PRODUCT REVIEW!! Neals Yard Frankinsense Hydrating Cream

Two Words. TOTES AMAZEBALLS!!!!

'Rejuvenating" is the main descriptive word in the catalogue text for this product and I can wholeheartedly say thats a TICK!! Ive literally used it twice - from a tester tube I acquired ( more on that later ..)
It smells gorgeous and its so refreshing.. I know it sounds cheesy but I can almost feel its anti- ageing properties working. Its packed full of anti oxidants and no nasty chemicals ( being made by Neals Yard Remedies thats pretty much guaranteed for all products ) Apparently the properties of the plant extracts in it, boost elasticity and it SMELLS GORGEOUS!!!!
Its ingredients are mostly organic and certified - its fair-trade, and it comes from the Baobab tree which is called the ' Tree of Life '

And Frankinsense is a very christmassey ingredient - so - perfect for presents... but like I said .. more on that later - stay tuned Im becoming a NYR Organics consultant but this review is nothing to do with that - i would have reviewed this product anyway coz it ROCKS!!
       

Look at what I won!!!

Ooooo how excited was I this morning!!! I won a competition with American Crew https://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Crew-UK/183309985056843  ( thats their facebook page ) I had to answer some James Bond geek facts. Now Im the proud owner of some lovely grooming products and a smart new bag for my clippers. Hurrah !!  and at the same time, the neighbours gorgeous velvet kitten wandered into our house and me and my daughter spent the next ten minutes trying to extract it from the house but at the same time wanting to catnap it coz its so gorgeous.Its like a little dark grey velvet ninja...EXACTLY the sort of cat James Bond would have, and would obviously name it Pussy Galore...anyway we were late for school but it was all SO worth it!

When Brow Bars turn BAD!!!!

BAD REVIEW ALERT!!!  I dont think Ive ever had call to write a bad review before - I dont normally let things upset me that much , and now tbh Ive ' let it go ' on the advice of my Buddist friend.. but I feel its my duty to enlighten you readers to this, so you dont have the same awful experience as I did, and apparently ( according to the Superdrug office lady I spoke to ) Im not the first to complain..about.. 'Super Brow Bar' - the in-store brow threading service apparently run by some franchise that isnt even linked to Superdrug, so this is NOT a complaint against the store.. although hopefully after these complaints they'll think twice about about keeping them there - bad rep and all that...

Anyway I dont normally go there.. I normally go to a cheap as chips and lovely lady in Chinatown called EyeWow - she is lovely and friendly..or Brazilian Waxing Co ( but theyre a bit pricey) and Ive never had a bad experience..   but today I had a tired daughter with me and it was a case of the quickest place, and as I passed Superdrug on our way to the bus I just nipped in - "a fiver!" i thought " that'll do, we'll be in and out in 5 minutes.. concerned about getting tired daughter home for a rest.. There were 3 threading girls there and no customers so they were having a chat, fair enough but it took a minute to get their attention..I was told  to pay at the counter and bring my receipt back, which I did, but that was as far as the conversation went. I decided myself that I should probably sit in the chair, and as the other chair was occupied by ne of the other threaders ( still chatting ) my 6yr old daughter had to sit on the floor ( because she was tired ) I sat in the chair and one of the threaders had her back to me but said ' Hold It !!" and i didnt realise she was talking to me.. why would i - she had her back to me, then she turned round and aggresively said ' HOLD IT!" I realised she meant my eyelid but i hadnt known she was ready to start .. so I did that then then before she moved on to the other eye she carried on the conversation with her colleagues ( I cant tell you what it was about because it was in Arabic ) then she started on my other eye and said "hold it" againbut then realised i was too low down in the chair for her and said " can you move up the chair please!!" in quite an aggresive tone once more. Then she plucked some last hairs out quite hard and painfully, then quickly shoved a hand mirror in my face so i could see theresult ( the result was fine, but I couldnt wait to leave. She didnt even attempt to put any soothing gel or soothing wipe across my brow. NO BASIC aftercare AT ALL!!! To be honest I didnt even think about that until I was on the bus and realised how sore my brows were . I had tried to complain to the checkouot staff asking if i could see a manager but she said they are not linked to Superdrug and Ihave to speak to the Brow Bar staff myself - well I think complaints should be made to a higher power, so I got home and put cucumbers on my brows straight away, then I rang Superdrug Piccadilly office and complained to the lady there - she said I was not the first complaint they had  had about the Brow Bar staff, and hat the Floor manager would have a word. So thats as far as it went but I'll be going back to Eyewow, or forking out more at Brazilian Waxing Co in future.

