Christoph Neimann is a graphic artist that works for the New Yorker who we went to see yesterday. I was actually so happy we went, this guy is really amazingly talented. Not only does he illustrate for print and web, but he makes silk screen pictures, has a very entertaining app, and a book. Thank you Dr. Freeman for taking us to see him! Very inspiring to become as successful and talented as him one day. His office was beautiful by the way. Here is a link to his site if you want to check it out! http://www.christophniemann.com/

Nell joins TOWIE star Jessica Wright and actress Claire Sweeney who say they’re proud of their bodies, bumps and all.

We’ll also be bringing you part two of our summer shape-up, where we’ll tone you up in a 21-day plan, PLUS it’s the launch of the Fabulous Beauty Awards 2013!

Grab our new issue, free inside The Sun this Sunday.

Are you a new mum who’s proud of her post-pregnancy bod like Nell? Tweet us @Fabulousmag #FabMagNell

© chocominhyuk

However, it’s not all doom and gloom, the chap and I have been getting on amazingly in our little flat and I love him more and more each day.  He reminds me that whilst I have may not have been doing exactly what I had in mind since I moved here the things that I have achieved are vast. He is not wrong!  In between working full time I have written for a variety of online magazines, helped on photo shoots, I have mastered my sewing machine and made a variety of soft furnishings for the house and even a couple of wearable skirts for myself, I am reading so much more than I have been able to in the past and I have most recently (and perhaps more importantly) started up my own magazine.  You can read all about it here.  I want to inspire the world around us to get creative, and give young people and struggling graduates a platform to display their incredible talent.  Issue one is filling up fast but if you would like to be involved or know of anyone who would make a great feature let me know, we would love to have you on board. 

And so another year of London life has begun, and if it is anything like this last year, I cannot wait to see what it brings.  

A few months ago, Selina Lake, stylist of the moment, asked me for some of my work to feature in a shoot for Prima Spring Makes magazine – colour me thrilled!

Not only did my work make the cut, I pretty much got a full page full of my stuff – whoop!

Oh, and there’s another image, too, of my tea coasters – magic. I was in pretty good company with Kate Blandford‘s ace purse – thanks also to Kate for these photos, as I’ve not found the magazine in the wild yet.

It’s always exciting to see your work in print – I don’t think I’d ever tire of that thrill when you see something you’ve made being praised in a magazine.

I’m blogging every day in May as part of BEDM. Find out more here.

Cat people vs dog people
The subject for the video came to me because cat and dog videos are the most watched videos online. But there has always been a distinction between cat and dog people. Some people are fonder of cats, some more of dogs, it’s that simple. Of course there will always be the people who like both and those who don’t like cats or dogs at all, but this is just a small percentage. Professor Sam Gosling of the University of Texas, Austin asked 4.565 volunteers whether they were dog people, cat people, neither or both. The outcome of this question was that 46 % of respondents described themselves as dog people, 12 % cat people, 28 % both and 15 % neither.

Cats and dogs own the internet
I am one of these people who looses hours of her day to watching videos of cats and dogs. It’s not that I don’t have anything better to do; there’s just too much cuteness available online! Anyhoo, there are many people that love watching these videos.  Research actually showed that 20.9 % of the internet consists of cats and dogs (as of 01/08/2011). As a comparison I looked up what percentage of the internet is porn, since the general idea is that internet is full of porn. But actually, only 4 % of the internet consists of porn (as of 07/09/2011). Of course these numbers have changed in the pas few years, but the big difference will still be there and might even have gotten bigger.

