The Aviator - Gwen Stefani makeup

I watched the Aviator for the first time the other day and had completely forgotten that Gwen Stefani had a starring role alongside the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale.

Gwen plays the famous Jean Harlow, who is at the time a waitress that catches (Leonardo's character) Howard Hughes' eye one night at dinner. On seeing her he realises she'd be perfect for his lead female role in his first epic Hell's Angels. There I was watching the scene thinking A) She's stunning and B) She looks familiar...

In Gwen's first scene she hasn't the blonde locks that we all know and love and is instead a brunette, so it's not immediately obvious it's her! Nevertheless I fell in love with her makeup! It's typical of the era the film is set in - the 1920s which is one of my favourite periods to date - it's when makeup went wild!

Back in the 1920s after World War I when the men returned home, their respective wives, lovers, sisters and daughters who'd been worrying sick and working away back home felt an urge for freedom. This time things would be done on their terms! Girls chopped their hair boy-short, wore the reddest lips ever seen and lashings of dark eye kohl. Previously "nice girls" hid their makeup away from their male counterparts, so coming out with this new approach to beauty was very revolutionary and brave indeed!

And that was just the makeup and hair - fashion and even etiquette both took a massive turn too! The girls made no effort to hide the fact that they wore makeup - quite the contrary. Out came the first compact mirrors at the dinner table where lipstick would be unashamedly reapplied and the first powders came out at parties! Away went the conservative dresses and restrictive corsets - women's skirts were going short like their hair and a more masculine look was adopted in a big way when it came to clothing.

It was definitely a most exciting time for fashion and makeup, a time that influences us greatly today and one that is perfect for fancy dress which is why this will be my first choice of looks to try out next.

I'll be posting the pics and all the details in a week to share with you, I can't wait - watch this space!! : )

6 Months to go Until IMATS!

Yes, that's right I am counting down and I know it's still a long way to go, but I missed the last one by the skin of my teeth (literally by a day) so this time I want to be sure I'm first in line for tickets : )

IMATS, for those of you who are confused right now, is the International Makeup Artist Trade Show that takes place annually in London's Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace), usually at the end of January. It's a fantastic world-travelling event (it also visits LA and Sydney) that provides a huge window into the world of makeup and prosthetics from glamour makeup to Special Effects makeup for TV, film and photography.

Makeup artists the world over visit to see one-off special seminars given by some of the world's most talented makeup specialists, including Bafta and Oscar award winners. Makeup companies often debut their makeup and insider secrets are shared! If that's not enough, many cosmetic and beauty products including the tools of the trade (brushes) are on sale for you to shop, shop, shop!! The best thing is anyone can come along, you don't have to have a makeup qualification to go, although a madness for makeup will obviously help : )

I can't wait to go in 2010 - I'll be saving up the pennies between now and then to make the most of the discounted products and exclusive cosmetics on offer and I honestly am so excited to see the makeup artists who'll be kindly sharing their knowledge and experience during the event! *squee*

For a taste of the kind of the wonders on show these photos are examples from some of the visiting stands who come to promote their courses - beauty makeup as demonstrated by West Thames College stand and bodypainting from Charles Fox...

My New Read - Kate Moss Style

You may remember me mentioning the interview I saw at the Clothes Show with Angela Buttolph - author of the Kate Moss Style book that I had a flick through the other day and just knew I had to have! Well I am now the proud owner of said book : )

I grabbed a coffee yesterday and sat down with it finally - I'm such a kid, I always flick through first to fawn over all the piccies and then I go back and read it properly, hehe! Angela's done tonnes of amazing research to pull this book together, it goes into great detail - not too much and not too little.

The images are beautiful and inspiring, it's great to see the way Kate has transformed since she was discovered at the tiny age of 14! Reading about Kate's laissez-faire but fun approach to fashion and dressing is also really admirable and a definite message to go with what you feel, not what you think you should wear!! The book was written by Angela with the curious investigation into the what, where, why and how Kate has become such a style icon today...

I can't wait to read it fully all the way through and will be writing a more in-depth post on it when I'm done, but from what I can see already, I'm really glad that I bought it - I relish the time I'm going to have cosying up with this book and a nice cup of coffee/hot chocolate - bliss : )

New Hair - My Pixie Cut!

Today I went to the hair salon and got a brand new hair-do! It's been about 4 months since I had it cut last, it was a nice and short wavy bob before, but it had massively grown out and in the past 8 months I've been gradually daring to go shorter and shorter.

Well today I took the plunge and went that bit shorter still and these are the results! I love it and I'm so pleased with the way it's turned out : ) I'm still tempted to one day go for a proper Elvin cut a la Edie Sedgwick or Mia Farrow, but one step at a time, hehe. Right now I'm lovin' the length it is!

And for anyone who happens to be in the local Surrey area, I can tell you that my hair was lovingly styled by Leonardo at the Sanrizz Salon on North Street. So if you're looking for a new hairdresser, he's your man! I've been going to him for nearly 3 years now and I love what he does with my hair - he's the king of hairdressers!

(For styling he used AH (Alternative Hair) Booster mousse designed to add ooomph and hold to my locks, plus a little bit of Tigi Bedhead Mastermind. This stuff smells SO yummy I could eat it - but it's best used for added texture, separation and shine!)

Yay for new hair! : )

P.S. Scuse our temporary makeshift coat rack while we await a lovely hat stand - I plan to go back and edit this photo later! Oh and the canvas is a poster for You Heard Nothing, my boyfriend's very awesome indie rock club night! As it's in there, I may as well shamelessly plug, hehe: www.youheardnothing.co.uk

*Gasp* Sneak Peak - MAC Holiday 09 goodies...

