ives fx - Blog

All about the powerbrow...

7/13/2017

Makeup trends come and go but this is one trend I am absolutely loving!!! The POWERBROW....
If you are unaware of what this is just take a look at these beauties and you will understand what I'm talking about.

"Eyebrows are sisters, not twins!"

I am sure you have all heard that saying before and thankfully it is definitely true! You will never be able to get your brows matching exactly (especially if you have brows like mine which are more like distant cousins than sisters, let alone twins!!) but if you follow the basic eyebrow mapping steps you will get them looking pretty appropriate for your face and hopefully manage to rock out a good powerbrow while you are at it!

So I'm pretty happy that the thin, groomed,arched eyebrow has taken a back seat for a while! Some of you will be lucky to have beautiful naturally arched eyebrows but some of us have slightly more unruly brows; straight/fuller or bushy/boyish brows! I'm sure, like me you probably fought with them growing up plucking and preening them trying to force them to do something against their will, maybe even teased for having 'straight brows' or bushy brows like actress Emma Watson. However, now thanks to the likes of people like her and model Cara Delevigne they have brought the powerbrow in to be the 'on trend' facial accessory to have!!

The new fashion is to make them look natural, less structured and bold...giving the ' powerbrow' impact and requiring less maintenance! Oh and throw in a more youthful appearance as a result, that definitely ticks my boxes! Besides that, I have always tried to force my mischievous brows to be arched and thin which they quite clearly have never really wanted to do. It was only after a visit to an HD brows specialist when she gave my brows a bit of an MOT and said that I could totally rock out the straight look (which is what mine naturally want to do ) that I even considered letting my eyebrows 'grow out'...! Yep sounds a bit strange! Each time I have been for threading they have just been following the shape from the last person which has never been my natural brow shape, therefore it's always been a bit of a vicious circle! Therefore I armed myself with castor oil and coconut oil (which stimulates the hair growth apparently!) stepped away from the tweezers and let them do their own thing for a few months!
Check this link out to see some celebrity eyebrow transformations, it really shows how having the right eyebrows for your face can really define and flatter you so much. So save yourself some pennies and some pain, find your natural brow shape and let those bad boys grow :)

http://www.perfectdefinition.co.uk/single-post/2017/06/06/Celebrity-eyebrows-–-then-and-now

My own brow transformation

I'm back...

7/13/2017

So a lot has happened in the space of a year....I took some time off after the birth of my second baby girl; the beautiful and mischievous little Ada-Rose. To say her and her older sister have kept me busy would be the biggest understatement of the year!!!
We also made the big move...after a couple of years of talking about it and watching lots of 'Escape to the country' ( yes we are THAT sad...) we finally went for it ourselves! In January of this year we took the plunge and moved to Suffolk!! After 30 years for me and 35 for Pete of living in London, it is definitely a BIG change! The whole lifestyle, pace of life, scenery, everything could not be further away from what we are used to but we are loving it, absolutely loving it and looking forward to the next 30 years of our life as a family in the country!
I am now starting work again and looking forward to all of the new clients I am going to meet and help :)

Leora and Sophie's special day

7/29/2013

On the 29th of June Leora and Sophie tied the knot. We met a few weeks ago at their trial where we tried out the looks for them both.

They were both having dresses specially made; Leora was going for a grey/blue number and Sophie was going for a pale yellow vintage style. For Leora's makeup she wanted to compliment the dress by going for a smokey eye look with messy natural hair and Sophie wanted very natural makeup with a romantic loose chignon.

The trial was great fun and I was looking forward to going back to do their wedding day which came round very quickly after!! I recreated their looks for them and bought one of my makeup artist colleagues along to help out with hair & makeup for friends of theirs.
It looked like they had an amazing day on one of the hottest days of the year so far!!!

It was lovely to receive this message the morning after their wedding from Leora:

"Tina you make up goddess!!! Thank you for making us look so good for our wedding day!!!xxx "

I wish you girls all the best for the future!! It was lovely to meet you both. I am jealous you are off to live in Australia, I will keep working on the hubs... ;) stay in touch and good luck with your new adventure of married life!!

Jo's wedding to her childhood sweetheart

6/4/2013

On a sunny morning on 25th May I turned up to do Jo's makeup for her wedding. She had already pre-warned me that she would be a bubbling wreck so not to say too much as it would set her off...

What was the first thing I did when she answered the door to me...made her cry!! Nice one Tina!! From that moment on we agreed that I wouldn't tell her she looked nice and I spent the morning telling her how 'hideous' she looked :)

After lots of sprays of rescue remedy and fake insults from me I finished up her makeup and got out of the house in time for the photographers to arrive.
She did look beautiful though, I can say that now... :)

Becka's beautiful & bright wedding

6/4/2013

The Sun was out in North London yesterday and shining over Becka's wedding to her army sweetheart.

She was smiling and relaxed when I turned up bright and early to do her hair and makeup. After a much quicker journey than I had thought through the Blackwall tunnel...we had a cup of tea and chat and got straight to work as the taxis were coming at 10am.

On her trial a few weeks ago we had done a soft smokey eye makeup with nude lips and a messy side bun.

