The Makeup Mole

Yesterday we were shooting French Vogue on a common in South London with the unbelievably gorgeous and iconic (in all senses of the word) Claudia Schiffer. The look of the day was red lips, and makeup artist Kay Montano gave Claudia carte blanche to choose her own red, as one of the few genuine supermodels she definitely knows which red suits her best. Her pick? NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella (a MakeupMole fave!) Also key to the look was beautiful skin and a curled lash, to keep the look modern and minimal.

Keep an eye out for the Alasdair Mclellan story in September French Vogue.

Last week working on British Vogue I met the beautiful Senegalese model, Kinee Diouf, and she showed me her top foundation pick for  black skin – Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Matttifying Foundation.

It evened out her skin perfectly, and the redness of its undertone was just right for her polished ebony coloring. Even better for darker skin tones? It’s got a mattifier built right in, so your skin shines just the right amount when topped with powder, and means fewer makeup touch-ups throughout the day.

Make Up For Ever is very hard to get in England – PAM in Shepherd’s Bush (a wonderful little professional makeup shop) has some of the range, but I’m planning to stock up when I go to the US in August. Sephora, here I come!!

Prepare to be dazzled by a revolutionary new polish coming out from Marian Newman Nails in the near future – it’s matte and it’s nude but the finish is completely different to others of this type that are currently on the market. The ones that I have seen so far tend to be chalky, but these babies give a flawless, satin texture that still dries perfectly, deliciously matte.

And we all know that’s we’re going to be wanting for the colder months!

Plus Marian knows nudes like no-one’s business, as she’s pointed me in the direction of some fabulous ones in the past. (If it wasn’t for her I’d still be standing in the nail polish section of Boots right now!)

She used the new polish which can be applied alone OR mixed in with other polishes, on a very big advertising campaign last week, and quite frankly the client went crazy for them. As did we.

Matte Daddy indeed!

Super-cool manicurist Sophy Robson, manicurist to the stars, is the lady responsible for the gorgeous red shiny nails that Kate Moss was sporting recently with her futuristic Balmain dress. The color? Essie’s aptly named After Sex. Kate loved it so much she kept in on for over a week, which in model time let’s face it is FOREVER.

Check out Sophy’s website at www.sophyrobson.com