We took one lucky fourteen year old and, with the help of our style team, Karen Hughes, Lance Pryor-Collins from Fich & Ramous and Martin Phillips of StudioRedKite transformed her into the beauty you see before you.

LOOKING GOOD

THE VALE LIFE MAKOVER
Creating a Look

The four different looks created for this feature show how you can change a look dramatically with the eyes and lips.

Eyes and lips with light and shade are the most important techniques you can learn about applying make-up. Colour will make your look stand out more - more natural colours i.e browns, creams and greys will keep you within a safe zone but go for greens, blues, purples, shimmers and you risk being viewed as a glamour puss. Remember, its all about the person you want to be seen as!

The pale eyes, pale lips look doesn’t have to be the safest look either - you can add sparkle to any look and sometimes a touch of subtle sparkle looks far more intriguing than loads of glitz all over. Dark eyes are the hardest thing to master but you can play it safe by applying a paler colour all over as a base, then gradually build the darker colours up. Keep the darker shades close to the eyelashes to be safe, but if you want to experiment try following the socket line. Beware though, that dark colour completely around the eyes will make them look smaller, particularly eyeliner applied on the inner rim of the lids.

By using a lip liner you can change the shape of your lips, making them bigger or smaller or correcting uneven lips. Fill in the lips with the liner before applying lipstick if you don’t want to see the line. This will also help to keep lip colour on for longer. Gloss will make lips look fuller but if you over do it, the gloss will wash off the lipstick - a little gloss on the outer edge of the lips will have as much effect as a gloopy mass all over. Getting a good finish on pale lips is often harder than stronger, darker shades but it’s worth the effort when you get it right.

THE MAKE-UP ARTIST
Karen Hughes

Karen trained as a beauty therapist over twenty years ago and has had a varied career working for various salons as a beauty therapist and becoming a window dresser for a department store in Swindon.

Karen then worked for Christian Dior and following that became a freelance make-up artist. Her next move was working for a model/photograph agency in Swindon and she loved the job so much that she bought the agency. Her claim to fame is that she discovered Melinda Messenger and catapulted her into the spotlight to become the star she is today. TV coverage came in the form of Channel 5 when they made a documentary about her agency.

Karen has travelled far in her career and took one of the girls to L A for a casting in Baywatch. She then sold the business and moved to Wales.

Karen got married, had a beautiful baby girl and stopped working for five years – during this time she went to art college and studied ceramics and fine art. She started working for Papillion Rose in March 2007 and recently took over managing the boutique as well as working on freelance magazine work.

Karen’s favourite products
■ Dr Hauschka loose powder
■ Becca cream blusher/lip colour,
■ Blinc mascara and Becca concealer
■ Dr Hauschka cleanser
■ YonKa Phyto Contour eye cream

Karen can be contacted by phoning Papillon Rose 01446 773 580

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THE HAIR STYLISTS
Fich & Ramous

Fich & Ramous are a team of creative, fun and friendly hair professionals dedicated to helping you achieve the most from your hair and enabling you to see yourself in a whole new light.

Using the latest cutting, colouring and styling techniques to give you the WOW factor, Fich & Ramous can:
■ Teach you how to achieve your desired look at home
■ Show you how to use your tools correctly
■ Advise you on how to keep your hair in tip top condition
■ Help you choose the correct products for your hair.

The salon in Cowbridge was established over five years ago, beginning life in a tiny room within a popular day spa. Two years later the day spa expanded and created larger premises for our salon enabling us to expand still further. The salon has always been a very busy and bustling place and a hive of creative activity and continues to grow daily! They are always looking ahead and moving forward, not only keeping abreast of fashion and trends but setting them!

Why the name Fich & Ramous?
Lance loves playing with words – spoonerisms. Being ‘rich and famous’ was mentioned in conversation one evening which Lance changed to ‘fich and ramous’. It was a kind of eureka moment as we both realised its potential as a new name for our newly launched salon. It certainly beats the many variations of Cuts or Curlz that adorn our high streets!

Claire Collins, Salon Business Manager
Claire joined about 18 months ago as Business Development Manager following a long career as a primary school teacher. Her role is wide and varied from floor sweeper and tea maker to marketing manager and PR. Claire’s primary concern is ensuring that your visit is a memorable one and is relaxed and enjoyable.

She insists on a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and is always on hand to assist with any queries, discuss new ideas and offer her opinion. Claire’s passion is art and all forms of creative expression. These interests are a great asset in the salon and form part of the creative environment at Fich & Ramous, and together with her husband Lance and the other artistic team members, they make a great creative team.

