Before we go into the blog, please watch the short video so you can understand, from me to you, what I’m up to.
Watched it? Great. Now you know where I’m coming from, I can chat to you about my adventure. In Fashion took a lot of research. It features a TV show called The Style Surgeon where Darcy, my main character, rejuvenates men and women. Fashion moves at such a hectic pace that I needed to understand the foundations of it. I looked at Trinny and Susannah in particular because they went into so much detail about body shape, about the things women really don’t talk much about, from how to buy the right bra that actually helps and doesn’t feel like a straightjacket to feeling good about yourself.
Being in the music industry, I had people who put make-up on me so I didn’t really take a lot of notice but, I when you have the chance to go meet a professional make-up artist who is part of a team that are trying to design products that promote your own beauty and not fake it, it felt like a really great way to distract myself.
Trinny London is based in Kensington (where my book is based) in a sleepy street with real cottage-style town houses. They have so much greenery framing them, sandy coloured pavements, a church poking out of the corner down the street. It’s a side of London that makes you think of all the living history and conjures pictures of carriages and top hats. The sun was warm and London looked every bit the beautiful city it is. London is also really accessible. Drop curbs! Who knew!
The team were so welcoming and it made us smile to hear Trinny chatting on the phone to her staff. They seem to have great fun working there, and personal enjoyment at being part of the team. Ferb had a great fuss and had access to the courtyard so he was a happy pup.
For an author, listening to Charlotte talk about colours, about why and where they put the products is really helpful. It’s a whole new way to think about facial features and contours. Charlotte studied art and she is very much an artist. The site is packed with skin tones, eye colours, lip and hair colours which has given me a whole fresh new way to think about how I see people and how my characters could.
The most important thing is, as I talked about above, embracing yourself and how you have been made. It’s all there to work with you not mask you. It’s also really easy to do if Charlotte was anything to go by but then, an expert is meant to make things look easy!
So, I enjoyed learning that eyebrows didn’t need to be plucked but could be brushed and look as good, that you can mix shades of lipstick and that when I’m done up I feel quite polished as I used to when on stage.
You can find out about Trinny and her team here: trinnylondon.com
And check them out on social media: @trinnylondon
Then we headed to the houses that Darcy lives in, explored the neighbourhoods and enjoyed some sunshine before heading to my medical appointment. A big boost of sunshine always helps and lifted me when I needed it. Who knew you could get that in a little quiet street in Kensington?
What do you think?
Big Smiles,
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