Vintage bridal beauty

A recent bridal client of mine shared some of the professional pictures from her wedding day. The photography was beautiful so I had to share.

Being a part of the wedding day when the bride is getting ready is pretty special. My approach is to be present but non-intrusive and I stay super chilled to help the bride stay relaxed.

Katie wanted her make up to be glowing and rosy toned to compliment her vintage dress and hairstyle. You can see some of my favourite products for bridal make up in the pictures. My essentials include a Bobbi Brown BBU palette and the Naked eye shadow palette by Urban Decay.

For more pictures of my make up artistry check out my Instagram page @rinadebmua

Just love

Rina xoxo

Photo credit - James Lester 

My perfect cool toned brown - Illamasqua's Glamour lipstick in Buff

I feel like I've been looking for the perfect cool brown lip colour for, like, ever. All I wanted was a brown lipstick. Not a pinky brown or a reddish brown, just a cool brown. It's got this 90's, Cindy Crawford feel to it and although it's not impossible to come across one for paler skins, finding one that doesn't make me look like tanned corpse has proven to be extremely difficult.

I've seen a few lip colours that have the right tone but they just don't have enough depth to cut it with my skin tone. Until (hurrah!) I nipped into Illamasqua in Leeds the other day. It's obviously been far too long since my last visit because I came across Buff from their Glamore collection and it was everything I had been looking for; a cool toned, medium depth brown with a satin finish.

I also picked up a couple of other bits to go with my new lipstick; A colouring pencil in Fidelity and a lip gloss in Intimacy which look amazing together or teamed up with with Buff.

Let me know what your perfect brown lip colours are...

Just love

Rina xoxo

The brows have it - Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow

I've been seeing the words 'dipbrow' and 'brow wiz' popping up on many a make up artist's Instagram product breakdowns for a while now. Whenever I come across a perfectly sculpted brow picture on Instagram it's more than likely to be achieved by using the brow range from Anastasia Beverly Hills. This woman is the queen of brows. With a huge celebrity following including the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Penelope Cruz, I ended up breaking my rule of only purchasing make up that I can touch and see by getting myself one the famous Dipbrow's.

I opted for the darkest shade, ebony, which is suitable for mid-brown to black hair. I also bought the dual-ended brow brush that's recommended for application. Although it's called ebony, it's not black. It's more like a dark, charcoal brown and grey tones are always better for achieving natural looking brows.

The product looks very much like a gel liner but it's not as rich in pigment and easier to blend. It's perfect for people like me who have very fine, sparse eyebrows and need something that helps create shape and lasts - and it does last, longer than any other brow product I've tried. I find that on my eyebrows, brow powders just melt away by the end of the day but Dipbrow dries to a powder finish, clings to my skin and stays put.

The product can look quite intimidating, I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out when I first used it because it looked thick and really dark but the trick is to use a little bit at a time. I just tapped the angled brow brush into the product and softly shaped and filled in the gaps. The angled brow brush is perfectly cut to create defined lines and I used the spooly end to brush the product through at intervals to blend any lines or strong deposits of colour.

I'd recommend this product to anyone who has eyebrows with fine hairs or someone with oily skin that finds it difficult to find brow products that last. This is by far one of the best brow products I've ever used and it's perfect if, like me, you really love wearing defined, bold brows. I'm looking forward to trying other products by Anastasia Beverly Hills, especially Brow Wiz and her contour products. I bought the Dipbrow and brush for £29 with free delivery over at Beauty Bay.

Have you tried any Anastasia Beverly Hills products? What do you use on your brows?

Just love

Rina xoxo

4 Shades of Autumn - My go to lipstick shades for autumn

I love autumn for fashion and beauty because I prefer the colours and textures that I can play around with during this season. My favourite way to add a bit of autumn/winter to my look without buying a whole new wardrobe is with lipstick. Here are four of my favourite shades that I have been wearing a lot recently:

Shard by Illamasqua
Vesuvio by Nars
Rebel by Mac
Crimson by Bobbi Brown

The following pictures feature me wearing the lipsticks named respectively.

I really enjoy wearing these colours because they easily make a statement without a lot of effort. The pop of colour also brightens your complexion up and makes your skin look better. You'll notice that Shard by Illamasqua is very matte compared to the others but I like it because I find the blue undertone flatters a rich skin tone. Vesuvio by Nars is a great clean red which is a must for autumn. Rebel by Mac is a great has a very blue undertone and tends to stain the lips so don't go for this if you don't want your lips to be tinted even after you've removed your make up! Lastly, Crimson by Bobbi Brown is a gorgeous bordeaux red that is great for evening glamour.

