Hooray! It’s time for another Brand Spotlight.

This time it’s the turn of Beauty Pie. An entirely new concept and if I’m honest, not one I was fully on board with at first. Now I am a HUGE fan.

Beauty Pie is a membership that gives you access to really beautiful high end products at VERY low prices. They go direct to the labs to create their own skincare, makeup, fragrance and body products and sell them to us at just above cost. The money is made from the memberships.

Each membership gives you a spending limit and they list the membership and non membership prices. The non membership price would be what you would be paying if you were shopping in SpaceNK or John Lewis. My monthly membership is £20 and my spending limit is £200. That is £200 at the non membership price though so I don’t really spend more than £50-60/month. You can get a membership as low as £5/month.

So here are my current favourites-

Cleanse, Hydrate, Moisturise

The Jeju Daily Cleanser is my current favourite from BP. I’ve tried their Double Phase as well but I prefer this texture. A light cream I massage into a dry skin and it melts away all makeup including long lasting eye makeup. As you massage in it turns into an oil, then you add water to emulsify it into a milk and then rinse off with a flannel and warm water. You can double cleanse with this or follow with another cleanse. £11.39 members/£28 non members

The Jeju Daily Hydration Mist is a lovely, refreshing and deeply hydrating face mist. I like to use this as the first step of my skincare as well as mid way through my makeup if I feel my skin looks/feels dry. It’s also great as a freshening up spritz through the day if you need to bring some dewiness back to your face. £10.58 Members/£30 non members.

My favourite moisturiser disappeared from the UK so I was very happy to find this. Japanfusion is an entire range in BP but I am loving the M3 Urban Air Purifying Day moisturiser. It’s very lightweight but comforting on the skin. it’s light enough to not clog pores and protects the skin from environmental stress and photo-aging. £12.36 Members/£50 Non Members.

Serums

I like to add in serums that I can pull in specifically for what skin issues I have at the moment. This is called wardrobing your skincare. Your skin will have different needs not only in different areas of the face, but at different times. Week to week my skin can change as well as season to season.

When my skin needs clarifying, brightening and thinks it’s a teenager again, the Plantastic micropeeling drops are excellent. Full of fruit acids, purifying biosurfectants and natural brighteners I use this daily when I’m having breakouts and 2/3 weekly when I’m not. £9.32 members/£50 non members

I’m a big hyaluronic fan and the Triple Hyaluronic Acid is delightful! Very plumping and feels lovely under moisturiser or mixed in. Full of Ceramides and Peptides this is anti aging as well as hydrating. £14.36 members/£60 non members

Makeup 

The makeup is also really, really good. I have bought a lot for my pro kit and gone back and doubled up for personal use. The true test of success!

My main WIN is the Uber Volume Fibre Lash Building Primer. I’m a mascara primer fan and this is the BEST I’ve tried. A firm plastic brush deposits just the right amount onto the lashes and when you pop that mascara on top it’s just WOW. Voluminous lashes without the clumping. £3.54 members/£18 non members

These 10 pan pallets are gorgeous. I have 3 but this is my preferred one. This is the Ten Best Mattes Palette and the shades are dreamy, the texture is buttery and easy to blend (not an easy thing with matte shades) and it’s small and compact. This gets a LOT of use in my pro kit. £10.32 members/ £35 non members

Gel liners are a staple in my kit and I’ve used pretty much all the known ones out there. These Wondergel All-Day Stay eyeliners deliver as good as any of the big ol spendy ones and they are much more affordable. I have both the Black and the Dark Chocolate. £5.94 members/ £15 non members

One Powder Wonder is a really super powder product that doesn’t leave ANY dryness or cakiness. It blurs, blots, smooths and sets. I use the shade Uberlucent Universal (I think it’s there only shade) which is pigment free and it is £6.64 members/ £26.00 non members

Lastly, Wondercolour Longwear Cream Shadow Stick. I’ve carried Cream Shadow Sticks in my kit since they were invented. I used to spend £20+ on each shade from Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown and these BP ones are EXACTLY the same in terms of quality and finish. And a great shade selection. They are a cult favourite already and I agree with that status. I have the shades Goldie, Pink Velvet and Fauna and I will be getting the full set. £4.93 members/£22 non members

I have absolutely NO affiliation with Beauty Pie in that they don’t pay me to say any of this, nor do they send me any products. I do however have a code for you if you would like to try- it gives you one months free membership and I get an extra £50 on my spending limit. NOT £50 to spend. It allows me to spend £50 (like I need encouraging) but I want to always be translucent with you with these codes.

Click HERE to look at what they offer and get your free month!

If you need any help with choosing, drop me an email. I will always help if I can 🙂

Katy x

 

 

 

 

Do you know what really floats my boat? High street bargains. Especially in the Beauty World. After working for high end premium brands for 13+ years I went freelance 11 years ago and discovered that the high street world of makeup was way better than I remembered. WAY BETTER…

Fast forward to today and the technology found in the £££ products has definitely found it’s way down to the high street.