So in summary 'Super Brow Bar ' NO customer service, NO proffessional aftercare, Painful service, BAD attitude and RUDE staff!! Dont even GO there!!!

Things that are good!! Essie Nail Polish

I dont often review products, but when I do I have to really love it to be arsed with sitting down and writing about it.. but I really DO love Essie nail polish. I discovered it last week (in Superdrug I think) and having been drawn to the lovely display unit and gorgeous bottles of pretty colours, a pretty fabulous range of colours.. like a Pantone chart of Nail Polish!.. I decided to try a nice cappucino coloured one for myself.. ( its called ' Masterplan' ) and Ive been wearing it for a WHOLE WEEK WITH NO CHIPS!! I only put 2 coats on and a top coat that I had at home by Bourgois. Just to give you an idea of how hard wearing it is, Ive done loads of manual work this week, including dragging my kit bag everywhere, on and off buses in all weathers, making up faces including all the cleaning of hands and kit that goes with that,  domestic chores, cleaning up after a child and a cat and someone elses dog, walking said dog, washing up, riding my bike, and its still looking fine on my nails! Just started wearing off at the very tips today, but after 6 days I think its time for a fresh application anyway. I reckon its AS good if not better than more expensive brands like Nails Inc, and it comes in at about £7 - £8. And I think they do a good range of pro nail care products too, as its an American pro-manicure brand, not just a cosmetic colour brand.
The names of the colours are fab too. Go check out the site http://www.essie.com/latest-collection/  and hunt them down in high street stores.

LUSH MAKE UP ! ... BRILLIANT !!

Finalllllly!!!  LUSH have launched their new make up line, 'Emotional Brilliance' and shopping for make up has never been quite so fun and interactive !

Basically you go into the store and spin the wheel ( above) with all the pretty colours on, and shut your eyes, and when you open them and stop the wheel, quickly choose the first 3 colours that you are drawn to on that day.. each colour has its own emotional meaning, relevant to qualities that you either have lots of, or need more of, or that people admire you for.. and as if by magic, the wheel never lies! Its so clever - I think it will make people try colours that they wouldnt normally choose, and as the make up colours are multi-taskers ( they can all be used for anything.. eyes, lips, cheeks, liners..) You can get really creative. Im going to start collecting some.. but I started off with just the mascara - it also comes in the same ' dropper bottle' style packaging.. being both recyclable, easy to see how much youve used AND get the last out of it AND much kinder to the eyes than most mascaras, and its very black. The wand in the bottle is very short, but Ill be using longer disposable wands anyway so thats not an issue. Ill also be investing in some of the foundation colours ( not pictured,but seemed to give good buildable coverage when i tested on my hand and a great price at only £8.50 ) and I'll definitely get a lovely vintage pink colour called ' Sophisticated'. 
The sales assistant had a coppery colour on her eyes and it looked really nice, not creased or dry and she said she'd had it on since the morning.
My personal colours ( just for the record ) yesterday, were: "Intuitive" (lime green) "Calm" (sky blue) and 'Dynamic" (nude).. Dynamic was the emotion I needed more of apparently. ... zzzzzz :) 

Glamourama Ding Dong's FIRST POP UP SALON!!

