THE POWER OF MAKE-UP!!

MU-ette Clover as a 'Pirate of the Caribbean' - Jack Sparrow style - make-up by MU-ette Swapna - FAT MU ACADEMY BATCH 5

MU-ette Clover - 60s inspired black and white shoot - make-up by MU-ette Incia - FAT MU ACADEMY BATCH 5

MU-ette Clover - Final photoshoot - fashion / catwalk creation - make-up by MU-ette Farzana - FAT MU ACADEMY BATCH 5

Mulain was reminded again about the power of make-up...while reviewing the students' work for the fat mu academy...I looked at MU-ette Clover in 3 different 'avatars'...1960s - a pirate - a catwalk creation....she is totally different in each one! One model (MU-ette Clover), 3 different make-up artists (MU-ettes Swapna, Incia, Farzana)...amazing work and we are so proud of all our MU-ettes really...so hard-working and creative. Bravo...Mulain salutes you.

M x

Jessie J's Nobody's Perfect Make-up!

Mulain is loo-ving the lips!

Gothic glam!

Soft, edgy glam...

Whacky glam!

"Circus Glam"....think Mulain just coined a phrase...

Ok..while watching VH1 last week Mulain picked up on Jessie J's 'Nobody's Perfect' Music Video ....it was so Gaga-esque / Christina-esque.....Jessie was changing hair and make-up so fast and throwing us edgy, dark, whacky looks every 10 secs it seems...apparently this Brit singer will not rest until she is as BIG as Lady Gaga....good luck to you...creatively you're certainly following in her footsteps....great voice, catchy tunes...but methinks there is only one Gaga! Great to see for Monday morning inspiration....head to YouTube to see her MV...it's fast and furious and smacks us so many different colour combos on lips, eyes, nails...a feast for the eyes.

It's bridal class this morning...lots of Wedding Belles heading for class. Have a great day in the Mumbai heat....rains coming soon I feel.

M x

Art Timelines!

Indian art from c. 1600

Cave carving from Tahiti...


Japanese art...

European art influenced by African art

Byzantine art..

Chinese 11th century silk painting...

European 15th anatomy sketches

Want to broaden your knowledge of art through history and from around the globe...hit www.metmuseum.org/toah/ .....amazing site that will allow you to browse through different timezones in art. Mulain loves it and keeps going back for inspiration and sheer enjoyment. In the academy this week we are doing theatre and catwalk and really exercising the practice of creating with colours / shapes / textures....looking back into the past but creating something new!

Let me know of any new sites you may find my friends...do pass on knowledge...that's how we all progress.

M x

Chez-Moi

www.facebook.com/pages/Chez-Moi

Mulain is delighted to tell you all about cafe Chez-Moi...started by my dear friend Amman Dua in Bandra West, sort of next door to Candies in Reclamation. Just off now to check it out...food is Euro / Bistro style and all write-ups so far have been great! Bon chance Amman! Now you might think why is Mulain writing about a cafe on a make-up blog? Well...we all know cafes / coffee or tea house culture is the perfect environment to relax/unwind/escape/talk/chat ideas/spread ideas/argue ideas/get inspired....check out 1900s Vienna if you don't believe me. Those little hotspots of gathering helped shaped the 20th century!! So roll on cafe culture I say. Get your little hooves trotting down there to get inspired and share thoughts of the day. Remember my fellow artistes and friends, you are shaping the world around you and of course have a cake while you are at it :).

Mulain x

Manish Acharya

R.I.P. Manish.....from fat mu

MUs Virginia and Natasha were shocked to hear that their friend Manish Acharya had passed away on December 4th. All our thoughts our with his family at this time. Such a funny man Mulain can't tell you....extremely hardworking, bright, giving and inspiring. We met him on his film 'Loins of Punjab Presents' in 2005 and have been in contact ever since.....great movie (do see if you have n't) and so much more to give. Gone far too soon....we will always hear his laughter and see his wicked smile and admire his sharp life observations.... why he has gone...nobody can explain...life Mulain says with a big sigh.....what a heavy heart I have.....

