The Front Page

Lauren Luke: From Newcastle to New York

2010-03-04T11:39:00.005Z

By Maria Soleil and Melissa Green

It’s 14^th December 2007. At her humble council house in Tyne and Wear, a visibly nervous Lauren is filming a make-up tutorial inspired by Leona Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’ video. She posts it to YouTube, and awaits a response from the masses of people that requested the look.

Fast forward two years, and that same video has been viewed over 3,200,000 times. Lauren has launched her own make-up line in the States, been featured in countless magazines and newspapers, and has appeared on This Morning and Paul O’Grady demonstrating her talent. She has had unimaginable success in America. Her products are stocked in over 130 retailers, and during the summer of last year, her face was plastered over billboards in Times Square at the Sephora launch of her product line. Advertising campaigns featuring global superstars such as David Beckham have appeared on the very same spot, so Lauren is already in esteemed company.

Lauren lives in a sleepy suburb of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with her boyfriend Ken, who is 12 years her senior, and her son Jordan, 11. Before finding fame and later fortune through YouTube, Lauren worked as a taxi dispatcher. As a single parent raising a son from a teenage pregnancy, Lauren looked to other ways to raise funds. She looked to her passion in life – make-up. She began by selling masses of it on eBay. Lauren took photos of herself wearing the make-up to give ideas to her customers, however she was inundated with requests and it was not long after this she realised the potential of YouTube in providing tutorials.

Under the alias Panacea81 (named after the Greek goddess and her year of birth) Lauren started accepting requests for make-up looks copied from celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Her tutorials are diverse and to date she has uploaded over 200 videos to the site. The process is simple: she films all her videos using a standard camcorder set up in the corner of her bedroom. Sometimes she uses her bathroom as the lighting is better.

Lauren’s tutorials on YouTube differ from others, she has no professional training, and as she has admitted herself she doesn’t edit her videos: “I don’t know how to.” She buys her own make-up; she won’t accept companies paying her to promote their products in her videos. The development of her own products, named bylaurenluke, means that Lauren often uses them in her tutorials but she does suggest alternatives.

Nine million channel views later and Lauren has built her own business empire. She has published a book, had a Nintendo DS game named after her and writes a weekly column for the Guardian beauty section. Include the lucrative deal with Sephora and TV appearances on both sides of the Atlantic and it is obvious that Lauren has come a million miles from her taxi dispatcher past.

On her YouTube channel, Lauren says “Let’s show the world together that everyone is just as beautiful if not more with just the confidence we hold.” That may be a cheesy line, but Lauren is a true inspiration to those out there who don’t conform to modern-day standards of beauty. She is an example of a talented person who has found well deserved success. And all she started with was a camera, a computer and a make-up kit.

Mr Nasty is actually quite nice

2009-11-05T01:16:00.002Z

He currently appears on thousands of television screens up and down the country every Saturday and Sunday night on the X Factor. Having earned a reputation as TV’s ‘Mr Nasty’, Simon has revealed a generous, caring side to his persona. Recently he donated £100,000 to an 18-month-old girl suffering with a rare form of cancer so she could fly to America for treatment. So does Mr Cowell really deserve the label of ‘Mr Nasty’?

Born in Brighton in October 1959, Simon Phillip Cowell found his way into the music industry courtesy of his dad, Eric. An executive at EMI Music Publishing, he gave Simon a job working in the mail room. From here, Simon showed his ambition and determination by working his way up through the company, ending up in a music publishing position. However he left EMI to form E&S Music with his boss at EMI. E&S Music produced several hit records, but it wasn’t until Simon left the company to join Fanfare Records that his dominance in the music industry really began to take hold. Fanfare, an independent record label, was fairly successful. Simon signed Sinitta, (who later became his girlfriend) and numerous other pop artists, all helping to establish himself further in the industry.

Shortly after, Fanfare got into financial difficulties, forcing Simon to move back into his parents’ house. Nonetheless his ambitions showed no signs of wavering. Some years after becoming an A&R consultant at BMG, Simon came from behind the scenes in the music industry to one of the most famous men in the world. He was a relative unknown when he joined the judging panel of Pop Idol in 2001. Soon after Simon showed us why he was labelled ‘Mr Nasty’, with cutting comments like “distinctly average”, the words he used to describe a performance by Will Young, the eventual winner of the first series of Pop Idol.

‘I don’t mean to be rude but...’ is perhaps one of the most famous catchphrases in Simon’s repertoire of putdowns. It is usually followed by a comment about the contestant’s appearance, singing voice or personality that can often be described as rude. He is a pantomime villain of the talent show world. He is booed by the audience on a regular basis after voicing his opinion. But I secretly think the country loves him, or loves to hate him. He may occasionally be quite blunt and possibly too honest, but in his eyes, that’s what the contestants need to hear; the truth. Not a criticism diplomatically wrapped up in cotton wool so as not to offend the deluded auditionee. Simon has said himself that “showbusiness is cruel”, and that he learnt “real tough love from people like Pete Waterman”, whom he worked with for several years during his career. He has also admitted that some auditions are like “torture”.

Simon’s TV and music business empire really began to take shape when the first series of the X Factor started in 2004. Now in its sixth series, Simon has made an international superstar of Leona Lewis, the winner of series three. She has already sold 6.5 million albums worldwide and is signed to Simon’s record label, Syco.