I’m going to give you a spotlight on my favourite affordable brands, starting this week with REVOLUTION
This brand CLEARLY isn’t marketed towards me, a 41 year old makeup artist. It’s an influencer led brand make no mistake. but this is fine. It makes really good business sense for them. Some of these influencers have a reach of millions of followers. The only thing is- the way they use and demonstrate the products is very different to how I would use them, both on myself and my clients

So it means is that you have to pick and choose wisely from the brand to differentiate between what is more sparkle, less substance and what is genuinely good value, usable makeup.

Luckily, this is what I am here for! (Grab a pen and paper and make notes because I only have a store link not product links this time)

Concealer

The first product I tried from the range was the Conceal and Define range of concealers. Turns out these have some kind of cult status which totally passed me by. I was drawn to the BRILLIANT shade range.

One of my bugbears with high street base ranges is usually the limited shade range and exclusively yellow/neutral tones.

Not only do they have a really good realistic shade range (ie not some obscure yellow/peach tones that don’t exist in real life) but they go from VERY light to VERY dark. This type of inclusivity needs to become the norm! My sister who has albinism can actually find a foundation and concealer in this brand which brings further kudos from me.

This concealer would suit anyone with normal/combination to oily skin. If you use a slightly richer moisturiser underneath it you can take this lightly over larger areas of the face, almost to replace foundation. For use under the eyes, layer over a deeply hydrating eye cream.

 

Basically, read the above and replace the DEFINE with HYDRATE. It’s an identical shade range and appeals to the less oily client. Definitely a better texture for under the eyes and the drier skin. I carry both the ranges in my professional makeup kit!

A third concealer option (and this is by no means their full concealer range, they have at least 4 more I think) is their Conceal and Define INFINITE. Basically a super long lasting version of the original and the one that I have been using most recently.

Under Eye Primer

I took a chance on this product, fully expecting it to be total crap. But it was £5 so I was prepared to take a punt.

I’m not the biggest primer fan, to be honest but I have aged under my eyes WAY more than on my face and I’ve not been enjoying the crepey texture. This combined with the Infinite concealer is working nicely for me!

A lightweight cream-gel, Revolution PRO Under eye Primer Hydrate glides onto the under eye area to instantly cool and refresh. Formulated with glycerin, it helps to intensively moisturise the skin, softening and smoothing the appearance of fine lines and pores. Dries down to a silky matte finish, creating a long-wearing base for concealer and foundation. I find my concealer wears a little longer on top of it as well as stays smoother and looks less textured for longer. 

Eye shadow Palette

Moving on from base, I ordered 2 eye shadow palettes for £10 each, again with not the highest expectation but WOW WAS I WRONG?

I have these 2 palettes, the more neutral Diamonds and Pearls palette being my absolute favourite, the So Jaded palette is fun too but not my everyday reach for.

Blendable, great pigment and really beautiful colours, I forgive the gaudy packaging and implore you to try them. £10!! They have lots of other colour ways too, including a taupey/grey so I’ll be picking that up soon.

All the Revolution and Revolution PRO ranges can be bought from Superdrug HERE

I show you below in my IGTV/Facebook video exactly how I wear them right HERE

I’d love to know if you try any of these and if you’ve got any product suggestions for ME?

Katy x

 

 

 

 

 

My Favourite Facemasks and a FREE month at Beauty Pie

Skincare for me, is a long term plan rather than an emergency fix. My mantra is ‘Keep it simple and be consistent’. So focus on Cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating and treating your skin daily. This means that masks can be used as and when for relaxation or a boost of something, rather than being relied upon.

I want to show you my favourite masks for different skin types and issues. Don’t miss the last one which is a video review of a mask I definitely DO NOT recommend!

Oily/Combo/ Congested Skin

Beauty Pie Super Pore-Detox

 

I’ve been using this every 3/4 days for the last few weeks to get on top of the bumps brought on by wearing SPF 50 daily. It’s fresh and clean feeling, doesn’t set to an uncomfortable hard cast. It does have eucalyptus so expect a zing! When it’s dried and time to remove you add water and massage it in for a very gentle exfoliation (VERY). Rinse and remove with warm water.  £8.50 for members

FYI- I am not affiliated with Beauty Pie, meaning I don’t get any commission when I recommend their products. I do however have a code that you can use to get a free month. They are a membership that gives you access to stunning high end products for wholesale prices. Different membership levels give you different spending allowances. When I recommend someone I get extra spending allowance, meaning I spend more money with them. But no monetary compensation. 

