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Introducing Nail Technician Sophie Harris-Greenslade

We are so excited to announce that nail technician, Sophie Harris-Greenslade aka The Illustrated Nail has joined the agency. 



Sophie studied illustration at university and completed a nail technician course after she graduated. 

Her artistic hand means that Sophie paints each nail design with incredible detail and precision with intricate, beautiful and creative designs which you can see several examples of on her blog: http://theillustratednail.tumblr.com/.




Sophie has worked on shoots for French Elle, W magazine (with M.I.A.), Stylist Magazine, Instyle, Glamour, i-D and The Guardian to name a few and has just had a mention on Teen Vogue.


Sophie was also recently chosen to be part of Nail Philia, the worlds’ first nail art exhibition.


Follow Sophie on Twitter here.
See Sophie’s facebook page here.


By Maria Comparetto Io Donna with Schmidt & Gorges

Maria Comparetto worked on this beautiful 24 page shoot shoot for Io Donna Magazine with photographers Lydia Gorges and Jens Schmidt. Styled by Jane Howard @ MAP with the model Georgie Badiel @ FM Model Agency and Paul Merritt @ Jed Root on hair.




Here’s what she had to say about it:

I really enjoyed this shoot for Io Donna.
It was my first time at this particular studio (
MKII in Hackney),and working with the ever so lovely Lydia & Jens photographic duo. They have a really great approach to shooting and I felt they really portrayed the London streets where we were shooting in a very different way, making our urban landscape feel really new with fresh angles on architecture and things we take for granted like the regular corner store!

Georgie, the model was so amazing, so gentle and spiritual yet so sassy and cool with a brilliant sense of humour. Paul Merritt had prepared a stunning wig for her which he moulded for every shot.

Jane the stylist made all the clothes look effortlessly blended and created some beautiful wearable looks.This story was mega; 25 pages of fashion could end up looking very ‘samey’ where makeup was concerned, so I made a huge effort to mix it up a bit and play with textures eye shapes and lashes. I cannot wait to work with this team again,It was a chilled but super fun day with stunning results! wouldnt you say? 
See the full story here.

By Ruth Funnell – GIORGIO ARMANI Make-up Artist Event

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Giorgio Armani Beauty Drinks Reception event last night and see their beautiful range.
Their spring/summer palettes were bang on trend with blues and greys and beautiful sheer lip colours.
There is a particularly lovely navy colour which is very wearable and is on the right side of the blue spectrum to look ‘new ‘ and not too retro as sometimes blue eyeshadow can be! 
They make a great change from greys and blacks and look fresh, lighter and somehow ‘right ‘ for now. 
These colours finished with a few coats of their best selling hero product, Eyes to Kill Mascara is about all you need to complete a new spring/summer eye.
As seems to be the trademark of Armani cosmetics, the beautiful textures of their Luminous Silk Foundations seem to ‘glide’ on the skin and feel extremely soft and luxurious and so very wearable with one of the largest collections of bases in every conceivable skin match -there are 15 to choose from to get that accurate skin colour match for every season.
I really rate their Fluid Sheer highlighter which is so fine and doesn’t leave any hint of ‘sparkle’ on the skin [as some brands can] -just a dewy glow which can be used alone or mixed with a base.
One other gorgeous product I need to mention  is the little Blushing Fabric Tubes in 3 colours that seem to seamlessly melt into the skin leaving a sheer blush and feel like velvet-again perfect for summer and is a firm makeup bag favourite with me now !

By Maria Comparetto : Jayne Pierson Presentation – London Fashion Week

Having already done the Jayne Pierson look book for the collection a week before I felt pretty relaxed about this show. 


Jayne’s clothes are so beautiful, I was really touched to be asked back to do the makeup yet again with the backing of MAC cosmetics. We went off to Somerset House bustling with the fashionistas, celebrities, models and any other strangely dressed people that were hanging out (including a mini Cleopatra)?!



The look was really ethereal yet beautiful, the skin was slightly paled down and illuminized using lustre drops MAC “Pink Rebel” on the cheek bones and temples.


I used 
MAC “Pearl” Cream Colour Base on the brow bone and a sweep of MAC “Spite” Lipglass was used on the eyelids but no mascara.

The eyes were emphasised and accentuated by applying MAC “NW 15” Chromagraphic Pencil inside the waterline of the eye and MAC “Greyprint” Technakohl applied liberally under the eye in combination with MAC “Copperplate” Eyeshadow. This was really blended to create a natural shadow. Brow Set Clear” was applied in an upwards motion to the brows to polish off the eye area.




