NEW HAIR, NEW LOOK! Anita De Redhead!

I have been considering lightening my hair colour for some time, even though I had great fun being a raven-haired "femme fatale" (in my own mind, at least!) for the last five years! I used to change my hair colour every week when I was at university, so to me, five years seems like a very long time to keep the same colour! I eventually tried to follow Audrey Hepburn's wisdom by looking at myself in the mirror completely objectively and I concluded that the time had definitely come to move away from jet blue-black and try something lighter and brighter.

Blonde? Too close to my real hair colour for my liking! White? Impossible, after having coloured my hair black every month for five years! What then? With my naturally fair skin and tendency to freckle in the sun, auburn seemed like the perfect choice, so straight away I called my good friend and trained hairstylist and colour technician Kate at Hair By Gemini Rayne to give me her professional opinion.

A sunny Thursday lunch meeting and strand test unexpectedly turned into her sitting me down with a cup of liquorice tea and tackling my hair on the spot, and naturally making a fantastic job of it, with a range of beautiful tones from fire-orange through to deep copper, despite her insistence that this is "only what can be done now" and "the beginning of a process". Frankly, if this is what she calls "only the beginning", I can't wait to see the final colour that she delivers in a couple of months' time!

Photos from yesterday's shoot with Tarmoo. Lingerie by Lady Lucie Latex, hair and makeup by me!

Note to self: next stop with hair dye: lady garden (I've already done my eyebrows)!

I love the way the new colour complements my creamy complexion and creates separation on dark backgrounds instead of making the top of my head blend into the background like the black hair sometimes did :) I'm keeping all the high quality black wigs I worked so hard to earn though, in case anyone still wants me to model with black hair at any point :) I'm also planning on growing my hair out, to at least collarbone-length, hopefully longer. My current hair icons are Deborah Ann Woll and Karen Gillan :) I think both were models before they became actresses (will have to check) and that Deborah is also a natural blonde with blue eyes :)

Must catch up on my True Blood! Thanks to Ross, I finally got around to watching seasons two and three since he moved in; now I need to catch up on the current series with a glass of red wine, lots of Dairylea Light Blue, grapes, walnuts and organic wholegrain rice cakes, and two bald kittens on my lap  :D

Don't know when on earth I'll find time for that though! After yesterday's shoot with Tarmoo, I was shooting with Madame Bink all day today and from memory am also shooting tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday before passing out on Wednesday and then back in front of the camera on Thursday! Phew!!

Lady Lucie Latex in London

Here are some photos back from this morning's shoot with Darren Birkin already, of my new custom made Lady Lucie Latex dress :) I came up with the colours and cherries for the wiggle dress, and also did the hair and makeup styling :) I wanted a latex dress that felt really happy and fun to wear, and I don't think I've seen one like this before, so it's fun to feel like it's totally unique (for now, anyway!). The shoes are from Kurt Geiger.

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I've been following the latest updates on the Norway massacre and the more I read, the more exhausted I feel. It's simply incomprehensible to me that anyone could think that rounding up and shooting innocent children would be a way to convince Europe that you're in the right and multiculturalism is a bad thing. It serves as an agonising reminder that it is simply not possible to separate far right politics from violence.

And of course, the other major story in the news this week is that Amy Winehouse died, aged 27- presumably of a heart attack or other drug abuse-related death, although the coroner's report hasn't been released yet. I do feel sorry for her, and it will be strange not to see her out in Camden anymore, but this article did make me smirk a bit, after Hackgate and all ;)

In less depressing news, I have my first casting courtesy of my agency tomorrow that I'm actually available to go to :) It's a commercial casting for a TV commercial via a commercial agency. Commercial commercial commercial. Scary!

Lingerie at Kilcooley Abbey (inc. a SWPP Award-Winner!)

This blog takes us back to Ireland in June for a four-day shoot with Seamus Costelloe :) The first earned Seamus a Fashion Gold award from The Societies, and I've included the colour version for those that are interested in that sort of thing :)

I'm surprisingly tired after three days of DIY with my mother, who was visiting London from Somerset, although it might just be because I made myself walk to and from her hotel a lot for the exercise :p

My pretty new bathroom is very nearly complete- just a phone call to have new floor tiles laid, and a small mission to find the perfect golden light pull (details are everything!).

I also painted a wall shelf and a big picture frame in the prettiest shade of baby pink, put a Marilyn Monroe poster in the frame, and hung it above the matching pink shelf, in the kitchen, which currently contains all my Kilner jars of pasta, flour, dried fruit and so on, and our liqour bottles along with my 1930s glass cocktail mixer. Once the wall behind picture and shelf has been painted lemon yellow I'll probably post a photo, as it really looks very sweet :) The kittens have been running amok during the whole process and Dexter spent most of yesterday with a baby pink paint smudge on his little ginger nose <3

I blame watching Calamity Jane so much as a child- I always wanted a kitchen like the inside of the cabin that Calamity's friend Katie makes over! Not to mention that stunning blue velvet hat.

