My Lulu

I thought you may like to see some pictures of our little girl, Lucienne.

Lulu to us...

She is crazy about Guinness!

Swings...

More Swings (one can never have enough swings!)

Rainbow Books

I came across this shot the other day...what a cool way to display books. We have a big bookcase like this one in our sitting room so I'm going to attempt this tonight!

(image via cup of jo)

Great Skirt, Great Coat

Just a beautiful shot, and I am partial to a splash of yellow from time to time...

Swing coats... could be a fashion faux-pas in so many ways but this girl is rocking it! Very cool pink scarf and shoes too...

Painting Faces

(me doing the lovely Tara)

Happy Monday Peeps! Did you have a good weekend?

I had another makeup-tastic couple of days. Wedding season is in full flow so I was painting more faces on Saturday and teaching the Boylan & Balfe Basics makeup course on Sunday.

I thought I'd tell you a little about our makeup courses as a few of you lovely people have been asking...

( Yes, we look alike. No, we're not related, and no, we're not married to each other!)

Ken Boylan and I have been working in makeup for many years. In our past lives, I was head makeup artist for Stila and he was in the same role for Armani. We became great friends and set up a business with the goal to teach people about makeup from a non-biased point of view as we know how intimidating it can be for you all to shop at beauty counters! We have been teaching our courses for 6 years now to those who want to get out of their makeup ruts by learning new tips and using new products. It's so common for people to stick to one old faithful makeup look which, more often than not, isn't working so well for them anymore.

We teach three classic and beautiful makeup looks; day, evening and night time, using a huge mix of brands that we deem to be worthwhile using our years of experience as makeup artists, and we bust a few beauty myths along the way too... just because a product sells volumes, doesn't mean it is high quality; YSL Touche Eclat- that means you!!

We really enjoy teaching the courses and this weekend was no exception; we met some great women and I'm quietly confident that they got a lot from it too.

We have a great laugh on the courses; the atmosphere is very informal with music playing and makeup being thrown all over the place!

We always get our subjects to try new colours and techniques and shake it up a bit...it's challenging to see a different version of you when you look in the mirror, but I believe it to be fun and dare I say, empowering.

Have a look at our site, we'd love to see you sometime! If you've any questions, just comment below...

Love Weekends

Isn't this a sweet thing to do with polaroid pictures! Have a lovely weekend my dears...

(image via decorolgy)

Iconic Brides

Grace Kelly, 1956. How completely beautiful; the one and only Princess Bride.

Edward, the Duke of Windsor and american divorcee, Wallis Simpson in 1937. He abdicated the throne to marry her. Now there's a romantic gesture! But seriously, look how stylish they are. Her dress is amazing; I love the covered buttons on the bodice and look at her wrist, the bracelet with the crosses hanging from it... perfect and timeless.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 1996. She is the poster girl for understated, chic brides. Her Narcisco Rodriguez dress is perfect, perfect, perfect. Look at the flow of the fabric. I completely heart this dress!

Three Tables

I love a little table or chest of drawers to act as a display area, unfortunately we haven't anymore room for more furniture in our little house so I can dream here! Don't you love the ABC print above?

Gorgeous old mirror; great trick for adding more light and a feeling of space...

I think this piece is fab; great for storing all the little things that always get lost when dumped into bigger cupboards...

(images via decorolgy)

Long or Short?

I have been noticing a new trend for short wedding dresses lately and I like it, it's really chic and contemporary and perfect for showcasing killer shoes...

But then again, long is lovely! I love the fabric of this one and the shoulder detail is divine...

Another short option for those with perfect pins...

I love the simplicity of this and it's modern tailoring on the bodice. Probably not great for the larger of bust, but lovely all the same...

(images via Jcrew and Neiman Marcus)

Simple Smokey

I have recently been sent this MAC grease paint stick to try and I love it. It is such an easy route to a quicker than quick smokey eye. They are like a thick, metallic crayon with a smooth, creamy texture. I have the beautiful Greengrease which is a dark forest green with pewter grey undertones. You just draw it all over the lid making sure that you leave no gap at the lashline and blend it out with your finger at the edges and at the socket. You can pull it out towards your temple to make a feline shape to your eye. It's so easy to use, just scribble and blend. No brushes needed.

To finish the smokey effect, I love to pat one of the MAC pigments on top. They add another dimension to the look with their metallic finishes. One of my very favourite shades is Blue Brown and it is totally fab over the Greengrease stick. Blue Brown is a two tone pigment (as the name suggests! ). It is great over any dark pencil or grease stick but not so good on it's own as it turns too reddish- brown when applied to a clean lid. Again, no brushes necessary; use your ring finger to pick up a small amount from the lid and pat it over the eyeball, keeping it just to the lid; not the socket. Keep it simple; it looks classier!

