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Thursday 3 November 2011

Salon International 2011

I hope this finds you all well. I have finally got round to getting back to my blog. I'll be honest! I have been struggling with blogging but have finally figured it out and I'll be paying much more attention to you all from now on. Pinky promise!

So October is an important in the world of hairdressing. Salon International, the huge trade show takes place at Excel each year and it's a great place for Salon owners, hair stylists and students to witness new trends, techniques and for them to try out some of the best products on the market.

I spent 3,full on days with Balmain Hair on behalf of the Goldsworthy's team and have to say that it was one of the most fun jobs I've worked on and by the 3rd day we were all a little hysterical.

Now I feel that this blog should be in 2 parts and so I have concentrated the first post on the models I did for Balmain and the 2nd on the actual Glodsworthy's models for the Fellowship stand.

I hope you enjoy.

Balmain Hair produce the most amazing assortment of hair extensions and I would highly recommend having a look at their website www.balmainhair.com to find out a bit more

We had four models to prep each day, me on makeup and the Goldsworthy's team on hair. They were great girls and really fun to work on.

Models below.



All done with hair pieces and extensions! Incredible.



Friday 12 August 2011

MeMeME Shimmer Stack

Hi everyone,

Well, recently I was given a MeMeMe Shimmer Stack to try out and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.



For those of you who have never tried these products or even heard of them, they are an affordable yet, great quality cosmetic brand stocked at Superdrug. They have recently been repackaged and some of the products have been slightly reformulated to improve the longevity etc.

The Shimmer Stack on first sight looks a lot like a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick which, as we all know has a huge following. However, on closer inspection, you'll find that it doesn't have as much of glittery finish! I actually love that.

I use Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks alot on myself, my clients and on shoots however, there are times when less is more and the MeMeMe Shimmer Stack gives a more natural veil across the skin.

They come in 3 colour combinations, Gold, Bronze and Pink and can be used as an all over bronzer/veil,  individually as eye shadows or use the lighter shades as a highlighter. They are priced at £9.99, which for the size of the palette is amazing value. The other great point about this product is that is has a huge mirror which makes it more user friendly. See below.



I've been using the Gold stack with the Laura Mercier Finishing brush for a soft application but using a bronzer brush will definitely give more intensity.

If you haven't tried the products yet, pop into Superdrug to have a play. From what I understand they are replacing all the stands in store to make them more inviting so have fun.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Wedding - Kingscote Barn, Tetbury

Sometimes you get a job where everything is a pleasure to be part of. From the talented photographer Charley Smith, to the creative hairstylist Vicky Turner to the charming family and friends of the bride.

This was one of those weddings. 








I met the bride Emma, back in January for a trial at her home in London , she had been given my details from the hair stylist she was using for the wedding day, Vicky Turner of Goldsworthys, Cirencester (www.goldsworthys.com). An hour after the trial she emailed me to confirm that she wanted to go ahead with the booking and I was over the moon. I love weddings in locations in the cotswolds as it's not too far from my family and I get to kill 2 birds with 1 stone plus who wouldn't want to work in beautiful countryside.






The venue was Kingscote Barn (www.kingscotebarn.co.uk), Nr Tetbury which is in the middle of rolling fields that on the morning of the wedding were filled with some rather young lambs. The setting was idylic! The photographer who is based in London but travels the world, was Charley Smith (www.charleysmithweddingphotography.com) who I hadn't worked with before but I urge you to check out his website if you don't have a photographer booked already. And finally the hair was styled by Vicky Turner who I have worked with many times, and in fact at times it feels like we come as a double act.



Let me know if you would like a run down of the colours used on Emma's eyes. And for now, have a great week.
Katie x

Monday 23 May 2011

The Rachael Ray Show

So, have any of you seen The Rachael Ray Show?

Rachael is a TV chef but also has an extremely popular chat show in the U.S. It's a huge show and they recently sent their makeover guru, Gretta Monahan over to the UK to give the residents of London "Royal wedding" makeovers.

Gretta put together a team of stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists and we set up near the London eye and pounced on the unsuspecting British public. The makeovers took place on a double decker bus so it was a little snug, so the team got to know eachother pretty quickly.

Very small makeup station!!!!

We had an early start with us being on the bus for 5.30am so they was a steady flow of coffee all day or in my case redbull. The makeup team were from Laura Mercier so amazing products were used.





We had 4 transformations and they were all over the moon with their new looks and really got into the spirit of things.



Please check out the link below to watch the actual segment from the show. 

Let me know what you think. Have a great week.

