The colour purple

Mulain was skyping to his mama....currently holidaying in the Carribbean.....when noticed on the screen that she was wearing the most fabulous colour on her nails....purple! So chic....holiday nails with a pop. Of course OPI does a fab purple but Mulain was thinking in Mumbai where could he buy a lovely shade of this colour? Going to head to New Beauty Centre and DandB to see what they have.....Chalo...

Last week of batch 3...graduation day on Friday!!!! We will be so sad to see our MU-ettes leave our academy but so happy for them knowing they're going off into the world to create make-up magic!

Ahhhh - bon chance my darlings...Mulain x

How to look like Taylor Swift!

this Lakme Red 'red hot' lipstick is a great place to start!

This singer / songwriter is uber hot and totally talented and RED CARPET GORGEOUS!

The infamous Kanye West moment....what a bad man!!!

MUs Virg and Nat were watching Taylor Swift perform at a recent music industry award function and in between OMG-ing with Usher and toe-tappin' with Katy Perry and lil Justin B
they could n't help noticing just how good she looked. She usually goes for a very feminine, girly, soft look ....this night she went for old Hollywood glam..from hair to nails to lips to eyes! Just fantastic and shows how versatile she is...and what a great style team she has! Recently Mulain has noticed Mademoiselle Swift wearing flicks on the eyes and a red, statement mouth, instantly giving her a more adult, glamourous look and appeal. Love it!

So...want to look like Taylor Swift but without the surgery :)....the below products will help!

MU-st prep skin!!!! Get skin care to suit you.

Groom those brows and keep them in place.

MAC's Blacktrack fluid eyeline gel / Lakme liquid eyeliner for the eyeline flicks.

Max Factor volume mascara - 2000 caleries is great for va-va-voom red carpet glam.

MAC's Dollymix powder blush for girly glam.

and finally the statements lips...icing on the cake!

LAKME'S "RED HOT" LIPSTICK - it's a fantastic shade of red...huge impact and just lovely!

Also keep the hair soft and tonged and maybe pin back....nails red to match lips! Voila....let me know how you get on my loo-ver-lies......

So my darlings....am whizzing off for a meeting...MU Natasha in academy today...intro to sfx...can't wait to see pix!

Mulain x

fat mu's 8 week pro course!

It's batch 3's final week in the academy this week....can you believe it?...Our little MU-ettes are leaving the nest on Friday...off to spread their creative wings across Mumbai. Bon chance my darlings! They still have to get through character week though and intro to SFX, so still work and learning is on.

Bookings are now open for January 2011 for batches 4 and 5, a morning session and afternoon session now available! So do email or call us...numbers and details at the top of the blog...come in and meet the MUs and see if this is the course for you!

MU Virginia is prepping for an Excel film...the fat mu team are completing the last schedule for the fabulous Ms. Akhtar....so all go at fat mu HQ plus other shoots on and of course...lots of wedding belles!

Caio for now....Mulain x

Dior's Cruise look for 2011

Flicks of eyelines - popped with bright current colours...

60s Paris inspired....thank you Ms. Mcgrath......

John Galliano at his best.....

Mulain saw images from the Dior Cruise show in Shanghai yesterday and so wished he was there to help create those flicks and pops of lip colours...lovely! John Galliano's show for Dior saw him bring the streets of 1960s Paris to the current 'it' city of Shanghai!!! 60s hair and eye flicks teamed with bright, poppy colours from the 80s....bringing the look into 2011 courtesy from our fat mu MUse Pat Mcgrath. She wanted to capture the energy from the Parisienne streets of the time adding a contemporary twist...she again not only succeeded but wowed us all as usual.

Have a great Friday night my darlings....Batch 3 final photo shoot tomorrow...so early night pour moi!

M x

Say 'Yes to Carrots'!!

Ridiculously good for your skin!!!!
Say yes to cucumbers!!

Say yes to tomatoes!!

Say yes to carrots!!

Mulain says check out 'Yes to carrots' skin and hair care - it's totally healthy, paraben and chemical free and Vegans can use it with no guilt!!! It's natural, cool and so positive it' ll kill you...visit their site and check out where you can get your little hooves on this brand.

www.yestocarrots.com

I am totally getting their body butter....it looks too good!

M x

Lash glue to the rescue!

Lash glue along with le cotton bud, a make-up artist's best friend ....

Real cracked lips as a reference for the look!

Mulain's top product of the week is eyelash glue! May seem very obvious my friend but it's a versatile product used not only for lashes!! MU Virginia had to create cracked lips on her 'Eskimo' model on her shoot.....she taken taken Tu-plast to create the effect but the Tu-plast had dried up!! Emergency situation......lash glue saved the day! Dabbed it on the lips and then broke it up to create the effect....it did the job and looked realistic and subtle....phew!

