LFW - Backstage with Label.m

When we saw the email pop up in our inbox inviting us to go backstage at LFW to the shows Label.M and Toni and Guy were working on we both knew it was too good an opportunity not to go. 

We were lucky enough to head to LFW in February to see the Matthew Williamson show so after that experience we were both excited to head to LFW again. We both love all things fashion, hair and make up and thought to see what happens back stage would be really interesting.

Label.M is a brand we've been lucky enough to try a few products from now and it's fair to say we both love them. Especially the protein spray! When we arrived we met Lucy who gave us the bands to allow us back stage! 

The shows we attended were held at Freemasons Hall. It was such a beautiful setting and the building was amazing!! Inside there were lots of great high ceilings, guild work and paintings!

I decided to test out the panoramic feature on my camera. It's great to show the set up of the room. We were both really shocked at how calm it was before the show. Everyone was really busy but it was so well organised that everyone was just working efficiently.

When we walked in we were lucky enough to speak to the head hair artist for the designer. Mateus (hope I spelt that right) explained the concept for the look to us. For Natasha Zinko it was more of a Presentation than a catwalk show, this meant the models hair really had to last. Natasha Zinko is a Jewellery and clothing designer and lots of the models would be wearing hats. The plan for the hair was big hair with curls that looked natural and effortless. 

The hair was prepped with Label.m Extra Strong Mousse and blow dried to ensure it would hold. 

The hair was then curled using tongs and wands and pinned into the curls and left to set. Mateus would show the stylists how to do it on one model and then they would go and repeat. It was all very well organised. The placement of the curls and where the pins should be positioned were all standard so that the finish look would all look the same. Some of the girls would have two or three stylists curling the hair to get it all done. 

We loved being able to have a nosey around and see the whole look come together. A combination of Mac, Bodyshop and Nars make up were being used. The make up was a strong brow (Cara Delevingne esque!), cat eye with white liner on the water line and the liner going underneath into the inner corner and an amazing red lip! 

One of the models with make up done and hair waiting for the next stage. The lips were a stunning colour and Mac Lipmix in crimson was used. Am I right in thinking this is only a pro product?

The models all had grey nails. It was an essie shade but we couldn't figure out which. Maybe slightly more grey than Chinchilly. I think it was most likely to be Cocktail bling, It looked so neat on the nails. 

As it was approaching show time set stylists were given the job of finishing off the hair so all the models would go to him one at a time to get it brushed out. It was impressive how organised it all was.

Here the finishing touches are being done!! How beautiful is that hair!! We both want to try it out and are hoping we've picked up the tricks to gorgeous volumous curls. It looks so soft and big!!


How stunning is the final look!! The hair and make up look amazing and Natasha's Designs are amazing!! I'm a huge lace fan and love the classic simple look of this dress!! I love the garden theme and layout of the presentation.

This is definitely a look we will be trying to recreate!

The second show that we went backstage at was for Pam Hogg. Unfortunately as they were running late and everything was a bit stressful here we didn't stay there long as we didn't want to get in the way.

Even so we managed to snap a few quick pictures!

The style for this show was sleek hair blow dried straight to be pinned back or underneath. The main focus at this show was the clothes and the head pieces, there was absolutely no way anything was detracting from them and you can see some photos from the Metro of the show itself below:

 

The models at the Pam Hogg show were lovely, they even posed for us and it just shows how used to the chaos they are!

The make up for this show was laid out beautifully, there were so many products and I just wanted to get my hands on it all!

Particularly the lipsticks they look amazing!

It was really cool to see the notes the artists had made as well, the pictures look awesome!

It was a fantastic experience to attend LFW again and especially to go backstage. Seeing all of the hair being done was so interesting and we picked up a lot of tips.

I think we'll both be trying out the mousse technique to see how much better our hair looks and how much longer it holds, the Label.m Extra Hold Mousse is supposed to be amazing for this!

Which shows were your favourite from LFW? Did you do any celeb spotting?

L and M xxx

   

Benefit Carnaby Street

Good morning!

I was so relieved for it to be the weekend.....until I realised that I have to work my first Saturday in my new job!
I've managed to put it off for 3 months as i didn't have enough training and had to wait for my jabs to take effect, but now there's no excuse....so instead of spending it in bed I'll be up at 6 again and hitting the road at 7....booooooooo!

If you follow us on twitter you'll have seen a few tweets from us about attending London Fashion Week (LFW) on Monday to see the hair and make up being done backstage at some of the shows. We're writing a full post on that tomorrow so please check back to see some amazing pictures!

Whilst we were there we decided to have a good old wander around London, particularly some of the not so obvious places. We ended up near Liberty's and Carnaby Street and low and behold, we found the Benefit bus!
This bus looks amazing, its beautifully pink exactly how you'd expect from Benefit and is fully kitted out with seats, ipads, tv screens and obviously lots and lots of make up!

It was of course celebrating the fact that Benefit have a new store opened on Carnaby Street, but this is not just any store as it's a boutique where you can not only have your make up done and pick up some lovely new products, but also have your hair blow dried, nails painted, spray tans and waxes all in the convenience of one beautiful store with champagne!
What an amazing idea!

