Bare

Today was my first day off in about a week and I didn't even wake up until 10 am! The luxury! The decadence!

Not being the sort of person who can sit back and do nothing too easily, I then took two huge bags of the living room's previous soft furnishings to a local charity shop and listed some other bits and pieces on eBay (more clothing to follow once I've photographed it) :)

I figure that before properly renovating our apartment, I should have a massive clear-out and sell or donate everything that I don't really want or need anymore, so there's less to shift around for the decorators, electrician, glazier, upholsterer, etc. Then when everything's done I can enjoy filling a pretty new apartment back up with knick-knacks and curios again ;)

I'll decorate this blog with a photo from a beautiful old Irish abbey house last summer. Perhaps when I've finished my home and wardrobe clear-out, it'll look something like this ;)

Photographer: Seamus Costelloe | Hair and makeup: me | Location: Kilkenny Abbey

I'm pretty sure this is the first selective colour photo I've ever posted! I like it :)

You're catnip to a girl like me!

Who else spent much of their childhood pretending to be Catwoman from Tim Burton's Batman Returns??

Photographer and wardrobe stylist: Aneil Sharma | Makeup: Vicki Waghorn

La Vedette Atomique!

Yesterday was the eighth anniversary of the night I kidnapped Liam and made him my unholy bride :)

It was precisely ten days after my eighteenth birthday and although I had a funny feeling that I was starting a new chapter in my life, it never crossed my mind that years later, after many ups and downs, we would finally be living happily ever after in a 1930s apartment in North London with two bald cats, that I'd earn my living from my dream job or that he'd be planning paid research into political theory.

It just goes to show that you never know what's around the corner!

Apparently lace is a traditional eighth anniversary gift!
Photographer, hair and wardrobe stylist: Faye Yerbury | Makeup: me

We celebrated with dinner on the very top floor of the Gherkin, right under the dome, with panoramic views of St Paul's Cathedral, the Shard, the Tower of London and London Bridge <3 

Liam wore his charcoal pinstripe Pierre Cardin suit and deep red Saville Road necktie and I wore my new ankle-length Rita Hayworth-inspired shimmering gold evening gown with strappy 5" Kurt Geiger heels, black and gold star French Connection clutch, smoky MAC eyeshadow and slicked back hair, Parisian couture style.

It was so romantic! <3 <3 <3

Photo of the Gherkin's 40|30 bar I took on my phone and then tried to brighten in Photoshop so you can see more! Loved the French waiters!

I leave you with a "behind the scenes" shot that Faye took of me lacing into my corset at the Boudoir Academy @ The Chesterfield Mayfair!

Remember to hit the "Like" button at the top of the page to let your friends know that you're reading my blog! x

Rebecca

Congratulations to Dublin's Lorraine Gilligan, whose IPF Fellowship Panel features not only me but some of my best modelling friends, like Madame Bink, Iveta and Ivory Flame :)

"My" photo in the panel was inspired by Rebecca :)

Corset: Heavenly Corsets | Hair and wardrobe styling: Lorraine Gilligan | Makeup: me

This beautiful Irish manor location was absolutely stunning. I actually welled up a little when I saw how lovingly, painstakingly it had been restored, with every detail carried out according to how it would have been done when it was originally built, and every piece of furniture, painting and even hairbrush period and antique. It was so strange to think that at one time it was completely abandoned, without a roof and with cows and sheep wandering around inside!

Now it is restored to its former glory and I wanted to move in! ;)

Nice Night for a White Wedding

Last night, I had a really vivid, realistic dream that Liam and I got engaged. There were none of those bizarre twists and turns that one usually experiences in dreams. When I woke up, the only thing that made me realise that it was a dream was that we were both 28. Very odd as I'm really not a traditional marriage/ wedding/ 2.4 children and a golden Labrador sort of daydreamer... in the least.