“The creative ability and atmosphere exuded in the salon set us apart from the numerous ‘hairdressers’ up and down the high streets in all the towns. We are different and because of this we can offer so much more than the rest. Test us and see!”

Lance Pryor-Collins Salon Owner/Style Director
Lance is a formidable name in the world of hairdressing and has owned salons in the south Wales area for the last three decades. A former winner of many prestigious awards from the L’Oreal Colour Trophy, the Clynol Award, the Wella Award and three times Welsh Champion, Lance is renowned for his trend-setting cutting and creative colouring. During his time in the industry he has also trained some of Wales’ top hairdressers and salon owners. So you can be sure that you will receive a unique style, tailor-made for you and your style - no cutting-by-numbers!

Lance explains,
“All artists enjoy creating new and exciting works of art with their chosen media. My chosen media is hair and I am passionate about creating looks using cutting and colouring techniques that I have adapted over the years and many new ones that I create daily. When working with hair, as with any media, you have to know how it reacts, moves, its construction, growth pattern, type etc. And that’s before I begin to consider my clients! Each client I encounter is a new canvas and taking into consideration face shapes, style and the way they like to live their life I begin to create a look tailor-made for my client only. I really enjoy the opportunity to create new looks and it never ceases to amaze me the effect that a new look can have on a client - if they feel good about their hair they have the confidence and drive to strut their stuff on the catwalk of life. A new hair style can really be life changing!

I’m lucky to be continually inspired by what I see around me. I take that inspiration, turn it on its head and shake it about a bit et voila - a unique look created for you alone! Often, however, a style will evolve and grow into something unexpected which is a great buzz for me. And with added colour to enhance, exaggerate or complement, the masterpiece is complete.

So, come and visit us at our smart, newly refurbished salon and allow us to create a look for you. You’ll see yourself in a whole new light! Claire and I and our team look forward to welcoming you.”

Fich and Ramous 10a High Street Cowbridge CF71 7AG (rear of Beauty Within Day Spa) 01446 775522

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Martin Phillips

The photography took place at the state-of-the-art StudioRedKite in Porthcawl. The photographer, Martin Phillips, was chosen because of his vast experience in portraiture, lighting skills and for the very high standards he consistently achieves.

The brief for the photoshoot was to use classic mood lighting for a grownup look and a neutral background to allow the makeup and hairstyle changes to speak for themselves. The captures are on a digital Hasselblad and the lighting is by Broncolor, both are sponsors of Martin’s photography.

Martin’s very popular ‘Makeover Wednesday’ sessions are a big hit with girls of all ages! Martin is offering a special deal to the first ten Vale Life readers to book a makeover photo shoot with him. A makeover and photoshoot to the value of £145 for only £45 including a 8x6 print in frame. That’s a £100 saving for ten lucky Vale Life readers!



Please contact the studio direct on 01656 771525.

MASTER AT WORK
Porthcawl Photographer Sweeps
National Awards

Martin scooped four top awards in the annual Welsh Master Photographer event, taking home honours in the Under 5’s, Mother and Child, Classical and Avant Garde portrait categories.

Martin explains,
“I missed out on the Pets category but then I didn’t enter an image, something I intend to put right next year! I also achieved recognition of ‘outstanding achievement for originality and technical excellence’ from the judges at the British Professional Photography awards.”

Since opening Studio RedKite at the popular Art Café in Station Hill, Porthcawl only two years ago, Martin has acheived a great deal and has also obtained recognition as a Master Photographer. He was one of only three portrait photographers in the whole of the UK to achieve Associate Level this year. He also qualified as an Associate of the British Institute of Professional Photographers, making him the only portrait photographer in the country to achieve both honours.

Martin’s submission panel of twenty portraits was described as ‘original and challenging’ by the judges. He puts his success down to an eagerness to experiment with new looks and techniques, twenty-five years experience of making portraits with a special empathy for his subjects and a tremendous amount of hard work.

Martin said,“I feel that it is important to strive to give every client a creative and unique portrait that reflects their individuality. I want them to be fully involved in helping me to create a work of art for their home. I believe it has been an advantage to have a classic art college training where we were allowed to experiment in all art forms that interested us. My customers are genuinely excited by the process of making their portrait.”

Martin’s commercial work is also highly sought after. He was featured in a recent edition of Canon Professional Newsletter, where he was credited with producing the Scottish Widows Calendar exhibition for the Hooper Gallery in London. In the article, where the high quality of his images was noted, he was described as “my digital guru” by film director David Boni.