An Art Deco Moment...

Being trained as a make-up artist specifically for film and TV you tend to notice many things others would not. Small things really, like trying to find the edge of a prosthetic or wig lace. Making sure the whole face has been made up and no one has forgotten to leave out the bright red ears (Could not let go of Edward’s burning ears in the first Twilight!) Other than the mistakes, there are a few productions that really inspire and have to be acknowledged for their beauty, two of my favourite films are Pan’s Labyrinth and Changeling. Both are too beautiful to describe and are definite must sees.

A more recent BBC period drama that caught my attention was Upstairs Downstairs. Not to mention the well acted and appealing storyline, the pure aesthetics alone were extremely graceful and refined. I have always admired the elegance of this era and endorsed anything to do with it, minus the sexism and growing fascism of course. For those who didn’t get a chance to see, it is a follow on from the original BBC drama which views the lives of the Holland family and their servants in 1936. Keely Hawes plays the beautiful Lady of the house. Her make-up is very particular of the time; smooth lucid skin, a slight blush and perfect lips. Being set in the 1930’s the complex finger wave had now developed into the looser and much calmer Marcel wave. Keely’s hair and make-up has been the inspiration for this blog post, being a trained make-up artist and all, I thought it was about time to put my skills on show.

Dusting off the heated rollers, I set my hair very flat on top, with the bulk of volume at the back and sides. After this had set, I bushed out the curls and teased them into round loops. (Shorter hair is more preferred for this style, as with longer hair you will need to tuck in the curls to make them appear shorter and then pin them in place) Just a small dash of hair spray should do the trick to finish it all off. With the make-up it’s all very fresh and natural. You can put in some shadow to enhance the eye socket but on fairer skin tones it looks best left alone. As I am of a more olive complexion the darker rouge suits my colouring more so than a pinky one. The lip colours of the wealthier 1930’s woman were all quite intense; this matched their decadent furs and jewels. Try matching your lipstick to your nails for an especially refined finished.

I honestly wish I had the time to do this every morning! Let me know what you think...

(Don’t panic either, the fox fur in my pics is vintage, a family heirloom in fact!)

Costly Chapped Lips...

Being the creator of YSL's Touche Eclat there is no surprise self claimed celebrity Terry Gunzburg decided to create her own make-up range. Having had the opportunity to of met the woman, you can see why everything is immaculately thought out and packaged beautifully. (The lipsticks have her signature embedded on them and even the lid is magnetic)

I could spend hours writing about her whole product range, but this blog is about avoiding chapped lips! So I have dedicated it solely to By Terry's Baume de Rose Crystal SPF 15. Not one day has passed since winter started have I had chapped sore lips. The Baume de Rose comes in two forms, the pot/balm or the crystal lipgloss style. (My preference is the lipgloss) It leaves your lips nice and moist for a good few hours and it also has a pinky soft sheen that looks beautiful underneath lipstick. I’m not too fussed about the smell though; it kind of reminds me of my elderly grandmother.

The one issue I have with this product is the pricing. The Baume de Rose Crystal is valued at £30. Taking into account this woman created one of, if not the biggest, cosmetic product of our time does she have the right to price her products at such high prices? (One of her face creams is £233) Had I not been given this lip balm as I gift, I highly doubt I would have gone and bought it for myself. I’m not saying £30 for a lip balm is ridiculous, I just don’t think the brand is of a status enough to demand this sort of value. Yet she did create the Touche Eclat, oh I am so torn?! But regardless of my own personal pricing issues with the brand, The Baume de Rose is a very lovely product that does its job well. If you have £30 to spend on a lip balm I would recommend this one.

By Terry Baume De Rose SPF 15 - £32.00
By Terry Baume De Rose Crystal SPF 15 - £30.00

Eve Lom Addict...

It sounds surprising, coming from a beauty obsessive like myself, but I've never been one for cleansing, toning and moisturising. I suffered awful acne as a teenager and no matter what lotion or potion I put on my skin nothing improved, so since then I've lacked faith in most clinically proven skincare products.

So I have been neglecting my skin for a while now and with the amount of make up I slap on I thought the best place to start was with a good cleanser, and by golly have I found one! Highly acclaimed by all beauty journos, Eve Lom's cleanser has come on top as one of the most impressive yet simplistic products to date.

