The "Tram" Woman

Unless you have been down a coal pit for the past week, you will of course have seen the YouTube footage of the woman pointing out the non English/British people travelling with her on a Croydon Tram.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8IlOBKaeTI&noredirect=1

At present, we do not know if she was drunk, high or just plain disgruntled. But let's play devils advocate and assume she was disgruntled, lets imagine she grew up with white being the predominate colour in her neighbourhood.  20 years later, she realises there are a sea of foreign speakers and black and brown skins around her. Now she could move to the furtherst corners of Britain, where there are still pockets of the community where you never see a face browner than a St Tropez fake tan will allow. But, if economics does not allow for that contingency, then what are your other options?

At one point, England (I will not say Britain as that includes Scotland, Wales etc all conquered countries) governed one quarter of the globe.  That meant that England exported  millions of men, woman and children to those continents.  These same people would then tell the indigenous folk, that were still alive after being raped, beaten and degenerated. That they were now part of the British Empire and was therefore obliged to follow the law that governed them. They were taught to respect the King/Queen to study English history and to generally see  themselves as British.

Spring forward to the present day. Those children of the Empire have come home to roost and we now have a multicultural and multiracial society.  With London being the most diverse city in the world.

After viewing this video several times, I did not feel she was racist as she did not use the usual derogatory words to describe other races but I do see that she is seriously xenophobic and extremely ignorant (at one point she told a  Nigerian woman to go back to Nicaragua!!) and of course that great line from the imbasillic minority "you can't be British if your'e black"

The truly sad thing was during her rantings, her two year old son had to listen to words of hate through a tirade of four letters words. A child's mind is like a sponge and until he can think for himself, he will believe what ever he is told.  The result is more killings like that of Stephen Lawrence.

Britain is an Island that is inhabited by people of every race, creed and colour.  It is not unique, every country on the planet is populated by other cultures.   It will never be reversed, because unless you are very stupid, you will find that all the worlds great resources like diamonds, gold, oil etc all reside in countries where the indigenous people were brown or black.  Instead of seething with hate, why don't you knock on your neighbours door and ask them for a recipe for kapuśniak , you can get all the ingredients in Tesco I hear!!

Catch up!

Oh wow! Just realised how long it has been since my last post!.....just where is the time going??? So let's recap the past few weeks.:

Amanda Knox was let out of prison. I myself think she is guilty of something and the fact that she named someone totally innocent for the crime will always erk me!


Micheal Jackson's Doctor has been found guilty.  Well, I think the doctor was more influenced by greed than his Hippocratic oath.  We all long for a personal client. There is a form of security in knowing that you only have to think about one person and that you will be paid handsomely for some period of  time.  But when you start loosing yourself and don't even bother to question something that is morally or ethically wrong, it's time to find a new client!

Gavin Henson took part in the Batchelor and I am sad to say, I got sucked into this particular reality show. Millions of us waited with baited breath for a love story to unfold and for Gavin Henson and Leyla to walk off into the sunset.......but hold on, just a minute! He did not go for the nice girl next door, with the nice welcoming family, instead he went for porn star Barbie, who within days of "getting her man" was getting her baps out to prove what a "winner" she is.  It is a shame that although coming on the show claiming to be looking for love, he instead went for the pulling of his loins, which, quite frankly, being Gavin Henson, he could get a girl like that every day of the week and twice on Sundays! Nice girls are like gold dust and yet he let it slip away so easily.  Now we will all  have to be content with Carriane and most likely her mother too (who is quite proud of her daughter flaunting her assets at the  drop of a fiver), selling every sordid tittle tattle they can.....well, he brought it on himself!

As for work, met some great people and some not so great.  Met a nightmare of a stylist, who like me was booked as a freelancer for a magazine.  We were all given a brief of what the client wanted, but this particular stylist wanted to change everything to suit herself.  Kept reiterating her credentials as if that was to sway the whole team.Well it's a name we won't forget alright, but for all the wrong reasons. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, also known as Mrs Clegg who is such a warm,down to earth  Spanish 'lady' , who exudes charm and grace, I also got to taste Nigella's Cappuccino Maringue (receipe soon to be published) that tasted sooo good and light, that it hardly touched the sides, even after 4 slices, if I'd had space in my Zuca bag, I would have taken the whole lot home!

Speaking of Zuca's I have recently purchased the Zuca pro backpack.  Yes, I could have waited till IMATs next year, but patience not being my strong suit, I decided to order from the US via Ebay.  At a saving of £20 I thought I was quids in.  That was until it arrived in the country and I was told I had to pay an additional £30 import VAT (not such a bargain as I'd hoped).

