Christmas party essentials

Hello Lovelies!

Im so sorry Ive neglected the blog for so long. Since my last blog Ive moved house and been getting everything ready for Christmas as well as working a lot plus I haven't had any blog worthy news.

Seeing as its now only 1 week til Christmas, I expect you'll all be glamming yourselves up ready for your Christmas parties. I'm going out with all my work ladies on Sunday night for a Christmas meal, complete with secret santa (which im super excited about as I know my person will love their gift).

I just thought I'd share with you what will be in my makeup bag for the night and what sort of look I will be creating. If there was ever a time of year to experiment with a glamourous, glitzy makeup look, Christmas is that time and I will definitely be experimenting a bit with some party looks.

My outfit will be smart black trousers, my essential 'wear with anything' nude heels (if you dont have a pair i definitely advise getting some) and a black lace top with a nude/gold spaghetti strap top underneath. Ill wear with my dark red 'dangerous affair' nail varnish on my nails and the essentail red lip for this season in a shade to closely match my nails.

Red lips are essential for this season, experiment with a few shades to find one which compliments your skin tone. Try a lip stain if you dont want the high maintenance of a lipstick. Red shades can range from a bright candy apply red to deep dark burgundy shades.

Another essential for this season is the smokey eye which is classicly created using greys and blacks but Ill be going for a gold and brown creation as Im hoping itll compliment the golden nude tones used in my outfit. Of course ill be adding a lovely flick of black liquid liner to finish the look and I may even experiment with some natural looking false lashes if I have time.

Since im going for quite a heavy look on the eyes and statement red lips I intend to keep the skin looking flawless (or as flawless as I can get during a breakout) with just a hint of blush to define the cheeks and I may even add a slight highlight to my cheekbones for extra definition.

Considering I wont be partying hard all night, I shouldnt need to pack too much in the way of makeup but I will definitely be taking my lipstick, eyelash glue if I decide to go with the lashes and a black kohl pencil just to smoke up those eyes a big extra if needed during the night. 

I may even post a few piccies......depending how bad I look and how drunk I get :s I dont usually make a habit of getting drunk but 'tis the season to be jolly.

Hopefully Ill get some lovely beauty gifts from Santa which Ill let you all know about Im sure but until then.....Merry Christmas everyone, enjoy creating your own glamourous party looks.

xx

Bridal Makeup - Jane

This is such a long post, sorry guys but Ive tried to fill this with info about products ive used and why Ive used them and pics of how it all turned out. I hope you find it useful.  Im sharing as Im learning and this one was definitely full of learning. It was the most natural makeup Ive done for anyone so far and also the first time I worked on a mature lady so.......lots of learning and experimenting with products.

 So a couple of months ago I did my second bridal makeup and I got some piccies back yesterday. The photographer was kind enough to e-mail me some digital images of me working on the bride and the mother of the bride. So heres me at work.....excuse my slightly scary concentration face. This is probably a good time to say that all photos are courtesy of Richard Cadge...thanks Richard for taking them :)

Jane (the bride) asked for my help because she wanted to look gorgeous for her wedding but never usually wore makeup and didnt really know how to apply it or what products to use. I find natural makeup to be the most challenging because it's all about enhancing the brides features whilst keeping it as light as possible so that it doesnt look obvious. Plus, since she wasnt used to the feel of makeup on her face, I didnt want it to feel heavy for her. It was very different from my first wedding job, this was a lot more natural and no bridesmaids to make up and overall a lot more relaxed.

Jane was a very nervous bride so I had to try out my calming down skills and I hope I did an ok job. I suggested turning on the radio which seemed to help slightly as it was so quiet.

So here is Jane looking gorgeous, I think youll all agree. Im really happy with the makeup, it did make a difference but barely looks like shes wearing any which was what I aimed for.

