TODAYS LOOK

Hair and Make-up on the lovely and sweet model Alina from Sweeden who is with FM agency.

Took influence from the Cavali show in Milan for the hair.

It feels so great having that extra edge of working on the shows during fashion weeks and then being able to incorporate it into your work.

I kept the make-up simple and clean with the focus being on the eye brows and lip colour, which I changed every few shots to suit the clothing.

HAIR- start with wet hair adding lots of styling mousse to the roots then lifting the front while lightly blow drying and sweeping it around the face with your fingers. Take rest of hair to the side and plait while still damp and then loop around and pin back on it self.

MAKE-UP- Use a luminisor on the skin first, the a dark brown shadow on the eye brows. Line the eyes with a dark green pencil, extending to a flick, then adding mascara on top lashes only. Finish with a shimmer bronze blusher on check bones and a sweep of orange based lip stick.

PRODUCT OF THE DAY

To create a heavy black defined eye line I love STYLO YEUX WATERPROOF eyeliner by CHANEL.

The colour is intense and is great for getting a really strong defined black line that looks more crayon effect on the eye than your typical liquid line.

It sinks into the skin, so looks more worn in and sexier, while

the edges of the line go softer to create a more modern look.

Because it is waterproof it will not bleed, creep or move from the eye area, and once applied will last all day and well into the night.

Try using this product for an update to your normal liquid liner.

BEAUTY MUSE OF THE DAY

Need some help to get inspired? Todays Muse is Sophia Loren.

MAKE UP- Use Black kohl pencil to heavily outline eye with slight extended tip, and then lightly soften the edges with your fingers. Defined brow in dark blonde. Finish with a Pale lip.

HAIR- Lightly back-brush the roots then use a big tong to set sections of hair, finish using fingers and hairspary to break up. Look should be effortlessly sexy.

Now get out there and face the world.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

something to help you get through the day with words of wisdom from the fabulous Donny Miller

HOW OLD?

Tatler shoot doing hair for up and coming actors Talulah Riley, Matthew McNulty and Luke Treadaway for the magazines 300 year anniversary edition.

Thats right Tatler's first incarnation was 300 years ago! It came out along side the special edition version of the Ten Commandments in paperback. Even Jesus was a fan.

Congrats Tats!

P.s. Im a sucker for babe of the month.

SOUTH OF FRANCE?

Hair and Make-up for Sophie Koch in the latest Royal Opera House season campaign. Picture was taken at Le Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. I was first told that the shoot was going to take place in the South of France, which I have to admit was a little more excited about, then just ending up in Normandy. 'We are shooting at some castle on a island that you can only get to when the tide is out, you probably know it', I casually say to my Parisian lover. 'This is only one of the most important places in France,' he replies back with horror at my sheer ignorance of all things French.

And I have to admit it was quite spectacular, even when you are standing in quicksand mud at an ungodly hour in the morning working while the tide is quickly creeping in.

The one thing I hate about early morning shoots on location is not only how early you have to get started for hair and make-up, but it is all the moisture that is in the air at that time of the day. It can turn gorgeous full hair into a flat damp mess in minutes. Oh the shame. This one is okay though.

STYLIST OPINION

MAKE-UP ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT

One of life's great mysteries to me is the need for make-up application on public transport, particularly on the tube where it seems to be most common.

I find this practice disturbing and intriguing at the same time.

Disturbing because I can not believe that a woman would be happy to do something so personal in front of strangers while also amongst the filth of the tube.

Intriguing because it is like watching a car accident about to happen, and I find myself unable to turn away and not stare. Starting with wrong colour choice of foundation, heavy concealer like putty, blusher applied to chin and forehead, and finishing off with dried clumpy mascara!

The lighting is appalling also so you are at a loss before you even start.

The most amazing thing of all is the tatty dirty bag that the make-up is kept in and rummaged through like someone on a camping trip.

Girls if you are going to apply any make-up on public transport keep it simple with something stylish and alluring like sweeping a coat of lip gloss or lipstick over you lips. And for even more allure make sure its Chanel!

FIRE AND ICE

Here is a pic from latest Cosmo magazine that I had worked on hair/make-up.

We all had such a great time in Austria for this, photographer was Anthony Nobilo who was really lovely, and the fashion editor Sally Dixon is even sweeter.