So, what do I think of the backpack?.  Whilst, like the Zuca case, there are lots of compartments and I was able to fit almost everything in it. I unfortunately travel with large cans of hairspray L'oreal Elnett satin and Infinium to be precise and until I finish those and can purchase the smaller cans, it is quite a tight squeeze.  As for the wearing of the backpack,   it is quite wide when you have it on your back and I sort of feel like Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, but when attached to the Zuca case it stays in place and saves my back and the dreaded widows stoop.  Not sure if its worth £140 though but hey ho, at least I have the matching set!

Legal Highs??!!

Autumn is here and I am prepared. Are you?  I have been taking Olive Leaf Complex Capsules (Boots or Holland & Barret RRP £29.00) for over 3 years and I have only had the sniffles once in that time (to be fair, this was due to the fact that I was abroad and sharing a hotel room with someone who had a cold and unfortunately, I had not brought my supply with me) Nevertheless, upon my return to London, I took my capsules and rested in bed and on the next day, there was no sign of a cold.  The Olive leaf works at boosting my immune system, although, to guarantee success, I did double up on the recommended dosage!

Due to plenty of work at the moment (all hail San Precario, Patron Saint of all freelancers!) There's been times after a long working day and an early start the next, when it has been hard to get out of bed.   Especially when the mornings have started looking like midnight!    Never one to indulge in narcotics of any kind, (not even caffeine laced libations) instead I opted for a herbal pick me up.  I purchased Bassetts Soft & Chewy Daily Energiser Pastilles (Boots RRP £5.65).

They taste like slightly bitter wine gums and after taking one a day, I noticed no change in my demeanor whatsoever. On the 4th day I decided to up the dosage to the maximum stated on the box, which was no more than 3 pastilles.  Well, since upping the dosage, I have slept for a total of 4 hours....... in the past 3 days!  I should be walking around with matchsticks holding open my eyes, pumping coffee into my veins intravenously, but nothing.  Strange as it may seem, each 30 min "nap" feels like I have been asleep for 8 hours. I feel refreshed and unable to go back to sleep.

I'm not sure when these pills will finally work through my system or how much damage it may or may not be doing, or whether mixing it with the Olive leaf was a seriously bad idea,  but  as I sit in front of my computer, wide awake at 2 a.m! I am utilizing this time by finally sorting out my  Linkedin page, whilst still able to conduct a full days work. After all, what goes up...must come crashing down eventually....even me!!!

Zuca Case Updated

So I have given my Zuca Pro Artist case a really good outing....on public transport! All I can say is Wowza!  There I was on a crowded Jubilee line with no seats in sight and so I sat on my Zuca.  Not only did I not have to lift the trolley onto the tube (because of the wheels, I was able to drag it on with no difficulty...obviously, I would not advise doing this on tube trains with large gaps between tube and platform!) but it was quite sturdy, it didn't budge when we turned corners or stopped suddenly.  I sat there, reading my Metro until I reached my destination and so comfortable was I, that I forgot I was actually sitting on my kit and almost left the tube without it!

Zuca Pro Artist Backpack

At the moment I carry all my hair stuff in an ordinary back pack, which I have fashioned onto the handle of my Zuca, but this has not been successful as invariably it slides off to the side, taking my arm with it.  So I have decided to go the whole hog and purchase the Zuca pro artist Backpack which can be strapped onto the Zuca case (not to be confused with the ordinary Zuca Backpack which is considerably smaller). My only issue now is can I wait for IMATS  in February to bag a bargain or buy it now....Mnnnnn??

Zuca bags stacked

What Makes a Good Makeup Assistant?

One of the many ways to extend your knowledge of makeup artistry, is to assist other makeup artists who preferably, have been in the business for sometime and can offer advice and tips in any given field. Whether that be film, theatre or editorial.

You can make the rounds of all the major agencies (a list of which can be found on www.ftape.com) and ask them if it's possible to assist any of the major artists on their books or you can contact any artist directly.  Keep in mind that most of these people get many, many emails on a monthly basis (if my own inbox is anything to go by and I'm not exactly Pat McGrath!) But the key is to stand out from the crowd.  When you contact these people, talk about your interests and what you are prepared to do. If you are willing to travel, work long hours etc.  If possible, attach any work you have done.

So, once you have been extremely lucky to get your foot in the door, you have to ask yourself if you are prepared to stick it out.  You will, for the majority of the time,  be asked to "work" a full day for no money. To clean brushes and paint models toes (and sometimes they can look a little suspect to say the least!) to make the tea, to run errands, to clean up.  But the things you will learn will be invaluable and allow you to fast track your knowledge.  You will learn things that would have taken you years to find out on your own. More importantly, you will meet people that will benefit you in the long run.

