After over 25 years of working within the fashion industry as a stylist, I have experienced the re-emergence of trends on many occasions, some more successfully than others. But by far the biggest change is the marketing hype that goes with it. The most accurate definition of marketing  would have to be “stealing other people’s ideas and making them your own”.In fashion terms this means adapting styles from bygone eras by adding a modern twist.

 Depending on whose style mantra you subscribe to body shape is one arena besieged by spin doctor marketing tactics, you can take your pick of  4 or any number in-between of up to 12 body shapes. Enough to bamboozle even the most experienced fashionista.

If you want to truly educate people you need to give them more than the big picture ,as they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing  and in my experience the big picture can often be confusing especially when the highly competitive world of fashion decides to rebrand the concept in a bid to create a point of difference. It is one thing knowing the lingo and quite another to deliver real solutions in layman terms.

So at the risk of causing controversy I am going to challenge the pigeon holing of people by branding them with ridiculous body shape comparisons to fruit, ornaments or otherwise innate objects or shapes. When training, it is all about strategy; the how? not the what? and most important of all the why? or better still the why not? People remember simple formulas and they readily adopt them when they understand why but they are more likely to make it a habit if they understand the consequences of the why not?

Despite a plethora of style guides, TV programmes and workshops being readily available, body shape is something that continues to fascinate and confuse people alike.Mainly because we have gone from a one size fits all approach in fashion, think the 1960s when shorter skirt lengths were almost considered mandatory regardless of  age, shape or size, to the other extreme of  micro niches today where it is hard to figure out exactly whose image you should be masquerading and with what?

 Styling of any kind comes down to creating illusions that distract and disguise your imperfections to create balance. This can be achieved in a multitude of ways and the best way is the one that suits you based on fact not fiction and on what you are prepared to do or not to do in terms of priority, time, money and effort.

People are often surprised when they measure themselves as to their true shape and how focusing on a few facts can change their whole perception of how they see themselves. The danger of becoming pigeonholed is more attention is paid to fictional assumption as opposed to factual detail.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello on Saturday at the Porirua Mayoral Expo. They say the camera never lies and it is not until you see before and after photos side by side that you really get a full appreciation of a transformation . Proud to say the photo above was taken at the end of the day at about 6.30pm after a hard days work and there is no photoshop in site. So I think the stylist and the muse scrub up pretty well, all things considered.

Below are other photos from the day as well as before photos of colleen so you can see the transformation for yourself.

The clothes that Colleen wore on the day were courtesy of her wardrobe but a combination that she had not considered wearing before. A foundation colour like stone is a fabulous way to capture the perfect blend of vibrancy and contrast whilst creating a balanced colour palette.

A big thank you to Hannah & the Team at Guthrie Bowron in Porirua, who decorated the stand with that amazing wallpaper and the beautiful drape & curtain rail.A big thank you too to Glen Mackay from Smith City in Porirua for lending me the fabulous mirror.We had fantastic feedback all day about the decor & the props.

A special thank you to

At Porirua for allowing me to hunt & ferret through their fabulous store to create a capsule wardrobe of 25 pieces for $356.76. Above are two looks I put together from the capsule wardrobe to demonstrate that good style is all about how you put a look together and not how much you pay.

The first look comprises of 6 pieces including a pair of knee length boots that were brand new along with a handbag for $96.45.

The second look comprises of 4 pieces including a dress which is worn under the green top and layered over a white skirt.Complete with the same handbag and ballet pumps for $67.95 or $71.95 with handbag and heels.

If  you would like to learn the art of building a timeless wardrobe capsule without breaking the bank,consider gathering a group of friends and holding a style brand you workshop. Look under wardrobe magic for  a full range of style packages and workshops.

Meet the lovely Colleen, a local busy mum of two girls, who works part time. Colleen has kindly agreed to be my model for a make-over, and if you come down to the Mayoral expo on Saturday 10th September 2011, you will get to see first hand her transformation.Photos of the transformation will be posted on the blog after the event.

Make-Overs don’t always have to be extreme as seen on TV. It’s more about striking the balance between who we would like to be and what we are prepared to do to create that persona. Working within realistic expectations of what we have to start with can be the difference between achieving a unique style brand that exudes confidence with conviction and the impossible dream of what might have been.As they say whilst the impossible can be achieved, miracles take a little longer. It all comes down to three little words:

Have; Want; Need;

Long after the make-over has been completed there needs to be a legacy of what is achieveable everyday for the client. I always say to people that judgement should be made on not how you look after leaving a stylist but what knowledge that stylist has imparted empowering you to reproduce or manage a look yourself at home. That is the true gift of a  talented and skilled stylist, whatever their area of expertise.

I would like to thank Colleen for allowing her hair to grow a little more unruly than usual and for extending out her colour service in favour of providing me with a great canvas to work with.