Madeline the model and I got on really well and pretty much pretended we were Heidi and Spencer from the Hills the whole trip. Madeline smoked like a trooper though, which I thought was very un Heidi like, but hey when you 19 and hot what are you going to do!

On the last night we went to some dodgy fire and ice club and Heidi and I danced on the bar, she in black tights and bra top and me hot and sweaty. We put on a bit of a show for the dodgy looking punters and Heidi had lots of male admires. I sucked up the attention with her, because there is nothing more fun then playing it up with a hot attention seeking young model in the general public. You go Heidi!

AFROdisiac!

The fact that I was new to Guido's team and that he sees all was the reason that I took so few pictures of my time backstage at the shows in Paris. For one thing you are usually working so hard that you don't have time and another it looks so uncool/unprofessional to start snapping away like a tourist when the point your are there is to work!

But I did want to catch the Vuitton hair to see its visual effect. After the team had stayed up all night well into the morning sewing these afro wigs together (50 wigs in total, and one takes about three hours to make) I was kind of sick of the sight of them. We were all so tired and could not even take in the pleasure that we were inside the Lourve for this show. By this point everyone one was getting a bit delirious as it was nearing the end of the week, and we had all been up the last few nights prepping for Vuitton and McQueen.

'Keep the crowns high', Guido would keep yelling at us, I think even he found it all a bit amusing. So in all our delirium state there was lots of foe wig brushing going on. Its all in the art of looking like you actually fluffing and lifting. By the time all the wigs were put onto 50 models we were rushed into a waiting mini van and taken to work on Miu Miu, the final challenge! So I did sneak this pic with fear, I find Im impartial to judge the afro wigs because I would have gladly burnt the lot of them by the end of it.

FASHION WEEK PARIS

My friend Kenneth Stoddard, a hair stylist who I assisted in Sydney, helped me get onto Guido's hair team for shows in Milan and Paris. Thanks to him passing me on a contact I was in Milan working on Versace and Cavalli shows before I know what was happening. This followed with Lanvin, Loewe, Sonia Rykiel, Chloe, Louis Viutton, Alexander McQueen and Miu Miu shows in Paris!

It was fast furious and high like the fashion! There was yelling screaming, and tension. Models coming in late from other shows and only having 5 minutes to do the hair and make-up. Funny how these things always seem to get finished right in time. (Ok so the shows do run late a bit!) But there were also lots of fun and craziness.

My favorite show to work on was Sonia Rykiel, it was light and fun with all the models getting to dance to disco music parading the clothes. They were loving it, and so were we once we raided the bar for champagne during the break, it became a real high light!

The most amazing hair has to go to Alexaneer McQueen's show, as you can see in the picture. When you have 50 girls with hair this extravagant lined up you can only look in awe.

The funny thing about working on Guido's team is the dynamic between the stylists. There sure is a hierarchy going on and you have to know your place. Everyone is trying to impress Guido and earn extra brownie points. But once you have proved yourself and you are accepted by the team while bonding through some hideous tasks, its the most inspiring fun you can have.

Kenneth and I are here having a glass of champagne after Alexander McQueen, well deserved.

YOU'VE GOT THE LOVE

I recently did Flo of Florence and the machines hair for her new single 'You've got the love'.

I was excited to be working with her as she is very hot at the moment, and working with a new celebrity is always good. You get to see what they are really like first hand and get all the behind scene goss.

Flo was really sweet and she has the most amazing legs and bum I have ever seen, (not to mention voice).

It was a fun video to make and has a studio 54 scene running through it. At some points there was not enough extras to fill the gaps so Sheridan ( another stylist also working ) and I donned hot pants and joined the party. Was fun for the first few takes but then by the third got boring so Sheridan and I snuck off. We stayed in our hot pants for the rest of the shoot though.

TEST

A recent test picture with photographer Elvis Di Fazio and stylist Sasha Rainbow.

I have known Sasha for years from back in Australia, (is my ex boyfriends niece) and she is trailblazing her way through London trying to kick start her career in styling. This girl has energy and a look to match, she is definitely going to leave her mark in this town.

Sasha had introduced me to photographer Elvis this day, he was quite hot and self assured. When he directed me of his brief for hair and make-up I had to step back for a minute, this cock-sure guy better be able to walk the talk, because I was well and truly out of trainer wheels.

Sure enough he proved himself with the results as you can above. I did have to alter his brief for hair and make-up though. Textured messy hair seemed a little to done done done for me, so I opted for wet slick graphic. As you can see it works.