Ive been meaning to do this for a while, set up a stall at a vintage fair and do hair and make up there.. so when the opportunity arose to do just that ON MY BLEEDIN DOORSTEP ,  I jumped at the chance to book a spot !
Its a new Flea Market / Vintage event in Chorlton, called FLEASY STREET  and they have some fantastic people lined up to take part ... Lomography ( those old Russian style cameras that have such a cult following right now ) , Oxfam Originals for your vintage threads , Some bicycle people and much more - check the Fleasy Street page on Facebook for all the details https://www.facebook.com/FleasyStreet?ref=ts
 I'm most excited about the Lomography crew being there, so after people have come to me for some vintage glamouring, they can go and have an authentic retro photo taken, AND wait for the prints to be developed , like we had to in the olden days, and you just dont know what effect you are gonna end up with on a Lomo print - thats the beauty of it - its so unpredictable. You can predict preset retro effects on apps like Instagram , but Lomo keeps it real, AND the cameras all look like spy cameras from the 1960s!
Anyway - GLAMOURAMA Pop up Salon, thats me - will be offering various styles of hairdoos from bygone eras eg Victory Rolls, fake Betty Bangs etc ... not cutting or wet setting - just dry styling techniques for speed, and make up from those eras too - you can either choose to have a full face of make up, or just one or two small additions to your own make up eg perfect flicked eyeliner and false lashes, or a perfect pout. AND I'll also bring some Brylcreem and pomade for the boys.

Vintage Glamour Workshops with Kitty Wink Vintage

https://www.facebook.com/events/487043967992426/

I've joined a team !!!!!  Not Team GB, but Team Kitty Wink ;)

Click the above link for details of The vintage Glamour Workshops run by Alice Kitty Wink of http://www.kittywinkvintage.co.uk/

Alice has kindly asked me to be one of the make up and hair stylists in her team at larger group events such as this one at Rose and Lee Vintage in North Manchester on 6th October. I will also be joining the team at further events TBC . Alice totally lives the vintage life and is a very talented make up and hair stylist and businesswoman - She has been responsible for a lot of the really productive networking between vintage enthusiasts in the North West via her Facebook group and regular group meetings. You may recognize her as one of my models on a vintage makeover at http://www.altstudiouk.com/ I gave Alice a 1920's vamp look, which she rocked to perfection. Also in the team is Simon Hunt, my ' boss ' from Alt.Studio, who creates the most fabulous Vintage styled  photos and makes all his clients feel like Glamour Queens :)
So what are you waiting for? Join the Glamour party! Shimmy Shimmy y'all to the vintage workshops ( the ones at Rose and Lee start on Sept 1st )

Click the link, for Kitty Wink!

URBAN DECAY BOYCOTT CHINA!!!!

This is REALLY BRILLIANT NEWS in the fight against WORLDWIDE ban on Animal Testing for cosmetics.
Please READ! and if your wondering what high street make up brand to buy.. Head for the shiny purple things! :)

http://www.urbandecay.com/Animal-Testing-Policy/animal-testing-policy,default,pg.html

Vintage Network / Kitty Wink video

http://vimeo.com/45035329

here is a video that a director called Wayne Avanson made for a fellow vintage hair and make up lady, Alice Kitty Wink - It a profile about her business and the Vintage Network up here in the North West. Ive posted it here because the sepia toned stills of Alice on the titles and end credits are photos that you may recognise.. I did the make up on Alice for those shots, at Alt Studio with photographer Simon Hunt , and it was a pleasure to do, and it enabled me to meet Alice and join the Vintage Network. I really like how the images have been portrayed in the film.

