KAMARA HARDING

Ara Jo

2012-02-07T23:05:00.000Z

So, I know I haven't posted up all those photos from recent shoots, but these I just HAVE to share today! A few months ago I worked with photographer Nigel Pacquette, MUA Soo Jung Park and two people I regularly collaborate with, Pash (of Style Creative) and Lucie (of Sean Hanna salon).

The clothing was provided by designer Ara Jo, who has styled people such as Lady Gaga and Leona Lewis. A privilege indeed!

The results:

Pretty fabulous, huh?

I've Returned!

2011-12-01T21:05:00.003Z

Hopefully. Gosh once you let something slip it's REALLY hard to get back into the routine of doing it regularly again, isn't it?

A lot, lot, lot has been going on in the last few months, too much to ramble on about so I'll try and summarise. Work-wise, things have been going quite well. I'm one of the new faces of Bird on a Wire Vintage, a boutique featured on ASOS Marketplace (look out soon for BOAW website too!) run by the lovely Buki. I'm really enjoying working with her and ever so grateful for the opportunity!

Aside from that, recent shows/shoots in the last few months have included the British Hairdressing Awards, Goldwell ColourZoom Global Competition, Salon International, Toni & Guy Psionics Hair Show, fashion shoot ft. Ara Jo garments and other hair and fashion work in the meanwhile. Plus the BHA shoot I did with Lucie has been published in Hairdresser magazine, a full page apparently - hopefully pictures coming soon!

For the time being, here are some of the outfits from my BOAW shoots:

BRB

2011-05-08T15:23:00.001+01:00

I've been trying to upload a new post but Photobucket is being a HUGE tool and resizing my images all wrong. Well technically instead of resizing it's simply cropping them. So mini hiatus until I get it sorted out/find a new image host.

REVOLUTIONS

2011-04-22T16:36:00.006+01:00

The results of a test shoot I did with Ian & Andy (two photographers I've had the pleasure of working with on numerous occasions):

MUA: Sharon Henry and Sheila
Hair Stylist: Jemma Stafford

Sorry they're all different sizes, that's just the size they were sent to me in.

The Armani grey striped pants featured above are one of the items recently purchased at Bicester Village, as well as the Michael Kors red snakeprint bag. Gotta love designer outlets!

Anyway, the weather is incredible and I am off to drink ice lattes in the sun & then party the night away.

EVERY SIDEWALK IS MY RUNWAY

2011-03-20T20:15:00.003Z

A few months ago I opened a fashion show for View Management in The Collection, Chelsea. It was a fun evening, but we still haven't seen the actual photos/video of the show itself! However I was finally sent some behind the scenes photos (which I had completely forgotten about), so at least I could show my rents what my hair & makeup looked like, lol.

CHASING AWAY WINTER BLUES

2011-03-03T23:29:00.003Z

With spring seemingly around the corner (fingers crossed), I'm really looking forward to finding some new statement pieces to brighten up my wardrobe. I'm loving these beautiful mossy greens and bright yellows at the moment. I need to inject some colour into my life and start leaving the black for nighttime!

1. Proenza Schouler platform pumps.
2. Hermes clutch.
3. Yellow shorts - unknown.
4. Cacharel Duchesse satin skirt.
5. Yellow dress - unknown.
6. 3.1 Phillip Lim bag.

If anyone knows where the unknowns are from, please do tell.

THE ULTIMATE MAXI

2011-02-24T21:36:00.006Z

The weather was so uncharacteristically NICE today that I was able to walk around town all day in this:

and not even feel chilly. Don't worry, there are shorts hiding under there.

I checked out H&M quickly & whilst rifling through the sales racks I picked up their olive green maxi skirt to try on - great fit and all but how do people walk in those things? I take long steps when I walk and the jersey maxi kind of restricts your leg movement.

Therefore my ultimate maxi dress/skirt (which I WILL find asap, or make if I damn well have to) will have the following qualities:

1. An element of sheerness (i.e. the H&M sheer maxi skirt featured in previous post)
2. A slit on one side. Not only is the occasional flash of bare leg incredibly sexy but I would like to be able to walk properly without fear of tripping over myself.
3. Pleating (not 100% necessary, but certainly preferable).

I don't think that's too much to ask, is it?

Anyyyyway. Yesterday evening I discovered Fashiolista and predictably the rest of the night was spent browsing and "loving" gazillions of gorgeous items. If you're on there, see my Widget to the right of my blog and feel free to follow me. If you're not already on there, I highly recommend you join! Trust me, you'll spend hours having fun expressing your fashion style by building up an arsenal of beautiful clothes & accessories on your page.

LUSTING AFTER...

