I recently did a test with a super girl team: photographer Zanita, stylist Kat Wotton and model Vanessa Breuer from Chic. It was AMAZING. We worked insanely well as a team, shooting plenty of outfits and having so much fun.

The picture above is by far one of my favourite images I’ve shot. I adore the feeling of this shot. Vanessa looks so glamourous and serene basking in the sun. The outfit is terribly chic, Vanessa’s movement is so feminine and beautiful, and I love how the softness and relaxed expression in her face contrasts the gritty step and pebbly ground.

Here is a peek at the makeup…

I used a flat, dark brown (no shimmer or sparkles or anything) from Inglot on the eye and then layered the most beautiful brown eyeshadow, Fez from Nars, on top to get that bronze highlight and create depth. Using an angled shading brush (quite a fluffly one, like Mac’s 275), I blended like crazy so the edges weren’t harsh and the brown subtly faded away. I made sure to put plenty of colour under Vanessa’s eyes to really frame them and bring out her amazing blue peepers. For some looks I used Mac’s Orange Alarm (of course! I love that colour too much!) on the lips but mainly stuck to Shu Uemura’s BG 954M, which as of now is known as Creamy Chloe A/W 2010 Tan in Matte, as those letters and numbers don’t cut it for me.

Be sure to check out the rest of the shoot here. Enjoy!

xxo

SO EXCITING! The day was such a breeze, Zanita is a powerhouse behind the lens – she has such a clear vision and shoots so speedily, and Alyce was a gem and constantly had the hugest smile on her face, even in the super chilly wind!

Tests are so much fun, you can do whatever you want to, and I did! As you know I love power-brows and emphasised Alyce’s with MAC Brow Powder and an angled brush. I used my favourite NARS Lipcolour in Funny Face for half of the shots and the other half I used a vibrant blue cream eyecolour by Shu Uemura in the inner-vs of Alyce’s eyes.

As you can see, both of the girls did an incredible job and I am so so so over the moon with the images.

Thank you ladies!

Check out the rest of the story over here at Zanita’s blog.

xxo

The Shu Uemura eyelash curler is the best! And if you feel like spoiling yourself, you should get the smaller version too to curl those side lashes.

Marloes Horst shot by Miles Aldridge for Vogue Russia June 2010.

I would expect no less from Vogue Japan. Japanese makeup artists and products are known for being beautiful, delicate and precise. The gorgeous full lashes, bleached brows, modernised rococo hair and slightly bitten lip make for a divine, serene scene.

Judith Bedard shot by Takuya Uchiyama for Vogue Nippon Beauty.

Her simple makeup and natural flowing locks are just the perfect compliment. We may not all be New York It-girls (yet!), but we can get her look. A red lipgloss, try Shu Uemura’s for a super shine, Stila’s eyeshadow in Wheat as well as lashings of mascara and there you go, an everyday look worthy of your own photoshoot.

xxo

I find that the simple, pared back hair and makeup is the perfect complement to the busy, somewhat ornate outfits. My favourite detail is the bright, bold, blue eye in the second shot. Easily accomplished by using Shu Uemura pressed eye shadow in m blue 665 and a touch of black mascara, nothing else is necessary or otherwise it could look a bit over-the-top. I can’t wait until my hair gets long enough so I can be a young girl lost.

xx

Pictures from models.com

The last three days at LFW were all about good bases and focal points. Having studied art history obsessively for three years at uni I’m all about focal points. So when my fringe was short is was all about my brows, and now that my fringe is hovering over my eyes it’s all about my lips. I kind of get excited when looks are quite focused and a feature of the face is emphasised. I feel that it allows for more creativity in the choice of colours and designs. Although, if you ask me to be creative when I have ten minutes to get ready, good luck!

The following looks all have these focal points, which are actually really easy to do in ten minutes! As long as you’ve got the base right, you’re set! You really need to invest in a good foundation and to apply it thoroughly with either fingertips or a foundation brush. The most popular one I’ve seen on shoots and recommend to people is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. It gives a good amount of coverage, has a gorgeous finish, and is perfect for the ever-popular dewy-look, although can easily be matted-down with a touch of powder. It’s not oily or drying, and is really gorgeous over a moisturised face.

Erdem had one of the simplest and prettiest looks at London Fashion Week. A flawless base, mascara and a touch of lipgloss perfectly matched the multi-coloured pansy prints, black lace and china-blue silks. Use a light pink lipgloss and check out this post for mascara hints. Don’t forget to curl those lashes!

To another focal point… lips! Here at the House of Holland and below at Paul Smith, models were given all different shades of lipstick and gloss. The purple above would be amazing with a cute dress on a balmy night. Skip lipstick and head straight to ‘Dirty Shame’ lipgloss by Nars. It’s not sticky, has enough pigment to create the above colour and has a wet-shine so would look super chic at a cocktail party by the beach or pool. The colour below would also be amazing by the pool or on the beach, although this time during the day whilst wearing a bright bikini or one-piece. I haven’t seen a baby blue although I know Shu Uemura make a medium blue in their Rouge Unlimited line which would be lots of fun to play with.

And finally, one of my favourite labels, Luella (below). Bases were perfect and eyes were played up with cream eyeshadows. I wouldn’t bother hunting around the major labels for such theatrical colours, but am going to head straight to Ben Nye. The Ben Nye ‘Cream Colors’ are amazing and are only ten to fifteen (Australian) dollars!! The creams are really well made, the pigment is strong and you can easily mix colours to get your desired shade. Once you’ve got your colour apply it with a brush for that perfect, rounded shape, and then set with a translucent powder. These ‘Cream Colors’ can be used on eyes, cheeks and lips so you could even make your own Paul Smith light blue (as above). You can find these products at most makeup schools.