In the pictures I created the rest of the look using the following products:

Nars Sheer Glow foundation
Mac Select Moisturecover concealer
Illamasqua brow powder in Gaze
Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity
Kiko Ultra Tech Mascara
Bobbi Brown bronzer in Bali Brown

Which colour is your favourite? What lipsticks feature in your favourites list?

Just love

Rina xoxo

From Milan to Leeds - Kiko's New Store!

Kiko Make Up Milano opened its doors in Leeds city centre last week and I spent the best part of an hour in there feeling like a kid in a candy shop! It's the only Kiko store outside of London, it's located within the Trinity Centre hub and yes, that's right, I said store. Standalone store to be precise and quite a large one too.

I like stores because I always feel that you get a better shopping experience in them. Aside from Illamasqua and now Kiko, there are no other make up stores in Leeds. Only concessions in department stores. I have always felt that it's difficult to source particular beauty product shops outside of London. Especially when it comes to pro products so I think it's great that the north of the country is finally offering more options for professional make up artists as well as make up lovers.

Another reason why I like a store over a concession is for choice and stock. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to a make up counter, falling in love with a lipstick and then finding out that it’s not in stock. Standalone stores have more control over their stock levels and because stores are usually bigger than most counters they tend to stock more products and have more choice of products.

This was definitely the case in Kiko. The store has plenty of space to mill around and play with products. I guess at first glance it can be quite overwhelming. They have a lot of products. The nail varnishes alone could have you stood there pondering over which one to choose for ages. But as a lover of choice I was definitely spoilt. They do everything from skincare, make up and manicure items to brushes, empty containers and hygiene equipment.

The staff were really enthusiastic and helpful and I found out loads of facts about the brand; all their products are cruelty free, it’s all shipped out from Milan, most of their products are produced in Italy and France and the best part of all – products are realistically priced.


I spent £51 on nine products and they included skincare, make up and a make up brush. I have spent the same amount of money on one product before. I’m yet to test these products out to see just how good they are but so far I am loving their nail varnishes and their Ultra Tech Mascara.

So a big thumbs up from me. I’m sure I’ll be making many visits to Kiko in the future. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re make up junkie or if you’re looking to get some good make up at affordable prices.

Kiko products can be bought in their store on Albion Street, Leeds or you can buy their products online by clikcing here.

Have you visited a Kiko store? Which products do you like?

Just love

Rina xoxo

Berry Beautiful Test Shoot

In February this year I collaborated on a test shoot with photographer Nicole Jopek and model Lanie Wilson from Boss Model Management. The look was quite editorial and I wanted to make the most of Lanie's amazing bone structure so I opted for a bold, berry lip, kept the cheeks strong and left the eyes subtle. When doing beauty looks I love clean looking make up, sharp lines and flawless skin. The kind of make up that people look at and think 'I could wear that'.

This look is timeless and really easy to wear in the day by not going as strong on the cheeks and adding a bit of clear or brown mascara to the lashes. Or add a flick of black gel liner and and build up your lashes with black, volumising mascara and you have a great look for a night out.

I created this look using the following key products:

Mac Face and Body foundation
Illamasqua Translucent Loose Powder
Nars Blusher in Ninotchka
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in 01 Highlight
Mac lipstick in Media


Just love

Rina xoxo

http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/
http://www.illamasqua.com/
http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/
http://www.lauramercier.com/store/

Illamasqua Matte Veil Review

So I've taken a bit of time before gathering my thoughts on this one by actually trialling it for a couple of weeks. I'm a big fan of Illamasqua products and when I first tried Hydra Veil I thought it was an amazing, innovative product. It hydrates skin, smooths out texture and gives foundation a great base and last. What I really loved the most about Hydra Veil is that it worked on pretty much all skin types and has since become a staple in my freelance kit.

So when I heard about Matte Veil, I was instantly sold. With my normal to oily skin gradually getting more and more shiny as the weather gets somewhat warmer, I didn't want, I needed this product!

As the title suggests, this primer is designed to mattify skin and reduce shine. The first thing I noticed is that it smells a lot like Palmer's Cocoa Butter! It's texture is less jelly-like than Hydra Veil and more like custard. Unlike Hydra Veil, it doesn't set in the jar either. Instead it keeps like a lotion in the pot.

