News | Hold the Glamour

July 3, 2012

Noosa, Qantas & ‘Mornings’

We arrived in Noosa, Queensland to finish the Sara by Ezibuy shoot after a mere one-and-a-half hour flight. We settled in to our accommodation, bought some breakfast foods for our mornings, unpacked and got to bed by 9pm for our very early start the next day. The weather was fine the first day however, the remainder of the trip was a wash-out. It actually rained when the forecast made no mention of bad, grey, cool and wet weather. It was not good.

The Australian Brushturkey could not have been more unaffected by the weather or our shoot schedule. They were roaming freely, staring at me with my pin curls in the van waiting for the crew to set up on the beach.

Noosa – Australian Brushturkey

Noosa – did someone say we were ready to start shooting?

Our last day we were huddled in a tent on the beach, trying to stay warm and dry. Thank goodness I have learnt to take my very warm Ugg boots and coat with me whenever I shoot on location. Once bitten, twice shy as they say? No one likes being cold – or do you?

Noosa – The Sara crew and I waiting it out on the beach for the rain to stop and the blue skies to appear

Once back in Sydney, whilst the crew continued the shoot in studio, I had a day of media booked through my agent Harry M. Miller. My first interview was with Qantas’ – Up & Away with Julie McCrossin. The interview will air in September on the Qantas inflight entertainment radio channel. I’ll most likely get to hear myself on radio as I’ll be returning to Australia in September. How bizarre indeed!

Sydney – ‘Mornings’ TV program on channel 9

Next up, I appeared on the channel 9 morning television program called appropriately, ‘Mornings’ with hosts Sonia Kruger & David Campbell. It was my first time on this particular show and meeting both Sonia and David. They were as friendly and lovely as they appear on air. We spoke about my life as a full-figure model, travels and what life is like being away from home and my family.

Sydney – My appearance on ‘Mornings’ on channel 9

Sydney – With hosts Sonia Kruger & David Campbell

And finally on my Sydney agenda was my last studio day for Sara. The crew and I went at it hard and fast all day long. It was a 12-hour day finishing at 7pm. Needless to say, my 5.30am start was finally catching up with me. I drove to my parent’s home with my family all waiting to have a delicious meal cooked by my amazing mother – it was time to say farewell to this Australian trip.

Sydney – Abby Valdez and I working hard and fast on our final day of the Sara shoot

Did I mention, how much I missed my husband and two kids? I was so ready to go home to New York and see their beautiful, smiling faces – waiting for me on the street as my car pulled up to our apartment building. It will remain as one of my favourite snapshots of my memory to date. I was ready to inhale them all.

What are some of your favourite memory snapshots?

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June 23, 2012

Where the ocean meets the sky

Sydney – the studio, quiet and empty before the day starts

Sydney - the rack of clothes that need to be shot

Sydney – the racks of clothes that need to be shot

We started shooting the spring and summer catalogues for Sara by Ezibuy last Friday in a studio in Sydney at 8am. Traffic is a part of Sydney life and it took me an hour to get to work (that was with no traffic accidents or incidents). Once inside the studio, Annette McKenzie (genius) starts on hair and make-up. By 10am we were ready, Juli Balla (photographer) and the crew were ready to start shooting the new season looks.

Sydney - hair & make-up done with curlers setting my hair

Sydney – hair & make-up done with pin curls setting my hair

Sydney - curlers out, touching up my lips with a hint of colour before getting changed into outfit #1

Sydney – curls out, touching up my lips with a hint of colour before getting changed into outfit #1

Scanning the racks of clothes once I was ready to get changed I noticed there were some key pieces that I really liked and simply had to have. The new season clothes were bright, colourful and included skinny jeans that fit me like a glove (one of my all time favs). Stripes are still very much in and still one of my favourite trends. There was a navy and a tea coloured linen jacket that I really liked too. Having basic neutrals in your wardrobe is a must in my opinion. It’s all about variety and versatility.

This routine continues over the next few days in studio. Our days of shooting merge into one as the days go by. At the end of our Sydney stint we head up to Palm Beach (Northern Beaches of Sydney) to get some location shots done. One can’t go any further than Palm Beach and its a 45 min – 1 hour drive north of Sydney (depending on traffic of course).

Palm Beach is somewhat far for the crew to travel and we mumble to ourselves about the distance and 6.45am call time however, once we are there and Andrea Rowe (amazing producer extraordinaire) walks in with delicious coffee and we have a moment to enjoy and take in the breathtaking views, we soon realise how divinely beautiful and blue this part of the world is. What were we saying?

