Photoshoot with Charlotte Chapman - Sneaky peeks

So today I had my second photoshoot with the fantastic Charlotte Chapman. Her photos turned out amazing last time so I was very excited to shoot with her and we had an absolutely stunning model today.

It was a lovely spring day, the weather was gorgeous, the flowers are just starting to blossom, I couldnt have asked for a better setting or better weather. The makeup for todays shoot was soft, pink and feminine with some shimmer and a bit of an edge. Our model Bayleigh usually wears bright red lipstick so it was a bit of a shock to see herself with nude lips. The looks were based around 2 flower necklaces charlotte had so we did 2 looks, for the second look I added some blue eyeshadow, metallic purple cream eyeliner and a pink lip.We wanted it to look really carefree, just really chilled out and I actually challenged myself to do hair. I was very impressed with myself. I managed to do a loose fishtail plait with a little help from youtube and I put some curls in as well, the look was quite messy which is what we were going for. Its given me the confidence to try out doing hair again.

Anyway, here are some sneak peeks from the shoot - behind the scenes style. I didnt get as many as usual as I was holding a reflector most of the shoot.

Ill put some of the finished shots up when theyve been edited. Im very excited, I forced Charlotte to show me some of the pics she shot today and they already look amazing. Im not sure how well the shimmery eyeshadow will show up...hopefully itll be pretty. Lots of flowers around so definitely a good spring shoot :)

Thanks to Bayleigh and Charlotte for a great day.

Rebel Magazine Issue #2

Some of you remember waaaaaaaay back sometime last year when I did some makeup for Rebel Magazine.

The release date of issue 2 kept getting pushed back for a variety of reasons BUT now they have set a release date for the 30th March.

Heres the pic theyre using for their promo:

You can still see Issue 1 here. And dont forget to check back on the 30th to see the full set of images from the shoot. I still dont know which ones theyre using so Im very excited although I think theyve used one of the best for the promo. What do you think?

MUA:Victoria Steele
Clothing and Jewellery: Shiromi Lazarus
Model: Cyan Cheung
Photography and Styling: Namal

Spring has sprung

5 things I love about spring:

• The promise of warm weather although Ill probably end up working indoors again all summer....I sort of missed last summer completely and just watched it pass me by through the shop window :(
• Flowers starting to appear
• Saying hello to dresses of the floral and colourful variety and goodbye to dull winter clothes
• Spring makeup trends
• Different food. Over winter I seem to have a lot of stews, casseroles, soups etc now Im quite looking forward to salads and fruit.

5 things I hate about spring:

• Bees and wasps
• The unpredictable weather and having to carry around a coat and umberella just incase it rains
• Getting my ghostly white legs out to get a bit of colour - this almost never happens as I hate my legs but they really do need to see some sunshine.
• The fact that all my summer shoes went mouldy in my old flat so Ill have to carry on wearing winter boots until I can afford summer shoes
• Not being able to wear sunglasses - prescription sunglasses are just hideous

I am really enjoying lighter mornings and finishing work when its still light and being able to sit in my front room with the light coming in and the windows open to let all the signs of sinter out. HELLO SPRING!!

I was also happy that spring time showed itself for the wedding photoshoot on Sunday, the weather was perfect.

Ill be putting some piccies up from the shoot later this week or possibly today.

New business cards :D

Just wanted to share my new business cards and do a little review of my experience with moo.com and their service.

So their estimated arrival was 15th March, theyre 5 days early and I love them. I got 50 made, came to a little over £16 inc. P&P which I think id very reasonable considering the quality.

Here they are:

And a close up of the back:

My photos of the cards are a bit grainy but the actual quality of the cards is brilliant. I chose a matte finish. I think the choices are a little bit limited and you also have a small choice of card type as well. The colours are really vibrant and the quality of the card is great. I chose the standard business cards but they do postcards and mini cards as well, the mini cards are actually quite cute but as I have to rely on my images to promote my work I needed something a bit bigger. What attracted me to moo in the first place was the fact you can have as many different images as you like, you dont have to have the same cards, you can have a different image on each card if you like. I uploaded 5 images and received 10 of each image so the people you give them to can choose the card which appeals to them and you can get more of your work out there to potential clients rather than just showing them 1 image, 1 example of what you can do.

I found their service easy to use and understand, very clear and being the big kid I am I loved receiving the update e-mails from a service robot called Little Moo telling me about the progress of my order and how to seek further help if I wanted to speak to an actual real person.

They arrived really well packaged and came with a gorgeous little black storage box with separaters (is that correct?) titled 'Mine' and 'Theirs' so you can have a place to store your cards and cards youve collected from other industry professionals. I love it.

