Photo Shoot!

Last week I was asked to do the make up for a photo shoot, it was in a place called Snuff Mills in Bristol which is pretty much woods and a river, the model Vicky, who I have to say is a super star was at one point completely submerged in the freezing cold water and was a complete pro, despite the fact she couldn't feel her feet any more!

I just wanted to show you a couple of the photos!

The photos couldn't have turned out any better, I love everyone of them!

The talented photographer is Char Stone, who was lovely to work with, its sometimes hard to picture someone else's vision but she absolutely nailed it here! Vicky Coutts our model was amazing too!

I guess I just wanted to show off a little really! Hope you all like the photos!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Wonderful world of waxing

I have a friend who for a few years now always asks me about the dreaded bikini wax, every time I see her she brings up the subject whilst giggling like a little girl, in fact I can imagine her chuckling away as she reads this!
Basically she was scared it would hurt and then embarrassed at the thought of me (being someone she knows) doing it for her, I even offered to ply her with alcohol first but she still said no! It probably doesn't help that I may have told her a few stories from treatments I have done!
So I saw her a couple of weeks ago and she announced that she had been super brave and had it done at a salon near where she lives, and that it wasn't actually that bad! I hate to say it but I told you so!

So it dawned on me that there may be other people out there who have never braved the waxing table for one reason or another, here are my tips for getting the most out of your waxing experience!

Wax Virgin? If you are a first time waxer try not to be scared, the idea of it is a lot worse than the actual thing! If you can relax it will hurt less.....keep talking to the therapist even if its about what you had for tea last night any little distractions will help keep your mind off what's going on.

Exfoliate the skin in the area you are getting waxed 12-24 hours before your treatment, this ensures all the hairs are lifted and ready to be plucked out! (wait 5-7 days after waxing to exfoliate again)

Moisturise to stop any dry skin building up, this will also help prevent ingrown hairs forming, ensure the lotion is fragrance free for the first 24 hours. (Don't apply moisturiser on the day of your waxing appointment it puts a barrier on the skin meaning the wax won't adhere as well)

Brazillian? When you go for a bikini wax it might be a good idea to ask the therapist what their version of a brazillian, high leg, hollywood, etc are, it seems that there are lots of different ideas of what a brazilian wax is and trust me you don't want any unexpected surprises with hot wax down there! If you clarify before the treatment starts it should all be plain sailing!

Wishful thinker If you have shaved your legs for the past few years don't be disappointed if your legs aren't 100% smooth after your first wax, it can take a few sessions to get the al the hairs growing in the same cycle.

Enjoy! Once you've had your waxing done enjoy the results, being able to get your legs out with out even thinking about having to grab the razor or being able to wave your arms in the air like you just don't care because you have super smooth armpits should be reason enough to ditch the razor in exchange for the wax pot!

So you are all now ready to hit the beauty salons, ready, steady.....BRAZILIAN!!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Potty for Dotty Nails!

Dots are hot this Autumn so I have come up with an on trend nail design that will see you through this coming fashion season perfectly!

You can use any colour you like as your base I have chosen Peru-B-Ruby from OPI which is a dark metallic pink (a lot darker in real life compared to the picture!) and then do a reverse french polish and also colour the half moon at the bottom of the nail, then use a dotting tool to create the dots with in the white areas!
To see exactly how I got this look take a peek at my tutorial video...

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model Live

I don't know about you but I am hooked to this show! I don't care which country it is, I just love it, of course I do love BINTM the most, but then I am slightly biased! 
I love the fashion, the make up, the photography, every week makes me fall in love with make up a little bit more! 
I was sent some info about the Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model Live show which is being held the Excel Centre in London from Friday 28th - Sunday 30th October.
BINTM Live aims to be the event of high hopes and high heels, will also offer visitors free model training sessions from a top modelling agency, to prepare them for their turn on the Open Catwalk.
There will be plenty to keep any fashionista in search of fame occupied with the Paparazzi Zone with Company Magazine lets visitors get in front of the lens and see themselves as a Company cover girl, the Style Icon Workshops in association with Handbag.com, are a hotspot for top tips from fashion industry insiders, and the Powder Room is the place to be pampered with free facials, manicures and more!


