Posted on by danakanemakeup

Weddings…

I was very pleased to be asked to do the make-up for the wedding of Debbie Hughes and Jamie Johnston. Debbie wanted her special day to reflect her personality and so decided on a rock and roll themed wedding! For her bridal make-up she wanted a classic 1950’s look with the ‘cat eye’ black eyeliner and red lips. Her bridesmaid was given a smoky eye look with nude lips. Here are a few pics of the very unique and fabulous wedding day!

Hair was styled by Vintage Rocks salon and photography is by Carrie Davenport (apart from first two pics).

Posted on by danakanemakeup

Halloween’s coming on…!

As a massive Halloween fan I had no choice but to write a blog on my favourite time of year! Im hoping everyone will go all out with their costumes and make-up this year! I want to see more zombified, skeleton, monstrous, gory creations rather than the more tame looks – it is supposed to be scary after all! There are plenty of halloween make-up tutorials online to help with creating the perfect look. If you are totally unsure about make-up application you should book in with a professional (like me!) to have your make-up looking fab!

October is a magical time of year. There is a chill in the air, the leaves fill our pathways with vibrant oranges, reds and yellows, and all the Halloween decorations begin to appear. Huge orange pumpkins lurk in the grocery shops and excitement builds as Halloween creeps closer! Personally I find it a really cosy time of year; a time before it gets TOO cold and everything looks amazing in a warm autumnal glow!

SO! Settle down, select a few classic scary movies to watch for inspiration on costume ideas (and also just because it is so much fun!) and turn your house into a haunted manor with lots of ghoulish decorations!

Having trouble deciding on what to dress up as? Here’s a few spooktacular ideas!

Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street. He is a disfigured stalker of dreams who wears a glove with razors to murder people in their dreams, causing them to die in the actual world. As a child this film terrified me but watching it these days it’s more like a comedy!

His face is disfigured and burned and he wears a striped burgundy and olive green sweater along with a brown fedora hat and his trademark brown leather glove with metal claws sticking out of them.

Get this classic horror look by either buying everything yourself inluding the mask from a local costume shop like Elliotts – http://elliottsbelfast.com/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=freddy+krueger

Or why not have a go at doing the make-up yourself for a more authentic approach – see this youtube video for help (try to ignore the really annoying presenter!) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW5v8QQXY2g

　

Or if Freddy is not your thing why not try to zombie it up! Zombie movies have always been a favourite of mine since I watched all the George A Romero classics when I was younger! A zombie is a great halloween look for both boys and girls and is fun because you can adapt it to other styles of dress, eg. You can have a zombie doctor, a zombie nurse, a burlesque zombie, a rockabilly zombie, etc, etc. So just choose your costume and then it is really up to you how extreme you want to go with the zombie make-up. You can just do a simple look with a whited out face and blacked out eyes but as Ive said previously there are plenty of online tutorials that can help you create the perfect look! Here are a couple to get you started…

Easy zombie make-up – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7VUtdBkPtI

Special effects zombie (skip annoying presenter to 1.50 in!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DzAwvJCHI0&feature=related

　

Another classic look is that of Edward Scissorhands. It is a striking look that’s very recognisable and originates from the 1990 movie by Tim Burton. If not putting together your own costume it can be purchased from Elliotts – http://elliottsbelfast.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=2600

To complete your Edward Scissorhands look make sure to have the right make-up! Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqUC5DrIGJ4

　

I LOVE a skeleton look for Halloween especially if the make-up is self applied.

Check out this youtube video for inspiration – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMuEzBDt3NI&feature=related

　

Other cool tutorials you may want to look at!

The Exorcist Make-Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOH7ON893jY

V for Vendetta Mask Make-Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vyAxkbL5Ew

‘Neytiri’ Avatar Make-Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5x2Vv3tvLY

Anime Eyes Make-Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH0jv0cfLd4&feature=related

Clown Make-Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LAixYp6scs&feature=fvsr

I could literally talk about Halloween all day but Im going to leave it there – if you any Halloween make-up queries please get in touch as it is obviously something I like to talk about! In the meantime have fun carving your pumpkins, sipping on your witch’s brew, dusting off your broomstick and scaring yourself silly with horror movies in preparation for the most spooky day of the year!!

Finally here’s a list of some of my favourite halloween movies you should check out to get you in the festive spirit! It’s by no means exhaustive – just what I can remember of the top of my head!

Posted on by danakanemakeup

Gelish Nails

I am now trained in the application of ‘gelish’ nails!

Gelish is a new amazing treatment offering the following benifits:

-Adds strength to the natural nails

-Causes no harm to the natural nails

-Soaks off easily

-Requires no infills

-Gives the just manicured look permanently!

-Available for fingers or toes

-Gelish last’s up to 21 days, will not smudge or chip and is dry instantly…NO DRYING TIME!!! Which means as soon as it has the top coat on it’s dry!

-No filing of your natural nail, just a light buff.

-Beautiful colours, this polish stays with a wet look glossy until soaked off!

-Removal of Gelish takes 15 minutes, just crumbles of the nails! Then your ready for another colour.
Gelish also offers an amazing strengthening treatment for natural nails, ideal for customers whose nails are extemly weak or have just had artifical treatments removed.

“Gelish structure” permanent stregthening treatment is the same as gelish (above) but includes amazing strength with NO lifting!

I work from Radiance Beauty and Day Spa, Upper Lisburn Road, Belfast on a Wednesday and Friday as a make-up artist and now as a gelish nail technician – why not treat yourself and book in with me for either a beautiful make-over or some fabulous nails today!!

Posted on by danakanemakeup

Skin Care

As important as make-up is to keep you looking your best; every girl needs to make sure they follow a good skin care regime. Im not talking anything extreme – a daily cleanse, tone and moisturise will clean out the skin and prepare it well for make-up application. Every few days a good exfoilator should be used to remove dead skin also. If you’re not a regular cleanser, toner and moisturiser you will be surprised to see how much dirt is still is the skin after just washing alone. If you really want to look after your skin a deep facial every 6 weeks will keep your skin looking amazing! And ALWAYS remember to remove make-up before going to sleep – leaving old make-up on while your skin is trying to renew itself during your sleeping hours is very harmful to the beauty of your skin. This will cause a build of of dead skin and your skin will look dull and tired. It’s also a great idea to use masks or exfoiliators on the skin before you go to sleep so that your skin has a few hours to breathe whilst totally cleansed.

Products:

I use Decleor cleanser, toner and moisturiser. It is very gentle on the skin, full of natural ingredients and leaves face feeling fabulous!

For exfoiliator I use Soap and Glory’s ‘The Greatest Scrub of All’. It is a great product which you can feel working on the skin immediately and it smells amazing.

I also use Dermalogica’s skin hydrating mask once a week or when my skin is looking tired to give it that extra boost it needs to look great!

As you can see I am not loyal to any brand and it’s important to find products that suit your individual skin type. We also need to remember that beauty starts from the inside and we need to drink plenty of water and try to eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as possible to really give our skin the best chance!