Because it was such a natural look I opted for Max Factor Second Skin Foundation in a colour mix which matched Janes skin perfectly. I concealed any blemishes and dark circles using a concealer palette I got off ebay and Im not sure I like it, Id prefer something slightly creamier and easier to blend. I actually used a slightly coloured powder rather than translucent as in the trial the translucent powder appeared very pale in the photos I took at the trial. I added some contouring to give the appearance of cheekbones and added a light blush to the apples of the cheeks. For the eyes I actually used 3 different colours in various neutral tones from my smashbox palettes. I lined the eyes with a brown kohl pencil which I smudged with a q-tip and used a brown mascara rather than black as I thought black would be too harsh for such a natural look. I defined the brows with a light brow powder ( I always define the brows, it completes the look). On the lips I used a lipliner which closely matched Janes lip colour and UNE tinted lipbalm in 1 shade darker than Janes natural lip colour. I actually LOVE the UNE tinted lipbalms for brides. They have such a lovely texture and just add a hint of colour to the lips and once applied have a nice glossy finish. They last fairly well but I always provide a touch up pot for the bride. So far I have had 2 brides who dont like wearing lipstick but have really liked the tinted lipbalm and I think it works well for such a natural look.

I also did makeup for Janes mother and I'd never done makeup for a mature lady before so this was quite a challenge but one Im glad I took on. The trial went terribly as I was completely unprepared, wasnt really sure what foundation would work best for her etc but it gave me a really good chance to assess the clients skin type and decide which products I needed to buy or experiment with before the big day. The trial also gave me the chance to see what ideas about colours she had and actually we ended up using a few of her own products such as lipstick and mascara as she preferred to keep these with her throughout the day (I dont provide touch up kits for anyone other than the bride so this was a good idea).

I specially bought a MAC eyeshadow in a smokey grey colour as the metallics we tried in the trial really werent working and I prefer to use matte shadows on eyelids with a lot of loose skin. During the trial the mother had a lot of redness in her face as older women sometimes do and during the trial I actually took so much redness out of her face she looked far too pale so it was a completely different approach I took on the day of the wedding. I mixed a bit of green concealer with a primer and used that on the reddest areas. This provided enough green to counteract the red without taking all of the colour out of her face and Ill definitely be using this technique again in the future as I felt it worked rather well. I concealed as much as I could but I didnt want to use too much concealer as it tends to sit in the creases. (sometimes less is more when concealing around the eye area and especially with mature skin sometimes there is only so much concealing you can do)

Janes mother was fairly clued up on makeup and had a range of products she liked to use but she was similar to Jane in the sense she didnt wear much usually.I also bought some MAC face and body foundation specially for this job and I was glad that I did. The colour worked really well and because this product sinks into the skin really well it didnt sit on the skin or gather in the wrinkles like some foundations do. It didnt provide as much coverage as I would have liked but it was enough. Again I used a slightly coloured powder rather than translucent and went for a bare brownish coloured blush rather than red/pink as the redness was what Id taken out of the face so I didnt want to put it back in. I feel that brown blush works better on older women as an alternative to red. I would put a "before" picture up but Im not that cruel so heres just the "after" picture of me just adding some shape to the lips.

I used a neutral ivory coloured eyeshadow all over the lid and contoured with the grey in the socket. I defined the brows although she wanted this to be barely noticeable. I also gave her some shape to her lips as they were very thin and applied her choice of lipstick. I was dreading this after how badly the trial went but Im really happy with the result.

I hope I havent just rambled on and that Ive actually made an enjoyable post even if you just looked at the pics, thanks for looking :)

Wicked Candles

As I blog my flat in smelling the best its ever smelled. A friend of mine recently set up a business making and selling candles. The business is called Wicked Candles and it just so happens that Im moving house next week and want it to smell Christmassy.
I'm a right fusspot though and wont buy anything unless I can smell it.