And the lesbian undertones are fun, whether you think that they are supposed to be there or not!

Tomorrow: fashion shoot with a photographer who just shot with me for the first time last week :) Dinner with Hannah Ashlea and her partner, Ras, then off to Somerset on Saturday for a highly exclusive and obscure little festival ;) ;) ;)

Kilcooley Abbey, Ireland

Exciting news (for me, anyway!)!

1. My new website, www.anitadebauch.com is up and running and stuffed with literally hundreds of photos as well as other fun stuff ^^ Thank you so much to my wonderful web designer Jez for spending so much time on it and to his fab video artist partner Sam for making the intro video with me :D I'll eventually be adding a newsletter and members' area too, when I figure out how :D
2. I have been signed to a commercial model agency, which feels strange but good :) I had to decline the very first casting they sent me for a really cool themed fashion show because I already had a photo shoot booked for the same day, but hopefully they will find me some other castings for jobs I wouldn't usually hear about or have access to, as a freelancer :) I'm looking forward to it!

Now to start blogging all the gorgeous photos from last month's four-day modelling assignment at Kilcooley Abbey in Ireland with one of my very favourite photographers, Seamus Costelloe ^^ First up, some indoor and outdoor art nudes :)

All hair and makeup styling by yours truly :) I couldn't decide which of the last two I preferred, so I posted them both!

I'll be posting more from Kilcooley Abbey over the next few days, including latex, lingerie and glamour shots, so if you haven't already, please subscribe to my blog using the widgets under my Twitter feed in the top right corner of this window to be kept in the loop :)

On an entirely unrelated note, I made a cooked breakfast with less than 200 calories this morning after I got too into some Châteauneuf-du-Pape while catching up on True Blood last night, after our new flatmate Ross cooked us an awesome spicy chicken and couscous for dinner :) We love him!!

**Anita's 200 Calorie Hangover Cure**

1 slice Nimble Wholemeal, toasted (48 cals)

1 medium free-range egg, poached (65 cals)

1 Quorn sausage, grilled (70 cals)

2 big mugs of tea with fresh Alpro Soya Light (15 cals)

Aspirin: optional ;)

Total: 198 calories! Like a boss!

Photo Booth/ Models Anonymous

Hello, my name is Anita... and I'm a pose-aholic.

Photographer: Artpunk

Wardrobe (not that you can see much of it!): HMS Latex

******STUDIO DAY ALERTS!*****

I will be available to shoot at the following studios in the following cities on the following dates!

1. Light Spot Studio in London on Saturday 30th July with one of the UK's very best art models, Madame Bink! The studio is fully equipped and we will be providing hair, makeup and wardrobe styling, and working to art nude levels together. Package rates: £80 per hour OR £150 for 2 hours and 10 minutes when you book 2 x one-hour sessions back to back! Full details here! Or if you prefer, you can book me alone at the studio for £50 ph or £90 for 2 hours :)
2. James Thorpe Photography Studio in Northampton on Saturday 6th August! The studio is fully equipped, comes with wardrobe and props and rates are £55 per hour OR £100 for 2 hours and 10 minutes when you book 2 x one-hour sessions back to back! I'm rarely in this area, so my last Northampton Studio Day sold out very quickly. Full details here!
3. White Space Studios in London on Saturday 1st October! Two fully equipped studios, including an infinity cove and motorbikes to pose with! Rates TBC, but will probably be £50 ph. Let me know if you'd like to be put on the "potentially interested" list and I will personally email you when rates have been confirmed.

Don't delay, book today by emailing contact@anitadebauch.com!

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Live long and prosper!

I get all sorts of shoot requests in my inbox and via my Formspring profile from fans around the world; sometimes I get to say, "actually, I've already done a shoot like that, and the photos are here..." Sometimes I'll say, "cool idea! I'll see if any of my clients are interested in incorporating it into their shoots with me and if they are, I'll post the photos in my blog!" But sometimes I have to say, "I've not shot anything like that and tbh, I doubt that I'll ever get the opportunity to."

I've had to make the latter response to a couple of people who wanted to see me wear a Star Trek uniform. I love Star Trek, especially the original series (Spock was my favourite when I was a kid!), but it just seemed so unlikely that anyone would ever want to shoot anything like that. Until this year's Scottish Tour!