Click here to access your free month and feel free to email me for product help 🙂

Tired/dehydrated/dull skin

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

A cult favourite (not that that means much) this mask is actually bloody lovely. It’s green, vegan and jam packed full of effective ingredients to brighten, re-hydrate and refresh your skin. Once on it feels a little like it’s slightly clarifying and that’s fine, it is! But alongside that it has vitamins, nutrients and ceramides so it plumps and reduces puffiness and inflammation. From £22.50 at Cult Beauty (not affiliated).

Dry/Tight/Sensitive

/Irritated Skin

First Aid Beauty Instant Oatmeal Mask

If your skin is just FURIOUS with you, tight, irritated then I highly recommend this affordable mask from First Aid Beauty. The first ingredient is Collodial Oatmeal which I know from soaking my kids in during a bout of chickenpox! It’s intensely soothing, has ingredients to counter itching too. And it’s not so expensive that you skimp with your applications. Layer this on! Not affiliated

Hope this helps, even just a little. Happy masking!

Katy x

 

48 weddings for 2020. That’s how many weddings I had in my diary (not including my team) but I still don’t know how many of these I’ll end up working on. It is SUCH a heartbreaking state of affairs. For my Brides, for their families, for the wedding industry and small sole traders like myself. As well as the UK and beyond. Who would have thought the decade would start like this?

However, I am many things. Resilient being one of them. I’ve not taken my finger off the wedding pulse since lock down.

It seems that there may be a few things that are brought back in that could end up being out of sync. There are talks of really small, intimate weddings being able to take place and I think a few of my bridal clients will be wanting to take the opportunity to get married sooner than later. The big party can come later because they just want to be MARRIED.

They may not have the space (both logistically or budget wise) for a makeup artist but they know that they still want to look incredible. 

So I created Your Virtual Makeup Artist

What is Your Virtual Makeup Artist ?

A Virtual Makeup Artist (VME) is the next best thing to having a makeup artist with you on your wedding day. SO much more than a typical YouTube tutorial or a makeup counter lesson. A VME is uniquely designed for YOU. It is bespoke to YOU, designed to help you create the look you desire as if you had a makeup artist right there.

It is designed for YOU, easy to follow, safe and user friendly. It is a pre-recorded video for you to follow on the day as well as use to practice in the run up to give you the guidance and confidence to pull off your dream look on the day.

How does it work?

We start off with a video chat. I want to get to know you and you need to get to know me. We have a LOT of things to talk through! Firstly, your skin. Your makeup will look and perform a lot better when your skin is at it’s best. I will talk you through a simple routine and your on the day prep.

We need to discuss your looks so I encourage you to share your dream looks with me. This is the online version of your Bridal makeup trial. All the things you would discuss with your makeup artist for the day. Shades, colours, lashes, eyeliner shapes, winged liner V. smoky eye etc. We thrash it all out, sharing images of makeup you love, makeup you DON’T (always good to know!). Once we have a clear idea of the look you’re after, I summarize it for you in an email alongside products you’ll need to have.

I then record you a fully comprehensive, easy to follow, step by step video for you to watch, practice with and follow on the day.

 The Look

Do you have a really set idea if the look you want? Great! Do you have absolutely no idea and really need guidance? That’s totally fine too. Are you worried about being over done on the day when you barely wear makeup? I get it. I will listen and recommend a suitable look. 

Would you prefer a look a little more glamorous? Let’s do it! I love creating glamorous, timeless looks that don’t look heavy. 

If you’re worried about MY style not being YOUR style, that’s fine. I don’t really have a ‘style’ because my style is what YOU want. It’s my job to create YOUR dream makeup look for you, not mine.

NOT GETTING MARRIED but you’d like a Virtual Makeup Artist to help you create a look to practice at home? Maybe you’re going back to work after Mat leave? Or starting a new job. You may feel like your skin or hair has changed since your last make over? I will happily tailor this for YOU.

Take a look HERE and you can call/email me with ANY questions you may have

Katy x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay safe and hydrated

Katy x

 

I bloody love skincare. Without it I can’t do my job. I always recommend a routine for my clients but  I take just as much care over my own skin. I would always rather spend time and effort on what goes under my foundation than my foundation itself.

The most important part of a routine for me is always…

Cleansing

If you’re currently using wipes, heed this. They are NOT cleaning your skin properly. They are merely moving the stuff around your face and leaving a weird coating on that you should really rinse off.  The same goes with cleansing creams/milk/micellar waters that need cotton pads. You will go through half a pack of pads before the skin is adequately clean. Keep it quick and keep it simple. A cleansing balm or oil is the most efficient way to thoroughly remove all make-up, dirt, oil, pollution and leave the skin CLEAN, yet NOT stripped. Nothing foaming, even you oily gals. As a fellow ex oily skinned person, I get the temptation to clean it til it squeaks. But trust me, your skin doesn’t like it and you’re just making the skin oilier. My current favourite cleansers are Beauty Pie Double Phase Cleanser, Evolve Gentle Cleansing Melt and Jane Scrivner Nourishing Cleanser. Use code Katy10 on those links if you’d like 10% off 

 

 

Exfoliation

This is a non negiotiable step for me. Exfoliating is what I credit with the smoothness of my skin, plus it’s what keeps my congestion to a minimum. If you’re still exfoliating with a grainy scrub you’re definitely due for a switch. An acid toner dissolves the glue that hold dead skincells on. No one needs to hold on to dead skin. I swear by Jane Scrivner Skinfoliate (Katy10 gets you 10% off)

This is a lactic/salicylic acid blend, pretty gentle and has an anti bacterial ingredient in. I LOVE this product. 

