BEHIND THE SCENES AT DESIGNER SABINA MOTASEM'S PHOTO SHOOT

I was thrilled to be asked to be the make-up artist for London Designer Sabina Motasem's photoshoot in Shropshire.  Sabina is the creative director of Motasem Bridalwear and her wedding and cocktail dresses are simply stunning.  At the shoot Sabina was telling me that she found the inspiration for the collection from the style and glamour of the Folies Bergeres in 1900s - 1930s, with each dress being named after a iconic performer.

Sabina fitting the Josephine dress on Claire ready for the shoot

Sophie ready for her shoot in the Colette dress

The Colette dress with a french lace bodice overlay.  This could be worn like this for the day and on its own for the night

Here I am doing Claire's make-up for her second shoot

Sarah Roberts did all the hair for the shoot and also supplied all the hair accessories, which she hand makes.  A very talented lady!

The hair and make-up team

Part two will show the beautiful images by Ashford Daly Photography

Make-up - Lizzie Griffiths

With Thanks to

Photographers - Ashford Daly

Designer - Sabina Motasem

Wedding Planner & Co-ordinator - Julie Dawson, The Wedding Genie

Hair & Hair Accessoires - Sarah Roberts

Venue - Iscoyd Park

Models - Sophie & Claire

Ashford Daly Photography

Ashford Daly Photography are Greg Daly and his fiancee Mary Ashford, who are one of the most sought after award winning photography teams in the UK.  They are based in Nantwich, covering Cheshire, Shropshire, across the North West of England, London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.  Basically they will go almost anywhere you would like them too.

Mary and Greg specialise in superior and beautiful wedding photographs, bridal and family lifestyle portrait photography, boudoir and fine art print collections.  They believe that everyone deserves amazing photographs.

I have know Mary and Greg for a while now and we have worked together on many successful projects and campaigns.  They are absolutely wonderful to work, when I am doing a job with them I know that the day will turn out to be amazing and fun, with the final result being high quality stunning images.  They have a relaxed approach with their clients, so whether its a professional model or someone who has never had images done before they immediately feel at ease with them.

I could go on writing lots more about my friends Mary and Greg, but its the images that really show what they do.
Make-up by Lizzie Griffiths

Masquerade themed photo shoot

This image appeared in Live Cheshire Magazine

'Sports Illustrated' style photo shoot

Already Gone Rock Band

This is Ashford Daly's award winning image that I am very proud to have been involved in.  It won the Master Photographers Association Yervant Bridal Award 2010

There are more beautiful images from Mary and Greg to come soon from a beautiful photo shoot we recently did.  For now have a look at their website www.ashforddalyphotography.com

Photography - Ashford Daly

Make-up - Lizzie Griffiths

Cheryl Cole Inspired Wedding Hair & Make-up

I was so thrilled when Marsha asked me to do her wedding hair and make-up for her and her bridesmaids at the Cottons Hotel and Spa in Knutsford. I had met Marsha a couple of years before when I did her and her friend Charlotte's hair and make-up for their 21st birthday party in Warrington, so I had an idea what she would be going for.

Marsha wanted a very glamorous look for her wedding with big hair and smoky eyes - Cheryl Cole style!

Marsha's Make-up
I started by prepping the skin with Emma Hardie's sculpt skin plumping serum and then used the hydrating lighter lotion as Marsha's skin is combination.  I used all Laura Mercier products to create a flawless base.  I started with their famous primer in the oil free formular and then applied silk cream foundation in Medium Ivory.  I love this foundation as it is good coverage, but doesn't feel or look heavy and gives an airbrushed look.  Marsha has good skin so I didn't need to use a lot of concealer, I just a small amount of secret camouflage in SC3 at the side of the nose and finished off with transleucent powder.  I used MAC eye shadows to create a smoky eye, the shades I used were naked lunch, brun, mulch, soba and carbon with black track fluidline.  For the eyebrows I used MAC brun eyeshadow with an angle brush.   Marsha has lovely long lashes anyway, but to create more volume I added Eyelure naturalites intense false eyelashes.  For the lips I used dervish lipliner by MAC and Lipstick Queen fame pop art gloss in two minutes.  I wanted the cheeks to have a sheen on them so I appled MAC creme colour base in luna to the cheekbones and then Nars multiple in Maui to the apples of the cheeks.

Marsha's Hair
Its all about the hair preparation to create lasting volume on all hair down.  Before I started doing the bridesmaids hair I put Marsha's hair in heated rollers to give the hair lasting body.  Once I had done Marsha's make-up I curled the hair extensions before clipping them into Marsha's hair using my GHD classic styler.  I then took the heated rollers out and smoothed the curls out to create a bouncy wave.  I smoothed over the hair extensions too before clipping them into the hair.  The crown section was backcombed to add extra volume for behind the beautiful tiara.  Products used to create this look - Tresemme extra hold hairspray, Frederick Fekkai advanced brilliant glossing mist, L'Oreal tecni art pli thermo fixing spray and Bumble and Bumble defrizz

Marsha looking very radiant with her husband Mike

My Top Five Favourite Cleansers

For my first post I thought that I would go right back to basics and start with cleansing.  Regular cleansing is such an important part to healthy and good skin.  No matter how tired I am or how late it is I always cleanse my make-up off.

It is fair to say that I have tired a lot of the cleansers out there, so these are my favourite five that I always go back to!

Eve Lom Cleanser
This is a cleansing balm that is massaged on the face and then removed with a muslin cloth.  Not only does it cleans it also tones and lightly exfoliates.  Perfect for the evening to remove make-up, debris and dead skin cells.  It contains egyptian chamomile, hops, clove, eucalyptus oil and cocoa butter and is suitable for all skin types.  Vogue once descried it as "the best cleanser in the world", which confirms that it is complete luxury.

Wei Chinese Rose Foaming Cleanser
I love this cleanser in the morning as it makes my skin feel so fresh and soft.  It is as equally as good at night to dissolve make-up and oil.  It is great for all skin types in particular combination to oily skin as it contains vitamin c which is slightly astringent and balances the oil.  It also contains chinese rose and mandarin orange extracts which help to brighten and refresh the skin.  Wei also do pomegranate buffing beads, which can be mixed in with the cleanser once to twice a week to exfoliate the skin.

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm

Not only is this a thorough cleansing balm, but it can also be used as a balm to put on dry areas like lips and can be used as a soothing mask. Again for all skin types and even for sensitive skin due to the calming properties. I have been lucky enough to have met Emma on several occasions, not only is she an amazing facialist, but she is also such a fabulous lady.  Her approach is to make skin care easy with fantastic results.

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil

There are six cleansing oils, so there is one to suit every skin type.  The picture below is the original cleansing oil which is the one I use as it suits my skin.  It is recommended that you use 3 - 4 pumps, but I find two pumps is enough, then spread gently over the face and add lukewarm water to emulsify.  Your skin feels clean and balanced.

Darphin Azahar Cleansing Micellar Water

This is a fragrance free no rinse off cleanser containing natural bisabolol and neroli essential oil.  Soak a cotton pad with the cleansing water and sweep over the face without rubbing.  For someone who wants a thorough cleanse, but is limited with time this is the one for you!  Suitable for all skin types and leaves the skin feeling soft, supple and fresh.

I hope you have found this useful if you are on the search for the perfect cleanser!

Happy Easter x x x