The cover and all the shots inside were shot by uber photographer Lee Broomfield and I really love them.  

I'm thinking of doing a tutorial on the look I created. Let me know if you would like to see this re-created using the textures and shades I used.

Lisa x

I first saw the Japonesque palettes a long time ago in a pro make-up shop in London. I had been working on my portfolio and building up my kit for a couple of years but hadn’t started making any money as a make-up artist at that point. I really couldn’t afford to get one but I absolutely fell in love with the 28 well palette. I eventually saved up and got one, carefully placing my lipsticks in it by painstakingly heating each one in a spoon over a flame and hot-pouring them so they would look smooth and perfect. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t bother with that anymore! I now favour the ‘squishing them in’ technique, which I actually think looks a lot better and more artistic.

The 28 well palette is known as the foundation palette on their website but the cool thing about these palettes is the fact you can use them for whatever you like. I find their smaller palettes work well for concealers and cream eye shadow storage.

I keep around 5 of these in my kit at any one time with colours broken down into groups…reds, pale pinks/lilacs, nudes, dark reds/purples, bright pinks, oranges, dark black reds/browns etc. I find having these and some basic pigments (black, white, yellow, blue etc) means I can create absolutely any shade instantly. Its worth saying that these particular palettes although pretty are not the most resilient on the market and you do have to take care of them. 

I do think this type of palette works well for non professional as well and there are lots of much cheaper alternatives to the Japonesque ones available from most pro make-up shops.

Most girls I know have far too many lipsticks lurking in various drawers and make-up bags. The problem is you never really know what you have…out of sight out of mind. By making a palette of your favorite shades – you could do a palette which contains your favourite nudes, pinks and reds for example, you’ll find you’ll actually start using them a hell of a lot more.

To make it easy just cut your existing lipstick in half and place half you remove in a palette. That way you wont overfill the well and you will still have some of the lipstick in the bullet to take out in your handbag for touch-ups…simple!

Find out more and shop for the palettes and lipsticks using the following links:

Japonesque - USA
Japonesque - UK

Obsessed make-up fans might even be able to spot that the lipstick I use on her for this shoot is the one from my ‘Uber Bright Lips’ video. Katy loved the colour so much I gave it to her to take back to the States at the end of the shoot.

I have another batch of Katy Perry pics going into my gallery in September, so if you are a big KP fan, look out for those.

I was both thrilled and flabbergasted to hear yesterday via one of my lovely twitter followers that I have been shortlisted in the Cosmo magazine ‘Blog Awards’ in the Beauty category. I had no idea! I’d like to thank any of you that nominated me, as my blog is very new compared to the other well-established and excellent blogs in the category, so I feel very honoured.

If you would like to vote for me please click on this link. You’ll find me half way down on the beauty page. Thanks very much!

There are 10 prizes in total. Each winner will receive
the complete No7 Autumn Limited Edition.

This series was shot over a year ago so I'm looking forward to catching the show just to remind myself of the all the fabulous women I worked with. I do remember there are some phenomenal transformations and, I seem to remember, a few victories for me.

To watch the shows on the internet go to 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/10-years-younger/4od#3109376

If you manage to catch any of the shows let me know what you think. Lisa x

Models
Anabel at Paparazzi
India at Storm
Stella at Viva
Tsanna at Premier

The collection is made up of three pretty eyeshadow palettes, six waterproof eye pencils and, the piste de resistance, (drum role please)...Three CAT shaped lipsticks!!! I never thought I'd find a product that could satisfy my cosmetic AND cat obsessions in one hit. The closest I've come to this before is my 'Emily The Strange' black cat lip gloss palette (see pic) but this new find has upped the ante enormously. 

I dont know if I could actually use the lipstick as the ears would surely go first which would be a tragedy, so I intend to collect all three for archiving purposes only. Yes I know they are more of a novelty than anything but they are FUN!

The timing of their arrival is perfect as its my cat, Betty's first birthday tomorrow. So Happy Birthday Betty!

What are your thoughts on cat shaped lipsticks?

While the lovely model was in hair he managed to get it on my nails perfectly in record time and here are the results. Its a very unusual shade of  taupey, mauvey and mushroomy deep base tones shot through with bright pink and purple psycho pearl (synthetic pearl particles which have different colours on different sides).