Serums

Serums are an intense, easily absorbed shot of ingredient. I use a few, often I layer but I pick and choose depending on what my skin needs. Currently because we are in the middle of the Covid 19 isolation, my skin feels dull as dishwater and congested from a change in my diet (aka biscuits..). I am using these Beauty Pie Plantastic Drops

I also layer if needed with another Beauty Pie Serum Triple Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide. This gives me hydration, plumpness and comfort if I feel my skin needs a touch of TLC. If you’ve yet to try Beauty Pie, I urge you to take a look. It’s a membership/subscriptions service that gets you high end at wholesale price. Use this link here to get your first month free 🙂

Treatment

I’m 41, not terribly unhappy with my skin at all but definitely aware that my skin is changing and I want to address it with products rather than injectables FOR NOW. Retinol was on my radar to try and a while but I was conscious that many of the OTC )over the counter) versions weren’t going to give me the results I want. The % of the retinol isn’t high enough or balanced with the other ingredients to give the best results. Also, I am aware that for retinol to have enough oomph it should be prescribed. I do not have the time or budget to see a dermatologist but I did find Dermatica and they are GREAT. Pharmacy grade skincare from under £25/month is a GOOD DEAL! Not affiliated, I just know a good thing when I see it…

Experts in Dermatology

Dermatica’s online service offers fast, easy and affordable access to prescription skincare treatment and aftercare. Our expert dermatology team will analyse your skin to determine the best treatment to achieve your skincare goals.

You fill in a detailed questionnaire and send photos of your skin, from that their dermatologists and pharmacy send you out an affordable medical grade skin treatment. I use the anti aging but they also have great options for acne, pigmentation and more. 

Stay safe and hydrated

Katy x

 

As a make-up artist, I get asked to fix all sorts of skin issues. Usually with a full coverage foundation/powder or a good concealer. However, my answer to these requests will always be the same. You absolutely HAVE to go back to skin basics and address the issues at the very core. Foundation, no matter how full coverage (and I DO NOT use Full Coverage often…) isn’t there to fix your skin. It’s not the foundation making your skin look dry and patchy. Your skin IS dry and patchy; the foundation is only exacerbating the issues already there. Don’t put too much pressure on your poor foundation, even if it did cost you a lot. It’s not ready for that level of responsibility!

So, where do we start?

 

Cleansing

Always start at the beginning, which must be your CLEANSE. If you’re currently using wipes, heed this. They are NOT cleaning your skin properly. They are merely moving the stuff around your face and leaving a weird coating on that you should really rinse off.  The same goes with cleansing creams/milk/micellar waters that need cotton pads. You will go through half a pack of pads before the skin is adequately clean. Keep it quick and keep it simple. A cleansing balm or oil is the most efficient way to thoroughly remove all make-up, dirt, oil, pollution and leave the skin CLEAN, yet NOT stripped. Nothing foaming, even you oily gals. As a fellow ex oily skinned person, I get the temptation to clean it til it squeaks. But trust me, your skin doesn’t like it and you’re just making the skin oilier. My favourite cleansers take off all eye make-up and are easy to rinse off, leaving NO residue. A great one to start with is Evolve Organic Beauty Cleansing Melt 

If you prefer a little more luxury and an intoxicating scent, the Jane Scrivner Cleansing Balm is loaded with 8 essential oils and is incredible One full tub will last you 4/5 months minimum.

 

Exfoliation

After cleansing the next step we need to take to get our skin winter ready is exfoliation. As a huge fan of exfoliating, I’ve tries numerous. I always go back to an AHA/BHA liquid over anything abrasive or glycolic. An exfoliator that is gentle enough to use daily is Skinfoliate by Jane Scrivner. (I’m a huge fan of her work by the way). It’s Natural, Organic and functional! Start off using 2/3 times a week and build up to daily. It will give your skin smoothness, clarity and help hugely with absorption of your other products. When this step is skipped, I just find that all the following steps become less effective.

If your skin is still oily or prone to breakouts then these 31st State Overnight Clearing Pads have Lactic Acid, Zinc and Tea Tree oil in and smell amazing. These will help with breakouts without drying.

 

Hydration

Then we need to hydrate. Hydrating is different from moisturising. Think of hydrating (water based) as your skin drinking and moisturising as your skin eating. They both need to happen.

