Bridal Fayre

Hello, Bonjour, Hola my lovely blog readers!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Sandra Cormack of SC Makeup Artistry again. Sandra had a table at a bridal fayre in the Apex Hotel of Dundee, and had also suggested a fashion show showcasing the wedding dresses, as well as Sandras hair and makeup. It was a lovely day all round, if not a bit tiring!

There were 6 models, Rosie Gowans, Libby Forbes, Claire Holmes, Denisa Cargill, Jenna Falcolner and Lucy Ryden, and after setting up in a meeting suite of the hotel, Sandra got to work airbrushing the foundation, highlight, contour and blush onto them, as I began doing eye makeup on them. I used browns, taupes, lilacs, bronzes, and creams to offer neutral makeup that gave the eye a bit of oomph. Brown liner was also added just to the top lid by mixing brown eyeshadow with MAC Fix+ spray, and this really added to the 'wedding effect' of the makeup. I finished off with mascara, and Benefit brow zings through the brows. Lips were done with a dusky pink lipstick from NYX, and a muted pink lipgloss. I thought I'd find wedding makeup tedious and boring in comparison with the fun makeup I like to do on myself and others (ie the avatar!) but actually I really loved it and found it so satisfying to see the transformation.

It was great to work with Sandra, but also great to see her new airbrush kit in action - it really does make the skin look flawless and full of like. It is difficult to tell makeup is applied, so simply makes you look naturally glowing and healthy, now who wouldn't want to look like that? So an airbrush kit has been added to my list of 'wants!' :)

Sandra also did the hair - which is definitely not my forte! After trying and failing to curl Claires (the darkest haired and tanned model) hair with straighteners, I used the curling wand, and after a lot of guidance from Sandra managed to curl her hair! It was so fun, I can't quite believe I'm a 19 year old makeup artist and have never curled my own or anyone elses hair, but I'm so glad Sandra's taught me! I shall definitely be curling away some time soon! :) Sandra worked her magic on all the models hair, and boy, didn't their hair look amazing!

I've attached on some pictures to show you the eye makeup, as well as some from the fashion show - which I loved watching :) At the end of the fashion show, Sandra and I got a shout out and then had our pictures took for the newspaper - so that should be interesting!

I was worn out by the end of the day, and couldn't wait to snuggle up in bed with Dan.

Hope you like the pics!

Here's all the models eye makeup :)

Here's Sandra doing some last minute touch ups on Libbys hair - I love this hair style! Like a modern Marilyn :) Sandra is a hair genious!

Claire, Denisa, Sandra and Libby right before they went out strutting their stuff :)

I had to get a picture of this! I've been lusting after a tattoo for a while now, but after having my lip pierced but then deciding to take it out 5 years later as I got fed up of it, I'm not too sure me getting a tattoo is the best idea! However, I absolutely fell in love with Claires tattoo, it's so girly and untattoo like! :)

And now, for pictures of the actual show!

This girl was the cutest little thing ever!!!!!

This was my favourite dress of the show, love it!

Here it is again, lovely! Very princess like :)

Here's Denisa modelling with her real life husband! I must admit my eyes welled up a little when they came out as they were just smiling at each other - just so lovely!

This looks gorgeous!

Aahh I enjoyed the day so much, and love noseying at the wedding dresses :) It's made me all wedding broody ;)

xoxo

Pink Glittery Presents!

Hello sweeties,

So after my online shopping mania a few weeks ago my presents (to myself hahaha) have finally started to get delivered by my postman! :) Excitement! I thought I'd share some of the fabulous fun-ness with you! :)

Firstly, I ordered FaceOn Magazine, which is a makeup artistry magazine, that honestly left me speechless when I received it! It's packed full of the most incredible makeup techniques, insider info, artist interviews and inspirational pictures, I fell in love with this magazine and have devoured every word and image pixel of it! I can't wait for the next issue to come through my door! :)

Next, all the way from America is this lovely 'Barbie' necklace.. after seeing Nicki Minaj styling out this necklace I could not resist grabbing one for myself! I would have never had the confidence to wear this sort of stuff, but since I've gone the whole hog with pink hair I just think 'why not?' when it comes to clothes and accessories - I'm starting to wear stuff that I want to wear, not just to blend into the background, and I love it! :)