The result is chic and edgy at the same time...which we love right?! I was hugely inspired by the Hydrangeas in Kensington gardens, were the shoot was taking place and the wonderful degradation of the colours in their 'end of the season' petals seemed the perfect frame for the nail colour.

If you love this colour...you better get your name down soooon.

Matte chalky textures have had something of a renaissance recently and can add a really fun element to your make-up. The look can be toned down and adapted to suit every one; all the tips are in the film.

Hope you enjoy watching the look come to life!

Hope you enjoy the video! Lisa x

Burberry Beauty launches in to Harrods (it will also be available to buy online from the Harrods website) and Nordstrom in the U.S. on the 12th July.

What do you think of Burberry beauty?

For a change I'm doing the look on my beautiful assistant Jessie. As I say in the vid...I'm sick of my face! Jessie wears a fake tan on her body which is a few shades darker and more yellow than her face skin colour so I'm using a deeper, yellow based foundation to address this and give a uniform look.

You can adapt the look to suit your level of boldness...if you want it bright but less full on, just use the blue along the lash line top and bottom. Like wise if you want more, keep layering (just remember to work quickly!) Hope you enjoy it...have fun!

On route to the theatre I always used to go to a small and very old fashioned theatrical make-up shop in the old district. The shop was a treasure trove of big old wooden and glass cabinets filled with interesting and often unidentified objects of delight. I always went to the theatre with my interpreter and put her to good use asking the shop proprietor many questions and then later to explain the plot and point out the 'national treasures' (what the Japanese call their finest Kabuki actors).

On one such visit I asked to buy something that would make a perfect Geisha or Kabuki red lip and was presented with a little ceramic dish (see picture). To the naked eye the powder looks gold (it has photographed much more red than it looks). I was confused and thought he had given me an empty mixing bowl, albeit a very pretty gold one.

He explained how the gold was the powder of a flower (cant remember which one unfortunately) which when dabbed with a wet lip brush would turn bright red. I tried it myself and unbelievably and charmingly it did exactly as he said and turned in the most beautiful red pigment, which dried to a deep vermillion stain. I bought 2, one to use and the other to archive, as it was such a beautiful object. I also bought one of their beautifully handcrafted Geisha lip brushes (since lost I'm afraid!). I've tried to search for more info on the origin of the powder but cant find anything on the net so it you are reading this and live in Tokyo anywhere near the old district please pop in to the shop and ask the nice gentlemen for me!

I've also posted a shot of a few of my other Japanese, Kabuki and Geisha, favourites.

1. Nightingale droppings - yes you read it right. A favourite of Geishas and Kabuki actors as the droppings contain Guanine, a naturally occurring enzyme that acts as an exfoliant and lightening agent to keep the skin pale, smooth and pigmentation free.

2. Shisedo - white theatrical power and base. This took a bit of getting used to as the powder has quite an oily feeling base but if you get the application right you can buff the skin to the most amazingly flawless and alabaster finish. I've used both of these products on jobs. Here are a couple of examples from my gallery of a make-up story from Nylon Magazine (shot by Robert Erdmann).

3. Camellia oil – known as tsubaki its been used for centuries by Geisha and Samurai to give the hair an enameled looking shine. Camellia oil is very high in olein acids and glycerides so as well as conditioning the hair it also treats the scalp. Often used for nourishing dry skin and as a bathing oil too, its one of the most traditional Japanese aides to beauty. 

I love Ciate polishes because they are so richly pigmented, definitely more of a paint than a polish. I also love the cute 1950's bows. I'm torn between the green (always love a green) and the lilacy pink. What do you think?

For more colours info about Ciate go to http://www.ciate.co.uk/

Subscribe on my YouTube channel or sign up to my mailing list to enter!

Nail Diary

The first change in the nails happened at the end of day 11 when I noticed a slight wearing at the end of the index finger of my right hand, now when I say slight I mean slight. Most ‘normal’ people would have needed a microscope to see it, friends certainly couldn’t see anything but I was being extra vigilant.

The next change was on day 13 when the wearing on the right index finger turned into a small chip and, at the same time, the middle finger on the same hand started to wear resulting in a thin white strip along the tip.  I must say at this point that I had been in the steam and sauna that morning and again for a mega long session in the evening so this may very well have had something to do with the sudden change. I need to ask David, the nail tech, when I get home whether extreme heat affects their longevity.