It has a unique grainy syrup texture that you smear all over your face. Then with the muslin cloth provided you can give yourself a nice little face massage that wipes away the most stubborn make-up, and in my case that usually takes at least four simple make-up wipes to remove! The lovely thing about this cleanser is that it comes with a set of cute little instruction on how to give you a facial, which apparently improves your skins circulation

The packaging mirrors Eve Lom's ideology in keeping things simple. The stand out ingredients of this product is the mix of clove and chamomile that creates a very unique scent. (Being a keen sniffer, smell is very important to me – hence why I comment on the smell of everything!)

Anyways the moral of the blog is that I love this product so much that it has indeed become a staple item in my beautifying routine. From never cleansing to now getting depressed if I haven’t massaged my little face I think its safe to say this product is something that every woman must try.

Eve Lom Cleanser 50ml - £28
Eve Lom Cleanser 100ml - £48

(Also in case you were wondering, it was the prescription of roacutane that finally cleared my skin - amazing amazing amazing drug! I'll blog about it one day no doubt!)

A Cure for Acrylic Nail Abuse...

I don't think the wag/essex connotations could ever be removed from acrylic nails. Having spent a year with them, I can certainly see why so many girls (and some boys) get them done, regardless of the footballer wife stereotype. Yes they make your nail's longer in a matter of minutes, your nail varnish is virtually chip free, and the durabilty of them is pretty impressive. Although these are the only positives I can think of. The upkeep in itself drove me insane, not to mention the ongoing costs. I was visiting the salon twice a month, once for a refill and once for a touch up. And to be honest I felt like it was a waste of my time! (One of the reasons why I'm now boycotting acrylics!) But the main obvious reason was the simple fact that they damage your own nails. After I had my overlays removed my nails were as thin as paper and filled with dents and ridges. The ongoing filing and chemical layering can make yours nails crack, split and just look really really ugly!

It took me about 4\5 weeks for the ridges to grow out of my nails. During this time I wore gloves! Although I found a good ridge\dent disguise is a base coat, around 5 layers of varnish and a few top coats, this only works if you can be bothered to wait for the lengthy drying process.

It was my manicurist who introduced me to essie's millionails. A simple base coat that strengthens and lengthens weak brittle nails. Honestly, its a god send. I don't think my nails have ever been as strong as they are now. Simply paint a layer on twice, three times a week, either on its own or under varnish and voila...nails that would withstand most physicalities. And when I have finished with the millionails I'm told I then need to move on to billionails, how exciting!

P.S Also, give Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil a go, it's slightly more expensive than other cuticle products but it smells gorgeous and has a lovely consistancy that quickly absorbs into your nail bed.

Essie Millionails - £13.45
Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil - £9.95

MOR! MOR! MOR!

Having an internship at Space.NK’s press office has introduced me to my absolute new favourite beauty brand, MOR. This is by far not a biased PR article for the brand, but a genuine judgment of MOR’s amazing products. This Australian based brand is stocked exclusively at SPACE.NK in the UK, but you can get hold of their full range on their website (www.morcosmetics.com) Not only are the products so scrumptious and heavenly, the exquisite and decadent packaging sets this brand in a league of its own. These art nouveau inspired designs would look perfect on anyone’s dressing table (especially mine!). The MOR range consists of Soaps, Body Butters, Hand Creams/Washes, Lip Balms and Candles.

I just can’t get enough of the Marshmallow Body Butter. Bursting with vanilla musk and jasmine flower this cream disperses into your skin leaving a delightful and enduring scent. Not to mention the range of Lip Delights, which include Blood Orange, Sorbet and Passion Flower to name a few.

I was a bit weary in writing this post about MOR, mainly because I love all their products so much I didn’t want to share the secret, but they are just far too good not to. I seriously would recommend any one product from the MOR range. It’s just a shame you can’t buy the full collection in the UK, as their hand washes are astonishing. Also look out for their Christmas gift sets, I had to unpack the delivery today in the Press Office and as soon as I opened the box it just smelt perfect! If perfection had a scent, MOR would defiantly be up there.

I love MOR! (I think you get the message right?!)

My Fish Pedicure...

