Thursday 2 February 2012

new blog!

check it out!

my journey to making my own visual and editorial magazine <3

accolademagazine.blogspot.com

please follow!!

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Body Electrics & To Inspire


What a stunning picture. Coming across this to inspire me for my fmp shoots was a delight!
Reminds me of Illamasqua's Body Electrics collection...


That illuminating glow speaks millions.


Saturday 19 November 2011

would give anything


to smell this scent again. pure love <3

peony pictures

Some behind the scenes pictures of the shoot on HMS Wellington with Amy and the fantastic d1 agency models Tatiana Makrinova and Sycha Mubiaya.



Friday 11 November 2011

wellington wonders


The lack of blogs is due to extreme business with a university deadline and what I'm about to share with you.

Wednesday 9th November was a day of celebration, as my university - Solent - were the proud people to award Dannii Minogue (Check out her new book!) an honorary Doctorate of Media. She was the perfect candidate for the award, with a vivid showcase of craftsmanship within the media industry, also with a belt of contribution added too.

I was part of the creative design team chosen to represent Solent's Media and Arts faculty and to come up with some designs to compliment an up and coming designer whose collection was based around the Peony flower and its dark, entwining meanings. The colour palette was kept neutral and soft, make-up minimal but seductive, and with a hint of illumination. We arrived at the Illamasqua store to prep the two professional models in the school of make-up art (Competition memories for me!) at half 8. Met the models at around quarter past 9, and started working at half 9. The difference in skin tone was great practice for me, and I found the glowing tones worked really well with darker skin, illuminating her like a sun-kissed goddess. I enjoyed working with the hair stylist, and I think we really complimented each other well. The stylist Amy was a pleasure to work with also, proving to provide personal entertainment as the day went on, comparing herself with Bridget Jones in social situations ('CHARDONNAY!')

When prep was complete at the store, we all got in a taxi which took us to the ship (HQS WELLINGTON) opposite Temple underground, and we made our way inside. After a brief toilet break and chill out session, we made our way onto the front deck for the champagne reception and to start shooting and portraying what the artistic part of the university does so well. It was there where we met Miss Minogue in person, and she was friendly to us all, and very interested in the designs we created for the live event. We then moved to the lower deck, where the shooting set up was equipped and adorned with antiques and in a very characteristic library. This was my favourite of the set ups, as it set the scene and allowed for imagination to run wild with stories as the shoot went on. This was where the guests had a buffet lunch after the award ceremony.

Overall, it was a brilliant day, and I would love to work with the other 2 creatives again for my portfolio, and we're all up for creating some exciting shots!

That's all on that, ciao for now! A x

Monday 17 October 2011

'just beautiful'

