I did a shoot with the beautiful & talented Burlesque artist Immodesty Blaize shot by photographer Simon Emmett & styled by Kimi O’Neill (top 2 images) and here is a little film from the shoot. This was such an over the top fun project to work on. For research I loved looking at images of Gypsy Rose Lee , Bettie Page, Zorita (so subculture/underground that she doesn’t even have a wikipedia page!) You can read about some of the other gals here. I wanted to give the makeup my own spin on classic Burlesque with a twist. Is it just me or did that sound like a cocktail to you too? Naturellement I added a modern touch to my beloved Golden Age Hollywood avec une grande nod to Ms Blaize’s natural glamour & beauty. I did this by looking at lots of technicolour musicals for hyper real colour reference, lighting, sense of performance, show business, old school movie stars and some serious entertainment. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes & Cover Girl were my favourite films for inspiration. Makeup was very constructed using all products & tools that you can imagine & incorporating just about every technique I know. I worked technically, methodically & got in the makeup zone. Ok that sentence made me a little sick, but I’m keeping it. I suggest practising this look a lot first as it has to be flawless to look a million dollars & that is the name of the game baby. This is not a look for girls that want to strip in pubs and collect their pounds in pint glasses. Miaow!!! My top product tips to achieve this look quickly & easily are: Look for a matte primer. At the moment I love the Makeup Forever. A matte foundation/powder is necessary, I love compacts for this as they are so easy & all in one so try the MAC one & use a powder brush like the MAC #150 to apply all over. Look for major lashes from anywhere, this is not a subtle or natural look so have fun, go wild & get brave with your choice maybe add 2 strips on each eye. I like lots of brands but check out the Illamasqua lashes try a strong defined brow with either shadow or pencil. I really love an angled brush & a brow shadow like Benefit’s to create the arch of my dreams. Lashings of liquid eyeliner try this one by Guerlain which has been designed like a calligraphy pen. Top pro tip is place a little mirror flat on a table & put your elbows on the table, look down as you apply the liner. I promise you will have steady smudge free liquid liner every time. Just don’t look up and spoil it, wait about a minute it for it to dry. Lastly look for a perfect lippencil & lipstick. They need to be matte, sexy & little dangerous. I say go red all the way. From the new lipsticks that are out at the minute try Nars pure matte lipsticks or Tom Ford lip colours. Mr Ford is pricey but my goodness one feels like a star when one unleashes that lipstick. Down boy! If you can’t afford a fancy lippy yourself the naughty part of me suggests you try some Burlesque moves out in the beauty hall & perhaps a Sugardaddy will fall at your feet armed with candy & gifts. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink & that’s all I’m saying.