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Eizabeth banks glides down the red carpet for Hunger Games

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:43:26 +0000

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Hungry for the look?

02.04.12

How to get Elizabeth Banks’s looks for the Hunger Games premier in London and Berlin

Having worked with Elizabeth for the W premier years ago, I was incredibly excited to get the glam call to work with her again for the London and Berlin premiers of the Hunger Games! What a whirlwind, two cities, two looks, two girls and Darth Vador! Knowing absolutely nothing about the movie, I was completely blown away by the crowds that surrounded the red carpet, it was unbelievable – they were going crazy!

And not surprisingly, the film (which I was lucky enough to see) was brilliant, the crowds were right – unless I’m working on the next one, you may well see me joining them for the next instalment ! From a professional point of view, the make-up, hair and styling were insane and must have been so much fun to create – such visually exciting chaos! I would have loved to have the chance to play / help on that!

Elizabeth, like the true pro that she is, took the whole thing in her stride and simply glided down the red carpet. I loved both the looks created and was quietly over the moon about the reaction to how fantastic she looked to, my favourite quote being “glossy waves and perfect skin” Music to my ears. So here’s the lo down on the looks we created, first stop London and the stunning dress by Bill Blass!

Elizabeth and the gang had just arrived from LA where all the cast had already beenglittering on the carpet – let the challenge begin! I loved the yellow dress and wanted to reflect the feel of it with a modern, fresh and relaxed look by keeping the hair and make-up minimal – as if I hadn’t even been there!

My all-time favourite hair brand is Kevin Murphy, introduced to me by Kylie years ago, it’s sulphate and paraben free , not tested on animals and also makes huge efforts to be as green as possible – perfect! Firstly, I blasted some Fresh Hair through the roots which is a fantastic trick as it creates natural volume and also brightens the blonde a little,

Then I roughly parted the hair with my fingers down the centre, being careful not to ‘de-volumize’, and with my trusty curling wand at the ready, roughly took 3 inch sections and waved the hair, wrapping it round my finger and clipping into the direction I wanted the curls to fall. Some sections up, some down, some bigger, some smaller, all over the place really! Then leave for 20 minutes while the curls cool down and after that release the hair from the clips and loosen with your fingers. For some extra hold, again I always sprinkle a little of Kevin Murphy’s powder puff around the crown!

After this all you have to do is style to suit, leaving tendrils out that suit your face shape, twist hair into a bun at the nape of the neck and then pin into place with large pongee. And there we have it an easy relaxed modern up do, fit for the red carpet!

The make-up was kept really simple and fresh, focusing on a healthy glow and lovely lashes, Elizabeth is extremely lucky and she has flawless skin so all I had to use was a little bit of tinted moisturiser to even out the skin tone and a touch of illuminosity to brighten. I used beccas luminous skin colour in olive, it’s so easy to use and also has a very useful spf25.

For the contouring I used their dual bronzer and highlighter bronzer, it’s really smooth and perfect for sculpting the face. This too is paraben and talc free and I love the fact it has a dual purpose therefore saving on packaging!

A few crafty individual lashes by Ardell were popped on the outer edges of the lashes, followed by several thin coats of mascara to create that lovely flutter.

Bare Minerals provided the wonder blush that was so natural in ballet pink and followed by some of my favourite gloss by Buxom called ‘ leslie,’ a simple everyday gloss that plumps to perfect!

One day off for myself but not Elizabeth and cast , they nipped down the red carpet for the Paris Premier then we were reunited in Berlin were Elizabeth chose this beauty of a dress by Elli Saab

We went for these beautiful glossy waves, taking the iconic Grace Kelly as inspiration, old Hollywood glamour with a little twist, love it! Having even less time to do this than London, we amazed ourselves and managed to turn the whole look around in 40 minutes – a personal record!

For this look the first thing to do is pop in your parting in the desired place for your face shape, then take 2 inch sections and barrel curl with your tongs, this is where Were Wam’s revolving curling tongs really come into their own, as all the work is done for you.

Another little tip for this is to alternate the curls going under and over, as when this is brushed out it gives a fantastic wave. As before, clip each curl and allow to cool. Once fixed, brush through into the desired shape with something like a mason and person brush, the soft bristles really help enhance the wave and shin , letting the waves just fall perfectly!

