#NakedSundays with Stephen Perry and Burberry

WOOHOO! IT'S SUNDAY!

... is what this picture seems to say.

I was modelling for a workshop with lovely Stephen Perry at The Photo Studio in Kent yesterday, so it seemed appropriate to post our latest photo :) Apologies if you've already seen it on my homepage.

The workshop was really productive and I'm already seeing some of the fetish fashion and nude shots we took, including some with "rain", which was fun!

I'm also happy because I invested £3.49 in one of these bad boys and now I can have raw veggie noodles whenever I want.

YEAH

Rebelicious magazine latex Star Wars editorial #FetishFriday

I was reminded when updating my website for the first time in about a year last night/ early this morning that I haven't been blogging my publications like I used to. So, here is the latest one that I know of, an interview with Magpie Photography in Rebelicious magazine with some fun Star Wars themed photos we shot on my last Norfolk trip. I actually won the custom latex Storm Trooper bikini from Shhh! Couture in a Facebook competition :D The Star Wars necklaces were lent for the shoot by Chimeric Garnish. Skincare as always by Bareskin Beauty.

I was quite attached to the ATAT by the end of the day.

Photographer Showcase #1: Dirk Glassly, vintage fashion and art nudes

I work with so many great photographers, many of whom are hobbyists and really not interested in promoting themselves, so people don't often get to see their work. I'm going to try and do a regular Photographer Showcase post here on my blog to share with you some of the work that I get to see and be involved with. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do :)

My first showcased photographer is Dirk Glassly, who I shot with at his home studio in Norwich on 29th July. This was the first time we worked together and we covered a real range of styles over the day, from art nude to vintage fashion. Here are my personal favourites (click the pictures to see larger versions):

I think this is one of my favourite art nude shots to date <3 i="">

This is Dirk Glassly's reference for me:

I was so fortunate to work with Anita this week after more than a year since we first made contact, the delay being due to my move to Norfolk. All the pre-shoot arrangements were perfect and she arrived with the outfits we discussed, full of enthusiasm and ready to start work. She is so good to work with - buzzing with energy and creative contributions. She even responded positively to my wackiest ideas, braving waist-high nettles, and posing nude on a sea of shredded rubber (!). And throughout she was elegant, positive, good humoured and enthusiastic. And always looking for the best pose and best use of the light, totally committed to getting the best images possible - she is the complete professional. Her posing on the spiral staircase was amazing (photo already awarded an FPI). Moreover, she is a truly lovely person, interesting to talk to and fun to spend time with. Recommended without reservation.

And this is my recommendation for him:

I had a full day shoot with Paul at his home this summer. We shot some location nudes and portraits as well as creative studio portraits. Paul is great to work with, friendly, professional and artistic, and I really liked the photos we got. His hospitality is also wonderful! I would love to work with Paul again and would recommend him to any other model.

If you're a model interested in working with Paul, you can contact him on ModelMayhem.

Selfridges' The Masters fashion film

I make a little appearance (nude, of course) in the incredible Selfridges fashion film The Masters, directed by Marie Schuller (the same director who did Oyster and the Bo Ningen video I was in)! It's currently being shown on the big screen in the window of Selfridges flagship store on Oxford Street. Whenever I've walked down Oxford Street I've always thought, wouldn't it be cool if my face was up alongside all these other models somewhere? And now my naked, oiled up ass is instead, and in video form too, which is infinitely better!

I'm at 1:35- 1:51 but you should definitely watch the whole thing because it's awesome ;)

Each designer's capsule collection has its own window at Selfridges with their name and "Master of ..." written next to it. The Stella McCartney window has "Stella McCartney: Master of Modernity" and an artist's impression of my bare leg peeping through the curtain (sorry if you already saw this on Facebook) :)

The exodus from London to Somerset has now been scheduled for 1st September.

