or the Farrah Fawcett style flicked out layers, or curling under your fringe (bangs) the ways to use this technique are endless, have a play around and see what it can do for your cut....

Keep twisting right until the end, Ta Da! it's so easy, keep sectioning your hair and continue this way and when you have curled to your hearts content, you should have achieved your own variation of this....

Pretty and simple, we just quickly curled the ends in order to add a little bit of movement and texture but for a far more dramatic change we could have used the large irons and started from the root.

Have a go with your straighteners and see if you can discover an update for your style, sometimes they can make a world of difference if you are trying to grow out a cut.

(Once again, thank you so much to the beautiful Leslie and my super talented friend Kye Corfield)

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Have a fantastic (curly?) weekend.

Muppets & Manicures

I'm not normally a fan of celebrity collaborations with fashion houses or beauty companies but this one rocks my world!  O.P.I have combined two of my very favourite things.  Perfectly painted nails and The Muppets. In celebration of the new Muppets movie about to be released these varnishes have been created in the film stars honour. Genius

 Fresh Frog of Bel-Air and Gone Gonzo

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Animal-istic and Wocka Wocka

Which is your favourite?

Tool Time

I carry an awful lot of stuff around with me wherever I go.  Especially on days when I have a shoot.  I like to cover every eventuality and always have this cosmetics purse from Mulberry with me with some extra bits and pieces inside that don't normally live in my make-up bag.

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There are some essentials that I don't need to share such as floss, toothbrush, tissues, a nail file etc, but these are a few items that I do keep with me just in case (of what i'm not sure but it all comes in very handy pretty often!).

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A Mason Pearson hairbrush, They may be expensive but they really are the very best in the world, If you make the investment and look after them they will serve you a lifetime, I have never used better.  When accompanied by the ever faithful Elnett you have the hair dream team!  I always keep a mini can with me.

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Now for some hard wear, If you throw a few bucks at this kind of product you will have tools that should last you for years, tweezers can always be re-sharpened and eyelash curlers have their pads replaced and as for a metal lash comb, well those perfectly spiky prongs aren't going anywhere.  The above are the only brands I will use of these items and I have sampled a whole lot.

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I always carry a small mirror with me incase I have a contact lens emergency during the day, and this one from Marc by Marc Jacobs made me laugh.  It would make a really sweet gift for someone too, don't you think?

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Blotting sheets are always a must to have on standby as sometimes piling on the powder during the day can leave your skin looking a little depressed by the evening. These eliminate the need for clogged pores and just give you a little clean up when necessary.

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Lucas Papaw ointment is a product that actors and models I worked with from Australia always raved about but that you couldn't find in the UK for years.  About a year and a half ago the lovely ladies over at Cult Beauty gave me a tube and I haven't looked back since (sorry, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream). It is a multi use product that works miracles on lips, dry skin, burns and even taming the odd flyaway hair. It is finally available in the UK and you can easily find it online and it's such great value.

Essie - good to go, is my ultimate top coat it makes any home manicure look totally professional and it dries in record speed.  I keep a bottle with me as I rave about it to most ladies in my make-up chair.  

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Finally a tiny little essential that always gets overlooked.  A good quality pencil sharpener.   Make sure it's one that has different sized holes for all different types of product because who wants to drag a blunt eyeliner and bits of sharp wood across their eyeball? Not me!  

What products do you find yourself hauling about on a daily basis?  Any strange things that always save the day?

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Feeling Blush

Very easy highlight and contouring techniques.

Continuing our theme of really simple make up tricks it is time to talk cheeks.  How about a quick daily dose of colour, maybe accentuate your cheek bones a little bit and even add a touch of slimming trickery in there too, all achievable in about two minutes flat with a little know how.

This is Btsiete, I know, I know gorgeous huh?! She is wearing a tiny bit of concealer just in the areas needed in order to have an even skin tone to work on.  The steps I am going to show you are to be done after foundation and concealer if you use it.  Once again less is definitely more when applying highlighter, blush and for some, contour, if you fancy experimenting with a little shading.

Lets start with highlighting. There are so many products available that its difficult to know where to start.  The above product is a good place.  It is MAC mineralize skinfinish in soft and gentle and is a must for me both personally and professionally.  If people compliment my skin its actually this product they are complimenting i'm sure!  It is suitable for most skin tones as long it is used VERY sparingly.  For most facial sculpting work I stick to one type of brush, the MAC 168.  Perhaps you have this one, something similar or you could always just use your fingers.

A highlighter is always used in places on your face where light would naturally hit if you were lit from above. So, a VERY delicate sweep across the highest point of your cheekbone heading up in the direction of your temple (but don't go quite that far).

Another delicate sweep on your forehead in two places, below your hairline at the point above the arch of your eyebrow, Just where Btsiete is holding her brush in the picture above.  This doesn't work for everyone so have fun experimenting to see whats best for you.  Some people like to sweep the product lightly down the length of their nose in order to give the illusion of slimming, have a go, does that work for you?

I like to place the smallest amount on the chin as well, this can however make a girl look a little sweaty dependent on skin type so be careful (it tends to work best on paler, drier skin to give the illusion of a little more "dewyness").  Once again though, experiment with your products and see what works best for your face shape and skin type.

On to the blush.  When it comes to applying blusher on yourself try and steer clear of a harsh 80's style stripe, it is always so much nicer for day to day make-up to barely look like make up at all.  Cream blush is more forgiving if you feel you have been a bit heavy handed and is a good formula to use with your fingers.  Btsiete is using a cream blush here with a MAC 188 brush.  Apply the blush on the apples of your cheeks and blend, blend, blend outwards (you are now working beneath your highlighter but it should never look like two separate stripes).  I plan to do a future post discussing which blush colours work best for various skin tones, as it is very easy to get this really wrong.

Btsiete is blending her blusher in lightly with the tips of her fingers, remember, you don't have to use a brush for any of these steps if you don't want to.

Contouring is up next.  This is a technique that professionally I use all the time but isn't necessarily something people do at home.  The above product is a MAC pro mini concealer palette.   This product worked great on Btsiete, however I could have used a cream or powder blush in a tone such as, Mac - Format.  Another good colour for contouring is MAC - Margin.  Most products on the market are multi use, you probably have the perfect thing in a palette somewhere that you never thought would come in handy!.  The trick is to find a product, even a concealer or bronzer in a colour that is perfectly complimentary to you skin tone but a touch darker.  This is because we are going to carefully create some shadows.

Using a brush (best with powder based products) or your fingers (best with cream based products) suck in your cheeks and blend your product carefully in the dip that is created.  Blending is key because this can look pretty silly if it is noticeable.  When unnoticed it is a genius little trick used on film sets and fashion shoots the world over.  Once blended it should sit perfectly beneath your blusher and totally contrast your highlighter.  Remember sweeping the highlighter down the length of your nose, well a whisper of your contouring product either side that can work slimming wonders.  Have fun with your products and keep experimenting until you find what works for you.  Add a slick of mascara, a touch of gloss or balm and your good to go!

 (images via the brilliant Kye Corfield, and many thanks to absolutely gorgeous Btsiete)

Less is more when it comes to everyday make-up, Btsiete simply looks really fresh.  A perfect fuss free summer make-up.