Next I got these fairy wings, which are soo beautiful! They're from a fancy dress shop based in Blackpool, and although pricey at £14, I feel they're worth it, as they're the sort of thing that really wow people and you never usually see. They were initially bought for a night out with the girlies all dressed as fairies, but as they're so huge and beautiful, (and cos they make it awkward getting in and out of doors!), I'm considering not wearing them.. however, when else would I wear them? So maybe I should just bite the bullet haha! :)

I was on Vogues website noseying at makeup techniques and their beauty pictures when I saw a deal, £20 for 6 months subscription, and a free bottle of Juicy Couture perfume! I couldn't believe my eyes, I've wanted both for ages, so it was brilliant to get them at this price! My perfume came on Friday, and I haven't opened it yet - it looks to pretty! But can't wait to spritz some on myself :)

Another makeup artist I've wanted since the start of time (well, maybe not that long!) is Beauty So Cleans Cosmetic Sanitiser spray. I got this from Guru Makeup Emporium, who have the best customer service EVER! :) I have yet to use this little item either, but it's great to know all I need to carry around is this bottle to ensure all my products are super hygienic and clean :)

Hope you guys have had lots of presents during the January blues!

Emily xoxo

My Makeup Collection

Hello sweetie pops!

So I had a shoot organised at my place for this past Saturday, which therefore meant me and Dan had to tidy and clean the house so it was all lovely, and I had to also organise my makeup properly! Yey! So, I organised a little makeup workstation on the dining table and set up a chair next to it for my lovely model Nina to perch herself on on Saturday.. and lo and behold, here's all my stuff laid out! Enjoy noseying and let me know if you have any questions about anything particular you see! :)

First up are about 30% of my brushes! :) Me and Dan had just cleaned these lovelies ready for the shoot the next day.

Here's it all from a distance :) It's an organised mess haha! Everything that's similar are grouped together in boxes or bags - for example I have a bag full of lipsticks, glosses, stains and lip liners :)

And here it is, my lip bag! :)

I have a box full of false lashes, and boy do I love this box! I've been experimenting recently by wearing two pairs of lashes at once, and I love it! :) I really like Red Cherry Lashes, and Hot Kandi Lashes popped on with DUO Lash Adhesive :) The NYC ones you can see are really good too though, and are from Superdrug for £2 each! Nice :)

This is my palette mountain haha - you can see my Z Palettes as well as MAC ones, a yaby palette and my homemade lip palettes. I also love love love Urban Decay palettes!

Here's my foundation, powder and concealer bag. I keep it in a Cath Kidston bag because it's super sturdy and cushioned, and also just because I absolutely love anything Cath Kidston and flowery! On myself as well as clients I use Loreal True Match with MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural and I get super smooth skin that looks super natural too (haha I'm a beautiful skin cheat!). I have really red skin too that gets flushed really easily, but Loreals foundation is so pigmented and long lasting it means I don't need any concealer at all, brill, and no redness shoes through :)

I have a little box of hygiene and skincare stuff where I keep things like primers, MAC Fix+, brush cleaners, cosmetic sanitiser, eye drops, moisturiser, MAC strobe cream, mattifying bases, hand sanitiser, wipes... I try and keep all this stuff in small boxes/jars/packaging as it means my kit is not super heavy, and I'm only carrying essential stuff. Make up and skincare counters are great with handing out sample size stuff, which is also perfect size for my kit! Win :)

Here's my eye bag where I keep my shadows, mascaras, eyeliners, eyelash primers, glitter liners.. anything eye related! I have a few shadows in here but I prefer to use them from my palettes which are organised well into colour groups - so I know exactly where a certain colour is at any one time! That's much better than rooting through this bag looking for an eyeshadow! I also have lash curlers in here, I did have the Shu Uemura ones and I loved them so much, they actually are worth the high price.. but I lost them on a train trip - sadness!

Here's my glitter pigment bag full of the most exciting things! It's like girl heaven in there. I have recently started using pigments a lot, I love them so much! Barry M do good ones but I particularly love NYX! :) I would try MAC ones but from what I've heard NYX are almost exact dupes, so I'd rather get NYX and save myself about £11 per pot! :)

Here's my crafty boxes of fun - they're so inspiring just to rummage through!