Becka had two dresses to chose from; a long white dress that she had customised with a bright pink flower or a goldy/ivory 1950s style vintage dress. Both were beautiful but in the end she chose the long white one so I did her hair and makeup and added some pink flowers to her bun for a splash of colour. It looks like they had a beautiful day and it was a pleasure to be part of it :)

Fun at the Stenning household

5/8/2013

On the bank holiday Monday I went over to New Addington to do trials for some lovely ladies who booked me from the wedding fair.

Cheryl the bride was unsure of the kind of hair and makeup style she wanted so we played around with a few different looks.
For makeup, Cheryl wanted to try a soft coral makeup first and then a smokey look with flick eyeliner.

For hair first we tried hair fully up, then half up/half down and then a side style which Cheryl loved and decided on. It really suited her and she looked so pretty and vintage.

For Sam, Cheryl's sister/bridesmaid, she wanted to have natural makeup with a messy natural side bun and for Jill the mother of the bride she wanted a side tousled creation.

It is now a countdown of Saturdays for Cheryl who has 12 weeks to go to her big day!!!
I can't wait to get them all ready on the day and see Cheryl in her dress :)

Club Langley Wedding open day

4/21/2013

So today was the wedding open day at Club Langley in Beckenham which was a good opportunity to meet lots of other wedding suppliers and meet many more brides-to-be!

It was a beautiful sunny morning and I was excited to get there and set up my table :)

I loaded up my car with my bits 'n' bobs: marketing material...check...dolly head with a bridal updo ...check...portfolios...check...laptop...check...makeup chair...check...makeup products....check...ready to go!!!

When I got there I was greeted by lots of smiling faces and was next to a lovely lady from Bridal Beauty Box who makes bespoke bridal accessories.

The room was set up as though it was for a wedding so people could get the idea of what it would be like if they hired the hall and there were many various suppliers from photographers, casinos, bridal gowns, centre pieces, florists, caterers, magicians, singers, you name it they were there!

I had done an example of a classic updo and I displayed one of Sarah's (from Bridal Beauty Box) hand crafted hair accessories on it. I spent the day chatting to lots of brides, networking with other suppliers, taking some bookings for this summer, and giving out lots of business cards!

The highlight of my day was meeting a lovely older gentleman called Ron Wilson who is a toastmaster!! He was such a cool dude! He told me I was the most beautiful woman in the room so of course he quickly became my favourite person there! If I was going to get married again I would definitely want him there (and maybe adopt him as my granddad :)

All in all...a very successful day!!

Weekend of wedding fun!

4/20/2013

It's been a busy but lovely week of wedding fun and with the sun shining, everyone seems to be in good spirits!
This week I did a wedding trial for a beautiful daughter and mum. The bride had a real 'English rose' look and wanted a classic, elegant updo for her hair with natural makeup to enhance her beautiful brown eyes. She looked so pretty and her mum and I decided she looked like Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries :)

Her lovely mum wanted to look nice and glammed up so I defined her features by making her eyes 'pop' with a smokey look, defining her eyebrows and giving her cheeks and lips a soft rosy colour. I played around with a few hairstyles to try and compliment her fascinator the best. She was worried that we wouldn't be able to do much with her hair as it is quite fine, so in the end I blow dried it scrunching mousse into it to give it some volume, backcombed it and swept it round to the side. Both were very happy with their makeovers and I can't wait to do their hair & makeup for the wedding in August.

Tomorrow I am off to Club Langley's wedding open day where I am the only MUA and will be representing 'IvesFx' along with lots of other wedding suppliers!
Check out their facebook page for more information on who's going; https://www.facebook.com/ClubLangley?fref=ts
I am looking forward to meeting lots more brides!!
Photos to follow...

Makeup mix up!

4/10/2013

As a makeup artist you get excited over so many sad things!

e.g. : New makeup products!

Today the newest members of my makeup kit arrived!!!

- One Urban Decay Eyeshadow palette
- One MAC mineralise highlighter
- One beautiful Nars matte lip pencil
- One set of Shu Umera eyelash curlers
- Three Nars blushers...
....hang on...three?!?! I only ordered one!!!!

Don't you just love a warehouse mix up!! ;)

This week I am busy getting organised with my wedding bookings which are coming in and also getting ready for Club Langley's Bridal Fair which is coming up at the end of this month.

I love the bridal season and getting to play around with different hair and makeup styles on brides!
The only problem is, it makes me want to get married all over again!!! It will be my second year wedding anniversary this year so maybe I will just have to cook dinner for the hubby, get my dress out (hope I still fit in it!) do a new hair & makeup style on myself and have a romantic dinner in! :)

Also this week I have been taking shots of my new marketing material which my very talented graphics designer brother designed for me. He lives out in Canada and wants them for his work portfolio. I am so pleased with them and I hope they like them across the water :)

Put a spring in your step...

4/9/2013

So we are all feeling the long winter blues now and asking ourselves if we are even going to see a summer this year...

"Look for the diamond in the dust..."

My mum sent me those words in a text in the morning which reminded me of PMA- Positive mental attitude!!!

I have tried not to be beaten by these long cold months and bring on the summer by getting my spring dresses (combined with cardi's, gloves,boots and scarves albeit!!!) out of the wardrobes and spritzing my face up with my bright summer makeup colours. Why not do the same?