TICKET PRICES:
Standard tickets are £20 and include entry to the event and a seat within the Main Catwalk Show.
Premium tickets are £28 and include entry into the event, a Premium seat within the Main Catwalk Show & Show Guide.  VIP tickets are the perfect treat at £49.
VIP tickets give you entry, VIP seats in Main Catwalk Show, Show Guide, a VIP goody bag worth at least £30, access to signing sessions with the stars of BINTM and entry into the exclusive VIP lounge


For more information or to book tickets, log on to www.bintmlive.com

Did anyone go last year? Anyone fancy going this year? You never know you could be the next big thing waiting to be spotted!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Information courtesy or Stuart Higgins Communications

An interview with Jemma Kidd

As I mentioned yesterday I was sent a copy of an interview with Jemma Kidd last week, as soon as I had read it I knew I wanted to share it with you all. I know most of you love make up as much as I do and it will be a good read for those of you who want to break in to the make up industry to pursue a career!

What lead you into make-up as a career?

I have been around the industry since I can remember. My mother was a model and my sister, Jodie, a supermodel. I loved being backstage watching the make-up artists at work, it always amazed me how creative and talented they were and the way they could transform a model’s look. As soon as I was able, I took an intensive make-up course and was then lucky enough to get an assisting role with Mary Greenwell, an amazing make-up artist. I worked incredibly hard until finally I was keying shows with my own team of assistants. I have worked with, among others, Matthew Williamson, Naomi Campbell, Peter Lindberg, Rankin, Jerry Hall, Jade Jagger and Sienna Miller.

I love developing new make-up products and enjoy seeing women smile after I’ve done their make-up.

What advice would you give to aspiring make-up artists?

Firstly, you have to have a real passion for make-up, a creative flair and an eye for detail.  Make-up is ever evolving and as such you need to constantly evolve as an artist. Your job never stops, I am constantly on the lookout for inspiration; colour swatches, random items that I like the colour of or images I love.

I would also recommend taking an intensive course to gain understanding of various principles and techniques. Then it’s a matter of gaining as much experience as you can and building up your portfolio.

You have a make-up academy in Notting Hill. Tell us some more about it.

The school is a place for people who want to learn how to apply make-up, be it professionally as a make-up artist or just women wanting to look their best. We offer personal tutorials alongside professional courses for aspiring artists, covering everything from vintage and bridal make-up to fashion and catwalk. We are a modern make-up school where courses are taught by professional make-up artists who regularly work in the industry and as such can pass on all the latest looks and techniques.

Our academy staff will be on hand at BNTM to discuss our courses and we will be offering exclusive discounts to visitors.

What would you say are the key trends for A/W 11?

Like fashion, make-up trends are constantly changing. This A/W the Sixties aesthetic is back in a big way. Nude lips teamed with bold brows and flicked feline eyes. The style icons of the decade, like Twiggy and Julie Christie, are a huge inspiration. Be sure to stop by our stand at BNTM for a Sixties inspired makeover with one of our artists.

Your make-up range will be available at BNTM. What can visitors look forwards to?

The Jemma Kidd Make Up School range features multi-purpose, handbag-friendly products including our award-winning crème highlighters, lipglosses and liners.

Our JK Jemma Kidd range is more fashion-led and fun, it’s about bringing high-fashion looks from the catwalk to the curb.

Favoured by celebrities such as Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian and Nicole Scherzinger, visit the Jemma Kidd stand to perfect your look and receive exclusive discounts on your new make-up must-haves. 

If you want to find out more about Jemma Kidd or want info on her Make Up Academy take a look at her website http://www.jemmakidd.com/. 

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Interview and Image courtesy of Stuart Higgins Communication's  

Make Up Monday - A/W 2011 look

This weeks Make Up Monday is a little bit of a continuation from last weeks Flawless skin post. With Autumn fast approaching now is the perfect time to get your make up look ready.

