The British Film and Television Awards took place last night and as per usual there was a plethora of glamour and star studded beauty. I thought that I would share my favourite looks with you. First up is Jaime Winstone, who has defintitely channeled her inner Marilyn. This look is total Hollywood glamour puss and I think I will do a seperate post on how to achieve this look later.

Image courtesy of Empire

I love Carey Mulligan’s short crop, she has gorgeous features that really suit this cut. She has kept her Make-Up very pretty, flawless skin, black eyeliner and false eyelashes, just showcasing her dress.

I absolutely love Edith Bowman and she has kept to a winning formula here, smokey eyes, with a beautiful black lined eye and lashings of mascara. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

Courtesy of bafta.org

I am loving Kate Winslet’s strongly defined eyebrows, they are great, really help to frame her face.

Photo courtesy of bafta.org

I have to mention the jewel of Irish exports, the fantastic Saoirse Ronan, she is blooming into a wonderful young woman. She pulls of simple sophistication like a seasoned pro.

Photo courtesy of bafta.org

Audrey Tautou’s red lips looked great with her soft twisted upstyle.

Image courtesy of empire

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

MAC Cosmetics

Last weekend I attended the International Make-Up Artist Tradeshow in Alexander Palace. I had a wonderful trip to London, delving into the many facets of the city…I spent some time wombling around the shopping mecca that is Oxford Street. Popped into MAC Pro in Soho, which is just around the corner. On the hunt for nautical inspired clothing for a friend, I delved into the alternative shopping destination that is Camden. They cater to every taste vintage, character, goth, neon madness and cheap/nasty.

Image courtesy of Rob Inh00d

Having recently given up dairy and being a vegetarian, I thoroughly enjoyed the delights of the vegan cafe InSpiral Lounge. They had really funky tunes playing on the Saturday evening and a really friendly atmosphere. I had a yummy Vegetable Bake with Nut Cream Sauce yum! If you are in London, check it out!

Photo courtesy of www.quarrygirl.com

I also went down to Southbank for the first time and met some friends in the British Film Institute, it was a hive of activity and is far superior to our little Irish Film Institute I just love the way that London has so many personalities, there is definitely something for everyone, from the hippy to the corporate type every taste, pocket and desire is catered for.

Image courtesy of theboybg

Anyway I have kind of gone off point there, as this isn’t a travel blog, back to the IMATS. I had a fantastic time and really shopped till I could no longer wedge anything else into my back pack and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it home with the weight of the thing! I will do a different post about all the things that I bought. I really liked looking at the fantastic work of all the talennted sculpters, make-up artists, model makers in the SFX display. Here are some photos:

Ape Sculpture
I hate to be negative, but I was a bit disappointed with the IMATS this year. My main goal was to attend some talks and learn some new techniques and listen to people at the top of their game. All I can say is that the lectures were badly organised, I felt that there should have been more talks spread across the two days and that they should have repeated some of the classes that they knew would be popular.

Nightbreed:
Queued for half an hour only to be told that it was full. Was very disappointed.

Eve Pearl:
She was very funny, charismatic and seems like a genuinely nice person, but I felt that her make-up just wasn’t up to scratch. Maybe it was because I was watching everything on the blown up monitor (I was right at the back of the hall) her Make-Up was not very tidy, the blending was off and the lip line was all over the place. The model’s skin looked extremely shiny and the make-up looked like it was sliding off her face. I kept willing her to fix it, but she just kept missing all her flaws. In her defence, she did say a few times that she couldn’t really see what she was doing. It was very disappointing as I really wanted to learn something new from the “masters” but I felt like anyone could have done that make-up…if it was a lighting problem and she couldn’t see then IMATS should have fixed it for her…did they not do a practise run?? I felt sorry for her, because loads of people kept leaving her talk, if that was me I would have been really unnerved and I thought that it was a tad bit rude of people.

Tom Savini:
I made sure to queue extra early for this talk learning from earlier experiences. This was the saving grace of the whole trade show. I felt that it was so inspirational to hear about his journey and how he had become such a phenomenal artist in the slasher film genre. Tom brought up some excellent points in the discussion and one of them was that you should always have your portfolio with you…you just never know who you will meet, this lead to the prolific statement that kept ringing in my head after the talk…I think this will become my new motto in life:

“Success is about being in the right place at the right time and being ready.”

Some of the stalls were disappointing. Compared to 2006 which is the last time I attended the show, it is a lot bigger. However as the old adage goes, bigger isn’t always necessarily better. On alot of stalls the prices were not that good, in particular Charles Fox weren’t offering any discount on the day, which I thought was a bit crazy seeing as it was a “trade show”. I did have a great experience getting a few bits in MAC, even though they were crazy busy, I still got the personal attention from one of the artists who helped me get everything I needed, I just wished that I had gotten his name so I could thank him publicly. Also I got a fantastic deal in Mouldlife, where I got huge discounts and a couple of free products to try at home.

I bought a DVD of the World Bodypainting Festival whilst in the IMATS. I watched it the other day and it looks AMAZING. I think that it is the last time that I will attend IMATS London, next  trip I am off to the Boden for the Bodypainting Festival where it would seem spectacle and entertainment play a big part in the procession.

Anyway I would like to hear some other opinions on the Trade Show In the meantime here are some more photos of the event:

Photo courtesy of http://www.istoleyoursoulforthis.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.istoleyoursoulforthis.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.istoleyoursoulforthis.com/

Witch

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.

I have decided to go on a little shopping trip to London…for of course…MAKE-UP! Armed with my M.A.C Pro Card I am going to stock up on cosmetics for my kit.

With this in mind I had to try and resist the lure of the Duty Free Cosmetics in the Airport. They make it sooo hard. Wrapping everything up in handy miniatures and travel compacts.

I particularly liked this try me kit from Smashbox. It includes some of my favourite products from Smashbox. The Photo Finish Primer, is brilliant for making your skin silky smooth and ready for your foundation. It also includes loads of their cream liners, which I like to use as a liner of course, but if I am going for a really dramatic look, I use it as an eyeshadow. Other products included in the kit are: photo op under eye brightener, brow tech, double-ended eyeliner&brow brush, lip enhancing gloss and an instructional DVD.

Anyway I managed to avoid the temptation and save the spondulas for London Baby! So we will wait and see what bounty I come back with teheehee!