Perhaps it was the effect of lots of pink champagne and Hannah Ashlea's vegan Swiss roll bowl cake at my (26th)  birthday party yesterday! It was such a lovely day/ night. I had lunch in inSpiral with my friends, then we went to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum (my favourite building in London!) before returning to our apartment for a very pink and sparkly child's party themed soiree, complete with pink balloons, flowers, cupcakes, party bags and Barbie tiaras ^_^ Hee hee.

Anyway, back to the weird engagement dream- I have an appropriate image from Trevor Yerbury from the wedding workshop I modelled for in West London last week :) Liam was actually my "husband" for this workshop, but he isn't in this picture!

Hair and wardrobe: Faye Yerbury | Makeup: me

I love the way the bricks slide out of focus as they come towards you :)

What I learned at the SWPP Convention: great minds don't think alike

I have a long weekend booked off to celebrate my birthday, as I was working at the SWPP Convention in West London on my actual birth date! Time to relax, potter around the house, and prepare for the party tomorrow :)

I've modelled for hundreds of workshops over the years and often feel inspired by them to try and pick up a camera and put what I've heard into practice; I never do, of course. But as someone who is interested in photography- even if I barely know how to take the lens cap off a camera- it is a real treat to hear about the different approaches taken by some of the world's best photographers by the photographers themselves- straight from the horse's mouth.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing is that there seems to be no set way to "do photography." Although awareness of standard rules of thumb and knowledge of how your camera physically functions are important, beyond that, good photographers all have their own highly successful but individual ways of doing things.

Some try to avoid using flash in order to maintain the atmosphere of the setting. Others recommend always using artificial light in order to maintain close control over it.

Some recommend using the lowest ISO possible in order to create the highest quality image. Others urge photographers not to be afraid of grain.

All seem to agree that it is more important to have a good subject than expensive equipment. I'm not making this up because I happen to be a professional subject, honest! It's true ;)

I have some beautiful images in my inbox from the Convention just waiting to be shared; here is perhaps my favourite fashion image of the week, by the incomparable Trevor Yerbury:

Fabulous feather hat by JRF Rogue Milliner | Hair and wardrobe stylist: Faye Yerbury | Makeup: me

Now I'm off to the shops to buy lots of little pink cupcakes and pink flowers to decorate the house with for tomorrow <3 *girly squee*

Jane Doe Latex Editorial in Skin Two magazine, issue 62

So, here is one of my favourite things I saw on my birthday on Sunday- my first editorial in Skin Two magazine, for Jane Doe Latex (if you haven't already seen it on anitadebauch.com!) :)

I've had an article written about me on the Skin Two site before, and been included in an online fashion editorial, but this is the first time I've been in the physical paper magazine :) Time to flash back to when I had black hair!

Skin Two magazine, issue 62, pp. 31 - 33

Designer: Jane Doe Latex | Photographer: Seamus Costelloe | Hair and makeup: Victoria Mureuva | Location: Left Bank

There is plenty of other cool stuff in this issue as well, including an interview with Dita :)

Had a fun Catwoman themed shoot in Bristol all day today, so I'm now going to tuck myself into bed with a cup of cammomile tea and get an early night, ready for tomorrow's adventures!

Happy birthday to me

Aside from a three-page fashion editorial being published in issue 62 of Skin Two (one page more than the article on Dita, lol) and the welcome news that I will be shooting in Malta again this September, this is what I got for my birthday ;)

I had a mini lie-in this morning as my last day at the SWPP Convention didn't start until 11 am (when I was invited to speak at the Yerburys' Masterclass!) and had breakfast in front of the fire while I opened my cards and gifts :)

I was waaay too tired after a solid week's workshop modelling to go out tonight, so I stayed in and had prawn fried rice and cashew seaweed while catching up on my emails. Going to have a huge lie-in tomorrow and then go and see The Iron Lady at The Phoenix, my local and favourite arthouse cinema!

See you at the SWPP Convention, if you're going!

I probably won't be blogging much over the next few days as I'll be at the SWPP Convention modelling for the likes of the Yerburys, Damian McGillicuddy, Seamus Costelloe and more!

