Wash your #Makeup brushes!

I’m always getting asked by various people how I wash my brushes and keep them clean between clients/shoots etc. Firstly, I can’t stress enough how working with clean brushes, whether as a professional makeup artist or for yourself with your own makeup on a daily basis, helps towards keeping the skin free from irritations and acne.

Secondly, there is no need to buy into these expensive lotions and potions when looking for a way to thoroughly clean your brushes. Here’s what I do simply using warm water and hand soap/mild shampoo:

1. Soak your brush in warm water
2. Apply a little soap/shampoo to the palm of your hand
3. Swirl the wet brush around your palm until it’s lathered up and you can see the makeup colour coming out.
4. Rinse the  brush under warm water again until no soap is left
5. Squeeze out the excees water
6. Hang your brush(es) off the end of a table to dry naturally over night

NOTE: DON’T leave the brushes to soak in water and DON’T use a hairdryer to dry the brush off. It’s too harsh and will dry out the bristles as well as the glue holding it all together. 

If you’re a Makeup Artist and find yourself working on more that one face throughout the day, keep your brushes as clean as possible between faces by using a special alcohol spray. ELF Cosmetics do a quick spray ‘Daily Brush Cleaner‘ for just £3.75! This quickly disinfects the brush between applications. Here’s how to use it:

1. Spray the cleaner directly onto the brush
2. Swirl the brush around a tissue until clean
3. When you return home, clean properly as above ready for your next job!

Channel 4 Racing Promo Aired!!!

Check out the Channel 4 Racing Promo for the John Smiths Grand National advert I worked on up in Liverpool, that has finally aired on screen…

Todays shoot for ‘No Agg’…

Today I worked on a shoot for TOWIE’s Tom Pearce’s new collection, ‘No Agg’. With the website yet to launch, you lot are in for a treat!

With a huge collection of Spring/Summer gear, including the odd piece for our unpredictable weather here, you’re bound to find something you’ll love and need and want.

We had a LOT to get through, so starting at 9am, we banged through about 70 looks with our trooper of a model, Elle from Select Model Management. Only 16 years old, and having only been modelling for 3 months, this little beauty cracked on with the job and was a total luv to work with.

On top of that, we had the lovely Charlotte Ellis on board as our stylist for the day. TOWIE’s Tom Pearce was also there with his business partner Zane, making sure everything went to plan, and of course not forgetting the all important Photographer, Taff Manton. All in all, a great team and a great day. Now sleep. Zzzzz.

I’m LOVING this oversized distressed jumper… perfect for the Spring chill!

 

Channel 4 Racing Promo

This week I’ve been up in Liverpool working on a Channel 4 Racing promo ready for the start of the Grand National. The production was huge. We had up around 250 extras to look after alongside the jockeys, stuntmen and other key characters that were to be featured on camera. With the main focus being the horses of course, it was just mind boggling to see them be put through their paces, dealing with different set ups and stunts that they had to ‘act out’. All the horses were fully trained ‘film horses’ that are used to such environments. You shout action and they perform!!

After thinking that I’d be in the Makeup Room a majority of the time, I was hugely mistaken. I was out on set by 6.30am in the freezing cold (albeit beautiful weather on one of the days, rain on the other), and on my feet all day until 5pm with the rest of the makeup team; tidying hair, touching up makeup and making sure all the cast were looking spot on ready for their milliseconds of fame as the camera flies past! Our brief was for them to look as ‘normal’ as possible. If they came with makeup already applied, our job was to literally make sure that they don’t have any unsightly smudges, that their foundation was as blended as possible and that they kept their faces free from ‘cousin It’ style hair so they can be seen clearly. However, baring in mind were were in Liverpool; So orange skin, scouse brows and jet black hair were a trend that I noticed featured heavily amongst the crowd. But time was tight… So orange was how they stayed (much to their delight I’m sure)!

They were long days but I can’t wait to see the finished edit in a few weeks time!

6.30am on set… The sun is a rising!

The horse and jockeys arrive,

Preparing for a stunt!

Running the streets!

Another man made set up… the pond!

Hazey days at the end of Day 1.

Thank god for Wellies!

Just SOME of the extras on set.

@RimmelLondonUK Video No2: Shadow Stick Tutorial…

So here you have it, Video No2 that I filmed for Rimmel London, using a range of their newest products… Enjoy!