Model Makeup #2

This is the second in my series about makeup looks I have done on recent photoshoots. 

Today's model is Abi Green. It was great working on Abi because she is an agency represented model, and had a face that just comes alive with makeup (and the most perfect baby soft, blemish free skin I have ever seen!!)

Instagram: emilylaurenbeth

I was shown the outfit (it was all from Urban Outfitters) and was immediately drawn to the gorgeous neon coral colour of the top. I knew I wanted to reflect how fun and beautiful this colour was in her makeup too. For her lips I mixed two Illamasqua shades together, a bright matte orange called 'Flare' and a bright neon pink 'Immodest'. I used Bobbi Brown Foundation Sticks for her base and contoured with MAC 'Harmony' blush to accentuate her amazing cheekbones and then added a sweep of pink blusher to add some warmth and colour  as contour alone would have looked quite severe.

On her eyes I primed her lids with Urban Decay's matte primer potion, which is so good I have to say. On top I created a blown-out, soft wash of colour using the pink and copper shades from the Paranormal Palette from Illamasqua's latest collection. Using MAC's soft kohl eyeliner in 'Smoulder' I lined her waterline and finished off with lashings of MAC Opulash mascara. Her eyebrows were very fair so I added some definition with MAC 'Omega' eyeshadow. 
The finishing touches...
I painted her nails with the brightest pink I had on me, which was one by Maybelline. I wanted to keep her amazing skin quite fresh and glowing so I didn't add any powder until just before she was photographed, and only to her T-Zone.

The shoot was in preperation for an exhibition which has been on show in Urban Cardiff for a couple of weeks now. It's nice seeing some of my work on the walls, makes me remember why I love doing makeup so much. And I would love to work with Abi again!

Here's a final shot:

Lewis Hughes-Evans photography, Abi Green model.

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, £28 for 9g.

If I am honest, I had always steered clear of Bobbi Brown foundations because all of the cosmetic range has yellow undertones rather than yellow and pink like other brands offer. I understand that Bobbi feels that yellow undertones flatter everybody, however I do believe that you cannot deny that some people are pink through and through and would benefit from a pink toned foundation. 
Over my time on make up counters I experienced lots of people who didn't want to look 'too pink' and those who fake tan will also immediately have a yellow undertone, but for somebody who is pink, I personally was scared to try a Bobbi foundation.

Bobbi Brown foundation sticks were provided in my basic kit when I completed my makeup course. A bit dubious of these at first as I was so used to using liquid (I couldn't help but have thoughts of the dreaded 'Pan Stik'), my opinion completely changed within a matter of minutes of picking these up, discovering that they are gorgeous and creamy and so much more versatile than you might originally think. 

Depending on how much you apply, this foundation can achieve anything between a light coverage (or you could mix some with a moisturiser to make the coverage very sheer), to a full coverage. Using a concealer brush and dabbing it in the necessary areas, it can also double up as a concealer too. 
The best method is to sweep a flat foundation brush over the top of the product, allowing control of how much you apply and how much you blend it on the face (rather than using the 'stripe' method and ending up with excess product/making it harder to blend.) 

Since using it in my professional kit I have been so impressed by it's performance, it seems to work on every skin type, whether it be dry or oily, and the shade range is one of the most comprehensive available. It photographs flawlessly because it has no SPF in it.

I've been testing it out on myself and I am completely converted. I use the shade '00 Alablaster' which is the palest in the shade range and it matches me well. As it is in stick form it is quite a stiff product so it does take some time to work into the skin, and I'd definitely recommend a firm brush to do this with.
I have been using Illamasqua's Hydra Veil as a primer with this on top and my face stays in place for the entire day, with no touch ups needed. As a 'pinky' person, this yellow toned foundation doesn't look off balance at all, you cannot tell a difference and it helps balance any redness in my skin.

All in all, I think this is a very good product and I would recommend it for makeup artists and consumers alike. It performs well and there is bound to be a match for you.

Thankyou for reading,

E.

Model makeup #01

Evelyn so kindly included my blog in her '5 Blogs To Follow' feature earlier this week and in it she mentioned that she hopes I do more makeup artist related posts. I'm not sure whether many people are interested in this but I thought it couldn't hurt to do a 'trial post'. I thought a small behind the scenes type post about photoshoots I work on could be of interest to some of you if I tell you about the look I was going for and the products I used to achieve this. It's something a bit different and a lot more personal in one way, than I have included on my blog before. I try and keep work/blog/life as separate things but inevitably they will overlap at times :-) 
Anyway what I am getting at is feedback is appreciated! Let me know if you do or don't enjoy this post.

Instagram: @emilylaurenbeth

On Thursday I organised a beauty shoot with my photographer pal Lewis. One of the models, Naomi, is who I'm showing you today.
The vision of the shoot was just to experiment with vivid, vibrant colour. It was going to be beauty focused, (so mainly head shots with no attention to clothing or body poses) with a mainly editorial approach.

For one of the looks I decided to go all out. A test shoot is a perfect time to experiment with new ideas or techniques as it is a safe environment to learn. I decided to keep Naomi's skin fresh because she had these amazing freckles all over her face, so I made a tinted moisturiser just to even out any redness she had. I used Illamasqua Sealing Gel on powder eyeshadow 'Fame' to turn it into a liquid paste. Using an angled brush I filled her brows in with solid green colour!
Eyebrows have been 'on trend' in various forms (bushy, filled, feral) for a few years now, then there was the time Chanel hit the runways with amazing embellished brows. Many catwalk trends are unlikely to filter down to 'real people' but the element of the brow being a feature in day to day makeup definitely has. I love eyebrows and knew it was something I wanted to include in this shoot, so why not colour them in?

