A match made by No7

One of the most commonly asked questions I am asked f is "What shade of foundation do you think I am?".  In simple terms the answer is that I have no idea. Shades differ so much from brand to brand and can be given names, numbers or letters so I advise to go to a make up counter and get shade matched.

This may seem simple enough but can also encounter some problems such as staff inexperience or harsh shop lighting which can lead to the wrong shade being matched. Something that has happened to myself on several occasions and is so annoying!

Now any new technologies or developments in the make up industry gets me excited (this geekiness is allowed as it is part of my job!)  but I definitely believe No 7 have come up with something spectacular with their new Match Made service.

No7 have spent the last 3 years putting a lot of time and investment into the brand and today (29th August)  they will be revealing their revamp which includes new counters, packaging, colours, products, and even uniform.

Part of their relaunch included redeveloping the formula and shades of their foundation and they have joined forces with US company X-rite who are the owners of Pantone. Together they have come up with cutting edge scientific colour measuring equipment and have photographed and measured the skin tone and under tones of over 2000 real woman from all ages and ethnicities. From this research they initially identified 17 distinct skin tone "clusters" and a range of 50 shades of foundation which they have then whittled down to 17. Another advantage is that these shades are consistant across all the different formulas, something quite unknown in the make up industry. You may be aware that NW20 is a different shade in almost all of MACs foundations!

The technology that they have developed is a small hand held device which has 8 LED and 1 UV lights which enter the skin at different angles and take 27 skin photographs. These are then processed by the device and the shade match is shown on a display. Allowing the consultant to help you decide on which formulation to go for. The device works is any light which is brilliant considering the harsh unnatural light of the stores!

The Match Made service will be available in most of the stores but you can also head over to Boots.com to find out if it is available at your local store. Also if you wish to read/listen to more information about this then check out Lisa Eldridge's Blog and YouTube Channel which is where I discovered it. I will certainly be heading down to my nearest counter tomorrow to have a good nose about and try it out for myself!

I hope that this technology is something that they will sell on and be made available at all the different brand counters as it certainly is exciting stuff!

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AOFM

Well it has been a while since I have written a blog post but hopefully this will be the week to change all of that...

I am sat in Starbucks, Wardour street, Soho drink a lovely but rather over indulgent vanilla spice latte and have just polished off a pain au chocolate - clearly forgetting I am a bridesmaid in 9 weeks time!!

The reason for all of this is today is the first day of my course at the Academy of Freelance Make up - you may remember me rambling on about it a couple of months ago. Well the day is finally upon me and I am a hour and a half early!!! I thought I would use the time productively instead of glaring at facebook and write a wee introduction post.

I will be attending the course for the next 6 days and hope to be able to update you all with stories and picture as I go along. This post is a bit type heavy as obviously there has been little action to snap yet.

So I will end with a lovely picture of the door and ask you all to keep checking back for updates, these will also be posted on Facebook and twitter.

Happy Monday everyone!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dinair Airbrush Systems

I am excited and please to announce that I will be introducing airbrush make up from Mid February and will be using the Dinair brand. 

Dinair was founded by Emmy-award winning Makeup artist to the stars, Dna Ousley and is the originator of airbrush makeup. It is the secret to that celebrity finish and is mostly know for its use by the likes of Girls Aloud to the cast of Desperate Housewives. 

Dinair is hypo-allergenic and alcohol free. It's lighter-than-air consistency give complete coverage that last up to 20 hours, making it the perfect choice for brides to be. It can also be used to cover tattoos, scars and skin conditions such as Rosacea and is rub and transfer resistant. 

I am offering this at an introductory rate of an additional £10 per person for all bookings taken before 30th April.

xxx

Friday Following..

Every Friday my plan is to put a local business in the spotlight, so to speak. This week is Princess Cut Bridal Hair. If you are wedding planning I would recommend you check her out.  Here are some words from the lovely owner, Charlene:

At Princess Cut Bridal Hair , my goal is to give you the wedding look you've always dreamed of. A look that reflects your unique personality and style. One that you and your guests will delight in.

 

My aim is to provide a friendly, helpful and professional service but with a fun and personal touch that will make the 'getting ready' part of your day almost as memorable as the rest of it!  By focusing on a high-quality service and customer satisfaction I will guarantee to meet your expectations.

 

Using the best products around and right up-to-date with current trends, I am able to come up with the look you really want, classic or contemporary, natural or totally glamorous . . .

 

I cover all areas of  Scotland including Fife, Edinburgh & Glasgow travelling to your hotel, wedding venue or home so you can sit back and relax in your own environment.

If you are part of a small business and would like to featured in Friday Following please email info@sophiealexismakeup.co.uk

Thanks

Sophie 

AOFM and Thank You

As some of you may have read on my Facebook/Twitter I have now had my place at the Academy of Freelance Make Up (AOFM) in London confirmed for mid March. As a make up artist I firmly believe that  there is no end to your learning and it is important to stay up to date with trends, techniques and products in order to develop and enrich your talent. AOFM is a world class make up academy and agency that has schools in London, Paris and New York, whilst there I will be taught by some of the industries finance. Or to put it in their own words:

Our association of artists makes the Academy one of the best training institutes in the world. Because of this our students go on to be some of the best freelance artists.

Words cannot begin to describe how excited I am to train there and I hope to return refreshed and polished so that I can give my clients the best possible experience. I would just like to thank all those that have believed in me and given me the chance to follow a career that I am so passionate about. I cannot believe I spent so many years worrying about what I wanted to do when make up was such the obvious choice, ever since I set foot in that MAC store around 14 years ago....

More to come on this later as I hope to blog whilst down there!

Sophie xx

1st Video Tutorial

Hello everybody and Happy New Year!!

I have some exciting things coming up this year which I will update you about soon but the first of these is my YouTube tutorial debut!! Click here to view my channel. 

I will be posting a new tutorial once a week and also be doing reviews etc etc so please subscribe to keep in touch.

If you have any requests then please let me know!

Love Sophie

xxx