Sydney – Palm Beach, view from the house we were shooting in

Sydney – Palm Beach, our view of where the ocean meets the sky

Sydney – Palm Beach, the day is done and I am heading home

Sydney – Palm Beach at ground level

Tomorrow we depart for Noosa, Queensland for the rest of the Sara shoot. Stay tuned.

Where have you been where the ocean meets the sky? What beautiful places do you dream of visiting and experiencing?

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June 15, 2012

From New York to Sydney

I started this post in New York on Monday just prior to being picked up and taken to JFK airport. I had a plane to catch… I was on my way to Sydney, Australia to shoot for Sara, Ezibuy and due to ‘technical difficulties’ was unable to complete my post. So here we go, take two!

SoHo – Cutler Salon on West Broadway

This morning I had my highlights done and I feel so much better. It had been a while. I went to Cutler Soho this time on West Broadway and had the wonderful Ben Stewart take care of me and my roots. I was in his chair by 9am and had to be… I had an international flight to catch. Ben highlighted one side of my hair then the other. His assistant Jen rinsed one side then the other. It is a process and the colour takes time to develop. Ben can’t rush the process even though he knows I’m watching the clock constantly. I drive him crazy I’m sure.

SoHo – the very talented Ben Stewart highlighting my hair at Cutler Salon

It’s a mad dash home. I’m packed and ready to go so I shower, change and try to spend as much time with Steve and the kids as possible before Luis picks me up and drives me to JFK airport, Terminal 7. I’m flying with Qantas on QF108 from New York to Sydney, via Los Angeles. My journey to my parent’s place door-to-door is approximately 27 hours. It is very long indeed. I try to see it this way… I have something to look forward to at each end of my trip. When traveling to Australia I have my mum, sister, family and friends to see and returning home to New York I have Steve, Mila and Levi to rush home to.

It is certainly an adjustment being away from my sweet angels for almost two-and-a-half-weeks. It is an adjustment for us all in fact. We speak, email &/or text everyday and there’s a constant flow of pictures between my family in New York and me in Australia. We miss each other terribly.

So I leave on Monday night, am in transit on Tuesday and arrive in to Sydney on Wednesday. My first day is spent getting waxed, having a mani/pedi and catching up with family for an early dinner. My lights are out by 9.30pm. It is the deepest and sweetest of sleeps. I’m awake by 3am and drift off again by 5am. Don’t you love jet lag? What tricks do you have? Any tips to share?

My second day in the Land of Oz, I go and visit an aunt and uncle in the morning and after returning to mum’s for lunch I finally get to unpack and go through mail that has accumulated over the last three months since I was here last. Calls and emails take up most of my afternoon in the office before retiring by 9pm… Ready for my 6am start and day one of my Sara shoot in a studio in Sydney.

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June 7, 2012

Letting butterflies go after being abducted by aliens

I don’t know where the week has gone since my last post… Perhaps I was abducted by aliens or something and I hardly have memory of any of it to boot! Does this happen to you too? Seriously!

My week has been insanely busy on all fronts… Work, play, family and home. We’ve had contractors come in and give us quotes for various jobs we want and need to do around our home and it all takes an enormous amount of patience and planning. I don’t know how people who work 40 plus hours every week manage and get anything done. My hat goes off to you! How do you do it?

It took me two days to go through Mila & Levi’s clothes earlier this week. I purged the small-clothes and replaced them with clothes that will hopefully fit for the next six months. My babies are growing and fast! Closet, draw and storage space in New York is a highly prized commodity and in this city, one can never have enough. I feel like I’m always purging something whether it be toys, clothes or magazines and happy to do so. We only have one stroller left! Yeah to that!

The highlight of our day today was letting our butterflies go. Three weeks ago we received caterpillars in two small jars (five in each to be exact). We… I had caterpillars in our bedroom!!! Every time I walked past and saw them wriggling around, I got goose-bumps and squirmed! I couldn’t believe it… what we do for our kids, right? Our bedroom was cool, quiet and dark enough for them to grow and develop into the pupa (chrysalis) phase before emerging as butterflies in the butterfly habitat we bought (now placed on our deck in the courtyard).

Life cycle of a butterfly

Mila was all over it. You see, she loves and adores all animals and isn’t afraid to get her hands and nails dirty digging for insects and worms or holding bugs. Mila was beside herself that we bought this butterfly kit for her. Today, we let go of seven of our eight butterflies. One of them didn’t want to fly off and remained happily in Mila’s hand and currently is in the habitat we bought. Perhaps tomorrow our sweet little friend will be ready to fly into the world with its siblings… High into the bluest of skies.