Do a light misting with Aveda’s non aerosol, Brilliant spray to bring a lovely gloss to the waves – an essential in my makeup bag, a true wonder product!) . Then lock the look down with Hairspray.

Now for the make-up which we did in ten minutes flat! A quick base was whizzed on, using Chanel’s Vital Lumiere, it does so many things in one hit, giving porcelain coverage and luminosity all at once!

Eyebrows were strengthened by defining the brows with a mink brow pencil and brushed beautifully into place, a little quirk l always loved about Grace’s eyebrows, never a hair out of place! For a light contouring over the eyes, I used a wash of Bare Minerals prime time primer shadow in iced chocolate, this is a genius find as it is once again baddie free and so quick and easy to use and really long lasting – it was my saviour that day and really made Elizabeth’s eye’s pop. Admittedly I had already popped on a couple of individual lashes earlier that morning so skipped that fiddly little job,- not great when you’re on a deadline – but refreshed them with an extra couple of thin layers of mascara. I patted a little bit of Burberrys fresh glow along the cheekbones and to the hairline , I absolutely love this product as it really does what it says and also diffuses any fine lines….

I then finished up with another new little find of mine, Kroma Organic Lip gloss in meringue…Its 100% organic and really lasts , I love this colour and have to admit to it being resident in my bag since finding!

And there we are – Green Carpet ready!

Revolving Hair Styles by Neil Moodie

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:14:21 +0000

just had to share this with you, its amazing and coming from the truly talented Neil Moodie, who has been a constant source of inspiration to me over the years, it would have been criminal to keep it from you…hope you enjoy it as much as myself…check out his truly brilliant Hairstyling tools here.

Click here and here to find out about his creations for the Ruffian AW12 show in New york and Burberry in London..your a Genius Mr Moodie!

The film was directed by Justin Anderson.

Watch the video below or visit the salon shop window to see the video in action…..

Behind the scenes with Livia Firth

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:08:23 +0000

This is a wonderful write up by Miranda Porter of Eco-Age all about my day doing the make up for Livia’s first foray into design!

I woke up on the fateful Friday excited and jumping; months of deliberating, weeks of preparation, and hours set in meetings had boiled down to this – it was the shoot for Livia Firth’s first design under her own name. A day in which we were aiming to shoot the advert and editorial images for The Skull Necklace – it seemed a simple task. It was deceptive.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

At 7:30 I arrived in Portland Place to meet the ever buoyant Hannah Jarratt, a stalwart fellow Eco Ager, and with coffee firmly in hand we set off equipped with gorgeous clothes (donated for the day from Jocelyn Whipple and Olwen Bourke,) a jaunty step and a naïve smile. Little did we know what we were in for. Arriving at 33 Portland Place, it was easy to see how it had housed The King’s Speech for so many months, it was huge and the beautiful rooms were like stepping into another time. Our fantastic production team Mrs Grey were already on hand setting up the first shots in the room. I was a little star struck I have to admit! As we wondered around the film set that was being built around us, I had time to ponder the day ahead. And suddenly, with crashing realisation - It hit me – I had organised a film shoot and photo shoot to happen all in one day, sharing lights, necklace and Livia. I gulped my coffee and hoped that no one else would realise what we were about to unleash.

Hannah, testing out the set before Livia arrived!

First to arrive from the Eco Age team was the wonderful Karen Alder, who not only is a contributor but also a saint, it shall become increasingly apparent throughout this piece why. Equipped with bags the same size as that of a shopaholic going on honeymoon to Barbados, she unpacked her tools and laid them out with a precision of a very experienced murderess readying herself. Next on the scene was our photographer Marco Cella, who has become part of the GCC a week earlier, working with Livia at her Armani fittings. These two people would become worth their weight in gold by the end of the day.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE NECKLACE.

Livia arrived on set and was quickly snapped up for makeup and wardrobe. Though it was beautiful, that house was cold, the kind of cold that snakes its way into your bones, sets up camp and refuses to budge until the 1st August has come around. It was all we could do to keep her just above freezing as she dived from dress to dress.

Karen Alder and Livia Firth, photograph by Marco Cella.

TO FIND OUT HOW TO DO KAREN ALDER’S FANTASTIC FELINE EYES, CLICK HERE.

