Festival Inspired Make-up Tutorial

Just about to turn 25 Cara Wyn Slater is a self-employed make-up and beauty therapist.  She started the business back in April of this year, which has since been rebranded from her own name to the elegant “Coco Belle” and is now on 700 likes on its Facebook page. She’s become a household name for beauty in the local area – You have to be quick if you want to get an appointment as they fill up fast! At great prices and with gorgeous results it’s hardly a surprise there’s such high demand. Here she shares with The Young Collective a tutorial for the much-awaited festival season!  You may be thinking Glastonbury is behind us but there’s still time to get all glamoured up for festivals like No.6, Bestival and Reading and Leeds! 

“I work around the clock but I love what I do: I’ve met and worked with so many different characters and clients over the past couple of months and it’s them that keep my business alive! I do all my appointments in a beauty room I’ve set up in my own home, so it’s all very personal and that personal interaction with the clients are what help me understand what they’re looking for. These relationships are what help develop my business even further!

As I woke alone it means I can adapt what I offer to the needs of the customer. Changes in what I offer are usually due to changes in the latest trends for example the highly requested festival look! I spend countless hours perfecting looks and seeing what’s hot. If you’re going to do this job, you have to keep up to date with it!

When the Summer season officially started I began thinking of new and fresh makeup looks to try out, and exciting new promotions for my business. Festival makeup has propelled in the past couple of years and 2016 hasn’t slowed it down: with flamingos, unicorns, mermaids and pineapples being used as centre-stage for inspiration. It’s the one time of year where you can wear literally anything and get away with it.

It’s a very important season in a girl’s calendar, as well as planning where to go and how big a tent to take, our hair and beauty choices for the weekend also get a very important spot on the top of the to-do list. With inspiration from celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, Kendall Jenner and so much more at Coachella, it’s hard not to realise that festivals have become the newest catwalk.

Many clients asked if I would be doing Festival inspired makeup for the long-awaited  Festival No.6.  It’s now on its 5th year and is being held in the Italian inspired village of Portmeirion, just up the road from where I live and am based, in Penrhyndeudraeth.

After researching photos and ideas on Pinterest and Instagram (If you need inspiration for anything they never let you down). I’ve decided to promote Festival Eyes and Hair for that specific weekend in a style that corresponds with the beautiful seaside setting of Portmeirion, which sits on the Estuary. So here goes, here is my first Festival inspired look.

As it’s summer, I love a heavily bronzed face for any festival just to keep up the appearance of jetting back and forth from our villas overseas. Along with a prominent bronze across the cheeks and temples, I also use plenty of highlighters to illuminate the cheekbones and bring out the glitter. Although I’m keeping with the beachy feel I’ve gone for colours that are a bit more out there than the subtle golden colours we typically see around the summer season. Instead, inspired by mermaid everything it’s all about the Turquoises and teals for the eyes for a blue sea vibe and to bring out that bright festival feels. I’ve then finished off the look with a nude matte lip to emphasise the attention on all the glitter and not to distract too much from the glamorous make-up going on around the eyes!

Check out Cara’s social media pages and get your bookings in quick!

https://www.facebook.com/caraslatermua/

https://www.instagram.com/caraslatermua/

Is Today’s Media having a damaging impact on 21st-Century beauty?

21st-century beauty standards are portrayed as quite straightforward: tall, long-legged, white-skinned, all in an athletic-looking body. It’s amazing how for many women this has become the prime definition of beautiful. Worryingly, it’s young girls who have come to believe that a Victoria Secret Model’s body is the ultimate goal when it comes to aesthetics.  In reality, these hopeful body goals are down to what we call media: Hollywood star Instagram accounts, magazines headlines “how to achieve that summer bod!”, and model pictures with the caption: #goals, all of which are being used by the younger generation to compare and depict all their flaws.

It saddens me to think that many young women will put themselves down for not looking a certain way, instead of embracing who they are, they will criticise themselves,a habit we’re all guilty of doing. They think they’re unattractive, ugly and go as far as using words like ‘disgusting’. I’m sure you’re thinking “that’s a harsh word to describe yourself” but, the reality is it is these types of personal judgements that lead girls to drastic measures to be ‘beautiful’. This ugly turn causes young girls to forget to value themselves and can lead to threatening health issues.

As a victim of Anorexia, I googled perfect bodies, pointed at them, and said “I want to look like that.” I would look through magazine articles which told you what eating/exercising regimes stars use to look the way they do. I was obsessed. Many praised me for my quick weight-loss, and at the time I enjoyed everybody praising and complimenting me for my quick achievements. But, it’s impressive how people find a 16-year-old obsessing to lose 10 kilos to be a success, a body which I realise now is perfectly fine.