Hydrating takes care of the water level of your skin and keeps it plump and bouncy (and helps makeup stay on by preventing the skin from absorbing the make-up to get the hydration!) and quite often people misdiagnose their skin as dry when actually it’s dehydrated. Targeting the wrong one can lead people to get trapped in a cycle of spots (by over moisturising) and dryness, aka dehydration (which is actually a lack of water, not oil). Plump up the skin using a hyaluronic serum such as Evolve Hyaluronic Serum or for INTENSE plumpness, good old Jane S has one called Bioluronic Buzz and I am obsessed with it. (the name comes from one of the ingredients –  muscle relaxing Spilanthes Acmella (buzz button). Also a really great one if you’re looking for anti aging as it’s great for fine lines.

After you’ve given the foundation of your skin a drink you can then move on to taking care of the top layer.

 

Moisturisation

If you’re on a budget and SPF is a something you require, the Elizabeth’s Daughter range is great. Simple and fuss free and affordable

For skins that require a little more nourishment, again, Evolve Organic Beauty is a winner. Daily Renew Cream also gives a great base for make-up and smells like holiday which is lovely to be reminded on as we stand out in this blustery rain…

If you have the type of skin that is a walking contradiction, I feel you. I have combination sensitive skin but I want anti aging results. Too much though and my skin turns teenage again. D’alba is a Korean skin care range and I am laying myself down to worship at the feet of this little bottle. Repair Cream Peptide No Sebum is designed to work within those skin conditions and is free from irritants such as parabens, pigments, artificial fragrances, animal ingredients, mineral oil, and Silicone

I bloody love it.

THE best anti aging moisturiser for combo/oily skin.

 

Eyes

For the eyes, it’s only ever between these 2 for me. Antonia Burrell has some incredible products and her claims are big but proven. Bright and Light Eye Cream is divine.

Madara have a great anti fatigue (I need!) eye cream too which is a good all rounder.

Those of you who are REALLY dry and get drier and more uncomfortable in this weather, may I suggest you look at the whole Jane Scrivner 5 step routine and get oils and balms in there as part of your daily actions.

Lastly, I want to clarify- this shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes twice a day. Most of that in the evening is going to be spent cleansing because I’d suggest doing it twice. Once to remove make-up and the second time to really clean the SKIN. Then it’s a swift process from there.

 

This is an example of an evening routine and a morning routine.

Evening – Cleanse and rinse thoroughly with a fresh flannel soaked in warm water. Cleanse again. Sweep an exfoliator on a cotton pad all over the face and neck, ½ pumps of serum followed by eye cream then moisturiser. I don’t wait for each layer to absorb. In fact, my moisturiser goes on much better and gets absorbed much more efficiently when my skin is still damp.

The morning routine should be similar but whether you cleanse first thing is up to you. I personally prefer to just rinse my face with a flannel in warm water and repeat steps from Exfoliate.

 

If you are going from literally nothing, ie wipes and sometimes a moisturiser when you remember than this may seem overwhelming. Introduce one new product each week and give yourself at least 4 months to get your skin looking lush before the wedding and I will lay MONEY on it that you won’t revert back. Great skin is THE key to looking fresh and glowing on the day.

Keep it simple but BE CONSISTENT. There’s little to no point doing this one or twice a week, just like eating takeaways Monday to Friday and salads at the weekend isn’t a weight loss programme.

For further advice, ask me at your trial and we can get you some products to work specifically for YOU.

Katy x

 

Back in November I worked on one of my favourite weddings of the year.

Liz, the bride is an old school friend. We first met aged 9 at a local drama school and then went to secondary school together. However our paths really hadn’t crossed since the late 90’s after leaving school. Liz went on to travel the world, I went out to work as a makeup artist and we moved to different parts of London.

Liz married Jonny, her childhood sweetheart, therefore another school friend of mine and I was SO honoured to have been asked to be her makeup artist. Really, it is not something I take lightly. Often when you share a past with someone and a long history of friendship, it’s difficult to see them outside of that bubble. So I was over the moon to be able to look after Liz and her bridal party. One of her bridesmaids was in fact one of my very best friends, Rebecca, who sung at my own wedding. My eldest daughter has Rebecca in her name, which tells you how much I adore her.

On the morning of the wedding I got a cryptic text from Liz saying she hadn’t slept a wink. As a fellow mum to young children, I felt her pain. She wasn’t kidding. She hadn’t caught a SINGLE WINK. She was exhausted, of course. When you’re that sleep deprived it tells in your skin, in your eyes. I knew I needed to pull out every trick to make Liz feel INCREDIBLE.

I used a select few incredible skincare and base products that turned it all around for Liz and her gals.

