I don't often do behind the scenes posts but I had such an amazing time on this job, I thought I would give you all a sneaky peek of some of the looks and concepts we covered over a chilly weekend in The Home of Champions, the Rotunda boxing club in Liverpool.
Not only did Natasha Jonas look absolutely amazing in Lisa's beautiful pieces but the whole vibe of the shoot was relaxed and creative. All in all, a marvellous way to spend a weekend!
Natasha is a champion boxer and was the first British woman to ever fight in any single Olympic games, ever. How ridiculously awesome is that?! You can read more about her and her well 'ard self here.
Lisa took inspiration not only from Natasha but boxing in general for this collection and as such, many of the pieces focus on the hands. Draping wrist chains and swags on rings with one piece even emulating the tape boxers use to bind their hands before putting on their gloves. Toughness mixed with soft femininity really captures Natasha's style and has made for a truly unique and wearable medley of beautiful jewels. It has also given Lisa many, many sleepless nights as she hand makes every single piece. Dedication or what?! When you see the level of detail and artistry in each piece the fact that they are handmade blows your mind!
Hope you enjoy the behind the scenes shots and be sure to check out more of Lisa's amazing jewellery here and look out for this new collection in TWENTY8TWELVE stores in London.
While I was doing Natasha's makeup there was a full on circuit training class going on behind her! Probably the most surreal view I have ever had whilst doing makeup.
The above were the cheeky "can you tell who it is yet?" pics for twitter! Lisa waited until the shoot was well under way before releasing who the model was for her new collection "Laughing Assassin" (which Natasha has been called!)
As you can see above, the looks were a mix of boyish, street cool and flirty tough glamour. When the final shots come out you will see I tried to reflect that in her makeup. The first look I did was a silver smoky eye with some contouring and a glossy nude lip and for the latter, I did a modern, gritty take on a 60's eye.
Half way through the second day Natasha had to fulfil a commitment to an exceptionally important cause for Liverpool (and pretty much all of football) and that was to film a section of the new video for the charity release of You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and The Pacemakers. All the proceeds go to helping the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. So she changed from a glam, girly dress into her boxing gear and her whole body language instantly changed to "Fighter"...very cool, very intimidating and ultimately awesome.
For an unplanned shot, Natasha's ridiculously beautiful Mum joined her on set. I don't think I have ever met a more glamorous, stunning Mum in my entire life and Esther could easily pass for Tasha's sister!
And if awesome, strong and brilliant women weren't enough we had the most delicious food courtesy of Ragga's Cafe on Smithdown Road. I would ever get tired of eating their curried goat or their amazing, warm festivals! Plus their Ackee n Saltfish took me back to my childhood and trips to Notting hill Carnival with my late Dad. Mmmmmm!
On our first day shooting Natasha was attending the Liverpool Style Awards to present the lovely Rebecca Ferguson with an award for music and I did her makeup for the event! If you look closely you will also spot some of Lisa's new collection.
And...just for you guys here is an exclusive and very, very tiny glimpse of Lisa's new collection. See how much I love you? (and I really do. The loyal readers of this blog have not only made me very happy but also I know you are supporting the wonderful businesses I have mentioned here and that makes my heart swell! Thank you x 100000000!)
Hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed shooting it! Next blog post is hopefully going to be about colour theory, if I can master writing about something so technical. In the meantime if there is a particular topic or question you want me to answer just pop it in the comments box below OR email me ukmakeupartist@gmail.com