Our American Lady

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June 1, 2012

Work, castings, boyfriend’s and family waiting

Welcome to Milwaukee airport, WI

Milwaukee – Robyn Lawley and I in the car off to the studio

Milwaukee – in the studio after lunch

As I sit at my dining table writing this post, I have three roofer’s banging away repairing our skylight ceiling that leaked oh so many weeks ago. We’ve had an enormous amount of rain these last two weeks in New York so finally they are here… Leaks and roofer’s!

This week I flew to Milwaukee again on a 6.30am flight right after the Memorial Day long weekend, with every man and his dog traveling to and fro where ever they came from. The airports were a hot mess with people traveling it seemed to all places imaginable. All flights were full, there were lines and queues from the minute you walked in to La Guardia airport.

I got in my beauty rest for the duration of my flight which was about two hours. When I disembarked, I walked over to Starbucks and was hanging for my Caffè Americano… basically, a rich, full-bodied espresso with hot water in true European style. It was a good kick-start to my morning… now I was ready for work!

In line for my Americano, I saw a male model I knew whose name was Gary and then I saw the beautiful Robyn Lawley. Robyn not only is a supermodel but someone I’ve known since she started her phenomenal career in Sydney a few years ago. She started shooting Sara for Ezibuy with me and we worked together for about 18 months. It’s been awhile since I saw her so we had much to catch-up on.

We shared a car ride to the studio… I felt sorry for our driver as we didn’t shut up and continued our talks throughout the day and night. Work was great. Had lingerie shots to get all sexy for… you should have seen my big Texas hair! Comical really. It was a steady day for the both of us.

A model shuttle took us back to the airport (there was five of us returning to the airport). One girl was flying to Miami the rest of us to New York. We bonded, chatted and laughed all the way in peak hour traffic to Milwaukee airport.

Once we checked in, went through security and had our wood fire oven pizza for dinner, the four of us walked over to our gate to discover our flight home was delayed by three hours. It was due to severe weather in the New York area which included Washington and Boston. There was a band of thunderstorm activity blocking our path home and the three New York airports were on lock down! No flight in or out for hours. What now?

We hung out in the lounge and found Gary waiting to get home on the same flight. The five of us bonded over ridiculous work and travel horror stories. Boy, we could have written a book. We all had our tales of woe, frustration, stress and tears at trying to get home after work was done.

We hung in there. One of us was always going up to the gate agent on a regular basis and asking what the update (if any) was. We were told an hour after our flight was scheduled to depart, that we’d have an update soon. Our update was that we would board shortly and hope for the best! If air traffic control gave us the green light, we would be lucky to land by midnight. That was the case. We were so happy to have made it home we didn’t care how late it was. Work, castings, boyfriend’s and family were waiting for us the next morning.

No one was prepared for the taxi line-up however! Unbelievable… I’ve never seen lines that long at all taxi ranks in 10 years of living in New York. Nor had my fellow models. I arrived home about 1am and had awoken by 3.45am the day before… It was a long day filled with fun, glamour, stress, frustration and relief.

Who said glamourous miracles can’t happen!

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May 26, 2012

2 castings and a hair cut

Happy Memorial Day long weekend to those of you in the US of A! Summer officially starts this weekend and everyone I know is thrilled for the warmer weather… Finally!

My first casting this week was in the heart of the garment district in New York City. I wore my ballet flats to and from the casting however, put my heels on in the foyer of the building just before popping into the elevator (typical model behaviour unless the model takes cabs everywhere and I’m not one of those chicks).

I just bought my orange/red wedges from Anthropologie and I couldn’t wait to wear them in, although slowly does it tiger with the new shoes. One does not wear new shoes all day in the city when one is walking around all day and zipping from one place to another. You may as well start counting your blisters now… Summer has just begun and I have the next few months to wear sandals, flip-flops and sexy summer shoes. I’m not about to ruin my feet.

I walked in, introduced myself to the designer and then she proceeded to look through my book. I had to try on a champagne coloured wedding dress and then she had the owner of the business come in and take a look. He too looked through my book then took two of my comp cards to keep before leaving for his office. I was there for no more than 10 minutes.

Next… I was off to get a hair cut at Cutler Salon on 57th Street and 6th Avenue. I’ve been getting my hair highlighted and cut at Cutler since I moved to the city 10 years ago… I’m a creature of habit and they do marvelous things for my hair. My mane is very important for my work as well as for me personally therefore I make sure it is taken care of by the best people in the industry.