The first thing I address on my brides, tired or not is hydration. Rather than over moisturising, I address the lack of water and this also helps keep makeup from being absorbed…

The first product I put on is by Antonia Burrell and it’s called Forest Dew. It floods the skin with hydration and gives even the most exhausted skin a smoothness, plumpness, comfort that skin needs to look fresh and glowy. I follow this up with a moisturiser that suits each individual skin type but EVERYONE needs something like this first. It’s my holy grail. It comes in 3 sizes, take a look here and comment if you have any questions.

A killer combo I swear by for base is Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter on all the high points of the face, followed by foundation. I use a variety, on this bridal party I used mostly Deciem The Ordinary full coverage foundation. This gives a soft filter, yet skin like finish.

Images below – makeup and photography by me

Tewinbury Farm is a beautiful barn wedding location local to me and Guy Collier was the photographer, which gave me huge joy. He is master at what he does but I love working with him because he is simply a good egg.

So much love in this wedding!

Leave them some love!

Katy x

 

The Natural Brides Guide to Makeup

 

Over the years it’s a conversation I’ve had time and time again. Reassuring a bride to be at her trial that her ‘on the day’ makeup won’t be heavy, or too dark or my favourite- like a clown… I mean, that would be AWFUL…

So I want to bust a few myths about what Bridal Makeup needs to be…

Here’s the glorious thing… it can be whatever you want it to be. There’s no Makeup Police Department, thankfully. So, if you want to stroll down the aisle in not a scrap of makeup, you can. Likewise, if full glam is your everyday go to, you can do that too.

What we can address is what works photographically. Because that isn’t opinion, it’s fact. Sciencey fact.

 

Let’s Bust Some Makeup Myths

You DO NOT need to go heavy on your base to look good in the photographs. This is modern day photography, not 1920’s black and white TV. It’s of the utmost importance that you look as good IN THE FLESH as you do on camera.

You DO NOT need to go heavy to make your makeup last longer. If it were as simple as piling it on thick and cakey then I wouldn’t be needed! Longevity is a much more complicated, multi stepped beast than that.

Natural makeup means no colour. Just varying shades of beige, taupe and fawn. Lord no, that doesn’t look natural at all! It looks dull, flat and unflattering.

 

What you do Need to do to Take your Everyday Look to a Natural Bridal Look is this

• Create a flawless, skin like base. Technology these days means that skin can look fresh, smooth and even without lots of texture. Make sure your face blends in with your neck and body so that your face doesn’t photograph differently.
• Add dimension and warmth by using a gentle touch of bronzer on the larger plains of the face. Don’t be alarmed. It will help to keep your skin looking real, rather than flat. Our faces aren’t one single colour.
• Ramp up the definition just a touch. Photography will require a little more sharpness. So take your usual brown mascara and swap for black. Your smoky blended out kohl will need to be a little denser at the root of your lashes.. Think your makeup + rather than an entire new look
• Don’t skip lips. “I don’t wear lipstick. I don’t want a bright red or anything…” Luckily, there are literally an infinite number of colours between your lips and bright red. The most flattering shade if you don’t want to look ‘lipsticky’ is your lips but better. Don’t eliminate the colour from your lips altogether, it will look unbalanced and can often make the teeth look yellow when they aren’t. Try a lip toned lip pencil with lip balm if the thought of lipstick is still too much.
• Powder your skin on the areas that you need it. T-zone and around the eyes (minimally) to stop creasing. Set the rest of the face with a setting spray.
• Don’t shy away from lashes. If clumpy mascara isn’t your thing, individual lashes will actually give you a more natural look.
• Blusher is another product I stand behind on 99% of people. It doesn’t have to be rosy if you’re worried about flushing through the day. If you’ve given yourself enough coverage on the red areas, a nice tawny peach/browny pink will give you a freshness and lift your complexion. This is more flattering than a flat base and actually softens a look. Try it!

The best thing I can suggest is to have an open and honest conversation with your makeup artist, show photos of you wearing your everyday makeup and also how you wear your makeup in the evening. Finally have your makeup artist take a photograph to show you, preferably on a professional camera. This should put your mind at rest!

Katy x

 

Do Red Lips Scare You?

 

We are a generation of smoky eyes, nude lips. In fact, a Regular Red Lip wearer is seen as a rare thing these days.

In decades gone by it was seen as the norm. It’s chic, it’s low effort.

I actually just spent 2 days in Paris working with a brand, talking to various Beauty Editors, Journalists, Bloggers and Influencers. I found it fascinating that over in France, a red lip is still seen as the norm. The more mature, experienced editors were effortlessly chic wearing barely there base, a lick of mascara and a red lip. They didn’t look unfinished, or unbalanced, they just looked elegant and utterly Parisian.

For us mere mortal, non Parisian chic ladies, a Red Lipstick can be our nemesis.

For MANY years, I stuck to my ‘Your Lips But Better’ shade or a muted Tawny Pink/Brown. I easily veered into Peaches and Corals but Red always felt rather out of my comfort zone.