Today I received some samples in the form of small melting tarts which you can buy from Wicked Candles for just £1 (GBP). As soon as they popped through the letter box I couldnt wait to open them. I could smell something delicious inside the packaging and I wasnt disappointed. I received 9 and each one smells good enough to eat.

The 9 samples I received are:

Lazy Daze - A blend of freshly baked apples and cinammon.
Coffee Caramel Cream - Indulge in a wonderfully rich smelling candle
Witches Cauldron - Nothing wicked is brewing in our witches cauldron, just sugar cookies and bananas.
Amaretto - Indulge in this beautiful smelling candle, without the hangover in the morning.
Cinderella - A beautiful cinammon candle with the soft undertone of vanilla, this candle will warm your home without being overbearing.
Autumn Spice
Irish Cream - enjoy the smell of an irish cream coffee all year round with this beautiful candle.
Strawberry Cheesecake - Good enough to eat
Creamy Vanilla Fudge - This one was actually specially made for me on request so if you have any specific requests for your favourite scent just get in touch with Wicked Candles and Jeri will hopefully be able to get your special scent made for you.

All of them smell delicious, I just want to eat them.

Wicked Candles have a selection of scents for each season as well as specials and the candle of the month and Im particularly excited by the Christmas scents which include 'Santas Treats' which smells like cookies and 'Frosty the Snowman' which is a refreshing minty scent. If youre just gearing up for Autumn and Halloween Id definitely recommend the Witches Cauldron, although some of the other Autumn Scents sound great and the Candle of the month for November will be Toffee Apple.

This time of year Im very partial to Cinammon smells and they cater really well for that. I'll definitely be ordering Autumn Spice, Witches Cauldron and Lazy Daze. Strawberry Cheesecake and Cinderella will also be considered. The coffee collection for me was quite sweet smelling but perfect for coffee lovers. The Irish Cream smells exactly like Baileys and during Christmas my house will probably smell like that anyway without the help of a candle :p

It may also be worth noting that all of the candles are hand crafted using a blend of ecosoy wax for a longer burn time and theyre available in  tart form, small, medium, large and extra large jars and the coffee collection come in 7oz coffee glasses.

(OH MY GOD these samples are making me so hungry.) I cant wait to fill my new home with these candles :)

Get the look!

So Ive been getting a few people wanting to know what lipstick I used for the recent shoot with Charlotte Chapman so I thought Id share with you the products that I used to create that gorgeous red wine lip.

Red lipstick is an absolute must for this Autumn/Winter and I think this particular shade suited the models fair skin very well.

I cheated a bit with this look actually. I used 3 products to create this look as I wanted it to be darker around the edges and lighter close to the middle. The 3 products I used are:

Rimmel Soft Kohl Liner in 011 Sable Brown
Revlon Vital Radiance Lipstick in 40 Mulberry
Models Own Lipbalm in Blackberry

None of the products were expensive and are available in Boots and I actually found the lipstick in Savers. Sometimes I find some great bargains there. If you cant find this exact lipstick any lipstick in a wine red sort of colour or your desired shade of dark red would suffice.

If youd like to recreate the look just follow these simple steps:

1. Line the lips with the brown liner. I always draw in the cupids bow first (the pointy middle part of the upper lip) then I draw in the rest. The way you shape the cupids bow can make a huge difference to the overall look. I smudged the liner with a lip brush so it wasnt such a harsh line.

2. Apply the lipstick. I always use a lipbrush to get a better finish. You can already see the graduation in colour.

3. Apply a generous coat of Models Own lipbalm. You can mix this with the lipstick but I prefer to apply it after for a gorgeous gloss. This adds to the depth of colour. It also tastes and smells delicious. I love this lipbalm on its own for a subtle hint of colour without being sticky like a lipgloss.

I might experiment next time with just the gloss and not the lipstick or I may try one of the Models Own Lip and Cheek stains. I am absolutely loving the products from this company and I cant wait to try more.

Hope you enjoyed my step-by-step, those of you who wanted to know.

