Photographer: Darren Purcell of Visionary Photography
Model: Bubblegum Harley
Make-Up: Emma Farrell of Emma Farrell Dublin Bodypainting

I was asked to do a high profile quiz event in Clontarf Castle last Thursday.  The event was in aid of the charity “To Russia With Love” to raise much needed funds.

Here are some behind the scenes photographs, some professional shots will follow soon. The model was David Mulqueen a personal trainer/director from The Edge Clontarf, a personal training facility based in Clontarf. I am no expert, but I think he might be good at his job if his abs are anything to go by.

Bodypainting: Emma Farrell Bodypainter
Model: David Mulqueen

I am doing a full bodypainting on Monday for the LA Make-Up Academy. I did a little test run today, here are the images:

Wedding Dress Designer: Sarah Foy
Photographer: Edel Kelly
Model: Bernadette McLoughlin
Bridal Make-Up: Emma Farrell

This is a photoshoot which was supposed to be entitled broken down mechanics…I did the bodypaint as planned, but ended up getting carried away with some colours afterwards. In the end these photographs ended up looking even better than the planned shoot. This is what I love about creativity, there are no rules and sometimes the best things happen by accident.

Make Up: me
Photography: Edel Kelly
Model: Sarah Tapes

Awards season has been in full swing for a while now, but today it was time time for good all Oscar to enter the celebration of talent, entertainment and skill. Oh yes the big guy has finally arrived with much a fan fare, splash of colour, swirling dresses, sky rocketing heels and of course beautiful eye candy Make-Up! There are just soooo many gorgeous oscar 2010 make up looks to talk about that I could spend hours droning on about it, however I wont…I will just give you the cream of the crop.

Anna Kendrick

Photo courtesy of Just Jared

I feel like I should always mention that look that is beautiful for its simplicity, I believe that Anna Kendrick’s Make up is just that. She is like a porcelain doll with beautiful flawless pale skin, perfectly shaped eyebrows and a fantastic smile.

Nicole Richie

Very often on the red carpet people play it safe. I love it when someone decides to push the boat out a little. I am loving Nicole’s sixties inspired Make Up Look. The feline shaped eyeliner accentuates her gorgeous hazel eyes.

Image courtesy of Just Jared

Stana Katic

I thought I would mention Stana, because of her twist on the classic hollywood red carpet look. She has gone for the flawless complexion, defined eyes and nude lips, however it looks like she is wearing false eyelashes on the bottom of her lashes. This is definitely a trend that I am seeing more of lately and it is a great way to make your eyes look alot larger.  The whole look is effortless glamour.

Stana Katic

Sandra Bullock

One of my favourite tricks for brightening up my complexion is a bright coloured lipstick. This fuscia coloured lipstick will give a youthful vibrancy to any look.. Sandra teams it with a clearly defined eye and a hint of blusher.

Queen Latifah

A smokey, sultry salmon and black combination make Queen Latifah’s eyes the centre of focus. She has a great ability to connect with the camera and smiles with her eyes in this photo.

Miley Cyrus

She is just absolutely stunning, this shimmery, vibrant look is just gorgeous teamed with her champagne dress. She has strong black liner on and thick black eyelashes which really make her blue eyes pop.

This is just some of the goodies that I got in MAC at the IMATS recently in London.

MAC Cosmetics

I think that too often we see what the finished product of a Make-Up Application is without seeing the before pictures. I thought that I would share a recent Make-up that I did for the University College Dublin Veterinary Ball that took place in the Shelbourne. I met the girls at a Workshop that I did recently for the UCD Woman’s week in partnership with the Student Union. they booked me for the ball because they wanted to make it a special night and have the treat of someone else doing their make-up.

We went for a very pretty, classic look, just focusing on the eyes by using dramatic false eyelashes:

Here is the before picture:

And After:

Products Used:

Make-Up Forever HD Foundation, MAC Blot Powder, MAC Blusher in Fleur Power, MAC Contour Powder in Taupe, MAC Highlight Powder in Emphasize, Estee Lauder Doublewear Lipstick, “Sarah” Girl’s Aloud Lashes from Eyelure, Clinique Curl Mascara, Skin Colour Eyeliner, Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Duo, MAC Eye Definer on Brows.

Ok, so I managed to restrain myself a teensy bit, surprise surprise!

I went to the MAC Pro Store in London, which is located in the heart of West Soho. My visit happily co-incided with the Gay Pride Festival, so there was a fantastic buzz about the place. I really enjoyed the vibrant energy and taking a peek at the wild drag make-up. I managed to “drag” hehe myself away from the parade to pop into the store and buy a few bits and pieces.

I got me some pigments of course…soo hard to resist!

I bought Fuchsia, Neo-Orange and Gold. I am looking forward to using these bad boys! Have a photoshoot coming up which I think will be a good time to experiment, will post the photos later so keep your eyes peeled.

