Upon my arrival I stumbled across the lively and excited groom Richard who was organising people in the foyer.

Richard is otherwise knows as FX Films and is superbly talented. A lovely couple, so well suited. There photos are by Lime Leaf Weddings

I love this make-up look and I  am really happy that we got to see some shots of the make-up later in the day after the wedding breakfast. It just goes to show the longevity you get having it done professionally.

Thanks for reading. Please do leave a comment, my brides do check it and I’d love for Kate to see some loveliness

xxx

Just a quick post to show you some of the recent press coverage that I’ve had.

First up is a Carnival Shoot that was featured in the prestigious Wedding Magazine and was shot on Brighton Pier. This was a really fun shoot, exhausting as it was hot and we were up and down the pier like yo-yo’s but as always, totally worth it to be featured like this!

Secondly, a front cover! This is a shot from the Tantrums and Tiaras shoot last year and is one of my favourite shoots, shots and model.

Lastly, pop on over to the highly regarded make-up blog Make-up Advice Forum to see some advice I gave on how to rock the Gold shades here. Leave a comment if you want to add anything or ask any questions.

Until next time

Katy x

Camilla contacted me almost a year in advance of her wedding and we arranged a trial almost straight away. I loved the look we created for her, not too bridal, in fact quite defined and sexy!

The original job grew from being only Camilla and one other to eventually the whole family as one by one they all saw what they liked and booked their own trial.

Being a traditional Jewish wedding, Camilla would have spent the first part of the service with a veil over her face, so I gave the eyes that little extra intensity so that they still stayed clear and defined. I used approx. 10 individual Ardell lashes in short and medium on each eye.

Thanks for reading

Katy xx

This is the second instalment from the Brett Harkness Flash Workshop.

I worked on top of the look I did on her previously, which you can see in this post here.

This is where the wonders of photography really become apparent. It makes me wish I’d paid more attention during my Photography AS level classes! My concentration back then was horrendous, I’m pretty sure it had something to do with boys!

The look is exactly the same all the way through, a really exaggerated smokey winged look. See how different it can look with various edits and lighting?!

I wanted to make it a little more edgy and editorial rather than too ‘glamour’, so I cut into the inner nose line a little and swept the shadow and liner quite low. Again, the cheekbones were contoured, a little stronger than before, with no colour on the actual cheeks themselves.

I wanted to add a bit of colour to the lips instead of the usual nude lip that accompanies a strong eye, so I pressed a couple of layers of a rusty/bricky brown shade in and blotted any shine off.

Strip lashes by Ardell were placed on top of the natural lashes and an extra coat of mascara added to increase volume and definition. Brows were groomed, but not overly so.

I hope you like these!

Thanks for reading. Next up will be the looks from the second model at the same workshop.

Until then

Katy x

This is another Brett Harkness workshop I worked on. I have 3-4 different looks that I created within this day so I’m going to split up the posts, otherwise they end up too picture heavy and I want to focus on the individual looks.

This was the first look of the day – I was given pretty much free reign and decided on a nice sharp, dramatic flick. The model Kara has fantastically symmetrical features which always makes it easier to wing. And does she know how to give good face? Hell yes.

Product breakdown:

Face- Face atelier Ultra Foundation, Porcelain mixed with Zero Minus, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage SC1, Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch 1 under the eyes. Set with Laura Mercier Trans Loose Powder.

Eyes- Yaby Brow Powder over Laura Mercier Brow Pencil, Kryolan Cake Liner between lashes, Clinique Gel Liner for flick, Laura Mercier Whiskey eyeshadow to contour (also used to contour the cheeks).

Lips – Model Co Nude Illusion Lip Pencil all over with a layer of blotted lipbalm on top.

Now I get asked all the time how to create the perfect winged liner so I’m going to cheat and let the fabulous Kenneth Soh tell you! He’s already covered this perfectly in his blogpost, check it out here.

More look from this shoot to come!

Thanks for reading

Katy x

The model just had ‘one of those faces’ i.e. an absolute dream. I was asked to give her a slightly heavier than usual bridal look, so as to allow it to show up in the photographs. This is something I’m always aware of in my work, be it bridal photography, as in a model, or a real life bride. I strive to give enough definition to ensure the features are not lost but never sacrifice a good real, soft skin for a heavy base. The model Katie had great skin anyway so to cover it in heavy slap would be a sin!

I enhanced the eyes with a generous application of Ardell Individual lashes in a mixture of short and Medium.

These images are just superb and a huge testament to the immense talent that is Brett Harkness. I hope you enjoy!

To see another example of Brett’s work, check out this post here of a beautiful wedding in the Cotswolds, the gorgeous Jennie.

