A friend of mine recently got married and I was asked to do her makeup and I thought you might like to hear a bit more about the experience. It was such a fun day. I got to enjoy a ton of behind the scenes action, as well as celebrate my friend’s big day with her family and loads of friends.
Making up a friend is always a much more relaxed affair than working in a professional capacity. I arrived in the morning and had a glass of champagne with the family. Then I sat down with my friend and created the wedding look that she and I had discussed and planned. She wanted a very natural skin look, with a defined, yet neutral eye and lip look. Firstly, I prepped the skin well – using a little Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, to plump up the skin and provide a well moisturised canvas. Then I blended in a little Zelens Youth Glow foundation in the areas of her face that needed a little coverage – around the nose and chin in particular. This foundation has no SPF, so is perfect for a wedding – you won’t get any flashback in photographs. I then added a little touch of Laura Mercier concealer under the eyes. Once this had settled into the skin, I dusted a little loose powder on the t-zone, to take away any shine and then dusted Benefit Hoola bronzer around the face contours, to add warmth. A subtle wash of Becca’s Watermelon blush was added to the apples of the cheek, for a youthful flushed look. For the eyes, I used a Bobbi Brown palette. Bobbi is renowned for the quality of her neutral eye-shadows, which are perfect for wedding makeup. The bride’s eyes are hazel, so I chose a range of neutral brown shades, to create definition, with a pop of bronze sparkle, to add that special extra touch. I used Laura Mercier’s Copper pencil around the eyes, to bring out the green in her eyes. I then added lashings of good, waterproof, mascara – no fear of Panda eyes – and used an Anastasia Beverley Hill Brow Wiz pencil to softly fill in the bride’s eyebrows. A little lining of the bride’s lips with Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk lip liner and dash of Carmex lip balm on top provided the perfect, subtle lip look. The finished result was a happy bride, who looked natural and pretty. I don’t believe in massive amounts of foundation, contouring and too much eyeshadow, all topped off by massive false eyelashes! The wedding itself was such a happy occasion. After the church ceremony, we all went to a gorgeous country house venue. The marquee was decorated in the most stunning way, with a riot of big, bold, colourful blooms on all the tables. Vintage crockery and huge wine glasses finished the look for each table. I also have to give a huge shout out for the glorious wedding stationery – from the beautifully crafted wedding invitation, down to the personalised menu card on everyone’s plates at dinner, all of which was so elegant and beautifully designed. I’m a sucker for really good stationery and found out that my friend has used Pemberly Fox wedding stationery to create hers. All in all, it was such a happy and memorable occasion….although I wasn’t feeling my brightest and best the next day!
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I’m sometimes asked, what it’s like to work on a photoshoot. The answer is more than not, that it’s usually very busy. In fact, some shoots can be stressful – especially if you need to make up a lot of people in a very short period of time, in a small space. If that is the case, then it’s absolutely vital to be organised and to plan, plan, plan. I will always take time to find out the following:
On a photoshoot, the skin is always key. If you get that right, then the rest falls into place easily. So you need to ensure that you have enough base product to cover all types of face that may be sitting in the makeup chair in front of you. I will often decant different foundation colours and types into a palette – so that on the day, I have options for all skin colours, as well as a base that ranges from the thickest (to cover all manner of blemishes), down to the sheerest. I also make sure that I have the right tools with me for the job - ones that will cope well with a lot of use on the day. And I don’t just mean makeup brushes for when applying makeup. Make up artists must also always consider hygiene, so rubbing alcohol and wipes are a key essential on any photoshoot. The makeup and the brushes must always be cleaned and disinfected between use. Any makeup brush used, really must be able to stand up to a lot of wear. I find synthetic brushes – made from taklon bristles, which is extremely soft, but very durable – work best for busy make up jobs. They clean easily and dry fast. Once the base is applied, then it’s a case of creating the look that’s been agreed. I will always time myself beforehand – so I know exactly how quickly I can add these elements to create the finished look. It’s never good to finish the makeup late – as most people on photoshoots are on a timer. One of the most fun shoots I did recently was for a magazine editorial. The look I was asked to create was an arresting day time look. They wanted it to work for young women – so a fresh faced look was key. Added to the perfect skin was a well defined eye. This coupled with a neutral lip completed the look that they wanted. It was a more relaxed shoot than usual, as it took place outside and we weren’t under too much time pressure. Here is the finished result. What do you think? It was achieved using a range of budget makeup. You would have to have been living under a rock for the past few months, not to have heard about Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops. This product has been trending throughout the beauty world – with beauty gurus across the globe falling over themselves to get their hands on samples. When they first appeared, I have to admit being a little unsure about them. The payoff was so intense I was nervous to give them a try. After all, a touch too heavy a hand on application and your highlight might actually be visible from the Space station! However, that changed, when Cover FX added to its initial colourway selection. Included in the 3 new colours was a holographic one – Halo. Now, as much as I love the ongoing highlighting trend, I simply cannot resist a bit of holo! There’s something about a pretty unicorn sparkle that sets my girly heart aflutter. So I took the plunge. Let me start off by saying that this product is VERY intense. It needs the lightest of touches for application. You might want to apply with a Beauty Blender sponge and sheer it in with your foundation to help give a ‘your skin but better’ finish, or sheer out the colour on the tops of your cheekbones. I chose to use my fingertips – as I felt it gave me a greater degree of control over the finish. The product itself feels slightly oily to the touch – probably because of the high concentration of Dimethicone – and a little goes a very very long way. Initially using Halo made me nervous, because I typically opt for more peach toned, golden shimmers in a highlight because of my skin tone, and this is a little more cool toned. But I shouldn’t have been. Depending on the lighting you’re in, this product can shift between pulling more blue, purple, or pink. And from far away, Halo looks even more amazing – giving a pretty, shimmery sheen to the skin. I find that in general liquid highlighters tend to look more natural on the skin than the powder variety and that they wear fairly well. This didn’t disappoint. Wear time on this product is impressive. It still looked great after a few hours. All in all, this product is something I would recommend particularly for evenings out. It looks incredibly under evening lighting and because of the way it changes in different lighting conditions. I can also see Halo working for the widest possible range of skin tones – be they super fair or much deeper. So if you are unsure whether to take the plunge and splurge on this product, I would say DO IT! It really is quite a unique highlighter – one that adds a stunning finish to the skin. Ingredients: Dimethicone, Synthetic Wax, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Sucrose Tetrastearate Triacetate, Silica,Polybutene, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Trimethylsiloxysilicate/DimethiconolCrosspolymer, Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid/Glycerin Crosspolymer, Silica Silylate, PentaerythritylTetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate. May Contain:Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891). I purchased mine from SPACE NK. |