There are a lot of things I like about Matte Veil; It feels instantly hydrating, it doesn't leave the skin dry or tight like some mattifying primers do, it's easily absorbed, helps foundation glide and blend onto the skin and with it, make up sits better and lasts longer. I also like the fact that it doesn't make skin look lacklustre after applying this product.

Unfortunately I just didn't find that it kept my skin matte for very long. I do have quite an oily T-zone and even when I wear powder based foundations I still seem to have a shine on by midday, and this product didn't do much to improve that. I trialed it for 2 weeks using more of it, then less. I tried applying it with a brush and then another time with my fingers. I even tried it with different foundations including Mac Studio Fix Fluid which is normally very matte but I still didn't feel that it kept my base shine-free for long enough.

It might just be my skin type but I was a little bit disappointed as Hydra Veil worked so well for me. However, as I never write off any product I will still keep it in my kit for it's use as a great pre-foundation prep product.

Have you tried Matte Veil? Did it work for you?

Just love

Rina xoxo

Big love for Big Hair

My last shoot of 2013 was with photographer Emily Bailey. She arranging a shoot to advertise a range of extensions for beauty company, Stylelux. The brief was 14 models, great hair, fresh make up and a 'fun' vibe. So with me on board for make up and Tony Waterhouse doing hair, this was bound to be a brilliant collaboration.

I wanted the make up to look really natural but fun and fresh at the same time so I prepared the skin first with an illuminating moisturiser before applying the base. I added colour to the whole look with a pink flush on the cheeks and a translucent pink gloss on the lips. I finished the look off with a flick of black liner on the upper lid to open up the eyes and keep the models looking bright-eyed and flirty.

My backstage posts on Instagram saw me getting asked loads of questions about what make up I used to get the models looking so natural but flawless so here are all the products I used for all the models on the shoot:

The Body Shop Vitamin E Illumiating Moisturiser
Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation
Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes Finishing Powder
The Body Shop Blush in Macaroon
Bobbi Brown Black Gel Liner
L'Oreal False Lash Flutter Mascara
Bobbi Brown Lipgloss in Pink Lily

Hope you like the look!

Just love

Rina xoxo

  

Photography - Emily Bailey

Hair - Tony Waterhouse @ Rebel Pin Up

Models - Alana Elliot at Face Model Management and Pippa Perkins

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Okay so I have to admit, I was really looking forward to using this foundation. So many good reviews about it, on the favourites lists of many other make up artists and beauty bloggers so I was expecting something good.

NARS describes this as a buildable sheer to medium coverage foundation with a glowing, natural, radiant finish. It's also supposed to leave the skin more hydrated, luminous, softer and smoother and if used everyday it claims to improve the skin's brightness and texture. It's recommended for those that have a normal to dry skin type.

Given all this, I expected the foundation to look really radiant and glowy especially on my normal to oily skin type. However I couldn't help but feel that the foundation felt and looked a little bit flat and cakey. I applied it with my fingers as recommended and really warmed it into the skin. The coverage was very good but if you like sheer coverage I'd steer clear. This version of 'sheer' is completely different to my understanding of sheer which is that of a tinted moisturiser or my favourite sheer foundation, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation.

I bought it in the colour Tahoe which was the closest match to my skin. So the closest equivalent to Bobbi Brown's Golden or MAC's NC44. I liked the tone of the foundation but it was just a smidge too light. However, the next shade was far too dark so I compensated by using a bronzer to warm my complexion up and to avoid me looking like my face was a completely different colour to my neck and chest.

On another occasion though I applied it with an Illamasqua Highlighter brush and buffed it on over Illamsqua's Hydra Veil Primer and it went on so much better. Still I felt it was a little bit matte looking but as I was going to a party I didn't mind looking more made up. It's great as an under eye concealer though. Used with a full bristled synthetic concealer brush, this formula builds up really well under the eyes and there was minimal creasing as the night went on.

So I guess my conclusion is that for me this foundation should really be called something else. The words 'sheer' and 'glow' don't come to mind when I have it on. However I never write off a foundation as I believe there's always a use for any foundation. If not now then maybe later. I'd say it's good for people that want a bit of coverage and want to make more of an effort to get that flawless look. It doesn't have an SPF in it either which I like. It means that for photography it prevents you from looking 'white' in pics so a good option for wedding days. I must admit, it photographs incredibly well.

In the picture of me I'm wearing it with a Bobbi Brown Bronzer in Golden Light and Laura Mercier Highlighter 01. So out of 10, I give it a 7.

Let me know if you've used NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and what you thought of it.