were the words used to describe my makeup work by Alex Box as she sat in her chair to judge me. I stepped out of the prep room with shaking hands, and a nervous stance, but it all went calm after I was greeted by such an amazing and friendly atmosphere of people all ready and eager to hear about my work.
I'd just been through an hour and half to transform my sister from ordinary girl to the Queen of Agoraphobia - the name of my Illamasqua design and (in my opinion) my best work so far.
After an early start to the day, my sister (who's first time it was coming to London) and I travelled the train and tube to oxford street, where we began our walk to Beak St. It wasn't long until we got lost, and I had to whip my map out. Asking random indian men in a fabric shop where Hamley's was (cos it was right by beak st), only to find we'd quite clearly walked past it and ignored the security guards standing on podiums dressed as toy soldiers. I think we were too much on a mission to notice where we were going to be honest haha!! So, after walking back up to Hamley's (under A LOT of scaffolding may I add, which added to my bad luck superstitions for the day), we arrived.
It was still too early when we arrived at Beak st, so we had a walk around and decided to wind down our nervousness in a little foreign cafe where we had a little lunch. I could barely eat anything because I felt sick with nerves. I always get so nervous for no understandable reason, but this was an achievement for me (I never win ANYTHING and always have bad luck!). I saw another girl in the cafe come in with sheets of paper rolled up, I thought it could be another contestant, and it turned out it was! I have a good eye for things, me. She was lovely and we had a little chat about how nervous we both were, but it seemed to calm us down.
We all had an order to present to the curtain judges, so we had to sit at our stations in that order. I was happy I knew the other two girls, so the atmosphere wasn't so cold/wary. I had a little trouble (or a lot rather) with my Illamasqua makeup belt, that I was holding us all up and we started late, ooooh dear haha! But I managed to get it on with the help of Spob (thankyou!). Then, it began.
We were being judged during the hr and 30 by spob and david, both part of the Illamasqua Team, with lots of experience. They came round and asked us questions, jotted down notes and looked at our boards while we painted. About 30 minutes in I started to panic, as the blue base colour of my design wasn't applying how it should have been and I thought I'd ruined it already. I couldn't let this show in my attitude and expression, so I tried to carry on regardless of my worries. Time went on, and before I knew it, Spob was calling out '20 seconds, .... 10...' I had just stopped highlighting my look with the Pure Pigment in Beguile (which went EVERYWHERE), when time was up. I was proud of my design and how it looked in the end.
Then, Josephine told us we had our presentations. Now I'm never good at presenting my work, but I had no idea what to say anyway. I was second out the curtain, so I just went through some brief key points in my head, tottling around the make-up room nervously. Kat (one of the contestants), gave me a final thumbs up and a reassurance that I'd be ok, which was lovely as she is an amazing person who just instantly calms you when you're overly worrying (which I do a lot, evidently). I was struggling to breathe a little, knowing one of my inspirations may be out there (Illamasqua's creative director). It wasn't long until I was called, so I went out with a confident but content smile on my face, and became slightly flustered by the several cameras, and Alex Box was sitting there ready to judge me on creativity, relevance to the brief, and how well I'd incorporated my products. It was her! I could hardly believe I was meeting her. I look at her book of work with Rankin almost everyday.
I spoke about what my inspiration was, and talked them through my mood boards and what the mood of my look entailed. I had a few question from Alex, but I wasn't too nervous to answer with clarity. I think I approached it professionally and everyone seemed to be really enjoying what they were seeing design-wise. She told my model to turn around so she could get a better idea of the makeup, and said it was absolutely beautiful. Words like those from an inspiration of mine are so very much appreciated, and I was happy I had a warm reception. Then we all went for photos with the photographer (who shoots many of the Illamasqua campaigns) and I was astounded at the quality of the photographs (pre-edit) that I saw on the monitor. I wanted to portray the story of a creature who ultimately finds her own skin through the trials of a terrible life she had been leading due to this crippling phobia of the outside world.

So, after all that, and more, we went back home with a calmness and a sense of relief, but also success. It went well, there were a few complications but I managed to fix them and stay professional throughout. I was so lucky to be a part of it, and to get this far is such a huge achievement, I will remember this day for a long long time.

So, here is my final design. You must have Facebook, and to vote, just 'like' the image (also have a look at the others' work - they are outstanding!)

CLICK THIS TO VOTE FOR ME TO WIN THE 2011 ILLAMASQUA DISTINCTION IN MAKEUP ARTISTRY AWARDS


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'A strange agoraphobic creature lives concealed on the darker side of life. Void of emotion, only paranoia and self-revulsion remain.
Awake and unafraid,
Asleep or dead.'



Monday 10 October 2011

7 days

gone, of the year i anticipate most.
A week of introductory lectures (and they have a microphone this year!) and lessons proved to be strenuous but i was glad i attended them all. If you missed one, you're stumped - lemme tell you that for a fact!!
This is week is starting (or researching more) on our dissertation projects, and carrying on our professional context from the summer. My lack of work experience seemed fatefully daunting to me, but I did look at a past work of industrial research which apparently was a good example, so I feel slightly better about not being able to gain any physical experience. It works out equal enough, and not bias, so I'm thankful for that.
Today I woke up at half 8, had a dream about the movie Chicago - probably because I was looking at the photos from a jazz and burlesque event I sang at last saturday, before I went to bed. Banged my left knee, so I'll have symmetrical bruises by the end of tonight, and could hardly stomach a bit of breakfast. I do hate mornings, but it's better to wake up earlier than planned to wake yourself up a little bit more.
Anyway, going to meet my friend who's just as nerdy as me so we can (try) and get some work done now.
Sayonara!