Three Pretty Things

This nautical knot is by Jennifer Behr. I think it would be so pretty with the two items below...this is todays imaginary outfit!

So sunny and fabulous! This suede bag is by Proenza Schouler...

Denim jackets are everywhere at the moment so I've been hunting for the best one and I think this is it; it's by GAP. It's pretty perfect and would become even more so as it gets older and more washed and worn. I personally think denim always looked better after a good few washes to give it that lived in feel... a classic.

Top Taupe

This is MAC's best selling eye shadow shade! It is called Satin Taupe and it truly is a great colour. It is a shimmery, grey-ish taupe that makes nearly all eye tones pop. It is stunning on blue eyes and amazing on green eyes. It's nice but a bit safe on brown eyes; remember it is a contrasting shadow colour to your own eye that makes for a more interesting look. As Bobbi Brown always says ' you wouldn't display sapphires on a blue cloth' which, as you can guess, means you should choose a shade that is an opposite to your natural hue; not it's match.

This is me using Satin Taupe on one of the models from this weekends fashion show (she's not yet powdered so excuse the excessively shiney face!)

I Heart Letterpress

I had a wedding-tastic weekend what with working on a gorgeous wedding on Saturday and taking part in the very swish D4 Berkeley Hotel wedding fair on Sunday where I was making up the models and chatting to some very excited brides to be about their makeup ideas!

I also had the good fortune to meet the lovely Pamela of Farrell & Chase letterpress stationary. If you don't know about the letterpress style of printing, let me tell you that it is a totally gorgeous, vintage style of making stationary. I have loved it since I came across the Greenwich Letterpress in New York where I stocked up my stash of cards for all occasions. It is printed with an old fashioned press, one colour at a time on lovely tactile paper. The process means that each item can be slightly different and it has so much more character than regular old printing styles.

So, you can tell that I love it and I was so excited to meet Pamela and see her elegant yet whimsical designs. She is a pro at what she does, so I think any of you getting hitched should vamoose to Farrell & Chase poste haste!

Pamela was inspired by old luggage labels for this design intended for weddings abroad...

Look at the love birds on the antique gold envelopes...

I will be knocking on Pamela's door for my own wedding next year, let me tell you!

Great Shots

On one of my hunts through the web I came across this site. It's got some great street style shots from the various fashion weeks around the world and lot's of photos without faces...something I love, don't ask me why!

What a great red..you have to be brave to dress in monochrome brights, but this lady has it sorted!

So flowy and pretty...

I want to be this lady!

The prefect tan bag...I want.

Bright Sunshiney Day

I'm just so enthused by the wonderful sunny weather we are having! I spent this afternoon in the park with some other mums and our babies, soaking up the warmth and feeling good!

So these are just some pretty things to celebrate that summery vibe.... the above shoes are for little girls by Stella McCartney; so sweet.

I love the great colour and jaunty swing of this Victoria Beckham number...

Beautiful vibrant bouquet, less of the boring whites ones please brides...

Just a lovely warm shot and I like the trousers...

Another vintage-y feeling shot from Toast, love the hair, the brooch, all of it...

How amazing is this top! I am seriously coveting it...

Have a lovely bright sunny weekend darlings!

Heavenly Head Pieces

I am actually giddy with joy looking at these stunning head pieces by Jennifer Behr...

Swan Lake Bride...

Beautiful modern take on a tiara...tacky bling be gone!

The double poppys have such impact...love it.

(images via Style Me Pretty )

Sunny Shoes

The sun is out! Perhaps not for long, but let's make hay (and buy shoes) while it lasts! I really like the look of these leather sandals from here. They are something different and a bit more chic than the ubiquitous Havaianas and Fit Flops that are adorning so many Irish feet when the sun pops out.

Beauty-full Savings

People always ask me where they can make savings in their makeup expenditure. The answer is in the colour pieces. You need to get your foundation right at whatever cost but you can scrimp all you like on your eye shadows, lip glosses, blushers etc.

The reason for this is twofold; what people tend not to know is that most of the budget brands are made by the bigger brands anyway. So the same amount of research and creative control goes into them, they are just set apart for marketing reasons. The budget brands are certainly smaller with less shade extensions, particularly in the foundations, but the colour is basically the same quality.

The second reason you can head to the budget brands is because, us fickle creatures tend to change our minds on what we like from time to time! So one season, we're rocking purple shadow, the next we want pale, apple-y green on our peepers. But what we don't want is to be shelling out too much as we follow our whims. So experiment with the cheaper brands; for the most part, you will not be sacrificing quality.

So, my dears, allow me to introduce you to the marvellous Bourjois eye shadows...made by Chanel!

Lust List

Gorgeous little bags by Hoss Intropia...I need the turquoise one.

Love the white ceramic of this Armani watch...

How nice are these metallic flats by Jcrew?