I put most of my stuff into boxes, and now I have to keep remembering which box I put what stuff in, when it turns out I DO need them before we move, e.g. opaque tights and woolly socks. In August. Fuck you, God.

We were supposed to be going to the Notting Hill Carnival today but I am being slightly put off by

a) my mate's over an hour late getting here, I'm guessing he must have drowned on the way
b) yes, it is pissing it down
c) all the sound systems are being shut off at 7pm, so no block party! I know! Way to kill off the carnival spirit and reclaim it in the name of pure commercialism *vom*

It's kind of sad because I had an outfit picked out and everything.

Looking forward to living in the middle of nowhere, where the police haven't been instructed to herd people into expensive nightclubs after 7pm.

Was asked to audition as the lead villain in a horror movie, only to discover upon closer reading of the treatment the considerable amount of hardcore porn in it. I agreed with the director that our society is crazy for thinking it's okay to show graphic violence and murder onscreen as entertainment but not graphic sex, but as I explained to him, "you're not asking me to ACTUALLY assault or kill any of the other actors. But you ARE asking me to..." Well, yeah.

Asian Tour flights booked. Really excited to go back to a beautiful, sunny corner of the world and do nothing but make photos for two weeks.

FINALLY REVEALED! Front cover of 'The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling'! @BareSknBeauty

I can finally reveal the cover of my book, The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling, which will be available to buy WORLDWIDE from 1st October! Pre-order from Waterstones or add to Amazon Wish List now!

 Photographer: Jamila | Hair and makeup: me | Skincare: Bareskin Beauty

The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling, my honest and comprehensive guide to modelling without an agency, is now available to pre-order from Waterstones or add to your Amazon wish list- you never know who's watching, right?!

It will also be available to order on Barnes & Noble and Fishpond. I'll keep you updated :)

It's been a crazy sort of week, dealing with some crazy people online and off, but I'm really happy with some of the images I've helped to produce and generally feel really positive about the way my career is going. I hope that doesn't sound too horribly self-congratulatory; I'm a worrier by nature, so it's quite a novelty to feel not-so-petrified in regards to work atm!

Photographer: Stephen Perry | Styling: me | Skincare: Bareskin Beauty

I'm busy planning my modelling tour of SE Asia in October, which should be shorter than usual as I won't be taking any days off for tourist-ing while I'm out there like I usually do. I'm being quite strict with myself and saving money as- another life milestone coming up- I hope to BUY my first place in six months or so and be a real-life homeowner!! I never dreamed I'd make it before the age of 30 but it looks like I can! I am so very grateful to all the photographers and clients who have booked me and continue to book me as a model. I'm not financially supported by a partner or parents or anything like that, so I rely entirely on my modelling bookings! Thank you all so much!!

 Photographer: Stephen Perry | Hair and makeup: me | Skincare: Bareskin Beauty

Well, they are certainly keeping me busy atm ;) I have two sold-out studio days this weekend, then early next week I'm modelling Lady Allura's Latex ballgowns with Ivory Flame, doing a magazine cover shoot, then an art nude workshop, then I'm off on my sold-out Irish Tour for a week.

The weekend I'm back from Ireland will be spent re-designing my website, then I'm off on tour again, this time to Norfolk, before rushing back down to London on the Thursday for another art nude workshop!

I am so full of positive energy right now.

*bounces*

The Writer

Amazing news! My book, The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling, will be published by New Haven this year!!!

No dismal self-publishing for me! I have an assigned editor and book designer and marketing person and we're all so excited we could pop!! Tuesday was one of the happiest days of my life. I mostly spent it jumping up and down, calling my mum and my best friend, crying, running laps round the house and drinking champage! I'M GOING TO BE A WRITER!

I will keep you updated of when it's out, of course! It will be available globally, so no matter where you are in the world, you can pick up a copy from somewhere. Please subscribe to my blog for free (top of the right column on this page) to be the first to know when it's available to buy. I think it's the first of its kind.

