Makeup Blog Sale

So here it is, my first blog sale. As a makeup artist I accumulate alot of products which end up used once or just put into storage. Thing is I'm running out of space and need the cash to buy new things. Would you be interested in a Jewellery or fashion sale also as I have loads of stuff and would save me going to a carboot?

 

Rules & Information

• Comment if interested or to ask questions
• First come first served, it's the fairest way
• Sorry no haggling, the price stated is the price you pay
• Not International, UK ONLY
• I may have extras of some items, please ask
• Ask for total amount of sale plus postage before making your decision to buy
• Postage will depend on the weight of your package. I don't like to overcharge on pesky postage.
• Leave paypal address in comments and pay within 24 hours. Please mark payment as gift so I don't get charged those paypal fees :)
• Please research item for swatches etc on the internet. I don't do refunds if you find the colour or texture isnt a match for you.
• Keep coming back as I'll keep this post updated as often as possible
• Happy Shopping :D xo

 

Estee Lauder Double wear is now SOLD

 

oX Wendy Xo

No Make-up Selfie for Cancer response

Earlier today I took to Facebook to share my response to the Dare to Bare Selfies making the rounds and trending. Yesterday I was getting really wound up seeing every other post with someones naked face. Not because I thought they weren't beautiful, ofcourse they are, we all are, but because a message had been lost. This was my response to all the nominations I was receiving...

Thank you to everyone you "nominated" me to post a selfie without any makeup on. The simple idea behind them was originally to raise AWARENESS but has somehow got lost in translation and now it almost feels like people have to give money to charity. If you want to give, good on you!

The bare faces are meant to come with the saying - It takes less time to put your makeup on than check your breasts.

So here is me raising awareness with my boobs instead and asking you to TOUCH, LOOK, CHECK. I'm not asking you to part with your money, I want you to touch your boobs. Or even better get the man in your life to. He probably knows them better than you! Early detection saves lives. 

TOUCH your breasts. Can you feel anything unusual?

LOOK for changes. Is there any change in shape or texture?

CHECK anything unusual with your doctor.

For me receiving these nominations is no different to a guy turning up on my doorstep and asking me to hand over my pennies. No one should feel pressured into giving up their money for charity. It should be given willingly. This "trend" is just that, a TREND. There are a million charities out there that are deserving of money. This Dare to Bare was suppose to raise awareness, instead people are losing friends over it. I feel a picture of bare boobs has more impact and gets more notice. I NEVER pose naked and have body issues so please don't slate me for doing this. I'm just trying to raise the awareness that has been lost.

I hope I don't offend anyone with this post on my sites, it's not my intention. If you have taken part in the trend then good for you and well done for donating. Just please don't make the people you nominate feel bad because they didn't. They may support other charities, some people just prefer not to join a trend to do so. 

oX Wendy Xo

Why do Makeup Artists' services cost so much?

This is a regular theme which keeps rearing it's ugly head - Why do makeup artists charge so much? - It's just make-up right? Actually it's much more than just make-up, it's a service. 

Think about how often you buy makeup and what brands you use. If you buy a foundation you're parting with about £20-£30 for a high end brand. A makeup artist has one in every shade and from many different brands to cater to different clients. Then there's the eye shadow, primers, blusher, mascara, lipstick, concealer, setting powders and sprays, eyeliners, lip liners etc. That would place their kits in the £500-£1000 bracket and all so they can give you a pretty makeover for any occasion.

To be able to apply and clean that makeup we need palettes, brushes, spatulas, cotton buds, disposable mascara wands, cleaning spirits, storage etc. We also need insurance for all of our kit which costs between £30-£100 a year dependent on the size of our kit and where we buy the cover. In order for you to be able to trust us we need to have a qualification from an awarding body like ITEC. A basic course costs between £700-£1500. Naturally there are those who are more talented than others and some people claim to be a makeup artist and pose as such. The problem there is they haven't been properly trained and may not understand the right hygiene practices needed. They also won't have insurance.

On top of all this we give you our time, energy and creative knowledge. 

For example: Your Wedding

A bride wants her big day to be remembered for the rest of her life. She'll look back on that day with pride and remember how beautiful and happy she looked and more importantly felt. She has spent £750 on a made-to-measure bridal gown, £200 on branded shoes and £500 on a photographer. She's booked the stylist and now looking for a makeup artist. She's gets quoted £80 but thinks that's too much as she's already spent so much so trying to haggle a lower quote.