I was sent some info last week about the Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model show which takes place in October (more about that later in the week), but along with that info I also received an interview with Jemma Kidd who is a renowned Make Up Artist, she talked about what she thinks is the hot look for next season, so I thought this would be a great time to come up with a look for you all!

The look for next season is flawless skin, feline flicks and nude lips!

The look I have created this week is slightly more dramatic so I'm thinking it is more for the evening but you could easily adjust it for the daytime by either not using the false lashes or finding some smaller ones!

In this look I used demi lashes which are basically half lashes that just sit nicely on the outer corner of the eye to give a feline looking lash! I used liquid liner along the lash line and then a khol pencil on the water line of the top lashes to darken everything up!
To see exactly how I got this look take a peek at my tutorial video...

I hope you like this look, its such a simple look to do but is really effective!

Happy Make Up Monday

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Little Wedding Helper!

I have been working with a few brides recently, getting them glammed up for their big day. I feel that over the past few years I have become a fountain of knowledge when it comes to weddings as I get to hear all about the planning, the dress fittings and all the added extras whilst I'm placing the vital bobby pins and lashings of mascara. One thing I know is that when I meet my prince charming I want my wedding to be me, not particularly traditional, something a little different but still weddingy, and I know just the person to help with that! I have a friend who should be every bride to be's best friend.....welcome Kirsten The Little Wedding Helper!

Kirsten is a wedding stylist and has an amazing eye for detail and style. If you have a theme in mind she works her magic and brings it to life with perfection being the end result, I have already said I want her to style my wedding, just need to find the husband!

I attended the launch evening of The Little Wedding Helper which was of course styled beautifully and full of great people, I wanted to share the photos with you (there are quite a few!!)

Gorgeous Meringues and cupcakes from Cheeky Cupcakes

 This cake tastes as good as it looks, Chocolate Delores hand makes cakes and chocolates (quite easily the nicest truffles in the world!) to die for!

 Want to arrive at your wedding in retro style? Why not choose a VW splitscreen camper, this definitely turned heads parked outside the venue! 

One other thing that can not be missed out was the photo booth! Photographer Martin Permberton set up a screen, provided props and snapped away, the pictures turned out great and now I cant wait to have a party so I can get him involved! Martin is a great photographer so take a look at his work!

 Here's a couple from the launch for you to see,

 Me and the Lovely Little Wedding Helper Kirsten

and with my gorgeous Mummy (you can see where I get my princess tendencies from now!)

So if you are getting married or you know someone who is, it is definitely worth looking up http://www.littleweddinghelper.co.uk/ for all those details that will make your day even more magical than you can imagine!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Learn & move on!

I have by my own admission have had a pretty tough year so far, and I have had a little bit of a reality check. I believe that its in your time of need that you find out who the true people are in your life, and this is a massive thing for me. My mum sent me an email the other day that had a paragraph that really stood out to me,

There comes a point in your life when you realize:

Who matters,

Who never did,

Who won't anymore...

And who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past,

there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

This couldn't be more true! I am guilty of trying to hold on to the past, maybe because it's scary to move in to the future, especially when the future holds lots of change. I am not very good at dealing with change so when I had my accident and my whole life changed in a split second I found it very hard to deal with! But in every bad situation must come good (or so I keep being told!!), so rather than gripping on to the past for dear life, let it go and move forward, like the quote says there's a reason those things or people are in the past, find the positive and focus on that. Only take the truly important things into your future, your life is too important to live it for other people!

Grace xx

Tropical Nail Design

With the lack of sunshine we seem to be having this summer I decided that I would bring some to my nails with this tropical nail design!

For this I used konad stamping plate M63 for the green pattern and Bundle Monster plate BM210 for the yellow pattern. I then used a dotting tool to create the flowers with a bright pink nail art paint. This design was so simple and quick to do, and will brighten up your nails in no time!

For a full tutorial take a look at my video,

Hope you like this design.

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Weight Loss Wednesday - week 7!

Ok Ok I'm going to confess straight away....things didn't go quite to plan this past week! The scales show

+/- 0lb

Which is definitely better than putting on, but still slightly annoying at the same time. Anyone who has ever done a diet will know that's just how its goes sometimes so hey ho, one thing I did notice when I looked back through my food diary is that I only had one lot of salad all week....How naughty! So I have given myself a talking to, have stocked up on veggies and fruit and am determined to get my five a day this week!