 

 Photographer and wardrobe stylist: David Porter

Hair and makeup: me

Location: Elgin Studio

The phazer and tricorder were proper working replicas that made all the noises ^^ So much fun!

I'll be doing another studio day next month, this time in Northampton, as quite a few people have asked me to come back there :) Details in my MM travel notice :)

Now, I'm off to take shower, help Liam put all our books onto our new uber-huge bookshelves that we've just finished building and painting in our room, and then make a full Sunday roast dinner with garlicky chicken, baby potatoes roasted in olive oil and sage and onion stuffing *nods*

Freyagushi @ Nikita Sablier

Yay, I finished painting my bathroom! I think I may celebrate with a ceremonial bubble bath :) I still have to put up the shelves, re-tile a little section and then call in some peeps to replace the taps and flooring, but still ;)

This photo was actually taken in a bathroom, believe it or not, in a country hotel in Chelmsford... you've got to love a decorator who would put an antique leather chair next to the bathroom fireplace :)

Photographer: Agness Lugovska

Wardrobe: Freyagushi @ Nikita Sablier

Hair and  makeup: me!

I'm off to have a cup of peppermint tea in the bath and admire my paint work ;)

Weather Vain

I can't quite believe I haven't blogged about this yet...

I did a shoot for Weather Vain with Keital (the photographer who took that wonderful 1940s- themed shot for EctoMorph in my last blog) this May, with a vintage 1953 MG TD and even more excitingly, a vintage plane (1961 Jodel 140) that I got taken for a ride around the skies in afterwards!

The final Weather Vain shot

On the way to the shoot in a (modern!) Audi

Me catching some rays during a break in shooting- in the best possible outfit, given my complexion

View of Maidenhead from the plane

This is what I look like when I'm getting flown around in a teeny little vintage plane :D

Another view from the window- Keith did some rolls just for me!

This was a two-day assignment; on the other day we shot some very cool latex stuff that I think I will save for the members-only area of my website, once it is completed (go bookmark the page now!) ;) Here's a little preview:

EctoMorph Latex preview!

Here is a sneak preview of my recent photo shoot for EctoMorph London! The rest should be appearing on their website very soon :)

Hair and makeup courtesy of moi :)

One of the reasons I LOVED this shoot was that it took place in a gorgeous 1930s house filled with beautiful vintage deco pieces, like that delicious 1920s bar I'm digging into there (the photo doesn't show it much, but it was really lovely!).

In the meantime, if you like this photographer's latex work, you should check out Fetish Eyes, a classy heavy rubber site :)

Podge

I am sooo tired today! I've had a couple of late nights with friends recently :) Cancelling my Euro Tour was a real bummer, but on the plus side, I'm able to use this sudden free time to catch up with my friends and all my other little jobs. I literally had a to-do list as long as my arm- I measured it!!

So, I've been hanging out with Liam, Bink (including going to the National Portrait Gallery to see our friend Ivory Flame's portrait, Holly- wheeee! I just cannot get over how cool that is), and my non-modelling friends; working out; and re-decorating the house, including re-painting my bathroom, shopping for pretty little knick-knacks like this cool 1930s radio (which I happen to be listening to Classic FM on as I type), and ordering new furniture and chandeliers for my bedroom :)

 

It's slightly lame how excited I am about my pretty new 1950s-inspired baby pink and sunshine yellow kitchen. Maybe it's because I love to cook and it's fun to have such a happy, playful environment to do it in. I'll no doubt post a photo of it when it's done!

I had a bit of a 'thing' about wanting to redecorate the whole apartment myself, but now that I'm halfway through the first (and smallest) room, the bathroom, the novelty of painting painting painting all day and destroying my manicure is starting to wear off, so I think I will hire a professional team to do the rest of the house and just swan around in the background in a silk robe with a Bombay Sapphire and Slimline tonic pointing out what needs done, being creative with colour swatches and so on, rather than doing any of the actual boring, nail-breaking work ;p It'll no doubt look better if a pro does it, anyway, and there's no way I'd even attempt hanging wallpaper!

Speaking of work, here are some photos of me doing my favourite kind of "work", modelling, in Ireland last month :)

 Just because I feel like wittering on a bit longer, other things I've been up to include taking Lilith to the vet to get spayed- she's just started purring again today, so I guess she's starting to feel better!...

...Giving Dexter his first bath... he loved it, the little freak!...

... and planning this year's Asian Tour, extended to a whole month after last year's three weeks simply wasn't enough time to cram in all the shoots I was offered, and as well as returning to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, I will also be visiting Bangkok and Tokyo for the first time. I'm so excited! It's not until November, but I'm sure the time will just fly by- it always does!

It's only 7.30 pm, but I think I'm going to go to bed and get some sleep :s