Tag: confidence

So I know it’s a bit early to talk about Christmas but the time has come, and I’m feeling festive already! Maybe it’s the Christmas adverts on TV, or mince pies in the shops or the fact that Baileys in on offer EVERYWHERE! Either way, I’m feeling jolly and in the festive spirit (okay, maybe that IS the Baileys...!) so from NOW until CHRISTMAS EVE at 11.59pm, my 1-2-1 make-up lessons are going to be reduced from £65.00 to £50.00!

There was once a girl with dry skin who thought she’d never find a foundation to ever make her skin look good. She searched for that wonder product for all her years, and never did her one true foundation come to being. Sad, the felt she’d never get good foundation coverage until she met her fairy make-up godmother who gave her some skincare advice...

Weddings are a big experience as well as a big expense; you’re in a place you probably won't know that well, wearing a dress and some crazy supportive/restrictive underwear! You probably won’t see your partner until you’re at the aisle, your family may cry, you’ll worry about the flowers/catering/table decorations. Being the centre of attention, everyone is watching you while you’re dancing, eating, crying and speaking. It’s one hell of an experience and can be a stressful one at that!

I shared this Beyonce retouch photo on my Facebook a couple of weeks ago. I've felt this blog post brewing for a little while, so decided to get my thoughts out after having spoken about it with other industry professionals. I'm talking about Photoshop and retouching of images. I don't think the unretouched photo is that great (make-up wise) but my feeling around these images is that the make-up artist responsible probably didn't have much time to get things right so she shouldn't be bad mouthed. Beyonce is likely to have a team around her for every makeup and skincare need she has but we forget that whilst she does have this life of privildge, she's a working mother, with ridiculous hours, tour schedules, rehearsals, travelling etc. Let's cut her some slack for having skin like EVERYONE ELSE because she's busting her butt with work and family. Reality check; it's what real life skin looks like!

So how is everyone's skin holding up this summer? Between dodging rain showers and the baking heat, I think I’ve just sweat a lot!
The sun might be sporadic but we need to be prepared for it. Following on from my other summer skincare post, as today is the first day of August let's make the effort to look after our skin. Here's some super easy things you can start doing every day!

I've known Nickie through the alt online scene for a fair few years now (Facebook says 5 years, but I reckon longer with the age of Myspace!) she is the owner and founder of Devolution Magazine and The Alt Collective, a fashion and art charity event that started in 2009. She's a one-woman machine with a dedicated contributing team working on the only alternative independent print magazine out there covering fashion, music, art, tattoos, lifestyle culture and photography; Devolution recently released Issue 40 of the magazine signifying 10 years of actual print! A decade of independent publishing is an incredible feat.

I recently wrote up this list for BODY, the Body Dysmorphia (bdd) charity I volunteer for. Lauren the CEO asked me to write a quick list of things that are cheap/easy to do that will help you feel better about you. So if you have 5 minutes for self care or 50 minutes, there's something in here for you.

I apply SPF to my face each day; so much so that I probably remember to do it more than I do brush my hair! SPF is important every day of the year, but especially in the summer and it’s best to incorporate it into your daily skincare routine. Do you know what else is good about SPF? It'll help prevent aging and skin cancer. Wearing SPF is is probably the most important thing that you can do for your skin; even in the dark and cold winter, cloudy/rainy days, you should put sunscreen on EVERY SINGLE DAY. Your skin rejuvinates completely every 25 to 35 days but the damage is permanent.

I have a lot of transgender clients, providing monthly makeovers for nights out to my one-to-one makeup lessons in order to learn how to apply make-up. There's not much I love more than hearing back from clients and getting photos of their make-up and practice runs.

Teaching clients really makes me happy! I've taught all over basic make-up tips and more specialised lessons for a specific look, and each of my clients have been superb students.

Zoe emailed us to say; "I have been struggling with my weight since forever and have decided enough is enough. I'm going to stop abusing my body, and celebrate it! To mark my change in attitude, I want a new gun-loving, burlesque-inspired look and was wondering if you would help me? :)"

You can bet your butt we can help!