My first day is tomorrow, and I'll be modelling for the Yerburys' Boudoir Academy at this luxury Mayfair hotel. I can't wait! Modelling for the Yerburys' workshops must be one of my favourite "jobs". They are such lovely people to work/ hang out with and the atmosphere at their workshops is always so warm and friendly :) Not to mention that Faye can put my hair in authentic fingerwaves, my favourite hairstyle EVER!

Here is a photo I really like from a previous workshop at another gorgeous hotel, shot by Trevor, styled by Faye, makeup by moi:

You can't see the fingerwaves in this one, 'cuz of the hat :D

Although I work with all these photographers on a regular basis, I think this will be the first time they have seen my new red hair in real life- hope they like it!

I'm all packed and ready for tomorrow but now need to go and unpack the epic quantities of new clothes I bought in the sales over the last couple of days. I think this year must be a record!!

I thought I was shopped out until this morning, when Liam took me for breakfast at Feast...

 <3 poached eggs and tea for breakfast!

... before wandering around the shops in Muswell Hill and getting a little coffee. I found a batch of Red or Dead clothing in the Cancer Research shop, all brand new with tags, and ended up buying this lovely 1920s-inspired clubby fringed black top for £8.50! SCORE.

I've also bought some bloody amazing shoes, lingerie and dresses over the last couple of days, mostly on my Oxford Street shopping trip with Hannah Ashlea.

No doubt I'll be posting show-off photos when I have time. I'm nice like that.

Zivity preview!

Some nude portraits I shot with my friend Adam :)

I think I like the last one best; it's an outtake where I started laughing and Adam managed to capture my weird two-stage laugh (Stage 1: looking down, getting the giggles; Stage 2, meeting the eye of whoever I'm sharing the joke with and laughing out loud).

You can see 21 more photos from this set here on Zivity. Give me your email address if you can't be arsed to pay and I'll send you a free 30 day trial ;)

Anyone concerned that I might catch cold will be pleased to know that I had a great time hitting the sales in Oxford Street with Hannah Ashlea yesterday- in fact, I bought so many new clothes that I struggled to carry them all home ;) I also had a big clear-out of my apartment to make room for the new stuff, so I'll probably be posting a blog sale soon, too :)

Now I just need to take the stuff that's too heavy to post to the charity shop and then get ready for a week modelling fashion and boudoir for some of the world's most successful photographers at the SWPP Convention, starting Tuesday! w00t! :D

Suspend your disbelief!

anitadebauch.com's About page has been updated with a sexy new lingerie photo by Adam Robertson, featuring a leather thong by Lux Tenebrae and the black suspender belt I bought when I was 14!

It was the first sexy lingerie I ever bought with the £2 per hour I earned from shampooing hair and making coffee at a local salon on Saturdays, and quickly became my most prized possession. No-one ever saw me wearing it at that age of course, but it still made me feel like a sophisticated grown-up lady to wear it with black lace stockings and camisole under my regular teenager clothes :)

A decade later, I finally have to admit that it does rather need replacing, probably with a six-strap suspender belt as four doesn't seem to be man enough for the job of keeping my seams perfectly straight. But I will always keep this one in my memories box so I can look at it when I'm 114 and say, "I remember wearing this when..."

Interview with Emulate magazine

My year begins with an interview about my life as a model with Emulate magazine, which you can read for free here (Enlarge --> pp. 73 - 75) ;)

Here's a more editorial style photo from my Lux Tenebrae shoot with Adam Robertson.

<3 British Tan leather!!!

I had the most peaceful and relaxed NYE on record last night; a sea bass dinner at home, followed by lots of champagne and strawberries with Liam and Ross, and the Thames fireworks on TV, as we didn't really fancy getting rained on by seeing it in the flesh! I liked the soundtrack to the fireworks; I wonder if there is somewhere online where I can listen to it.

Shooting tomorrow and Tuesday, then a week off to catch up with my pretty friends Binky and Hannah over shopping and skinny mochas :D I wonder what bargains we will find in the sales!