A Very Late Princess...

You may remember, that on the 12th of May, I posted about fundraising for ME Awareness Day, by dressing up as a princess. Except I didn't actually dress up as a princess that day, as I felt too ill. The thing about having ME, is that you feel 'too ill' an awful lot. My depression has also been worse lately, I seem to have lost all motivation, the past month or so. 

Actual footage from my life.

Me trying to get stuff done.

So, I didn't get around to taking my princess pictures for a while, and I haven't got around to posting them until now. What can I say, I like leaving you in suspense!

Do you want to see my princess pics? Go on, then...

I chose to base my look around how ME makes me feel. Grief, for the life I could've had. Frustration, from having to push through debilitating fatigue in order to do anything. Envy, watching others live their lives, healthy and unencumbered. Basically, I threw a pity party on my face, with make-up. I'm carrying a powder brush to represent my (sometime) job, and a spoon to represent the 'spoon theory' explanation of illness, and me as a 'spoonie'.

Product list!

Face-

Kiss My Face Sunscreen SPF 50 Face Factor

 - I actually forgot I was wearing this, it's why I have a bit of a white cast from the flash on my face and neck - oops!
Illuminare Concealing Extra Coverage Mineral Foundation in Alabaster and Porcelain, as concealer.
Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation in China Doll.
Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Cool Contour Palette in 1 to highlight, and 2 and 3 to contour.

She bravely posted a side profile pic. #schnoz

Eyes
E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
Diggy Diggy Hole by Shiro on lid and undereye.
A touch of an acid green shimmer Yaby Shadow on inner corner
A mixture of forest green and brown matte Yaby Shadows on crease and inner socket.
Barry M Black Kohl liner all around eyes, on waterline and tightline.
Brows Smoking by Neve Cosmetics. 

Tears Mystery by Beauty Without Cruelty mixed with acid green shimmer from Yaby and Holographic glitter from OCC. Mixed with E.L.F Mixing medium and a touch of clear OCC Lip Tar.

Mascara - Barry M Lash Vegas
Ardell Demi Wispie Lashes

Lips
Women's Weapons by Shiro Mixed with E.L.F mixing medium and clear OCC lip Tar. Topped with 1 from Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Cool Contour Palette in centre of lips.

What do you think of the look? Hopefully I can raise some money for ME Research UK! I have already raised £40 (yay!) at the time of writing on my JustGiving page, so I should get a bit more now that I've come up with the goods, right? I'm really hoping to get to my goal of £100. If you can, please donate! It's so important, ME research is extremely under funded.
In order to encourage you to donate, I present to you these silly pics from my princess 'shoot'.

Theodore getting on on the fun.

Spoooooooon.

Ballgown & socks, the new fashion trend, because sometimes princesses have cold feet!

Click here to donate, or text CFSM51 £3 to 70070. (Or replace £3 with how much you want to donate.) It really means a lot to me.

It means a lot to kitty, too.

That's all from me for now. I have a couple of posts in the pipeline, so don't be too surprised if you see another post soon!

Til Next Time,
Emma
xXx

2013 Flashback - 60s Jet Set Shoot

Seeing as my last post was a bit depressing, I thought I'd better tell you about some of the fun things I got up to in 2013!

One such thing was organising a photo shoot featuring my beautiful niece, who happens to be teen actress Lucinda Mason. Not only did I design the hair and make-up, I also acted as stylist - sourcing the clothing and accessories. I put a lot of work into this shoot, and I'd like to think it paid off!

The first thing I did was come up with the theme. I was inspired by my model rushing around, travelling between home, school, Sylvia Young Theatre School, castings and photo shoots. She's a busy girl! So I decided to go with 'Jet Set' - an in-demand young model/actress, flitting through the streets of London, from social events to jobs, all the while maintaining a calm, sophisticated elegance. I was inspired by the charm and poise of film stars from yesteryear, such as Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. I decided to base the styling and make-up on the early sixties.

I headed over to Pinterest and compiled a mood board of inspiration images. I sent these to Lucinda and our photographer, so we would all be on the same page.

Mood Board - Pictures via Pinterest

Next, I set about scouring the shops and eBay for the clothes and accessories. It would have been easy if I'd had a bigger budget!

Our photographer was the talented Stephanie Yt Chan. She takes amazing pictures and is an absolute joy to work with. I cannot recommend her enough! We did the make-up and hair at Stephanie's apartment in Chelsea, and shot in the surrounding areas.

Would you like to see the final images?

Blouse - Spitalfield's Market. Skirt - H&M. Gloves - Vintage. Bracelet - Vintage. Bag and Headband - New Look. Shoes - Peacocks. Sunglasses - Festival Specs

Dress - Dorothy Perkins. Earrings - Peacocks. Headband - New Look

Top & Headband- New Look. Skirt - Dorothy Perkins. Bag - Primark. Necklace & Shoes - Vintage.