2011-02-23T15:23:00.004Z

1. H&M Sheer Maxi Skirt
2. ManiaMania Immortals Ring
3. Alexander McQueen Robot Nude High Heel
4. Chloé Pleated Silk-Satin Blouse
5. Chanel Metallic Lambskin and Plexi Ice Cube Clutch

I'm having orgasmic mind explosions looking at these beauties! Sorry about the crappy quality - PS crashed on me & I have too many tabs open to restart my computer atm so I went with good ol' Paint.

And the number one piece of clothing I am lusting after:

(image from Vogue.com)

Lanvin's stunning dress from the 2011 RTW Spring Collection.

Sigh. If only.

AROUND THE WORLD

2011-02-22T00:48:00.004Z

I am guiltily writing to you all from back in London. I know I haven't updated in forever and I don't particularly have a great excuse...so I just won't give one. I'm back, though. With some beautiful new bags & shoes in tow, including these pictured below:

I've been looking for a great pair of thigh highs for ages. These aren't actually all that easy to walk in but if I slow down my usually speedy pace of walking, they're just fine.

In other news, I am looking forward to a hopeful Euro-trip in the upcoming month. Possible locations include: Belgium (brother lives there), Italy (best friend lives there), Spain (always wanted to go), Switzerland (mama may head there for business) and France (Bordeaux, for the wine!). Hopefully I manage to hit up all those fabulous countries.

上海，我爱你

2010-12-27T04:32:00.004Z

It has been so wonderful being back at home this winter that I extended my stay for another month. Yeah. That's how much I don't want to return to London and the snow right now. The weather here has been pretty forgiving too, even climbing up to 18c with lots of sunshine! Christmas day was awesome. Mama & I shopped all afternoon (oh dear) & then picked up dad in the evening to go to this great Japanese Teppenyaki place on The Bund for dinner with some family friends. Totally un-Christmassy but who cares, the food was crazy delicious and that's good enough for me.

And while I know Christmas "isn't about the gifts", that doesn't mean we enjoy them any less. What were your favourite gifts this xmas? Mine include a few pairs of amazing shoes, a stunning Balmain jacket, and Chanel No. 5 (actually received a week before xmas. The scent made my mom so nostalgic my dad bought her one for xmas haha). My parents are also paying for me to take driving lessons when I return to London, which I'm looking forward to. Anywa, enough jibberish. Hope everybody's Christmas was wonderful (if you celebrated). Looking forward to NYE now...NYE in Shanghai is always a b-l-a-s-t.

LOOK AT THE STARS, LOOK HOW THEY SHINE FOR YOU

2010-11-04T00:50:00.003Z

I opened my December issue of Vogue UK and when I reached page 61 I fell into a trance-like state staring at the beauty that is Christopher Kane's galaxy-print dress from his 2011 collection. J'adore it.

image from tfs

VIVA LA VIDA

2010-10-28T21:32:00.002+01:00

Had a great hair shoot with a fantastic team about 2 weeks ago. The photographer, Mike Lin, sent me some of the finals:

Now if only I could get my hair to behave on my own...

DIRTY MARTINI

2010-10-24T18:59:00.003+01:00

I've been feeling quite sick of the club scene lately and much more into bars - chilled out vibe, less sleazeballs, delicious drinks and good music...much more my taste.

On Wednesday evening a friend & I hit up Dirty Martini, a lovely "underground" bar in Covent Garden.

PROS: Drinks are delicious, prices are excellent, music is good.
CONS: not very spacious, a little overcrowded (not enough seating to handle it's popularity!)

We had a martini each to begin with:

Passionfruit and Finlandia vodka.

Raspberry & apple and Finlandia vodka.

Then asked the bartender to surprise us with a whiskey-based drink:

Blueberry, lemongrass and Jim Beam whiskey.

Wednesday night is great - 2 identical martinis for a mere 8 pounds. Which explains why the place was so busy at 10pm in the middle of the week. They have these "Dirty by Design" slips you fill out by checking off what alcoholic base, mixers and even type of glass you want your drink served in. Fun!

PEEK INTO MY MAKEUP BAG

2010-10-20T01:01:00.018+01:00

I quite enjoy makeup posts. I find it useful to read other people's recommendations - so here are a few of my own.

Foundations/Cover up:

I don't usually wear foundation, but occasionally for an absolute perfectly smooth face I turn to good ol' Boots No. 7 (Dual Protection Tinted Moisturiser for day time for it's light and sheer dewy look, and a smooth, slightly thicker Stay Perfect foundation for evenings). Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection serves as a handy coverup stick to carry around.

