fat mu's Thriller.....

Thriller!

Monsieur Baker at work with Monsieur Jackson

'Cos this is Thriller....Thriller night.....la la la la la-la!' Surely this 'as to be the best song and music video in the world ever. Non? The MU's are filming on location, in a haunted house so had the cool idee of re-making Michael Jackson's Thriller with the film crew - starring the fat mu team! What fun we are 'aving dressing up as zombies and doing the MJ moves - we will post it as soon as shooting is complete....watch this space. Our MU Virginia is playing Michael, directing, doing the choreography, shooting it and having a great time.

Unfortunately we don't 'ave the time for a full on make-up look, our MU Xavier works a bit of magic with some greasepaint et voila, ready to spook and spin - no Rick Baker special effect touches...but we are dedicating our video to him and director John Landis who made the original video fantastique! Rick Baker is a personal hero of mine, love his work! Have lost count of the amount of Oscars he has won. His work inspired me to be a make-up artiste.....I watched his work in 'Amercian Werewolf in London' and then 'Thriller' and was wow-ed and won over. Dick Smith, Rick Baker.....legends. John Landis directed both these projects and MU's Virginia and Natasha got a quick intro at the Oscars this year.......the 'ighlight for Virginia for sure.

The sun is setting now on our haunted house set, night shoot is on - perfect light for Zombies coming out of graves and from behind trees......as the song goes...'it's close to midnight and something evils lurking from the dark' - that is me, Mulain ..with my camera!

Caio from a moon-walking Mulain x

2009 trend check list!

Natasha's look for Konkana....'In the nude' with focus on the eyes....

We are nearly half way through the year madames et monsieurs....can you believe? Life goes so fast and time passes so quickly.....Before we know it 2010 will be upon us and more trends, fashions, technological advance-ments will be coming our way - so Mulain is asking you today....'ave you ticked your boxes and tried the make-up trends of 2009?......I am trying to 'elp, make your lives easier and add fun to your lives.... that is all....

1. Rainbow Bright Nails - lift your recessionista spirit with bright nail colour.
2. In the Nude - a tribute to the pale/nude face of the sixties, focus on eyes.
3. Just Peachy - fresh coral/peach blush - fresh without being too girly.
4. The Golden Girl - gold on the eyes - a powder, cream or eyeliner - all cool.
5. Flawless Skin - glowing skin as natural as possible - try mineral bases.

Easy and fun to do so don't miss out on the 2009 fun. Enjoy your Sunday my friends......

Au revoir, Mulain x

Arch de Triumph!

Mulain is in loo-ve with this wonderful product - what fun and super cool packaging.... Soap & Glory Arch De Triump two-step shaping and highlighting crayon for instantly beautiful eyebrows - it apparently shapes, shifts and lifts! A face-lift in a box......and as a fab extra it includes a free professional brow shaping stencil or two.... seductive, shapely brows guaranteed. Cha-lo - available from good old Boots for a very affordable, recessionista price.

Happy shaping - Mulain....x

We love the Eighties!

"Her name is Rio and she dances in the sand - la la la"..... fat mu are having happy 80s memories at the moment and delighted that one, Francois Nars came out of retirement to design the look for Marc Jacobs Fall collection 09 and two, he went totally 80s in his looks.....Gravity defying hair, bright pops of colour for lips eyes - fabulous - retro magic with a modern twist - a mix of Blondie, Duran Duran, Kim Wilde and Banarama......Welcome back Monsieur Nars and uber respect for giving us an 80s flashback -http://www.style.com/beauty/backstage/032709_Marc_Jacobs/ - Mulain's tips for the looks....go for it and be bold! Photo 'ere is from an MTV fat mu promo with 80s make-up, model Lisa loving the look!

Mulain got hold of a photo from Virginia's 80s themed party a few years ag0 - see below ........shhh - don't tell her...she will keel me...

Narcissism now....

Diana Vreeland - RIP...

After reading our 'Pink is the navy blue of India' entry one of our avid followers noted it was said by the wonderful Diana Vreeland. They asked me what I made of one of her other clever sayings.... 'I loathe narcissism but I approve of vanity'......Well I would agree with the lovely lady (R.I.P).....as where would we all be without a bit of vanity in our lives - would n't the world be ugly, dull, benale, boring, tee-dious, no colour? A world without lippy, mascara and rouge? Terrible! Can you imagine? I am like my grandmother - never go out without my eye-brows on and a pair of heels.....and like anything my darlings, moderation is key.......vanity in moderation is ok by me. It is nice to have pride in one's appearance, making the best of ourselves. Narcissim however is to-tally not cool and is a pyschological disorder......she was right about the loathing part and I ask you, what would Madame Vreeland make of our world today? Vanity gone mad....it's a me, me, me society - think we are all bordering on narcissistic behaviour....facebook, twittering, constant status changes. Par example.....some people 'ave how many photos of themselves on-line? It is not naturale.....we are going from vain to insane.....so Mulain says take pride people and enjoy yourselves but leave the disorders in the clinic. Non?