Dress, Earrings & Suitcase - Vintage. Headband - New Look. Sunglasses - Festival Specs

Headband - New Look. Jacket - H&M. Dress - Forever21. Shoes - Primark. Earrings & Necklace - Vintage. Hat Box - Maison Michael.

Headband & Jacket - New Look. Top - Primark. Jeans - Oasis. Satchel - LYDC. Shoes - Peacocks. Jewellery - Vintage.

Make-up Breakdown!

Face -

Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer.

Illuminare Concealing Extra Coverage Mineral Foundation - as concealer.

OCC Skin Airbrush Make-up for foundation, highlight, contour and blush.

ELF HD Powder in Clear.

Eyes - 

Shadow and Brows - white and taupe Yaby shadows.

Black Liner and Painted lower lashes - Yaby black cake liner mixed with ELF Studio Lock & Seal.

White Liner - Barry M white kohl.

Mascara - Barry M Intense Black Mascara 3 in 1.

Lashes - Ardell.

Lips - 

OCC Lip Tars, custom blended, mixed with Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Clear.


For the hair, I started out by curling Lucinda's hair using large barreled tongs, putting each curl into a large velcro roller as I went. I used Superdrug Style Expertise Heat Spray beforehand, and Superdrug Hairspray Ultra Firm Hold afterwards. I then dressed out the hair, forming a small beehive on her crown and fixing it with bobby pins. I gave it a final spray with the hairspray. For some of the pictures, I pinned Lucinda's long hair up, twisting it into a french pleat.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as we enjoyed the shoot! 

Stay tuned, there's a review coming up!

Emma
xXx

Arabic/Indian Bridal Look Breakdown

Whilst contemplating ideas for a blog post, I realised something. My blog is entitled 'The Life of a Vegan Make-up Artist', yet it doesn't give you much of a look into my life. So today, I intend to change that. Through the power of the interwebs, I invite you to join me on a photoshoot! Ready? Awesome.

We arrive at Great Portland Street station on a cold January morning, and make the short walk to the hotel where we'll be getting the model ready.

The Melia White House Hotel. Fancy. Pic via Google images.

Once there, we meet with the photographer, Angelica Roberts - all the way from America, and our model Kaahi. After friendly greetings, complaints about the weather, and assuring the photographer that the curiously named 'porridge' she'd ordered from room service was in fact oatmeal, we set up and begin our make-up.

The theme of the shoot is Indian Bridal, and I decide to go all out and do a dramatic red and gold cut crease look, with deep burgundy lips. Yay! 

After cleansing with B. Pure Micellar Water (love this), I apply a thin layer of OCC Skin Primer before applying a little Kett Fixx Creme under the eyes with a concealer brush. Then I airbrush a couple of layers of OCC Skin Foundation. I highlight the cheekbones, forehead and chin with Pris, a palest pink shimmer, and contour under the cheekbones with Taupe. I like to leave this to set before powdering, so I move on to the eyes in the meantime.

I prime the eyelids with E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, then define the brows using a charcoal coloured Yaby shadow and an angled brush. With a tissue under the eye to catch fallout, I begin to cut the crease using the same brush and charcoal shadow. Once I'm happy with the shape, I bring out the line slightly on the top edge, blending it out with a dark taupe Yaby shadow and a Cozette pencil brush. I paint the lid with gold and red shades from my Yaby Pearl Paint Palette , mixing the shadows with a little E.L.F Studio Make-up Lock & Seal in a mixing palette to intensify the colour. I run a little of the taupe shadow under the lower lashline, and line the eyes with Yaby cake liner mixed with E.L.F Lock & Seal, extending the line dramatically at the outer and inner corners. 

After curling the lashes and applying BeautyUK LashFX Mascara, I cut some Ardell lashes down to size and apply lash glue. Whilst we wait for it to go tacky, let's do the lips!

I mix OCC Lip Tar in NSFW with a touch of Fondue to get a deep burgundy, then apply BeautyUK Lip Lust in St Tropez to the centre of the lips. 

I apply the lashes, then add more mascara to blend the fake with the natural. Now it's time to do the hair! 

I backcomb the front section of the hair to create a massive beehive, then plait long extensions into the rest of the hair. I curl some wispy tendrils around the face. Finish with lots of spray!

Now for the finishing touches! Now the foundation has set I apply E.L.F HD powder and Barry M blush. We add some jewellery to the hair and I make some last minute adjustments to the liner.

All done! Now photographer Angelica and her assistant Rita can really get to work! First we get some shots in the room.

Then Kaahi braves the cold to get some beautiful shots outside!

Good job, team!