Talking of five a day, I have three foodie items that should be every dieters best friends!

Butternut squash, is a great substitute for chips and other carbs, simply chop it up in to wedge like pieces and bake in the oven until they are soft (200 degrees will take 60-75 mins). I like to spray mine with low cal oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic flakes! YUM!

You can also make soups, add them to a warm salad or eat them cold! 

Grapes, I like to try and kid myself these are sweets! It doesn't always work but is worth a try! One thing I like to do is freeze them, simply pop some loose grapes into a freezer bag and let them freeze, this is a great alternative to an ice lolly and is great when you are low on points but still want dessert!

Green Tea, sometime green tea can be a bit of an acquired taste but if you add a slice of lemon that will help! Green Tea helps boost your metabolism which is great when trying to loose weight. So try and get at least one cup a day in, every little helps!

All of these diet friendly items are zero pro points so get stuck in!

Grace xx

Everyone loves a freebie - August!

I'm a bit behind with this months everyone loves a freebie post, but I still wanted to let you all know about the goodies you can get free with some of our favourite magazines this month!

First off is Cosmopolitan, you will receive a set of Eylure false lashes. Eylure is one of my favourite brand for falsies so if you haven't tried them out already this is the perfect opportunity!

Marie Claire gives you a double wamy of free gifts with a travel size Dove conditioning hair treatment and a Nail varnish from Ciate, this comes in two shades, either nude or deep metallic purple, as you can see I went for purple in preparation for autumn!

And InStyle, this months edition is jam packed with up coming autumn styles and fashion must haves, you will also get a 40 page Best beauty advice we've ever heard booklet full of top beauty and make up tips!

So that should keep us all busy for a while!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Make Up Monday - Flawless!

The up coming fashion season sees lots of vintage styles filling the shops, this means that the classic make up look is back, but one thing that accompanies the classic make up look is flawless looking skin! For those of you lucky enough to have perfect skin you will be set for Autumn but for those of you who don't, read on, I have a few tips to help to perfect the look!

First of all lets go back to basics, a good skin care routine is a must, its a case of if your base is good the end result will be even better!

An ideal basic routine would be cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise, prime and make up.

Cleanse and Exfoliate to ensure the skin is squeaky clean, then Moisturise, this is one of the most important steps to helping the skin look great, make sure you wait for it to skin in and settle on the skin before you apply any other products.

Your next step would be priming the skin, you have a couple of choices you can use a normal primer, I love the MUA primer, or you can use a skin brightening cream, these give a bit of extra glow to the skin, my favourite is Bright Here, Bright Now from Soap & Glory.

 

The next step is applying your make up, to get the flawless look I suggest using a brush to apply your base, a flat headed brush is best, if you apply in circular movements this will give a light even coverage.

Apply a small amount of concealer to any blemishes or dark circles that show through the foundation and then finish the look with a powder.
The key to achieving flawless looking skin is to build up your make up, you don't want the make up to look caked on.

In next weeks Make Up Monday I will be doing a tutorial on an Autumn/Winter make up look so make sure you apply your moisturiser in preparation!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Every year in August Bristol hosts the International Balloon Fiesta. I remember going when I was really little and to be honest I still get just as excited now as I did then! A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to actually go up in one of the balloons, It was quite honestly one of the best things I have ever done in my life! We are really lucky as where we live has an amazing views of Bristol and the normal flight path of the balloons is straight past our house!

This year the weather was fairly good and they managed to get at least one flight up every day, on Friday evening they not only flew over our roof tops but they landed on right opposite our house so we headed over to have a nose!

 These two were a little too close for comfort!

Don't you just love my artistic photography!! 

The Red arrows also did an amazing air display

 I was a bit slow with my camera and missed all the good bits! You can see the red smoke though...

...and if you look carefully here you will be able to see a faint heart they made in the sky!

If you have never been to the Balloon fiesta you really should, its something everyone should see at least once!

Grace xx