And finally a sneak peak into my house, lots of fairy lights, beauty magazines, candles and beautiful flowers! :)

Hope you enjoyed!

Emily xoxo

Look super hot on the beach... and everywhere else!

Hello lovelies,

I couldn't resist sharing with you these beautiful swim wear pieces from Betsey Johnsons collection - aren't they just delicious! I think I'd opt for the top one, but once I have a Kate Moss-esue body that bikini would be perfect hahaha :)

I absolutely love Betseys designs - I especially liked the dress Katy Perry wore, isn't it beautiful! I was a bit disappointed that such glittery fun dresses weren't available on Betseys website - they do offer dresses but nowhere near as beautiful as Katys dress!

My personal fave are these socks - the 'mexicali' design... they're just beautiful, and as I've been looking for a pair of over knee socks, I've just fell in love with these ones... Lovely :)

Betsey, I salute you for designing every kind of beautiful garment I could ever want.. If I had to only shop one place again for clothes - it'd be you!

xoxo

Makeup Rules & Trends

Hello lovelies!

So I thought I'd post about makeup rules and trends that fill the beauty pages of magazines, fill our minds and corrupt our thoughts! I believe everyone should wear whatever makeup they want, whatever colour, whatever style, whatever amount - because makeup is all about making a statement. In high fashion photoshoots - fierce makeup sets the clothes off brilliantly - as you feel as though the clothes are so wonderful fierce and terrifying that only fierce makeup will do! But over time people have started to associate certain techniques or colours of makeup with bad things! Just because a woman wears thick foundation doesn't mean she wants to look like Barbie! Red lipstick doesn't mean she's after sex! Heavily outlined eyes doesn't mean you're an emo! I'm sick to death of these ridiculous misconceptions about makeup! WEAR WHATEVER MAKEUP YOU WANT! :)

Another super annoying thing that seems to follow makeup around are these apparent 'rules' about how you can and can't wear makeup.. Well I have news for these rules! Guess what - stuff them all!!! You CAN wear a heavily made up eye AND a heavily made up lip... You CAN wear colours other than browns and greys on your eye without looking outrageous... You CAN wear whatever colour lipstick you fancy.. You DON'T have to match your makeup to your outfit.. You DON'T have to put your makeup on in a particular order.. You CAN use products aimed for one thing for other stuff - multiuse!.. these ridiculous rules are so deeply embedded in our sponge like minds that even I didn't realise I had some of these values. I used to think ew, that makeup looks kinda bad - but who am I to think that?!?!?! There is no such thing as good or bad makeup as makeup is all about art, it's all about your own concept, about how you feel, about making your own mark on yourself - it should not be influenced by rules or stereotypes or even trends!

Make has it's fashion forecast all of its own - now this is interesting to keep up with as often makeup looks from the back and beyond of time are revamped - but that doesn't mean you don't look good if you don't wear these styles!!!

WEAR YOUR MAKEUP HOWEVER YOU WANT IT! - even if that means with bright green eyelids and orange lips! Life will be so much more interesting if we all had makeup like that everyday!

Go and be experimental and stop conforming!

Emily xoxo

PS Please please please 'Like' my new promotional page on Facebook! :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milly-Her-Makeup/172857676090434

Accessorize... With Beautiful Rings!

Hello my dears!

As you guys know I popped in Accessorize the other day and got myself some fun fancy dress bargains in the sale, but when I was paying I couldn't help but notice some of the beautiful rings they have on offer. Now Accessorize always have lovely rings - but these were particularly special, definitely the best choice I've seen them have for a while. I could have easily bought about ten of them! So I thought I best tell you guys about what lovely rings they have on offer! I looked through their website and here are my favourites from the rings selection. They range from £4 to about £15, not bad eh;

http://www.accessorize.com/browse/jewelleryshoprings?ex=co_wizr-locayta&collate=price&collate=pdxtstyle&collate=pdxtcolor&collate=atrxsize&collate=pdxtmaterial&sortname=ascending&sortrelease=disabled&sortprice=disabled&sortorder=name:release:price&fieldcatrestrict=xancestorid&termtextcatrestrict=shop&typecatrestrict=exact&fieldrtype=type&termtextrtype=invt&typertype=exact&fieldpcatid=pcatid&typepcatid=exact&termorder=catrestrict:rtype:pcatid&template=wz_locayta&pagenum=1&perpage=12&threshold=0&spellcorrect=1&datasource=accessorizeeuen&setpagenum=1&isviewall=1&perpage=74&bklist=icat,4,shop,jewelleryshop,jewelleryshoprings