Ok, somewhere on my makeup grapevine, I found about these little treasures. Yes, every Christmas hols, as many of you may know, MAC release special limited edition kits over the holiday season.

I've just found out about this year's kits and they're so adorable! They'll be offering lip kits, eye palettes, face kits and a bronzing face kit, all packaged in beautiful metal cases with colourful spheres corresponding to the shades of blush, eyeshadows, etc. that they house!!

Here's a hand-picked selection from all of the kits on offer this winter, bearing in mind that in total there will be 8 kits on offer! These are the ones that I'm keen to try out most:

'Devil May Dare' Warm Eyeshadow Palette
'Dare Ya!' - light frosty peachy pink
'Devilishly Dark' - rich brown with gold pearl
'Oh My Darling' - pale frosty cream
'Prankster' - mid-tone frosted olive
'Sorcery' - blackened burgundy
'Gold Tease' - frosty mid-tone gold

'Mystic' Cool Eyeshadow Palette
'Cool Incantation' - opalescent white gold
'Shhh, Don’t Tell' - pale neutral pink
'Blue Enchantment' - dark frosted turquoise
'Rose Potion' - mid-tone frosted rose
'Deep Secret' - deep frosted indigo
'Violet Vow' - deep cool brown

'Hocus Focus Colourful' Face Kit
'Pretty Baby' Beauty Powder - soft baby pink
'Peachykeen' Powder Blush - mid-tone peach with pearl
'Sunsparked' Pearl Beauty Powder - frost warm beige with pearl

UK prices and more pics will be on their way when I know more - *watch this space!*

Good things come in small packages!

Right now I'm loving all of the mini makeup kits that are coming out! They're perfect for that weekend away where you don't want to haul your entire makeup collection along, or you want to take something along as a safety measure for a night on the tiles, but only have a little clutch bag with you.

These are some of the mini makeup wonders I really love (and want)...

Benefit's Justine Case

This cleverly named box has all you need to refresh yourself when out and about, on a date or just because! It contains mini versions of some of Benefit's best-selling products:

'Some Kinda Gorgeous' - what Benefit call a 'foundation faker', this a pressed sheer cream-to-powder that apparently blends in to most skin tones - I'm curious about this one as it sounds quite intriguing!

'Benetint' lips & cheeks tint - yes I know it comes in what looks like a nail varnish bottle, complete with a nail varnish brush, but it's not. It's a very rouge liquid tint - in some ways it intimidates me because it is so red, but I'm still keen to try!

'California Kissin'' - lip gloss with a difference. This gloss has a slightly blue hue to it to make teeth appear whiter. It's also minty to freshen your breath!

'Eyecon' is Benefit's eye cream that provides additional 'fading action'. You can use it any time of day or night and it's supposed to soften fine lines and lighten those pesky undereye shadows.

Benefit's Smokin' Eyes

This is an all-in-one kit that has everything you need to create smoky eyes and perfectly groomed brows. It comes with 3 shadows (pink highlight shadow, pewter base and deep charcoal), a black 'Smokin'' eyeliner, 'Eye Bright' brightener, mini fluffy shadow brush and mini hard angled brush, Brow Zings wax, mini tweezers and a little leaflet with a 'How to' lesson.

TheBalm's Shady Lady Palette

I only heard about TheBalm fairly recently but this palette's been out since last year and is a limited edition exclusive to U.S. department store Sephora. They're a U.S. brand not yet selling over here *sigh* but that still doesn't deter me, there must be some left in the world somewhere! : ) Their cute branding and packaging is very similar to that of Benefit's in fact. TheBalm's Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette contains 9 'long-lasting' eyeshadows that can be used wet or dry.

The variety of shades on offer make this small palette really flexible, so if you're at work and end up going out for some spontaneous partying at the last minute, fear not - this little gem will help you smoke up your look from daytime to nighttime in no time! The shades on offer are:

Caught in the Act Courtney (rich brown with gold sparkle)

Shameless Shana (tahitian bronze)

Luscious Lani (icy pink champagne)

Jealous Jordana (rich shimmering green)

Risque Renee (dark navy blue sheen)

Curvy Cami (plum shimmer with gold flecks)

Jet-Setting Jennifer (pale gold shimmer)

All About Alex (olive shimmer)

Easy Wheezie (gunmetal gray shimmer)

In the word's of Garth and Wayne from Wayne's World - They will be mine. Oh yes. They will be mine.

Image Source

Images courtesy of Benefit and Sephora

Coco - Before Chanel

I can't wait to see this film! I remember first reading up about Chanel a few years ago and finding out how determined she was in a time when women didn't have the equality we're used to these days. The closing down of her first business didn't dissuade her - it only made her more determined!

I've read mixed reviews about Coco Before Chanel - some criticise it for not covering the fashion side of her life enough as it rather focuses on her romances. Some knock it back for it not telling the full truth about Chanel's character.

Either way I think Audrey Tautou was an amazing choice to play her and I'm looking forward to seeing her portray Coco. I'm still keen to see it and take away my own view and the good news is this latest piece from Anne Fontaine has sparked rumours of other Chanel films being made in the future. I can't wait to see all the gorgeous costume, fashion and makeup because period films are fantastic ways of bringing those times back to life for us all to take a peek into! : )

Image Source

Image courtesy of glamourvanity.com