American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent followed, both hugely successful TV programmes in their respective countries. Simon’s ambition knows no bounds however, and he has recently cemented a deal with billionaire retail businessman Sir Phillip Green, to form their own company. Greenwell Entertainment has claimed it will “rival Disney” and will encompass all aspects of the entertainment industry, including music, media and television projects. Even Kate Moss has got in on the act, as ‘Director of style and fashion’.

It makes you wonder when he will tire of world domination, is there much he hasn’t achieved? In professional terms, it seems not. But in his private life, things are different. Although he has made it clear he doesn’t want children. “God no, I couldn’t have children...I’d go nuts” he has said. Some may also find it strange that he is unusually close to his ex-girlfriends. He even bought Terri Seymour, his partner for 8 years, a £2.5 million mansion after they had split up, because he said he “owed it to her”. His ex-girlfriend Sinitta appears every year on the X Factor at the judges’ houses stage, to help Simon when making decisions about who to put through to the live shows. Simon is currently single, but if he ever feels lonely it is usually “self imposed” and he “relishes” it.

Still, with all his success and millions, Simon has admitted that he is prone to dark moods, possibly verging on depression. He says he is “quite odd” and sometimes thinks that he will never be happy. For a man that appears to have it all, surprisingly he describes himself as a “wondering asteroid without a home”. Maybe the problem is he owns too many, with houses in Beverly Hills, Barbados, Malaga and London.

On the surface, Mr Cowell appears as a confident character, sometimes with a hint of arrogance. He is proud of the fact that he has never had to borrow money to get to earn his fortune as one of Britain’s richest people. If anything it is his ‘Mr Nasty’ persona that has got him where he is today, becoming one of the most infamous yet strangely likeable men in Britain, and America too. It seems that underneath ‘Mr Nasty’ lies a ‘Mr Nice’ who at the age of 50 is never fully content, but always looking for the next step towards world domination.

Easter Bunny time

2009-04-14T19:54:00.000+01:00

Seeing as I haven't blogged for a few months now, and my last blog was just after Christmas, I thought this would be an appropriate time to create a new one. It's like I have a religious theme going on, but no, it just happens to be a coincidence. Basically I finally got off my lazy arse and am making the effort to come up with some "interesting" thoughts.

It's been an eventful few months in the world in general. Jade Goody comes to mind first and foremost. It is quite hard to look back on the last few months of news and not come up with her name. I know there have been a lot of negative things said about her, but at least she has only done good for the women of Britain, and even further afield, by highlighting the importance of cervical smears in the prevention of cervical cancer. She may have milked the media for money, but who was she to care? The media milked her for news. And she wouldn't be around for much longer to care anyway. R.I.P Jade Goody, you made us laugh, you made us angry, but at least you got us talking. That's the most important thing and that's what made her clever in an unconventional way.

Christmas is over for another year

2008-12-28T00:28:00.000Z

"Well phew, thank God that's over" is probably what most people are thinking right now. Except a very large percentage of children of course. This is because all the anticipation, excitement, last-minute preparations and stress of what is those weeks and days before Christmas is all over for another twelve months. Twelve months which will pass very quickly I must add! But I do think those many hours devoted to traipsing around the shops (or more likely surfing the internet), slaving over the stove and countless pounds spent are all worthwhile. Even if it is just for a day.

When else is so much effort put into one day's enjoyment? A time when loved ones come together just to be together and make the most of one another's company. Even the most Scrooge-like person among us must find it difficult not to crack a smile on the most family-orientated day of the year.

What I personally love about Christmas is knowing that not only am I with my family exchanging presents and feasting on a slap-up meal, but everyone else across the country is doing the same. There are very few occasions when one can say this happens. Something else I love is the strangely comforting feeling of being with my whole family sitting on the sofas watching the tv, and looking over and seeing my Grandparents asleep, still with their paper hats on after finishing dinner 2 hours ago. Nothing could make me feel happier and more at home.

A common topic of conversation around this time of year is about how Christmas is so different these days, with all its commercialisation and whatnot. Commercialisation and consumerism are major issues, but to actually go on about it ruins the festive spirit. Obviously it's all about the money these days. Commercialisation defines the noughties; any important date on the calendar will be used and abused as an opportunity to make money by your Sir Philip Greens or your Richard Bransons.

Anyway, my point is, let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas. That is the person whom it is named after; Jesus. It's something I forget every year, until they put those cathedral carol services on tv on Christmas Eve. I'm hardly religious myself, but it's good to be reminded of the original reason why you spend all those hours toiling away doing Christmas-related things, for less than 24 hours of fun.

To sum up what I've been trying to say throughout this ridiculously long post is that, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that the 25th of December is about being happy, being with your family and just for simply remembering how lucky you are to be there.

Birth of a blog

2008-12-22T02:20:00.000Z

So, what does one do at two o'clock on a Monday morning to ease boredom? Create a blog is the answer. Well, that's what I decided to do anyway. Obviously.

Here is my first post of I'm not sure how many, and to be honest I haven't got a clue what I shall be blogging about either. But to get started, it might be a good idea to talk about myself, gratuitously of course.

I am currently a first year student at Canterbury Christ Church University, studying Media and Cultural Studies and French (as a joint honours degree). I hail from a place in the lovely Medway towns called Rochester (well, actually a tiny village called Upnor but no-one ever knows where it is). Hopefully in the future I'll either be a) someone who gets paid to travel the world and write about it, b) a top journo working for a respectable broadsheet or c) failing these, a chef.

None of that is important to my blog really. I just thought it would be good to try and hone my writing skills. So enjoy!