Latest Photoshoot: Velvet magazine editorial ... Get the Cover look

It’s out !!! I have been waiting for this editorial to be published in the new issue of Velvet magazine … I love the result and the fact that we got the cover ... it looks amazing.

Absolutely everything about this shoot was great, our models the beautiful Gemma and incredible Masha (both available through my agent bareface), the fantastic Adam Browning-Hill behind the camera, the stylist extra-ordinaire Guillaume Nallet and the supporting team including photographer Jason Gareth, who I recently shot The Desert Dweller with.

Adam had originally planned to shoot this story in and around some amazing stranded old tankers in Sharjah (near Dubai) for which he had received permits. However, as the whole crew rocked up to start shooting at sunrise the security insisted that we needed a further permit ... after 3 hours of waiting we suspected that the city probably didn't want to be associated with some old stranded tankers in a fancy fashion editorial, which is why it was probably taking so long.

Slightly disappointed but not willing to give up on the shoot, we brainstormed locations and decided on the uninhabited "Ghost Village" in Ras Al Khaimah (about 45min away from where we were).
Check out my blog entry on the Kurv. magazine shoot for more information about this haunted place!

Thank you so much for these beautiful images Adam!

HOW TO: HAIR and MAKEUP

It was another 3am start for Hair & Makeup, curling and setting the hair and getting most of the makeup done before we moved to our location. I had curled and coloured the hair extensions the day before so all that was left for me to do on the morning of the shoot was to curl the models’ own hair and secure the extensions as well as cut them.

In terms of makeup, photographer Adam wanted the girls to have a beautiful golden "Cavalli Model" tan, which meant that I chose my MAC Full Coverage foundations 3-6 shades darker.

I used Illamasqua bronzer both as a blusher and on the arms adding a golden sheen. I then emphasized the eyes with loads of black eyeshadow from Mikyajy in the crease (all the way from the bridge of the nose blended out sideways) as well as underneath the eye. I added highlights on top of the lid using bronzy gold MAC pigment and my fave Illamasqua liquid metal in Solstice for the inner corner of the eyes. The lips were plumbed up using DIOR Lip Maximiser.

I had originally planned a more pewter/copper coloured look for the eyes, but considering the new location it just seemed that a darker eye defined with black eyeshadow worked better. I, however, stuck with the nail colour I had mixed the night before from the original eye shadow pigment and thought that worked beautifully even with the new look.
I do this a lot for shoots, it's so easy. Just get some clear nail polish, scrape some of your eyeshadow pigment off and mix it ... its that easy to get a nail varnish to match your eye look.

HAIR MASCARA to achieve GOLDEN EYEBROWS
My favorite part of this shoot’s makeup must be the golden eyebrows, they worked beautifully in combination with the golden jewelry and the overall feel of the shoot! Rather than bleaching the brows I used Frederic Fekkai Hi-Lights Hair Mascara. It’s amazing, the mascara is so highly pigmented that the brows literally lit up with the flash.

Beware though, the bushier the eyebrows the better this hair mascara works. You can see the difference clearly below, Masha on the left has stronger eyebrows so I was able to work many coats of the Hair Mascara into the brows; Gemma on the right has less strong eyebrows so the effect of the gold eyebrows is not as strong.

BEHIND THE SCENES

... take a peek behind the scenes of our shoot ...

Final shot of a long 14-hour day

About 30 of these jumps and we had the shot ;)

Latest Photoshoot Teaser

I absolutely adore these! We shot these last night in a forest near Dubai, I cant wait to see the rest of them :). Shot by the amazingly inspiring and incredibly talented Mazen Abusrour.

Interview with The Beauty Factor

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by the beautiful Mel Penny, former OK! Magazine Fashion & Beauty Director, for her newly launched website. I loved her questions! Thanks Mel!

Read on to find out what she was curious about :)

Beautiful both inside and out!

TONI MALT

Make-up artist and hair stylist extraordinaire

Were you always a make-up fan when you were a young girl or were you more of a tomboy?

Until I was 22 years old my life revolved entirely around playing sports. I was a complete tomboy growing up. It wasn’t until I came to Dubai at 27 that I started to wear proper make-up! Prior to that I would put on mascara and a powdered bronzer believing I had made a huge effort for a night out. I felt completely out of place when arriving in Dubai, as I had absolutely no idea how to apply make-up, which is why I initially joined a professional makeup school. It was completely by accident that I became a make-up artist!

What was the first perfume you ever bought or were given?

Lou Lou by Cacharel. I still smile when I see it in store nowadays … so many memories. I don’t remember if it smelled good or bad, but it was the first gift I ever received from a boy.

What is your favourite make-up look for yourself?

I adore flawless bronzed skin with a nude lip and just a bit of mascara. At the moment I love to use Guerlain’s Terracotta Mineral powder both as a blusher and eyeshadow.

LEFT AND RIGHT ABOVE: Toni’s handiwork

Talk us through your daily beauty routine.

