Confessions of an Airbrusher

I politely cough as I stand before the students. All eyes on me - its nerve racking is exactly what it is. What if I can't articulate myself and get over my stagefright? Deep breath, off we go, I am hoping I won't send the audience in sleep mode...

I start to describe the functions of the airbrush and before I know it, I'm full of animation and verbal diahrarea for this masterpiece of kit.  It is a fact, I am totally wowed every single time by the airbrush. For me, there's only ever been one airbrush, its by Airbase.

There is a technique to glide over the face and body but once you've got it, you will be hooked.  Lou Page, Celebrity Makeup Artist, is well respected and known for her flawless base on the red carpet. After my airbrush class, she's ready to dial the digits or dash to the door to get her very own stainless steel beast of a machine. SOLD.  The other students are in airbrush heaven, all finger tapping in thought of how they can raise funds to indulge themselves in this addictive and flawless form of artistry.

Using an airbrush is speedy, you dont need to powder (which is great for HD TV) and it does have a long lasting effect, its relaxing for your client and it means you can spend the extra time on a wow factor on something else. You can contour, highlight, define and shape with the airbrush, its a matter of trust and knowing that you can really control product distribution and density of the product. 

The airbase dual airbrush is easy to use, easy to clean - it even has its own cleaning pot, carry case and an entire host of kit that you can just keep adding.


So, what are you waiting for?  You can come and be trained by me or the Pro Team at the Louise Page Academy.  www.louisepageacademy.com and if you fancy more info on the Airbase Airbrushing system, why not drop me a line zoe@zoewalters.com

Whitening or Frightening...?

Ok, so you might know that I was at the New You Beauty Show recently, with my lovely colleagues from the Louise Page Academy.  Work? Hell no, I was off like a shot looking at what other exhibitors were doing, selling and offering... great turnout and pretty decent footfall. Lauren Goodger from TOWIE was there to promote her new tanning range which caused a slight stir.  I was more interested in the 'Confidence' Teeth Whitening shinannigans personally. For a show price of £49 how could I NOT give it a go.... and I'd dazzle the audience with my white winning smile.

We settle on my current shade of 18 and aim for 10 shades lighter. Bon Bon Bon, Im sold, sign me up RIGHT THIS SECOND.

Donna the lovely lady from 'Confidence' (based in Stevenage), attempts to put the mouth shield in, its too big and I think my lips might actually split... mild panic sets in but not to worry, Donna produces her smaller shield and we are off. First up, a coat of gum protection goes on (I later find out it looks like you have seaweed in your teeth... attractive!) and a first coat of the whitening gel followed by the UV type lamp that sits over my mouth with 15 minutes on the clock. 

5 mins up, tingling has started, gums slightly fizzing but eh ok. Beep, beep, beep its 15 mins. Donna looms over me with a toothpick and tissue, wiping off the first coat. She seems happy just on the first shade! I'm thrilled!  Donna repeats the same process again and Im feeling a slight burning sensation, teeth has become bit more sensitive and the UV lamp thing is now jamming against the mouth guard, cutting into my gum. Another 15 mins of fist clenching goes on and another round of wipe off, paste on.  Its the 3rd time and now, I'm beginning to fidget. More burning, my teeth feel on the edge of hyper sensitive-ness but Donna seems happy the shade is good to go, she declares I'm not a shade 4! Result! That's it, gum shield off, water swirled around and my teeth feel squeaky. I have an audience cooing over my white teeth so off I go to the bathroom.

So where's the white teeth? I thought I would have dulux brilliant white glowing teeth? Nope, sadly not, quite frankly, Im disappointed.   I get back to the stand, others tell me they are really white - Im not convinced. 

Ok, so its home time, I can't eat or drink anything because my teeth are so sensitive (it feels like someones held ice on them for a LONG TIME), Im slightly miserable so head off to bed, Im aware all damn night long my teeth actually hurt. I am driven to pop some pain relief pills and back to bed I go.

Its morning, I groan, my teeth hurt and its time to clean up. Toothbrush alert.. I can't actually put the toothbrush  in my mouth, its too painful and half my gum on a front tooth has blistered along with the inside of my lips, what on earth have I done? I even consider taking the day off of work to feel extremely sorry for oneself.

A few hours later, bleeding gums have stopped and the sensitivity has subsided. Armed with my toothbrush, Im desparate for up close and personal look. They are white, my teeth are actually white and I rather like them, no, I LOVE them. Would I do it again? Hell yes, but I'll know to have straws at the ready and to arm myself with pain killers.

Thanks Donna from 'Confidence' in Stevenage, very nice lady and cheap as chips white teeth. RRP £99. BARGAIN!

 Shade 18... we are off... very attractive fashion accessory!

 And the very nice UV lamp that activates the gel.

Taken 2 days later at bedtime! Not a particularly glam picci but my, white teeth!

New You Beauty Show!

The first Beauty Show to reach Hertford in Herts! First up, lets talk Theatre. As far as Theatres go, great space for a local show, right in the town centre and guaranteed to get foot fall. Stands ranged from Jewellery, teeth whitening, Spray Tanning and Clothing to the likes of the Louise Page Academy doing what they do best, treatments on offer to everyone.  Pretty busy for a fathers day, the crowd ramped up a bit with the arrivel of Lauren from TOWIE who was promoting her own new brand of spray tanning.

As the Academy Director for Louise Page Academy, I am slightly biased that we were the busiest stand with steady bookings for nails, threading and tanning plus strip lash application (so many people get lash application wrong..?!?!).