Now I understand that not everyone sees makeup as important. We put it on ourselves everyday so why pay that much for a bridal makeup? Surely the makeup artist has just jacked the price up because the client mentioned wedding! Not true. For that £80 (and that's around the cheap end) the client would receive 2 full makeup applications - the trial and the final look. Between the booking and the day there will be frequent questions, emails, phone calls. We may even have sleepless nights while designing the perfect look to match the clients colour scheme, themed wedding, skin texture, skin conditions, current trends. Every booking can make or break our reputation so we have to take into consideration every fine detail. Your day is important to us. 

We also want to make sure your makeup lasts as long as possible without making you look like you're wearing a mask. I've heard stories of friends doing brides makeup and actually losing the friendship by the end of the day! Why because the mascara smudged or the foundation creased - crazy but it's happened. 

Every wedding has it's budget but don't leave the makeup artist to last and haggle them down. This is frowned upon and she will be highly offended. You clearly liked what you saw on her website or you wouldn't be contacting her. The prices she is quoting have been thought about in great detail and possibly discussed with an accountant. This is to make sure she isn't losing money but offering the best price to her clients. Also if you only budget for a £40 makeup there's no way we can makeup you look you spent £500 sorry. You get what you pay for.

For photographers who need a makeup artist the same above applies. Countless of times I have been contacted to do a collaboration shoot only to turn up and find out his assistant or the model are being paid. Saying sorry our budget didn't extend to a makeup artist or hair stylist but you can have the images doesn't cut it. We won't be recommending you in the future nor working with you again. I have nothing against building a portfolio as long as that's what everyone else is there for. 

We provide you with a professional service which you wouldn't have been able to achieve yourself. You wouldn't expect to jump in a taxi and get from Norwich to London for £5. He'd drive you to the end of the road and kick you out. This is how we make a living. We have rent, bills, petrol and food to buy. We want to be able to put a roof over our heads doing a job we have trained to do and enjoy doing. If we don't charge accordingly we end up in debt and getting a job scrubbing toilets for a living.

Please respect people who are self-employed. This isn't a hobby, we worked hard to be able to provide this service for you. It might be a small part of your big event or photoshoot but it's a part that brings your look together. It's what made you seek them out in the first place.

oX Wendy Xo

How to: Depot lipstick tutorial

I've received a lot of comments about my new lipstick palette. So I felt it would maybe help someone if I created a post on how to do it yourself. Basically a lipstick palette is self-made from your own lipsticks. Why do it? Because it saves space and time. If your a makeup artist you carry around with you several lipsticks - I have about 18 currently. That's a lot to carry from place to place. Also it's time consuming trying to find the right shade. If your on a photoshoot where time is limited you need to be able to access the right shade quickly. 

What do you need to depot?

A PALETTE

Here I have used a bead box from Hobbycraft (£3 a bargain!). There are many palettes out there. Most people buy there's from eBay (search for pill case, bead box, nail tip case, etc) but I prefer to be able to touch and feel what I'm buying first. I chose this palette due to its sturdiness (is that a word?). It has a slide fastening so no chance it will ping open. It's also transparent so I can see all my colours with the lid closed to stop contamination. 

A palette knife - mine was from Crownbrush

IPA - to disinfect the palette and you lipsticks before depoting

Lipsticks - if you have several of one brand you may prefer to depot them accordingly but for me I depoted mine to with matching shades

One thing I wasn't prepared for was the heartbreak of taking the lipstick out of my beautiful Inglot casing. The more expensive the lipstick the prettier the packaging but I needed the space. 

You really don't need a lot to depot, I'm surprised more people don't do it! You may have heard of the melting method - don't do it! It may sound appealing and give a smoother finish to your palette BUT, & it's a big but O_o, it changes the consistency and often the colouring of some lipsticks. I would hate to melt a MAC & then find the shade is completely different and doesn't slide on the lip as evenly anymore. All you really need to do is dig out the lipstick and mix it into the palette until smooth. I used a small palette knife to mix mine.

To be able to see which lipstick is in which pot, it's a good idea to peal off the label on the bottom of the tube and stick it in the palette. Some lipstick tubes have the info printed directly onto the packaging. In those cases I write the make and shade on a white sticky label available from your local stationary or supermarket. 

