21 posts tagged “beauty”

Anyone after the last remaining 4711s? At Hunters & Collectors in Wellington.

[Cross-posted from Lucire] Here’s footage from L’Oréal Paris about its latest TVC, starring Elizabeth Banks. More videos and additional links at Lucire.

[Cross-posted from Lucire] Campari launched its 2009 calendar, starring Jessica Alba, at a celebrity event in Milano yesterday. We’ve featured a few of Mario Testino’s stunning images from the calendar, with Alba promoting the red spirit in each one, some subtly, some less so (with the Campari bottle being quite noticeable). Also noticeable: make-up has been getting a lot more glamorous as 2009 begins.

[Cross-posted from Lucire] We’ve put up some extra images from behind the scenes of the Lancôme Magnifique TV commercial, starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Peter Lindbergh, this week. A video showing the making of the commercial was shown on the Lucire TV site last month.

A few months ago I posted cellphone pics from my trip to Spa Horrobin & Hodge. Here are some more, plus my story that ran in Lucire last month.

[Cross-posted at Lucire] Doug Rimington has a few behind-the-scenes shots from Tuesday’s shoot with Miss New Zealand Samantha Powell. I snapped one to finish off a roll of film myself, which is below. This was shot in pretty dark conditions, f5·6, 1/30 sec, on my Voigtländer Bessamatic. Rebecca Connor, the reigning Miss Wellington and a top-five finisher herself at the national competition, is doing the make-up on behalf of her own business, About You Artistry. It’s very lucky of us to have two beautiful women in the same frame. (This is a scan, and our office scanner is doing a few funny things, so please bear in mind that the original print is a tad sharper.)

[Cross-posted in Lucire] We’re preparing to shoot Samantha Powell, Miss Universe New Zealand 2008, on Tuesday. Photographer Doug Rimington is flying in from Sydney tonight and I collect him at the airport in a BMW 120i Cabriolet that the company has lent to me; and the Tissot Fabulous Garden watch has arrived, delivered personally by Griffiths McKay & Buckleigh’s Lynette Kopu. Our one is prettier than the one featured in Lucire this month: it has a gold face, and the watch is nicer in the metal, but the price is the same (NZ$775). No word from the press person at an Auckland label whom I called last week, so it looks like Starfish (our first choice) will be supplying both dresses for Sam.
   Not that I know what the photos will look like, but there is a good chance the next New Zealand-edition cover will be shot by a Kiwi.

A spot of good news from the pageant world. More good news comes from pageantry than bad, based on what I see. Many of the contestants get a leg up into the areas they want to, thanks to the profile. Others form business networks. Don’t believe the gossipmongers and the sour grapes you might read elsewhere (as I say to the negative bloggers, I was there).
   For instance, the two Wellington-based contestants, Samantha Powell (who won Miss Universe New Zealand) and Rebecca Connor (Miss Wellington) have formed an alliance and this is particularly good for Rebecca’s business.
   Both Sam and Rebecca went to Miss New Zealand to have a bit of fun and to make connections, and this has allowed them to look a bit further than just the pageant, and at their careers.
   This release was sent today and I have my doubts on whether some of the mainstream media will pick this up, since it’s not negative enough. It’s not as big as some of the news posted to the groups that I am sending this to, but it’s a nice piece that deserves an airing.

Miss Universe New Zealand spurs cooperation between former rivals

Wellington and Auckland, May 21 (JY&A Media) Miss Universe New Zealand 2008 Samantha Powell will be getting support not only from the pageant and its sponsors, but from her former rival, Miss Wellington—Rebecca Connor of About You Artistry (www.aboutyouartistry.com).
   About You Artistry, a company specializing in make-up, is owned by Miss Connor. She has agreed to do Miss Powell’s make-up for publicity shots, photo shoots or print work whenever possible during her reign.
   Miss Connor was voted Miss Friendship by her fellow contestants and was in the top five at the 2008 pageant.
   ‘I had a great experience at the pageant and made some true friends,’ says Miss Connor. ‘I really want to support Sam in her bid for Miss Universe and during her year representing New Zealand.’
   Val Lott, director of Miss Universe New Zealand, says the cooperation between the former rivals is an example of the many positive outcomes found in pageantry.
   ‘Many of these girls go to the pageant as a professional choice, to forge not only friendships but create new networks,’ she says.
   Jack Yan, publisher of Lucire, who was a judge for Miss Universe New Zealand for the last two years, says Miss Connor’s entrepreneurship and willingness to reach out to a fellow contestant are examples of the positive effects the pageant brings.
   He says Mlles Powell and Connor are examples of contestants who are ‘keeping it real. This is why they both did so well in the pageant.’
   The Miss Universe New Zealand pageant was held at the Novotel Ellerslie on April 20. Samantha Powell will contest Miss Universe in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14.
   Miss Powell represented the Horowhenua at the national pageant.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Horrobin & Hodge spa in Manakau, north of Levin, for a future issue of Lucire. These are just random shots; the real 35 mm and digital ones will appear online and in print in due course. You can get great spa treatments there with products from Hema and other top-end lines, and I was pampered with a massage. A big thank-you to Sarah and Jacquie for making me feel so welcome, for an amazing lunch (meat from the farm next door and vegetables grown on site) and for letting me sleep on the day room couch when I was in sublime relaxation!
   Basically you are looking at world-class treatment but country-style hospitality—which makes the hour’s drive from Wellington well worth it.
   The first four shots are from the day room, both inside and the views toward the west and north.

   The reception is way cool: the lights are 110 ml milk bottles in a crate, acknowledging the rural heritage of the site. The old-fashioned telephone is actually push-button and not rotary, but it looks great alongside the Dell computer screen.    And, nearing sunset, one last shot before driving back to Wellington.

[Cross-posted] Lucire editor Laura Ming-Wong, Miss New Zealand 2007 Laural Barrett and I will be among the judges of the StarNow 2008 Australian Model Search. 
   Each time I judge a competition, I get asked what I am looking for.
   The requirements of a fashion magazine for models include talent that can look different each time. We don’t want a Derek Zoolander with a Blue Steel look. We want a model who, depending on angle, poses, mood and just her “look” can convey anything from cool to sultry, playful to dramatic.
   I don’t think conventional beauty always works with models, either. This idea has been helped by shows such as America’s Next Top Model: all the girls on that are stunning but very quickly, Tyra and her judges whittle the contestants down, often starting with the least flexible and most conventional of them.
   When judging the Cadbury Dream Model Search last year, I really liked how my fellow judges were conscious of family and education commitments, as I was. This is important, too: the maturity of the entrant and whether she has the focus that will enable her to succeed both in her education and in her career.
   Modelling, despite the mischief Kate Moss might get up to, is not fun and games. This is work, and usually very hard work. Discipline is key to the job.
   We look forward to seeing what entrants are signing up the competition and if it sounds like you, surf to www.starnow.com.au/modelsearch.