Backstage Make up at Graduate Fashion Week London

Hi Lovelies I have just got back from 3 days of fabulousness backstage at the GFW London. I had the pleasure of representing AOFM the make up was sponsored by Rimmel

We were given a large assortment of their products to use for the duration of the show .I have to say I'm not a big fan of cheap make up but I was pleasantly surprised by the Rimmel foundations they had a great colour range and the colour stay gave a really nice finish the only downside was that they don't do tones for darker skin.

We were split into two teams for each theatre I was in team B along with a load of lovely ladies who have trained at the academy and are now freelance makeup artists in their own right.

We also had the lovely Ariane Poole (Make up artist) directing and designing the looks for the the teams along with her assistant Melisa Green.

AOFM ladies

Over the days we were given demos of the designed looks which we had to emulate for all the shows, ranging from very natural to heavy eyes and bold lips.

The Loreal pro team did an amazing job with the hair too!

Loreal Team

There was some awesome collections and I'm very proud to be part of the show! All in all i had a blast and met some wonderful people who I will definitely be staying in contact with. We also got to keep the products we used so that was a nice bonus too!



Natural with dark lip



Black smokey eye

Lydia Garde Folk Fashion Shoot

I recently collaborated on a lovely editorial shoot with  talented photographer  Lydia Garde, the theme of the shoot was Folk and she even managed to hire a professional team of Morris dancers!!

We shot in Lulworth a small village off the coast of Dorset. I really enjoyed the shoot and think the pictures turned out fantastic!

I kept the make up quite soft and pastel as the colours she was wearing were very bold and vibrant.

The styling was lovely especially the hat that Lydia made..i thought that was a nice touch. Check out her website.

 http://www.lydiagarde.com/

Amazing Paperself eyelashes!!..

I stumbled across this fabulous collection of eyelashes from Paperself, a lovely little company that makes cool things from..yes you guessed it paper! They have been featured in 2011 fashion week and have transcended down to the high street.

You can find them on ASOS or they have an online shop http://www.paperself.com/ps%20%20all.html prices range from 8-12 pounds!..get some before they run out!!!!!

This summers essential beauty buys !!!

Hello lovelies well the summer is almost upon us and if the weather forecast is correct we are set for a heatwave..good news for your tan! bad news for your skin!! here are some of my favourite cosmetics that will get you through those long summer days and humid nights

1: Mac Liquid Powder

This amazing powder comes in three shades and in actually made from water!!..the lightweight formula freshens and cools the skin while giving you are gorgeous glow to you face!..dust on lightly with a kabuki brush. available now at your local MAC

2: YSL pure pigment chromatics palette

I cannot say enough about these eye shadows they are awesome!! made with pure pigment the colours are dazzling and if you add water to your brush the colour becomes more intense. Perfect for a hot day they don't crease in the eye socket and come in a range of beautiful shades...available at House of Fraser now for 37 pounds (pricey but oh so worth it)

3: Evian water spray

I stock up on these as I cannot live without them, they are perfect for setting your makeup for the day and cool you down on a hot day..I keep one in my bag and kit at all times and they are a cheaper alternative to the MAC fix and spray

4: Smoochy lip balm

100% natural ingredients and smell so gooooooood you'll want to eat them!! various different flavours..check out the website very cute packaging too. only 4.49

smoochy lips
http://www.gwdihwbalm.co.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=6&Itemid=26

Master class with MUA Michelle Webb/ St Tropez team and Elle beauty editor at AOFM

I recently just attended a Masterclass day at AOFM with Michelle Webb, St Tropez team and the beauty editor of Elle Magazine!!!

First was Michelle Webb renowned for her colourful and creative work she has worked on films such as Xmen, Pirates of the Caribbean and her own Zombie movie which is set to be a cult movie classic! I first encountered Michelle when i was on the course at AOFM, she is one of the tutors, I was very inspired by her creativity and down to earth personality. so I was excited to hear she was doing a masterclass!

We started the day with champagne and canopes which was lovely and got to catch up with the girls and what they had been doing.