However, I now have a few tricks up my sleeve and I can comfortably wear a Red Lip anywhere. I mean, literally as easily for an awards ceremony as to Sainsburys.

 

The Trick is always Balance

 

Over in my makeup education group, Beauty Unfiltered, I have a full instructional step by step video showing EXACTLY how I do this so do pop over and request to join. A quick search in the group for Red Lip should take you straight to it…

Balance means that you can wear a stronger lip without it feeling like you’ve gone ‘too far’ with your makeup.

Here’s what I mean… Lipstick is usually the very last thing to go on isn’t it? It’s the finishing touch. Often it’s the product that is applied a while after the makeup is finished, say, on the train, in the car or just before you pop into a meeting. You’ve evened out your skin, maybe added bronzer, blusher and you’ve done your eyes. If you’re used to wearing eyeliner and eye shadow and you make that a feature on your face, your usual lippie will just fit in with that, in the background, complimenting and flattering without overpowering.

So, here’s my trick. Do it backwards…

Whaaaaaat? Well, not quite fully backwards, but let’s definitely switch up the order.

Firstly, get your base on, make it as flawless as you can without it looking heavy. So pay extra attention to the concealer part, take back any redness from round your nose, patches, spots as well as you can. Set lightly with powder and finish this off by warming up the skin with a little bronzer. Just enough to break up the flatness of the foundation. Not to add contour, just to add warmth.

The next step should be eyes, right?

Nope.  

I favour a relatively good amount of eyeliner and mascara on my everyday look. If I put my eyes on as normal, to be balanced out by my usual choice of lipstick, that red lip will tip the balance. And makeup needs to be balanced. That’s what makes people feel ‘overdone’ in a red.

So, by putting your lipstick on first, you can see what definition you need on your eyes with the red lip there already. It’ll be a lot less than you would usually need with a nude lip.

Try it! It feels strange but it makes sense.

Have a look at this video I made explaining and demonstrating it

 

 

When it comes to choosing a red, you don’t have to go from 0-100 and straight into a bright letterbox red. There are an infinite number of red options before you get to that.

Test the waters by opting for a sheerer, less opaque texture, such as a lip stain/tinted balm.

I suggest to people to mix or layer a red with your usual nude lipstick to redden it up as an interim option.

If you prefer a more opaque texture but the boldness of a bright red scares you, go either side of red to a bold coral or a raspberry. The lip colour I used in the above video is by Laura Mercier called Coral Reef, a bright coral based Red.

But by making it the focus of your look, the rest of your makeup can fit in beautifully around it.

Katy x

 

Hi, Katy here.

I thought, what with this blog recently restarting, that I should be polite and introduce myself properly, rather than just talking at you! Plus, I get asked lots of questions about me, what I do, how I started etc so I thought a nice fully summarised blog post would cover all bases…

 

Who Am I?

I’m Katy Angelidi (An-guh-lee-dee) I’m an Award Winning Luxury Bridal Makeup Artist, Mum of 2. I’m originally from North London and I now live in Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire, in a small village near Hitchin. My last name is Greek, I married a half Greek half Northern chap and will have to spell that name out forever and ever.

 

This is me. Captured by Rafe Abrook Photography

 

Makeup Artistry; My Journey So Far

I’ve worked in the beauty industry as a makeup artist in one shape or form for 22 years. I still furrow my brows at that number because it is over half my life! I turned 40 last year and I sometimes feel like the luckiest person in the world. I’m doing what I always wanted to do.

I’m that person who is doing exactly what I said I wanted to do to the career lady in the library back in the mid 90’s. WAY before being a makeup artist was cool.

My love for makeup started from a very young age, watching my beautiful Mum applying her Ultraglow bronzing balls in her illuminated mirror and marvelling at the transformation as she clipped on her fuschia pink costume jewellery (the 80’s was a decade void of taste)…

 

This image by Kevyn Aucoin showed me the incredible transformative power of makeup.

 

I was unlucky enough to fall foul of bad acne from a very young age, so I escaped into a world of concealers and powders, studying the supermodels faces and the work of makeup artists such as Keyvn Aucoin and Bobbi Brown. This obsession carried on through school. It never lessened.

After I took my A-levels, with 3 creative subjects much to my schools disdain, I decided to take a year out before I went to the London College of Fashion to study makeup. I worked in a department store on the Lancome counter, where I’d been as a Saturday girl for 2 years. All of a sudden, I had regular customers coming to see me and only me. I got hooked on the buzz of helping women find their perfect makeup. And this sheer love for makeup, beauty and my clients has not wavered. I worked on makeup counters for many years, honing my craft working with REAL WOMEN and building up a loyal customer base (a few of whom still come to me for annual lessons). I never made it to LCF!

