My folio

I feel like I'm always apologising for not posting enough, I guess that's just the way it is, so in order to makeup for that, this post will have so many pictures it might as well be 10, these pics are some (not all) of the looks I created for my folio.  For our folio we had to create no less than 6 looks, 1 had to be black and white, 1 had to be male.  In order to protect my wonderful male models, and to keep a promise I made to them both.  Those pictures will not feature on here. EVER.
A few of my looks I have previously posted as they were done in class, but here's some others... Enjoy!
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Hunger games Inspired

Fairy Inspired

1920's Inspired

Rock Chic

Pixie Inspired

Bridal

So my folio is in and I'm awaiting feedback, I ended up with 16 looks and I still have a tough job cutting back a few.

I was very happy with it, thanks to all my models, photographers, teachers but mostly, my family for picking up the slack while I was at class....

Illamasqua- Not Just a Pretty Face

Everyone can tell you of a time they had bad customer service, they remember it far more easily than the instances of good customer service.  I like to document good customer service, such as in my Z Palette- I Salute You post.

Bit of a back story- I have a huge fondness for Illamasqua, I love what they do, how they do it and what they create.  Its no secret I love the products, but what you might not know is that I love their values, especially the support of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.  As a young(er) adult- OK Teenager, I lead a slightly alternative lifestyle, for this, my friends and I got a lot of flack, mostly rude remarks, my personal favourite was 'Goth Patrol' (seriously?).  I had several friends beaten up for the way they looked, some pretty severely.  I hate what happened to Sophie Lancaster, I hate that we live in a world where you can be judged on the colour of your hair and the clothes you wear.  That some people think this gives them reason to abuse you, beat you, and sadly in Sophie's case- kill you.  I love that a company as rapidly growing and as popular as Illamasqua still supports something like this.

On top of that, Illamasqua is a British company, based in London, being born and raised in the UK I have a fondness for all things British, as a kid my mum used to take me to London at Christmas, I still recall it with not just nostalgia, but a sense of awe.  She was born and raised in London and subsequently moved to Scotland to attend medical school but it meant she knew the city very well.  These trips were something I looked forward to all year.

So why am I so excited to share the emotional side of this makeup brand?
Well, earlier in the week my package of sale goodies arrived and this is what I found:

Oh NOES! Not only was this powder shattered- as I was, but the finely milled powder which I love so much- had covered all of the nice sleek black packaging with a very fine layer- not a big deal, but not great for haul worthy photoness!

Anyway, I e-mailed Illamasqua and included a copy of this photo, they are replacing the powder and sending it (all the way to Australia) without me needing to return the original (all the way from Australia) which is great, because I suspect to send it back might have cost more than the powder did!

I was SO worried that I'd e-mail them and get the response of 'oh well, you win some, you lose some' or a 'if you send it back we'll gladly replace it' both of which would suck.  I love this company and I was scared this would tarnish it- alas not at all.  Another box ticked for this remarkable company. 

Illamasqua- I doth my imaginary cap.

Blush Brush Bomb Diggity

A few weeks ago, I posted a haul post about my new Real Techniques brushes.  I've been finding every excuse to try them out and I love them all, but the stand out brush for me has got to be this one:

No shit, it is possibly the best blush brush I've ever used.  Its brilliantly tapered to allow precise application to the cheeks, but its big, soft and fluffy enough to enable blending too.  Yesterday I used it on a friend who's cheeks, either love or hate blush, because it always looks like clown couture, it never blends and it looks horrid.  Alas, enter Real Techniques blush brush, magic, needless to say, even prior to the brilliant blush outcomes on Jo's face (I forgot to take a picture, I'm so annoyed) I had bought more.  I like to have at least 2 of each brush I find amazing, one for my kit and one for my face, I wash my brushes often and fastidiously, so I'm not worried about using them interchangeably, BUT its a pain to remove it from my kit to use on my face, then wash it and remember to put it back, I'm just not that good.  Therefore having 2 or more, (OK, more, I have 4 of these now) is just the sensible thing to do.

I believe the RRP for these in Priceline is about $25 but there are plenty of retailers online offering them for a much more reasonable price such as iHerb where this particular brush is US$9 (about AU$8.70) and shipping for this item alone is $6 (about AU$5.80) calculated by weight.  That's pretty cheap, hell, even at $25 this brush is worth the money, I can not say enough about it.

Seriously, if you're looking for reasonably cheap brushes, the Real Techniques range are pretty kick ass.

Update

I'm trying to get back to regular blogging, I've got a few weeks of course photos to share and a few new goodies to review, as well as PLENTY of hauls, if you're that way inclined.  However, currently as part of my course I am deep in the depths of folio hell.  That is, trying to create the best freakin folio this town has ever seen.  I know I won't manage that, between working full time, being a mum the rest of the time, dark evenings AND not having my own space (c'mon house, seriously we've been in this 'building' phase for ages now, surely its time to be a 'built'?) its getting tricky, time consuming and a little bit stressful. Needless to say, there is a lot less time for blogging.  I'm still throwing articles at Makeup Utopia each week, so you can still get you 'fix' but I aim to be back up to speed in a few weeks!

I swear I'll get back on top of it soon, and then we can look forward to FOTDs from a qualified makeup Artist (me!)

In the mean time, here's a picture from a shoot I was lucky enough to be a part of.


San Pelegrino Ad. Makeup by Lizzi D. Photography by Greta Punch (all rights reserved)

You can check out more on Greta's Flickr and have a squiz at the other awesome photography she has on there too!