Cats and dogs in marketing
So to get back to the making of the video.. The making of was fun but challenging. I also had the idea to have people reading the magazine and then turn them into dogs, but since my movie editing skills are not that good and there was too much on my plate already, I decided to leave it like this. You still get the idea. It was fun making it, but at times also frustrating. After I made the video I wondered how the fact that people are so fond of cat and dog videos so much, could be used as an advantage to a brand. I found that many ads and viral videos are more successful with cats or dogs in it. A good example is the Cravendale Milk commercial ‘cats with thumbs’, which received more than 7 million views, while the Cravendale commercial with a cow (which makes more sense) only received 207 thousand views. Both commercials are equally long and funny, but still the cat video was way more successful: Cravendale Milk brand awareness increased by 10 %, sales increased 8 % and was in the top 10 best commercials of 2011 by AdWeek. To read more about the successfulness of cats in commercials read 9 reasons your marketing should include cats.

The Fabulous Beauty Awards are back! Launching this Sunday, you’ll have the chance to tell us all about your beauty must-haves, from the best moisturiser in beauty town to your fave nail products, and even your celeb beauty icon of the year.

And to thank you for getting involved, we’re even giving away 3,000 Maybelline The Rocket Volum’ Express Mascaras – worth £5.99 each!

To get involved, pick up your copy of Fabulous magazine – free inside The Sun this Sunday – and read all about how to vote and win.

Who will get your vote? Tweet us @Fabulousmag

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Health/Wellbeing-and-fitness/Life-can-be-a-struggle-but-Im-still-smiling-20130520093435.htm

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/rare-diseases

Photographer Zoe McConnell captures Brit model Katerina J @ Milk Management UK in this playful and ferocious story Paradise Circus.

Wild bunny Katerina wears lingerie from Agent Provocateur, accessories by Jeremy Scott, and headpieces by Maison Michel & Eugenia Kim.

http://galoremag.com/paradise-circus-galore-online-exclusive/

Sometimes as an makeup artist you never know when your work will be published, and the best story is sometimes is when is not plan. But, If you are working with great photographer and models is very slim chance the story not to be great.

If you love your job so much and love producing creative images you will do it for free.

This was test shoot between photographer and myself.

Thank dear lord was incredible results at the end and very happy with images.

Hope you like it.

X

Here is another review I recently wrote up for the AU Review. Today I received some very nice feedback from the ladies of Fashion Weekly Magazine saying how much they liked the article! This the first time I have ever received a reaction such as this from something I have written and it is a wonderful feeling. Not that I’ve ever received any negative feedback but it’s lovely to get such validation for the way I write. To see the article in full along with a few more photographs follow this Link.

Endless champagne, fabulous fashion and 300 beautiful people… sounds like the recipe for a dazzling night out! Fashion Weekly Magazine celebrated their 7th birthday on Thursday night with a blow out party in Fortitude Valley. The fashionistas of Brisbane flocked to ‘C Gallery’ to join in a night where fashion and art combined to create a fabulous world of monochrome splendour.

This online publication endeavours to embrace talents and labels both new and long established. They’re a publication that’s all about style, culture and lifestyle. Tonight was not only a milestone for their online magazine but also the launch of their first Limited Edition Print FW Magazine.The celebration was a hit! A mere 15 minutes after opening its doors the gallery space was a sea of fashion enthusiasts. You couldn’t move without brushing up against a few dozen others. As soon as I set foot on the carpeted floor of the already packed gallery, a gift bag and a cool glass of champaign where thrust into my all-too-eager hands. It was clear that these Fashion Weekly girls knew how to celebrate!

The atmosphere was young and fresh, with Daft Punk and Robin Thicke emanating from the DJ booth. No fashion event would be complete without a few models strutting their stuff. Four models spent the night showcasing the latest couture and avant guard fashion from labels such as George Wu studio, Karen Willis Holmes, Nomiki Glynatsis Couture, Pierre Winter Fine Jewels and Killari Queensland. The gowns where gorgeous! However, I did not envy the models having to stand on their pedestals while the rest of us gossiped and ate chocolate biscuits. The models changed outfits every thirty minutes, keeping a constant edge to the night. I thought this was a brilliant touch which kept the guests engaged as well as highlighting what the publication is all about: fashion!

This night was a toast to the many fashionable years ahead!