Day 14 (granted after another overly zealous detoxing sesh in the steam and sauna), and the thumb of my right hand developed a tiny chip. At this point the left hand was still absolutely perfect.

Today, as you can see from the photo there is a new chip on the right thumb and the first chip on the left hand, also on the thumb and of course quite a bit of  ‘grow down’ at the cuticle.

Conclusion

Considering I have never managed to keep red nail polish for longer than 48 hours without chipping I’m totally thrilled with the Shellac system.I’ve also never had so many nail compliments; I put this down to the incredibly shiny, eye-catching finish – which never fades. I got 13 perfect days which may or may not have been longer had I avoided the heat therapy marathons…. who knows.

In the last day or two I have started to get sick of the colour as I’m used to chopping and changing but having said that, I’ve saved myself HOURS not having to remove and paint, remove and paint etc.Another positive is that my nails, which normally split and flake, have grown long and strong underneath the protective shield.

I’ll definitely have it done again, I’d like to have my toes done too.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this system to anyone who loves nail polish but is sick to death of it chipping and smudging – you will find this life changing and the constant mirror finish shine really is out of this world!

To find a Shellac salon in the UK contact Sweet Squared who are the distributors. You can call them on 0845 210 6060 or email them from their website www.sweetsquared.com. 

Don’t go all out for a definite 'look', much better to aim to make yourself look as beautiful as possible. For example, weddings have long been associated with pastel make-up but it suits few, doesn't give enough definition and tends to look washed out in the photographs. Also it can look very old fashioned and a bit ‘mother of the bride’ circa 1975. Instead always stick to a classic 'beauty' make-up...a better, more flawless but natural version of yourself. I'd say avoid white-based pastels completely unless you are going to combine them with neutral pencil or shadows to bring the definition back.

Changing your look dramatically is never a good idea. Chances are you won't look your absolute best. Stick to what you know really suits you. Your guests (and the groom) need to be able to recognise you immediately.

Don't be be swayed by catwalk trends. For example if 1980’s make-up or particular colour combinations are being featured in all the magazines don't be tempted to follow. It's guaranteed you will look back at the photos years later and cringe.

Despite all advice to keep it simple, pretty, natural etc it's important to remember that it is also possible to 'under do' wedding make-up. White dresses can be very draining against the face so a peachy or rosy blush is a must. Remember you’ll also need some definition in your make-up for the photographs. Define your eyes with beautiful dark thick lashes, good brows and a nicely shaped eye socket. Stick to neutral shades.

Overdoing the fake tan will result in an overly orange skin and against a white dress this will look cheap and nasty. Extremely tanned faces don't photograph or take make-up well. Why do you think all the Hollywood A-listers keep themselves pale? They know this only too well.

Keep tans (real and fake) soft, subtle and chic.

High maintenance make-up like very painterly glossy red lips or false eyelashes etc can result in stress if you are not used to wearing and maintaining them. A few tears and a lot of kissing and you could end up looking like coco the clown!

Take advantage of advances in technology like long lasting formulations as these can really help, especially when it comes to lipstick and foundation. The main thing is to make your skin look amazing, after that everything else just falls into place. It's not unusual to have a sleepless night before the wedding so good concealing, highlighting and evening out works wonders. Always use waterproof mascara (and eyelash glue if you use lashes) even if you end up not needing it, it's better to be safe than sorry.

High def cameras and flash photography mean that you need to avoid too much light reflection. This is especially important around the eyes as none of us want to suffer from ‘reverse panda syndrome’ on our big day. Set your make-up with non-shimmery powders that don’t contain titanium dioxide or any kind of light reflective particles – particularly under the eyes. A little shimmer on the high points of the cheeks, apples of the cheeks, collar bones and shoulders can look lovely but keep it subtle and chic.

Ask your bridesmaid to keep a few things for you in her bag for touch ups throughout the day and into the night.

The essentials I suggest...

1. A small powder compact and brush or Blotting papers (these are especially good if you are in a hot country).

2. The lipstick or gloss (or both) you are wearing – for touching up in-between all the kisses.

3. Some Q-tips for any smudges under the eyes (or anywhere else) – dry ones and some soaked in a little make-up remover and wrapped in a tissue. These are a godsend if you need to refresh your under eye area, remove any mascara or liner which has moved and generally clean things up as the night wears on.

