Manhattan Glamour In London Town

Recently, I was invited to the launch of Fekkai's beautiful hair care range in central London which gave me not only an insight to this luxurious range of hair products but also a styling consultation with the man himself- Frederic Fekkai! Frederic is the man behind his well known NYC salon which has a reputation for creating Manhattan 'glamour hair'.

As a colourist, I'm always keen try new hair products, especially now my hair is longer than I have ever had it before.  This also means that I have to take better care of it than ever too.

Frederic recommended me his Advanced Salon Technician range, as my hair is coloured. And I must say the mask left my hair feeling so soft and silkier than it has been in a long time. It's an absolute treat for your hair, like the equivalent of a luxe facial for your hair.

Rating:9/10

MX

Ginge of the Week- Coco Rocha!

Right now, I have been researching inspiration for an upcoming project I am doing with a photographer and hairstylist to get some creativity flowing! So while cruising the internet for beautiful images, I came across the work of one of my favourite photographer's Solve Sundspo featuring the amazing

Coco Rocha 

Coco swings from various elements of ginger back to her natural chocolate brown with such style and ease!  So it was inevitable that at some point in time she would be crowned with ginger honour.

In this shoot, from Numero magazine back in 2008, she was sporting a delicate peach hue which looked striking against the black and white theme through out the shoot. This is the perfect shade of ginge coming into the SS12 season.

MX

LANA DEL REY | BLUE JEANS | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO | (ALBUM TRACK) | 2/12

Aaaaaaah! Can she get any cooler? This is girl of the moment LANA DEL REY!
In just a few short months she has managed to rack up more style cred than some popstars that have been around for years, including a Vogue cover and Mulberry bag named after her!

While this isn't the official video, it's pretty damn cool... can't wait for the new one to come out.

MX

PS Apologies to my neighbours if you are getting sick of hearing Del Rey blaring on a daily basis now.... it can't be helped!

FELICITY BROWN: AW12 Makeup Step by Step

The make up for Felicity Brown's AW collection was all about capturing, understated beauty with an element of the 60's influence as seen throughout the collection.

1. Ensure skin is nourished and moisturised to enhance luminousity and radiance. This look is not about matte texture but giving skin a healthy glow. We prepped the models with moisturiser and MAC studio fix spray to hydrate followed by strobe cream on the cheek bones.

2. Concealer was used under the eyes and where required to even out skin tone and hid any blemishes. Adonia tinted moisturiser was used if required on some of the girls to further give them a natural flwless complexion.

3. On the eyelids we used shades fro the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick- the lightest shade was used as a neutral base and then a sweep the reflective coppery shades across the lid to create subtle colour and sheen to match the colour pallette used throughout the collection.

4. On the inner corner of the eyes MAC pigment in Old Gold was used

5. Lashes were loaded with mascara and defined to give a bit of a sixties feel to the look.

6. Finished with Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream on the lips to give subtle colour and gloss.

As Felicity's collection this season had more of a day wear focus, I think you could easily transfer the look from day to night by adding some killer heels and bright red lipstick!

MX

Ginge of the Week- Puppy!!

After all the fashion week madness was over, it was time for some down time, 

which included puppy sitting the adorable, ginger Hungarian Vizla

 Semper 

(which is Latin for 'always faithful') 

Paris Fashion Week: futuristic fashion

Not to be outdone by Milan, Paris kept the momentum with some even more surreal beauty looks on the catwalk, never mind the clothes, people!

1. Chanel


The most angelic complexions were enhanced with a dazzling jewel encrusted brow for a minimalist, futuristic feel which carried from head to toe in this beautiful collection.

Hair was slicked into a wet look pony. I love nothing more than a perfect, slick pony on the catwalk!


2. Jean Paul Gaultier


In keeping with the current futuristic vibe, JPG continued, this time with some cyber-colour action in the form of a reverse dip dye in an array of luminous shades!

YES!!! BRING ON MORE CATWALK COLOUR!!

There was a  90's twist to the futuristic feel with their poker straight, center partings and glam/grunge smoky eye makeup perfection.

More fashion week faves to come!

MX

Milan Fashion Week: Hair & Makeup Looks

Whilst New York and London played it safe for AW with minimalist, youthful makeup looks, it seems Milan has decided to take center stage and explore the more theatrical side of the catwalk.

Here is a selection of some of my favourite looks:

1. PRADA


They never cease to disappoint with their trademark style.

Manga inspired makeup- black liquid eyeliner to the max with a flash of electrifying orange on the eyebrows, created a striking, futuristic feel to the total look which was created by Pat McGrath.  Not to mention the dip-dye coloured extensions which featured throughout the collection (Hooray for hair colour on the catwalk! YES!!). The extensions added a cool edge to what would of otherwise been a very safe hair look.

It also goes to prove that the dip dye is here for a little while longer....

2. GUCCI


Here we saw a girlie-goth look come to life. Featuring a flawless beautiful complexion, defined lashes- toughened up with a semi gloss, dark ruby red lip colour which looked amazing against the rich jewel like tones displayed throughout the collection.
(Very similar to my current Winter favourite lipstick shade- Diva by MAC!)

Hair was kept deconstructed with loose texture in a center parting in a half-up pre Raphaelite style.

3. VERSACE

Another powerful, strong long hair and makeup look to compliment the gothic edge to this AW collection. Makeup showcased the ultimate smoky eye, with nude lips and bleached eyebrows (which seemed to be a recurring theme at MFW)

Eyes were framed by a short, blunt fringe and straight, long locks.
If you're not brave enough to get the chop- why don't you follow suit with a 'winge' (wig fringe!! Genius!!) before you commit to the real thing (trust me, a fringe like that is hell to grow out, hence why I have kept mine, forever!) Check out Hershesons where for just £30 you can test the waters and create the ultimate Versace look for yourself.

Ginge of the Week- Prada Girl at MFW!

To celebrate the use of hair colour on the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week, I'm staying true to my roots (no pun intended!) as a colourist and crowning the ginger dip dye Prada girls with this week's honours.

I'm also loving her totally ginger, electric orange eyebrows which ultimately compliment the extensions.

Coloured hair extensions are a great way to try out a colour if you're not so sure and this striking look will ensure that the dip dye/rootstretch/baliage look is not over just yet!

Here's to more colour on the catwalk!

MX