First wedding of 2012

Yesterday was my first wedding of 2012, and although the weather was a bit hit and miss all week, in the end I think it stayed dry long enough for the bride to get married outside. The bride, Mary and her daughter and chief bridesmaid Nadine both wanted very different looks for the big day, and they were a real pleasure to get to know both on the trial day and again on Mary's wedding day..

You can see below the before and after pictures of Mary. All the hair for the bride and bridesmaid was done by Kyla with assistance from Amy, both from Kyla's Haircare. When I spoke to Mary about what she wanted from her look, she wanted to look like 'her- but on a really good day'. This made my job really easy and I think in the end we achieved that look.

For Mary's base I first prepped her skin using Korres Wild Rose 24h Moisturiser and Kiehls Midnight Eye Recovery Cream. I then used a wonderful primer by Pixi- Flawless and Poreless. This really does minimise the pores and create a wonderful base for the foundation to then sit on.

I used Laura Mercier's moisturising foundation in 'Blush Ivory'. This suited Mary's skin perfectly and evened out her skin beautifully. I used Laura Mercier's secret concealer in Shade 1 ( a real wonder product in my opinion!) followed by a touch of Calvin Klein endless light brightening concealer in 'Cream'. I finished her skin off with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in 'Light'. I am not usually a fan of MAC products but this finishing powder is so light and buffs on flawlessly.


 For Mary's finished look, I filled in her brows with Laura Mercier's brow cream in Soft Taupe. On her eyes I first used Laura Mercier's eye primer in 'Linen' followed by Pixi's Eye Solo in "Nude Nouveaux" along with some of Pixi's Smokey Eye Primer cream blended along the lash line. I highlighted her brow bone to create some extra lift.

Mary wore false eyelashes by Eylure. We trimmed them down so they fitted her eyes perfectly and they looked natural but still glamourous. I coated her lashes in a layer of waterproof mascara from Urban Decay. Along her top lashline, I used a small amount of a bronze/black eyeliner from GOSH- it s a long lasting eyeliner which lasts all day (and night!) when I wear it so I knew it would be perfect for the day. I used the Smokey Eye Primer from Pixi underneath Mary's eyes, using a smudge brush to blend it right in.

On her cheeks I used a combination of Givenchy's Prisme Blush in Bucolic Poppy and Benefit's One Hot Minute Bronzing Powder. Finally- on her lips I used Laura Mercier's lip pencil in 'Baby Lips' and Laura Mercier's Lip Stain in 'Shy Pink' with a dab of Lancome Juicy Tube in 'Spring Fling'.

Here is Mary in her finished look. I absolutely love this photo and her dress is stunning!

Nadine's base was by Rochas- Teint Hydra-Confort in Shade 21. I used Pixi Eye Bright Kit in Shade 3, along with Calvin Klein'endless light brightening concealer in a mixture of 'Cream' and Bisque'. I again finished her skin with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in 'Light'.

Nadine wanted a much heavier eye-make up than her mum, so we went ultra-glamourous, starting with Urban Decay's original eyeshadow primer potion. I used shades from the Urban Decay 'Book of Shadows' kit. Bust, Missionary, Gunmetal and Cobra to create her smokey eyes. Along with Zephyr and Skimp as highlight on her brown bone and into the inner corners of her eyes.

Nadine wore a full set of Eylure lashes, and I used Maybelline Eye Studio- Lasting Gel liner in Black to line her top lashes. Underneath her eyes I blended Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen in black noir to finish her eyes.

Benefit's Sugar Bomb blusher was the perfect shade for Nadine's cheeks and gave them a healthy glow. I finished the look by using a mixture of Pixi's clear balm and Pixi's Lip Booster in 'Theena' on her lips.

Below you can see Nadine's finished look

And finally here is the beautiful bridal party, dressed and ready to leave.  

A natural beauty...

Ok so not technically anything to do with make-up or fashion, but I couldn't resist sharing these photos of my brilliant dog and model extraordinaire 'Dolly'.

 She even has her own natural 'cat-eye' liner round her eyes. Super glamorous!

A real natural beauty....

Back to the Sixties

I absolutely love the fashion and the style of the 1960's. I got my chance to indulge in this last weekend at a 50's and 60's night for charity in aid of the local hospice here in Medway. Here are just a few pictures. My husband and I decided to go as mods, or a variation of this as we already had quite a few of the items required for this look!

I wore three different sets of lashes on my eyes- two on top and then I trimmed a pair down to wear on the lower lashes. I used the usual suspects of products including my Chanel vitalumiere foundation, Laura Mercier secret concealer, Pixi Gel Liner and Givenchy blusher.


I went very much for an interpretation of the pop art mod look with my eye make-up. Believe me this is more difficult than it looks to get it perfectly neat in the crease of your eye socket. My hair was rather helpfully already cut very much into a mod style. Annette chose to do this when I decided to dye my hair back to it's natural shade and I love it- very easy to style and looks 'done' as soon as I blow dry it!

My complete outfit (to the right). My dress was from Closet at Dorothy Perkins and was a last minute change from a more hippyish dress I had originally purchased. My tights were from House of Holland for Pretty Polly (and yes I got a fair few "you've got a ladder in your tights"). My shoes are a purchase from New Look many years ago, they always seem to come in handy when I least expect it-Grey, Lace up ribbon heeled brogues.

I'll try not to leave it so long between posts for you all xxxx