Appropriately, I thought I would share this classical figure nude I shot with 25th Century Quaker in New York earlier this year. I love the rich colours and painterly feel :) I'd love to shoot more classic nudes like this.

^ Click the image for a larger version.

Skincare by +Bareskin Beauty, hair and makeup by me.

I stole the orchids from my afternoon tea at The 21 the day before :p

In other news, I visited Roswell Ivory on her boat this week. It is the cutest thing I ever saw, like something out of The Wind in the Willows! I love the idea of reverting to a simpler, scaled-down way of life closer to nature, believe it or not. I always think I love everything extra decadent but then when I go somewhere more natural and simple I feel so relaxed. I guess there is a lot of material stuff that we think we need to be happy, but really, what do we own that is still making us feel fantastic six months after we bought it?

On that note, go and bid on some of my stuff on eBay. Ha.

Anita xo

Bo Ningen: 'Slider' music video directed by Marie Schuller for NOWNESS!

This may be one of the coolest projects I've been involved with to date:

a combined fashion film/ music video with Bo Ningen, directed by THE Marie Schuller (Head of Fashion Film at Nick Knight's SHOWstudio) for NOWNESS.

There are a few actors in this video, but I'm the only naked one. No change there, then.

Bo Ningen: Slider on Nowness.com

My laptop is too crap to play the video smoothly, so I can't take screengrabs for my portfolio, le sigh.

I did manage to steal a couple of stills from Marie's Instagram and NOWNESS' Twitter though, mwah hahahaha.

Many thanks to +Bareskin Beauty for the life-saving skincare.

I love this ^ last still. I look like I'm flying naked on the back of a giant psychedelic butterfly :)

Other news:

• Met Twiggy at a photo shoot
• Still working my ass off on le book
• Back into Pilates and green smoothies after too long drinking coffee over a hot laptop
• Shooting in London nearly every day
• Got comped into the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and had an even better time than expected (Behemoth were particularly good)
• I miss New York and Singapore
• Hopefully having a bit of a staycation next week so will be able to catch up on blogging and updating website :)

xoxo

Blue Ballerina

In case you didn't spot these on Tumblr a while ago, here are some photos I took with Niel Galen in NJ during my springtime trip to the States. Which is your favourite? I really like the butt one :p This skirt made me instantly feel like I was wearing a tutu and being a strange sort of ballerina :)

Many thanks to Lady Allura's Latex for lending me wardrobe for this shoot and to Bareskin Beauty for caring for my skin while travelling!

 

 And thanks to Fabulously Fetish for lending me these lush shoes! Don't they just complete the outfit? :D

Wishing you a wonderful weekend x

Natural eye cream review: Bareskin Beauty vs Dr. Organic

If you follow my blog, you'll know I'm a big fan of natural, ethical skincare products! And like Oscar Wilde, "I have simple tastes- I only like the best." It's important to me to have bright, youthful eyes for photo shoots and to feel confident at go-sees, so I'm always looking to improve my skincare regimen.

In this blog, I'm going to compare my old eye cream, Dr Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Eye Perfect, with my new eye cream, Bareskin Beauty Illuminating Eye Serum.

 Looks life-size on my screen!

I should declare a potential conflict of interests from the start- I'm sponsored by BsB and so the Eye Serum was a gift- but I will still try to be as honest as possible with my review here. As they say, the proof is in the pudding- if you're not convinced by what I'm about to say, please do put me to the test by trying out the creams yourself! :)


Test 1: Price

Let's cut straight to the chase! Great skincare is never going to be hiding in the 99p bin at Superdrug, sadly, but how much do these eye creams retail at?

• Bareskin Beauty: £19
• Dr Organic: £8.99

Winner: Dr Organic, a whole tenner cheaper per 15ml than BsB!


