Another week begins...

Happy Monday everyone! I am pleased to report that my arm held up during my busy weekend. I suspect that it's not my makeup work that aggravates it but my computer work during the week. Yet another reason I should look forward to being a full time MUA :)

So I had three shoots over the weekend, all which seemed to go well. The photographers were happy with the shots, which is what I always aim for. I've learnt to pester them to give me feedback after some test shots, because often they're so in the 'zone' and concentrating on lighting, pose etc. that they forget to check that the makeup is what they want. A small change in lip colour or face powder can take me 10 seconds to fix, or the photographer can spend 30 minutes in post production fixing it. I know which one I prefer!

I'm moving on Friday, which will be great fun in the January heat. So this week is all about throwing out as much as possible so I don't have to pack it! I'm sacrificing almost three years worth of magazines, which makes me a bit sad - but I'm going through them all to tear out images and looks that I want to recreate, so I get to re-read them! I stayed up WAY past my bedtime doing old Cleo quizzes... and then re-doing them until I got the answer I wanted :)

Skincare update - no time to go shopping at the moment, but I gave my mum a starter pack from Aesop for Christmas and she can't stop RAVING about it. Her skin has always been 'nice', but now it's just so smooth and plump and divine. So I think they will be my first stop for a new moisturiser at least. I like the idea of keeping my skincare as natural as possible, while still being effective.

Hope you all have a great week!
BC xx

Resolutions for a new year

Well New Years Eve came and went, so now it's 2010! I must admit I'm a sucker for NY resolutions, so I thought I would share some of my beauty-related ones:

1. Find a new skincare regimen and stick to it - sometimes I can be a 'do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do' kinda gal, and skincare is my biggest failure. After six months of overcleansing (thanks to my makeup class, I could be cleansing my skin up to four times a day!), testing random products and occasionally sleeping with my makeup still on (oh, the shame...) it's time to get my skin in order. I'll be looking for a range that will help tame my oil production but keep my dehydration in check, whilst preventing early signs of aging. Any suggestions are welcome, otherwise keep an eye out for future skincare posts :)

2. Diversify my makeup portfolio - aah, the neverending quest for the perfect portfolio. I want to keep challenging myself to always strive to add something 'different' to my images, rather than multiple copies of the same techniques. By the end of this year I would also love to have created my own 'series' of images.

3. Work on a film/TV shoot - this is the one area that I have had little to no exposure to, and I would dearly love to try! When I started this new career I made a promise to myself that I would try every genre of makeup artistry before I decided what I wanted to specialise in. I've done a lot of print photography work, worked on a runway show and of course had a ball working with private clients, but film and TV has been rather elusive to date. Once I've finished with my current run of photo shoots, this will be my next focus.

So that's some of my goals for 2010 - what can I say, I like having a plan! Feel free to share some of your goals for the next 12 months, or even longer.

Best wishes to you all for the coming year :)

BC xx