Trolleys and Brollies

So.. in my job I spend  A LOT of time traipsing around on buses or trains and dragging my kit through town ( and Manchester is not known for its well maintained streets.. and there are still even a few with Victorian cobbles..) so you can see that hauling your make up about can be quite a physical experience, not always enjoyable... I have for the past few months had quite a smooth running suitcase with rubber wheels from IKEA that made it slightly less bumpy ( especially as there can be some make up casualties eg smashed eyeshadows, if they have had a rickety journey..) but last week the zip broke on my Ikea case, and it sent me back to using my cute old polka dot, but VERY rickety wheelie case... quite exhausting, and not quite big enough for my stuff either..boo hoo!! EMERGENCY NEW SUITCASE NEEDED!! Now many MUAs harp on about those fancy ZUCA cases with their flashing wheels and sit-upon casing.. But tbh they are freaking expensive .. like £150 expensive!! and I dont ever need to sit on my case- ill have a chair thanks, or a wall.. and I dont want to snag my tights on the hard casing,or risk not being able to squash the hard casing into overhead luggage, or be restricted in my packing, by the shape of the hard casing,or have to take the casing off and send that through to airline baggage hold anyway, coz this will be my holiday bag too - thats why we all work right? to save up for holidays? oh yeah and pay the bills ;) ... so I was looking into the Snowboard / Skate brand luggage, because Im a DEFINITE convert to the SKATEBOARD WHEELS feature .. which also means they are interchangeable should I ever want pink flashing wheels or whatevz.. This was my final choice - DAKINE a well known Snowboard / Skate brand. 42 litre capacity - plenty room, waterproof, and with it being a Skate brand I d have no problem nipping into one of Manchesters many skate shops and asking them to change the wheels for the latest colour of the season .. then whizz outside and pull a kickflip then grind down some railings for a speedy trip to work :) Oh and I got this at a snip of the  price, for £55 ... HURRAH!! Dimensions wise, slightly bigger than the Zuca too, so whats not to love!? Other brands in a similar style - Eastpak, Burton, Quiksilver, Gravis, Roxy etc.. just do search then do a best price search !! and make sure theyve got those skate wheels! Some do girly colours if thats your bag but I like black - it goes with everything and doesnt get trashed so quickly in the NorthWest weather systems :) Oh and all the 'boarders will think you are like TOTALLY AWESOME

Interview on Manchester Fashion Network

http://www.manchesterfashion.com/c/19/938/featured-makeup-artist-nikki-armstrong/

So I got asked to do a Q & A about my job, for Manchester / London Fashion Network - an online community. Ooo I do waffle on a bit! But have a read if your interested in why or how I got round to being a make up n hair person of all things!

RIDICULOUS PACKAGING! Grrrr !

This is RIDICULOUS!!!! I love Illamasqua for their make up - they acn do no wrong especially as they are very Cruelty Free and Made in England ( which we are all trying to promote this year especially ) and Pro quality and Extremely creative and all these good things.. BUT... Every package i order from them comes in this size of a box, no matter how small the item is - ie these tiny false lashes, and a previous package with ONE tiny brush and ONE eye pencil in. They seriously need to get some smaller boxes maaaan. I guess i could wait to order more stuff at once from them, but unfortunately my budget is also tiny, like the boxes they SHOULD get. Im sure ill find a use for all this black shredded paper though - make some sorta mad afro paper wig and go to my next fancy dress party as Shaft?.. Make a nest for a Tim Burtonesque crow ? .. answers on a postcard...

Brownie Points !! Top review from Kitty wink Vintage :)

Hurrah! My first proper testimonial :) .. well a joint testimonial with Alt.Studio
Read it here http://kittywinkvintage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/what-women-want.html

1920's vamp make up and hair

Here are just two of the shots from a fab shoot we did yesterday at http://www.altstudiouk.com/ in Manchesters Northern Quarter - specialising in vintage and tattoo'd portraits.
This is the lovely Alice Kitty Wink from www.kittywinkvintage.co.uk and although she is herself a vintage make up artist and beautician, she wanted to experiment with a different look for herself and let someone else loose on her :) no pressure there then! Its like when you start styling someones hair then they tell you they are a hairdresser! instant collywobbles!!! but actually I have to say Im very proud of this makeover and I think Alison was pleased with it too ! A new look maybe..I think you really have to have the right sort of face for this dramatic era and it really suits her dont you think?