Just Love

Rina xoxo

October '14 Beauty Buys

I was only intending to buy one product that I'd been meaning to review for a while but I ended up buying a few more... Oh well, more products to review, not entirely a bad thing.

So I ended up settling on the following:
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight-01
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White Light and Deep 1
Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Seize
Illamasqua Lipstick in Shard from the Sacred Hour collection

I'll be reviewing some of these separately with more pictures soon.

Just love

Rina xoxo

Topshop Orion Eyeshadow Palette

I've been kind of obsessed with this little buy since I picked it up while I was snooping around Topshop on Oxford Street during my last visit to London. Purple eyeshadow always catches my attention and mettalic ones even more so. So when I came across this for just £12 I couldn't resist.

I don't usually rate eyeshadows from companies that aren't originally dedicated to make up but these shadows aren't too bad for their price. Obviously the purple shade is my favourite but the cool bronze colour is great as a mid-tone shade for the lower lid and the pale gold shade is fab for highlighting.

The best thing about these eyeshadows is the great colour pay off. The texture is really velvety and rich in pigment and so you don't need a lot of product to get a good, solid colour. The metallic texture really packs a punch, no wincy looking sheens in this palette. I find these best applied with a finger for depositing maximum colour. The purple one especially, smudged on the lid and lower lashline and with some black khol along the waterline makes for an easy, rough and ready smokey eye.

The packaging is sleek and trendy in it's little black, matte, round compact style package. The only downside is that I think that the shadows are a bit too small. I'll probably run out of the purple one soon enough and then I'll end up putting the compact in the depths of my make up kit somewhere. But for £12 I guess I can't complain, not a bad price for what will be a short term crush on a new product. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one that takes my fancy...


Just love

Rina xoxo

My time at LFW S/S '14

For the third consecutive season I had the opportunity to be part of The Body Shop backstage make up team at London Fashion Week S/S '14 headed by one of my favourite make up artists, Lan Nguyen-Grealis. I assisted on four shows this season; Kiev Fashion Days, House of Evolution, Ong-Oaj Pairam and FAD.

Backstage is pretty hectic. You have a call time that is usually four hours ahead of the show, but this can sometimes change at the last minute. Once you arrive at the venue it usually goes like this: The head make up artist for the show has already designed a look at a test before the week starts, she then demonstrates this look on a model talking you through what products are being used and how she wants them applied, you make notes, take pictures etc and pay attention as they only do it once. Once the look is approved by the designer and head artist the assistant can then crack on with recreating the look on a model. This isn't always as easy as it sounds though. There's a team of make up artists, stylists, hair stylists, all wanting to get their mits on a model first! So it's often a waiting game of clocking a model when she's free and staking your claim! Sometimes it's handy to get friendly with one of the hair team or stylists so they send a model over to you when they're done. Depending on how many models there are on the show you could potentially have up to three models to work on. On one of my show's my model got stuck in her dress! FFS! All of a sudden 4 hours doesn't seem like a very long time... 

And if you think that's the most hectic part, it's not! Come rehearsal time and the stern lady who's in charge of making sure everything runs in time starts shouting out the model's names for run through. And you still need to apply some mascara... When all the models get back it's literally lip gloss here, hairspray there, models getting naked and everyone is just in a frenzy to make sure all the looks are complete. Make up artists need to group up and arrange who takes care of what touch ups, which models need finishing off and you can't forget the body. Any models with skin exposed need their arms, legs, backs etc moisturising much to the envy of my male friends :)

And then it's backstage last minute touch ups. Anything that doesn't get done in the dressing rooms has to be done behind the catwalk. It's pretty cramped, there's up to 20 odd models in heels towering above you plus a whole host of other people including photographers and bloggers. There's no point being here if you can't handle pressure or maybe being shouted at. If you find yourself back here you end up weaving in and out of people and clothes making sure that make up looks fresh and done according to the original design literally seconds before the models hit the catwalk. And that's it! 4 hours of preparation for a 10 minute show. It's pretty bonkers but you have to love your job to have the energy and patience to handle the atmosphere backstage and lucky for me I do. Yes it's tiring but it's fun and it's the best way to learn and get better at your trade. Watching make up artists like Lan Grealis and Jo Sugar work is pretty awesome and I just take it all in and let it inspire and refresh my artistry. That's what assisting is all about. That and feeling very, very short. 

Just love

Rina xoxo 

NB. I do not claim that any of the make up looks in these images have been designed by me. Credit lies with the head artists for the relevant shows. 

