Time for some hair and make-up visuals...
                                                             ' Marilyn '

As it was the 50th anniversary recently, of the death of Marilyn Monroe, I thought it was timely to show one of the publicity images, for which I was the hair and make-up artist, that was used for the Citizens' Theatre production of 'Marilyn'.
It was commissioned by The Citz and wrtten by Sue Glover, designed by Kenny Miller and directed by Philip Howard. It was performed at The Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow in 2011 before it transferred to The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh.

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As reference material, I used shots of Marilyn, on and off set, from the 1960 production of 'Let's Make Love'. It is, essentially, classic 'Marilyn'. For the hair, I used L'Oreal products ( tecni pli thermo fixant spray on hair that was then put into a full set of heated rollers and left to cool, before gently separating and dressing the curls and then using L'Oreal Elnett hairspray.
                For the make-up; I used MAC Face and Body foundation,  the eyes were a mixture of Sleek mineral powders eye palettes, Urban Decay - Naked Palette, MAC black eye kohl in Smolder and Bad Gal Lash mascara from Benefit. I kept the colours for this simple and used them for contouring without becoming overly 'theatrical'. The cheeks were kept to a subtle, peachy toned blush using Benefit's 'Coralista' and on the lips I used a combination of Clarin's and a Kryolan professional lip colour palette to achieve the desired shade.

All in all, although I am never totally satisfied with my own work (!), I was rather pleased with the results and they worked really well for the publicity material. Hope you like it too!


                             


                                                           

I have followers!

Dear Blog Readers, (bleaders?...) for your delectation and delight please check out my followers. First off, I know them but they still decided to follow m'blog anyway. Bless. Oh and in the future, should you decide to join us too and I know you and you have a website / blog / business then I'll do a review of your endeavours as well. Hey, just you know, sharing the love.

To start with; Tracy Butler of kickasscakes. I've been friends with Mrs. B for years. A set and costume designer, an artist and now a designer baker extraordinaire! I can personally attest to how tasty ( not to mention, beautiful ) her cakes are. You always know when Tracy has supplied cakes for a 'do' because all that's left on display after a short period of time are the crumbs. And that's only because people are generally too polite to lick the plate. In public...
Check out her website www.kickasscakes.co.uk or follow her blog at kickasscakes.blogspot.com

-oh, and a sidebar...I'm sure she won't mind my mentioning that her stunning Scottish landscape and weatherscape paintings are for sale too. Just ask!

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Next up, Miss Natalie Harrison. Natalie had been involved in the art world for years before she set up her own hugely successful gallery in Blanefield. The Smithy Gallery is one of those rare things in the gallery world; welcoming. And cosy. Oh, and friendly. Ok, that's three things but you get the point. And that's down to Natalie.She's had some of the most talented, well known and critically acclaimed artists exhibiting in her architect re-designed gallery space.

Go to the gallery in person - and no, you don't need an appointment - or visit her website www.thesmithygallery.com or follow her at smithygallery.blogspot.com

Go oooooon! Treat yourself - you know you want to!

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My next review for now, anyway, is for another good friend of mine, Deirdre Glass. Deirdre has had her own wardrobe analysis  and styling consultancy for a couple of years. Her friendly manner and professional approachability shine through. She brings her talent, experience, knowledge and skill to every job and her clients are testament to the hard work and love she has for her job.

She takes the time to get to know her clients, to offer them the best service possible, whether they want something to wear to a special event or - in some cases - have a life changing, wardrobe clearout! Deirdre guides you through the whole process with a smile and ensures it's not nearly as painful as you'd been led to believe!

Visit her at www.deirdreglass.co.uk or contact her at deirdre@deirdreglass.co.uk

Hey there m'lovelies!

Why not check out my make-up artist website www.arti-facemake-up.com  It has some rather good visuals courtesy of myself and the gorgeous and talented models and photgraphers with whom I have so far had the privelage of working.

I'll be updating and moving around the images and will explain and credit each one  before I transplant them to the site as well as the ones already posted on there.

Hope you enjoy them!

Hello world!

So, a wee introduction...

I've been thinking about doing this whole blog thing for a while now and what form it might take. I've had a fascination for textiles and fashion and dressmaking and couture and costume and make-up and hair and - well, you get the point, for most of my life although, the idea of doing a blog about one thing only, seemed to me anyway, a tad dull.

I mean, the blogosphere is filled with 'how - to' videos (some better than others...),  'look-at-what-I-made' pics ( doesn't mean that what you've made is any good. Just saying...), or people wanting positive affirmation for mundane activities (fb status updates...) So, if I was going to 'blog' about something, anything - is that a verb now? - it had to be worth the effort, hopefully for me to spend the time collating and writing about and also for you to read. In other words, for me anyway, my blog had to encompass everything that interests me in relation to my, erm, interests! My work, my thoughts, my humour, my rants. Hey, it's my blog; if you want a good rant, get your own! I'll wander off-topic, I'll ramble, I'll digress, but hopefully all within the context of...textiles costumes make-up hair.

Oh, and in case any of you were wondering, All Fur Coats and Nae Knickers, is a Scottish colloquialism, and is generally meant to imply a surfeit of style over substance. It also reminds you, with humour, to take your work but not yourself too seriously. It pricks the pomposity of those who claim to know better. Hopefully though, I'll be able to provide a little substance along with the style.

And so, for what it's worth, I give you....