Now, go and have some fun with those focal points!

xxxx

(all pics from www.style.com/fashionshows/ except House of Holland from www.independent.co.uk & Paul Smith from www.coutourture.com)

My favourite makeup look of the day… WHAT A SURPRISE! Haha, those lashes are just awesome! I’ve just read here that the above label, PPQ, are collaborating with Shu Uemura and the lashes will be in store in February 2010. How exciting! To get the rest of this look, Nars ‘Desire’ is the perfect pink blush and any babydoll pink lipstick will do, lightly pressed onto the lips with a finger.

Here at Ashish it’s time to party! The only makeup look that could live up to such a vibrant, sequined frock is but of course, the red lip. And a very full one at that! So get out your sharpener, create a full lip shape with your trusty red pencil, and then apply a generous amount of MAC’s ‘Lady Danger’, a bright coral-red.

And I just had to include the look from my favourite collection of the day, at Mark Fast. The Canadian-born designer creates these beautiful, and very sexy, knitted dresses that are definitely worth checking out. The look to go with his varied palette was quite simple. A dusting of lilac eyeshadow in the inner Vs of the eyes and a directional brow (done with a sharp brow pencil or a powder and an angle brush). It’s really quick and easy to do, and is just that little bit different. Definitely something I’m going to try when next I go out!

xx

(images from http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/)

At Rosa Cha, cute outfits were accessorised with either orange, black & white, and yellow headscarves, as seen above. I loooovvve the makeup look here. It’s so pretty and simple for spring and summer. Groomed brows, a wash of lemon on the eyelids and under the eyes, a teeny bit of mascara, a hint of pink on the apples of the cheeks and a high shine lipgloss. It’s a perfect look for Bondi.

The yellow eyeshadow I like to use is by Shu Uemura, and any blush (cream or powder) can be used lightly. Orgasm by Nars is a great powder, and the Convertible Color (a cream) in Fuschia by Stila would be perfect patted onto the apples and then blended out. And as for lips, any clear gloss will do. Shu Uemura have a great clear gloss, but otherwise Paw Paw Ointment or Rosebud lipbalm will suffice.

The palette at Vena Cava (above) was much more moody, with pieces in slate, black, dark khaki, navy, taupe and a grey-silver, with hints of red throughout and one beautiful orange dress. The purple lips complimented the overall colour-scheme nicely and really brought the collection to life.

Purple lips are totally wearable, not matter what your skintone, and unless you’re going for a dramatic evening look, it’s best pressed onto the lips with a finger so you have a stain of colour. As purple lips arent always in fashion, I recommend finding a cheap one at Priceline or Target so that next season when it finds itself at the bottom of your makeup bag you wont feel guilty for spending $15 on it!

And finally, the other great colour-look found on Day 1 was at Ports 1961 (as above). Red is an insanely tough colour to pull off on the lids as it draws attention to blemishes on the face and circles under the eyes, and additionally, if the red is not right it has the tendency to make the whites of the eyes not-so-white. So why bother then?? Because red can look amazing! And it’s totally fun! And makeup is there to have fun with, no?

So… things to keep in mind when playing with red… Conceal amazingly. You need to have a flawless base. Use no other colours except for a taupe or broze to contour under your cheekbones. Take out the lips with a nude/beige lipstick or simply buff the lips so theyre at their smoothest and press foundation onto the lip. As red is such an unconventional colour for lids, it’s best to stick with unconventional shapes such as the futuristic one above. Classic shading on the eye is just a bit too plain and definitely do not go under the eye aswell (choose one – above or below – and stick to it), as ravishing as all of the vampires look on True Blood with their dead, red eyes, it’s best to leave that look to them.

Now, go and have fun! xx

(all pics from http://nymag.com/fashion/)

These are my faves:

The Shu Uemura Luxe false lashes in Black. The layers of lashes plus the crisscross pattern give you the fullest lashline but they aren’t obvious. It’s ahhmazing.

You know, in an ideal world, we’d wake up at 7am after having gone to bed at 3am because of some magnificent, exclusive event, do yoga and spend an hour getting ready, false lashes included. But seriously, I’d much prefer the sleep-in. Furthermore; I can’t imagine all of that lash glue (albeit super-sensitive surgical glue) to be too good for those wee eyes of ours, so our next best bet is mascara.

In my kit I have eleven mascaras. Yep, ELEVEN! They all have different textures, consistencies and colours and I really couldn’t live without all of them, but right now for the sake of this post and your sanity, I’ll stick to the black ones. I must have tried and tested hundreds of mascaras (ok, maybe 50?) and these are my current faves..

For lashes at the beach, out all night, at weddings or sappy chick flicks, you need waterproof mascara. Easily the best, and the one I know most great makeup artists have in their kits is the “Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara” in Very Black. You can buy it from Coles or Woolies, therefore it’s cheap. Bonus!

For good daytime natural lashes that won’t flake and create little craters of black under your eyes, and super easy to remove, I love the Shu Uemura “FibreXtension Mascara” in Xtra Black. It also just seems to disappear (not run, panda eyes)  when you cry or remove with water. Amazing.

And finally, for a sexy rockchic, clumpy, heavy lash, there is no better than “L’Oreal Paris Original Voluminous” mascara in Blackest Black. The consistency is really quite runny, the first coat extends the lashes and grabs them together and the second really makes them heavy, so it’s so exaggerated it looks like you blink in slow motion. Crazy.

Are there any others I should be trying??

annixx