We were welcomed onto the bus by Lisa Benefit and Alyson Rowe which was lovely, and they managed to get the AMAZING Pocket Belles to sing us a few numbers which were unbelievable.
They are amazing singers and performers and they're songs were brilliant!

I particularly loved the Benefit song and their Benefit print dresses.

 



I was lucky enough to have my eye make up done by Lisa as she showed us the looks they used at the Matthew Williamson show at LFW, the eyeshadows were beautiful browns and bronzey colours which she also mixed together to create an amazing shimmery bronzer which I will definitely be trying in future!



Alyson then arranged for us to travel to the new Benefit Carnaby Street store by rickshaw and it was brilliant, I've never been on one before so it was a lot of fun and I did feel like I was going to fall out!



So...onto the new store!

This was downstairs (we forgot to take photos upstairs....) and shows the make up bar with brow bar the other side and hair and nail salon in the background.

The blowouts are all on the wall for you to choose from and this was such a nice touch, I would personally pick Carrie if i was having mine done as I love big and voluminous hair!

One of the BEST things was that we were able to look at all the beautiful Christmas sets that Benefit are bringing out for this year.
I can safely say that I want all of them, and did end up picking one up to take home with me.....

This one was one of my favourites because of the variety of products in it and I will surely be picking it up. As soon as I get paid next!

This kit was great, such a bargain for essential Benefit products to try.

All of the kits vary in price and there is a picture of the pricelist further on below if you'd like to see. Some do seem a bit steep but when you look at the products inside and see that they're either full size or between full and sample size then you understand.

They also have a new fragrance out in time for Christmas which M loves, it's a very heavy warm and musky scent but I love that it's called Under My Spell Noelle!





The rest of the store was beautiful as well, there was a bar where you could order drinks from including Champagne which we were given a glass of and it was lovely surprise.





The store was (luckily for us!) really quiet so we could browse in peace and play around the with infamous blush boxes and new lip products out







The nail bar above and hair salon below look really cosy and I can see myself spending a lot of time in here if given half a chance!
I could quite easily spend a day moving through the different areas and having a complete pamper day before a night out. It would be perfect for hen nights and work parties!







Whilst there both me and M were treated to an eyebrow shape and wax. It was my first EVER time having my brows done professionally as I've never bothered before and so I was equally nervous and excited to have them done.
I've always been worried that someone would make them too thin or too arched and weird looking but obviously Benefit know their brow stuff and after meeting the girls I knew I was in safe hands!

After a quick consultation she got to work and this is what my brows looked like afterwards:



I absolutely love them!!! They're beautifully arched now which is something I couldn't get quite right and I'm hoping I can keep this up for a while before I get them done again. I would definitely go again as any pain and tadpole brow worries I had have been put to rest and I'd definitely go to get them reshaped again to save me the hassle.

The store is beautiful and we had so much fun. For an impromptu trip to London and ending up on the Benebus we had an amazing time and that was all down to Lisa, Alyson and the girls working at Benefit Carnaby Street so thank you so much to you all for making us feel welcome.

We even both made a sneaky purchase of the Christmas sets and I imagine there will be more made in the future!

I for one will be aiming to collect all the sets which may be a little expensive. I'm one down tho so it can't be all that hard right??
I think I need to get a boyfriend to afford all of them..... I just cannot resist all of those quirky tins!

Have you been to Benefit Carnaby Street? Will you be making a trip there to see the new store and all it has to offer?
Which of the Christmas sets have tickled your fancy?

I'm honestly having trouble deciding between Groovy Kind of Love, It's a Love Fest and Gimme Some Lovin!

L xxx

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation

Happy Friday!

Hope you've all had a good week. I'm on my first week of working a Saturday and after a busy weekend with a wedding and a trip to LFW and Benefit's new store on Carnaby Street I am so unbelievably tired!

This foundation has been helping me out this week.

Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum Foundation has been giving me a healthy glow and covering up all of my complexion imperfections.

This is my first ever gel foundation, and it claims to be vitamin rich and anti fatigue which is exactly what I've been needing the past week or so!

I picked up the foundation in number 51, which I believe is one of the lightest colours that they have in the range.

Bourjois claim that this foundation is an instant blending gel with flawless complexion and undetectable coverage. They also state that they contain vitamin rich fruits including lychee, goji berries and pomegranate.
It's a low coverage foundation with a semi matte finish.

I like the glass bottle, and the pump feels really sturdy. It dispenses product really easily and feels more expensive than it actually costs.

I applied this foundation with a Real Techniques buffing brush for the pictures below. All I have on in the pictures is the Bourjois foundation and I think my skin does look like it's glowing.

Excuse my messy brows, I have now had them waxed (for the first time!) so they're looking a lot better now...

It does have quite low coverage, on days where my skin is a little worse than normal I normally end up mixing it with a higher coverage just to make sure that my blemishes are covered.
Normally though this foundation is enough to cover my lack lustre skin and give it a boost!

Have you used the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation?

Do you like radiance foundations?

I love the extra hydration this foundation gives my skin as it has been a lot drier recently!

L xxx