Mulain x

The Genius of Heston Blumenthal

Mulain is addicted to Masterchef Australia.... recently there was a challenge for the contestants and it was to recreate the masterpieces created by one of the world's best chefs 'Heston Blumenthal'. I was blown away by his creations... he takes the world of food to an entirely new level, one that I never thought possible and each of his dishes are like works of art.

I was so inpired by him and his out of the box thinking, to think he could do that with food.... I had to share it with my MU-ettes and all of you to say.... don't be limited... explore your creative sides and constantly push boundaries.... try doing something different with things that have been done the same way for years.... experiment experiment experiment!!!

Here are some images of his work... the best that I could locate online for you all to see what he does..... take a look at his colours, textures and shapes and get inspired!!

Mx

Bombay art exhibition.....

Sumita Acharya's painting....

Matisse from turn of the 20th century....

MUs Sara and Sunita went down to check out the Hollywood photo exhibition in South Mumbai yesterday....both told Mulain that it was so disappointing...they wanted to see images from 100 years of celebrating Hollywood and it's icons...sadly only about 10 images on display and all from 50s and 60s! As the MUs were in town they decided to see what other exhibitions were on...so they hit the galleries in the Kala Ghoda area. They both came back raving about an artist they had seen called Sumita Acharya (www.sumitaacharya.com) ..... both loved the strong, vibrant colours that the artist had used....came back totally inspired and bursting with ideas.....

Mulain checked out the artist and seems she is heavily influenced by an art movement called Fauvism, which came after Impressionism. Never heard of these art movements my artistes? Get to know your art history! The most famous artist from this group was Henri Matisse....the movement is synomonous with wild brush strokes, a strident use of colour, simplification of subject matter and a certain amount of abstraction - USE IT IN YOUR WORK...start to collect images from different art movements...it's super fun and interesting!

Mulain is in class today with MU Virginia ...then it's a Diwali weekend...so hope you are all gearing up to celebrate this special occasion.

Enjoy my friends....Mulain wishes you all well x

Toulouse-Lautrec inspiration!

Lautrec inspired us for the Circus / theatrical shoot we did last week...

The MUs creating the Madame look with the camp wrestler in the back...

Shapes to inspire painted on eyebrows

A hair design to give us ideas....

A scene from HBO's 'Carnival'.....to see a modern take on a circus

A bearded lady poster....

More hair inspiration

More hair sketches.....

And back to Lautrec....

Mulain thought it would be of interest to you artists out there to see how the MUs research for their shoots and fashion work...actually any work! As we preach and preach and preach in the academy.....DON'T COPY!.....take inspiration from what has been done before and build on it injecting your own style, ideas and take on the brief. Tres importante. Plus it's much more exciting to create your own magic my darlings.

Virginia MU did a TVC last week and the theme was a 'theatrical, quirky circus troupe'...fabulous brief and a real chance for the MUs to get out there and play with their brushes and paints! Firstly we identified how many characters we had to create and then we worked on the individuality of each one. We had 2 bearded ladies, 1 madame, 1 crazy drummer, 'a head' on a table, 5 bald men, a 'camp' wrestler. Each one got a stamp of individuality with a comical twist but all kept within the same colour palette to hold them together as a group and keep in with the costumes and production design.

Theatrical eyebrows played a key role in all the characters and we painted on some lovely shapes...made them bigger and bolder and gave the 'madame' a mono-brow for an extra quirk. (Does help if your director trusts you and has the vision to back you on your ideas!!) We also threw in a 2010 Lady Gaga touch with everyone....with glitter and lashes. We researched dancers, performers, circus acts, the 'bizarre' and also took huge inspiration from Toulouse-Lautrec one of the great Impressionist artists. His vibrant, buoyant slightly caricature take on the subjects in his paintings helped us hugely....from the colours to the shapes he created and the mood of his paintings. Merci monsieur...and Mulain recommends you all google him and observe.