Happy feet, tired feet - I even brought a new frock and a kick ass necklace and got my teeth whitened.... Oh I see my next blog on the horizon!!!

Guerlain Terre Indigo Palette - Featured in this weeks Stylist Magazine

Dontcha just love Guerlain packaging? Slick and savvy - its pretty seductive. Inside the gorgeous shell you'll find tones in orange, brown and blue with gold as a headlining theme throughout.

Pigment is pretty dense looking but actually much softer when applied, you need several layers to pack on the colour. Be careful not to stroke your brush across the colors else you'll end up with 'one' palette...

So, would I buy the palette? Hmmm, Id buy the empty palette...

I WON! I actually WON a days Colour Creative Masterclass!

Have you ever met the legendary David Horne? Master teacher, aka Product Director at Illamasqua. I got up close and personal with Mr Horne during this weeks demo at Illamasqua Flagship store, Beak Street, Soho, London. Not only did us bloggers and makeup artists get to be kids in a sweet shop and test EVERYTHING, we got to see Mr Horne in action.

Smokey bridal eye in gorgeous lilac tones layered with a sparkled pigment went down a treat, the flawless airbase foundation making the entire look effortless. You can see and feel Alex Box's influence and art throughout the store from their recent campaign.

Airbase were on hand to answer questions and parade their super amazing products (get me the cleaner pot and new stand RIGHT NOW PLEASE), makes cleaning my kit super quick on a shoot.  If you are an Airbase Airbrush user, the 00 product does wonders for highlighting. I regularly use the foundation applied with a brush/sponge, it is long lasting and sits so well on any skin.

Ok, so there's makeup every angle of my vision, cupcakes, champagne and a RAFFLE. You heard me right, 3 lucky rafflers got the chance of winning a days masterclass with Illumasqua. Each goody bag given had a raffle ticket, it just so happened mine was a winning number! Chuffed.com and now I look forward to learning with that Mr Horne. What a lucky girl!

You can check out images on http://www.facebook.com/AirbaseMakeUp#!/AirbaseMakeUp?closeTheater=1 here's a few to show you the flavour!

Soap n Glory 'Mini Mitt' takes my stage

Are you an exfoliating lover? Do you find some face scrubs to abrasive to use daily?  I have the answer, read on.


The Soap & Glory 'mini mitt' is your new best friend.  Take your existing face cleanser, place the tubular base between your fingers, work the small rubber bristles in small circular movements. There's really no rocket science to it! Its never been so easy to whisk away dead skin or flaky skin. Its like Im using a new and improved cleanser. My skin feels glowing.  Its easy to clean, small, compact and its mine! Cheap as chips from most Boots stores.

Dont just take my word for it, the Zola Panel are hooked, here's what they had to say.

Miss JT - "Forget the rubber duck in the bath, this baby makes my skin to qwackers!"

Ms JR "Gone is the scrub, my skin is glowing, soft and radiant - all I've done different is replace a flannel with a mitt!"

Mr GCB "Wowza, I rather like my mitt, do I have to give it back? Long gone are pimples from shaving, I quite like my radiant look ta!"

Ahava or not to Ahava? That is my question. Ever heard of Ahava Body Products? Shame on you... tut tut. Here’s a low down on some fantastic skincare products you can stock in your salon, use in your kit of simply smother yourself in the privacy of your own home.

Ahava are from developed by Dead Sea Laboratories. Each series are based on natural health minerals of the dead sea. I discovered Ahava in Egypt a few years ago and have always loved their products. Until recent years it hasn’t been the easiest product to source but the good news... it is now! www.ahava.co.uk

Impressively, Ahava offer ‘Try me’ products which are at a discounted rate. Genius! Now, I need to get into the nitty gritty, there’s a lot to gush about.  2 of my Zola Panel were on hand to give me the low down...

Ahava, Hand Cream

Easy squeezable packaging with flip lid. Smell is signature throughout body products, ,texture is thick/rich. Dries and absorbs well, leaves hands nicely moisturiser and silky, residue feel has reduced leaving no stickiness whatsoever. Love this, its going straight in my kit.... not giving this up!

Ahava, Foot Cream

Talk about walking on silk. I think I’m in foot heaven. It smells like the hand cream, it feels like the hand cream and its got the same silky aftermath BUT you don’t slip and slide in your shoes, you’ll have  shiny soft feet. Fantastic investment. Put in the fridge for sometime to give that extra Ooooo factor when applying.

Ahava, Mineral Body Lotion

Very moisturising, smells same as hand cream, wears off though so perfume wont fight with it! Great sheen left without stickiness, very soft, silky and cooling . Surprising find, really like it.

Ahava, Pure mud body treatment

Loved the clean earthy vibe of the packaging. Heated it up in the microwave which was easy but it burns very quickly so only put it on for a short time! BE WARNED...! Be very careful not to apply straight from hot pack to skin!  It went on easy because the mud was quiet thick so no dribbles!  It's the sort of stuff that gets everywhere, and you have to wait 10-15 mins so you couldn't do your whole body. You might be better with a partner in crime for this fun filled mud application. ;-0

BUT the result is totally amazing. Very smooth glowing skin!  You could use this as a mini treatment for feet, feels quite cooling as the warmth wears off.   Final thoughts - It’s a bit like home fake tanning, its can get everywhere and be a right mess but if you love the result and you have patience you can become a pro.

Thanks Zola's - great doing business witcha!  Zoe x