Autumn Wedding in the Black Mountains

Alex was a delight to work with, I had met her before when she worked as event coordinator at Dewsall Court and in her work for The Great British Florist. So I was thrilled that she choose me to do her makeup for her wedding in the Black Mountains. It was Autumn, November, and the palette was moody and romantic. The photographer has a beautiful dark edit to his work, so the makeup needed to be strong to suit the mood and the photography.

Alex was kind enough to send me a note - ‘Thank you so much again - having you on the morning was so lovely - it really felt like I had another friend around me.’

These images are by Eric Rene Penoy - I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I’m in love with these incredible glitter nails.

The ceremony was in one of my favourite churches ever - Capel-y-ffin - It’s the tiniest church set in the midst of the nature - with the Black Mountains to the West and Gospel Path the other side. It must have been impossibly romantic.

Here is Alex stood outside, before she went in to get married. You can see how amazing her deep mermaid coloured hair and Lime Crime lipstick looked against her flowers.

Autumn Cyclamens

Wedding dress - 2 Have & 2 Hold

Veil, Bridal headpiece and earrings, Bridesmaids necklaces and earrings - All Things Lucy  

Ceremony Venue - St Mary’s Church, Craswall

Cake - Emily Rose Cakes

Reception Venue - Bespoke By Nature

Catering - Wild By Nature

Evening entertainment - Scott Morgan Music

Bride/Groom getting ready accommodation - Grove Villa

Wedding rings - C V Osborne

Florist - The Great British Florist

Makeup - Naomi Emmanuelle Makeup

Welsh Wildflower Wedding

Tara's wedding was held at  Llangoed Hall which, for a long time, was the family home of Laura Ashley.  I sometimes wonder what she would have thought about all these wedding in her former home.  I think she would have been delighted.

Especially with the dresses.  

This one was particularly lovely, with a stunning creamy fabric with lace overlay, by British Designer Stephanie Allin.

It looked amazing on.

Not forgetting the shoes.

Tara's flowers were by Hilary's Floral Design.  They looked particularly well against the wild flower meadow behind the hall.  Soft tones on eucalyptus, with touches of deeper green to ground - it was a delight.  

And how inspired is it to shoot a chair in a meadow? 

Tara's photographer was Hannah Duffy, who took all the pictures in this post.  If you love ethereal yet classic photography you should definitely follow her work.

I love all the little detail shots.

And how cute is this chap? Lady probably, looking at it again.

For makeup I wanted to give a soft, diffused and romantic effect.  Using bronzy tones I gave soft contour to the socket line.  I lined the eyes but made sure to smoke it out with a combination of Teddy by MAC and a deep chocolate shadow, which gave a soft effect.

Tara's hair was by Padge of Shine Studio in Bristol who created this gorgeous undone boho bun.  He was a pleasure to work with and had everyone giggling all morning.

I did Tara's mums makeup.

And the bridesmaids.

Here they are waiting to see how she looked in her dress.

Breathtaking!

The girls had to go in the meadow too of course. Who wouldn't?

April Favourites

I hope everyone had a wonderful April - I love this time of year - everything is growing like mad and it feels just the right time to start new projects.  Here are some of the things I have been loving this month.

Perfume - 'Ortigia - Ambra Nera'

This is a very unusual perfume that I fell in love with and I was kindly bought for mother's day.  I just adore how musky, almost earthy the scent is.  I use it when I want to be creative.  I think choosing a particular perfume for different purposes can be very useful.  With time, you are instantly brought into that headspace.  When I apply this now I forget about the humdrum tasks or problems, and it quickly takes me to a very personal creative space.

Podcast - 'How I Built This'

This is so inspirational.  I have loved hearing about all the different stories about how some of the worlds most incredible entrepreneurs got started. I particularly enjoyed listening to the Kate Spade and Spanx ones but they are all great really.  I stumbled across real estate mogul Barbara Cocoran's story (whom I have never heard of) and I really enjoyed that.  The most memorable part is where she laughs that she has only ever sold three properties! Yes, incredibly this is true.  She realised early on that her talents lay in other areas ( such as a unique approach to recruitment) and passed on the actual sales to her staff.  I love this bit, such a reminder that delegation is a really important part of success.  It's no badge of honour to do everything ourselves.