With half an hour of calm whilst Livia had her make up done, we caught up on the news and gossip shhad missed while in LA on GCC business, I thought this was a safe point to pop out and catch up with the office. HOWEVER – and this is a big however, when I got back and knelt down to hear what Livia and Karen were whispering about so conspiratorially, I was met by two mischievous faces. A plan had been hatched in my absence. For the pictures, it had been decided that there should be someone else in them, someone completely opposite to Livia in both looks and shape, and that someone it had been reached, would be me. At this point I hadn’t washed my hair for two days, the makeup I had tried to apply at 7 o’clock this morning was now holding up my socks and was still carrying a little bit of winter – I was a little flustered to say the least. So as Livia started her filming in the other room I was steadily cajoled by Karen under the mirth filled eyes of Hannah into having my makeup done PIC, when Livia came back for a quick break , I was ushered ( Italian style, which is to say strong armed with a smile ) into the gorgeous dress she wore the previous year at the Critics’ Choice Award’s LA.

Livia Firth on set with Karen Alder. Photograph by Marco Cella

I should explain at this point that I was not breathing correctly, panic had struck my lungs and they were behaving erratically at best. But with the solicitous soft voice of Karen, who managed to take control of the whole set, chat to Livia and coordinate with Marco all at the same time, we found ourselves in the red room. And this is where it all goes a bit blurry – needless to say, Livia and I have never been closer.

But under the careful tutelage of Marco, who bounded, leaned and stretched over us with the agility of an acrobat the gentle encouragement from Karen, and Livia literally taped to my side, it suddenly, and unexpectedly, became quite fun! I was a model! Albeit for 45 minutes and freezing to boot – but a model none the less!!!

A right Royal Affair…Yardley Royal Diamond Perfume Launch

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:58:15 +0000

A wonderful morning was had at the Ritz (fitting venue don’t you agree?!) thanks to the launch of Yardleys wonderful new perfume ‘Royal Diamond’ to celebrate the Queens Jubilee…..being a fellow Windsorian the Jubilee is really dear to my heart and I am always truly over the moon to be asked to create the hair and make up for these wonderful events…there were flowers everywhere it was so quintessentially beautiful & English…..

the perfume is a lovely combination of stunning combination of fruity notes with citrusy accents of pear and bergamot; the heart is floral with rose, lily of the valley and peony; the base is comprised of cedarwood, vanilla and sandalwood…..so evocative of a British bouquet!

here’s a few snaps of the behind the scenes

Feline Fabulous with Livia Firth

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:42:17 +0000

It’s always such fun working with Livia and creating different looks for her events and projects. When we shot the campaign for her skull necklace, we did it over two days, and tried out many looks. I love a really strong, feline look for the eyes and it seems to be quite a hit on the catwalk this season, with Dolce and Gabbana, Armani and Jonathon Saunders all sampling it- it’s a seasonal must-look!

Here are some tips on how to achieve this look and give it a contemporary twist:

If this is your first time creating this look on yourself, practise your smouldering cat’s eyes with a bare face, lots of cotton buds and eye make-up remover first. It can take a few attempts at first to get the shape perfect, but soon you will have this nailed and have them on in seconds! This way you will have the look down and not ruin your beautifully modern foundation base.

Preparation

Skin should be sheer, fresh and dewy. Perfectly cleansed skin is key, so I suggest investing in the Clarasonic brush- I love the Mia one as its small and travels well. Use with your favourite cleanser and whizz away. It takes seconds, cleaning your skin six times more efficiently than by hand, and leaves a wonderful glow. I am convinced my skin is firmer, too and I have significantly fewer breakouts than I used to. It also comes with a body brush- perfect to use before applying body lotion or fake tan from the St Tropez Naturals range.

Next up- time for some Vitamin C. Try SkinCeuticals Phloretin, which delivers the perfect amount and is non-greasy, then apply a light moisturiser- I like Dermalogica’sActive Moist. Your skin should now be perfectly prepped!

Base

Using a primer like Bare Essentials Prime Time really smoothes out your skin and means there’s less need for a lot of foundation.

Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere is my new go-to base. Its long-lasting, can be layered and is totally invisible. It’s also matt so no need to powder! Use a foundation brush and really buff it into your skin, something which really brings out the luminosity of the foundation and renders it seamless. For any areas needing a little more coverage, use the Perfection Concealer, also long lasting and invisible.

Now for a little contouring. This really lifts and sculpts your face. I’m loving St Tropez bronzer, it gives a wonderful glow and very natural. Take a fan brush and shade away directly under your cheekbones, shaping up and outwards, almost in the swooping shape of a tick. Then with the same brush, lightly shade the area under your jaw line to just below your ears. This really enhances the jaw.

I always lightly blend a little under my chin and down the centre of my neck, making sure your face looks connected to your body! Take your foundation brush and blend, blend, blend, as this too should be invisible. Now take a blending brush (I like Stilla’ s No 9 as it doesn’t malt) and work a little of the bronzer into the socket line of your eye. This is an instant eyelift- I love it. Take Stila’s Lip and Cheek Convertible Colour in Petunia and pat a little onto the apple of your cheeks, blending into the sculpted bronze cheekbones. Pat a little St Tropez Skin Illuminator in Rose along the top of your cheekbones and up to your temples for an added glow.

Now groom brows with Suqqu’s Eye Pen- it’s amazing as it really gives strength and definition to your brows yet is completely natural. Concentrate on defining the upper arch of the brow and fade out to the edges, then brush up and out with eyebrow gel (Becca Cosmetics makes my favourite one!) Taking time with the brows really does lift your face- there is no need for Botox or any other awful treatments!

The Cat’s Eyes

Now for the cat’s eyes. Take Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner in Black (I find this the easiest to use) and hold a hand mirror so that you are looking downwards, making for an easier application. Add a wing to the lower lash line moving up and out- following the natural line of your jaw to ear really helps to get the angle right. Create smaller wings for a more chic-looking cat eye, or increase for more drama.

Take the line evenly along the bottom of the eye. In this look we went for the drama! Then connect the tick to the upper lashes. If you go half way first, you will almost make a triangle.

Then, again take the line as far into the inner eye line as you wish, then follow the curve of the lash line and connect to the outer tick- we went all the way.

Blend away the edges to give a lovely soft smouldering finish. Then go around the outline of the shape with a little of the bronzer again- this really softens the shape.

Now for the lips. I patted a little of the Convertible Colour in Petunia onto the lips and blended with a small lip brush. For more staying power, blot and repeat.

Valentina perfume..perfect for a day such as today…xxxx

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:23:21 +0000

I think every girl in the world would LOVE to receive this today, alongside the Valentino dress, the diamonds, flowers , undies oh and of course not to forget the shoes ..heehee…. i think this has to be the most beautiful bottle ever created ,filled with a soft modern romantic scent.

Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas, created the fragrance as a tribute to today’s Valentino woman. With attitude, sophistication and unexpected characteristics, the bouquet of Valentina blends an irreverent Italian floral oriental in which each facet reveals a paradox.

check out the comercial below..Stunning!!!!!

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:14:31 +0000

Well ,a lovely afternoon was had helping Livia and Colin get ready for the Baftas. It was a really special night for the greencarpet challenge for the first time more of our well loved actors followed suit with Livia and went Eco!!!!! We went for a simple low pontail, perfectly pulled back and then we let the lips do all the talking. I was over the moon as Livia really loved 'Trust" the lovely bright red lipstick i helped make for the Prince's Trust Charity.... The colour is really beautiful and very longlasting , perfect for the red carpet...keep the rest of the make up really simple with well groomed brows,glowy skin and feathery lashes ,the perfect backdrop for this seasons take on red lips.....

Happy valentines..xxxxxxx

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:10:06 +0000

Happy valentines to you all…Here’s a little shoot i did with Michael and Sandrine . The dress was incredible and had taken a whole team of florists to construct. We went from this…

To this……..

To this!!

We went for beautifully fair soft focused skin, letting the

dress and flame red hair speak for itself!….

The Perfect Pout!

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:26:24 +0000

Glossy red lips are a longstanding classic, and the only way to go this Valentine’s Day
Season after season, stunning red lips of all kinds continue to strut down the runway. It is a timeless look. So what better excuse does Valentine’s provide than to pucker up and don the red lip?