But as I mentioned earlier, it is a very competitive position and it's usually rare to find a "great" assistant.  In fact, there are some, who being inert is an art in itself! The trick to success is to make yourself indispensable.

So based on years of working with assistants, here is my list of do's and don'ts:

Do
Get to location early. If call time is 8:15 get there at least 10 mins earlier, it shows you're keen.

Don't
Get there late and spend most of your time on facebook talking about "the celebrity" your working on.

Do
Make sure if you are asked to bring brushes or a hairdryer, that it is packed.....  and working!

Don't
Spend all your time talking to the model/celebrity instead of actually working, you are primarly there to help.


Do
Remember to practice whatever you have learnt, you never know when you will be asked to recreate it.

Don't
Moan within earshot, no one want's to be around negativity.... save it for when you get home!

Do
Ask before doing anything! It's nice to think ahead, but some artists don't like their brushes cleaned the second it leaves their hands!

Don't
Stay an assistant for more than a year. You will never be taken seriously as an artist in your own write.

Do
Make sure you make an impression for all the right reasons. You are more likely to recommend a great assistant rather than a mediocre one.

So if you're sure that is the route for you, be prepared for some hard grafting and hopefully some fun jobs.

Good luck!

The Makeup Show Berlin - A Must for Makeup Artists?

I have just returned from The Makeup Show in Berlin.  This is a 2 day show that usually takes place in New York, L.A and Chicago but for the first time ever, it has been brought to Europe.  It promised to be bigger and better than IMATS and more relevant than the Professional Beauty Show.  It was a brave boast considering it was going up against the Professional Beauty show taking place in London at the same time, not to mention London Fashion Week!

We arrived on the Friday ready to go to the VIP networking party, which was held at the venue from 6 until 8pm.  Unfortunately, no one told the yanks that Europeans could perform drinking as a national sport and thus the bar ran dry after an hour.  People dispersed fairly shortly after that. To be frank, I was not too optimistic about the next 2 days.

UV Pigments

On the second day, we arrived pretty early soon after they opened, to avoid the rush.  With our VIP wrist bands that we purchased in London, we were able to walk straight through with no problems.  The major stands were Inglot and  Makeup For Ever (which was to be expected as they were sponsoring the show).  Since they closed their stand alone store in London, It's hard to find the full range, so I headed straight to the Makeup For Ever stand.  Dany Sanz co-founder herself,  was due to be at the stand but had to fly home for personal reasons, but there were other Makeup For Ever creatives on the stand to sell and discuss the products.  My personal  best buy/recommendation was Fluo night UV Pigments  in 8 electric shades. They can be mixed with any medium: hair gels, lipgloss, foundation or mascaras.  I also loved their Aqua Liner. A high precision waterproof eyeliner with 15 intense colours. They have them in matt, iridescent and diamond finish. Eyeliner glides on with smooth precision and unlike most glitter type eyeliners,  this uses fine pigments so the intensity lasts all day and no fiddly glitter bits ending up all over the eye.  Has to be removed using waterproof makeup remover (beware, it was still on the back of my hand even after I had washed them!)

Debbie Bondar Founder

Anyone who has read my previous blogs will know I love, love Face-Atelia Ultra Pro foundations and who was on their stand but the incredible Debbie Bondar, a warm, funny  "jewish mama". A  tiny American, who shouted out "Honey your a 10!" as I walked up to her stand. Obviously I thought she was referring to my striking good looks, but apparently it was the shade of foundations that she has just developed for black skin!...oh well.  She has brought out colours such as 0- (brilliant white), 0+ (mid brown), 0++ (Blue black), which you can use as a mixing medium,  to lighten or darken any foundation meaning you only need 3 basic colours and not the whole 16 colour range.  What impressed me was the 0++ did not look ashy like many of the extreme dark colours I have sampled in the past.  Debbie knows her stuff, I was a 10. I must confess, many of my hard earn Euros went on their products, from the extra long moisturizing lip glosses, to their transforming gel (a mixing medium that stays in a circular blob rather than runs all over your hands like many of the other watery mixing mediums) and their brushes.  And of course there was the exhibition discount (you know how we love a bargain) This is a women I intend to keep in touch with!

