Boudoir Academy feat. Nikita Sablier/ Angels Carrying Savage Weapons

I just got some lovely new Boudoir Academy photos back from the Yerburys- I always like the photos they take of me, but I especially like the variety of styles in this set :) I think this is the last time the shock of blonde hair was shot, too- I wore wigs for my Portugal shoots and Gemini Rayne came round yesterday to help me dye my hair back to all-over jet blue-black before we went to see Oi Polloi and The Restarts in Tufnell Park. I was really glad to hear that it had sold out- it's so nice to see smaller events like that receive lots of support. And Gem and I had a wonderful time anti-gravity hair-spotting!

Anyway, here are some distinctly non-punky images from the Yerburys- as usual, they managed to make me look far more elegant and sophisticated than a person could ever be in real life! :)

All photos by Faye Yerbury, except #2, which is by Trevor Yerbury

Wardrobe courtesy of Nikita Sablier | Makeup & jewellery: my own

Today I am mostly getting my house all spruced up and baking special diabetic-friendly cupcakes after an anti-Royal Wedding house party last night, ready for a boudoir shoot on the leather couches in my living room tomorrow :)

Royal Pin-up

I'm back in Blighty after a (mostly) sunny week shooting an editorial in The Algarves, Portugal. What a beautiful area of the world! I hope you liked the "postcard" ;)

I shot these photos for Buffies burlesque online catalogue with Jaz Ampaw-Farr at James Thorpe Photography Studio back in the UK earlier this month. What a fun shoot!

 Hair and makeup by me!

I'll be dressed rather differently tomorrow night, in a red leather biker jacket, my Lorber Vintage tee-shirt, pink skull-print leggings, black leather motorcycle boots, MAC Cyber lipstick, spiky leather dog collar and a very messy faux-hawk, ready to attend what looks to be a charming little weekend-long soiree in Tufnell Park called  FUCK THE ROYAL WEDDING. If I'm going to celebrate the marriage of two complete strangers whose wedding I am not invited to attend, yet all my British friends and I are helping to pay for, then this is the way I'd like to do it :) Oi oi!

Postcard from Portugal

As suggested, I took a little picture of part of the location I was shooting at today at an extravagant Portuguese mansion nestled in the glorious Portimão hills :) I think that tiny black dot in the blue sky is one of the many swallows who were flying around all day ♥

Wish you were here!

Love and kisses,

Introducing my personal hairstylist!

I love helping out with creating a theme for a photo shoot: researching the practicalities of forming a photographic fantasy; piecing together the building blocks that create the fairytale castle, as it were. Contributing creatively by sourcing the perfect wardrobe and researching suitable makeup 'looks' and techniques that I can carry out with my trusty (and ever-growing) MAC makeup collection really gives me a buzz. But I must admit, anything beyond a simple level of hair styling is currently beyond me.

I had multi-coloured dreadlocks and a grade zero undercut until the age of 20 and just never got the hang of doing really professional-looking styling on real, natural, loose hair- hence my love of wigs and easy styles like slicking my hair back or backcombing it up into a faux-hawk.

Luckily for me, my multi-talented friend, model and qualified Scarlet & Hollywood hairstylist Gemini Rayne is moving to London this month and has already accompanied me to a photo shoot at Gregory Brown's Studio to style my hair! She made it long- and I mean long- and romantic for artistic nude shots, curled and classic for vintage pin-ups, wild for latex lingerie and avant-garde for alternative fashion- and what an incredible range of gorgeous hair accessories this lady has!

Here are my favourite shots from our shoot with photographer, Keith Cooper:

 Latex bra by Jane Doe

 

The second image was apparently awarded a Bronze by the SWPP :)

Gem's standard hairstyling rates are £40 per hour, but as it's me (hee hee) she is willing to assist me in offering an exclusive 50% discount to photographers/ clients booking us together, if she can use the photographer's choice of edits in her portfolio.

Please email contact@anitadebauch.com with enquiries about booking us together. I'll post some photos of us modelling together, where she did our hair and I did our makeup, as soon as the photographer has finished processing them :)

Now, I need to jump on a plane to Faro, Portugal! :) In the meantime, if you are:

a)  a professional (photographer/ designer/ stylist/ other),
b)  aspire to be a professional, or
c)  aspire to a professional standard of photography

and, of course, are faintly interested in considering the possibility of thinking about booking me for a modelling assignment, I have started a NEW Facebook page just for you!