Im hoping to do some celebrity 'get the looks' so if there are any requests, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Photos from the shoot with Charlotte Chapman

 On Thursday I did a photoshoot in Birmingham with photographer Charlotte Chapman. I had a fantastic day, the model was gorgeous. It was my first location shoot and I hope I get to do more. Anyhow, I have a few of the edited shots back. Here are a few of my favourites so far:

You can view more here:
 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=519579&id=507405303&l=8df701a038

or here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottechapman/

I just get so excited to share them with you, being so new to the industry it's great to be able to share my work.

As always, any feedback would be appreciated, thanks lovelies :)

P.S next week Im hoping to review a few more products, Im just waiting for my spots to disappear :P Ive had a few requests already but if theres anything in particular youd like me to review, if I have it in my kit or can afford to buy it, Ill review it.

Photoshoot with Charlotte Chapman

Today I headed to Birmingham for a shoot in various locations around the city. It was my first location shoot and I had a great time despite the weather threatening to rain. The model was amazing as was the photographer.

Heres a few sneaky piccies from the shoot taken on my crappy camera.

We wanted to go for a sort of casual look with a less casual looking makeup. We did plan to turn this into a smokey eye but really liked how it looked so we kept it and i think it worked really well especially with the models t-shirt. We did a quick shopping trip to grab the jacket before we started the shoot and i think it finished the look off really well.

Even though it was pretty cold, I had an awesome time. The model Manda aka Cherry Vixon was so much fun, absolutely stunning and just fantastic to work with. Charlotte was just amazing, so talented. Ive admired her work and was so happy that I got to work with her. Im sure the results of all our work will be amazing.

Stay tuned to see Charlottes photos from todays shoot.You can view more of her work here : http://www.charlottechapmanphotography.co.uk/

She's so amazing that shes already sent me one of the retouched pics so heres a BONUS sneak peek.

Youre the first people to see it other than myself, the model and photographer so enjoy blog followers :)

The Biscotti Kitchen

A few weeks ago I was runner up in the "Name the Biscotti" competition run by The Biscotti Kitchen

My prize was a pack of my chosen biscotti. I thought I'd review them too. I know theyre not beauty related but I thought youd enjoy the review all the same.

I chose the rocky rollercoaster biscotti. (id alrady sampled the chocolate and orange biscotti and they are to die for) They came very well packaged with a cute little card as well from Ewa :)

I originally chose the chocolate marble biscotti but was advised by Ewa that the rocky rollercoaster may be more to my liking as Id confessed to being a massive chocaholic.

I am a dunker so naturally I made a cup of tea and sat down to enjoy the mini biscotti's.

I really enjoyed the biscotti. The only criticism I have is that on the website it specifically says the rocky rollercoaster biscotti is soft baked for young mouths so I expected to bite into it and meet a soft, delicious biscotti. However, it was more of a classic hard bicotti which I love but I was expecting softness. Still tasty and enjoyable and they didnt last long.

I think these biscottis would make an excellent gift and after searching for the perfect recipe myself, there is defnitely an art to making these. Ewa is so helpful and I think this competition was great, having the chance to name a biscotti is very exciting.

Check it out, these biscottis are definitely worth a look....and a nibble.

Ciate Paint Pots

I got this gorgeous little nail varnish free with the November Issue of Marie Claire. The shade is Dangerous Affair 013 by ciate There are 2 shades available with the catalogue.

Now I very rarely wear nail varnish, especially not as an every day thing. But since discovering this nail varnish last week Ive worn it every day. Its a shade that seems to go with everything and Ive resisted the urge to pick at it or peel it off. And weirdly, it makes me feel a bit sexy.

It comes in a gorgeous little bottle which is curved and that makes it a bit easier to hold and the long handle helped me when applying the polish.

