Spring Fashion By Alexandra Jacobs

Hey Guys! I am really lucky to have a guest blogger featured today.

Alexandra is a travel enthusiast who loves to write about tourism, beaches, food, and the wonderful things in the world. She provides her own insights on vacationing to the blogosphere. If you would like to learn more about her, follow her @alexsjourneys or visit her blog alexsjourneys.wordpress.com

SPRING FASHION……..

After spending the winter bundled up in boots and parkas, the refreshing colors and textures of spring afford as much delight as the warm breezes by which they are accompanied. While the runways were awash in an abundance of trends, luxe pieces that feel great against the skin are the hallmarks of spring style and easily transition from day to night, beach to city.

#1 Outfit choice for Spring – White dress that works for day and night

Photo by Streetpeeper.com

Spring fashion is best epitomized by the casual elegance of the Hamptons, where chic style meets a relaxed environment. Natural fibers like cotton, linen, and silk feel divine and drape beautifully while classic clothing styles are easy to personalize with unexpected twists, allowing an outfit to feel both fresh and timeless. Nautical style is an enduring look that works at any age and is ideal for the chic yet breezy atmosphere of a destination like the Hamptons.

#2 Outfit: Rolled chinos with a fitted polo top accented by bangles and chic sandals; #3 Outfit: Striped tee with skinny jeans

Photo by intheseams.com Photo by waynetippetts.com

Daytime fashion for spring is defined by ease and lightness. Emerging from the cocoon of winter allows for vivid colors and simple shapes to take center stage. Rolled khakis and a striped teeare the perfect daytime partners; these pieces can be worn in any color, cut, and material and provide both ease of movement and a sense of refinement. Blue-tinged denim paired with a white blouse is a simple way to take part in the color blocking trend while still retaining a classic, nautical style; throw on a relaxed blazer for a bit of polish. Patent leather boat shoes are the ultimate finishing touch for a dose of warm weather fun.

#4 Outfit: Classic knit paired with a pastel skirt

Photo by inspirety.com

While daytime fashion is about ease and relaxation, enchanting spring evenings are the perfect time to don clothing that exudes chic sophistication. The little white dress has become a mainstay of the wardrobe, and an evening dinner is its time to shine. Paired with accessories like a statement necklace or a colorful clutch, this breathtakingly simple piece can adopt a variety of personas. A long dress in striped silk, a pastel short suit, or a lace pencil skirt paired with a silky pajama top are other excellent options for evening dinners.

#5 Outfit: Fun party dress

Photo by Glamour.com

While the trend of florals for spring is certainly not shocking, the riotous explosion of color and print that designers like Mary Katranzou have embraced is fresh and invigorating. A bold floral print brings life and energy to a girls’ night out or cocktails with friends. If the unusual shapes or mixed prints of these unique pieces seems too daring, tone down the look with darker shades like those seen at Burberry Prorsum or stick to one floral piece at a time, pairing it with neutral separates. And for a night out with the girls? Always, always wear heels.

RowanJoy new collection….

Hey Guys!

It has been such a long time since I last wrote a blog but sadly internet here in Tanzania is not great and I have been very busy with the orphanage that I am currently involved with. If you want to know more about the work I am doing here in Africa you can check out my travel blog- http:/fionahtravels.wordpress.com

Anyway, I was very excited the other day to see some of the photos from RowanJoy’s spring/summer collection that we shot before I left for South Africa. The photoshoot which you can read about here on my blog was very bright and colourful, think Tropicana. I love how the photos have turned out, they look AMAZING.

This is the Fiona Dress (named after moi)

I had the most awesome time creating this rainbow makeup using Inglot eyeshadow. Sooooo……summery and beautiful.

Photographer- Paul Marr

Hairstylist- Roy Rogers

Designer- RowanJoy

Make Up- Yours Truly 

10,000 view give-away!

Hey Everyone!

Makeup Essential Giveaway rules are at the bottom of this blog so read on……competition closes- April 3rd 2012……

Well South Africa is treating me very well, although I have managed to film my makeup tutorial I am having problems uploading it with the internet here. I will persist though!