Let us know your fave products my darlings....we MU-st all share our knowledge!

M x

Quick lip fix!

Mulain was shopping in his local Mumbai general store and noticed a cute little tube from Vaseline for lips....use Himalaya usually but tempted to try this little number...so popped it into my shopping basket. Actually it was the strawberry flavour that attracted to me...sucker for that fruit! It cost 60 Rs and now has found itself firmly established in my man purse! It's actually called Rosy glow lip care by Vaseline and they have different options on offer. It's quick and easy to put on, quickly relieves dry lips (Mumbai is so dry right now non?...plus A/C is a killer!)....and gives a nice subtle gloss!

Mulain likes......:)

Decorated skin!

MU Virginia on set with stylist Isha discussing the tribal markings

India's 'African' tribe the Siddis...in Gujurat!

Mulain was with MU Virginia yesterday for her TVC involving African tribal looks...we had lots of fun trialing the designs and deciding which products we were to use... MUettes Loveleen, Bianca and MU Sunita were all hands on deck with decorating 6 tribal African men with markings! Great fun but organised systems of applying them were set up...working on 2 men at a time and keeping the same shapes and textures was key. We got inspiration from 2 fabulous books ...MUst gets!

1) DECORATED SKIN - A World Survey of Body Art by Karl Groning ***** (5 stars!)

A must get!

2)PEOPLES OF THE WORLD - Mirella Ferrera ***** (5 stars!)

Get to know people from our global village my darlings through these amazing books. Expensive but with you for life to inspire and open your mind up. Mulain was amazed to find that 2 men from our 'African' TVC tribe were from Gujurat! Yes Gujurat! MU Virginia was in shock for most of the day.....this African tribe, the Siddis came to India hundreds of years ago through trading and set up their communities in certain parts of India...Gujurat being one. They are totally assimilated into Indian culture but don't marry outside their community, so they still have their African features....but on an everyday level they speak Gujurati, eat Indian food...they are Indian! Mulain loves finding out these little nuggets of knowledge.

We had a great 2 days on the TVC....can't wait for it to air to show you guys! MUs Natasha and Sunita are still shooting with b:blunt and MU Sara is running our 1 week Intro to Make-up week.

Busy, busy! MUs Xavier and Menaka are in Rajasthan working alongside Judi D and Maggie S and one of the MUs favourite D.P. (Dev Patel).....they are having a great time and will be back in December...can't wait to hear their news!

Nighty night guys and dolls...time to sign off....M x

Prep time!

Tribal reference image for inspiration....

Fabulous tribal book!

Trialing rock salt on brows to create ice effect....

fat mu trialing African textures....

The directors vision of 'God'....

Real tribes in action....

Lovely shapes and texture.....

Getting inspired for 'God' character....Western classical look

Real ice on face...extreme weather!!

Brrrrrr - cold look on!

Great tribal ref images.....

Friday was prep day for the MUs...all prepping for shoots....MUs Natasha and Sunita gearing up for a b:blunt shoot on Monday and MU Virginia for a TVC involving a woman in labour, 'God', African tribals, Eskimos and Japan!!!! So lots of things to pack for and think about.

MU Virginia had to research African tribal body painting and art...looking at shapes, textures, colours....working alongside costume and the production designer with a certain colour palette in mind! Muted colours, broken textures..nothing bright and vivid....faded and real was the brief. This was also applied to all the other characters too! Eskimos...real life feel....no 'filmi' Eskimos was the brief....so we had to look up what happens to the skin and hair in extreme cold. The Japan setting was again muted colour and subtle shapes and 'real' again...so hair and make-up would have to similar feel.

So before the shoot...all hands on deck for prepping....oodles of references required and trialing of products before hand....we had such fun!!! All the MUs brainstorming as to what to use and where to use. MU Natasha suggested salt rocks to mimick ice on brows, Multani Meti for body painting to create a cracked, broken up feel...turmeric powder! chandan! talc! We tried everything. Of course our handy palettes are always on standby to help us create what we want..grease, aqua, powders....(what would we do without you?). Have to prep for 'God' too!.....wigs and facial to trial and test.....Mulain just loves, loves, loves character make-up!!!!! Too much fun.

So off for more practice now...can't wait to tell you how it went!

Have a great weekend...M x

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...

Lovely make-up Mr. Fiennes....

Poor Harry P....