GERT LUSH !!!!!! High street shop fights the fight for animals!!

This is GREAT!!! These lovely ladies ( and one bunny ) were out in force today at Lush, Manchester, to drum up support for the campaign against animal testing in cosmetics, and they all work at LUSH !! So they cant get moved on by the police, because it is a shop campaign! hurrah!!!!! IN YOUR FACE GENERAL PUBLIC!! Sign the petition and TAKE NOTICE!! In 2013 there could be big changes to the laws surrounding cosmetic testing in Europe, meaning it could FINALLY be banned , but the big cosmetics companies are trying to stall this process.. this means it is MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER to support this campaign NOW!!
Oh and the Bunny gave me a bit of insider news hot off the press - Lush are going to launch a make up range soon YIPPEE!!!! Thats gotta be good!

HOME MADE BRUSH CLEANER!!

Yay! I just did a bit of DIY and saved a heluvalot of money on make up brush cleaner. These can go for anything from £8 - £15 in the shops if you want a good one that lifts grease and make up and disinfects too.. but when you read the ingredients its really all stuff that you can substitute at home. I found a great recipe on Youtube by an American MUA called Enkore.. he seems to upload lots of useful stuff so I tried it and it works!! hurrah! heres the recipe..

( Obviously depending on the size of the bottle you want to put it in .. )
1 measure of purified water ( you could use bottled or distilled but I boiled then cooled mine )
1/4 measure of isopropyl alcohol ( i used 70% vol as its all i could get in UK shops)
1/2 tbsp dish soap
1/2 tbsp mild shampoo 1 tbsp of leave in conditioner
I also added to the recipe with 1/4 cup of glycerine and a dash of olive oil

for scent you could also add a few drops of tea tree oil or any other essential oil

stir it gently to emulsify dont shake ( the opposite to James Bond ) to prevent it foaming

I just cleaned off my foundation brush and it worked like a dream really quickly, brush is now gorgeous and soft and clean like new. hurrah

and it cost me £1.99 for a bottle of isopropyl which will last me about 10 more fill ups of this recip and the glycerine i already had but that is dead cheap too - a couple of quid from Boots.. and that has umpteen other household uses.. shampoo,dish soap, olive oil, conditioner - already had.. and also will fill up about 20 times more than spending stupid money on 100mls of branded make up brush cleaner.

For instant dry spot cleaning on jobs I also carry some Dettol pump action foam hand sanitiser which has alcohol and glycerine in it too, and kills off MRSA in hospitals, so im happy with that for getting germs off brushes between clients. That is 99p from Quality save and lasts a few weeks too. Bargain

Dont waste your pennies !! times is hard!

Marry Me Ink

The other week I started to work with a new photography studio, specialising in vintage style shoots, and the alternative / tattooed scene.
We shot some promotional photos for Rachael from tattooed Brides blog " Marry Me Ink ".

Here is the blog post she wrote about the day, and some of the pics

http://www.marrymeink.co.uk/2012/03/alt-studio/

UnReal - ISTIC beauty !! by Fotoshop

http://jesserosten.com/2012/fotoshop-by-adobe

Hhahahaha!! this is BRILLIANT! A film maker from Cali has done his EXCELLENT spoof on a beauty products video which tells it like it is girls! dont get fooled into thinking celebs are perfect - its all done with a ' magic wand' tool on a computer, not some new miracle cream or ' flawless' foundation. BELIEVE

Berlin Supermarkets!

Awesome news! Short film I worked on "Supermarket Girl" directed by Matt Greenhalgh and starring Matthew Beard and Nichola Burley, has been accepted into Berlin Film Festival ! hope it wins a prize or at least some free frankfurters. Apparently its a notriously dificult festival to get into, so well done to all crew and cast HURRAH! Its also being entered into Cannes, so fingers crossed for that... Elbow soundtrack too. Nice