What do you think? Will you give it a go? You don't need to be a makeup artist. This method is great for broken lipsticks and for making the most of the bottom of you lipsticks. 

oX Wendy Xo

Candy Nails

I love creating beautiful nail designs for photo shoots. These nails were for my competition in London. Unfortunately I ran out of time and didn't get to use them. They have been kept safe though for when I  can do my candy photo shoot coming up soon.

I started by using double sided tape and sticking each nail to a cotton bud. I find it the easiest way to apply nail varnish without mess. I used 3 colours and created an ombré effect. First I painted the nails white and then painted the orange colour directly onto a sponge. The sponge was rolled back and forth across the nail for a light faded edge. Then I repeated the action with the pink, each time allowing for drying in between. Last but not least I glued some hundreds and thousands to each corner. I would have liked to have done the reverse corner for the other hand but forgot.

To keep the nails safe during transport I used my Benefit box, filled with cotton wool. Who'd have thought that tiny box which use to house my eye shadows would come in handy?! 

oX Wendy Xo

Norwich Fashion Week Vintage show 2014

 

Last night saw The Puppet Theatre, Norwich come to life for an 18th Century inspired Vintage Show during Norwich Fashion Week. I turned up at 1pm rising into a cloud of hairspray in the dressing room. The hair stylists were busy teasing and back-combing models hair into extravagant updos and everything was running smoothly. As I set up my makeup kit the other makeup artists started to arrive. The Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists were either currently studying or had qualified from Jackie Hamiltons School of Beauty. We were all showing our support of the school by wearing our branded T-Shirts.

 

We had all previously met to discuss the makeup and had decided that the bold white brows and lashes combined with either a pink or orange cheek and lip would stand out the best on stage. Everyone was helping out each other in regards to products - there was a lot of borrowing going on. Which reminds me.. if you took a brush home by mistake (easily done as we had to pack away quickly to make way for clothes) that wasnt yours can you please drop it into the school asap, its very much missed in someones kit, thank you.

 

I was over the moon being the first to pick my model to work on. I snaked outside to where the models were having a much needed break and spotted Jess from a distance and knew I wanted her. Her skin was amazing to work on and the colours really stood out. To book Jess she can be found on Sandra Reynolds Website. The second model of the afternoon was the striking Anna-Maria Green who has the most friendly personality. She's travelled all the way from Bury st Edmunds for Norwich Fashion Week. I used an orange palette on her as I had to alternate colours to make sure there was an even number of pink and orange hues going down the catwalk. Last but not least I was able to get my hands on a man! This was the first time I had ever applied makeup on male skin and he was a sport for letting me. I know it's very odd for a guy if they haven't had makeup on their skin before.

 

I was very happy with the end result on my models. After every ones models were checked under the lights a few models cam back to have their colours brightened. I then shot off home to get changed for the nights performance. I was lucky enough to grab one of the last tickets.

 

The theatre itself was very small but the models made the most of the whole area by walking up and down the stairs. I hold my hands up to them they really had a long day and ended it on a high. Many local designers showcased there businesses from reclaimed fashions to newly designed hats. I even discovered a few brands I didn't know existed in my own home town. I for one will be getting my knickers from Proudlock and Harry from now on. I would really like to collaborate with Mystic Magic as I was blown away by his couture head wear designs!

 

 

A huge well done to all the models, makeup artist, hair stylists, photographers and everyone involved. There's so much organisation that goes into a show like this and I'm proud to say I was a part of it. To read more see today's EDP news.

 

oX Wendy Xo

 

International Women's Day

When I was younger I wanted to be a Ballerina, I also wanted to be a singer, an actress and above all else Barbie. These "career" choices all had one thing in common, being in front of the camera. There was one big thing stopping me from doing any of these - confidence. Those who know me now are probably laughing because I have bags of confidence these days. 

From the age of 10 I started getting spots and I was being bullied by my best friends for having sticky out ears. I didn't realise then but that would change how I perceived women for the next 18 years. Now I'm about to tell you something even more personal and would appreciate your utter respect on the subject. When I was 11 my farther took advantage of me. He didn't rape me but made a child do something that no child should. I had been silently dying inside having to hold onto that secret. I thought I would end up taking it to my grave because no one understood, but a couple of years ago I found out my mum had known but thought I was too young to remember. I had never told her for fear of her thinking I was lying. My dad left the UK not long after to pursue his career and has never returned. I was very close to my Dad but because of what he did it affected how I see men and always will unfortunately. 