Eyes - Shadows, Pencils & Mascaras:

I currently use Too Faced Lash Injection mascara for darker, thicker lashes, or Maybelline "the falsies" Volum' Express for a less heavy look. My No. 7 eyelash curler is a serious must-have (uh, yeah, I have very Chinese lashes. Straight, that is). For eyebrows I like a strong brow, and an eyebrow pencil does the trick for me. Oddly I think brows may actually be one of my favourite aspects of applying makeup.

With eyeshadows, I normally don't use much (if any) during the day, but at night I like to blend different brands and textures of shadow together - No. 7 does nice mousse-y shadows, Urban Decay has some awesome colours, and MAC as always is a great one to turn to for colour and vibrance.

And PS - Urban Decay VAPOR eye shadow (in silver) is my absolute favourite for highlighting brow bones, cheekbones and even the tiniest dab down the nose bridge.

Cheeks - Blushers & Bronzers:

I WISH I were one of those girls with beautifully strong cheekbones but alas mine are a little more "elusive". I'm a big fan of any bronzer (beach-y glow? yes please). As for blushers, despite having the opinion that powdered versions are easier to apply, I always find myself drawn to the velvety feel of Maybelline's mousse blushers and poking a finger in the testers. Sorry, Boots.

I won't even bother with a photo of my rather pathetic "collection". I need a fabulous darkish bronzer/blush - suggestions very welcome!

Lips - Glosses, Lipsticks and...Plumpers?:

Lately I've grown very fond of darker lips - bare/minimal eyes and bold lips exude glamour to me. YSL does gorgeous lipsticks that not only look great but feel beautifully moisturising. MUA does a surprisingly nice deep red, and for only 1 pound (yeah, seriously). As for glosses - I have tried many a plumper in my time in an attempt to get luscious bee-stung lips without looking like I've just walked out of the plastic surgeon's office. Despite hearing many positive things about Too faced Lip Injection, I actually still prefer Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker (plus the name is genius!). Smells gorgeous, comes in various shades, looks great and has a delightful tingle I (rather masochistically) love.

What are some of your favourite products?

MANGO?

2010-09-06T17:47:00.004+01:00

I've been completely MIA lately, but with good reason! After getting back to London and couch-crashing at my friend's for 2 weeks I moved in with another friend and we have no internet at the flat yet. And NOW the landlord has said he wants to sell the place...soooo yeah. Great. Looking for somewhere to live all over again.

In the meanwhile, things have been getting slightly busier for me with modelling - I've signed with View Management in London, I did my first catwalk show (and opened the show!), and have been doing shoots in between. One photographer I work with on occasion met a VM at a Mango store who said she was looking to do a shoot with the clothing from Mango - so voila, we set it all up and here is a quick look at the results:

Photographers: Gavin Thorn, Ellz and Carrie
Stylist: Emma

WHERE ARE ALL THE MEN IN THIS TOWN?

2010-07-15T11:34:00.003+01:00

Shopping. If I leave the house these days, it's to do one of 3 things: eat, drink, or shop.

Anyway, I'm in love with my new Zara shoes. After seeing the massive 50% off sale in the display window, how could I not rush in? Now, I wear UK size 7 shoes (in China that's 40 - 41), and women here really don't have long feet. The largest size most local shops store is around 38, MAYBE 39 in some. Whenever I ask for my size they look at me, then down at my feet, as though I am some sort of weird half-breed giant-footed alien. And clever me only brought ONE pair of heels back from London, somehow magically forgetting this important fact about China. So yes, to sum up, I am very glad I found some sexified wedges for half price!

I've also been rummaging around in various other shops and picked up quite a few items of clothing. Dresses, shirts, even some jewellery. And as I am too comfortable to get up, find and photograph them all neatly, I will just stick up a photo or two of ONE of these items & that will have to suffice as an example.

I dunno. Zebras are cute, plus it had shiny bead thingies attached, and the back was cool.

STEREO LOVE

2010-07-06T05:23:00.007+01:00

So I've been back home (Shanghai) for about 2 weeks or so now and it's been, as always, perfect. However I'm waiting on the sun to really come out & play - it's 40 degrees celcius here but cloudy, meaning I'm melting and NOT at the pool fixing that. Thank God for air conditioning. Anyway, the first place we went to eat when I got back was the Shangrila hotel. My family loves the buffet there - the SEAFOOD! The desserts! Love it.

Other than that I've been mostly shopping, dining out, and getting spoiled. Had the best 90 minute facial yesterday plus manicure. They didn't have the colours I wanted though so I picked this orange-y shade - not usually my colour but hey I'm supporting Netherlands in the World Cup so why not go all the way!

