Bumble and Bumble Trends Presentation

Wednesday 4th and Friday 5th May

Another day assisting Neil Young, who designed the make-up looks for Bumble and Bumble's trend presentation at the Future Gallery. On the Friday I was left in charge to recreate the looks on the three models. Bumble and Bumble's Neil Moodie was heading the hair team, and was also presenting the looks on stage.

The Most Incredible Thing

Monday 21st and Friday 25th March

I was fortunate enough to be making up some male ballet dancers for The Most Incredible Thing at Sadler's Wells. The Pet Shop Boys have joined forces with renowned choreographer Javier De Frutos, to produce this new ballet based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairy story. The story follows a king, who will give half his wealth and the hand of his daughter to the inventor of the most fantastic object. I was working along side the amazing Neil Young, to give the dancers a mean and moody look.

L'uomo Vogue Shoot

Thursday 17th March

There were a lot of coincidences happening on this day. As I have done Steve Strange's make-up before, which he was very happy with, he asked me to do his make-up for a L'uomo Vogue shoot. I have shot for this magazine a few times before, with the amazing photographer Iain Mckell. I know Iain shoots a lot for this magazine, so I was wondering if he might be shooting it. I knew it would be right up his street, as I know he loves everything about the New Romantics movement. And lo and behold, it was Iain shooting it! He called me the morning of the shoot, explaining that Pam Hogg was now also going to be involved, and could I do her make-up also? Err, well yes I can, thank you very much! ;o) I once helped make-up the models for a video Pam was making, so I had met her before also, it was all very cosy! In more ways than one, lol! The space we had to get ready was the size of a postage stamp, for the clothes rails, four stylists, two make-up artists (another make-up artist, Charlie, was there also to groom Adam Ant, and Gary and Martin Kemp), all our suitcases and bags etc, and all the bodies.

Now Pam is certainly a lady who knows what she wants, which is great, she has great personal style, and is so friendly, she is a lovely person to be around. So with the make-up, it was about having her look like herself, and doing her make-up in a style that she would normally wear, she had a lot of input in it. Steve just cracks me up, he his so funny and doesn't shut up! He was off to meet Prince Harry apparently straight after the shoot, so he was very pleased to have his make-up done, and kept the clothes on to borrow for it as well!

http://www.artsphere.fr/index_artsphere.php#/IAIN%20MCKELL

Britain's Next Top Model

Tuesday 1st March

I have worked on BNTM before, and so was asked again to assist Lee Pycroft for this episode. We had an early call time of 8am at Sunbeam Studios, W10, so I was up nice an early. There were still 22 girls at this point, they were going to be photographed in pairs, and then the final cut down to 12 girls would be made. One girl told me there was about 80 of them the day before, so they must have really been feeling the pressure. When I was a participant in the show, we just went in as the final 13, which I think is a lot easier to deal with for those who don't get through. I wouldn't want to be filmed for the show and not get through, so close, but yet so far!

All the girls had pretty much the same make-up- a graphic black eye, with sculpted cheeks and nude lips. Some girls had black glitter on the eyes also, where some had gloss on the cheeks and lips instead. My first model was the first to shoot, so it was a bit of a stress getting her ready asap, whilst trying not to get black glitter everywhere, lol. We had been there waiting for the girls to arrive since 8am. The first girls had to be ready for 10:30, and we were finally given the girls at about...... 10:30! Always the way! ;o)

I can't give anything away about the girls really, and I don't know who the final 12 where anyway, but to me there was definitely one who stood out. I'm keeping everything crossed for her, she would be a very deserving winner! There hasn't been a black girl win yet either (that's the only clue you are getting!)

Marios Schwab AW 2011

Tuesday 22nd Febuary, 7:30am

Another show with Val Garland! :o) Back at Somerset House for my last show. Val was also keying another show which was showing elsewhere slightly earlier. As she can't be in two places at the same time, she wasn't with us at first. Her first assistant Laura did the demo for us. We used face and body foundation, sculpting cream to contour the cheeks very lightly, moleskin eyeshadow blended through the eye socket, gloss mixing medium on the cheekbones and temples, clear brow gel to groom brows, mixing medium matte on the lips, and a concealer pencil inside the eye. My second model had bleached, bushy brows which Val didn't want so I had the challenge of filling them in without it looking like make-up. And the third model arrived really late from another show, so a few of us pounced on her whilst she was also having her nails, and hair done. Her head was being yanked about so much it was quite frightening when I had to put the pencil inside her eye. But off she went to the line up with both eyes intact, so job well done I say!

Acne and Ajak!

Sunday 20th Febuary

The day I met Ajak Deng. I absolutely love her! What a ray of sunshine she was, such a sweet girl. She was my first model at the Acne AW 2011 show. The venue was some random building just down from Trocadero, Picadilly on Covenry Street. Call time was 7am, although it needn't have been at all, as the models weren't arriving until 8. So we all sat around for an hour in the freezing building, too cold to take our coats off. Lucia Pieroni was keying the look, with the focus being on quite a straight boyish, natural brow. Groundwork paint pot was used on the lid and under the eye, but not to look like make-up, more like a shadow, blended out. And on the brow and cheekbone, vanilla pigment was used, and then just concealer on the lips. Ajak didn't have the Groundwork or Vanilla pigment though. We tried to go and tweek the make-up ready for the show in the dressing area, but were constantly being told we were in the way, so it was left to Lucia and her first assistants and the rest of us just waited for the show to finish in the make-up area.

http://www.imgmodels.com/details.aspx?navbtn=1&cityID=1&modelid=461511&pic=066.jpg&subid=1767&mainsubid=1767&catID=1&indx=1

LFW AW 2011, Central St Martins MA

Saturday 19th Febuary, 5:30pm

After having had a bit of a snooze back home, I return to Somerset House for my next show. I get there about half an hour before the call time, and it's already bedlam backstage. Hair are taking up the whole space for hair and make-up, so we have to wait for the show before to finish and clear out next door so we can use the other side to get ready also. Luckily we are the last show of the day so can spread out. The reason why there is already no space is because there are loads of designers showing in the one show, and there are a lot of outfit changes for each designer, so you can imagine the amount of clothes rails, and the amount of bodies there are. Already, everybody is in everybody else's way, and it's only going to get a lot worse!

So once they've finished hovering up the hairy carpet next door, we move in to get set up. Mac's very own Neil Young is keying this show, go Neil! The look is a little grungy, a little gothic. The brows are meant to look a bit wild, like a school girl who hasn't yet started plucking them. We use Sculpt foundation, if the models lashes are naturally dark we knock them out a bit with foundation also, brow pencil warmed on the hand first then applied with a #266 brush, Brow Set in Mink, or brown mascara on the inner eyebrow, pushing the brows up and in a bit so they look a bit angry almost, it's not meant to look pretty, Groundwork paint pot blended under the eyes, sculpting cream to contour the cheeks, concealer to blank out the lips with Femme Noir lipstick buffed in to the centre, gloss texture on cheekbones, centre of eyelid, and cupids bow.

The show seemed to go on forever, at least an hour. Trying to fix the models make-up in between outfits was near impossible, they were just running in, changing, and then running back out again. Apparently some models were just pushing make-up artists out of the way, and we were constantly being told that we couldn't stand here and we couldn't stand there. So most of it was left up to Neil who was allowed to stand at the entrance to the catwalk. He said that by the end of the show some girls looked like they didn't have any make-up on! It's a good job the look was meant to be a bit grunge!!!