Happy New Year!!!!

Well, that's another year over! And what a year it was! I made 2 life changes in 2011 and so far, I'm not regretting either, which is great news, considering one of them was getting married!

Here are some of the highlights of my year, both professionally and personally.
At the beginning of the year, I was still working for the incredible Laura Mercier as the National Makeup Artist, but I began to get itchy feet. I was finding it increasingly hard to fit in my freelance work, as I was spending most of my time travelling between UK, Ireland, Europe and sometimes the States. I had been with this fabulous brand for 5 years and have so much to thank them for. The experiences they gave me, the faces I was honoured enough to make up, the places I visited and the artists I worked with, including the Great Miss Mercier herself, made it the hardest decision I've had to make so far in my career.


Here are some memories from some of my time spent with Laura Mercier.

 Switzerland

 

Miami 

 Aberdeen

Artist Photo Shoot, Houston

Two of Laura's Great Artists, Tayaba and Matin

And my final international event was in the greatest city in the world........New York.

 Henri Bendels, 5th Avenue

One of the New York artists

So in May, I finally left the company and began my journey as my own boss! And I love it! It's tough, don't get me wrong but it's worth all the hard work.

Now over the next few months my freelance work started to build, it's funny how things turn up, just when you're getting a little concerned. The summer was filled with shoots, meetings and brides, including me! I married my husband on 23rd July in Faringdon, Oxon (my childhood church) and danced the night away at The Frogmill, Andoversford.
My husband is Scottish so they wore the traditional kilt etc and I wore a Pronovias dress which is still hanging on the back of my bedroom door........ not because I want to keep looking at it but because I have nowhere in our tiny flat to store it!
I love that now, when I makeup a bride on her special day, I can truly empathise with her emotions. 

Photography by Mark Sherratt and jewellery by www.glitzysecrets.com 

This took me to July. And already I'd given up work and got married. These are both stressful enough on their own but muggins here decided to do them both together! No wonder I have Psoriasis. Was I mad?

Check out my next blog to find out if I made the right choice? Work wise people.....I'm not talking about marrying Pete!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.

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

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. 

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/grettas-london-makeover-takeover/#disqus_thread

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

Katie x

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