Til next time,

Emma

xXx

Foundation reviews and Tola's Engagement Party

First of all, this post is long overdue! Oops - bad blogger! Anyway, I've been testing out a few foundations lately and I wanted to let you know my opinions of them.


With my recent E.L.F order I got the Studio Line Flawless Finish Foundation, £6.50, in Porcelain. I'd heard good things about this foundation and was eager to try it. First I concealed with my favourite bargain concealer, E.L.F's All Over Cover Stick, £1.50, which is full coverage, non-greasy, and better than most expensive concealers I've tried. I patted it on with a damp foundation sponge, and was immediately struck by how greasy it was. There's no way you can get away without setting this one! However it disguised my eczema beautifully, and had a nice full coverage, despite feeling like I was wearing a face pack. I set it with a generous amount of powder, and looked in the mirror. My skin looked clear and even, but not as smooth as it does with my regular foundation. I checked my face again around 5pm, and found it had caked and settled into the lines around my eyes and mouth. A quick pat with the sponge and some more powder took care of it. I would recommend this foundation if you have dry skin and don't mind touching it up during the day, but avoid it if you have bumpy or oily skin. I am concerned that this foundation may be breaking me out slightly, (perhaps due to the it's high content of mineral oil) but this could just be down to my weird hormonal skin! 

I also bought their Mineral Foundation in Fair, £3.50. I used it over the all over cover stick, buffing it in with my ecotools powder brush. It provided a beautiful, natural, matte finish. It is fairly light coverage though, so it may be better suited to people with clearer complexions. I like to use it over my foundation to give a little extra coverage and keep it in place all day.

The final foundation I've tried lately is OCC Skin Foundation. I haven't airbrushed it yet, but stippled it using a damp sponge. The texture takes a bit of getting used to, as it's a thin liquid and can feel wet at first if you apply too much at once. Applying thin layers a little at a time seems to work best, giving it buildable coverage. This foundation has a beautiful finish – it looks just like fresh, clear skin - love it! Can't wait to airbrush it. I not only used it on myself, but used it on the gorgeous Tola when I did her make-up for her engagement party!

Tola and I have been friends since secondary school, and she's one of the loveliest, funnest people I've ever met! I managed to snap a couple of pics of our FOTDs, but I soon got caught up in the fun of the day and forgot about taking pics!

FOTD - OCC foundation in Y0/Y1, ELF eyeshadow, BWC Blush & Lippie.

My setup.

Tola's before and after - so pretty!!!
Kett Fixx Creme as concealer, OCC Foundation, Barry M Blush, Yaby Shadow, Barry M Mascara, Revlon Lashes and custom mixed OCC Liptar.

Bonus shoe pic! Seriously how awesome are Tola's shoes? Major heel envy!

It was a very pleasant day, and I actually got quite soppy seeing how genuinely happy the couple were. Congrats <3 


You need to check out Tola's blog here. She is très chic, and always looks fashion forward without flashing flesh, which is refreshing when a lot of girls these days tend to have a 'less is more' attitude about clothing.


Remember to sign and share the animal testing petition!


Til next time!


Emma
xXx 

Animal Testing Bombshell - Step Backwards for Cruelty-Free

I am SO annoyed and frustrated after learning that Peta has struck Estée Lauder, Mary Kay and Avon off their cruelty-free list. After many years being at the forefront of the cruelty-free movement, these companies have backtracked and started animal experiments again. 


Why? Why on earth, after proudly claiming 'Not Tested on Animals' on every website, box, and leaflet, would they suddenly U-turn and start maiming mice? 


Greed.


China is a massive market for cosmetics. In order to sell their products there, they have to conform to China's requirements - many products have to be tested on animals before they can be marketed there. No testing - no money from China. And so they caved. 


Now unless you've swotted up on your beauty company knowledge, you might not realise the enormity of this policy change. It's just three companies, there's plenty of others, right? Well Estée Lauder owns 28 of the most popular beauty and fragrance companies, including M.A.C Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Smashbox, La Mer, and many more! (click here for a full list)


As you can see, this is a large chunk of the beauty industry that has gone to the dark side. So I got to thinking, what can we, the consumers, artists, beauty gurus, and bloggers, do to stop this? We have to talk to them in the only language they'll understand - money. We need a boycott. In order for them to listen, we need a large enough number of people to stop buying their products until they change their minds. 


This needs to go viral. If you're a blogger, blog about it. Gurus, post videos about it. Tweet #ELauderAvonMaryKayBoycott , facebook it, stick it on reddit. I've started a petition, so please sign along with Peta's petition. If this gets big enough, we won't have to go without our beloved Mac for long, as they'll soon come round! 


I'd really appreciate if you help me out in this. We, as consumers, have the power to change things according to where we spend our money. 


Sorry for going all soapbox-y on you, I promise I have more, less rant-y posts on the way!


Emma
xXx