4. A little concealer palette – fab for repairing or refreshing under eye area, touching up any blemishes which start to peep through as time goes on and for covering any red patches that develop on you face, neck or body.

Both of the bridal looks I'm doing this week are going to be very natural. I'm planning on doing stronger bridal looks (smoky eyes, classic liquid liner, looks for different cultures etc) later on in the summer and later this year). For now its very much about simple and natural spring/early summer bridal looks. Hope its helpful x

I particularly love (well I guess I would!) how her make-up is so timelessly beautiful.

Looking through the photographs taken throughout her life I noticed that although it was sometimes easy to date her clothes and hairstyles the same could not be said of her make-up. This seems to be because she never followed beauty fads. For example, the perfect brows of her earlier films, seen here on her wedding day, were never subjected to over plucking - even in the 70’s when it was highly fashionable.

Always favoring a fuller brow, flawlessly natural looking skin, well defined lips and flattering, simply made up eyes (usually just pencil and mascara) it is always her astonishing ‘beauty’ you see not her make up.

In the past year I have spent quite a bit of time researching illustrators for various projects. There are a lot of amazing illustrators out there and I have about five peoples work that I absolutely love and follow religiously. Someone whose work really caught me eye is Stephen Campbell, not so much for his straightforward illustrations (which are also fab) but for his stitched work which is so much fun.

This work centers mainly around the worlds of fashion, beauty and fragrance. He has some really beautiful pieces taking inspiration from iconic fragrance bottles.

This is a very small selection of some of the simpler stitched illustrations in this portfolio. I just love how they appear so homemade and crafty and yet so chic and sophisticated.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

You can see more of his stitched portfolio here:

http://www.art-dept.com/illustration/campbell/index.html

This is the look we did for the opening of the Louis Vuitton Store. Kirsten wanted simple make-up with glowing skin, fresh pink cheeks, defined plummy coloured eyes (which really made her ice blue eyes pop) and a natural lip.

I hope she had fun hanging out with her friends in London and comes back to visit again soon!

In some cases the colour of the bottle is slightly different from the shade inside. I hear that the most popular in the UK are currently the deep Chocolate shade (which David tells me is nearly out of stock in London!), Negligee, a perfect beige buff (I'm trying this next) and the rose pink shade on the top right of the picture.

As it only launched globally a couple of weeks ago it'll  probably take a while to reach all salons but keep your eyes peeled, it's coming to one near you soon!

I’ll post a photo of my nails two weeks after the treatment so you can see how they are doing. Hope you enjoy this bit of fun. Its coming to a salon near you! Btw, David, the lovely guy who did my Shellac so beautifully has joined twitter, he’s @nailistasista

When I heard she had cried a lot during the acceptance speeches the first thing that came into my mind was "thank god I used waterproof mascara and eyelash glue!" Lily had some incredible vintage dresses to choose from, all of which looked great on her but this primrose yellow number was definitely the favourite.

The make-up was a wash of sheer glittery gold on the eyes and a kitten flick liner with lashes. The lip was a bit of an after thought once the dress was on, a poppy coral which added to her fresh prettiness.

I'm sure she is having a big celebration tonight to toast her success.

Congratulations Lily!!!  Couldn'tt have happened to a nicer girl

Matte chalky pastels like these are quite tricky to get right and can be very difficult to pull off outside the studio. I wanted the feel to be as candy/pretty as possible whilst at the same time having a real strength and fashion focus. I feel these sorts of shades and textures look more modern when they are combined in a clashing colour way....warm sunny lemon juxtaposed against cool lilac.

I kept the texture of the skin very velvety matte for the blue/lemon/pink shot and then played around with a lot more shine and highlight in the lilac/lemon shot. Both gave a completely different frame and feel to the pastels.

Its always fun to play with make-up in this way and great to try out and mix new and interesting textures.

There is another give away already in the pipeline and its one I'm very excited about. All will be revealed soon.

Thanks everyone who signed up for to the mailing list and for visiting my site.

Lisa x

All of the looks were created on one model so it was a very loooong day but a great one as I got to do exactly what I wanted and be creative. I think its amazing how different the model looks in each of the pictures, initially most people I showed all 7 to didn't believe it was the same girl - shows the power of make-up!