Watch this space for an update of Colleen’s new look

Come and see what a 25 piece Capsule Wardrobe looks like for $356.76

From SaveMart in Porirua, when you visit the Make-Over Magic NZ stand.

http://www.savemart.co.nz

 Discover what a Style Brand workshop or Make-Over can do for you and meet a local mum, who will have gone through the Make-Over process, and see the difference firsthand.

Her before photo will be uploaded to this site soon…

A special thank you to Hannah Mackfall & the team at Guthrie Bowron Porirua for decorating my stand with their beautiful wallpaper & curtain fabric.

http://guthriebowron.co.nz

and to Glen Mackay & the team at Smiths City in Porirua for providing a beautiful freestanding Mirror to make any bedroom or dressing room look fabulous.

http://www.smithscity.co.nz

Welcome to the 1-2-1 Style Surgery. Join me for a personal 10 minute consultation in any aspect of styling from wardrobe consultation, to hair and make-up. This is your opportunity to find out what a stylist can do for you and how you can update a look with minimal effort without breaking the bank. Or maybe you need solutions for specific style challenges or ideas for a special occasion look.

Whatever the question I am happy to help find a tailored solution just for you.I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

How Many Women wear Lipstick?

They All Do!!

Here is a fantastic  and simple way to raise funds for A Local Food Bank In Porirua

What a Great Way to Save whilst raising money for this Community Initiative

With every Lipstick sold $2 will be donated to the Local Food Bank, Porirua

(click on colour swatch above to get a clearer view of colour selections available)

Next orders being placed 15th & 30th June 2011

Or order direct from the website

http://www.nutrimetics.co.nz/wagsclub 

Show family, friends, neighbours and work mates

Dads can also help by taking order forms to work

Women will love the Price!!

 Children/Teenagers – What an exciting way to get involved and help

Promotion Dates: 25th MAY – 30th JUNE 2011 

Add $2 to your Lipstick order for a raffle number to be in the draw to win a $200 Nutrimetics Gift Pack

$1 goes to the Local Food Bank and  $1 goes to Look Good Feel Better New Zealand  Via E3 

Get work colleagues, community group members, schools and Kindergartens to collect non-perishable food items such as:

rice;cereals;pasta; tin soup; tin vegetables;canned fish and meat; meals in a can such as stew; sauces that can be added to pasta or rice to make a meal;tin tomatoes;tea; coffee.

If you require fundraising forms or further information please contact me at dbirnie@xtra.co.nz

or text 021 372 611

Lets Sell 500 lipsticks and raise $1000 for St.Anne’s Food Pantry and provide them with a new fridge as a resource to make their work easier and more sustainable.

To kick off the 2011 Lipstick Drive Fundraiser, here is some entertaining and sometimes useful, trivia surrounding the essential make-up item we have come to know as LIPSTICK!! Obscure facts and history sourced courtesy of Wikpedia, lipstick stylezap and lipstick graffiti- a beauty blog with attitude. What I love is the extremities of change in attitudes across the landscape of time.

• In the middle ages women wearing cosmetics including lipstick  were taken for witches and considered by the church to be posessed by satan and therefore eligble for burning at the stake.
• During the renaissance it was acceptable for both men and women to wear lipstick. Men found it gave their lips definition against the backdrop of white moustaches and wigs.
• Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century brought lipstick  back into popular demand, with the iconic bright red lips and stark white face. In those days beeswax and red stains from plants created the effect, but it was reserved for upper class women and male actors.
• In 1770 British law proposed to Parliament that a marriage be anulled if a woman wore cosmetics before her wedding day!!
• By 1837 when Queen Victoria took the throne she banished lipstick and declared it only acceptable for prostitutes and actors. Only the brazen and uncouth wore make up and lipstick.
• In 1884 french parfumiers made the first retailed lipstick made of deer tallow, beeswax, castor oil covered in silk paper.
• At the end of the 19th century Guerlain a french cosmetic company began manufacturing lipstick in a swivel style stick container.
• In 1908 it was now considered acceptable to apply lipstick in public and in a restaurant at lunch but not at dinner.
• In 1910 Elizabeth Arden opened her first salon with a red door,
• In 1912 american suffragettes marched down fith Avenue in New York wearing red lipstick.
• By 1921 lipstick was now fashionable and wearable in London.
• Clara Bow american actress, queen of the silent movies is the inspiration behind the ‘cupid bow’ shape for lips
• Montezuma red was the colour lipstick created by Elizabeth Arden during world war II to match the red tassles on female marine hats.American women were positively encouraged to wear lipstick and nail polish to keep morale up during the war years.
• By the 1960′s if you didn’t wear lipstick you were suspected of mental illness or lesbianism
• M.A.C created an Aids charity lipstick calledViva Glam and uses celebrities as the designers and ambassadors for the range including Ru Paul, KD Lang and more recently lady Gaga.
• The average woman will use 4-9Ibs of lipstick in her lifetime
• But men will swallow up to 6Ib of lipstick in his lifetime whilst a woman will swallow more
• Lipstick is the most commonly shoplifted item
• Lipstick sales increase on gloomy rainy days
• Lipstick is the one item you should wear as you age to define your lips as they tend to fade into your complexion
• Lip liner will help extend the lasting power of your lipstick as well as preventing it bleeding into the fine lines around your mouth