Facebook: Anita De Bauch PRO will be updated ONLY with professional news such as my travel, availability, work-related blogs only and, most importantly, special offers, so please go and "Like" it if you are in some way involved with booking/ working with models ;)

HOW TO transfer a modern lipstick into a vintage case :)

I successfully managed to transfer my favourite lipstick from the case it came in to a pretty vintage case the other day and thought I'd post a little tutorial as I had a couple of requests via my Formspring to demonstrate it. It adds such a pretty touch when applying your makeup in public! Professional quality makeup always seems to come in such dull packaging. Plus, all my lipsticks are MAC, making it hard to find the one I want when I'm in a hurry, because they all look the same. Not any more :)

You will need:

• a new lipstick
• a vintage lipstick case (I won mine on eBay!)
• a teaspoon handle, or similar; the flatter and thinner, the better
• an eggcup/ shot glass
• kitchen towel
• antibacterial soap, warm water and a nailbrush
• a freezer or icebox
• a wipe-clean surface!

I thought a steak knife might also come in useful, but it, um, didn't

Step 1: remove and dispose of whatever's left of the original lipstick from the vintage case and wash it really, really, really well in warm water with antibacterial soap and gently scrub every millimetre in circular motions with the nailbrush. Peel the tag off the bottom, if there is one. Rinse in cool water and dry very thoroughly with kitchen towel.

More or less actual size

Step 2: carefully remove your new lipstick from its case with the teaspoon handle and place it gently in the eggcup (I was using one of my older lipsticks for the purposes of experimentation, hence it's so short).

Step 3: put the egg cup in the freezer overnight.

Step 4: gently but firmly insert the frozen lipstick into the vintage case, making sure it's straight by slowly extending and retracting it. Leave it standing upright while it thaws out.

Step 5: make any final adjustments to ensure that the lipstick is properly attached to the vintage case, wipe off any stray lipstick smears with kitchen towel, et voila!

Step 6 (optional extra): carefully peel the tag off the original case and attach it to the bottom of the vintage case to remind you which colour is in there.

Now I'm going to slip into a hot vanilla bubble bath with a big pink polka dot mug of cammomile tea to wind down after another magical Boudoir Academy workshop with the Yerburys- a day spent shooting beautiful, glamorous lingerie photos in a luxurious setting is guaranteed to put me in the most satisfied of moods! :D Tomorrow will be spent packing and being pampered in my local spa, ready for my week-long modelling assignment in Portugal from 20th April. I'm really looking forward to it!

A month of Glamour

As promised (and requested!), here are some more photos from my shoot with Jaz Ampaw-Farr at James Thorpe Photography Studio. She liked this ensemble that I brought with me, so we shot it quite a bit (please see my previous blog for more photos!).

 

 And what photo set would be complete without an "outtake" or two from my scrapbook?

Jaz is so much fun to work with!

This is the sort of glamour that really appeals to me- soft, feminine and pretty and yet also real, candid and personal, without any fake tan or mention of the dreaded "girl next door" in sight! I love these photos and am sure I will keep them in my memories box long after I have become too old to model and am leading a completely different life. Jaz is a boudoir photographer who shoots a lot of non-models from all walks of life; if you would like to arrange your own photo shoot with her, please visit her website via the link above.

I have another glamour shoot tomorrow afternoon, and then I'm modelling for the Yerburys' Boudoir Academy the day after that before being jetted off to The Algarves to shoot a fashion magazine editorial for Angels Carrying Savage Weapons @ Nikita Sablier on Wednesday, so this April is a particularly glamorous month for me! I'm enjoying every second and will be sure to take you with me via the power of blogging, so please do subscribe by using the widgets at the top right corner of the page to stay in touch :)

Closer to Heaven

I have some soft, beautiful images from my shoot with Jaz Ampaw-Farr at James Thorpe Photography Studio last weekend! Jaz said they look 1970s style and I like them because the use of natural light makes them feel almost ethereal.

Styling all my own! The knickers are from Dorothy Perkins and the shoes are Carvela @ Kurt Geiger, in case anyone's interested. Don't remember where I bought the blouse!

Jaz and I met and briefly shot together twice at a Doug Gordon workshop and a Jerry Ghionis workshop last year, so at this shoot we were completely familiar with each other straight off the bat and enjoyed a really productive two hours together. I'll blog some more photos soon, so please subscribe to my blog using the buttons on the top right of the page (or just bookmark the page and check back)! :)

****************************************************************************************************

Discount on Anita De Bauch book!

You can get FREE shipping on your copy of Anita De Bauch by Sean McCormack by using the code APRILMAILUK305 at checkout until 30th April 2011!

Yay!