It was only when I began to look sick that people worried. And this, like it did for me, happens to so many girls, actually 1 in 5 women struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating. I believe this all comes from the stigma of what the perfect body is created by the media. It is an extremely easy trap to fall into, when you are naturally critical of yourself, you are therefore, already placing yourself into a vulnerable position.

Not everyone falls into the category of having a disorder but, frighteningly many do live thinking they’re not good enough, oblivious to their true self-worth. Here is the important part: humans are all built differently, we all have different metabolisms, different body types, and come from completely different heritages. We fail to forget that genes play a massive role in how we look, and the issue is that these givens just can’t be changed. It is so much easier and less self-destructive when we learn to embrace our personal traits. You would never taunt the people who gave you your body, the people you love, so why do it to yourself?

Being curvy is not being fat, having an athletic body is not looking like a boy, being flat-chested doesn’t mean you’re an 8-year-old girl. Most importantly not looking like your favourite celebrity does not under any circumstances mean you’re any less beautiful. Our society needs to understand that girls are spending so much time on achieving something unattainable. Celebrities dedicate their lives to the way they look but, young girls have futures to aspire to. 90 % of people with eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25, the peak ages whereas young adults we are trying to figure who we are, what we want to do, and who we want to be. How can anybody live to their full potential when they can’t find self-confidence within themselves? How will girls be the best they can be if they personally don’t believe that they’re worthy enough?

21st-century beauty standards are slowly changing and people are starting to not shy away from who they are. We’re now seeing more curvy models setting their own standards and a variety of celebrities speaking out on body positivity. However, this is just the beginning there is still a lot of work left in convincing our younger generation to start loving themselves, before putting their energy into looking like someone else.

Feature Contributor, Astrid Sofia Flores Moya

The Women who inspire me

The Young Collective’s Fashion Contributor, Rachel Williams, talks about the women that inspire her elegant and sophisticated style. 

Olivia Palermo

The 30-year-old has been known for her impeccable style since her appearance alongside Whitney Port on MTV’s The City. “She’s got the confidence to go for the unexpected, the non-traditional and the most fashion-forward looks, yet she tends to keep her signature style elegant and clean. Her Wedding look is a prime example of her modern but beautifully original wardrobe.” Rachel continues to add “whilst most have limited or somewhat frumpy winter wardrobes, Palermo’s is admirable. Neutral tones are a year-round go-to; her look remains simple yet classy…saying that, I’m pretty sure life would be much easier with those legs! Although her formal looks may not be particularly striking, her casual looks are always together.”

 

Blake Lively

“Not fair at all, is it?” Rachel begins “not only is she married to Ryan Reynolds but looks flawless in whatever she wears. Whether she’s on or off camera: at press events or the Met Gala she has the desired ability to wear anything. She rocks a baby bump like an accessory for god sake. The fashion houses adore her, offering up some of the most beautiful pieces of their collections for her, which in return she only alleviates.”

Although the star likes to disassociate herself with her well-known character on Gossip Girl, Rachel explains “she continues to carry the fashion-forward Upper-East Side ‘Serena’ as a part of her public persona but, she also shows she is heavily interested, creative, and respective of the fashion industry. It’s a lack of vanity and transparency in her personal life that make her style choices ever intriguing. Thankfully, social media accounts help give us detailed close-ups of her outfits and accessories, as well as displaying her gratitude for those who help along the way.”

Kate Middleton

“With a Royal family to represent, the pressure of the world’s gaze, along with press opinions Kate Middleton perfectly addresses the balance of conservative dressing with interesting and modern dynamics.”

Not only was Kate and Will’s wedding the most anticipated event of 2011, but it was also one of the biggest moments for Fashion House Alexander McQueen “The Wedding Dress. Alexander McQueen, one of my favourite most admired fashion houses was the perfect institute to look for a design.” Although McQueen sadly passed away the year before, Rachel expresses “the British splendour and elegance are perfectly captured in McQueen’s designs and his legacy lives strongly on. The Beautifully crafted dress was modest, appropriate and nodded to tradition, yet it was carefully and skilfully fitted to compliment the Duchess’ figure. Detailing was intricate but, the structure and famous McQueen kick pleat gave the dress the capacity and volume for the context of the Abbey. Copies were made in hours – wedding dress trends are slow-moving but this injected a fast favourite into the nations styles.”

“Kate draws an approachable and obtainable choice of fashion. She chooses items from high street collections, re-wears looks and plays with the latest trends allowing us all an insight into her personality.”