Minxy Make -Up Artist Vanessa Guallar!

When I had the chance to meet superstar make up artist Vanessa Guallar I jumped at it! She's painted many famous faces including Uma Thurman, Kelly Brook and Ashton Kutcher. She's originally from Spain but her career has taken her from the UK to the USA and further. And not only is she handy with putting together the perfect colour palette for celebs she's created a make up line in conjunction with Boots N17. "Sit down darling, wow you look ah-mazing!" That's the first thing Vanessa says when I meet her. Love her already.

So tell us about your new line?
Well its the Starry Eye's Collection for Boots No17. Its coming out later on this year just ahead of Christmas- its fabulous!

Sounds exciting! So what makes it different?
Well the main thing is that it enables you to create a sophisticated smokey eye. It comes with instructions and a varied colour palette.

Whats the secret to a perfect smokey eye?
Its important to use some colour when you create a smokey eye. Its not all about just piling black eyeshadow on! You need to keep building the colours slowly don't start with black! That's what this new collection teaches you. Not to be afraid and to build a look that's glamour to the extreme! And although the collection comes out for Christmas, you can recycle it because its not just a make up kit for winter- its for every season!

You've made up tons of stars can you name a few!?
Oh gosh, erm- Kelly Brook, Myleene Klass, Denise Van Outen, Uma Thurman and Ashton Kutcher!

Wow! Thats a lot- whose your fav?
[Laughs]I don't have favourites I love them all! But I would say Myleene and me are good friends. Uma is pretty cool. She is such a regular girl. When she's getting ready she'll turn to me holding up dresses and say "Darling what should I wear?" And Kelly is just amazing. Me and her were chatting about Matthew Morrison the other day(Glee's Will Schuester)

That's her new man right!?
Well I did her make up the day she was going on a date with him! "She was saying to me "Vanessa what do you think- I'm not sure...." I told her to go for it!

Good advice cos they make a cute couple! Whats the most surreal experience you've had working with celebs?
Probably when I'm flicking through Heat magazine and I see myself in the back of paparazzi shots! The way those photographers vie for pictures is amazing. I remember doing Uma's make up for the Jonathan Ross show. When she was leaving she'd forgotten her glasses. So I told her to go to the car while I got it for her. When I got outside I tapped on her car window she opened it just a crack and all of the camera's went off I! A million flashes its crazy!

Sounds pretty surreal!
Definitely. And another surreal experience was when I did Ashtons make up. Demi was there. She is so beautiful in the flesh and so down to earth!

Anyone else you'd like to get your hands on that you haven't already?
Shakira- she's gorgeous. And Lady Gaga. I would love just working on the drama with her.

Cool! OK, so if someone has 5 minutes to get ready what would you suggest they do make-up wise?
First choose an eyeshadow, apply it with your fingers. If its a darker shade, draw it out to give the face a feline look. Use a light colour on the inner corner of your eye's to make them pop.
Put on lashings of mascara, Boots 17 Wild Curls in black looks amazing. Whip bronzer all over your face and use nude lip mirror shine (from Boots 17) to finish the look!

Sounds like 5 minute perfection! And whats the make up product you can't live without?Cream blusher. Ooh cream blusher is my best friend! It makes every girl look super cute!

Starry Eyes will be available this Autumn from Boots

A bit of a flirt with Fleurtini

The band Sweet Tooth recently gave the Bella a mind blowing eargasm! Their song Everybody Wants To Be In Love is a gorgeous ode to romance and has a jazz influence of days gone by. I got up close and personal with Fleurtini, the groups lead singer to find out more about the band and their sound, whether she really is a flirt and what makes this honey voiced singer tick!



Who is Sweet Tooth?
Sweet Tooth is producer/songwriter Gavin Hammond and myself (chanteuse
Fleurtini) - together we write and record our music in Gavin’s studio. We formed a
few years ago – originally I was the backing vocalist for Gavin’s more acoustic solo
venture, but then we started to work songs around my voice and style and the end result was Sweet Tooth! I’m originally from Melbourne, and he’s from Cambridge, but we both consider ourselves Londoners now.

How would you describe your sound?
Cinematic pop music, shaken (not stirred), with a splash of jazz and electronica.