Katie x

Sunday 15 May 2011

As I start a new chapter in my life........

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you all very well. I'm excited to be telling you all of my news as I begin the next chapter in my career.

I have decided, after a lot of thought to leave the amazing Laura Mercier Cosmetics in order to return to freelancing. For those of you that know me, will appreciate how hard this has been to finally leave but it is the right decision for now. The travelling has kept me away from my family for 5 years and I feel it's time to reduce the amount of miles between me and my future husband.

Over the last 5 years I have been given so many opportunities by Laura and I have been sent to some fabulous places which have created memories I will cherish forever. Working for Laura has also enabled me to learn from the very best in the business, work with some extremely talented artists and use some of the worlds most effective products.......wow, why am I leaving????

The cities I have visited over the 5 years , such as Miami, New York, Paris, Bern, Zurich, Geneva, Houston and closer to home like Nottingham, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff have given me challenges and experiences that I would never have had if I had worked for anyone but Laura and I thank the company for that.

Since handing in my notice, I have shed one or two tears and I'm sure this week, which will be my final event, will bring more emotion but I hope I will always have a relationship of some sort with Laura Mercier Cosmetics. ( and of course, I will continue their fab products on my clients)

So, I say thank you for my time and I hope to visit all the talented artists in store to but in a purchasing manner.

Next time I speak to you, I'll be a free agent and be begging you all for work! I also may be dying to have some time away! Hahaha!

Have a fun week.
Katie x

Thursday 31 March 2011

Amanda Wakeley Charity fashion show.

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you full of the joys of spring! Thanks goodness for the lighter evenings, doesn't it make a huge difference!

A few months ago, I was asked to lead the makeup team for a charity fashion event hosted by the amazing Amanda Wakeley to raise money for The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. Amanda's collection came from Harvey Nichols, Manchester, as did the talented Laura Mercier team who executed the makeup so beautifully and hair designed by the great Andrew Collinge.

We wanted to create a look that complemented the hair and of course the designs and so we concentrated on enhancing the eyes but keeping the skin very "flawless" and clean. Laura Mercier is a perfect fit for such a show.  We had 18 models and only 4 artists so it really was all hands on deck to get these girls ready for the show in time but also absolutely perfect.

Here are some of the backstage shots from yours truly.









And here are some of the shots from the show.









Please find a list of the products and tools we used below (all Laura Mercier)

Primer ......of course!
Silk Creme foundation......sponges
Secret Camouflage........Secret Camouflage brush
Secret Concealer........as above
Translucent powder......velour puff
Eye basic........ Cream eye colour brush
Cake Eyeliner in Black Ebony........Flatliner brush
Gold Metallic cream shadow........cream eye detail brush
Coffee ground eye colour ........ smudge brush
Brow pencils
Rose petal or wild bouquet cheek colour........ cheek colour brush
Bonbon lip glace

Hope you've enjoyed this little blog, any questions, just ask. I'm back up to Manchester this weekend to work with a talented hairdresser who wants a very exciting and creative look......can't wait to show you all next week.

Enjoy, have fun, remember it's only makeup.
Katie xx

Monday 24 January 2011

Happy New Year!!!!

Ok, so I'm a little late but Happy New Year everyone! I trust everyone had a great new year and that your skin is finally finding it's way back to normality after the abuse of alcohol, chocolate, excessive rich foods and late night partying!

Well, this year started a little slow with January always being a touch quiet! However, I got plunged into an event last week in Selfridges which certainly woke me back up from the January blues!

However, I would point out that when advertising my visit to the store the website showed the following photo! This would be great if I were the one on the right! But I'm the "non" model on the left with the mushroom shaped hair! Hahaha! Don't attach me to such a beauty! It's like a before and after surgery shoot!



I spent 3 busy and exciting days on the Laura Mercier counter and boy did they work me hard.With over 5 clients to see per hour I needed Redbull by intravenous drip by the end of the day. I love this store, lovingly known as the big yellow cube - not to be confused with the Big Yellow Storage! You get such a diverse spectrum of cliental that really keeps you on your toes.

We had the new Silk Road Collection launch which I absolutely love and it flew out. The colours are incredibly versatile with a great eyes and cheek palette and some gorgeous limited edition lip plumpers.
These colours in palettes can sometimes scare us as they aren't "safe" colours but I urge you to try them as they can be very feminine but easy to vamp up for the evening.




Well, I'll leave you all for now and check in for a catch up in a couple of days.
And remember.....It's only makeup, you can wash it off! Go, play and have fun!