Brief History of Horror Film Make Up.

Roger Ebert, the Chicago film critic, tweeted this earlier today - A brief History of Horror Film Make Up. It has a few videos that talk about the make up created in films such as Frankenstein, The Elephant Man and An American Werewolf in London. The essay will be of interest to special effect make up artists and students, and to people with a love of history and film.

Kevyn Aucoin at Space NK.

Sometimes, when I get bored or can't sleep, I go to sites like Selfridge's or Space NK and make fantasy wishlists of products I adore. I've often looked at Kevyn Aucoin make-up on various US sites and wished with all my heart it was available over here. Happily, it is now available at Space NK, hurrah!

Aucoin was what you might say, the first celebrity make-up artist. I mean that he was a celeb in his own right and paved the way for other make-up artists such as Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier to launch their own brands of make-up. He did work with many, many famous women such as Nicole Kidman and Cher but they were just one page in his career.

When he was a child, he became fascinated with make-up and would often do his sister's face and ake a polaroid of each look. Living in the South was hard on him and embarrassed to buy make-up, he'd steal it. Eventually, he took off to New York where he started off working for free until he was 'discovered' by American Vogue and from there he flew. he was head-hunted by Revlon and Shisedo where he was creative director for one of their diffusion brands. He eventually launched his own brand where he had total freedom to create cosmetics and tools that everyone could pick up and use.

He died in 2002, after being diagnosed with a tumour on his pituitary gland in 2001. His books are still available and are well worth buying or borrowing regardless of being a pro or make-up lover.

Lisa Eldridge has more on Aucoin on her blog here.

Out of the entire collection available at Space NK, I really want the Best of... Eyes Kit. It contains, amongst other things, the legendary eyelash curlers. They are the best curlers you could buy, even more than the Shu Uemura curlers. For that alone, I'll happily part with my money.

Kevyn Aucoin's site.

Some of my work.

My daughter left school last year (I know, I had her very young) and the pic above is what I did for her prom.

I used Clinique Super Balanced Foundation in shade Alabaster and Clinique All About Eyes Concealer on the dark circles and the odd spot. Her spots aren't too bad so didn't need anything heavier than that.

For the eyes, I used MAC gel liner in Blacktrack to line the eyes and in the upper and lower waterline. I then used a MAC Paintpot in Blackground up to the socketline and used an Inglot shadow in shade 447 (silver grey) to blend and smoke the paintpot colour out a little. I didn't need to curl the lashes and applied Rimmel Waterproof Mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

On the cheeks I used a Daniel Sandler Waterblush in Cherub on the apples and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl on the cheek bone. I didn't need to use very much of the highlighter because she's got such beautiful skin anyway.

Finaly, on the lips, I used MAC Lip Pencil in Beet and blended Illamasqua Lipstick in Encounter into the pencil.

I gave her a light powdering of No7 translucent loose powder on the T-zone and she was good to go.

I did brush the brows through but between leaving the house and the pic taken, they got messed up.

When she came back at 2am, the make-up was still in place. She then left to go to another party and when she returned at 9am, the make-up still hadn't come off. The lipstick had faded but still apparent.

It did her good to get out, let her hair down and release all the tension and stress that had built up during the exam period. I did worry about her being out all night but she did call a few times to let me know what she was up to.

Cold Sores, or Herpes Simplex 1 and Impetigo.

Cold sores are nasty little buggers. They appear when you least expect them and definitely when you have a big event such as a job interview or a wedding. ARGH. They start off as a tingling under the skin which then erupts into a red sore full of tiny blisters. They take about two weeks to heal and are rather painful during this time because of the cracking of the scabs that form.

You really don't need to go this far to avoid catching a cold sore.

They are contagious and incredibly easy to catch from other people, usually via kissing. The most contagious period during the cycle is when the blisters are erupting. The virus lives dormant in the roots of the nerves and when activated, it travels up the nerve to the surface and causes the outbreak. There are many triggers; stress, fatigue and sunlight for instance. Some people get outbreaks 3 or 4 times a year, others one every year and others still never have an outbreak.

Learn to look for the very early signs of one erupting. It's usually a tingling feeling or an irritating itch and a very small red patch. As soon as you feel it, apply a Compeed cold sore patch or a cream containing Aciclovir such as Zovirax or a Boots/Superdrug own brand. If none are to hand, make a cup of tea. Press the hot teabag (as hot as you can bear) to the sore for at least five minutes. Do this as many times a day as you can fit in until you can get the above patches or cream.

Always wash your hands before and after touching the sore and applying any treatment. You can transmit the cold sore infection to the fingers, causing a Herpetic Whitlow.