Key products and tools for this shoot!

A steady hand and no shaking make-up van!!!!!
Paint / art brushes
Grease palette (Kryolan is a good option)
Aqua palette (try Kryolan again)
Selection of whacky lashes (Doris and Bharat, India, Charles Fox, London)
Clown white (Ben Nye)
Eyeshadow palette (Ben Nye)
Blusher palette (Ben Nye)
Aqua glitter pots - utterly fabulous (Ben Nye)
Facial (beards and moustaches) - (theatrical shops or your nearest wig maker / postiche maker)

All in all we had a great time apart from the crazy moving make-up van and can't speak for the bearded ladies though...ummm...may not be speaking to us now...hee hee. Mulain wants to do more shoots like this my friends...SUCH FUN and SO CREATIVE!!!!

Take care and get researching!

M x

Himalayan Poppies!

Himalayan Poppies!!

Mulain has whizzed to the highlands and islands of West Scotland....people, parties ......and poppies!!! Was amazed to see such a glorious display of fauna against the backdrop of the stark Scottish landscape....the Himalayan Poppy was jumping out at me orange / red and pink alongside the delicate shades of lilac and muted greens....a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I just had to show you all....see above....that if that does n't inspire you for colour and vibrancy in your life and work I don't know what will...

Do enjoy and will let you know on Monday what the fat mu team are upto next week...happy weekend!

Mulain x

Mulain recommends....

Mulain's artist of the day.....Degas

Mulain's recommended film of the day...Rosemary's Baby

Wonderful reading for those who have n't read.....

Mulain sees the MUs working so hard and keeps reminding them to switch off...read books, discover artists, go to exhibitions, see plays, see films, start painting.....it will make you happier and will help your work...so above is my Tuesday's recommendation...do let me know yours....what is your inspiration my friends?

Mulain x

India's 21st Century face.....

Lakshmi Menon for Givenchy....stunning....

Our MU Natasha's Make-up for the Taj Calendar.....

At ease, natural beauty....classic and timeless...

Mademoiselle Menon for Maxmara......

Fresh-faced with no Kajal.....

Maxmara campaign again for LM....

At ease on the international runways....

Vogue love LM!!!

Sultry and sexy...exotic beauty....

London's Dazed and Confused picked up on the Menon magic....

Vogue again.....

Ask any economist and they will say that the 21st century will belong to Asia. Now Mulain knows Asia is a big, big land mass....and consists of different looks, cultures, skin types, aesethetic tastes and beauty ideals.....we are in for an interesting time ahead my friends.... It seems 'the West' have picked up on the beauty of Bangalore's home-grown Lakshmi Menon as THE international face to front their different brands and be the face of 'new India'. Hermes to Givenchy to MaxMara....Menon is hot property and her look is totally accepted and loved on an international platform. When you see her in her different get-ups...you can see her versatility.....glamour, natural, Kajal and no Kajal, sexy, innocent, barefaced, lots of colour...she fits into all, quite effortlessly. Born to be a star it seems.

Mulain loves the fact also that her 'dusky' beauty is not only appreciated and accepted but truly loved and adored. She wows everyone and no sign of 'fair and lovely' anywhere. So all you dusky beauties out there take note. Love your skin! This is your time to be Indian and be proud of your skin colour.....it's your century...don't try and be white! That is Mulain's view anyway....

So artistes out there...ask yourself...can you work without Kajal? Less eye definition? Mulain says try it! Are you using different lip shades, cheek textures, base textures? If you don't you are limiting your creativity and work. We know Indian women are born with Kajal in their hands....and you have to prize it off them....but sometimes it's well worth the struggle.

So go celebrate Lakshmi and be proud of her......and then be proud to be a fabulous Indian woman (and man)....don't let beauty companies and traditions stop you from liking and being and exploring yourself. Remember it's your time to shine!

Mulain is off to pick up some more technical make-up tips from the MU academy today.

Hope you are surviving the heat.....Mulain x