Lord and Berry Supporting The Fashion Elite

With fashion week coming up and so many shows, designer showcases and events happening across the globe that it is impossible not to talk about one of the leading brands working behind the scenes in the European fashion scene: Lord and Berry. A staple of Milan fashion week and a standout during London and Paris, the company has become a go-to for the premiere event artists of the world for their cohesive, professionally-oriented and comprehensive makeup line.

From a professional stance, the Lord and Berry range is growing to meet the demands of designers and models with key elements and new products that are designed to fit the beauty industries’ commercial needs. As many of us know (especially those from a show background be it theatre or fashion) you need products that are going to work, be cost-effective and give you a comprehensive range from the base (foundations) to shadows that will work with your business.

What catches the eye with Lord and Berry, aside from their stellar credentials, is the dedication. From its start in 1992, when it was considered a niche brand to the current ties to Milan Fashion Week and a household name, they have created a clean, simple line with all the hallmarks that for working artists mark it out professionally as a brand to know, not just developing products in their lab they are using them backstage testing the limits and showcasing the potential of their makeup.

*Noteworthy products like the cream blusher and the new Skin Control Primer (must-see items for the bridal artists and of course fashion) are taking the world by storm, and rightly so, showing the savvy of the team who are thinking of their working artist clientele and giving us products that will work on editorial, event and more. The creme foundations with their clear and concise range of tones and the clever use of plastic bottles making them lightweight and easy to use which realistically in a working kit is a major plus point that shows the thought process behind the company working at fashion week, full understanding that we artists need to travel and extra weight can be a strain.

With a professional discount program: for details of the pro discount click here, their extensive fashion week credentials and of course the range itself, they are in the top list to have in a working kit by many professional makeup artists in the industry today.

To learn more about the Lord and Berry range see:

Lord and Berry UK Website.

Lord and Berry Facebook.

Lord and Berry Twitter.

Lord and Berry Instagram.

*Image courtesy of the lord and Berry website.

Creating an iKonic Show

When talking about fashion week or even the off-schedule events, there is one show that stands out above and beyond the rest: House of iKons. a stellar showcase weekend of fashion that is fast becoming a household name globally for their savvy marketing, press coverage and the divine array of designers whos work grace the catwalk.

From humble roots to a leading light in fashion in a few short years, it goes without saying that the talent-driven event holds a place creative director JamesC’s heart as he was there for the very first show working backstage as a makeup artist.

Through the years House of iKons has built a solid reputation for the shows and taken risks in film and music supporting various projects both inhouse and on a global scale with CEO and founder Savita Kaye taking on the line producer role for projects more than once in her career.

Giving a platform to the creative and working that tricky middle ground of commercial, it is within our sites to return to the fold and possibly pitch for members of our own team to work (alongside a sponsor) at the show which at this time has an extensive waitlist for not only the designer slots but the backstage area and we will be discussing the options with the CEO later in the year, although we most likely will be sponsors and front of house as a blog team.

With so much on the table with the lost creatives and our sister site Lost Project, we love the potential to showcase and it is little to no wonder that the House of iKons is top of the list for fashion bloggers and magazines with an ever-increasing TV channels like BBC worldwide, etc, vying for a slot at the prestigious show and a waiting list for the press pit.

To learn more about the iKons show or to purchase tickets see:

House of iKons February Ticket link.

House of iKons Website.

House of iKons Twitter.

House of iKons Facebook.

House of iKons Instagram.

Digital Magazine Research

In the grand scheme of editorial, it is a great tool for marketing when you handle it correctly and put a little effort into the background work of creating and then the marketing after the image(s) are published. Over the last week, we have been really carefully planning around this idea and thanks to certain websites, we have pulled together a list of potential magazines we will shoot Marketing content for.