Speaking of bargains, there was the Alcone Store which sells everything from Zuca bags to makeup sponges and everything in between.  Now there were a lot of  American stands at the show and as we all know, Americans can be pushy. At times it felt I was back in a Marrakesh bazarre with the shop owner basically following me down the street to get me to come into their store.  But one exhibitor did it with humour and that was the guy at Alcone, he was informative, funny and bitchy with it.  He got the English humour thing and it worked in his favour because his Zuka bags were flying out of his stand like they were stuffed with fivers and this despite the fact they were being sold at double the price sold in the UK and US! 

But my main reason for being at the show was the promise of industry professionals and agents looking at your portfolio. Seasoned makeup artists like James Vincent, Andrea Mayr, Maurice Stein, Loni Baur and many more. Agents like Sternen-faenge and Nude.  Now we all know we get bored of looking at our own books and so we chuck out images we think are not strong enough or we leave in something we absolutely love but no one else shares the same passion for,  or we are weary of showing our book as we doubt it's as good as someone elses you have seen, and if like me, you are not sure what exactly agencies are looking for in your book, this is the place to be.  But let me tell you, this is not for the lilly livered. There were some brave souls out there because some of those queen makeup artists that were critiquing were often brutal but telling you what you needed to hear! Your book is placed on a desk in front of the agent or artist in full view of the crowd who are also trying to peak at your book! As they go through dissecting each image, from the makeup and hair, to the photography and the styling, to the state of the book itself, even the look of your business card!

You could not put a price on this advice, because even though there were some agents that absolutely loved one image that another hated, the basic premise of the advice I received was the same from all.  I came away not only feeling proud of my work, but also felt able to take the advice given and hopefully improve my book 100 fold.

Overall the show for me was a resounding success, but holding it in Germany? No. Most English speakers do not speak German and most of the lectures  and demonstrations, of which there were many, were conducted in German, so I don't think I got the best out of those.  But I look forward to next year and if it's held in Germany again?..... I think I will take myself off to New York City!

Special Thanks to Michael Devellis of The Powder Group (you were my favourite but don't tell the others!)

Debbi Bondar of Face-Atelier for spending time talking to me.
James Vincent who helped put the whole thing together 
Loni Bahr for your great work and my free copy of Tush magazine (my favorite German magazine)
and last but not least Mandy Venter from MAC for filling in the gaps.

Bourjois Review.

This week I have been fortunate to try out Bourjois new Autumn range of products. The last eye shadows I used from Bourjois, I could only realisticaly use them wet (by using MAC water based mixing medium RRP £14.00) otherwise, one would have to continually swipe the eyeshadow pot to get any pigment on the brush.  Well, I am glad to announce they have corrected the issue and brought out their Intense (RRP £6.99) in selection of 10 colours  from deepest black to pink, some with flecks of gold shimmer .  The consistency is slightly powdery so you can still use it with your mixing medium, but because all the colours are so intense you can use it for professional shoots as well. What is more surpising is that Bourjois claim it has 87% mineral pigment, which usually means it's not strong enough for photographic makeup but not the case here.

Using Shades  3,4 and 10

 For a more softer look I used shades 2,8 and 9. I used 10 (black) with mixing medium as eyeliner.

Bourjois have also brought out Healthy Mix serum gel foundation(£RRP£10.99) A new range of light to medium coverage pump application foundations. They contain superfruits like Lychee, Goji and Pomegranate and they smell devine! In 6 shades from ivory to dark olive .  A small amount goes a long way and brings an even tone to the skin without it looking caked on.  It does leave the skin with a sheen, so for photographs  it does need quite a bit of powdering if that's not the look you are going for. I used it on Caucasian and Asian skin tones with minor blemishes and it was perfect to work with.

Last but not least, was a range of Smile Enhancing lip glosses in 6 shades (RRP£6.99). Now I am a big fan of their 3D range so I was looking forward to seeing what new product they had to offer.  This product has a dual application stick. On one end is a tooth brightening Gel (yes, you read correctly!) and on the other end, is the lip gloss.  Well always keen on any red shades, I gave one a go (can't tell you what shade it was as it's only written on the box, which I have since discarded. I have been informed that they will be rectifying this and putting the colour stamp on the actual product in future). Not too gloopy, little bits of shimmer dust for a bit of pizazz and quite moisturizing with a minty taste to it.  As for the teeth gel, well apart from the fact that I thought that was totally gross (I didn't like the fact that you put it from pot to your teeth, build up of plaque etc...I know it's my OCD rearing it's head but nooo!) It also tastes quite bitter, reminded me of topcoat lip fix.   Did I notice any difference in my tooth appearance? Frankly no, but don't let that put you off the lip gloss.