Beauty Bargain

So at the weekend I randomly popped into Savers, went into see if they had some good shampoo at low low prices. I didnt buy any shampoo but I did come across these beauties.

Revlon Creme Gloss. I wasn't sure about them and they werent priced so I only bought 2 in the shades which looked most exciting. I chose 065- crush on coral and 020 fiercely fuschia. I almost didnt buy them until I saw they were Revlon so I thought maybe they wouldnt be too bad. Its quite rare to find branded makeup in Savers. They priced at £1.40 each which is very cheap but this also made me dubious about the quality but me oh my was I surprised when I tried them out. Im such a pessimist.

The applicator is a brush which put me off completely for a number of reasons the main reason being hygiene especially for using it in my kit, might not be so bad for personal use, the other was the fact it didnt look like it would apply very well since it was so soft.

After a lot of twisting and clicking the bottom to push the gloss through to the brush a whole lot came all at once. I even started to think Id got a dudd and was never going to get any product out.

Heres how the 2 shades look on the back of my hand. This was when I became impressed. I love the colours, they were a lot more vibrant that they looked in the tube.

TOP: Firecely Fuschia BOTTOM: Crush on Coral

I lined and filled my lips with colours that almost perfectly matched the 2 shades before applying each gloss with a lip brush. Once I saw how they looked on, I was hooked. Crush on CAt this point Im very impressed, especially at how little they cost.

Fiercely Fuschia

Crush on Coral

I was massively impressed. Non-sticky, easy to apply, really glossy finish. I am in love. They had a few more shades available in various red and nude tones and I will definitely be filling my kit with these beauty bargains. I cant wait to use them and I cant wait to get more and at £1.40 I dont have to feel guilty about the price.

Bridal season begins

April is the month the bridal season kicks off......well for me it seems like its all kicking off now. And of course we have the Royal Wedding to look forward to. So I thought I would share with you a bit about the bridal makeup work Ive been doing and what is still to come for me this year and also my 3 top bridal makeup tips.

My first piece of bridal work came last year when I organised a shoot with Catherine at The White Dress Boutique in Leamington Spa. I used some girls from my workplace as willing models and teamed up with local photographer Lucy Clarke for the shoot and the girls all looked gorgeous in their wedding dresses. You can see the photos on my facebook page.

My most recent photoshoot was a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing. Some of the photos are in my Bridal Gallery already and it gave me a great opportunity to work on a variety of models and also build my portfolio. We shot at the Menzies Welcombe Hotel and at Billesley Manor in Stratford. It was great to see so many different wedding dresses as well as some Indian bridal outfits and was brilliant to meet and work with so many photographers. One of my favourite looks from the day was definitely on Tiff who wanted to look a bit like Katie Price, false lashes, dark eye makeup, bright pink lips. Was fun to do.

This Saturday Ill be doing my first Bridal Fashion Show at the Smudge Magazine Wedding Fayre which Im sure will be a great day.Im a bit nervous but also very excited.
Later this year I'll also be doing a photoshoot with local dress designers LuaSarcy. Lucy and Sara are both fab so Im really looking forward to working with them.

I absolutely love what I do and bridal makeup is possibly one of the most rewarding jobs, making someone look and feel absolutely gorgeous on their wedding day, I cant think of anything better and of course its always nice to meet so many lovely brides.

My top 3 tips for bridal makeup:

• Always use waterproof mascara, especially if youre an emotional bride or if your eyes get watery in the sun like mine. Use brown mascara for a more natural look and use black for a dramatic look or to finish off a smokey eye. Similarly, make sure you use a waterproof eyeliner. Liquid liner tends to run unless its waterproof. I prefer to use a cream or gel liner.
• Your wedding day is not a day to be trying out a new look. You want to look like yourself but at your best. You dont want to be unrecognisable, especially to the person youre about to marry, so stick to a look you know works for you, and if you dont usually wear makeup, keep is simple and natural by highlighting your best features.
• Make sure you have a touch up kit. Touchup kits usually include some extra powder for avoiding any shine throughout the day and some extra lipstick. Your wedding day is a day of kissing, talking, drinking and eating so youll probably need to touch up the lippy at some point. For a longer lasting lipstick, use a lipliner to line and fill the lips before applying your lipstick. Applying it with a brush also helps.

Whispers of a Sea Nymph

You can now see Issue 2 of Rebel Magazine online. My work is featured on an 8 page spread from page 74 onwards and the series is called "whispers of a sea nymph". Its been nearly 8 months since the shoot and I must admit, i was beginning to wonder if Id ever see the images but seeing them today has made it worth the wait :)

Some other photos from the same series are dotted around in the issue which Im really pleased about.

Take a look here

I do prefer the cleaner looks, the smudgey looks didnt turn out so well but its still early days, im still learning and this was my very first photoshoot so.....I think I can be forgiven a little bit.

I may be doing more for Rebel Magazine in the future so....watch this space. For now, I hope you enjoy Issue 2