Waste Not Want Not!!

Hey Bloggers :)

Don't you hate it when you buy a great product that you fall in love with and you cant get the final squeezes out of the tube or bottle? You know it is in there but no matter what it just wont come out!! Don't throw it in the bin just do this!!!

Pretty self explanatory:

1 Get your old tube and an empty make-up pot.

2 Cut it open and use a spatula to start spooning it out into the tub.

3 Cut the tube as many times as you like to get every last scrape out.

4 Put the lid on your little pot and use this till its done.

It doesn't seem like much, but this little pot will do me about 6 faces of strobe cream, its such an amazing product i wouldn't want to waste it. And as you can see I also have a lovely new strobe cream to use once this is done!

Let me know how you all get on and if you try this !

Jillian Elizabeth

Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss Review

Ok guys I really have been lacking in my blogging so be prepared for a turnaround! After assisting Andii James (MrAJBx3) on a photo shoot and reading his amazing blog I have decided to get back into posting mine.

My first product review is going to be my all time favourite brand Illamasqua! Illamasqua is all about finding that gorgeous within all of us and expressing it through make-up. 

as “Illamasqua is for the bolder person hiding inside all of us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncrasies. A confident statement of self-ownership.”

Last week I ordered 5 Illamasqua sheer lip glosses along with a few other gorgeous items. They come in the most beautiful packaging I have ever seen, what do you think?

Here are swatches of the the 5 glosses I chose, from left to right: Provoke, Soul, Kindle, Tantrum and Violate.

 

Sheer lip glosses retail at £13 and come in 7ml.  Illamasqua claims that they are “Super glossy, with a sensual, sheer colour designed to enhance your lips. Use Illamasqua Sheer Lip gloss on its own or with Illamasqua Lipstick for added pout. Add a little more sexiness to your smile.”

These lip glosses were amazing, the colour pigmentation was fantastic and they were really bold on the lips. They are so easy to apply with a lip brush however if it is your personal lip gloss (and not for client use) then it is easy to apply with the slanted applicator end of the tube or even just using your finger if you want to be quick and easy with it. I found the gloss to be pretty long lasting as I wore it on a night out and I didn’t need to reaply for a few hours, also it smells fab!

Provoke

Soul

Kindle

Tantrum

Violate

Ok guys that is it for my first review so please be kind as its the first I’ve done!!! Let me know your thoughts and come fine me on FB if you like!!

http://www.facebook.com/jillian.elizabethmua

A Little Trip To The Hospital

Last week I was lucky enough to make a trip to Strathmartine Hospital with Khaled Hurby as part of his 3 man (well 2 men and a lady) crew to film his latest short horror entitled “LEAVE ME ALONE" for the Reed Film Competition 2012.

 

Strathmartine Hospital makes me both happy and sad and it’s so interesting that I snap up any chance I get to go there. The Hospital used to be called Baldovan Institution, then Baldovan Asylum until it was finally changed to Strathmartine Hospital. According to some sources on the internet the hospital started as an orphanage then changed to provide care and education to mentally handicapped children. I don’t know all of the in’s and out’s but eventually it closed down and has been falling apart ever since.

Anyway I’m running away from the point here. Before we went to the hospital Khaled and Matt Aubrey (the actor) came over to my house for make-up. Khaled told me that he wanted a dark character that looked super creepy and has his eyes covered. 

 

In order to achieve a covered eye effect that would still allow the actor to see I decided to use a thin black see through material. I cut out two circled and glued them around Matt’s eyes, then used some wax to blend the edges. Next I applied some gelatine to his skin to give it a textured effect and painted it black with stippled lighter colours. I also applied some paste and runny blood to create the effect that his eyes were bleeding.

 

Here are a few pictures of the finished look and a link to the short film on you tube. It is amazing and shows just how talented Khaled and his team are!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54rI5xHKlrQ&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Autism Awareness Day!

Well readers today is National Autism Awareness day and as this is a cause that is very dear to my heart I have to write a little bit about it.  According to the CDC’s latest report 1 in 88 US children are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. Now there is a word... Children. However people often forget that these children soon grow up to be adults, and amazing adults at that!