I was actually really impressed with this product. It went on easily, dried quickly and after a few coats is a gorgeous dark, seductive shade of red. it layers really well. I know some just get sticky and dont dry as quickly if you try to apply more that one coat but I currently have 3 coats of this on at the moment, it looks amazing and dried really quickly without any stickiness.

It definitely needed a few coats to get the desired shade. Heres how it looked after the first coat.

Its quite pinky red instead of the dark red in the bottle. However, the desired shade was achieved after 2-3 layers.

Ciate have a great range of paint pots and theyre currently on sale at asos  I will definitely be buying more. The Autumn/Winter shades look delicious.

L'Occitane en provence - fleur cherie hand cream

So I was out shopping and spotted some lovely looking freebies with this months magazines (theyre actually Novembers issues). They looked too good to pass up so I obviously bought them and thought Id review the free beauty products for you.

Free with the November issue of InStyle magazine youll get L'Occitane en provence hand cream. There is a choice of 3 but I could only see 1 available which was the Fleur Cherie.

Despite the very floral smell (I'm not big on floral scents at all) I actually really like the hand cream. You dont need much at all with this, use it sparingly, a little goes a long way and it sinks in to the skin quickly without leaving your hands feeling greasy or sweaty like some hand creams do. My hands actually feel really soft just after the first application but Im really not keen on this flowery scent.

Im also put off a little bit by the tube. It reminds me so much of my acrylic paint tubes and theyre a nightmare if they split or the top breaks.

Im also about to review the free nailvarnish I got with Maire Claire magazine so be sure to give that a look as well.

GOSH lift me up foundation

Ok so this is my first review. I intend to review the products I carry in my professional kit. I carry a lot of non-pro products which you can find at any Boots or Superdrug store as well as pro products such as MAC and any others I buy along the way.

I feel its important to state that the opinions expressed in my reviews are about my own experiences and results with the products. Everyones skin is different so the results and experiences may be different to my own.

I'm starting with the 'GOSH lift me up' foundation as I happened to be putting makeup on anyway and thought Hey why not take some photos then I can review it. So here it is:

This is the first time Ive worn this particular foundation. I bought it at Superdrug, I cant remember how much I bought it for but I know their foundations are approximately £12. I always use my superdrug discount which I get by filling out their online feedback form. its tedious doing it every time but the discount is worth it when im stocking up on GOSH.
I have chosen shade 24 Golden which is a bit darker than my natural skin tone but Im pale so I need the warmth. (I always mix my foundation with a bit of moisturiser as I feel it gives a better finish to my combination skin but for the purpose of the review I skipped the moisturiser)

Here is my face before makeup.

So as you can see, a few spots and quite pale.

And after a full face of makeup. Should really have taken one just after I applied the foundation, sorry guys! ill remember that for next time.

I was quite impressed with it. Medium to full coverage. I have used a light dusting of translucent powder. The only concealer I used was under my eyes but I think its covered up those spots fairly well on its own and added some warmth to my face. I have combination skin and usually find that foundation sticks to the dry parts and looks awful. This went on really easily and evenly and actually stayed put. I wore this for a whole day at work and it was still looking pretty good at the end of the day. I touch my face quite a lot (Im constantly pushing my glasses back onto my nose) but this foundation didnt rub off. Even though it gave quite a full coverage It didnt feel like it. I would definitely wear this again.

Hope you enjoyed my first review. Ive never reviewed anything before so I  hope that was ok, feel free to ask any questions. Stay tuned for more reviews.

Illamasqua competition

*PLEASE NOTE I AM NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS COMPETITION IN ANY WAY*

 Im really excited about entering this competition http://www.mizzworthy.com/

I already have a fantastic idea for a character (well I think its fantastic) which I think will fit into the dark and mysterious world created for the Art of Darkness collection.I LOVE illamasqua, Ive never won anything so Im going to put all of my imagination into creating my character. *fingers crossed*

I thought I would share it all with you so you can enter too if youd like :)

Have fun and good luck everyone !