My Aunt, Me and Mother


The Little Garra Fish

I don’t know why I requested a ‘fish pedicure’ for my birthday, but for some peculiar reason I did. My mother, aunt and I went along to Aqua Sheko the eve of my birthday for a deluxe pedicure. This involved submerging our feet into a tank full of Garra Rufa fish. The actual mental and physical motion of dipping your feet into this pool of fish is much harder than you think. Before your feet are even in the pool, these little fish spot you coming and gather in a bundle waiting to nibble at your toes. At first I couldn’t look down, and quickly dunked my feet in to be received with a very peculiar tickling sensation. This tickling soon turned into a pleasant pulse, almost like little vibrations rousing around your feet which then developed into an enjoyable and very relaxing treatment. You could even open up your toes and they would suck in-between. My mother on the other hand was finding the treatment a lot more unpleasant than I. Not only did she scream aloud while dipping in her feet she continued to fidget and move for the whole treatment. I was very proud she just got on with it though, despite the dramatics.

For the hygiene freaks, I was reassured that the fish’s tank is cleaned every evening and has an oxygen pump to filter the water during the day to ensure its cleanliness, and to the eye it did look very clean. To see the real benefits from the Garra Rufa fish, your feet are submerged into the pool for at least thirty minutes. The therapist informed me that within this time, one and a half layers of dead skin cells are eaten by the fish. When these little fish had their dinner and were full from my dry skin, I received a beautiful reflexology foot massage that quite possible could have sent me to sleep then and there.

I was eager to feel my feet to see a dramatic difference, some areas were very soft but regrettably I could still feel the stubborn hardness on my heels. I would highly recommend this treatment purely for its novelty. It’s a fun and interesting outing which is suitable for males, females and groups, but would not suggest it for a deep and precise pedicure.

Aqua Sheko
14 Holland StreetHigh Street KensingtonLondon W8 4LT
Tel: 0203 489 8336

Prices
Deluxe (45 minutes) £45 30 minutes of fish pedicure and 15 minutes of feet wash and foot massage
Express (25 minutes) £30 25 minutes of fish pedicure and feet wash
(Although look out on wahanda.com for some cheaper deals)

Infuriated Graduate...

I really do need to get into the habit of writing my blogs more frequently. Although the pressures of being an unemployed graduate trying to make a name in beauty pr is proving more time consuming than I expected! Especially with the ridiculous amount of emails, letters, CV writing and unpaid internships, I feel it appropriate to have a little rant about my growing frustration and anger as it is taking up the majority of my time.

According to BBC researchers 1 in 10 UK graduates are unemployed, shockingly this is even worse than what it was in the 1980's. Despite graduating from the London College of Fashion with a 1st Class BA honours degree in July I am still struggling to find a job in the field I wish to work. The frustration is awful for one who knows her own value! And I am refusing to settle for some down and out job when I have over twenty-two thousand pounds of dept which was used to further my education.

Oh the annoyance!

Brazilian Blowdry...

Having been my most credited essay while I was at uni, I felt it would be worth while writing my first blog post around the same topic, my hair. Inheriting my father’s pitiful thin and curly hair gene this has solely been the biggest predicament of my life. No lie. Never been able to grow it longer than my shoulders, burnt it to death with ghd’s, ripped half of it out with racoon extensions and not to mention the amount of colour damage it has had over the years. It truly is in dire condition. So I thought, why not try the Brazlian Blowdry, I’ve tried everything else!

The process involves having your hair washed to open up your hair cuticles, then the keratin treatment is placed onto your hair and left to develop, the treatment is then blow-dried and sealed in with irons. I was alarmed by the amount of smoke coming off from the irons, but was assured it was not damaging my hair, I found this hard to believe.

When leaving the salon, my hair was impressively smooth and silky, although it was lacking volume and was a bit on the flat side. I now had to leave my hair for three days for the treatment to set in. No hair clips, no hair up, no dry shampoo...nothing. It was a struggle, but nevertheless I went back into the salon after the three days to get the treatment washed out.

Since having the treatment over four weeks ago now, I can tell you that yes my hair is much easier to maintain and I do not have an issue with frizz, but it has not improved the condition, just the texture. I was told that my curls would gradually come back, yet this has not been the case, I now have curly roots and very straight ends. Whereas others I have spoken to that have had the treatment still have very curly hair?! I think this treatment very much depends on the condition and texture of your own hair. This treatment is being recommended for everyone; although I feel only people with thick, frizzy, very rebellious hair would reap the real benefits of this treatment.

Depending on your hair length you can get this treatment from £150/£200, from any RUSH Salon. They also have a 20% introductory offer on at the moment too.

It's Started!

The beauty blogging has begun; site will be updated shortly with the first article...