Kryolan is a great professional makeup brand that launched in Berlin in 1945. They have a massive selection of products and colours and most importantly of all they are - and always have been - completely cruelty free :) I have written to their various head offices around the globe asking about vegan friendly products as as things stand there are no guarantees that any of their products are free from animal derived ingredients. Prior to the demo I spent an evening researching the ingredients that they use as as so many of could be either plant or animal derived it's very difficult to know .

Due to Kryolan's longstanding policy against animal testing I was more than happy to create a look for them and use their makeup for the demo. However in life and work I prefer to use cosmetics that I know are vegan friendly. The following is a list of the products I used to create this look and their available vegan alternatives :)

Kryolan Ultra Foundation (Face Atelier Ultra Foundation)
Aquacolour in Black & White (Cameleon Baseline)
Faceliner Pencils in black (OCC Cosmetic Colour Pencils)
Cream Liner - potentially vegan except for colours containing carmine.
*I used white & red cream liner to create the layering on the lips. Usually to
create this effect I would use Velour Liquid Lipstick
Mascara (Blinc Mascara)
DUO eyelash glue - Vegan Friendly
Nail Colour (OCC Nail Laquer)
Satin Powder (OCC Loose Colour Concentrate)

The demo was a nerve-wracking but amazing experience, a huge thank you to Kryolan, Salon Melbourne, my amazing model Yana Martens and to everyone who came to watch the demo - especially the lovely lady who was sitting front centre :)


When my time was up Yana and I headed outside to the Convention Centre's amazing modern exterior to take some photos. I cannot recommend her highly enough as a model - she was a dream to work with, made the day so easy and was fabulous in front of the camera. The girl seriously knows how to pull a pose!

xxx

During a recent trip to Melbourne I had the good fortune of working on a sumptuous conceptual shoot coordinated by fabulous Melbourne based photographer Ellen Duffy and one of Australia's most revered Burlesque performers: the sumpteous Miss Sina King.

The shoot spanned across 3 different looks within an amazing dusty attic set constructed by Ryan Hodge and packed with a fantastic array of aged bric-a-brac sourced and dressed by Ellen with help from her lovely assistants. It was by far the most elaborate set I've ever worked on for a photoshoot - the team did a truly amazing job in putting it together the vision, much love and respect to you all xxx I teamed up once again with the lovely Jess of Gorejess Designs who worked on Sina's hair while I handled the makeup side of things.

Sina was an absolute dream of a model and the absolute embodiment of cheeky glamour, it was a real treat doing her makeup, the lady seriously knows how to work it!!

Thanks to you all for a gorgeous day - I'm very excited about the photos!! xxx

Last month I collaborated with two of my favourite Melbourne ladies in the creation of a new video short showcasing the work of Melbourne designer Daniel Cumbo's amazing label IDOL.

Clare Nica filmed, directed and edited the piece and Jasmina Mili once again demonstrated her amazing presence in front of the camera as well as assisting me with hair/makeup and styling throughout the day. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved working with these ladies - it's such a treat collaborating creatively with your friends and I can't wait until we have the opportunity to do it again xxx

RAW is an amazing organization which functions as a fantastic platform for new and emerging artists to showcase their work locally and around the globe. On the 31st of May RAW Melbourne presented Revolution - an evening of art, fashion, music, film and performance at the Melbourne Pavilion in Flemmington starring an eclectic mix of amazing talent in all disciplines.

I was kindly granted a fabulous space to exhibit where I showcased a selection of old & new work, my stop motion animation Painted and some new body art which I created live throughout the evening with the assistance of my amazing friend: makeup artist Shannon McKean on the divine Miss Jasmina Mili. Shannon's help was absolutely invaluble (the woman is beyond brilliant) and Jasmina absolutely rocked it - the girl was born to model!!

The marvelous creative team of Alysander De Djinn Photography & Olivia Duval were absolute life savers - a huge thank you to the both of them for their beautiful help and generosity. Not only did these superstars lend me all I  needed to make my space presentable but they practically set up & decorated everything as well as organizing  space to capture some GORGEOUS images of the finished body painting. I am sooooooo happy with the photos and can't wait until they're finished so I can share them with you!!

Huge thanks also go out to my irreplaceable friends Dave & Benito for getting me to and from the event, to Daniel Cumbo for his company and encouragement, to the fantastic organizers of RAW - especially Yolanda - for their help and amazing efforts in putting together the night and to everyone who came to show their love and support throughout the evening :)

Some new beauty makeups for the gorgeous Bella Gardner with photography by Donatella Parisini.

Bella is a wonderful model to work with - she has an incredibly versatile face and has been an absolute pleasure to work on on a number of recent creative projects that we will be sharing over the next few months. In addition to being a great model she also runs her own business providing highly professional Brow Sculpting, Lash Extensions and Organic Fake Tanning in Byron Bay, the Gold Coast & brisbane- so if you need any of the above you know where to go!!