Test 2: Ingredients

It's what's inside that counts! Bareskin Beauty Illuminating Eye Serum has the full ingredients listed on the jar itself:

Aloe Barbensis Leaf Juice, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter*, Glycerine, Glycerine Aqua Sucrose Laurate, Ribes Nigrum, Tocopherols, Mauritia Flexuosa Oil*, Argania Spinosa Oil*, Daucus Carota Fruit Oil, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool
* organically sourced

The full ingredients aren't listed on the Dr Organic Eye Perfect, either on the tube itself or online. Maybe it was on the cardboard packaging it came in, which has long since been recycled. It does say that ingredients include:

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil enriched with Coconut Fruit Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Sea Plankton, Papaya Fruit Extract, Mango Fruit Extract, Cocoa Seed Extract, Mangosteen Fruit Extract, Fig Fruit Extract, Orange Fruit Extract, Bergamot Oil, Lemon Peel Oil and Vitamin C

Frankly, I don't know which list ought to be superior for eye care as I'm not an expert, but the fact that I am actually able to see everything in the Illuminating Eye Serum makes Bareskin Beauty a clear winner for me.

Winner: Bareskin Beauty, simply because Dr Organic don't provide a comprehensive ingredients list, for some reason.


Test 3: Packaging

... seeing as I mentioned packaging in the last paragraph! Here's that picture again so you don't have to scroll up.

• Bareskin Beauty: Recyclable glass jar with white plastic lid. The lid has a cardboard seal inside, so the cream never actually comes into contact with plastic, and has a soft pink and white Bareskin Beauty sticker on it, with the cherry blossom logo. Clean design, quite simple but pretty, and reasonably environmentally friendly. The jar could also be upcycled into a "small things" storage facility if you washed it once it was empty (I think mine might become a travel antihistamines pot, boo hayfever). If I blob a bit too much out onto my finger, I can scrape it back off into the jar, and I can wipe every last drop out with my finger, so there's no wastage.
• Dr Organic: Non-recyclable plastic tube which came in recyclable but unnecessary throwaway cardboard packaging. The shape is convenient for storing in the tooth mug if bathroom shelf space is severely limited with all your other products, but unfortunately means that if you accidentally squeeze too much out, you can't get it back in again, and you can't get the last of it out unless you cut the whole thing up with scissors, making the tube run out faster than it probably should do. The shiny silver lid was pretty initially (shiny shiny!) but rubbed off over time, so it looked a bit scruffy:

Winner: Bareskin Beauty. Jars are better than tubes!



4. Scent & appearance

• Bareskin Beauty: natural creamy colour cream with a slippery texture, leaving a soft oiliness on the skin after being rubbed in. My sense of smell admittedly isn't great, but I would call it fragrance-free.
• Dr Organic: bright ice white cream with a slippery texture, becoming slightly sticky after being rubbed in. Smells of coconut, which is always a plus, in my book!

Winner: Bareskin Beauty. Might not smell of much, but looks and feels more inviting.


5.  Efficacy

Which one was better for filling out my fine lines?

• Bareskin Beauty: slight results visible immediately, improving with twice daily use.
• Dr Organic: I will probably always have a soft spot for Dr Organic because it was the first natural skincare product I ever bought. I bought the eye cream to replace evil Clinique, and sadly, the results just weren't as good as evil Clinique, much as I wanted them to be :(

Winner: Bareskin Beauty. It seems you get what you pay for.


Conclusion

Bareskin Beauty Illuminating Eye Serum is the overall winner for me, beating Dr Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Eye Perfect with four advantages to one. I love a bargain as much as the next girl, but even for £8.99, I think you could possibly get a better eye cream than Dr Organic.

Bareskin Beauty might be a well-kept secret among models and celebrities atm but I would rather spend the extra £10 every other month (or however long it takes you to completely use up a whole tub of eye cream) and get something that actually works, not to mention the detox aspect of the cream not coming into contact with plastic, and the environmental impact of less wastage.


Where to go from here?

