Halloween is undoubtedly one of the best times of year  (especially for makeup artists) and it's looming very very close! I've been playing around with paints and ideas to use this year - gaining inspiration from a few sources - one being the MAC Halloween Face-Off and the stunning work of artist Jason Obernuefemann. Here are some recent creations for you to enjoy - if there are any ideas that you'd like to see translated into a makeup contact me and I'll have a play!

This is the second piece in my Save the Arctic series for Greenpeace - this time I've used BP's logo to emphasize the potential impact of oil drilling in the Arctic. To join the campaign please visit my page and sign the petition, thank you!

Greenpeace are currently running a global campaign to save the Arctic from big companies including BP, Shell & Exxon who are pushing to start drilling there for oil... oil that would only last the planet 3 years. This would have disastrous consequences on an already very fragile environment, proving devastating not only to the people who call it home but to all of the beautiful animals who live there too. Joining the campaign gives you an opportunity to speak out against big oil and help Greenpeace by using whatever skills and talents you may have - may they be artistic, literary, technical or centered around activism, everyone can help. The aim is to collect 3million+ signatures for the cause - please visit my page to join and sign the petition.
I have been designing some face and body art to contribute to the campaign - for this first piece I played around with Shell's logo. I noticed that it resembles the shape of the top half of a skull and thought it would work quite well used that way - the eye sockets dripping oil.... I'm going to continue the skull theme throughout the series as oil drilling in the Arctic will undoubtedly lead to an enormous loss of life. Please join the campaign today and SAVE THE ARCTIC!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Furless Cosmetics who recently wrote to tell me that I'm the newest addition to their list of cruelty free makeup artists, hoorah! Furless are a PETA accredited vegan & cruelty free company who have a great range of synthetic brushes available for worldwide order. These include bamboo handled brushes like those made by ECOTOOLS, which are a personal favorite due to the fact that bamboo can be easily be grown and harvested sustainably & is of course biodegradable. Furless also make a range of mineral cosmetics and supply a multitude of accessorize such as bags and travel cases for your kit. Visit their website to have a cheeky peruse...

I've been looking at a variety of masks from around the globe as part of a little personal project to keep me busy and painting.... Today I recreated a wooden helmet mask from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, made by the Bakuba tribe. The Bakuba integrate art into their everyday lives and are considered to be among the most artistic people of the Congo - unlike some tribes in the region they do not reserve arts for the higher standing or more privileged members of the tribe...nice to know!

Mexican art is AMAZING! Bold use of bright contrasting colours, striking patterns and an almost crude, cartoon-like quality work together to draw in and excite the eyes. After stocking up on some nice colourful palettes at the IMATS last weekend (massive thanks to the Face Paint Shop & Scotty's) I decided to put them to use on some Aztec inspired paintings. The first I did on my lovely friend Claire who runs Pixie Nomad's - using strong colours with emphasis on the golds and turquoises that featured so prominently in ancient Mexico. The second piece I did on myself  for lack of a model - and is a recreation of an amazing turquoise Aztec mask that I came across in the British Museum a few years ago.  It was a really fun painting to do and has inspired me to do a series following the same theme...watch this space!!

Last weekend I went to my first International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS) in Sydney & had a wonderful time assisting the lovely & amazing body artist Yolanda Bartram at her Body FX stall. It was a really amazing weekend - though the show is considerably smaller than the one in London it was a great opportunity to see what the Australian makeup world has to offer and to meet some really awesome people. I especially enjoyed meeting Eliza Campagna and Brian Sipe and watching their demos over the weekend at the ACMUSE stand, Donna Mee's highly informative talks on working in the industry - and meeting the one and only R2D2 & his creator who were cruising around the show on Sunday afternoon. Big thanks also to the amazing Adam Johanson, the lovely girls at The Face Paint Shop and TK's Lashes, Christine & Nick from Scotty's and the guys from Frends Beauty Supply. It was great to meet all of you & I'm looking forward to seeing you again - hopefully some of you in the not too distant future!