Earlier this year I collaborated with Alysander De Djinn photography on this shoot inspired by the magical work of Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton. Alysander was wonderful to work with having a great knowledge of his equipment and different lighting styles and my beautiful friend Jordan absolutely rocked in bringing character and life to the piece.


Thank you both for an amazing day xxx

Last month I teamed up with Lyris Design to showcase a selection of her beautiful handmade garments at Fiend Fest Melbourne. I handled the makeup while the wonderful Gorjess Designs showcased her handiwork with some wonderful hair creations. Our models absolutely rocked the catwalk at the Carpe Noctum Fashion Show & the days events were beautifully captured by the one and only Alysander De Djinn Photography. Alysander and the wonderful Olivia Duval very kindly set us up a photography area backstage where they captured some beautiful images of our combined handiwork after the show which will be ready to share soon! Thank you to everyone involved for a spectacular day of alternative fashion xxx

I recently teamed up once again with Satya James and Donatella Parisini to shoot Satya's new collection inspired by the swashbuckling ladies of the high seas and infused with some beautiful gypsy elements. Once again the glorious Miss James has outdone herself in creating an absolutely divine collection of womens-wear that's both playful and absolutely delicious.

In prep for this shoot I spent a couple of days with Satya in her studio customizing hats that had been shaped by the lady herself and Amanda Dudley and making a gypsy pirate inspired headdress to use as props.

The shoot itself went beautifully - as things always do with Donatella! We commenced the day in her gorgeous studio in Suffolk Park and I started applying makeup that integrated the colours from the collection while the lovely Jarrah Hustler set to work styling Satya, Carmen and Lakita's hair. Donatella and her lovely assistant Byron captured some beautiful studio shots after which we descended on an amazing lunch prepared by the lovely Lousie before heading down to Brunswick. Here the luscious ladies really got into character - commandeering a local fishing boat whose lovely owner was kind enough to take us out of the harbour so we could really get into the spirit of things.

All in all another wonderful shoot with some of my favourite ladies - I'm very much looking forward to seeing the results!

xxx

The Maker is an absolutely fantastic stop motion animation by film-making husband and wife duo Christopher and Christine Kezelos that has received global acclaim and won a multitude of well deserved awards at film festivals around the world.

It is no secret that I absolutely adore stop-motion animation and as they go - this one is utterly superb! Every detail is exquisitely executed and the main character is fantastically bizarre - just look at that amazing face, how could you not love him??! As shorts go it ticks all the boxes - beautiful, quirky, weird, funny, sweet and delightfully strange, featuring bunny creatures, violins, beautiful music, exquisite craftsmanship and a whole lot of magic!

As Easter popped its happy head up over the weekend I thought it would be nice to do a facepaint marking the occasion and The Maker being in definite resemblance of some kind of bunny served as perfect - if not slightly unconventional inspiration :) The ears and the coat were made out of some canvas scraps which I painted, sewed, backed onto cardboard
and attached to myself with a plethora of Kirby grips. The painting itself was done freehand with body paints and brushes, photographed and then finished with a quick session on Photoshop to blacken out the background and blend the ears into the head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDXOioU_OKMTo my absolute honor and delight I received a response from the makers of The Maker prior to sharing the final image with them via Facebook :)

                       "OH. MY. GOD. You are incredible. One of the most impressive face paints I've ever seen,
                        congratulations! We're truly honored that you chose The Maker as your subject. Thank you!""

For those of you who have yet to delight in the wonder of this animation I thoroughly suggest you take the next five minutes to indulge your senses in this visual mastery - and don't worry, it may be short but there's talk of a feature length Maker movie in the works. There are no words for how excited that prospect makes me!!! xxx

A couple of weeks ago I teamed up with Alysander De Djinn Photography and my gorgeous friend Jordan for a little creative play day - inspired by the delectable works of Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton. The shoot was a fun way for Alysander and I to work together, for me to finally get my amazing friend to model for me before she leaves the country indefinitely and to test out some ideas that have been floating around in my head for a while now.

I commenced work on a huge backdrop painting a week before the shoot - taking inspiration from elements of Del Kathryn Barton's amazing collection of work. Utilizing an old projector screen I happily scored in the local hard rubbish week I busied myself drawing, painting, styling and cutting a wig and making props up until 2am on Saturday morning when I realized I'd lost all sensitivity in the tip of my right thumb...which no, still hasn't returned!!!

To be frank it was an AWESOME day of shooting - one of those happy occasions where picking the final photos is almost impossible as there are just far too many you're in love with.... We're hoping to have the final photos ready, edited and printed to be exhibited at the RAW Melbourne: Revolution showcase on the 23rd April :) If you fancy popping along tickets are a mere $15 and available here: http://www.rawartists.org/elvisschmoulianoff

xxx