****************************************************************************************************

Vintage retail therapy! ^^

I just came home from a delightful coffee meeting/ dress fitting in Soho with one of my most glamorous and best-loved fashion clients, Nikkita Sablier, with not only an arm-full of beautiful corsets for a fashion editorial I'm shooting in Portugal next week, but a beautiful Freyagushi choker and a Bettie Page dress that Marilyn might have worn! I'm so happy with them that I'm wearing both dress and choker as I write!

Photographer: Adam Robertson

Did anyone else see the episode of CSI that had Dita playing a villainous showgirl posing as a teacher? (Should I have said "spoiler alert"?) Anyway, it got shown in the US before it got shown here in the UK and I swear she tweeted something along the lines of "I know my acting was rubbish but my only goal was to bring burlesque to the show, so there." I was therefore expecting it to be a train wreck but I thought she wrestled admirably with a truly dreadful script (just one cliche after another, ew).

Anyway, even though I wasn't keen on the show, it inspired me to re-read Burlesque and the Art of the Teese for the first time in maybe three years and tickled my love of surrounding myself with beautiful objects! Life is just too dull when one's surroundings are purely functional.

In this frame of mind, I acquired these gorgeous little items the other day!

Vintage 1950s highball glasses! Sooo pretty <3

Mother of pearl-handled fish knives and forks from This Vintage Life- I poach and grill a lot of salmon and sea bass and love the idea of eating it with something that also came from the sea :)

I also treated myself to half a dozen new corsets, each with matching knickers...

I can't wait for them to arrive so I can spend an afternoon in my bedroom trying them all on! ^^

Finally, I created a Universal Amazon Wish List as a solution to the "generous fans requesting to send gifts vs. security against stalkers" conundrum. Only people who meet me in real life will be able to gift lingerie, stockings, shoes and things like that, but anyone can now send me a book of pretty photos, a DVD, or even my favourite perfume, anonymously or otherwise! :)

Horny horny horny

I have a new photo of myself in my favourite piece from Naucler Design's World of Tomorrrow collection! This was taken by Shaun Hodge, who I work with quite regularly, at White Space Studios in Greater London. The studios are over a bike shop and they let us borrow this cool horned helmet to get the shot!

It's interesting how the post-processing effects have made the latex look more like leather. I like it :)

Alt. Fashion Magazine

The Spring/ Summer 2011 issue (#18) of Alt. Fashion magazine hit UK stands today and contains my latest interview, featuring Jane Doe Latex and eclectic information such as which photographers I'd like to turn into zombies, what I really think about my fellow alternative models and my ultimate career goal!

Order your copy online here :)

Photographer: Seamus Costelloe
Hair and makeup: Victoria Mureruva
Location: Left Bank, Kilkenny, Ireland

This issue also features photos of my beautiful friend Roswell Ivory, so it's an extra special publication for me <3 I've ordered several copies and look forward to adding one to my memories box :)

EDIT 08.04.11: Just noticed there is a little pic of Ulorin Vex on page 19, too. Wheee!

Ballet Heels in Singapore!

I just received this lovely new nude from my trip to Singapore in November :)

Photographer: Jeff Loo (I can't seem to find his website atm but will update with a link when I've got it!)

I was having a really good "balancing in ballet heels" day that day, lol. I've asked for a colour copy of this image as I seem to remember the background was a really poppin' pink that would look great with the pose and expression... I'll have to see if my memory was correct when Jeff emails it through! :)

In news very much unrelated to a nude photo blog, I have listed some of my shoot clothing on eBay here! There is a corset, a black tutu dress, a brand new PVC dress and several of my skirts. Enjoy! I have to make room in my wardrobe for the new corsets I'm ordering :D <3

Behind the scenes at the Lilith Immaculate video shoot for Cradle of Filth: "you've got red on you."

Cradle of Filth's video for the new single, 'Lilith Immaculate', will be out soon, but in the meantime, check out the official behind the scenes video :) I pop up at 1:18, shmokin' opium while reclining in my bloodstained boudoir :)

I have tons more exciting news, but I'm trying to keep it to one topic per blog per day (how long do we think that's going to last??) so I'll sign off now! *bounces*

Tenerife

Enough photographs by professional European photographers, styled by some of the UK's best designers, it's time for my Tenerife holiday snaps ;)

Paella in a beautiful Canarian seafood restaurant on the edge of the waves <3

 I shared some of my paella with one of the little island lizards ^^ So cute!

"El ommo nommo nommo"

Birdie on the black lava beach

More delicious seafood and Spanish beer. I could get used to this. I won't, but I could.

I feel really refreshed and zenned out, even though I'm back in England!

Looking forward to swanning off to Camden to see my friend Will Sealey drumming for Jaguar at The Underworld tonight and further chilling with friends. Tenerife has taught me the importance of taking time for myself to recharge my batteries- that way I can work even harder ;)