I have been having an adventure of a lifetime in Cape Town getting to work as a makeup artist for BBC drama, Leonardo. Life throws you amazing opportunities sometimes and I am learning that you must be very open to receiving them. For instance, I was not meant to be working at the Cape Town film studios, but whilst hiking up Table Mountain on my first day I met a lovely girl who was also hiking up alone. We got chatting and it turned out that her brother was the lead actor in the drama and she suggested that I visit the film set with her to see what it is like. So I went with her the next day and decided that if I didn’t speak to the head makeup artist I would be missing out on an amazing opportunity. So…….I spoke to the awesomeness that is Fran, and asked if I could shadow her for the day. Since back in Scotland I only work in the Fashion/Beauty side of makeup being on a film set was a whole new experience. Anyway, Fran said that she could just put me work meaning that I would be getting some hands on experience……I ended up with a weeks worth of experience, AWESOME! I learnt the art of making someone appear dirty (this is honestly rather difficult) and how to make an individual look drunk- here I as introduced to the amazing bruise colour wheel by Ben Nye, I learn something new everyday and had fun being experimental with ‘modern 14th century’ makeup. Here a few snaps from behind the scenes.

Anyway, back to the 10,000 view giveaway….I can’t believe I am there, thankyou so much to every single one of you that has read and supported my blog. Thankyou especially to my subscribers. I shall be giving away a few of what I believe to be makeup essentials to 1 lucky winner!!! The only rule is that you must be following my blog to enter- this is free and you don’t need an account with wordpress, just your email address. So all you need to do to enter is send me an email or leave a comment telling me your MUST HAVE makeup product and why. You can email me at fionahendersonmakeup@gmail.com.

Good luck

THANKYOU AGAIN!

Love Fi xx

A Tropical Day- Behind the Scenes……

I had the most fabulous photoshoot today with awesome Scottish designer, RowanJoy, gorgeous and hardworking model, Ashleigh Bradshaw, the best hairstylist EVER, Roy Rogers and his amazing assistant, Dean and last but not least the most talented photographer, Paul Marr. We all had such a fun day with lots of laughs, makeup, hair and outfit changes- 8 in total!!! Think ‘Tropicana’ and you will get a small insight into the theme for this shoot. I had so much fun with the makeup today and I got to use all my new Inglot eyeshadow colours! As you can see from the photo below I got very creative with the eyeshadow and discovered that Inglot eyeshadow is so amazing that when I blended the orange into the turquoise it turned purple!!! It was sooooo cool, I honestly squealed in delight, hee hee.

I can’t wait until I see the photos from this shoot, they are going to be amazing! Lots of contrasting colours, one of my favourites being yellow and turquoise! I even made my own lipstick colour for this shoot by mixing 3 different lipsticks together to achieve the perfect spring/summer colour.

To end the shoot we photographer a few of Rowan’s beautiful wedding dresses so the makeup got taken back to basics with a dewy/glowy base, pretty pearly, lilac eyeshadow, black classic flicked eyeliner and pink matt lips. I got a chance to use my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in ‘Blonde’ and it looks incredible on cheeks as a blush and highlighter all in one. Below is a little sneaky peek of the make up from the wedding photoshoot.

Ooooo.. and I have some more very, very exciting news… Rowan has named one of her dresses in her new collection after me!! Eeeeek!! How exciting is that! I can’t wait to show you all the dress once the photos have all been edited.

Anyway, I had better go as I need to finish packing my bag for Africa, I leave in 2 days time.. not long now. My next blog will probably be coming to you from Capetown. Meanwhile here is my newest makeup tutorial, just in time for Valentines Day. Make Up look number 7 in my ‘Around the World in 80 Make Up Looks’.

Love Fi xxx

Valentines Day Make Up Tutorial.

SOAP AND GLORY, ITS REVIEW TIME……….

One of my FAVOURITE, ALL TIME brands is the amazing ‘Soap and Glory’, with its super cute, vintage packaging. I have decided that a review of my top products from the extensive range of shampoos’, moisturisers’, exfoliators’ and bath creams is well overdue!!! So, with the help from my awesome friends, Miss Estella and Miss Bella, both avid ‘Soap and Glory’ users and self confessed addicts, we will be bringing you the best of the best!