Author - D.E. Stevenson

I was introduced to this author through Persephone books who publishes one of D.E. Stevenson's novels , and quickly decided I would be reading more of her work.  It is domestic fiction, quite similar to Edith Wharton.  I believe she was rather popular at the time, and her books have gradually come back in print.  It's early chick lit really I suppose, but some how because it is set in the 40's you can feel a little more cerebral reading it! Anyway, there is nothing I enjoy more that finding a whole swathe of undiscovered work from an author whose writing is cheery, consistent and enjoyable - a gold mine!

Trench - LK Bennet

I treated myself to this gorgeous trench from LK Bennet.  I have been looking for one I liked for so long and this fitted all my requirements.  Their clothes are so well made and have the little details that other companies seem to be cutting corners on such as a well made lining and good weight to the fabric.

Recipe - Amelia Freer, Asian Chicken Salad

I'm so excited that it's salad time of year again! I can get really fed up planning family meals sometimes, so for lunch which I usually eat alone, I just make a big batch of the same thing on a monday , and have it over and over.  Winter I do soup and summer salads.  This was a real winner, though there was an awful lot of chopping involved, which got a little annoying.  Next time I'll use the food processor. 

However, my biggest inspiration this month came from an interesting connection.  We are renovating our house and needed to have two carpets fitted.  For various reasons, they were of very different quality - an expensive one and a budget one.  I was stressing the difference to the fitter between the two carpets.  I pointed out that while I wanted him to take great care over the expensive one, I was not quite so worried about the cheaper one.  He sat back on his heels, looked at me and said 'I take as much care over an cheap carpet as I do a expensive one'.  Well, I felt quite admonished.  I saw e was so zen about his carpet fitting, that every carpet mattered.  It didn't matter to him that one was of a better quality than the other. He was going to do his very best by that carpet for every job.   Needless to say he did an excellent job of both.  But his comment kept coming back to me in the following weeks.  I became uncomfortably aware that this was not something I did.  I tend to take care of things I perceive to have value, but scrimp on things I feel are worth less.    I also realised, to my shame, that I occaisionly did this with  people too.  Putting energy into my interactions with friends, clients or colleagues, but (though I do hope I am polite) not always giving the same care to retail staff, call centre operatives etc.  But surely everything deserves our full energy and presence? I resolved that I would follow this man's example and be a good steward of everything that come into my  sphere. Perhaps if we could all give care to things and people that our cultural conditioning teaches us to disregard, there would be less conflict in our society.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have found this little round up of things I have been enjoying useful.

Happy April!

Naomi

Capsule Beauty Collection || French Girl Edit

Emmanuelle Beart

I’ve always had a slight fascination with French Girl Beauty, but it has turned into a complete obsession lately.  Perhaps because it’s the antithesis of the Instagram makeup that we see so much of now.  It’s remained classic, fresh, modern and always beautiful.  There is a timeless quality to it that I love - each of these images were taken in decades spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s yet to me they look covetable and contemporary .

The French beauty aesthetic is often a little undone which I resonate with, the glamour element is almost always there, but it has a nonchalance to it which might be what makes it so editorial and modern.

With this in mind, I have compiled a Capsule Beauty Collection (is this a thing? It should be...) Remember that the French have a strong emphasis on quality over quantity.  Buy as little as possible, but buy well.

Emmanuelle Beart in Jean de Florette

Skincare

Impeccable skincare is something that is taught to French girls from a young age. French pharmacy brands are world renowned.  You just cannot go wrong with Avene or Vichy and the price point is very affordable.

Since nature has recently thrown me the curve ball of both hormonal breakouts and the first signs of ageing (oh joy) my favourite products to use include La Roche Posey Serozinc and Redermic Treatment ( an excellent retinoid).

Highlighter

I hesitated on using this word as it seems to have acquired a different meaning in a few short months.  It no longer brings to mind a luminous glow, but has become an essential part of heavy makeup styles. Do not let this put you off .  Its really important, but you need subtlety, no chunks of glitter .  Becca Skin finish is one of my favourites.  I only have it in moonstone as, to me, it is the most beautiful shade and suits most skin tones from Asian to pale caucasian.  