After ten or so years working in various brands and freelancing, I went on to work as a Global Makeup Artist and Trainer for Laura Mercier cosmetics and travelled around the UK, Europe and the USA training other makeup artists and generally living my best life! Nothing beats a company credit card and a week in New York! In my time working with Laura I worked on the London and Paris Fashion Week rounds and on multiple Celebrity campaigns, my favourite being with Jade Jagger on her Jagger Dagger campaign with Terry Richardson. I filmed a Bridal Makeup Special for Wedding TV. It was fast paced and a lot of fun.

 

Wedding TV filming in action.

 

Going freelance and the start of my Bridal Makeup business

I met my husband on a blind date in the May of 2008, we were engaged in the December and married the following October. Yes, it was quick but when you know, you know, right? We had a beautiful family orientated mix faith wedding. I’m Jewish, he is Half Greek. There was a LOT of food and a LOT of dancing. And yes, I did my own makeup…

 

October 2009. Pre Children. Photo by Paul White Weddings

 

January 2010 I handed in my notice and Makeup by Katy was formed.

In my first year I did 40+ weddings and fast had my work noticed on blogs such as Love My Dress and Rock my Wedding, working on special features for them as a bridal makeup artist, creating trend led makeup looks and working with the best wedding suppliers around. Being asked to be the bridal makeup artist for a leading wedding photographer on her wedding day pathed the way to multiple blog and Bridal magazine features and this led to so many incredible opportunities. I was the in house makeup artist for Q&A’s in many bridal magazines and the Beauty Editor for Ultimate Wedding Magazine for 4 years. I was working on some of the biggest bridal design campaigns, such as Isabella Grace, Flo and Percy, Chez Bec all whilst 30 weeks pregnant and I carried on working all the way until she arrived. It was whilst pregnant that I landed my first of 2 front covers for Your London Wedding magazine.

 

Shot by Claudine Hartzel

 

I now have 2 daughters, aged 7 and 2, my bridal business is thriving. I’m very selective these days with the number of weddings I take on each year, leaving enough time to give each client the absolute best service I can is very important to me

 

My girls <3

I was also recently extremely humbled to have won the prestigious TWIA (The Wedding Industry Awards) title of Makeup Artist of 2019, East of England, a title l am thrilled to have for the rest of the year.

 

Best Makeup Artist of 2019, East of England

 

I cover the whole of London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Bucks, Essex, Cambridgeshire and regularly venture up into Suffolk and Norfolk with the occasional European wedding each summer, to help me top up my Vitamin D! My all time favourite wedding venues are Brocket Hall, Luton Hoo, Gaynes Park, The Savoy, Claridges, Hengrave Hall, Huntsmill Farm and I LOVE the various Private Members Clubs dotted in and around Mayfair and Kensington that I get to see.

 

What Makes Me Different?

There are many extremely talented makeup artists out there doing what I do. All of us specialising in our own niche. For me, I am passionate about creating the dream look for my client that is timeless, elegant and with incredible attention to detail. Having been trained in a time before filters and easy access to facetune/photoshop, my work has to be perfect straight out of the camera. Natural bridal makeup has become my calling card. However, I can turn my hand to glamorous bridal makeup just as much as Boho bridal makeup. I take as much care working with the rest of the bridal party, the bridesmaids makeup is one of my favourite challenges. Creating looks for individuals with really different colourings/faces shapes/tastes and bringing them all in sync in a way that suits them. I don’t force everyone into the same look or pallette. They’re bridesmaids, not backing singers…

 

What Else?

Alongside my absolute love of Bridal Makeup, I also have a Beauty Coaching/Education business called Beauty Unfiltered. This fits in perfectly with my  ethos that makeup should empower women and allow them to be their very best selves without the heavy, caked trend makeup that is so prevalent these days.

We’ve been featured and talked about in the Metro and Sunday Telegraph, taking a stand against the damaging trends that we are bombarded with day in/day out. This is my heart project. I have over 1000 women in my closed group all there to get value and online advice that doesn’t involve highlight, contour and 14 layers of concealer.

COME AND JOIN US

 

I also offer Bespoke Beauty Days which are VERY popular and I spend 4-5 hours with you detoxing your skincare and makeup, working out what you need and then we go shopping together, have a bite to eat and then have a makeup lesson with all your lovely new products. This is one for the wish list 😉

My latest venture is an online course called Confused to Confident – Become your own Makeup Artist in 6 weeks. I teach women, from the comfort of their sofa’s – the WHY’s rather than just HOW TO. This means that they can go on to make excellent, informed beauty decisions and purchases, rather than relying on makeup counter staff or youtube tutorials which may not suit their style.

I hope you can tell, I adore my work. I work day in day out helping women feel like the very best version of themselves. Building up other women has and always will be my passion. Inspiring other makeup artists with makeup ideas and inspiration is part of what we do as a community.

Aren’t I glad I didn’t listen to the teachers who said that no business could be made from being creative?

Katy x