What’s the best thing about being in a band?
For me, it’s the escapism. Both in my own life (without music I wouldn’t get to be
so openly expressive, nor play dress-ups!), but also the fact that we seem to offer
our listeners a chance to lose themselves too. Someone once said that Sweet Tooth is “the soundtrack to the life you wish you had” – which I find just wonderful!

Fleurtini, you have an awesome bluesy/ jazzy tone to your voice- are you
classically trained?
Why thank you! I was raised in a musical family, and apparently I sang harmonies
along to the radio before I was even really speaking! But I’ve never had lessons
except for a few when I was a teenager (which I soon gave up as they were very ‘musical theatre’ focused and that wasn’t really my thing).

Who are your musical influences?
For me, vocally, it’s the classics singers like Peggy Lee, Julie London and Ella
Fitzgerald - I’ve learned more by singing along to their records than I ever did
having lessons. But Gavin and I, between us, also listen to a lot of different styles,from ‘pure’ pop and mellow electronica through to dub-step! It all colours the way we write and produce, even in the most subtle ways…

What’s your biggest motivation behind making music?
I feel there’s an element of ‘soul’ involved in singing and making music. Not to sound too hippy-dippy, but expressing emotions (good and bad) with my voice has always been a crucial part of my well-being. And I hope that this carries over to our listeners, lifting spirits, or soothing troubled minds.

Do you have any upcoming gigs? Are you playing at any festivals this summer?
We’re currently working on getting our new live set together, as until now all of
our efforts have been writing and recording our album. But we most definitely plan to get back out under the spot-lights very soon – keep in touch via our website(www.sweettoothmusic.co.uk) for the latest news.

What’s the sweetest thing about Sweet Tooth!?
I have to admit to a soppy obsession with all creatures cute and cuddly – I can’t pass a pup or kitty in the street without stopping for a pat, and one of my favourite websites is Cuteoverload.com (need I say more?). I’m definitely the ‘Sweet’ of the band(Gavin’s the ‘Tooth’!).

We LOVE the track ‘everybody wants to be in love, what inspired you guys to
write the song? Its got such a kooky mix of different types of romance
The lyrics of this song came from people and things that Gavin and I had seen around
London – each scene described came from something one or both of us witnessed.
The sentiment is obvious, but a lot of the lyrics are quite bitter-sweet, as we’re all searching for love, but not always successful (nor is it always love in a conventional sense, either).

The video is ace! How did you come up with the concept?
Thanks! I have to credit Gavin with the treatment for the video – a lot of the scenes in it are literal illustrations of the lyrics, but he came up with the concept of the futuristic city, where love is banned by the government but still prevails, with the help of my character covertly giving out hearts. I did get a kick out of being depicted as a comic-book heroine, I must admit.

When will your album be out?
Later on this year, all being well. We’re just putting the finishing touches on it now!

Fleurtini- are you a flirt or more of a wall flower?
Neither really – I’m more of a ‘social-butterfly!’ Then again, if I have my heart set on something (or someone), I most definitely go for it

Tell us a secret about you!
I’m good at keeping secrets!

Loving your coquettish look- how would you describe your style? Since I was a child, I’ve always loved vintage clothing (my mum used to dress me
in little pinafores and frilly bloomers that she’d bought at the closing down of an
old department store!). Now I like to combine current, new designers with special
vintage pieces from the 30s, 40s and 50s – with the end result (I hope!) being a sort of modern-day Vargas Girl.

Finish these sentences ‘If I wasn’t a singer I would be……..’A shoe designer (an ambition I still hope to fulfil one day).
‘Something about me that would surprise people is……’I can’t ride a bicycle – I never got passed the training wheel stage as a child, and I
was too much of a book-worm to care. Though I don’t know if it’s that surprising ,
considering I’m usually decked out in a frock or playsuit and heels (not the most
practical for pedalling!)

Visit www.sweettoothmusic.co.uk to hear more music and news about the band

Everybody Wants To Be In Love - Sweet Tooth from SweetToothMusic on Vimeo.

Catch up with Lisa Butcher- The model, the mum, the designer and the ambassador!