Rebel Magazine Photoshoot

So I just got back from the my first magazine shoot with Rebel Magazine.

It was brilliant. I even got a little bubble of proudness on my tummy as I watched the model posing in the makeup I had done.

I did 4 different looks, building it up as the shoot progressed and I think I did a good job. The whole team were fantastic, the model was gorgeous, the collection was impressive and the photographer was great.

The images will be featured in a 6-8 page spread in Rebel Magazine hopefully out towards the end of September so stay tuned for images. But until then here is a little behind the scenes sneek peek of one of the looks I did.

My new chair came in very handy :)

So whilst youre waiting for Issue 2 why not check out Issue 1:
www.rebelmagazine.co.uk

Im hoping to be doing more shoots for Rebel Magazine in the future.
My model for the day was Cyan Cheung www.cyancheung.co.uk
My photographer and stylist was Namal http://www.modelmayhem.com/namal
The clothing designer was Shiromi Lazarus

Rebel Magazine

On Monday I will be heading to Rugby to do a shoot for Rebel Magazine. Its my first magazine shoot and Im very excited.

The theme is sea nymphs, I havent really done anything like this before but I think it will turn out well. Lots of blues, greens and golds will be involved.

Keep posted for photos.

You can view the first issue here:

http://www.rebelmagazine.co.uk/

An exciting day so far

So I woke up today, the sun was shining, I logged onto the internet to find an e-mail from a well known makeup shop who are looking for MUA's to work on their stand at IMATS 2011 in London.

I also logged on to my MM profile and had a message waiting for me from Lucy and Sara at LuaSarcy asking if Id like to be MUA for an upcoming shoot for their new collection in October. You can see some examples of their gorgeous bespoke dresses here http://www.luasarcy.co.uk/

Needless to say im very excited. Watch this space.

Also I did the makeup for a wedding on Saturday. It was a wedding I was particularly worried about but I feel it all went well in the end and the bride looked gorgeous :) It finally gave me a chance to use my MAC face and body foundation for the first time and it worked a treat. I'm also finding that the UNE tinted lipbalms are great for brides who want a bit of colour to their lips but dont want to wear lipstick.

I think ive perfected my touch up kits now too. Ill post a photo of my kit and my touchup kits at a later stage for anyone who is interested and also for people to comment on how they think its looking so far, ive still got a long way to go with it. Im hoping to add some yaby palettes in the next few months.

Hello makeup world.

EEEEEK! my first blog post.

First impressions count so got to make this a good one. Thats a lot of pressure.

Heres a little about me and my experience so far :

I think Ive always been inspired by makeup from a young age, (what girl doesnt experiement with makeup when shes young?) but I first decided to take this up as a career after studying Theatre Design at University.  At 24 I decided to go back to college after failing to find work as a theatre designer and trying a couple of different career paths. I was a pretty good dental nurse for a few months but I knew in my heart it wasnt long term for me. So yeah, I went back to college to study theatrical and media makeup which was all good fun but I really enjoyed doing natural makeup, enhancing peoples features and bringing out their best.

After finishing my course I quickly set myself up as a bridal makeup artist, setting up a photoshoot at a local bridal shop, promoting myself through my job at a well known lingerie shop and passing out business cards to anyone I thought might be interested. So far its working well. In my first 2 months Ive had 2 paying clients which I think is quite an achievement.

I know this is a competitive industry and I dont want to tie myself down to just one type of makeup so soon, I'd love to branch out into other areas of the industry.

Ive been asking around to assist other MUA's but no luck yet :( I signed up to Model Mayhem and Ive had quite a few people contact me through there, I think its a fantastic networking tool and will hopefully help me to build my portfolio and allow me to produce some great makeup :) Here my MM site
http://www.modelmayhem.com/victoriasteelemakeup


Im hoping to do some product reviews and update regularly as and when I get work, new photos, new products etc etc so stay tuned.


Thanks for following :)

-Vicki xxx