We have decided to mark these out of 10 points taking into account all aspects of the product- cost, smell, quality……

First up we have the ‘Clean On Me’ creamy clarifying shower gel that states- ‘Yes, you can have it all…..soft, smooth, sexy skin whenever you want it’…..so what do we think…..

…… a whopping 9/10!!! We all gave this product such a high score because the smell is SO amazing, as Miss Bella says- ‘it’s good enough to eat’. Miss Estella recommends using this shower cream gel before meeting your ‘Mr Darcy’, so that you smell all sexy and are ready to flirt the night away…….. The creamy texture of this shower gel contains moisturiser and leaves your skin super soft, Miss Bella, is convinced that the skin on her arms has really improved and become smooth and even. A little of this product goes a long, long way, making this product well worth the money.

Next to be critiqued is Miss Estella’s favourite product….drum roll please……. ‘PULP FRICTION’ a foamy, fruity body scrub!!

This product gets a phenomenal 10/10 and according to Miss Estella this is the creme de la creme of body scrubs! I quote, ‘It smells delicious, the unusual foamy texture separates this body scrub from others on the market and the exfoliating beads are not too harsh yet leave your skin lovely and soft.’

The body scrubs by ‘Soap and Glory’ really are amazing and I have 2 more that I am in love with and alternate on a regular basis. The first is ‘Some like it HOT’, a scrub that has small thermal beads that burst whilst you exfoliate and make your skin feel all warm…… I love exfoliating with the product, the novelty of the thermal beads surprises me with each use. It also leaves your skin feeling and smelling amazing. The only downside to this product is that it doesn’t last very long as you have to use quite a lot of product and its a bit pricey. For that reason this scrub get a 8/10.

My favourite body scrub from the ‘Soap and Glory’ range is the ‘Scrub em’ and Leave em’’ body buff. This for my gets a 10/10 in the exfoliating category due to the ‘OUT OF THIS WORLD’ smell, great sugary texture and most importantly it leaves your skin amazingly soft. This product lasts a long time as well since you definitely do not need to use it everyday. 3 times per week is perfect.

  

This next product, Miss Estella pairs with ‘Pulp Friction’……after exfoliating she uses ‘The Righteous Butter’ to moisturise her skin leaving it sinfully soft, supple and smelling AMAZING! Can you see the similarity between all the products? They smell sooooo….good!!

‘Soap and ‘Glory’ describe this product as ‘A body moisturising formula so virtuous you might swear you’re wearing velvet’,  and this is totally true. Miss Estella gives this body butter a 9/10 for its easy application and says that for being such a rich creamy formula it absorbs into the skin really well and doesn’t leave it feeling greasy. This is a big tub of moisturiser and will last you a good while!! Quality and quantity, love it!

Say hello to ‘Girligo’, a moisturising spray-on body mist. This product has the same unbelievably gorgeous smell as ‘Clean On Me’, which already puts this  into our ‘must have’ category. If like myself you are often short of time when getting ready in the morning this is the perfect moisturiser for you……just spritz the mist all over your body and give it a quick rub and you are good to go. This product is not sticky or greasy and absorbs quickly into the skin. A generous 8/10!!!

For those of you who have dry hands and are in need of some hand TLC, ‘Hand Food’ is the cream for you.

This review comes from another friend of mine, Miss Leyla, who works as a nurse and washes her hands lots and lots… This hand cream gets a super 8/10 and Miss Leyla told me that this is because it although initially the cream feels slightly greasy, one it is rubbed in it absorbs very well and leaves your hand lovely and soft. A big plus is that although this hand cream is fragranced it doesn’t sting when applied to broken areas of skin, for those of your who are nurses you will know that this is a very important factor.

Next week us girlies will be bringing you reviews of the new makeup range by ‘Soap and Glory’, make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss it!!

Lots of love Miss Fifi, Miss Estella, Miss Bella and Miss Leyla. xxxxxxxxx

Bright Pigment Photoshoot!

Good day makeup lovers!

     

Whilst in NYC I did a photoshoot involving blue and red MAC pigment. This was a very experimental shoot as I had no idea how I was going to achieve the effect I wanted with the pigment. We all had such a fun time blowing, flicking, tapping and brushing on the pigment to end up with the final outcome, which included an extremely messy bathroom. *NOTE* MAC pigment dyes the grout in between tiles on a bathroom floor. whoops! I am sure you can see from this photo how much fun we all had, a lot of ‘smyzing’ (I have no idea how you spell this, but Tyra is always mentioning it) and laughs. I imagine the photo above depicts a couple who have had a fight with some paint, or as suggested to me- a blue pen! Issac, Kate and Atim were all star models on the day considering I was being so experimental with the pigments.