Lisa Butcher was catapulted to supermodel stardom at the age of 14 after winning a modelling competition with British Elle and went on to work with fashion powerhouses like YSL, Galliano and Ralph Lauren. She famously married Marco Pierre White 3 weeks after meeting him (aged just 21) but the pair divorced after 15 weeks! Now the mother of two has established herself as a presenter fronting Britain’s Next Top Model and What Not To Wear. She is also an ambassador for Fairtrade Cotton, designing jewellery and designing a range for Long Tall Sally- this is one busy yummy mummy! We caught up with Lisa recently and she revealed all about her work with Fairtrade, her lust for J Brand jeans, why beauty starts from the inside out and her tips for looking sexy this summer!


How did you get involved with Fair Trade cotton?
I grew up in Indonesia around tea plantations. So I’d seen first hand what it was like for workers in these countries. And the experience instilled in me that we should always care for other people. When Fairtrade approached me I jumped at the chance to help out. They asked me to go and see the cotton farmers in Gujarat. It was an amazing 4 day trip, where I met the workers and their families, saw how they lived. People don’t really think about the consequences of what they are wearing. I wanted to highlight to people what the cotton workers go through.

Do you think it’s important for people in the public eye to get behind causes?
Definitely. It’s important if you have a bit of a profile to be a voice for people who have been forgotten. Coming from the modelling industry you were a projection of everyone’s ideas, told to wear something shut up and get on with it- I had 20 years of that but now I can speak up! I couldn’t take on too many because I still need to take care of my children and earn a living!

Is it tricky juggling motherhood, your career and charity work?
I wouldn’t have it any other way. The more busy you are the more organised you are with your time and the more you get out of your days. My kids come before everything always, much to the detriment of my career sometimes! But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learnt during your career?
Take every opportunity when it comes because it might not come again. I started out so young [14 yrs old]. I didn’t appreciate what I had and in hindsight I would have taken more of the opportunities that came my way! I fronted a Ralph Lauren campaign and I didn’t even know who they were!

What was the hardest thing starting out so young in the industry?Well 14 is a time when you are still developing. Hormones are flying all over the place and you are becoming who you are going to be in the future. Sometimes going into a role and forgetting who you are can have repercussion’s later on in life. And I guess for me, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t stay in school for longer.

You fronted What Not To Wear. Would you say the main aim of the show was to help those struggling with their image?
It wasn’t so much to do with image. It was more to do with restoring confidence. Often something had happened- they may have lost someone or they might have been ill-and they needed their confidence back. It wasn’t just about looking in the mirror. It’s about feeling good on the inside. You don’t have to be the prettiest in the room to be the one that everyone gravitates towards. Confidence is key!

Do you ever struggle with image or finding the right clothes?
Gosh all my life! I love those really cool jeans that are out at the moment by J Brand, they kind of look like combats [the Houlihan]. And they only come in a 31inch leg. I’m 6ft, its a bit annoying that the coolest trousers in the world will never fit me! I also have hips so I do sometimes struggle!

Would you say you’re a bit of a crusader for women of all sizes being accepted and having the right to good clothes that fit?
In a way. I went to Equity to campaign for models of all sizes to be represented on the catwalk. When I was modelling I was told not to eat, that I was too fat. I had puppy fat. It did disappear but now its come back!

You look amazing! Do you have a failsafe sexy outfit?
Probably a dress that I designed for Long Tall Sally. It’s a halter neck maxi dress, but with really long ties so you can tie it up in heaps of different ways.

What’s your favourite/ least favourite part of your body?
My arms are my favourite as they are quite slim. I guess my bottom half is my least favourite. I have a typical English pear shape!

I’m sure the fella’s like it!
[Laughs] It’s so funny but its true men love that and us girls just want to be tiny as ever.


Lisa’s Sexy Summer Tips

*Killer pair of shades is a necessity. I always have at least two pairs in my handbag.

*Jean/ cargo hybrid pants like the Houlihans from J Brand a la Rihanna[also check out www.netaporter.com or www.my-wardrobe.com]

*Indulge in tribal prints- but it’s a trend so don’t overspend.

*A maxi dress- my one from Long Tall Sally is brilliant!

*Zen Tan- its amazing, you look super healty and if you put it on right it doesn’t streak!

*Bright nail varnishes from POP! They are so bright you practically need shades to look at them. Neon brights are a brilliant look for nails this summer

*Mineral foundation by Mac. It’s the best coverage in the heat. Your skin can breath!


To find out more about Fairtrade Cotton visit http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

Visit www.longtallsally.com and check out Lisa's designs!