Mulain x

Locations, Locations, Locations!

fat mu in London at the Slumdog Euro Premiere - Oh la la!

fat mu at the Taj, Agra for Slumdog...

On location in Goa for Honeymoon Travels 2006 - it's a hard life!

Today we are shooting in an old Maharajah's palace, outside Pune - delapidated charm my dears for sure, just fantastic....got Mulain thinking how lucky we are - the glamour side to being a make-up artiste ....to work in what we want to do and travel around, seeing the wonders of the world? What more could you ask for?....the MU's have shot in London, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodphur, Ladakh, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujurat, Malaysia, Tajikistan, South Africa, the Maldives....Madh Island!.....wonderful non? The joys of travelling and seeing the world - it keeps us alive and ticking and inspired.

Mulain is off now, as am on a night-shoot and need a strong cafe du lait.....all MUs working round the clock it seems - it's all go at HQ!

To keep you in the loop tomorrow mon amis we are discussing Narcissm and Vanity....and make-up colours of the season.

Bon Nuit!

Slumdog Millionth English Word?

Just when we think the Slumdog buzz is dying down something else crops up......apart from the Pussycat Dolls remix of Jai Ho of course.....Will Slumdog be the millionth word in the dictionary?.....think Jai Ho is also a front-runner. Mon Dieu! Do we have too much time on our hands people? Ummm.....

Mu-ving on....the MUs are delighted that Ben Nye make-up will be sold in Mumbai in the near future - such a fan of the brand which we have used on all our films and projects - great quality and super dependable. The MUs are in touch with the Nye family and hope to meet soon in LA or Mumbai to discuss make-up in India. Watch this space.

Mulain is a busy little bee so back to work......bye for now......x

Pink is the navy blue of India!

Mulain once had a t-shirt which said Pink is the Navy Blue of India!......I just loved it and it's a great way of saying colour rules in this subcontinent. We are so spoilt here with the most wonderful spectrum of pinks, oranges, yellows, blues, greens....just marvellous....colour everywhere you look! Sarees, flowers, fruits, elephants, foods, trees, cottons, silks - it's colour galore and I adore! Embrace it my darlings, let it lift your spirits and use it in your make-up palettes, on your eyes, on your cheeks, on your lips - it's there to inspire you. Non?

So no Monday blues in Bombay - it's totally pink!...and green!...and orange!....and yellow!.....and red!.....and purple!....

Mulain x

Sharing a Sunday Snap

Bonjour! Today Mulain found a lovely shot of MU Natasha in Mumbai, working on Zoya's 'Luck By Chance' last year - what a great photo...and I wanted you all to see....Thought it quite apt seeing as she is working with the Big B too....

Hope all your Sunday's were good!

Mulain x

P.s - Did anyone else hear of the ugly rumour that Max Factor make-up is being phased out in America? Can you imagine...the Godfather of all of us MU's having his make-up line disappear....I am feeling quite faint...off to investigate!

Bollywood's wonderful wigs

fat mu's lovely Kailash-Ji at work...

The MU's have been whizzing around Mumbai today - de-lighted with the little morning shower which cooled the city for all of two minutes and then it went back to pure steam again, oof! We all have a permanent sweaty lip, where's the glamour people?!.......From Bandra, to Juhu and even up to Film city area we've been jet-setting all over town and today we saw our lovely wig-maker and general 'wig-man' of the stars (who must not be named), Kailash-Ji. His address book is packed with the Who Who's of Bollywood-land and top society la-dies and gents..... He has moved with his wonderful team to a new studio in Goregaon West - an air-conditioned sanctuary, with chai and his charming company - it's like an ashram really. What a lovely soul he is.....and wonderful work he does too.....so anyone wanting a hair piece, beard, moustache, wig - he's your man.

Mulain x

Mulain's Weird and Wonderful India cont....

Check out a wonderful discovery on the very streets of Mumbai that we live - these 3 jolly fellows were cruising along in a rick et voila a friend managed to catch them on camera - please watch....not to be tried at home!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrmDdyBLXLI

Does n't the main dude look like Johnny Depp....in a Sadhu/Pirates of the Caribbean sort of way?

Mulain loves Mumbai x

What to do?