My favourite favourite ones are two from the top row(the pinky square one and the green one with the butterfly on the stone), and the huge purple stone one on the middle row :), and then the pink rose one on the bottom :)

Let me know if any of you invest!
Jewels and gems,

Emily xoxo

Favourite Makeup Books

Hello cupcakes!

After my favourite makeup artist posts on tumblr I received a lovely comment from Amy, with tumblr; http://donttellanyoneaboutthis12.tumblr.com/ who asked me to recommend more makeup artistry research sites, books etc - and what a wonderful idea! :D I've had fun thinking about my favourite makeup books so here goes..

First up 'Makeup is Art' by Lan Nguyen (an INCREDIBLE makeup artist) and AOFM (the Academy of Freelance Makeup - an amazing place to study makeup based in London). I have the second edition, but would love to get my hands on the first too. As you can see from the front cover below, the makeup is out of this world, a true work of art. The rest of the book doesn't disappoint either, it's full of awe inspiring images that just take your breath away. Now I must admit I've only scanned bits of the text - the information seemed quite useful but not such a necessity that I've read it, so I can't judge that too much, however, the images are worth buying the book in itself. Every time I pick it up ideas overflow in my mind of things I'd like to do! A must for any makeup artist! Even for anyone just interested in art - it is worthy of the name makeup art.

Next, I really love Alex Box's book. She is the creative director of Illamasqua - and when looking through this you'll see why. Her makeup skills are beyond my wildest imagination, I can only hope to be as good as her in twenty years! As you look through the book it shows developments through the creative process on a face, and how she adds various mediums - sometimes things like shaving foam! to create the most beautiful image. I strongly recommend this book! It has no images of typical beauty or wedding makeup - nothing 'normal' - just crazy out-there makeup that is breathtaking!

The next book is Bobbi Browns Makeup Manual. Now it has to be said, her makeup style does not inspire in the slightest compared to the above two books - however, she taught me all the basics I need to know. An important lesson I learnt from this book was regarding different nationality skin and what tones make up the skin - and therefore how to work from that to create a beautiful image - this was definitely an invaluable lesson. It also has a great chapter about how to develop your portfolio and your career as a makeup artist - this really inspired me and was also invaluable reading! The makeup looks in this book are more normal makeup and some bridal styles - there's no crazy art here, however, there is solid knowledge that all makeup artists should know - so use this as your platform to develop more knowledge!

Scott Barnes book entitled 'About Face' is ridiculously amazing! He uses the funnest makeup techniques ever - he literally daubs red, yellow and brown pigmented powders all over the bare face, then with a flick of his brush the skin looks flawless!!! It's amazing to see the step by step guide in his book on his techniques. He also has the most incredible before and after shots I've ever seen, he can transform anyone into a superstar catwalk model! I really love this book!

I received 'The Complete Guide to Makeup' when I signed up for BTEC Makeup Artistry, and so far it's been a real asset in helping me learn makeup techniques. The pictures in it aren't of what I'd call high quality makeup - however the text and instruction pages have been really helpful!

I own so many makeup books but haven't had chance to really delve deeply into them - however from what I've read so far these are the other books from my shelf I'd recommend.

Also - I don't any of his books but intend to very soon, - that is Kevin Aucoins books - he's an amazing makeup artist, so I expect his books will be too! Let me know what you think if any of you have read them! :)

PS don't buy these for RRP in the shops, you can get them for so much cheaper on Amazon!

However - there's one source of makeup pictures and often info that is great too --- Magazines! I buy so many magazines, and cut out the makeup looks that inspire me. I'm in the process of creating a huge scrap book full of makeup looks from magazines that I love, and I've seperated it into chapters of the makeup style, such as pinup, smokey eye.. :) They can often be a great source of learning by just trying your best to copy what is in the picture!

Let me know if there are any books out there that you love!

Emily xoxoxo