Fresh Inspo & Inner Fan-girling

Today I had the absolute pleasure of modelling for an artist I totally admire!
I've just been humming and hawing for a few minutes about whether it's worth a blogpost or if anyone would be interested in my little fan-girl moment. Then I realised that I keep telling myself I want to write stand alone blogposts (that aren't just to go along with my YouTube videos), and I feel like this is a perfect opportunity to chat about something makeup related whilst sharing something that just made me happy!
So...let's chat..☕️..

On Monday I saw a post on the Plouise academy Instagram page, looking for a makeup model in Cork for Tuesday. I left a comment saying I that I was available and would love to, with some hope but little expectations, and went about my life.

Late last night (Tues night) I get a DM on Instagram from.....@plouise_makeup_academy (😳🙈😍), asking if I was free to model today (Wed). I paused the current episode of Kardashians I was watching....yes, I repeat... I. Paused. The. Kardashians.
I had turned my phone on silent to shut myself off from social media notifications for once, so I saw that the message had been sent like 20mins ago. Typical! As silly as this might seem to some, my heart was legit pounding. When you get direct contact from a makeup idol, even over something as trivial as this, it's exciting! So of course I messaged back and sorted to model for today at Tiger Academy.

I wasn't sure who from the Plouise team was giving the course so I had a little nose around Instagram and saw that Abi Pulleyn was teaching. Another jaw-drop! Abi is the Senior Artist and Manager at Plouise, and I became a super fan after seeing her reverse nude ombre liner look. Something about it blew me away and I was inspired to create my own version.

Naturally, I was very excited for this morning! Aside from being a makeup fan of Abi and the Plouise team, I have been feeling like I'm in a bit of a makeup rut. Particularly with my placement and with products. Every time I try to do something different, it's not different enough. It's frustrating when you have an idea in your head, but your hand just sticks to the same old patterns. I actually recently had the thought that I would love for another artist to work on me just so that I could physically see something different on my own face. So this came up at the perfect time for me.

I was also super nervous. I'm a total introvert and I struggle with social anxiety. In the last few years though, I've been learning to push passed that and agree to opportunities when it's worth it. So upon meeting Abi (who was just lovely!), while I wanted to gush and ask questions and basically fan-girl, I was also very aware that I was there as a model for her and the paying students (there's a time and a place!). So I just tried to be polite and friendly, and be a good model! I tried to keep as still as possible, look in the right directions, and put all my energy into not blinking during liner application! 😂 I even made sure to slick my hair up - to get flyaway out of the way, but also because my outer crease is hooded, so I find that this helps to lift it and makes doing my eyes easier.

Abi created a gorgeous pink cut crease, with full coverage skin and a beaming highlight. Here are some progress pics from her Snapchat (muaabi)
(If you're viewing on mobile, tap on an image to see it in hd)

After lunch, we returned to the academy where the students would be recreating the look. I was a model for the lovely Annemarie, who finished the other half of my face (Yes I went to lunch with half bare face, half glam face! #noshame #mualife), and she did an amazing job! Joe of the Plouise team was also there to help guide the students, and he too was just lovely.

I had taken some before pictures on my Canon camera before I left this morning. So when I got home I immediately took more pictures, as my own phone isn't the best so pictures aren't great quality. They are a little dark as I kept the lights off and used flash, so as to really show up the highlights.

This was exactly what I needed. Seeing my eye in a whole new shape. The colours and the overall look were gorgeous yes, but for me the fresh inspiration came from:
The thickness of the liner in the centre, giving me a more rounded shape.
The wing being slightly thicker and shorter than I usually do, so the focus is on the floating crease line.
The high placement of the outer crease, giving it a much wider and more open effect.
The thickness of the brow, making it much bolder.
The softer, more bronzed contour, giving more of the focus to that gleaming highlight.

For comparison here is a floating cut crease I have done on myself VS the one from today. I do love both but there are differences that change the whole shape and effect.

So, that was my day! Let me know if this was an interesting read, and if I should continue with posts like this!
Definitely check out Abi - @mua_abi_pulleyn, Joe - @joecampbellmua, and the Plouise academy - @plouise_makeup_academy

Thanks for stopping by! If you have any comments, questions or requests you can leave a comment below or find me on social media - @christineocmua ☺️
See you soon!
Christine
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