The photos turned out just how I imagined with the help of my amazing photographer- Jessica Lin- and I thought that I would share them with you.

  

Kate

The makeup underneath the pigments was kept very natural and fresh by using Make Up Forever HD Microperfecting Primer and HD Foundation. A light dusting of Laura Mercier Universal Invisible Powder was used to ensure the flawless base remained in place and also to combat any shine. Touche Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent was used under the eye area, around the nose and corners of the mouth.  MAC ‘Brule’ eyeshadow was applied to the eyelids and Urban Decay ‘Naked’ eyeshadow was blended into the crease line for added definition. MAC cream highlighter in ‘Pearl’ was applied under the brow bone and the brows were defined with Benefit Brow Zings. No eyeliner was used just a coat of Victoria Secrets FX Voluptuous Mascara to finish off the look. HD blush #14 was blended into the apples of the cheeks for a fresh, natural look and a small amount of foundation was applied to the lips for a natural, nude look.

Atim

For Atim’s makeup I used Make Up Forever Camouflage Palette 4 and a small amount of HD primer to mix a perfect colour to match her skin tone. Since Atim already had such amazing skin I merely covered any blemishes and left the rest of her skin natural. Using Benefit MoonBeam I highlighted the higher planes of Atim’s face so that the light would catch on these. I used Inglot #395 pearl eyeshadow to highlight the inner corner of her eye to create a bright eyed and fresh look. A coat of Victoria Secrets FX Voluptuous Mascara was also applied. For Atim’s lips I really wanted them to match the red pigment on her face so after applying Make Up Forever red lipstick I dabbed on the MAC red pigment for a gorgeous, matte lip. So jealous of Atim’s amazing lips!!

Issac is gifted and has one of the most symmetrical faces that I have ever worked with! From looking at the photos you would think that I evened out his skin tone but, no, he natural looks that amazing! I just applied pigment to his face, shoulders and chest.

Check out that symmetry…… WOWZERS!

Well I am away to South Africa in just over two weeks time to explore Cape Town all the way to Durban and then heading to Tanzania…..super excited now! Make sure you subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss out on my travels and makeup tutorials from around the world. Here is my newest one brought to you from England- ‘English Rose’ makeup.

Love and colourful makeup

Fiona xxx

Gold Leaf Photoshoot.

Howdy!

I realised that you guys have never seen the finished photos from my gold leaf shoot that I blogged about whilst I was in New York. So here they are……I loved working with the gold leaf, although it is rather fiddly and pretty much does what it wants so you have to apply it strategically. I found that using a wet brush was easiest for applying and a small amount of oil on the skin helped the gold leaf to stay in place. 

For Kate’s makeup I used Make Up Forever HD foundation in #117 and was so amazed by how well it reflected light and photographed. These photos barely needed editing. Use this foundation for an instant flawless complexion in front of the camera. Her eyeshadow was a mix of Inglot, Urban Decay ‘Half Baked’ and MAC Gold pigment and black gel Maybelline eyeliner along the top lashline was applied. A coat of Lash Architect 4D Mascara was used to finish off the look. The gold eyeshadow worked perfectly with Kate’s blue eyes and really made the colour ‘pop’! MAC ‘Fever’ blusher was used on the cheeks and Inglot lipstick in #50 was used on the lips. I love this pink colour, highly pigmented and so pretty!!!!

Atim has the most amazing skin EVER, the light absolutely loved her as you can see from the photos below. I used MAC gold pigment all over Atim’s eyelids and also took it down her cheekbones and on other areas of her face that the light would catch, this acted as a highlighter. I also used Urban Decay ‘Half Baked’ eyeshadow to blend out the gold pigment. I also took the gold pigment over Atim’s lips. She was a gold –goddess!!! The gold chains around her head was actually a vintage Chanel necklace…… we just got a bit creative.

Hugs and gold leaf

Fiona x