I also got a fantastic glitter pigment called Crystallized Lime, think this will be really cool with the Neo Orange pigment to create a neon raver look!

Of course I needed a medium for the pigments so I got the eyeliner mixing medium, because it is safe to use in the eye area and it has a nice thick consistancy, which I plan to use for some intense colour.

I was also loving their lipmixes, so picked up three of them, Burgandy, which I thought would be great to darken any of the lipcolours I already have. Crimson, because it is such a fantastic femme fatale red and Gold to go with the gold pigment I got…I feel a gold themed look coming up

And of course it wouldn’t be a MAC visit without getting some of the old faithful, face and body foundation. This is one of my favourite MAC products, I go through tons of this stuff. I tend to only use a bit of this in the summer as I like my skin to glow. Also alot of the models I work with have impeccable skin so I only have to use this with a teeny bit of concealer.

Ok it wouldn’t be a a MAC visit without getting a few brushes….hehe well you know what they say, a bad workman likes to blame his tools so I just make sure to arm myself with only the best. I picked up the 188 brush, which is very similar to the 187, but smaller.

This is great for the application of foundation, because its quite small it gives you more control and lets you get right into the inner eye etc, but with it’s duo fibre you are able to get that airbrushed effect and build layer upon layer if needed.

I also bought the 214 brush, this is a nifty little thing for applying eyeshadow without getting any fallout.

I love using it for intense colour and bulding darker shadows. Because of the short hairs you can use it for very controlled application which make it brilliant for applying shadow to the lashline and smudging for that sexy smokey look.

The 217 brush is another tool I added to my make-up belt, it is brilliant for applying creamy colour base and applying concealer under the eyes.

I use it to apply the Hush base that I bought in London and my old favourite Bobby Brown Concealer “Creamy Concealer Kit in Ivory”

I also bought the 219 Brush For precision shading on lid, this is absolutely awesome for any blending that you need to do.

I can’t reiterate enough how important good brushes are. When I first started out as a make-up artist I bought cheap brushes from eBay…they did the trick at the time, but all I can say is that I have really stepped my game up in the last few years because I have invested in good tools which certainly make the job easier.

I also bought some other bits and bobs, but there is no point going into everything. Thank goodness for my MAC Pro card is all I can say, because it all ended up coming to about £300 but with my discount it only cost me £200. Still a lot of money, but  a bargain in comparison. Was around €250 with all the conversions.

Me likey alot!

Sick of carrying a ton of slap around with you, just to maintain the perfect look? Always manage to drop and smash an AWOL  eyeshadow, that jumps kamikaze style out of your bulging handbag? Want to try and reduce the space when travelling but can’t give up your make-up?

Well Bobbi Brown have the answer. They have come up with a nifty idea of making your own personalised palette where you can keep all your beauty must haves in one personalised compact. I always keep an eye out for palettes and have been known to buy a few in my time, but I always end up with shades that I don’t use and this can be a waste too. However with Bobby Brown you choose what goes into it. It’s really slim and you can fit nearly everything you need into it, eyeshadow, blusher, lip gloss and even foundation! There is a melted down version of their foundation sticks. This is a great portable make-up kit.

So I decided to get my own make-up palette and bring you through the steps.  This one would be ideal for a bride on her wedding day, or for a natural beauty look. I did notice that the colour swatches aren’t an exact representation of the actual colour, so just be careful! I have used alot of these shades before so I know what they are actually like.
1.) Choose which Palette you would like:

2.) Then it is on to selecting the eyeshadows. I have kept them very neutral and matt. The reason that we use matt eyeshadows for bridal make-up is because it looks beautifully natural. I have chosen “Bone” this is a great base eyeshadow  and for placing under the eyebrow. I find that this is one of the eyeshadows in my kit that I can never get enough of.

3.) The second eyeshadow to be popped in is Hot Stone. This is a warm brown that I like to place on the lid for a lovely natural, but pretty eye.

4.) The third is Espresso. This is a great defining colour and adds a bit of drama to a look. I use this in the socket and ensure that it is nice and smokey. I also like to use it as an eyeliner for both the top and bottom of the eye. It makes for a nice soft alternative to say a liquid or gel liner.

5.) Just went for a really soft gorgeous blusher called Tawny that gives you a lovely flush of colour. This will suit most undertones.

6.) Lipgloss in Cherry Pink, a  vibrant pink that makes your lips look irresistibly kissable. Gorgeous worn lightly during the day or pile it on for a more intense colour at night.

7.) Lipgloss in Pink Cloud, this is a gorgeous marshmallowy sweet lipgloss, beautiful worn for a day look.

Et Voila! Beautiful Make-Up nicely compacted for your handbag, I am an instant fan and I think you will be too. My only little gripe is that I think you should get a huge discount for buying it all together…it gets a little expensive. Thats all I got this time, but I think the next time I will investigate the foundation and also the quad lipgloss set…four miniature pink glosses that only take up one space in the palette, but thats another days work (and paycheck)!

Laters xx