However, Im not 100% happy with my black and white cards...the image is grainy and Ive been told the image I used wasnt hi-res enough, it looked fine during the ordering process. Moo have kindly offered me a replacement order of 50 cards which has boosted me back up to being 100% happy with their service. I will certainly be re-ordering more cards in the future especially since I have an exciting bridal photoshoot coming up next week which I will keep you all updated about.
If you need business cards, I definitely recommend using moo.com I wont be going anywhere else.

Soap & Glory Madness

Ok so Im sure all aware of my recent obsession with Soap & Glory.

I accidentally stepped into Boots and found myself taking full advantage of their 3 for 2 offer.

I bought 6 new items, heres my collection so far.

I feel so naughty but Im going to smell so nice :P

Ill be reviewing more products once I have some time.

Garra Rufa Fish Foot Treatment.....is it just a craze?

I may have mentioned that it was my birthday recently :p My boyfriend treated me to a foot treatment at a spa and Ive got to say I was a little dubious.

I'd heard about these foot treatments where little fishes nicknamed "Dr Fish" nibble at your tootsies and eat all the dead skin, it seems to be the latest craze.

I LOVE these little fishes. I wish I had taken a before and after photo. My feet were proper crusty before the treatment and they were so soft and lovely after they nibbled at me. Even my toenails look nicer. Its weird as well, when I was walking home afterwards I felt really floaty and relaxed, was lovely. Im going to try to go once a month as a treat, its fairly affordable at just £13 for 15 minutes although our 15 minutes soon turned into half an hour. I usually hate getting my feet out but after that, I never wanted to wear shoes again. Its a shame its still winter boots weather.
You can also have your hands done too and Ive heard rumours you can have your whole body done although I think thatd be a bit weird.

Everyones been asking me what it felt like. Honestly? It felt like little bubbles underneath my feet, similar to the feel of a foot spa. Although there was one slightly bigger fishy and I could feel him nibbling away which was a bit distracting. Those little guys did a good job though. Is it a craze? I hope not because I am hooked (I know theres a joke in there somewhere). Also dont worry about squishing the fish with your feet, they scatter as soon as theres any movement then swarm around your feet once theyre still. Highly recommended.

Here are the facts about "Dr Fish" or Garra Rufa fish copied from the spa balik website which is where we went:
"Our dead skin cells may sound like an unappetising diet, but for fish that thrive in hot water up to 43 degrees centigrade, where nothing of much nutritional value can survive, a bather dipping in a toe is a welcome feast. In an unusual reversal of the food chain, the fish spa treatment is mutually beneficial to you and the fish. They feed while you have your skin exfoliated. It is believed that Garra Rufa fish secrete an enzyme, diathanol that improves skin regeneration.

It is also claimed these marvellous little fish can also stimulate acupuncture points helping to regulate the nervous system, relax the body and release tension. Your blood circulation and flow is also greatly increased during the treatment.

Their suction-cup mouths are perfectly shaped for gently lifting dry skin away, without damaging the healthy new cells underneath - revealing soft, supple and smooth skin for you. More importantly, fish therapy is a completely painless process. Most people find it pleasurable, a tickling, almost tingling sensation something akin to a light massage."

Re-review of Benefit Do it Daily Moisturiser

I feel I didnt give this product a fair chance. I slated it as the worst product ever and now think it deserves a re-review.

You can see my first review of Benefit's "Do it Daily" here

After saying it was the worst thing Id ever put on my skin and I never wanted to use it ever again, I have actually used it a couple more times since reviewing it and my boyfriend seems to be taking a shine to it as well. He has oily skin so he likes using this one although it did sting his eyes. He tried to blame it on the eye serum I applied to him afterwards (he keeps complaining about his bags since he started his early shift) but Ive got that in my eye before and it doesnt sting at all. But yeah Ive been using it and Ive noticed a difference in my skin.

Even though its oil free, my dry patches seem to be clearning up as well, my oily areas are no longer my oily areas and Im liking it so much I barely notice the vinegary smell I mentioned previously and the stinging sensation is gone. Ive actually noticed it sinking into my skin better, it leaves my skin lovely and soft and smooth feeling afterwards. Maybe Id just exfoliated too hard on that particular review day but Im actually liking this product. I wouldnt say loving in, love is a strong word saved only for products I will use religously and repurchase. This one, I still wouldnt buy it, I still stick to the fact that its overpriced and its not that great but I have to aplogise to Benefit for previously slating this not so bad product. I'll continue to use it if Im feeling oily and no doubt my boyfriend will continue to ask where it is so he can use it.