Jenny Balding is amazing at what she does and has been my hairstylist for eight or so years. She cuts my hair every three months and I feel like a new, lighter woman every time I leave. It’s like a shedding of the skin which I find therapeutic.

NYC – Jenny Balding cutting my hair at the Cutler Salon

NYC – Cutler Salon

My second casting was at my agency Ford Models on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District. I walk in to see my four bookers at their desks working hard and laughing even harder. I had my book updated with some new tear sheets (jobs I’ve done) and some new test shots.

A test shoot is a shoot that the model organises for themselves to get updated images in their book. I usually test one to two times a year. Some models test more, others less. The model usually pays for the test at a discounted rate to a typical shoot, unless the photographer wishes to do it for free which seldom happens these days. If the whole crew needs new images to update all their books then it’s typically free. The crew usually consists of the photographer, photographer’s assistant, model, hair-&-make-up artist and the stylist.

Anyway, back to the casting at Ford, I waited about an hour because there were so many models waiting to be seen. There were men, straight-sized women and some fuller-figure models like myself. Once I go in to the conference room, I introduce myself and sit down. The three clients pour over my book looking up at me whilst flicking through. We chat briefly before the casting is over and I leave the city to catch the F train home to my slice of heaven in Brooklyn… Leaving the chaos, hum and buzz of the Big Apple behind for another day.

Peace and quiet can be very glamourous!

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May 22, 2012

Say ‘cheese’ to the cowboys

Welcome to Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee – This was my view for three hours

Dallas – Self-portrait once hair & make-up were done

Dallas – the shoe department

Dallas – behind the scenes from our set

Airports, airports and more airports this week. Work took me to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (known for its cheese, Harley’s and beer) with another 3.45am wake-up and a 6am flight out of La Guardia airport. It’s not easy for this night-owl to be in bed and asleep by 10pm the night before however, I do try.

My beautiful friend and co-model Marquita Pring and I were on the same flight. As usual, we both slept on the flight and caught-up on some much-needed beauty rest. We were picked-up by a car service our agent had arranged for us and we went straight to the studio. I was first-up in the hair & make-up chair (there were about five of us ladies, all different shapes and sizes)… Yeah baby!

We had a great day, took some lovely shots and headed straight back to the airport for a flight home to New York. I had to wait three hours for my plane so I kept myself busy, as I’ve gotten so used to doing. Marquita and I were happy to be going home and off to sleep after another glamourous day at work.

From the yummy cheese in Wisconsin to the cowboys of Texas, I found out the afternoon before I had to fly out, that I had another job to go to in Dallas and yet another 6am flight out of La Guardia. It’s three-and-a-half hours each way and I slept pretty much the entire journey there. My driver Sam picked me up at Dallas/Fort Worth airport and we headed straight to the studio where I had a full day of work ahead of me.

Hair & make-up didn’t take too long as my client prefers the more natural look. I wore tops, jeans, swimsuits and dresses and yes, I was lingerie/swimsuit ready! It was one shot after another… The crew and I were a machine of lights, flashes, quick wardrobe changes and hair & make-up touch-ups.

At the end of my day, Sam picked me up and took me back to the airport. I spent another three-and-a-half hours on the plane and arrived home late. My sweet family was sound asleep… Just how I left them almost a day ago.

What are some of your travel stories? Do you have any advice to share? Is there glamour to your travel?

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May 16, 2012

Face Time in the Pacific

NYC – Shopping down Fifth Ave

NYC – The Flatiron Building

NYC – My facial at Pacific Touch NYC with a Vitamin C mask on my face

As most of you know with my job and career now, I am required to ‘maintain’ myself. To present myself professionally with hair cut and colour up-to-date, lingerie/swimsuit ready and nude or neutral manicure/pedicure to every job. This is work and a part of my job.

In addition to the above, I like to exercise when I can (with two small kids in the picture, there isn’t always the time I’d like unfortunately), get body massages and facials for a better me. Last week I exercised and had a delicious facial. I felt great.

I went shopping in the Flatiron District with a girlfriend and then went and had a 90 minute ‘Pacific Touch Facial’ at Pacific Touch NYC. I was in heaven and as usual, fell asleep.

I try to live my life as holistically as possible and that’s how Nichola Weir approaches her skin care treatments and massage. I love this woman. Believe it or not, I have super-sensitive skin and I can’t use a lot of products and product ranges because my face turns red. It’s a sign that it’s not happy.

