by Rose Miyonga
Blogging from the FX1 shoot
It’s been over three years since I stopped wearing make-up regularly. I still wear it sometimes for the odd photo shoot, or, if the mood strikes me, I might brush a little glitter over my eyelids or slick on a bit of lipstick, but day-to-day, I don’t wear make-up.
Don’t get me wrong, I think make-up is awesome.
When it’s done by someone skilled, it is a true art. However, I apparently lack the motor skills needed to apply it properly, and my daily attempts at it often drove me to frustration and despair, and sometimes inflicted physical pain – I can’t be the only one who has poked their still-sleepy eye with a mascara brush in the morning. … Read more...
Melariche (pronounced as ‘mel-uh-reesh’) came to Jackie Taiwo when finding the right foundation colour for her complexion became incredibly difficult. Less than a year later, the site boasts four makeup brands and six skincare brands.
Emeline Nsingi Nkosi speaks to the founder of the future “Sephora for women of colour”.
An African-American woman originally from New York, Jackie Taiwo (34) graduated with a degree in Engineering. Taiwo worked in the world of Corporate Finance for a few years before pursuing a joint law-business degree. It was in her second year that she got hired by an international law firm willing to relocate her to London after graduation.… Read more...
Post by Thandie.
I love Boots. It’s as gently and reassuringly British as ‘Walls’ ice cream, or the seaside. 
Wherever you are on the British Isles there’s a Boots to confirm that you’re home. Growing up in Penzance it was the destination store in town. From 9 years old I’d save up my pocket money to go and shop the aisles. The Boots Own cucumber moisturizer and lip balm were my favourites; the smells still remind me of pre-teenhood.
Now in 2014 my 9 year old daughter hops off to Boots on a weekend, pupils dilated with the thrill of what she might find. … Read more...
Me at 12
My first make-up bag was a small, shiny affair. The kind with a cheap zip and inside corners stained with glitter. It was stuffed with all the things a thirteen year old could desire: roll on shimmery eye shadow, mascaras in purple, blue and yellow, metallic eyeliners that flaked as soon as they were dry, palettes of sticky lip-glosses in lurid shades of red and pink, neon nail-polishes, limp false eyelashes, mini spray cans of tinny ‘So…’ fragrances with names like Vanilla Dream or Apple Pie.
The vast majority had been freebies, found rattling around inside the plastic casing of mags like Mizz, Shout and Sugar.… Read more...
Post by Kay and Rose
While en route to a shoot for EX1 Cosmetics yesterday with ‘Our Girl Friday’ Rose Miyonga, she turned to me and said “I’ve never really worn foundation.”
She went on to say, “As a mixed race teenage girl growing up in white, rural England, there wasn’t really much on offer when I first wanted to wear make-up. It was pretty much Superdrug. There was nothing for my sisters and me in the beauty department.”
Sound familiar? This is echoed by so many women and we all wonder- when is this going to change?
So while I got to work on make-up, I asked Rose to tell us all more and to interview Farah Naz, founder of EX1 Cosmetics.… Read more...
Post by Kay
I was thrilled when Chanel asked me to make up singer Jorja Smith for their recent launch party for their new global ambassador, Lucia Pica.
A classically trained vocalist, Jorja is 19 years old and hails from Walsall, just outside of Birmingham and grew up to the sounds of Trojan Records boxsets, Curtis Mayfield and Damien Marley.
Her musical style is influenced by everyone from Mos Def to Lauryn Hill to The Streets and I have to say, her unique blend of musical storytelling hooked me in the first time I heard ‘A Prince’, Jorja’s follow up to the internet-breaking ‘Blue Lights.… Read more...
It’s safe to say that having been all over the catwalks and worn by everyone from Rihanna to Kendall Jenner, that black lipstick is officially no longer just ‘a Goth thing’.
Ri Ri goes to the dark side
I wouldn’t say it’s the easiest colour to wear, plus you need an expert hand to get it right as every mistake shows. And the texture makes a big difference in both wearabilty and style. Too glossy and it’s more catwalk than club. Too dense and it dominates.
So when I came across Illamasqua’s Lipstick in ‘Pristine‘, I was impressed as this is a black lipstick for reality, rather than reality show.… Read more...
Thandie was walking in her local neighborhood recently and chanced upon the lovely Amy Lynch, whose unique face caught her eye. We asked her to write something for us.
Amy is an up and coming actress and model. After graduating from Brighton Institute of Modern music, Amy stepped into the world of modelling using it as a gateway to pursue her real passion for acting and performance. After securing campaigns for the likes of The NBA and gracing the cover of several magazines, Amy continues to chip away at her acting career and hopes to land a recurring role in a TV show in the near future.… Read more...
Post by Kay
Decorative coral
Precious Coral, what an other-wordly looking material-what is it exactly? Although it resembles inert rock, surprisingly, coral is actually an animal, a colonial population of simple polyps, (similar to jellyfish but they don’t move) comprised of a group of tentacles, a mouth and a digestive gut. An accumulation of these ‘exoskeletons’ produce the coral reef, which is limestone, and both are the result of a symbiotic relationships between organic and inorganic chemistry.
Coral polyps start life as free floaters, eventually attaching themselves to a solid surface. They reproduce both asexually and sexually by releasing eggs and sperm into the sea, called coral spawning. … Read more...
Post by Thandie
Natural
I’ll never forget spending the evening with Stella McCartney a few years ago. I turned up at her house red carpet ready; her date for the premiere of the documentary Food Inc. It was dinner time at the Willis residence; they had 3 kids then, and all were busy eating pasta, hummus and veggie deliciousness. I was in awe of how easily she was raising her brood to be vegetarian. Stella had zipped back from work, was having a lark with her young-uns, and what felt like minutes later we were in the car on our way.… Read more...