There are many people that do not understand Autism, and I can hold my hands up and say that after working with children and adults with Special Needs for 6 years I still don’t understand it, however the difference is I am willing to try. It pains me that in this world, after everything we have been through, slavery, wars, women’s rights and everything else there are still individuals who find it funny to mock or laugh at people with special needs! However I then remember the amazing people who are trying to make a difference, like the amazing ongoing community or councillors at Camp Huntington and the amazing team at Spectrum Designs. I doubt there is enough time in the world for me to write about Camp Huntington, so for now I will write a little bit about Spectrum Designs.

Spectrum designs is a non profit foundation founded by Stella Spanakos, Nicole Sugrue and Patrick Bardsley. It is an apparel design and printing business with a difference as it employs individuals with Autism and similar conditions. This employment, although it may seem such a small thing offers so much to a young person with Autism. There are approximately 90% of individuals with autism who are unemployed in the United States today, and this foundation is doing all it can to change this and make a difference! 

Have a little look at their website here and pick up one of their amazing Tshirts, Bags or badges today!

http://www.spectrumdesigns.org/index.html

Well there you are just a small post today but I hope it helps to make a difference!

To finish here is a picture of me on a photo shoot with my Spectrum Designs Bag, taken by the amazing Big Andy!

Boudoir, Body Painting and a Beautiful Model

This week I had a fantastic shoot with an amazing photographer called Kirsty Legg. Kirsty is, in my eyes all anyone would ever need in a photographer. She is creative and inspirational and truly amazing at what she does, she also has the wonderful ability to make anyone feel at ease during a photo shoot. I did my very first photo shoots with Kirsty and I am so grateful ever time she contacts me for a shoot. 

Here are a few pictures from some of my early shoots with Kirsty.

This weeks shoot was with a gorgeous model called Erin Schepers and it was my fourth shoot with her in the space of two weeks. All I can say is I have been blown away by her versatility, she is just an amazing model and looks stunning in every photograph.

Firstly I put Erins hair in the ever classic heated rollers then applied a classic 1950’s makeup making her skin flawless with black flicked eyeliner, red lipstick and black beauty spot. Then I took out her rollers and styled a victory roll at each side of her head. Then it was on to the photo shoot.

Boudoir photography shoots are becoming more and more popular for women. At Memento Studios Kirsty photographs women of all ages, shapes and sizes and I have yet to see a photo that doesn’t look gorgeous, classy and elegant.  Boudoir is about emphasising your best assets and learning to feel comfortable in your gorgeous body, as lets face it ladies, no matter what we are all gorgeous, its just about finding it.

Here is the gorgeous Erin.

After that Erin let me cover her in surgical tape, then spend a few hours painting her to then rip the tape off and have her pose mostly naked with some cakes. Here is a sneak preview of the body paint, however i will post more when I get the final images.

A busy start to the year!

Well what a busy start to the year it has been!!! I’ve been busy with photo shoots with some amazing models and photographers and I am loving it! I’ll give you a quick low down on a few of the amazing photo shoots I have been involved with.

One of the major projects I worked on was a collaboration with photographer Duncan Holmes entitled ‘Galatea’. The concept was a statue, alone in an artists’ studio who comes to life and decides to paint itself human.  This took a lot of planning and sketching as it was shot in reverse. The shoot took all day, and by the end of it I’m sure I was covered in just as much body paint as our gorgeous model A Lo.

Another exciting project I have been working on is a short film with Dundee Film Maker Dylan Drummand. The film is based on the connections between Dundee and India and once finished will be displayed on the BBC website!!! Tomorrow I will be body painting two boys, one to look like and Indian God and the other to look like a Pictish Warrior. I am really looking forward to this project, I have been practicing painting, drawing face charts and making stencils for the past month!

I have also started shooting with an amazing photographer Jenni Bangs  for Utopia Costumes Dundee. Utopia supplies costumes to theatres in and around the Dundee area and we are making our way through their beautiful costumes to be displayed on their website. This is amazing for me as I love theatrical make up! Here are a few Geisha looks from last weeks shoot.