To learn how to eat for bright, beautiful eyes, I recommend reading Kimberly Snyder's new book, The Beauty Detox Foods, and booking a holistic facial with Juliette Scarfe at Bareskin Beauty, London.

Stay beautiful!

Anita x

#WardrobeWednesday with Damian McGillicuddy, Olympus & Bareskin Beauty!

Hi everyone!

I'm writing this on my sofa, in a peach robe, with Lilith purring in it, and drinking almond cappuccino with cinnamon sprinkles from a big china mug. Apparently people like to know these things.

Anyway!

Check out this new photo shot in Finland last month with Damian McGillicuddy using Olympus! I borrowed my boyfriend's tie for this shoot.

I'm quite impressed by just how much you can see my nipple through that blouse. I don't know if it actually looked like that at the time or was enhanced in Photoshop. I did the hair and makeup, skincare is by Bareskin Beauty :) The hair was super easy, I just used coconut oil to slick it down.

Bought some new makeup online today, in fact; I'm gradually converting from MAC to organic pure mineral products. Less talc = less spots. I recently got a bunch of new BsB natural products and my skin looked better immediately after using the Clay Mask and Antioxidant Toner, which inspired me to think, "what else can I do? Improve my makeup case!"

Yesterday's lips =

BsB lip balm + Rimmel Dynamite pencil + MAC Girl About Town applied with MAC lip brush

Here's a little video of me visiting the BsB kitchen in London last weekend, in case you didn't already see it on Vine:

Full day shoot yesterday, spa mineral bath with Thornton's Champagne truffles courtesy of boyfy last night, and full day's domestic goddess activities today. I've already done last night's washing up, three loads of laundry, scratch-made two kinds of soup (Kim Snyder's detox vegan Thai soup, and my own vegan Italian tomato & Chanteray carrot), baked preservative-free vegan wholemeal with coconut oil and BsB Himalayan pink salt, and assembled a huge pile of clothes for mending. I feel super-efficient. Now to see if I can remember how to thread up my digital sewing machine!

 Oh and guess what?

I've officially been modelling for EIGHT YEARS this month.

UNBELIEVABLE!!! Cheers everyone!

PS, does anyone know where I can buy a pair of these in the UK??? They are actually my perfect pair of sunglasses. I think I could handle paying 250 bucks for them if I had prescription lenses put in and wore them forever.

#FetishFriday 'Andrew McMeekin photographs Anita De Bauch': behind the scenes film of a hair fashion shoot

I thought it would be fun to post this behind the scenes film for #FetishFriday, as I thought plenty of my blog readers would like to see a latex shoot actually in progress, but it's also interesting as a hair/ retro fashion shoot. I think the black catsuit was my favourite outfit but I liked the cherry print Marilyn Monroe dress too :)



I was commissioned for this shoot to promote Andrew McMeekin's photography services in Lowestoft, Norfolk- he has a studio above his salon, Robert Owen Haircutters, so it's really convenient for getting your hair done nicely before your portrait session. I posted the photos from our shoot in my blog, here and here :)

This week has mostly been spent organising my Irish Tour in July, which is very exciting as I love visiting Ireland, working with some of my favourite photographers, and meeting new ones. I also want to visit some of the ancient mystical sites this time too, if my schedule allows! Organising so many clients from all different areas, arranging times that are convenient for everyone, and making and booking a travel plan is always a vast amount of work, but worth it for what is produced :) If you're a photographer/ artist/ designer/ hairdresser anywhere in Belfast/ Antrim or the Republic of Ireland, please do feel free to email me about a booking in July at contact@anitadebauch.com. I'm going to be everywhere :)

Other than that, the highlight of my week so far has been life modelling for art classes in London for the first time. I've never done it before as the rates of pay are so low that I sort of couldn't justify doing it. I concluded that life models do it for the feeling of having helped in creating artwork than for anything else, which I sure wish I had time to do for free or almost-free sometimes, but 99% of the time, I just don't. If I'm not shooting, I do need rest days so I don't totally burn out ;) But these ones were quite reasonably paid and I'm so glad I actually took the plunge and did them, it was such a fascinating experience! I really wish I could draw. It was very inspiring and made me want to do life modelling more regularly, if I can.