Using MAC Tea Petal” Creme blend Blush I lightly contoured the cheeks and used MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme “Dress it up”  on the lips to finish off the look.  

By Ruth Funnell – Violetta

I was working down in Rye last week and luckily managed to find time to visit beauty editor, Karena Callen’s gorgeous new boutique Violetta

It is definitely worth making a special visit to Rye to see her little haven of beautiful pefumes and carefully chosen skin products.


Karena has chosen products that she loves and believes works, and knows each one thoroughly and will happily speak about the virtues of any one of them.



I particularily love the Serge Luten‘s perfume range ( in particular the addictive spicy scent of  Five o’clock au gingembre).


Karena has chosen Paul & Joe‘s gorgeous makeup range, which not only has totally wearable colours but also is packaged in extra cute retro styling. 


I very luckily have been trying her exclusive Frankincense Night Serum, which not only smells wonderful, but my skin definitely feels softer and less dehydrated from the winter weather.


If you aren’t lucky enough to get down for a weekend – how about a day trip to the gorgeous town and book in for a facial through her shop, using chosen products 
specifically tailored to you.


Now thats a perfect Valentine present………

‘The Artist’ – Maria Comparetto’s tips on how to achieve the Twenties look

If you havent seen it already go and see The Artist! It is beautiful and inspiring with amazing performances all round!

The leading lady Bérénice Bejo, blew me away with her charm, wit and I loved her glamorous makeup. For those of you who fancy playing… this is my version of her look.

Skin should be slightly matt, use a foundation that suits your skin tone or go one shade lighter then lightly dust with loose powder (Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre is perfect for this).

Contour the brow and cheek bones with a pressed powder highlighter such as Mac iridescent Pressed powder.

To accentuate the face contour under the cheek bones with a Matt ‘biscuity’ tone.

Sisley Phyto-Sourcils Eyebrow Pencil

Then time to tackle the brows. To achieve this look you must be realistic, if your eyebrows are sparse it will look more authentic as you are able to recreate the thin pencilled brows easily. 


However don’t let that put you off ! It works just as beautifully if you slightly mask the brows by lightly brushing some foundation through them with a mascara or brow brush. With a brow pencil, a tone slightly lighter than your natural brows delicately draw a thin line through your natural eyebrows & over your browbone, you can create whatever expression you like depending on the shape you draw, slightly arched is best so as not to appear to stern or angry!

Go over the line with a brow powder, this softens and sets the look.

For the eyes use a graphite grey or browny black close to the lashes and blend the eye shadow onto the lid to create a rainbow shape/hue of colour but keep it light as it’s all about the brow! Givenchy Eye & Brow Prism is perfect for this. 

Curl the lashes and apply a gentle coat of mascara, top and bottom.

Lips should be kept quite dark (Sisley Long Lasting Lipstick in Plum or Chanel Rouge Allure in ‘La Faschinanante’ or ‘L’Exquise’) with a semi Matt lipstick for the best results but attention must be paid to the shape. Keep the cupids bow slightly pointed as lips were thin and angular around this time.

Finish off with a tiny beauty spot using a sharpened black kohl or Bobbi browns black ink for durability! 





Then shine like the sparkly star you are!! Have fun with it.

My Make-up With Marilyn by Maria Comparetto

After watching a week with Marilyn and being mesmerised by Michelle Williams‘ performance I felt compelled to talk you through the most iconic look in history! 

The makeup has so many different interpretations but could work very well with a nude lip using Dior Addict Lipstick in Nude rather than the bright red mouth we automatically associate with Marilyn’s look. This would keep it looking modern and would best suit those with thinner lips.




The thing that really makes this look for me us not the lips though it’s the defined soft brow and taupe (‘not really there’) socket line.
Keep both these elements by defining firstly with a pencil, blending with a brush then softly intensifying using a powder of the same tone such as the SislePhyto-ombre éclat eyeshadow in Dune. This makes the eyes ‘pop’. 

Apply a micro thin liquid liner such as Dior Style Liner close to the lashes then apply black mascara on the outer corner of the lashes having curled them first with (my favourite are Shu Uemera) eyelash curlers! 

Do not apply any mascara to bottom lashes. Contour the cheekbones with a Guerlain terracotta bronzer and there you have it!

As well as the nude matt lip, another variations on this could be a cherry lip-gloss such as the Chanel 

Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Triomphal from the Christmas Collection. (RRP £23.50)
 

Sarah Clarke & Ruth Funnell Red Magazine January – Black Dresses

Sarah Clark styled this beautiful story shot by Bruno Barbazan for Red Magazine January 2012 and Ruth Funnell worked on the make-up.

