SMOONSTYLE

Hello beauties!

In May I was spend a couple of days in beautiful France with L'Oréal to attend a workshop with Val Garland and explore a world of new products from the 'Wake up and Glow' collection.

When I saw they organised a workshop with Val Garland, I was delighted! She is one of my favourite make up artists. Meeting her was definitely one of my highlights of that weekend.


After we arrived in Antibes, Karin and I went out to get some lunch. We found a lovely Lebanese restaurant. On our way back to our hotel, we found an ice cream shop. Both of us are great fans of the mint chocolate chip. We enjoyed our ice cream while looking at the sea. It's the little things that make me happy. Ice cream any time of the day!

Time to freshen up a bit and go out with Johanna and Meggy for cocktails and a little spontaneous photoshoot. The majority of these pictures are already up on the blog. I am still glad that I put on that dress and posed for the camera.




Fun fact, I have never slept in the Martinez Hotel, I only used the restroom once a couple years back.
Shortly after this photo was taken, we ran in to Aishwarya Rai who was on her way to the L'Oréal studios. She is drop dead gorgeous!



Val Garland in action.


Val showing off her head banging skills. She nailed it!


Meeting Val was a dream come true. She is an icon in the make up industry and very down to earth.
She created a beautiful make up look on a lovely model, using new products that are not on the market yet.

At the end of the demonstration there was still time to ask her some questions. One of my questions was how she applies mascara and uses the eyelash curler. Something I still find rather challenging when I am applying make up on clients.
Her answer was: just get in there and do it. Be confident and just do it.

She gave two helpful tips:

1- Apply lavender perfume (or any perfume of your choice) on your wrist.
This will 'distract' the client and put them at ease. This is something that I always do when I apply make up on clients. I myself don't like lavender, but I know that it does have calming effect.

2- Put your hand on the model/client's shoulder.
When you are applying make up, you are very much in each others space. If you don't know the client, it immediately creates a sort of trust and takes away the 'awkwardness' of being literally in someones face.


From left to right: Olesja, Johanna and Nadine




After my bath with lipstick photo session it was time to go to the L'Oréal Villa for more workshops.
The first workshop was at the Glow Station with make up artist Philipp Verheyen. He told us how to achieve the best glow for the skin and his favourite way to do make up.
After his workshop I had to go online to purchase an item from Net a Porter. What this item is, I will show in another future blogpost.

Time for the second workshop. This time with photographer Philipp von Rohr. We had the chance to play around with a cool gadget that would turn your the camera lens on your phone into an instant macro lens. I own a couple of these at home, but these are very tricky to work with. I prefer to use my  dslr when I have to take product pictures.

This little face chart is what I came up with in the end. Nothing special, but I liked the idea of using the highlighting drops to create the hair.





A big thanks to the L'Oréal family for inviting me again! I got to know some new lovely people and got to meet Val Garland!!!

Hello beauties!

Time for an old fashioned 'Look of the Day'.
I am wearing a mix out of my old holy grail and some new found ones.
If you are curios to find out, then have a look at the list below. Apologies beforehand for including a Limited  Edition item. I rediscovered it and fell in love. Vincent gave me a compliment and said that my eyeshadow was so sparkly.





*Pr Sample

Here is one of my favourite blogger/photography gadgets that makes photography much easier, especially when it comes to taking self portraits.

This Canon wireless remote control has been my trusty companion during my 8 years of blogging and creating the occasional self portrait.
At the moment I have two of these lying around in the house, because the first one went MIA for a while. I've attached a lanyard to them, so that they won't go missing and so that I can hang it around my neck when I need to have my hands free.

Whenever I am doing shoots with kids, I often let them take the picture by pressing the remote control. It is a fun little toy for them to play with and a great way to involve them in the creative process. They have a short attention span and this remote has been a great toy for them to help them stay focussed for more than 2 minutes, my son included ;)

Since cameras can be a bit intimidating for some people, it is great to step away from the camera and take the shot with the remoter control while you are talking to your subject to make them feel more at ease.

What is your favourite gadget?

Looking at these pictures brings back lovely memories.

Lake Garda has it all, from the many cafes, restaurants, ice cream and souvenir shops. You are sure to feast your eyes and fill your tummy. The mountains, the water, and the many tourists, myself and my boys included.

We stayed five days at a lovely hotel in Limone. It was spontaneous decision to book a mini holiday. Instead of flying, we took our car and took our own pillows with us. The drive to Limone went really smooth. From Stuttgart it took us only 6 hours. The way back a little longer, more like 9 hours...

In this little photo series I will show you my favourite ice cream shop, restaurant and much more. We did a lot of sight seeing, took boat trips and walked up an down the hills many times. The weather was very unpredictable, but we packed well enough to make sure we were prepared for the rain and time at the pool.

I almost spend a fortune at the souvenir shops, but managed to take the bare minimum. Oliver and I both love Limoncello, so we also brought some home with us for our family and friends.

Souvenir shopping!

The best ice cream shop in Limone. I recommend the flavour 'Mint'.

We had dinner here twice because we love this place so much.

Our favorite from the menu: Tomino Cheese in Filou crust. Divine!!!

Coffee with a view.

Last night before going home.

Here is a sneak peek at our new couch that turned me into a real couch potato. Best decision ever to invest in a couch that looks good, is comfortable and also strong enough to endure Vincent's training sessions for the circus. More photos coming soon! 💋

The only necklace that I have been wearing almost non stop, is from SOCOSI. It was a gift that I received during a PR Event. I asked them to engrave Vincent's name with each letter a capital and one space between them. Love how it turned out!

When I wore the necklace, I had Vincent with me when I was away from home. I brought him one as well, and he says it is like a bar of gold. He is into anything pirate related and also loves all things that are shiny. ;)

SOCOSI

*PR Sample

My wardrobe lately has been a lot of black and white, just like my photography. I love how timeless and classy it looks. Flattering for everyone!

This beautiful black and white polka dress is from ASOS and almost sold out.

It is officially a beach dress, but I would also wear it when I am not going to the beach. Instead of a bra, I recommend a nice black bikini with a delicate holders. A classic triangle will do.

My bikini order arrived too late, so I wrote Johanna if she could bring me some black bikini tops. She also made this pictures and persuaded me to put on the dress and take some pictures. I was feeling rather lazy, but am happy that I did in the end. The photos turned out really good!

Can you tell I was having a good time?

FashionstylebyJohanna: Thank you dear for the gorgeous pictures and the fun time we had! 💋