Nichola and I discuss what I’m eating, drinking and using on my face to try to pin-point the reason for such sensitivity. I know since falling pregnant the first time, nursing, falling pregnant again and nursing some more, my skin has changed. It is a slow process however, I’m using a lot less product these days and it certainly helps.

What doesn’t help every week is that most days I have a whole range of products and make-up put on my face that I can’t control. I have the make-up artist’s use my own personal Armani liquid foundation that I take on every shoot with me and my own mascara of course… the rest is from their kit. As long as they sterilize their brushes properly and use new sponges (and they all pretty much do), I’m generally O.K.

So if you are after a bit of glamour in your life or day and in New York, you must go see Nichola for some yummy pampering. You won’t be disappointed and will most likely fall asleep as I do, under the spell of her healing hands. Go the glamour!

www.pacifictouchnyc.com

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May 13, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day, Look books and curled eyelashes

NYC - Liam Dunn finishes of my look for a fall look book

NYC – Liam Dunn finishes off my look for a fall look book

NYC – A quick powder and I’m ready to go

Firstly, happy mother’s day to all the mother’s in the world. I hope your day is filled with the love and happiness you all deserve. Being a mother is one of the greatest gifts and accomplishments of my life. It isn’t always easy and at times you wonder what you are doing however, most of the time I could burst with the love and joy I feel in my heart for my two children. They are my everything.

What does being a mother mean to those of you who are? What are your biggest challenges and highlights?

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This week I worked in the city shooting a fall look book which will go out to the editors and media on behalf of my client. It was a lot of fun and the views from our studio were simply breathtaking. The city was sprawled out in front of us and the Hudson River never looked more blue. The clothes I wore had hues of black, grey and grape/purple with some animal prints thrown in for fun. Stay tuned for more fall fashion trends!

As usual, I arrive to the shoot with clean hair and nothing but moisturiser on my face. I have nude nail polish on my finger and toe nails and I always curl my eyelashes before leaving home. There’s nothing that opens up someone’s eye than a good eyelash curl. I personally love Shu Uemura’s curler and I don’t leave for a job without taking my own and my own mascara which is a must! I’m always on the search for the best mascara on the market (I have been known to call myself a mascara addict). At the moment I’m using a combination of CoverGirl Lashblast & Lashblast Fusion, Maybelline Volum’ Express & CoverGirl LashPerfection. Lashes ladies, lashes!!!

What mascara do you use and love? Which have failed you? There’s always something to say about ‘good lash’ isn’t there?

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May 8, 2012

Vogue, airports and Film noir

New York – final touches before I get on set

Canada – I love shoes and these were HOT!

Canada – self-portrait after hair & make-up

Congratulations to Vogue magazine! Last week they banned models who are too-skinny and under the age of 16 from its beautiful pages. According to Conde Nast International, “the 19 editors of Vogue magazines around the world made a pact to project the image of healthy models.”

Well done indeed! I certainly applaud the changes and welcome a healthy beauty being promoted, regardless of one’s size (as long as it fits in to a healthy range). This is an industry first and hopefully others will follow suit sooner rather than later.

Also last week, I worked away in New York City. Had fun and laughs with some wonderful people in the industry who I’ve become friends with. We made fashion magic happen.

Towards the end of the week, I flew to Canada for a few days. I finished up on one of my days in the city and headed straight to La Guardia airport only to discover there were only two flights that afternoon/evening on American Airlines. One of the flights left as I was approaching the check-in counter, the other was departing in four-and-a-half hours. OMG!!! Not happy.

I sat in the club lounge making calls, emailing etc. then thought I’d ask if the newly remodeled lounge had a shower. It did. So I washed my hair and had a shower at La Guardia airport in the Admirals Club Lounge. I never would have thought that I’d be one of ‘those’ people however, you got to do what you got to do and secondly, the shower was clean and new. I readied myself for work the next day (thanks goodness I had my Havaianas with me)! It was going to save me 45 minutes once I checked in to my hotel at 11.30pm. It was late enough and a long day of work and travel.

The shoot was amazing and terribly exciting. I spent my day’s shooting for catalogue that looked like it was an editorial out of a magazine. Film noir move over. I cannot wait to see the Fall catalogue come out. I love it when I can play and act out a theme… play a part if you will. It is refreshing and it certainly looked very glamourous.

After my busy week of work, I spent a further two hours at the airport waiting for my flight home to New York. Thank goodness for my Ipad that not only kept me busy but entertained.

I came home late on Saturday night to my wonderful husband, a glass of red wine and a delicious meal that he had prepared for us. A perfect finish indeed.

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