The other day my dad & I went to the Expo - if you don't know about it then you really should google it. It's massive, and on for 6 months. We didn't walk into THAT many pavillions, mainly because we didn't want to queue haha. So we just walked into a couple of the emptier ones and took photos of the pavillions from the outside - there are some pretty cool ones. We were there for 8 hours, walked so long my toes got blisters (lovely, I know), and STILL only saw about 1/5th of the place properly.

Anyway. I'm still hungover from last night so I'm gonna go recover. More updates later!

WHEN I COUNTED UP MY DEMONS, SAW THERE WAS ONE FOR EVERY DAY

2010-05-26T17:18:00.004+01:00

I've been on a short hiatus due to extreme busy-ness and SUNSHINE! Last weekend was insanely sunny so my girl & I lay around Hyde Park and got nice & tan. Looks a bit stupid as I was wearing shorts and she was wearing hareem pants (hahah her legs are half white half brown), but a tan is a tan.

I've booked my ticket home to Shanghai for part of the summer, and can't wait to get back. Home sweet home!

CRYSTAL PALACE

2010-05-08T15:50:00.003+01:00

Some photos from the shoot with Ian last week:

Photographer: Ian Howard

Luckily the sun came out - it was meant to rain but we didn't catch any, fortunately. Had another shoot yesterday, a test shoot for Matrix Maybelline. Hair & makeup was fantastic - can't wait to see the photos from this one!

FASHADDICT

2010-04-23T13:52:00.004+01:00

So a couple posts before I put up a couple shots from the Fashaddict shoot I did for their spring/summer line. I've received the full set of photos now & they've posted some behind-the-scenes shots on their official blog (shared below).

(Fashaddict blog)

A few of the outfits:

Their clothes can be purchased at their official site: Fashaddict and you may keep up-to-date with them via their official blog: the FASHADDICT blog

IN FAIR VERONA

2010-04-20T22:27:00.008+01:00

From Verona & Venice:

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So we attended the Vinitaly wine exhibition, held in Verona - a week spent tasting, learning about and consuming literally hundreds of different wines is a week well spent in my eyes.

01-03: Vinitaly - we crashed a wine seminar and tasted all the wines before sneaking back out
04: That scary-looking dish of 6 different boiled meats is a traditional dish in Verona so it had to be tasted...yes, one of the meats was HORSE. I'm not gonna lie, I ate some
05-07: Dinner at Lago di Garda
08-11: Venice
12-13: a lovely waiter took his time decorating our desserts in hearts and helping us pick the perfect dessert wine to accompany it (Amarone Reicoto)

Since returning to London, my social life has been fairly busy & I'm indulging in a little bit of Italy here - had a date with an Italian man last night. I'm not sure whether it was impressive or repulsive to him that I ate scallops, a 10 oz steak and dessert but he's still calling on me for another date so I suppose it can't have been that off-putting. Ha. They need to learn early, I love my food!

ITALIA

2010-04-14T23:08:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the hiatus - Verona and Venice were both perfect! Just what I needed. Photos later.

ONE OF THESE MORNINGS

2010-04-06T22:42:00.005+01:00

So yesterday, I went to see my mother's friend who works in the wine industry and is visiting London for a few days. She invited me to fly to Verona, Italy with her for a long weekend, so I have booked my ticket. I could never say no to Italy!

(ignore my face, I was operating on 3 1/2 hrs of sleep)

We had a Japanese breakfast at the Millennium hotel, went shopping at Harrods and Regents street, and had dinner at Belgo - a Belgian restaurant in Covent Garden. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mussels. Belgium is famous for it's delectable chocolate, beer and seafood. The mussels were AMAZING, plus I got to drink my beloved Fruli (strawberry beer).

SUN FEI FEI

2010-04-05T00:11:00.005+01:00

This girl is just magic. I only became aware of her recently, and she has now captured my full attention. She is just gorgeous! It's also a bonus that she's Chinese and I obviously want my fellow country people to really start taking over in the industry, haha. Plus her mother agency is in Shanghai (my cityyyy)! Love this girl. Definitely one to look out for.

(tfs)

By the way, how do you guys reply to comments? I'm not sure whether to do it on the same post or to go to that blogger's site and respond there...I've been doing a mixture of both and I have no clue which one to keep up with :|

Tomorrow I'm off to meet my mama's friend who's visiting London. We're having a Japanese breakfast at her hotel and then off shopping for the day. Perfection!

MUST BE THE REASON WHY I'M KING OF MY CASTLE

2010-04-04T14:18:00.003+01:00

Friday night = lots of alcohol, lots of bar/club-hopping, and lots of gay topless men dancing on poles. Unfortunately the camera stayed in the bag at Freedom but the night was memorable enough without!