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WASHINGTON, Wed May 22, 2013  - For years, Apple Inc kept a low profile in Washington as it grew into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Now the iPad maker has taken the lead, perhaps inadvertently, on a top priority for US business: simplifying America’s tax code.

Chief Executive Tim Cook, who was called before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday to answer questions about Apple’s alleged tax avoidance, used his appearance to plead for an overhaul of corporate taxes. That marked a sharp turnabout for a company that until now has been content to let rivals like Google and Microsoft fight Washington policy battles.

And even though the scrutiny Apple has come under in Washington could further challenge the company as it copes with a sagging stock price, rising competition and questions about its labor practices, it may have little choice but to commit fully to the fight over the corporate tax code.

“They are very, very tactical,” said a former Apple lobbyist who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the company. “They only join issues they really care about.”

Recently, Apple has backed unsuccessful legislation that would have allowed international companies to bring overseas profits back home without paying the 35 percent corporate income tax.

Repatriation of profits has been a top concern for US companies, which collectively have more than $1.5 trillion sitting offshore. Most say they keep the money there to avoid the taxes they would face by bringing it home.

Bowing to increasing shareholder pressure to distribute some of the $100 billion it keeps overseas, Apple has opted to borrow money at low interest rates rather than bring the cash home and take the tax hit.

Apple’s Washington office referred questions to its California headquarters. Officials there declined to comment.

Apple has spent far less than other corporate titans on Washington lobbying over the past decade, records show, and the company has often declined to work with other technology companies on issues affecting the industry as a whole. It dropped out of the US Chamber of Commerce in 2009 after it disagreed with the business lobby’s stance on climate change.

The company spent about $2 million on lobbying last year, up from $180,000 in 1999, records show. This year it is on pace to nearly double last year’s figure.

Apple’s lobbying expenditures still pale in comparison with those of Microsoft Corp., which spent $8.1 million in 2012, and Google, which spent $16.5 million, records show.

And unlike other businesses such as AT&T and Exxon Mobil, Apple has not set up a political action fund to distribute employee contributions to congressional allies – a common tool for wielding influence in Washington.

“Clearly, Apple does not have a huge footprint for the tech sector. I don’t mean to denigrate almost $2 million (spent on)lobbying – that’s a lot of money – but it’s not as much as other tech companies have been spending,” said Bill Allison, editorial director for the Sunlight Foundation, a non-profit that deals with money in politics.

Lobbyists not associated with the firm privately said Apple’s minimal Washington presence could have put it in the crosshairs of the Senate subcommittee, which on Monday accused the company of ducking $9 billion in U.S. taxes through offshore subsidiaries. The lobbyists pointed to the example of Microsoft, which had little presence in Washington before antitrust investigators at the Department of Justice nearly succeeded in splitting the company up in the 1990s.

Though Apple, like many other Silicon Valley companies, served as an important source of campaign money for Democratic candidates in the 2012 election, it has enlisted experienced Republicans to make its case in Washington.

Apple’s chief lobbyist, Catherine Novelli, served as a top trade official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration. Other in-house lobbyists have worked as aides to senior Republican lawmakers, including Texas Representative Joe Barton, who used to oversee tech issues as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, records show.

The company also has hired outside firms to extend its reach in Congress and throughout government. Lobbyists at Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock and Capitol Tax Partners have worked for the Bush administration and top Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Glover Park Group and the Franklin Square Group have provided lobbyists from the Democratic side of the aisle who lobby on tax, broadband, electronic waste and spectrum issues.

The company has also enlisted Jon Bernstein, a former Democratic staffer at the Federal Communications Commission, to lobby that agency and the White House on subsidies for broadband access and technology-related legislation.

None of the lobbyists immediately responded to requests for comment.

The company does have one ace in its pocket: its sleek gadgets. Even lawmakers who grilled Cook on Apple’s tax practices said they were avid iPhone and iPad users.

“I love Apple!” Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill declared.