Do not share make-up, lip brushes and toothbrushes. Do not come into close contact with people who have low immunity, HIV/AIDS, pregnant and new-born babies.

If you wish to hide a cold sore, apply a Compeed patch, wash your hands and place the amount of foundation you'd use normally on your face (and also some concealer) onto a palette or a saucer. Use your fingers or disposable applicators to apply the foundation and concealer, avoiding the area around the sore. This'll save you infecting your brushes.

Apply your eyeshadow and blush in the style you choose. I recommend a dramatic eye to draw attention away from the sore but it is entirely your choice.

Now, apply what's left of the foundation to the area around the sore and apply the concealer to the patch that is on the sore. Wash your hands. At this point, you can leave the lips alone, use a lip balm, or apply lipstick. If you opt for the balm or lipstick, you can use your fingers to apply it or a disposable lip brush. Remember not to double dip and use a fresh one for each application. You just need to wash your hands before and after touching the bullet or pot.

There are other sores that you can get that look like a cold sore but are not. The main one is Impetigo. It's a lot bigger, is not usually painful and is very infectious. You can spread it around your body (argh) via your fingers so no picking. Don't share towels, flannels and make-up brushes. I do not recommend covering it with make-up as it is a bacterial infection. An excellent treatment for Impetigo is a tube of Fucidic Acid, an anti-bacterial cream from the GP. It's prescription only.

Always wash your make-up brushes after every use whilst you have a sore and spray your make-up with some Surgical Spirit. Put cream make-up (foundation, concealer, lipstick, lipgloss, cream blush etc) on a saucer or palette before use and you'll not infect your make-up.

Givenchy Bucolic Blossom.

Givenchy's Spring 2012 collection has a very interesting name Now, the term bucolic pertains to the idyllic rural, or pastoral life and the collection certainly delivers on that front - colours that are meant to remind one of beautiful countryside flowers, new spring grass and a hint of sunshine.

One piece in particular jumped out at me - Le Prisme Visage Bucolique, in Bucolic Blossoms.

It is absolutely stunning and I feel that if I own it, I'll never ever use it because I do not want to ruin it.

The colours all combine to create a slightly mattifying glow to the face, that according to Givenchy, suits all skin tones from the palest to the darkest. I think I'll have to test that claim out, though. It's buildable to create a subtle highlight on the cheekbones and/or forehead.

The entire collection is available in Harrods and House of Fraser. Both have online ordering if you can't get to either store. It is not cheap at £36.50 but Givenchy doesn't pretend to be anything less than what they are.

Photos from Givenchy.

Inspiration - Tilda Swinton

This is a pic heavy post. Tilda Swinton is an utterly beautiful woman who seems not to care what people think of her. She is the master of no make-up make-up and her face shows a life that's living instead of being hidden with botox and fillers. She reminds me of David Bowie with her androgyny and chameleon-like ability.

Films include Orlando, The Chronicles of Narnia, Constantine and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Her latest role is in We Need to Talk About Kevin. She is also a successful model and has modelled for Pringle Scotland.

Her picture should be in the dictionary entry for AWESOME.

a-england nail varnishes.

These have to be the most beautiful nail varnishes I've ever come across in my life. If you love Arthurian legend, are a history or literature geek you'll definitely love these. There are two collections - The Legend and The Mythicals. All the polishes are named after people and objects from Arthurian myths and English myth.

My favourite has to be Lady of the Lake. It's on my wishlist.

You can buy them from the a-england website here.

Two things that I need.

Many apologies for not blogging of late. I haven't had much inspiration lately and that makes me a bad blogger. I resolve to do much better in the future.

Anyway, I've found two things I need desperately - an affordable train case for my kit and some Bioderma Crealine - the best make up remover ever. Apparently, Kate Moss won't allow you near her face with anything but Crealine.

It's widely available in French pharmacies but not so easy to get a hold of here in the UK unless you're off to France for a holiday. However, Guru Make up Emporium sell it online and in-store. It seems to be almost constantly out of stock, though.

The train case I need is by Daniel Sandler and is big enough to get all my kit in. It's cheaper and larger than the Makeup Forever one and looks to be better quality too. £80 as opposed to £128.50? Yes please. I've linked to the page, but no picture because I don't own it yet. When I do get it, pics will be posted.

One last thing, Clinique are having a lot of GWPs for the next couple of weeks. I find they're a good way to build up your kit for eye shadow, lipstick and mascaras. Fenwick GWP finishes on Saturday, Debenhams starts tomorrow with a lip pallette and lipstick included. John Lewis starts on 23rd February.