and finally TOOTHPASTE is the best removal product for lipstick stains from clothing prior to washing with laundry detergent. This I can testify to after my son’s polarfleece jacket was smothered in bright red lippy from some very excited 6 year old girls who had been in the dress up box. Apply toothpaste neat to stain and emulsify, then rinse out and wash as normal.

The author Peter Nivio Zarlengo once said “In our factory we make lipstick, in our advertising we sell hope”.Which is a thought I would like to leave with you , I hope as many women as possible will support this great fundraiser and be an agent for change offering hope and inspiration along with a hand up to those who know not how.

If you would like to participate in the Lipstick Drive please contact me at dbirnie@xtra.co.nz for colour swatch flyers and order forms. for every $10 lipstick sold $2 will go to the Food Banks, Porirua. Look out for further information coming soon.

Finding colours and styles to embrace that will empower you whilst learning how to disguise your flaws and maximise your best features is easier said than done.

Welcome to Style Brand You -workshops to help create positive first impressions in your personal and professional environment, through the use of style makeovers and mentoring. I also offer a range of One-on-One style packages to suit everything from a complete re-invention of your world, to the creation of a perfect head to toe look for a special occasion.

All delivered on site at  your venue, to inspire and promote affordable style solutions in the heart of the community.For further information refer to Style Brand you workshops and style packages under my business in the right hand column.

IS THIS YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW? READ ON……

 Limited by their product range in terms of price, stocking and ordering requirements, along with the rut of trying to compete on service or price with very little in the way of  new and ever-changing products, they struggled to deliver the WOW factor for both them and their clients.

DID YOU KNOW BEAUTY PROFESSIONALS LAST ON AVERAGE  ONLY 5 - 8 YEARS IN THEIR PROFESSION?

most BURN OUT through lack of Motivation and Inspiration, along with long hours and limited income

Perhaps the most disturbing thing to me was that whilst many of their clients were happy to pay for a beauty service, rarely did they purchase  product to enhance the ongoing benefits of their treatment at home. Which in effect meant that each time their client returned, it was like starting the process all over again, which begs the question why come to a beauty therapist? because if all your client requires is pampering with little progress you have just become a commodity.

WHY BEING A COMMODITY MEANS NEVER GETTING AHEAD?

As a commodity you are interchangeable and no longer show point of difference , therefore in a recession especially, if what you offer is not considered unique and special , you run the danger of being duly dumped, and your client is easily tempted to try somewhere else for a change or something new or worse still a cheaper alternative option.

LOOKING FOR A BETTER WAY?

What if there was a better way to continue doing what you love,  but be more in control of your own destiny,have unlimited earning potential whilst collecting lots of exciting rewards along the way. Have access to great free training ,be surrounded by some truly amazing women most of whom have never received formal beauty training, yet they are providing many of the services you are at a reduced cost but rewarded and earning more than you can imagine.

DID YOU GET THAT? women without formal BEAUTY TRAINING provide many of the services you do at a REDUCED COST but REWARDED and EARNING MORE!!

Welcome to my world, where working with a fantastic Australasian skin-care and make up range,designed specifically for antipodean climatic conditions is only half the story.The other half is the people, like you who want to believe  and invest in themselves first so that they may truly change other women’s lives through delivering amazing beauty products and services.

AS A BEAUTY PROFESSIONAL  YOU HAVE A HUGE ADVANTAGE

you don’t even have to give up your day job, just incorporate it into your business.

UP FOR A CHALLENGE?

With over 25 years in the beauty industry, I am looking for beauty professionals  in New Zealand who like me believe we have the advantage through our formal training of utilising a system to our advantage that was traditionally aimed at women with no experience. In doing so we can create a support network specific to our industry, improve our profitability, our client  base and loyalty whilst changing other women’s lives. But best of all we stand to gain some truly amazing rewards along the way whilst reducing our overheads.

WHERE TO FROM HERE? 

If you want a different outcome then you need to try something NEW, have a look at the website on the shopping girls icon in the RIGHT HAND COLUMN like the picture below:

Then Ask yourself  How can I incorporate this into my current business? For some of you this will be obvious for others not so obvious. If after reading this and exploring the website you are curious to know more about how you can make this opportunity work for you, drop me an email at dbirnie@xtra.co.nz