I have lots of allergies and very sensitive skin so I often feel like I am a bit limited in the products I can use. I cleanse and moisturise my face with Johnson & Johnson products; the baby soap first every morning followed by the moisturiser for sensitive skin and do the same in the evening. It’s real simple but it works for me. Every now and then when I feel my skin is more oily than normal I will add a thin coat of Proactiv Daily Oil Control cream before I go to bed.

Favourite skincare products?

Johnson & Johnson Baby soap, I swear by it! I can’t travel without it!

Favourite make-up products?

As a make-up artist I have access to all the MAC Pro products – a range of specialist products catered to the needs of make-up artists and have since discovered MAC Pro Full Coverage Foundation for myself which I thin out with moisturiser for a more natural look. I love it – it’s a highly pigmented product so I don’t need a concealer or corrector. It gives a perfectly natural looking flawless look within less than a minute. Another favourite of mine is Nivea’s Extreme Resist Waterproof Mascara; it’s the only product that can truly withstand the heat and humidity in Dubai.

Most expensive beauty product ever purchased?

I think the most expensive single beauty item I own is my curling iron form Corioliss in London. It heats up in seconds and the curls last for days. I have to wear a heat resistant glove with it as it has no clamp to hold the hair in place, makes me look like “Michael Jackson” and has lead to one of my girlfriends insisting I do the moonwalk whilst I curl my hair.

What are some of the most unique items you have ever picked up at beauty fairs or special accessory shops while travelling?

I travel every year to the IMATS International Makeup Artist Trade Show in London, it’s like Christmas and my birthday together. Last time I bought Frederic Fekkai Hi-Lights Hair Mascara with which you can draw golden highlights into your hair. I actually use it at photo shoots to create golden eyebrows.

Another time I bought Smooth-Away’s; it exfoliates while removing all hair on the face. It really works and I much prefer it to waxing or threading, but you can just “feel” that it’s bad for your skin. It’s literally a industrial 3M sandpaper glued to a Smooth Away rubber pad.

Who is your beauty icon?

Oh, that’s a difficult one! I have never had any icons. Most famous people have been fabricated by make-up artist, hair stylists, managers and publicists, so I find it hard to relate to them because we don’t really know who they are and whether the beauty they portray on the outside is supported by the same beauty inside. I guess, being a make-up artist working in the fashion industry, I would consider a beauty icon to be a fellow make-up artist who creates beauty. In that case my beauty icon would be Alex Box, the Creative Director of Illamasqua, for encouraging uniqueness through the art of make-up.

Toni’s work

Best spa treatment you have ever experienced?

My favourite spa treatment is a Balinese hot stone massage. I have had the most amazing one in the One & Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives, their Spa is so beautiful.

What do you think of Botox and fillers?

My best friend had both Botox and fillers done a couple of months before her wedding and OMG did she look stunning … Being a makeup artist I work with a different face every day, and absolutely adore the unique beauty of each person! I’m not sure I would love them all as much, if each and every face was sort of “manufactured” with Botox and fillers. However, having said that, I think everyone should do what is best for them and what makes them the most happy. But I would love to see those women who want Botox to do it while retaining pride in their age; after all “Every Line in Your Face is probably a Good Party,” my make-up artist friend Dennie Pasion said to me last week.

What items are always in your make-up bag?

Foundation (Mac Pro Full Coverage), Setting Powder (Make Up For Ever HD Powder), Mascara (Nivea Extreme Resist) , Blusher (any Armani blusher will make me very happy)

Define true beauty in one sentence.

It’s all within you …Being at peace with yourself in your chosen life is the most beautiful you will ever be.

Latest Photoshoot: Kurv. magazine

Here are some images from my recent editorial published in Kurv. magazine, shot by my good friend Billie Muller. I had no idea that she had submitted this test shoot to Kurv. mag for publication, until after she brought back the good news that it was going into their next issue. Needless to say, I was completely over the moon and loved the sneaky surprise! Thank you Billie!!

The idea for this shoot was loosely based on the novel "Wuthering Heights" and its theme of sibling romance. We shot this editorial in the rundown fishing village Jazirat Al Hamra (the "Red Island") in Ras Al Khaimah, one of Dubai's neighboring Emirates.

It is most often referred to as "Ghost Town", the story goes that this town was haunted, leaving it abandoned, uninhabited and neglected since 1968. The village was created in the 14th century by pearl fishermen families and is now the last authentic town in the United Arab Emirates.

I love this place, it is without doubt one of my favorite locations for shoots ... scanning through Harper's Bazaar Arabia and The National M Magazine editorials I realize that more so than ghosts, fashion photography crews haunt this place, which would explain the occasional Eyelash Glue I found whilst wandering through the ruins :)

Here are some behind the scene shots as well as a couple shots sharing this wonderful location with you.

Shot by : Jason Kotecha www.escapism-online.com

Shot by: Nadia Masood

Shot by: Nadia Masood

Shot by: Bjorn Moemann