Iris Apfel for MAC

Iris Apfel. You might not recognise the name, but I am fairly sure that you will have seen photos of this inimitable lady in plenty of style publications and blogs. Over the past decade, Iris has become a style icon, partly due to the 2005 exhibition celebrating her distinctive style : Rara Avis (Rare Bird). Apparently, Alexis Bittar's PR person has a tattoo of Iris on her wrist! Over the course of her eventful life, Iris has worked at Women's Wear Daily, established her own textile firm, and designed interiors in the White House for 9 American Presidents. And now she can add MAC collaborator to her CV, as she has created a 20-piece collection with MAC.

If you have been reading my blog from the start, then you will know that  I have been trying to move away from the neutrals of old, and to experiment with brighter makeup shades, and in particular brighter lip colours. Therefore I was really excited when I saw the Iris Apfel collection.

MAC say that the collection, which Apfel worked closely on, is "inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time". The collection contains lipsticks, eyeshadows, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil, nail polishes and beauty powder. The products come in a range of vibrant shades, from scarlet to hot pink to "robin's egg" green. I love the names of the products too, with most of the products being named after birds, e.g. 'Party Parrott' and 'Scarlet Ibis'. 'Scarlet Ibis' matte lipstick is actually top of my wishlist from this collection, and I can't wait to try it. It was used by the make up artist backstage at the Erdem S/S 2012 show.

The collection is available online at www.maccosmetics.co.uk .

Lou Lou Chats: Q & A with Makeup Artist Jinty Day

At my recent photo shoot for 'Red' magazine, my makeup was done by the lovely Jinty Day, who is a makeup artist who bases herself in Cardiff and Swansea. After the shoot I decided to do a quick Q & A with Jinty to find out a bit more about her work.

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a professional make up artist with a wealth of experience in the industry. Having lived and worked in London for five years doing catwalk shows, fashion shoots etc. I returned to South Wales. As a freelance makeup  artist I travel all over doing different types of make up, from weddings to photo shoots. I am also in the process of opening up an academy of makeup, which will be up and running by January.

An example of Jinty's work

What's the one product you can't live without?

I would say the product I can't live without would be Mac 'Face and Body', as it is so important to get the base right. I also love the Bobbi Brown long lasting gel eye-liners and the Dior Addict lip gloss

What's your number 1 beauty tip?

My number 1 beauty tip would be fresh, clean-looking skin. Once the skin is perfected, everything else falls into place.

Have you got any style/beauty inspirations?

I would say there are many style/ beauty inspirations. One in particular would be a makeup artist called Rae Morris. Her work is out of this world.

An example of Rae Morris' work from her website. Source - www.raemorris.com

Do you have a signature look that you do?

I don't have one signature look in particular, as I think it is good to be quite versatile. But I do try to focus especially on perfecting the skin and giving the brows a good strong shape.

What's your makeup motto?

My makeup motto would be "Practise makes perfect."

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love the variety of my job, and I get to meet lots of great people. One day I can be teaching a private lesson or doing a wedding, then I could be doing a fabulous photo shoot. Every day is different.

Another example of Jinty's work

What's been your most memorable moment as a makeup artist?

My most memorable moment? This one is hard, as there are so many. It would probably have to be London Fashion Week. There is always such an amazing atmosphere - a buzz in the air.

Have you got any beauty pet peeves?

I would say it has to be when people get the wrong colour and texture of foundation. Foundation shouldn't be used to give you a tan. It should match your skin tone.

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If you want to find out more about Jinty, then check out her website www.jintyday.co.uk

My Current Routine - Part II: Make-up

Here is the second part of my 'current routine' series of posts, and this time I'm looking at the contents of my make-up bag as opposed to every bit of makeup I own, which would be a much longer post! I'd be really interested to know if you have tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

Foundation – Estee Lauder DoubleWear in Fresco. This foundation is great and is a Holy Grail foundation for a large number of bloggers. It gives great coverage which lasts and lasts. If you'd like to give it a try, pop along to your nearest Estee Lauder concession to get yourself colour-matched and try a free 10 day sample.

Powder – L’Oreal True Match – This was bought after a Twitter cry for help as I needed to buy some powder to apply before going out after work and had left my compact at home. Great value and does a great job.

Concealer – GOSH TouchUp concealer (for undereyes) and Benefit It Stick (on blemishes). Although I am reasonably happy with these products I am still searching for the perfect Holy Grail concealer. As my undereye area has been known at times to have more bags than a Louis Vuitton flagship store I am always searching for ‘the one’ when it comes to concealers. When I find it you will be the first to know!

Blush – Nars blushes (which I LOVE) in either Orgasm or Sin (which has been described as "instant cheekbones"). I had never tried a Nars product until I read a few tweets about them, and I now wonder what on earth I was putting on my cheeks before I discovered Monsieur Nars’ blushes. The pigments and textures are fabulous. I also use Nars Bronzer in Laguna.

Lips – I think that this is one of the areas that has been most influenced by my discovery of beauty blogs. I used to be slightly hesitant about veering off the ‘natural pink lipgloss’ path but since I’ve discovered the joy of a good beauty blog I have been trying out a variety of different shades and textures. Here are some of my current favourites: Lanolips lip ointment in Apples (gives a lovely red sheen and leaves my lips really soft); MAC Viva Glam in Cyndi (a coral-red lustre); Guerlain Rouge G in Gaela (a pink which is bright enough to give a pop of colour without being too 'in your face', and it comes in the most gorgeous case) and All for Eve ‘Eve’ lipstick (a classic red) created by Daniel Sandler.

Mascara – Paula’s Choice Illicit Lash Mascara – I hadn’t come across this brand before until I read about this product on three blogs within the space of a week. With my cosmetic curiosity piqued I decided to order it from http://www.paulaschoice.co.uk/ and my lashes haven’t looked back. This mascara gives me lovely long lashes, and I never get any of the flaking that I’ve had with other products.

Eye-liner – L’Oreal Super Liner in 'Carbon Gloss' – very easy to apply and long-lasting – what’s not to love?!

Eye-shadow – MAC 'Retrospeck' and MAC 'Sumptuous Olive'; GOSH Waterproof shadow stick in 'Love that Brown'.

Brows – I never really used to do much to my brows, but once I started using a brow kit I haven't looked back. Just the simple act of brushing them through properly and applying brow powder gives some more definition to my face. I'm currently using the GOSH Brow Kit after buying it as part of a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug.

So have you used any of these products, and if so, what did you think? Have you got any recommendations for me?