How sad...as much as Paa's security people tried to protect Mr.Bachchan's amazing new look, those forever hungry 'snaparazzis' managed to click a photo on the sly and put it on the front cover on all the papers. Shame non? Hopefully people will be so wow-ed with what an amazing job the prosthetics team have done that it will pull the audiences in my friends. Mulain is wondering is nothing sacred anymore?......It's a sad week. I am completely heart-broken without The Tonight Show with my favourite Jay Leno. Trying to get into the new guy....ummm....let's wait and watch.

You remember Virginia's little mention on the show.....her little 15 mili - second of glory with our lovely Mademoiselle Pinto!
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=75589243122

Waiting for the rains to cool the city down! So hot my darlings - we are all steaming!
Any tips for cooling down, please let me know....fast....I am a little puddle in this melting metropolis!


Mulain x

News on the MUs!

Today I am just filling you in on what the MUs at fat mu HQ are upto. It's all go......there is the shooting of Disney's first feature which is being filmed entirely in Mumbai and around Maharashtra with a stellar cast, who unfortunately cannot be named at this point of time....secrets, secrets! The film is due for release in December this year so do watch this space. The fat mu team are surviving the heat on location and are ensuring the actors do not melt and look good! My MU Virginia will be re-joining the crew for a couple of weeks soon to check all is going well and to replace our darling MU Kamlesh as he is getting married! So 'appy for him...

Our lovely Xavier is helping on the Disney film and also doing his usual GQ shoots and weddings - a busy little bee for sure with that constant smile - we love you Xavier! Our lovely Natasha is flying between Mumbai and Delhi with the Bachchan special effects team - 'full on' airbrushing for her! She is currently M.I.A.....holed up in a studio/set...no daylight for her......make-up is not all glamour my dears.

Our lovely Reetu is entrenched with Disney and facial pieces! Probably dying for a bit of glamour.....Do not stress my dear - the bridal and party season will commence and you and the team will be back to the beauty and the glitz of weddings and fashion shoots! Cha-l0!

Make-up is so much fun my lovelies and never dull....fat mu are dabbling in one of their passions...Le Theatre! Designing the Hair & Make-up for Anuvab Pal's new play, which opens end of this month. After co-writing Loins of Punjab, The President's Coming and Chaos Theory this play will definitely hit the jack-pot with audiences. It has a great cast, Sophie Choudry being one of the actors involved - the MUs have to create 6 different looks as she plays 6 characters in the play. We loo-ve the challenge!

So its a total mix of film, television, fashion, theatre and of course not forgetting our lovely wedding belles. That reminds me...am off to meet a bride now can't be late!

Love you all - Mulain x

The Perfect One-step Facial Cleanser?

Friends - we know the world is falling apart as we speak, bomb testing to our right, missile testing to our left, bankruptcies galore not to mention diabolical human rights atrocities not far from our very shores....but amidst all this boom, doom and gloom Mulain has made a wonderful discovery!.....Please don't think of me as shallow my darlings but Mulain is so happy to think he has found the perfect facial cleanser and is to-tally excited by his find....Oui this little beauty I swear removes Bombay from my face everyday, leaving my skin looking and feeling fab-ulous! It suites all skin types, smells yummy thanks to the extract of orange ingredient and is a 2-in-1 delight so saves us on time, effort and money.....brilliante, brilliante and brilliante. You just need some soft cotton-wool, shake the bottle and off you go 'chalo'....urging you to try as it's too good. It's name is Clarins, Demaquillant Tonic Express available all over the world from Paris to Shoppers Stop, Mumbai!

Do let me know what you think - Mulain x

We love Bobbi B!

One of my favourite make-up designers Madame Bobbi Brown says "Platinum instantly highlights and gives the face a fresh, modern edge," and Mulain totally agrees. With this in mind, seems she has designed a new selection of summer make-up called The Platinum Collection. This includes velvety, long-wearing cream shadows, some luminous lip glosses and the gorgeously shimmering, fragranced body oil which is packed with pink and platinum pearls, can you imagine my friends? Just de-lightful! And the icing on the cake for me is the Platinum Pink version of Brown's ever popular Shimmer Brick - featuring five bars of softly sparkling colours from golden coral to pretty rose for a subtly radiant glow. Available at Bobbi Brown counters and http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/.

We love you Bobbi!

Mulain x

Toxic Beauty!

Lip watch....

Mulain is aware he keeps you up-to-speed on what's hot and what's not....but it is also my gentleman-ly, ethical duty to keep you in the loop with the safety aspects of la macquillage. Oui...again the 'too much lead in lipstick' levels are being discussed and thrown in the air. Most big beauty houses do follow the guidelines of what is allowed and noone is out there to knowingly poison you my darlings...but it is tres importante to be aware of what you are putting on your skin at all times....everything gets absorbed into you - weird and strange notion I know. So when you buy....ask your sales person questions...they should know about ingredients of their make-up, it is your right as a consumer. Mineral make-up is trying to be as natural as possible so that is a good route for you to explore if you are concerned with toxic make-up. Don't panic though....make-up has never been 'safer' I feel.....just do a bit of homework and try before you buy.