Skincare shoot for Stylelux

In July I got involved in a project that was commissioned by a Danish health and beauty company called Stylelux. My friend and photographer, Emily Bailey called me in to do make up for an editorial style beauty shoot for one of their face masks. Which was black!

So with close up beauty photography in mind, we needed a great model with excellent skin. Emily I have have worked together on shoots lots of times before and what I love about collaborating with her is the fact that we both gel our ideas effortlessly and come out with some wonderful images. It truly is a collaboration when I work with Emily so there was no doubt that it was the right choice when we invited friend, model and muse Pippa Perkins to be the face of our shoot.

Before we cracked on with the face mask I wanted to get a few beauty shots in given my love of natural looking make up. Pippa's look is perfect for beauty photography and I really wanted to create a soft, sensual beauty look with natural looking contours and highlights.

I created this look by keeping the skin looking fresh and dewy with MAC Face & Body foundation. This is one of my favourite formulas for natural, beauty photography as it photographs really well and doesn't look like the model is wearing make up at all. When a model already has great skin, I don't see the need to put on heavy coverage foundation. I like to let the model's features speak for themselves. And as Pippa already has great skin, I didn't cover it up too much.

I simply used a touch of Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Uber Beige to contour her fantastic cheekbones but sticking to a cream formula, it kept the texture of the skin nice and supple rather than powdery and matte. And then for highlighting which was my main focus for this look, I used MAC Strobe Cream on the top of her cheekbones, down the bridge of her nose and on her cupid's bow and I punched the highlighter out even more by going over this with an almost white coloured, shimmer eyeshadow by The Body Shop in Moonstone.
I finished off the look with Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colour in shade WT901 on the eyes and Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipgloss in Star on the lips.

The final images are stunning. I loved the lighting that Emily used as they make Pippa look really dreamy, soft and romantic. These are definitely some of my favourite beauty images to date.

I then had to switch the look up for a more editorial look. The face mask was a black gel texture so with Emily's monochromatic theme in mind I started by completely blanking out Pippa's face. I wanted full coverage so I built up over what base Pippa already had on using Illamasqua Rich Liquid foundation in white covering the lips as well. I slicked her hair back into a tight, clean ponytail and for a it of variation on some of the images I used Kryolan cream pigment in an orange tone on the eyes. These are some of my favourite edits from the shoot.

 



Just love

Rina xoxo

All photography by Emily Bailey click here for her facebook page.
Model - Pippa Perkins
Images commissioned for Stylelux.co.uk

My Best Friend's Wedding

This post is well overdue. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting. I've been lacking flow...
But I've got my writing hat on now and I wanted to share with you a piece on what was to many, the wedding of the year. My best friend Krishna got wed to her soul mate on a scorching hot weekend in July and I was honoured to be doing her wedding make up!

So how do you make up someone who never wears make up? Krishna has great skin so the lucky thing doesn't need to wear make up - ever! But it was her wedding day and she wanted to look great in her photos so for a couple of days only she was willing to be the centre of attention and let me touch her face with my make up brushes! I had been waiting for this day for a very long time and knowing her as well as I do it only took one trial and a little bit of faith from Krishna for us to come up with the perfect look for her.

It was an Indian wedding so colour was a must and given her love purple I did a soft smokey eye with violets and indigos using a combination of MAC and Front Cover eye shadows. I even managed to get her to wear false eyelashes! Eyelure Naturalites are my favourite lashes for someone who wants to wear falsies without them looking too much. All I did with her skin was use a touch of MAC Face and Body foundation to even the it out and give her a bit of a glow. Bobbi Brown Uber Beige Pot Rouge was used for slight colour and contour on her cheeks and the look was finished off with Bobbi Brown Beige Lip Colour and a slick of clear gloss over the top.

Krishna looked beautiful but still like herself and it just goes to show that brides don't need to wear tonnes of make up to look good on their wedding day. Everyone knows my love of natural looking make up, flawless skin and making my brides look real and I was uber chuffed with how my best friend and her two sisters looked on the day.

It was a perfect wedding and all the clothes, accessories, hair and make up looked just gorgeous. Enjoy the rest of these beautiful photographs of not only the make up but everything else that looked pretty too :)

If you liked any of the looks I created for Krishna, Krupa and Kirti and you are interested in booking me for you wedding day please get in touch :)

Just love

Rina xoxo

All photographs in this blog were courtesy of Manesh Mistry. Go check out his work!
http://www.snapuriphotography.com/
https://www.facebook.com/snapuriphotography