The Sunshine Underground - Finally We Arrive

Make-up & Hair: Heather B. Director / Director of Photography & Editor: Dave Aspinall. Producer: Giedre Apanaviciute. Wardrobe: Annike Flo.

When Dave first called me about this music video for The Sunshine Underground, I was intrigued by his noir style concept and LOVED the 80's vibe to the single but ultimately, being a West Yorkshire girl myself (The Sunshine Underground are based in Leeds), how could I refuse!

My job, was to create Make-up & Hair looks for the 3 girls and it was really important to channel the individual characters for each one. Dave had a really clear vision in his head of who the characters were and with the help of Annike's styling I really gained a clear idea of what these girls were about. This influenced not only the finished looks but also the types of products and techniques I used on each girl to keep on character.

A few of my favourite Make-up products used on the shoot were: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick - Good creamy coverage with a natural look. Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper & Hair Touch Up Gel - Natural Brows. Estée Lauder Double Wear Light - Great coverage with amazing staying power with a matter finish whilst not being too heavy. Estée Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover - Amazing full, matt coverage that lasts for hours on end. Estée Lauder Stay In Place Gel Eyeliner - Smooth application and long wear. Mac Lipsticks in Russian Red, Chilli and Film Noir. Mac Strobe Cream and Mac Blot Powders.

Fave products used for hair: A Sleek wig. Bumble & Bumble Tonic Lotion - To de-tangle and prep hair. Great on porous or coloured hair. Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray - Pretty much does what it says on the tin. KMS Add Volume Styling Foam - Really great styling mousse, works for most styles. Schwartkopf got2be Blasting Freeze Spray - The ultimate hairstyle freeze spray. A bit of water and Goldwell Pump Freeze Spray helped me do these fine urban finger waves that Sara (the actress) and I loved...

A really great talented team worked on this video, who all worked really hard in various locations across London. Hope you enjoy! If you love the single then you'll be pleased to know you can pre-order their album 'The Sunshine Underground' here.

"And finally..." *she sings in style of track* (see what I did there) here are some brilliant behind the scenes shots by Vobla Unsane.

Va Va Voom Hair!

Make-up & Hair: Heather B.

Different hair tools offer different results and if you haven’t yet managed to master big luscious curls for a full on glamorous, volumised look or even soft waves with plenty of root lift, then heated rollers might be the answer!

Rollers have come a long way since Nora Batty, so don’t underestimate the versatility of styles that can be achieved with them and the great thing is, once you have mastered the art of using them, getting ready for a night out becomes so much easier! Just heat them up in two mins, pop them in and leave them to do their work while you finish your make-up! After only 10 mins, once the rollers are cool, you can remove them to release the glamour!

In the shoot above I used Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers. They were really easy to use and didn’t let me down at the last minute, which is so important as time is always critical. Before now I’ve used a set of Babyliss Thermo Ceramic Rollers which even though very similar, are much more off a faff to use and the results were very underwhelming…

The pros of the Enrapture set over the Babyliss ones shown above are:

• The rollers AND butterfly clips both heat up
• The clips and the rollers sit in the unit, unlike the Babyliss where they reside separately
• The rollers emit heat much better, I think due to the horizontal way they sit on the heated plate, ensuring the whole roller gets hot

ROLLERS2 2

• The butterfly clips also emit heat due to a heated plate either side. This duo heat source of roller AND clip, locks in the curl much better
• The velvety rollers and butterfly clips firmly grip the hair, much better than the Babyliss plastic butterfly clips and pins
• The whole unit seems more compact and streamlined even though slightly larger and also has a handy cable storage compartment underneath

TOP TIPS… Gently run your fingers through the curls to break them up and release the volume or using a dressing brush, brush through, for soft, relaxed ‘old school glamour’ waves. You don’t even have to style your whole head, you can just do the top sections of your hair to add root lift and for anyone with naturally tight curly hair… you might find that using heated rollers softens your curls for a different look without straightening.

There is a considerable price difference between the two with the Babyliss Thermo Ceramic Rollers at a respectable £29.99 and the Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers coming in at an expensive £74.99 (Boots) which, even though I do feel are slightly over priced… the usability and great results speak for themselves.

Basically in this case, you buy cheap... you buy twice.