Thanks for reading

Katy x

The lovely Fiona contacted me back in November last year. We had quite a schedule to fit the trials into what with University courses and family visits from overseas but eventually, we met and it was so easy to create a look for her, she is really very beautiful already. With her wonderful skin tone and great features, I was even more conscious than usual to simply enhance and not over do it.

Fiona’s 2 sisters were her bridesmaids and all 3 of them had a family resemblance but quite differing skin tones.  in order to correct any pigmentation or slightly grey undertones, I used the Face Atelier range of Ultra Foundations and their ‘Warmth’, a very lightweight colour corrector.

I kept all 3 make-ups very similar, only tweaking a shade here and there. To keep the shades very skin toned, I used lips and cheek products from the Une Beauty range. Their cream blushers and lip toned lip colours are superb for creating colour and warmth for all skin tones. Fiona’s eyes were finished off with 8 individual Ardell lashes on each eye, just enough to subtly fill out her lash line.

The venue was gorgeous and we were getting ready in one of the small cottages on site. However, this was tricky as there were hardly any windows so it was really dark! We were practically sat hanging out the front door. However, I’d rather do that than work in artificial light.

What a family eh?!

All photos taken by Leela Bennett, a fellow preggy, hence the bump shot.

I hope you enjoyed.

Katy x

It was named ‘Be Beautiful’ and split into 3 categories. I was put into the ‘Be Classic’ section which I felt suited me to the ground. I took this brief and ran with it!

I teamed up with hair stylist James White and together we created these 2 looks.

First up is my variation on the smoky eye, a true classic look. I used rich plums and bronzes to create a dramatic yet soft look. If you’re keen to see closer shots of the make-up, hang fire, there will be a chance to see these but I can’t say when or where yet!

This second look is more natural, pared down.  However, instead of sticking to the flat neutrals and having 14 different shades of skin tone and beige, I used shimmery coppers and matte lavender to create a contrast and some texture. A matte pink lip was my alternative to the clear gloss look.

For more information and to see the rest of the shoot, it was featured on gorgeous Bridal Blog – Love my Dress, along with a video that gave all of us a chance to talk through what we had planned. I’m the almost last one so bear with it, I do appear!

All images taken by Nobu Yamaguchi, superstar photographer.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these and I’d love to know your thoughts on these images. If you’d like a more detailed breakdown of products I used, let me know.

Until next time

Katy x

Coming a close second to being asked to do another make-up artists make-up for their wedding day is being asked to do one of your longest standing friends when it comes to making me nervous!

I don’t often get nerves when it comes to make-up, maybe nervous is too strong a word? Being totally unbiased and seeing my client as a canvas is important. When you know someone as well as I know Caroline it becomes a little trickier. Especially as in all the years (which is many) that I’ve known her, she has barely worn any make-up at all. In fact, we laugh at the contrast between my 42 step getting ready routine compared to hers- Wash hair, shake it dry, powder, eyeliner, mascara, Vaseline. By which point I’ve done one eyebrow.

So creating a look for her really meant I had to view her as a client and not as my pal.

Caroline wanted to look different on her big day. This did make it easier as I wasn’t limited to trying to recreate a different variation of her everyday look.

As it turned out, it was so easy to do (can you believe it, I’d never done her make-up before?!). So on her trial, she let me have full creative control. Caroline is extremely symmetrical which always makes life easier. I gave her smooth, glowy skin which I highlighted and contoured, a defined eye with a soft smoky edge and plenty if mascara and individual lashes. We really groomed her brows which were already a fab shape but a tad light to frame a stronger eye so just the smallest amount of powder through them made a huge difference.

These photos take you through the majority of the getting ready process. I hope you’re able to see the step by step process of building up the definition on the eyes.

We were given a huge conference room in the beautiful Fanhams Hall Hotel with plenty of natural daylight. All images belong to fantastic photographer Rachel Otterway.

Isn’t she gorgeous? Oh and the day went without a hitch.

Until next time

Katy xx

PS. I was going to put in a really retro picture of us together from our wild younger days but I still want Caroline to like me so I haven’t!

Anna-Marie won a competition on Love my Dress for her and her fiancé to have a fully styled pre-wedding shoot.

Styling was done to perfection (as usual) by Charley from London Bride and photography by one of my very favourite photographers Emily Quinton.

Anna-Marie asked for a natural, wearable make-up that would be suitable for this kind of bright outdoor photography. Her fiancé isn’t keen on her wearing a lot of make-up (I hear that a LOT) so we were both thrilled when he walked into the room at the end and said how much he loved it. My main aim was to ensure that her eyes stayed defined as I could see how bright it was out which tends to make us squint. I used peachy gold shades to really pop the blue out in her eyes and kept the lash line nice a clean and dark. Individual lashes added in after mascara thickened up the lashes.

I hope you like!

Until next time

Katy xx