It's always nice to receive a email or text from a happy Bride thanking you for making them look and feel beautiful on their big day. Although its not often I get the chance to blog about it!

I am a very lucky girl. No, seriously I literally have the best job in the world. FACT!
I have the nicest clients who trust me with their face on the biggest day of their lives and occasionally I get taken across the ocean to beautify them in the sun.

I have just returned from a fantastic wedding in the Algarve, Portugal where I was on hand for hair and makeup. I was initially contacted by the lovely Kehinde as far back as September 2012.
NB Brides-to-be take notes, the early bird catches the worm as I get booked up quite far in advance :-)

During our trial we decided on a simple, natural up do with minimal, fresh makeup as the style of her wedding was unfussy and elegant. Kehinde is one of the nicest people you could meet.
She was very laid back and open to ideas which made creating her look easy as pie.

Tickets were booked, the time flew and before I knew it I was on the plane heading towards the sun. The wedding took place at the Vila Vita Parc an incredible 5 star Hotel and Spa with its own private beach. My jaw dropped when I saw the lush green cliff tops, azure sea and golden sandy beach.

In tow on this gig was my all time favourite photographer/partner in crime Bandele Zuberi.
Bandele and I have worked on a fair few weddings together and in my humble opinion, he is the only person you should trust to shoot a destination wedding!
Keep an eye out on his blog for the official images. I can assure you, you will be blown away!
Friday was spent scouting locations for the pictures. The Vila Vita Parc offers a plethora of dramatic scenery so choosing was quite hard!!


On the big day I kept Kehinde's makeup soft and fresh, using only Groundwork Paint Pot on her eyes to create a soft satin finish that looked like skin and not eyeshadow. Paint Pots are water and crease resistant, perfect for weddings as they last up to 12 hours. They work brilliantly as a base or are fantastic on their own and they come in a multitude of shades to suit all skin tones.

I framed the eyes with Teddy Eye Kohl Liner which is a soft metallic brown and topped the look off with Ardell Lashes in 109, super light, natural and fluttery lashes that wont weigh your eyes down.


Her skin was perfected with Matchmaster Spf15 Foundation. A matte, medium coverage foundation that has clear colour pigments which allow the formula to blend individually to the wearers skin.
I set the skin with Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Dark and warmed the cheeks up with Mineralize blush in Love Joy which gives a subtle rosy golden glow that catches the light beautifully.
We finished the look off with Touch Lipstick and a tiny slick of Love Nectar Lustreglass.

Kehinde's hair was weaved to perfection by UK based stylist Abike Abu (my sister from another mother) who normally accompanies me with my Bridal clients but on this occasion it was left to me to style Kehinde on the big day. We went for a Grecian inspired low bun, with face framing tendrils and in the end, we decided to make the hair a little more intricate as the dress was so clean and minimal.
We added a jewelled hair accessory to compliment the style.

All that was left to do was clip in her cathedral length veil and then she was off to get married!!
The ceremony took place in the Igreja Matriz de Porches, a white washed traditional Portuguese church up in the hills, complete with rustic cobbled stone steps. After a beautiful ceremony, colourful confetti was thrown over the happy Bride and Groom and they posed for their formal group shots.

What do you mean you haven't heard of Virgos Lounge?!
If you don't know you better get to know :-)
Virgos Lounge is the brainchild of sisters and Fioye and Oyeyemi Akinsola (who happen to share the same star sign, you guessed it Virgo!)

The company was founded way back in 2008 and finally debuted online in 2012 with the launch of their website to rave reviews. Word quickly spread of their unique, sparkly, show stopping formal wear and their pieces were quickly snapped up by fashion editors to use in many high fashion editorials. Their brand incorporates contemporary silhouettes and trends with classic vintage styles to create unique statement pieces for the modern woman.



I was introduced to the brand through amazing photographer Sophie Pycroft who was drafted on board to make their vision come alive.
I met Sophie back in 2009 when she was still a student and I was just starting out and building my portfolio. We did many test shoots together and her images remain some of the strongest in my portfolio to date. She is super laid back and shoots very quickly, nailing each shot with minimal effort. So when she asked me to come and work on the brands launch campaign I jumped at the chance.


Virgos Lounge have grown from strength to strength have a loyal celebrity following. They celebrated massive success when they secured a concession stand in Topshop Oxford Circus and are about to go live on ASOS! Having just shot their SS 13 and AW 13 campaigns I can tell you your in for a treat.
Soooooo many swoon worthy pieces!!

Kimberly Walsh killing it in Virgos Lounge

The hair and makeup that I create for their shoots is always glamourous but fresh and modern.
A bright lip with fresh fluttery lashes for summer and a crimson/damson lip with dark eyes for the party season. Here are the looks that I created last week on "faces" of Virgos Lounge;
Alize (former Miss UK and Miss World finalist) and up and coming model Donnika who has the biggest doe eyes and the ability to throw some serious poses.

Donnika (killer smize)

Alize

With a million summer weddings coming up, I know were I will be shopping :-)

After a massive hiatus....I back! My poor blog has been neglected over the past year due to being super, hyper, feet-haven't-touched-the-ground busy!! I can't complain because it has been absolutely fantastic but it means that I haven't been able to share all the wonderful things I have been up to over the past 12 months!

Flower fun on location at Coworth Park, Ascot