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

This Summer I had the privilege of being asked to beautify the already beautiful Sarah-Jane Goodman at her summer wedding to the love of her life Jason Baker. I jumped at the chance as Sarah-Jane had a little something to do with why Im a makeup artist in the first place. Many moons ago Sarah-Jane worked at MAC Cosmetics, and me being bright eyed and bushy tailed would have given a limb and then some to get into the company. SJ being the wonderful creature that she is went over and beyond the call of duty to get me the info needed to nail an interview with MAC including printing out valuable inside information and giving me her MAC Bible Handbook! It was my absolute pleasure to return the favour and make her over for her wedding compliments of the chef. When she casually mentioned that it will be taking place in the rolling Tuscan Hills of Florence I actually nearly wet myself! The theme was Vintage Hollywood glamour so we went with Fifties flicked liner and matte red lips which complimented her Pronovias dress perfectly.

Here are some of the pics I took on my phone as my camera went walkies, and let me tell you it was THE most spectacular wedding I had ever been too. 80 odd close friends and family celebrating in the boiling hot sun. The ceremony was under a canopy of Olive trees whilst listening to acapella version of Adele's Feel My Love then onto the drinks reception where we had ridiculously scrummy Rossinis and Bellinis whilst munching on lovely meats and cheeses from the surrounding region. We were then ushered through to a sight that took my breath away. Dinner was at sunset on a cobbled terrace overlooking the sweeping hills of Florence with twinkly lights as far as the eyes can see. A lively Jazz band accompanied dinner making everyone clap and sing along through dinner. Then came the first dance which had us all balling our eyes out as SJ danced with her dad to Butterfly Kisses. A firework display had us in
awe, which lead perfectly onto the boogying under the night sky. If it sounds perfect.... let me tell you it was! Congrats SJ and Jason ;-)))))

Right, well that was a busy wedding season!! All you lovely Brides have kept me so busy my feet have barely touched the ground! I have been sustaining myself on a diet of Red Bull and petrol station sausage rolls as I have travelled the length and breath of Southern England to beautify my gorgeous clients. Over the next few weeks I will be updating my blog with all of the adventures I have gotten up too over the past few months which include a Bride in the stunning Tuscan Hills of Florence and everything in between...see you soon :-)