I created a simple contoured eye using NARS eyeshadow 'Abysinnia' and the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, with eyeliner flicks using MAC gel liner in 'Blacktrack.' In hindsight I would have made them a bit bolder and thicker. 
At first I kept the lips bare and then for a few more shots I put MAC 'Vegas Volt' lipstick on her. You can see both looks in the instagram images above, let me know which one you think looks best.

I put her hair up in a bun and placed some fake flowers that I found in the studio in, I think it really helps make the photo and ties the overall look in together well. 

So there we are, a little behind the scenes summary of a recent test shoot. I think that Naomi did a great job considering she doesn't model very often, and Lewis did a good job of capturing my vision! Here is a final picture:

Lewis Hughes-Evans photography, Naomi Shalom model.

Thanks for reading,

E.

My Make Up Artist Lip Palette

Top row L-R: MAC Blankety, Pink Plaid & Rebel,. Illamasqua Immodest, Flare and Apocalips..
Bottom row L-R: Illamasqua Drench & Russian Red,  Vegas Volt. Illamasqua Wanton, Plunge, Corrupt and MAC Up The Amp

I finally got my act together and made my lip palette. On most jobs, a lip palette is ideal because it saves both space and weight in an already heavy kit bag. I would only use lipstick straight from the bullet for a 'special occasion' such as for a bride on her wedding day or if I was to ever work on a high profile client (though that is a long way down the road.)

I've seen this process done in many ways, some use a whole lipstick, others a slither. Some melt the lipstick and pour into the box, others cut and smush. I made that word up by the way, but I'm totally sure you all know what I mean. 
I decided that I didn't want to sacrifice a whole lipstick to a Muji pill box. Instead, I cleaned all of my lipsticks and used a third to a half of the product, leaving some remaining in its packaging. Why did I choose to do this? Firstly, because I wanted some lipsticks left over, you never know if the Muji box will become damaged or god forbid, lost. If I had used 12 whole lipsticks and then something bad happened then I'd be waving goodbye to £150+ worth of makeup. Secondly, (as mentioned above) some clients would prefer to see an MUA working from a lipstick bullet rather than a messy palette of smushed up colours. (There's that word again.)

I also decided not to melt my lipsticks. I can't help but feel it is a massive faff for no reason at all, plus I am sure that melting and drying lipsticks will alter their original texture. I want my mattes to stay matte, and anything with glitter in I want to stay evenly distributed.

For this palette I only used a combination of MAC and Illamasqua lipsticks, because they are good quality and high in pigmentation, and not so expensive that it felt a sin to cut them up.

The process is straightforward but fiddly at times. I cleansed each lipstick and used a sharp knife to slice off the desired amount, then smoothing it into its section in the pill box. I later pressed down on each segment to secure it in place. Not as neat looking as those who have melted, but it'll do the job and that's what matters. 

I have used this a few times now and so far it delivers well. It is such a good way of keeping an amount of lipsticks succinct and it also makes it easy to mix different shades on the back of my hand!

Thanks for reading,

E.

Building my Makeup Artist Kit.

I thought I'd write a post to show you some bits I have picked up for my makeup kit. Some of you may know that I have been working on makeup counters in department stores for a while but I have decided to branch out into freelance artistry on the side because it's the creative aspect of makeup that interests me, not so much the retail/sales. I have always been fairly creative, I used to paint a lot and I studied a degree in Art History. I kind of fell into makeup but it's something I have a huge passion and inherent interest in (hence this blog, too!) so it makes sense to persue it and hopefully forge a career out of it.

I am booked into a makeup artistry course run by Louise Constad in April, the course includes a basic makeup kit so there are only a few bits I need to get to 'complete' it!

I recently left my job working for the Estee Lauder companies and thought I had better take advantage of my discount and place one last order to supplement any gaps in my future kit. I think the generous staff discount is the only part of the job I will miss! I decided to just order MAC items this time as they are reasonably priced, of good quality and are a brand I am very familiar with.

I ordered two brushes- the 210 eyeliner brush which is a staple in my personal makeup routine. It's very fine and works great with gel eyeliner or for precise detailing but to be honest you could buy fine paintbrushes from your local arts store for cheaper! I ordered the 188 Duo Fibre brush but I expected the head to be a bit larger. I noticed that there isn't a duo fibre included in Louise's kit and as I am so used to using brushes like this I thought it would add to the brush collection well.

I bought a Fluidline in 'Dipdown'. Louise provides us with the Fluidline in 'Blacktrack' so I thought it would be useful to get a dark brown gel liner as I use both shades regularly.

I bought 6 eyeshadows ready to pop into a pro palette, so I got some extras in shades I know and love and think will be useful. I bought 'Coppering' and 'Cranberry'- two of my favourites. They're so warm and unique. I got 'All The Glitters' as it would be a useful frost colour. 'Cork' and 'Omega'- two matte, natural earthy browns. 'Omega' is also great for filling in blonde brows. Then I got 'Sumptuous Olive' thrown in for good measure- a wearable, moss green.

So that's it so far! I bought a pill box from Muji to decant some lipsticks in. Would you be interested to see a post on that once I have done it? 

Please let me know if you like me including makeup artist related posts. 

What would be your kit essentials?