I’ve pulled out three of my favorite lippies that not only give you the pout of your dreams but are also making great headway in terms of caring for our environment.

First up is the wonderful Stila. Many of their core products are formulated and produced locally, thus reducing your carbon footprint. Their products are never tested on animals and the packaging is mostly recyclable, and often refillable, too. I have always been really fond of this brand, and the products are stunning. Acai Crush Cheek & Lip Stain is packed full of wonderful antioxidants to keep you looking youthful, while delivering a perfect pop of lasting colour. Because the stain is so natural looking, it’s the perfect introduction when trying out this look for the first time.

Keep the rest of your make up really simple and apply straight from the pen to your lips, then pat with your forefinger to give a lovely rosebud effect. Patting this way adds a little more volume to your lips. Pop a little on the apples of your cheeks and pat away again until you see a lovely seamless rosy flush appear. Beautiful!

Trust on some of Karen’s favourite ladies, KT Tunstall, Kara Tointon and Holly Vallance

Click here to read KT TUNSTALL’S series

Trust Lipstick

Next up we have a wonderful lipstick called “Trust” Created by a group of beauty wizards (which I must admit includes myself), the “Trust” Lipstickraises money for the Princes Trust It is a charity so dear to my heart as they helped me buy my first make-up kit! We all worked

really hard and put lots of time into creating a really high quality lipstick. I even went to the factory to mix the perfect red for you all! It was an amazing experience and I am so incredibly happy with the results. We used pre-formulated lipstick to cut down on wastage, managing to find a little gem that’s baddie-free and packed with Vitamin E. Luckily enough we sold the whole lot to one retailer, thereby saving on storage and transportation, and keeping the old carbon footprint down. The colour is stunning! It has a real wow factor, and the satin finish makes it so wearable and modern. So far we have raised a total of £80,000 for the charity, and we are hoping that our future King will allow us to make more.

Organic Glam

The last (but by no means least) of the lipsticks I would recommend is Organic Glam’s stunning red lipstick. The average woman consumes 5lbs of lipstick in her lifetime- shocking, right? Thank you Organic Glam for addressing this issue. When I first did research into lipsticks I was totally shocked by what their contents. Whale blubber: ew. And cow’s spinal cord! Double ew. Organic Glam’s lipstick is a wonderful red that is completely natural and formulated with mostly organic ingredients. I love that Shea butter infuses this rich and creamy formula and the packaging is really very chic.

And now for a little beauty secret: Kylie taught me this trick many moons ago, when we worked together on the ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ music video. She told me that the following is how Marilyn Monroe created her bombshell lips:

Firstly pat the tiniest amount of concealer over your entire lip, and then blot by pressing a little translucent powder through 1 ply of tissue, using a brush.

Line the lips with a matching red pencil and blend the edges in, so the lip line is soft.P op on ‘Trust” straight from the bullet and blend again with your favourite lip brush. Blot again with the powder and repeat. I always do this now and find the lipstick lasts for hours. With a flesh coloured lip pencil, half a shade lighter than your skin tone, just softly line the outer edges of your Cupid’s bow. This gives a brilliant fullness to your lips.

Bafta’s 2012 by Celine Bopp

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:13:57 +0000

It was all going off in last nights 65th British Academy Film Awards. The BBC averaged 5 million viewers last night as people watched The Artist scoop up 7 awards whilst Iron Lady, Senna, Tinker Taylor Solider Spy and Hugo each picked up 2. The Red carpet in covent garden leading up to the wonderful London Royal Opera House was filled with stars all in on trend outfits and looking glamorous. Penelope Cruz in a stunning red dress with her hair up, Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt, George Clooney all looking absolutely sensational. Meryl Streep in a beautiful black gown sweeping across the floor, along with young stars such as Chris Hemsworth, Eddie Redmayne, Adam Decan who picked up the award for young rising star, the only award voted by the public. I had the pleasure of meeting and grooming the lovely Jeremy Irvine 'War Horse' before he hit the red carpet and took to the stage to present the award for best original screenplay with the wonderful Christina Ricci looking gorgeous in a gold Givency gown, with Jeremy Irvine in a stunning Burberry tux. See the full list of nominees and winners for the baftas 2012 here.. http://www.bafta.org/film/awards/