Jane Birkin

Concealer

There’s a reason I’ve skipped foundation in this edit.  We’re not going to use it.  That right, your skincare is going to be so impeccably executed that all you will need is the lightest touch of an excellent concealer that is an exact match to your skin in order to create a skin that looks like it has nothing there.

French women take great care of there skin - why on earth would they want to cover it up?  It’s considered very high status to wear as little skin makeup as possible in order to show off your time and effort that you have invested into your beauty regime

Mascara

On every makeup artist’s forum I am a member of there is a mascara that comes up time and time again, Loreal Volumous in Carbon Black.  I personally don't believe in expensive mascaras.  When you have shelled out £25 for a pretty from Dior it is far too tempting to keep it for longer than the recommended 3 months, which puts you at risk from infection.  I believe in buying cheap and replacing often, but in this case cheap doesn't mean sacrificinging quality- this is an amazing mascara.

Beatrice Dalle in Betty Blue

Brows

The French have not embraced the heavy brow trend in the same way as the English have in recent years, in fact I’m fairly sure they would describebe them as ‘de trop’. 

However, they also didn't pluck them out in 2000 trying to look like Gwen Stefani (guilty).  In order to fake that French girl nonchalance you’re going to need to fake the fullness a bit.  Keep it soft pale and feathery.  I use Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Blonde on almost every client as I favour the illusion of shadow to create depth rather than deep colour which I feel is too obvious.

Vanessa Paradis

A red lip

One word: Chanel.  OK two: Coco Rouge.  Keep the rest of your makeup simple and it is just perfection.

Do you have any French beauty products you particularly love? Tell me about your favourites in the comments.

The 10 prep steps you need, to get better skin, fast

Nothing works in makeup unless the skin is right does it? You can call a smudged liner wabi-sabi, a faded lip a stain, but there no saving a look from bad skin.

As a makeup artist I'm often working on people I have never met before, who have multiple skin issues. If I'm on a job and their skin isn't flawless then it's my responsibility.  You'd think it was the foundation that was the important part but it's actually the skin care which forms the basis of the whole look.  Here's my drill:

Products needed - Micellar water, Cream cleanser, Facial oil, Acid toner, Sheet masks, Rose water, Hyaluronic Acid serum, Moisturiser.

Pre-cleanse to remove makeup

Micellar, remover whatever you have.  Just get that first layer of makeup and dirt off.

Embrace the benefits of a cream cleanser

Work in a gentle creamy cleanser, really paying attention to any congested or dry areas. 

Quick lymph drainage massage

Now the surface skin is cleansed thoroughly, it's time to go further.  Use firm circular motion all over the face to bring the blood to the surface of the skin, this helps give your skin that really fresh refined, awake look that we're all looking for. The other massage technique I use focuses on the lymph, I massage quite firmly under the jaw, then when the area is warmed up I drain the lymph by massaging away from the jaw and down the neck. This lymph stimulation can make quite a startling difference to any puffiness that may be present in the face.  

Use a flannel to improve blood flow

Saturate your flannel with hand hot water, wring and lay over your face breathing deeply.  When the heat goes it's time to gently work the flannel over your face again in soft circular motion.  This is going to work in 2 ways by stimulating your skin and also give you a gentle exfoliation treatment. Repeat.

Tighten your pores with a cold compress

Now fill your sink with cold water and throw in a few ice cubes.  Hold your flannel over your face.  You know that look when you come in from the cold and you look all flushed and bright eyed?  This does that.

Fight congestion with liquid exfoliant 

Take some acid toner ( I like the little gycolic acid pads) and swipe all over your face paying particular attention to any flaky or congested areas.

Relax with a sheet mask and deep breathing 

Saturate a sheet mask with rose water and lie down for 2 minutes. While your at it, take the opportunity for some deep breathing.  The extra oxygen will goes straight to your muscles, and tight musculature can make a face appear distorted, so this has real benefits to your appearance.

Spray with mineral water

Make sure that you have plenty of moisture on your skin before we move onto the next step.

Use serum to deliver benefits

I favour hyaluronic  acid for most people.  It's surprising how many people have dehydrated skin, including oily skin types. It's totally temporary, but it plumps and softens instantly.

Seal and soften with moisturiser

To seal in all your hard work, warm a small amount of moisturiser in your palms and press gently into your face.