I kind of drifted through life not knowing what direction to take. A part of me was trying to hold onto my childhood. I tried every avenue from hairdressing to administration. At age 16 I dropped out of college and went back at age 18 to continue with thanks to a scheme from the job centre. I spent the next 4 years getting my HND in Fashion and Textiles. Several more years followed where I worked night shift at Sainsbury's. Age 28 I had to decide - am I going to spend the rest of my life working in a job I hate, which is making me ill, or try to find a different path.

I had been an Advanced Sales Leader at Avon while working at Sainsbury's and I had caught the self-employed bug. After a failed attempt at working in Telesales I got a job working on less than minimum wage in a hotel. Somehow I managed to scrap enough money together to do a course at Jackie Hamiltons School of Beauty. I had an interest in make-up but didn't really know how to apply it. I was always asked as a beauty blogger about makeup techniques so this seemed like a natural avenue to take. 

Despite struggling every month to make rent and flitting between temporary jobs makeup seemed to draw me in. I was being inspired on a daily basis by the likes of Karla Powell, Alex Box and several new starters in the industry. Every time I would put up an image of my work on Instagram or Facebook I had a huge response. I couldn't believe people actually liked my work. I have met many new friends by being a part on the beauty industry. I feel accepted and have learnt that not all woman are bullies. There is a strong bond between women who support each other.

I know I have a long way to go but I've finally found my calling. As a makeup artist it's my work instead of me that shines. My inner child is happy she will never look like Barbie but she has found something much better - the love of friends and family, support from her peers and confidence.

So that's my story - What's yours? 

oX Wendy Xo

Makeup Academy Matte lipstick

 

I can safely say this is the worst lipstick I have ever bought. I don't like negative posts and often refrain from writing them but I was asked to by several beauty bloggers so here goes. The lipstick in question is the new Matte lippie by Makeup Academy. I bought it in a hurry and because it was cheap, simply £1 - how could I complain really?

 

I took it to a photo shoot as I was doing the makeup and actually almost forgot to use it. I scrapped some onto a palette and used a lip brush to apply to the model. On first application it looked no different, the models lips were still showing through, so I applied a second coat but it just didn't look anything like what was in the tube. I had to blend in some black to make it thicker and darker hence why I haven't uploaded the final images as they won't show the true disappointing colour of the lipstick.

 

Honestly my first thought was did I pick up a fake demo? You know how some demo products are just plastic for display? Yep I thought that's what I had bought. I'm not even sure why there is an extra pot which you can unscrew as it's exactly the same product, not a gloss or top coat. I decided to wear it on myself today and it lasted 30mins before I looked in the mirror and saw just a faint outline left. I know I haven't lost out as it was just £1 but I was quite disappointed in Makeup Academy as I've often used their products without complaint. I felt it was only right I shared this with you as I'm always 100% honest in my posts and I didn't want to just show you the good products - for every good product there is a bad one right?

 

oX Wendy Xo

Kleenex Absorbing sheets

For all you glowing girls and guys this post is for you. I know that suffering with oily skin can be a nightmare because with an oily skin often comes spots. The "I've just rubbed my face on a chip shop newspaper" look isn't a trend and has never looked good. Despite what most people think, spots aren't brought on by lack of washing it's a build up of oils during the day which clog the pores. I can't go 2 hours without looking shiny. I use to try not wearing makeup up but it didn't stop my face shining and breaking out. I then tried popping to the toilets every few hours at work to apply a paper towel to my face. I found that they were actually absorbing some of the oil.

Then someone recommended Kleenex oil absorbing sheets to me. These wafer thin sheets didn't look very impressive and were very small. I thought I was going to get through a packet of these in 1 day! There are 50 sheets in a packet, surely not enough. I stuffed them into my back pocket and headed to work. 2 hours in I headed to the toilet, this time though instead of reaching for the paper towels I pulled out my Kleenex packet. I held a sheet upto my face and started blotting. To my surprise I managed to do my entire face with just 1 sheet and the results spoke for themselves. My face was shine free and the purple sheet had turned almost see-through.

Now I only use these. I've tried other brands but others have powdered sheets which is really bad for clogging my pores. Often the powder versions leave my skin looking like I put my makeup on in the dark, I end up with powdered patches. I couldn't recommend these sheets highly enough. If you haven't tried them yet you can buy them at Boots and Superdrug.

oX Wendy Xo