Mulain is sure a lot of you will be waiting to see the last films of the Harry P series with baited breath! Saw the trailer last night and I want to go and see the film desperately just for the characters and make-up. Superb!!!!! So to any artists out there go and see it on the big screen when you get the chance, totally inspiring and jaw-dropping. Mulain has read all the HP books and just loved them...so difficult to see the film when you have the characters already in your head.....but Mulain will make an exception with this film.....looks awesome....especially Vol....de....(I mean He who shall not be named) ;) .....just check out his face!

So chalo my friends lets make a date of it this weekend...a good recovery after Diwali. Relax and look up at the screen and escape into another world.

M x

'Art of Darkness' by Illamasqua

Illamasqua never fails to impress.... and so from their Autumn / Winter 2010 collection come these stunning images called 'Art of Darkness'.









To know more about this brand and their products click on the their link....http://www.illamasqua.com/

MUse of the month - Artist (painter and photographer) Marilyn Minter

Scented nails

Hello mes amis.... hope you all had a wonderful Diwali!!! Mulain had a very relaxing time with his friends and was glad for the break i tell you. How pretty did everything look all lit up!!.... Tres tres belle!!!

Now its back to the world of maquillage and a leetle bird has just told me that Revlon is coming out with scented nail polishes!! ooh la la.... nice to have your nails/ hands smelling and looking so good all the time... especially if you are a make-up artist working so close on a person's face.

The good news is that it comes in a wide array of pretty colours as you can see with lovely scents that last.... The bad news is that you won't get it in India for a while.... but... there's hope yet! ... it's already out in the stores in the states and hits the UK markets in march 2011... so if you are travelling, or have friends, bring some back and tell Mulain what you think..... Well done Madame Westman for this genius idea!!

(Btw for those of you who do not know Madame Westman she is global artistic director of Revlon and a fantastic make-up artist... full name Gucci Westman... look her up)

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

Stress management for make-up artistes!!

Essential attitude for all make-up artistes....

To all make-up artistes and our MU-ettes.....being a make-up artist is not just about making it happen creatively...no, no my friends....that's just the half of it! You have to be able to handle people and situations in any environment...you most be an oasis of calm and 'togetherness' to get the job done and done well. You have to manage time too and some lousy places to do your make-ups. No lights, bad mirrors, rocking make-up vans, dusty studio rooms.....it ain't all glamour my darlings. As our lovely MU-ettes find out in the class room..it's about doing a make-up in a certain amount of time. When you're on a job the clock is ticking.....every second of every minute counts.....you have to be the ultimate multi-tasker....studying faces, while prepping skin while managing a team, while dealing with the photographer, stylist, client, agency, bride, mother of bride.....it's not an easy job and you have to be able to handle the pressure! Feeling sorry for yourself is not an option...you MU-st have a 'can-do' positive attitude. It's essential......face any situation head on...face the fear.....breathe...sip water.....smile.....have a plan and never just knee jerk react to situations....take a few vital seconds to stop and think....use your brain....that's what it's there for na?

Here endeth Mulain's lesson of the day....

Masking tape for make-up artistes!

Le masking tape!

Take whatever size strips you need.....



MU-ettes in action with le tape!

Keeping their lines super straight and defined!

Today Mulain was in Catwalk class at the academy and was watching MU Virginia demo-ing different tips and tricks for creating designs and shapes and lines.....Mulain just loves the simplicity of masking tape to help us artistes out there on our different jobs. Whether you are creating a crazy 60s eyeline in a rocking, shaking make-up van....or while a hairstylist is blowdrying hair and pulling the head at all angles while you still have to work or creating any required super-straight lines....this tape will help you create the look you want and with speed. Just simply cut off the size you need and stick (lightly) onto the skin....go easy on application and easy on removing!!! You are not waxing your model / performer!....Lightly attach, it'll be easy to remove, once stuck on ...paint away...get your design on and then take away leaving fantastic lines and shapes!

Tomorrow is practical assessment for theatrical characters....can't wait to see how the MU-ettes perform! Come on batch 3 you can do it....

Mulain x

Clown make-ups!

fat mu MU-ettes in clown class!

Happy clown.....

Sad clown....

Mulain thought what a coincidence that Monday's make-up class was clown make-ups and he read in the HT that there is a 'Clown Convention' hitting Bombay this week...for 10 days! Clowns from all over the world are heading to the city to offer workshops in 'how to be a clown' and show how many 'different clowns' there are.....great for kids but also but make-up artistes!

Clown class in the MU academy is a great way to introduce the students to creating different shapes on the face, thus creating moods and effects...happy clown, sad clown...also playing with different textures of make-up to achieve the look. Also great practice for working free-hand, getting your symmetry correct and LOOKING IN THE MIRROR!!! Very important.....so a great session to cement that all-rounded touch you need as an artiste.

It's one of Mulain's favourite classes.....M x