Another nude booking tomorrow, but with a camera, not a paintbrush, the way god intended ;)

Anita x

Hangin' in Helsinki with the Big Dog (oh, and @OlympusUK) #WardrobeWednesday @McGillicuddy1

So last month I got a last-minute call from Damian McGillicuddy inviting me to fly out to Helsinki with him to help promote Olympus cameras at an event by Indie Days!

It was a "Bloggers' Inspiration Day"- blogging is HUGE over there- and Damian was demonstrating with me how to take simple portraits, as of course a lot of these fashion bloggers take their own photos! Instead of the usual crowd of middle-aged male photographers, this camera demo audience was 99% beautiful young Scandinavian women + 1% gay hipsters. I have never seen a better-looking group of photographers, seriously!! They all should have been in front of the camera!

One of Damian's photos from the class:

Afterwards we went for dinner and I had a traditional Finnish soup called lohikeitto, which is like leek and potato, garnished with fresh dill, mmmmmmm! It said vegetarian and lactose-free on the menu, but when it arrived it was full of butter, cream and poached salmon and promptly sent me into a food-coma!

The next day, Damian and I shot some of my Lady Allura's Latex and Fabulously Fetish boots at the hotel with lovely Lesley assisting :) I'll post more of the results when I have them, they are awesome, so please subscribe to my blog (top right) and I'll mail them to you! in the meantime, I have an email mountain to tackle and international tours to organise ;)

Anita x

Booty call with the Big Dog

A photo at our very Scandinavian hotel in Helsinki, featuring my bespoke leather Fabulously Fetish boots :)

Photographer: Damian McGillicuddy

Skincare: Bareskin Beauty
Hair and makeup: me

Apparently one of our photos from our trip to Finland is going to be published in the next Olympus Magazine, although I don't know which one yet! I'll see if I can post a scan here when it's out, so do subscribe to my blog if you want to see it (right hand column of this page) :)

Beyond Burlesque fashion editorial in British MODE magazine by Dave Kai-Piper! #WardrobeWednesday

... in... November... last year... I am comically behind in my blogging! It seems I either have time to live life or time to write about it, but not both, atm! Must get back into the habit of blogging little and often! It's nice to have a daily/ weekly record of my life as a model to look back on.

Anyway! Four lovely lovely pages in British MODE of bridal fashion by Vivienne Westwood's corsetierre Belinda Chorley, shot by Dave Kai-Piper, hair and makeup by Candy. Yay!

My hair colour is much more orange now than it is here. I kind of miss this red/ rust colour. Might introduce it back in at some point :)

Meeting Dita Von Teese

In case you didn't already know, I met DITA VON TEESE in Bloomingdale's in March!

I know!!

How I looked on the outside:

Photographer: Jennifer Mitchell

 How I looked on the inside:

Dita's book Burlesque and the Art of the Teese is what first inspired me to actually try modelling nearly eight years ago, and along with my now quite decent library of vintage photo books and glamour icon biographies, has been a part of my creative make-up ever since. I might never have tried to make a living from doing and being what I love if it weren't for this amazing lady!

I was interviewed and photographed by Dita's team before proceeding to blather to her in an exceedingly starstruck but totally honest way about what a big fan I am, how inspiring she is, etc. I handmade her a personalised little "business" card in case she ever happens to need a well-informed pin-up model for one of her events in the UK!

It could happen!!

Photographer: David Prutting/ BFA Photo

I got a pair of Dita's Madame X knickers, too. The Madame X range is awesomes for petite/ athletic ladies. It kind of marks out where your curves are so they can't be missed.

Also, I got this :)

***Squee!***