Michelle started off with a simple yet very effective look using metallic gold tiles as eyebrows and MAC gold pigment mixed with mixer medium for the lip and created a luminous skin tone with strobe cream and Laura Mercier foundation. She brushed concealer through the lashes to give the pale lash effect.

Next she moved on to grease paints/aqua colours and pigment creating a colourful editorial look mixing all the different mediums together to create alternative texture, she started with the eyes building up the colours gradually and did the same on the lips as before with a orange pigment and greasepaint (MAC)

After this look Michelle showed us how to make it quirkier by applying the same method to the neck using grease sticks, Water based paints and pigment, you can just be as creative as you want with this look and go for it.

Next was the St Tropez Class the team and Abi came along to show us how to apply various creams and mouses and how to effectively achive the best tanning results. I have to say i love the skin Illuminates they have three colours white, rose and gold you can you use them to highlight face and body.This product was used in many shows at fashion week (Zac Posen used it for the glowing skin in his show) I will definately be getting them for my kit!you can buy them in boots and superdrug or online at

.http://www.st-tropez.com/gold-skin-illuminator

The last Class was a treat to meet the beauty editor of Elle magazine and pick her brains about the industry and what her job involves. She showed  us some tear sheets from issues of Elle displaying trends in makeup colours and looks. It was really intresting to see that what looks are created in fashion shows usually set the key makeup trends for the up and coming seasons. She was presented with a bouqet of flowers at the end of her presentation as a big thankyou from AOFM for taking time from her busy schedule to come and see us..what a lovely lady she was. And what a great day it was! ...cannot wait for the next one. 

MAC W,NW and C,NC foundations/concealers whats the difference??

I have had a few people ask me what the difference between MAC N,NW and C,NC foundations and concealers...I think its confusing as some people think that if you wear a NW foundation you automatically need a NW concealer...This is not the case

W and NW is for peach/pink based skin. Typical pink/peach tones are red heads/fair skinned that don't tan easily

C and NC is for more yellow tones (most common), brunettes, Olive tones Asian and white skin that tans easier

With the concealer you may use a NC foundation but if you have dark circles its likely you will need a NW concealer as the peach tone will counteract the blue in the circles under the eye! and vice versa. the whole face is not just one colour, the eye underneath are almost always pink, blue, green so you need a concealer to counteract this. A good way to do this is with a colour wheel  (above)opposites on the chart work with each other so for example green tint concealer will camoflage red as they are opposite on the wheel

If you are in doubt don't be afraid to ask the MAC representatives thats what they are there for!! I hope this helps ;0)

Royal Britania Madness!!!

Hello Lovelies!!... well in case you've been living on another planet you will not have escaped the fact that the royal wedding is almost upon us!!!...I love a bit of union jack anyway so I'm Uber happy theres lots of lovely things to buy limited edition!


Very excited about the new Chanel collection ,Chanel has announced its move into Oxford Street’s Selfridges store with a new counter set to open this July, and to celebrate the occasion the brand will be launching a limited edition line of make-up.

The collection was created by Peter Phillips, (creative director for Chanel Makeup),Ha has taken his inspiration from the London scene and most likely the impending  Royal nuptuals.The London Madness Collection includes new, eye-popping red shades of Rouge Allure and Le Vernis, and the highlight, the Pearly Banner Palette – an ivory, gold and silver highlighter embossed with the Union Jack.

And how could we forget one of the most famous and well loved British designers of all time!  This bag is set to be an iconic classic since the untimely death of Alexander McQueen...

And I love this British Lady too my girl crush Jessie J..Giving the American stylistas a run for their money..what great Makeup Artistry..Love it!

And good ol Kate Moss was rocking one of these on recent day out..not toooo Jelous!!!

Love these commemorative necklaces by The Mymbles Daughter..so original..check out the website some lovely little bespoke peices

Oh and just for good measure....mmmmm

The Chanel Brit collection oohh laaa laaaa!!


Hope you all have a lovely day whatever you do!..xxxx