Hello!

Moving on to issue 5 of Motley, we were super lucky to shoot at the STUNNING Hayfield Manor Hotel (www.hayfieldmanor,ie).
The grounds of the Hotel are just fantastic, the staff were extremely helpful, polite and courteous and the room we were given to shoot was incredible. The room even came with a lovely pet fish named Pedro who makes a cameo in the first shot below!
He was such a pro.

The theme for this shoot was inspired by glamor and beauty, particularly from older Hollywood movies and TV shows. I very much wanted to make it a modern look with certain nods to various actresses, models and photographers.
I'd been looking through a lot of old photos and campaigns and I kept thinking that the women looked SO beautiful and otherworldly, and that was something I wanted to capture, that almost magical aspect.
Not too sure if I get too into these concepts but it is my job at the end of the day, even if everyone in the room is blinking at me in disbelief haha!

The model was the super lovely and talented Emma and the photographer was Michal Zagorski (www.michalzagorski.com) who is beyond talented, a phenomenal eye.

The makeup was an array of purple products in a variety of textures. I think if you're going to stick to one color mixing texture is important.
I prepped the skin with moisturizer which was Embryollise Lait Creme Concentrate (http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/embryolisse-laboratories-lait-creme-concentre.html) and buffed Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation (www.illamasqua.com) in a mix of shades onto Emma's skin and used a light Make Up Forever HD concealer as a natural highlight under the eyes and a different, more skin-tone matched shade on anywhere I felt needed extra coverage.

On the eyes I used a Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre in Illusoire as a base. A fantastically nuanced browny/purple shade with shimmery particles which is amazing alone but works so well as a base too!
Over the top I blended several shades from MAC, including Stars N Rockets, Shadowy Lady and Beauty Marked working the darker shades outwards in a wide, circular, upward shape. On the inner corners I used an Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice (I believe) and layered a yellow/orangey gold shadow from the Sleek iDivine palette in Sunset (www.sleekmakeup.com).
I also blended the faintest bit of bronzer through the crease to add a little warmth and depth and as you may realise at this point, I quite like a grungey, unpolished makeup!

For the rest of the face, I contoured with my trusty Cream Pigment in Hollow from Illamasqua, seriously it's incredible on fair skins as a contour and brilliant on all skin types as a cream shadow/ eye primer for neutral, nude looks! (http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/hollow-cream-pigment)
I used a small amount of NARS Orgasm blush right on the apples of the cheeks and blended lightly to point to a lot of screen sirens of old off duty I had seen pictures of, the shimmer helped it look a little more modern.
I intensified the highlight I had gotten on the cheekbones with some MAC Silver Dusk iridescent powder (http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/159/595/Iridescent-PowderLoose/index.tmpl?LOCALE=en_CA)which I am obsessed with!

Finishing off with the lip, I outlined Emma's lips in a pale, cool toned pink pencil that I believe was from NYX (looking through my kit, can't remember the exact name!) and finished up with one of my favorite lip products, Sleek's Pout Paints! This time in the shade Mauve Over I believe!

I

Motley Editorials

Hello!
So it's that time of the month again, (not not that one) where I decide to blog, hopefully I won't become to distracted halfway through this post and just abandon it like...well every single every other blog I've ever had.

I've been thinking about things to post for ages and sometimes the best thing is the most obvious, so I thought I'd talk, or write as it were, through some of the looks I've done working as the Fashion & Beauty Editor of Motley Magazine!

I'll start from my first full editorial, which was shot by the fantastic Romona Mueller (www.facebook.com/Ramona-Mueller-Fotografie), styled by Sarah Corcoran (www.facebook.com/SarahCorcoranStylist) and featuring two lovely models Katie and Nathalie.
Sarah's has an amazing eye and the pieces she brings to a shoot are always individual and brilliantly thought out.
The location for the shoot was Fota Island's amazing gardens, just a stunning place.
The brief for this was a light, summery feeling with a hint of an edge so I kept the makeup following this theme but with a strong, stained red lip.

This first look (such a great shoot) was started by prepping the skin with a rich moisturizer, I'm a fan of  Embryolisse's Lait Creme Concentrate, which creates a fabulous smooth base. I then buffed Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation in shade Number 7 onto Nathalie's skin using a Real Techniques Buffing Brush. The foundation is about a shade and a half darker than Nathalie's skin but is very lightweight so managed to warm up the skin without looking too full on "bronze".
For concealer I used a mixture from a Bobbi Brown palette, I'm not too sure of the exact shades, sorry!
I used a Tom Ford Brow Sculptor and some clear brow gel to keep brows defined but natural.
On the eyes, I began by smoothing a small amount of Urban Decay Primer Potion from the lash line to the brow bone as this really helps to even out the skin tone on the eyes.
I then moved on to a Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Pink Gold" using this all over the lid, then contoured the eye using a small amount of Hoola Bronzer (by Benefit) through the crease.
I can't quite remember the name of the shimmery shadow I used on the lid over the Maybelline cream shadow but I believe it is in my MAC "Wedding" palette (maybe "All That Glitters"?)
I used a very light coating of mascara and combed through with a disposable mascara wand to create a semi-clumped effect, really trying to keep with the low key feel of the clothing and location.
I used a mixture of NARS blushes on the cheeks with a tiny amount of Illamasqua's "Disobey" to give a light contour.
I wanted the lips to have a slightly "lived-in" feel as I felt a perfectly angular lip line would have looked odd next to the floaty fashion so I pressed some of MAC's Dubonnet into the lips using my fingers and lightly defined the edges using the same shade on a Real Techniques Detailer Brush.
I pressed a little extra lipstick into the center of the lips to create depth.
I finished the look with a very light dusting of a Chanel loose powder all over the face as the day was quite hot and we were shooting in what was basically a greenhouse so temperatures were high!

For the second look, I essentially used the same products, except for using a little "Pink Opal" pigment by MAC in the inner corners of the eye and a deeper shade of foundation as a contour rather than the powder of "Disobey" as it was more fitting with Katie's skin type.

Hope that's been of some interest, and perhaps even a little helpful in choosing products.
Please do check out the links for everyone involved as they are all fantastic.

Thanks for stopping by!

LxK