It was decided the best way to really showcase the make-up was to keep the model in more or less the same position for each shot and vary just the hair and lighting each time. Photographer Ben Hassett did an amazing job of really capturing a feel for each decade with clever lighting and hairdresser James Rowe made the perfect subtle statement each time with hair.

I also created the palettes/nails/lips which go with each decade. The eye shadows were chosen by the best sellers from each of the decades and it was great fun researching the archives looking at the original products and advertising for each era starting with their launch in the 1930's.

I have added all 7 to my gallery alongside each other so you can really see the transformation.

Closing date is May 9th.

UPDATE - for anyone outside of the UK and Japan who are looking to purchase the SUQQU brushes. At the moment the best way to buy them is via mail order from Selfidges Department Store in London. The PR Christa told me this .... "The number to ring is +44 20 7318 3538, which goes directly to the SUQQU counter.  The girls will be able to process the order over the phone and ship any products to anywhere the buyer so wishes" 

They will also be launching onto the Selfrides on-line shop within the next month or so too. Hopefully word will spread about this great brand and they will be available in more countries soon.

Watch the video here.

These are my favourite brushes and links to find them online:

1. Suqqu - Face Brush
2. Suqqu - Cheek Brush
3. Suqqu - Brush pouch set
4. Suqqu - Shadow Brush L
5. Suqqu - Eye Brow Brush
6. Suqqu - Eye Shadow Brush S
7. Kevyn Aucoin - Concealer Brush
8. Sephora - Professional Concealer Brush 46
9. Sephora - Smoky Eye Brush 24 - Professional Platinum
10. Laura Mercier - Smokey Eye Liner Brush
11. RMK - Eye Brow Brush
12. Bobbi Brown - Lip Brush
13. Daniel Sandler - Blending Brush
14. Benefit - Fantail Brush
15. Jemma Kidd - Deepen Brush
16. Paula Dorf - Eye Blender
17. Paula Dorf - Sheer Crease Brush
18. Paula Dorf - Eye Contour
19. Paula Dorf - Lip Brush
20. Paula Dorf - Smoke Lid
21. Sue Devitt - Powder Brush
22. No7 - Foundation Brush
23. No7 - Concealer Brush
24. MAC - Brush - 109
25. MAC - Brush - 129
26. MAC - Brush - 217
27. Shu Uemura - Synthetic Brush - 10

With the recent hot summery weather my thoughts returned to the favourite lipstick of my summer holiday last year. I had a thing for wearing Revlon Matte lipcolour in Strawberry Suede rather inappropriately whilst sitting around the pool. Aside from the fabulous shade, which just screams summer, the formulation is feather light, comfortable, smooth and very long lasting (important if you like to sip on a cocktail). The best thing about this shade is its schizophrenic quality; it can look completely different depending on the light. In sunlight it’s the brightest orangey poppy red whilst in the evening it seems to flip into a richer pinkier red. I'm wearing this in my next video which i'll post here on Friday (my favourite brushes....for those who requested!)

Meanwhile, here is a photo of me in said situation (complete with cocktail), working those lips….

I loved the idea of Done and Undone looks and Alessandra and I quickly came up with the codename 'Glastonbury Versus Boulevard St Germain' in the lead up to the shoot. Its only when you see different looks on one person along side each other like this that you realise how truly transforming make-up can be!

These are my 2 favourite looks from the story - Faye Dunaway inspired kitten flick liner and pale sexy mouth and the warm, glowy natural look. For the 'Done' look I tried out Mac's penultimate liner in Black with lashings of Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill mascara in Black. The lips were pale and interesting in Lord and Berrys Glazed Pink. For the 'Undone' look I used The Bobbi Brown shimmerbrick in Pink Quartz, buffing the deeper brown shade into the socket line and along the lower lashes to define and a wash of all the shades over lid, brow bone and cheekbones to highlight.

How are you wearing your make-up today....are you 'Done' or 'Undone'?

As much as I love gloss, you can do a lot more with a good lipstick. This film is to demonstrate that no matter what shade you choose there are at least four different effects you can achieve. I've chosen the 'scary' Rouge Noir by Chanel to show how even the darkest of lipsticks can be applied in a wearable way for daytime use. From natural to very dramatic, the effects I achieve are all dependant on the method of application. Lipstick can be applied in a modern way that’s relevant today for all ages!

Watch part 2 here.