Be sexy and safe....Mulain x

Be happy...

What faces! characters! expressions! I love! Ok - today the lesson is short and sweet so listen up! Mulain is concerned.......are you all happy? Do you like yourselves?....Think I am having an Oprah moment here but my darlings.....everyday I get asked....How to look beautiful? How to be beautiful? How to feel beautiful? Mulain always has to remind people.....you ARE beautiful.....Such a cliche my dears but so true.....don't fall into the trap of not fitting into the conventional beauty box....we are all different and that is just wonderful....imagine how boring life would be if we all looked the same....Mon dieu!

Don't focus on the negative and don't be fooled by the mazazines that photoshop people into plastic dollies and unrealistic puppets, read the following link on the retouching of celebrities from the New York Times.....http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/fashion/28RETOUCH.html?ref=style....it is all plastic my lovelies and a big business.....so don't get swallowed in! Love everything about yourselves - your nose, your hair, your hips, your tummy, your character lines....keep fit, be nice, don't focus on yourself and the rest will fall into place....Make-up is there to enhance what you are....not mask you.....Live life, love life, laugh as much as you can, dance like noone is watching and please keep your perspective on things....Mulain is truly preaching today n'est ce pas? Just want you to be happy....that is all....and there endeth the lesson.

Mulain x

The laughing MU's on Hallmark's King Tut!

On-line tips and tricks

Confused by make-up? Too many colours and textures and trends....don't panic people - with the assistance of the fat mu gang, moi and people like Lauren Luke on-line - you will be able to design your own make-up and personal kit like a true champ. With Mademoiselle Luke there is the continuing theme of the year - the under-dog rising against all odds and succeeding. Hurrah! Mulain thinks this 27 year old, single maman from England is to-tally inspiring.......Lauren Luke is the most popular site on YouTube UK and it's all about make-up, looking good and making the best of yourself - log onto www.bylaurenluke.com/ to check her out - Lauren seems like a lovely, normal mademoiselle 'oo does make-up tutorials on-line and tells you how to do different fashion and beauty looks. Now she has her own line of make-up too and is set to take-over the States. Well done Ms. Luke, we shall keep watching you at fat mu HQ - just shows that anything is possible if you try my friends.

fat mu HQ will also be doing some fun things on YouTube - fun tips and tricks will be coming your way soon.

Mulain x

Lashes like Ash's....

....... Lashes are the icing on the cake for your eyes my friends, and we all could use a little help and advice on design and application. So you will all be pleased when I tell you that one of my good friends, a certain Monsieur Uemura is introducing a pop-up make-up bar in London's Selfridges throughout the month of December as a preview to its official launch in the department store next year - now how cool is that? If you want your lashes to look like Ash's then The Tokyo Lash Bar is the right place for you....it will be offering make-up sessions using the brand's trademark avant garde cosmetics and false eyelashes, ranging from a lash application lesson right through to a full makeover with one of Shu's senior make-up artists. Starting from £10, it's available at Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London. Call 0800 123 400 to find out more. Get with the programme people and get yourselves booked in and check out his world http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/ .......don't forget to tell Shu I said hi!


Mulain x

India's Weird and Wonderful!

Isn't he a delight my friends? You know in India - one just never knows what is around the next corner. It's a mix of the mad, the bad, the sad, the weird, the wonderful, the exotic, the kitsch, the whacky, the rich, the poor, the 'in-betweens', the holy men, the cows (MUU!), the old, the new, the forgotten, the discovered, the good, the glamorous, the forts, the palaces! All in all - it's just fab-ulous! A sensory treat for all and a constant kaleidoscope of inspiration for all at fat mu HQ....... I just LOO-VE it.....never a dull day in Mulain's Mumbai world.

My lovely MU Natasha spotted our friend above while filming for Salaam-e-Ishq in Rishikesh. Just wonderful!

Speaking of wonderful - I am having a super-relaxing Sunday in the city - watching my mango tree sway in the breeze and watching the Monsoon clouds slowly building up - thinking that the rains are coming soon my lovelies and also of all my MU's up to their eye-balls in air-brushing, prosthetics, facial hair, making up hundreds of extras....busy little bees.

Mulain is exhausted just thinking of it all, so off for a masala chai and a much needed little cow-nap.

Mulain z z z z z z z x