Sarah said:

“I was asked to shoot a Black Dresses story for the January issue. I wanted to shoot a good selection of styles of dresses, not just ‘little black dresses’, so I basically just called in dresses that I really liked!! I wanted the feel of the pictures to be quite laid-back and relaxed and a little ‘undone’, so I didn’t want the hair or makeup to feel too party-ish I love all these dresses, but my faves are the Nina Ricci, the Alexander Rich, and the Moschino. All very different, but all gorgeous in their own right. Another amazing team. A really fun two days.
”

Ruth said of the shoot:

“On the lovely story with Bruno Barbazan and styled by Sarah Clark, we wanted to leave the gorgeous clothes and our beautiful model Zuzana, to speak for themselves and keep the makeup sheer and modern in an understated way.

This was achieved by careful shading using sheer and complimentary taupe shades that appear to ‘melt into the skin’.

Firstly I used Dior’s new Skinflash Primer [available in the stores from 16th Jan] in ‘Sheer Glow’. It both smoothes and perfects the skin with light reflective particles and glides on like a dream with the innovative ‘foundation like’ brush applicator. 

After the prep, I used Dior Nude glow -a silky light base, as Zuzana  only needed the minimal amount of cover and then used Dior Skin Crystal Nude Matt Skin Perfector to blot any shiny areas.  

Eyes were enhanced gently with the classic colours of Dior 5 Couleurs in  ‘Amber Design’ [the staple palette all girls should have in their makeup bag!] and followed by a couple of light coats of Diorshow black mascara.

Cheeks were sculptured using Dior Skin Bronze in Honey Tan-great for giving shade and glow without too much obvious colour.

I finished with Rouge Dior Lipstick in ‘Beige Angelique’, which was the perfect beige colour to give the natural look without being pink in any way.

All these are great very wearable colours to ask for in your Christmas stocking 😉 !”


See the full story here.




Maria Comparetto Sunday Times Style

Maria Comparetto worked with the photographer Karin Berndl on this shoot for Sunday Times Style (27th November 2011). Here’s what she had to say about it.



The room was full of security guards, the most amazing cakes and taxidermy… Murano lampshades and props crammed into every corner…hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and shoes and dresses. This had to be opulent!


The concept for the shoot was by Heidi Taylor. I have worked with Karin Berndl the photographer before and knew this would be amazing.

We wanted the makeup to have an edge but not make it too theatrical or scary.

The Dior Winter collection was perfect for this look! I made the skin a little paler than their natural skin colour and gave it a pearlised quality, typically this period (Marie Antoinette) had very matt skin but I wanted to give it a twist. I used Dior Skinflash Primer (available in January).

Emphasis was added to the lashes using Diorshow Mascara and the brows giving a doll like quality, I didn’t want to make the girls look too young but just couldn’t resist making Fabiana’s cheeks pop with hue of Dior Blush in Sunkissed Cinammon and then a touch of the new Dior Tulipe Pink on the lips (available in January). 

Overall I was thrilled with the result and really enjoyed working with Federico the hairdresser for the first time he was vibrant, funny and vey talented.
 

Karin added that the shoot would not have been possible without Simon Lycett (the florist), the cake makers and Harrods.

Movember Grooming Tips Part 2

Ruth Funnell suggests using ‘Clinique Anti Fatigue Eye Gel‘ for men which was launched in August. It’s apparently good for tired, dark under eye circles and bags due to late nights and tiredness…  Maybe from all those sleepless nights spent deliberating over what style to wear your moustache for Movember! A ‘Ron Burgundy’ or ‘Clark Gable‘?
  

 

www.movember.comThe Clinique eye gel comes as an easy roller-ball applicator that cools and soothes the area and can be used twice a day and won the GQ Grooming awards for 2012.

With all this attention to the face, it’s good to be groomed all over. Everybody finds men with neat, clean fingernails far more attractive. Andrea Fulerton gives some tips on keeping your nails as groomed as your moustache!
  • Always leave a small amount of white length and keep the shape the same as the cuticles. 
  • If you need a good stain remover at the end of the day mix some handwash with bicarbonate of soda.

  • Prevention is better than cure – scrape your nails over soap or Vaseline before a ‘dirty job’ (such as gardening or tinkering with the car or work) this is also a good preparation to remove dirt with a nail brush. The best time to do this is after a bath or a shower.
Read the first installment of the grooming tips for Men here.