We are putting together a budget for this, as its a marketing tool, we will be spending a little extra time and money to make this work the best for us as a team.

looking at this as part and parcel of running a business, we decided that alongside our social accounts, website and film plans (a separate blog will come soon on this), editorials are a great tool for putting out your information and showcasing the work we do and what we are planning for 2020.

Each of our planned shoots will be built around themes that suit the magazines we are targetting and interestingly there is an option that will give us front cover style images that can be showcased across the board on our social media accounts.

An option we are looking at which a few of the magazines do look for is behind the scenes stills and video to be included in the submission, which admittedly is a great concept and allows a greater degree of marketing to the images and opens up an interesting dialogue about shoots that we do love.

As creative director and head of makeup this also allows flexibility in changing up the products used, JamesC is looking to downsize some elements of his kit and bring in new products including the My Beauty Brand range for one shoot, in particular, offering an overall experimental feel to the shoots we have planned.

More updates will be coming soon on the forward momentum of The Lost Creatives.

Brushwork Cosmetics Customisation a Professional Take

As the creative director and senior makeup artist of the Lost Project and Lost Creatives, I do work in different areas from film and TV through to fashion and editorial. My working kit is something I am constantly working on editing it by adding or changing up the kit but one thing I am really big on is an investment in key components such as makeup brushes. With this in mind when I saw the news that Brushwork Cosmetics was offering customization throughout January, I knew I had to talk about it from a professional stance.

While I appreciate this is a limited offer (for the month of January) it is really savvy for artists in makeup such as bridal and salon, fashion, film, and TV, to take advantage of this deal and here’s my reasoning why:

• Customized brushes with your name on the handle are easy to keep track of when you're on a job or with a client.

• It adds an extra dimension, think of it, clients will see this and know that you have taken time and care over what you have in your working kit and shows you have invested in your business.

• This also allows you to add your brand to the brush and it becomes a subliminal part of your marketing when you post images on social media. People will be aware of your name and associate it with professional brushes.

As someone who is a brush aficionado, I do support and endorse the range and this added dimension of “tagging” is for me a fantastic option that as stated above allows you to keep track of your kit. Brushwork Cosmetics as a whole offers Japanese Heritage brushes and cosmetics that are beyond compare and offer a premium range of well-curated brushes and cosmetics that sit beautifully in a working kit with or without the customization.

To learn more about the range or to purchase see:

Brushwork Cosmetics Website.

Brushwork Cosmetics Instagram.

Brushwork Cosmetics Facebook.

Searching For a Studio

We are currently on the lookout for a natural light studio to book so we can do what will be a 2-day shoot focusing on the areas of work we will be focused on in the long term.

• Portrait and beauty.

• Character and out of the box FX for film and TV.

Our goals are simple, we want to create inhouse, a series of still images that will be portfolio based for the models and ourselves to showcase not just the skill set of the team but the potential of what we are doing.

With a series of long term plans and targets for 2020, it is really interesting to get to be able to see our hard work behind the scenes coming together, we are constantly dealing with brands and opening up new avenues that will include product placement and video of the work in action. Which we might send-off to one of the many fashion film festivals if we can find something suited to our work.

In fact, part of the plan for the studio shoot is to be behind the scenes videos that will be a showcase of the work as it’s done with our Lost Boys and Lost Girls them from The Lost Project being carried over into the work we are doing.

Naturally, we will do some outdoor shoots in and around the Lost Concept in industrial and bleak landscapes, adding a touch of dystopian drama to our work.

While we are really aiming to be making waves in 2020, we are laying the groundwork now to help with the marketing push we have planned that will integrate all of our social accounts and give a deeper insight into the creative process.

A meeting With Style

We are pushing forward with plans and setting things in motion that will become clear in the next few months for the creative side of our business. In what was part catch up and part brainstorming session, I met with two of my favorite wardrobe people: Shona Boudica Blair and Amber Richards, to talk clothes for some of our marketing shoots.

With two distinct areas of expertise I wanted to pick their brains on, Shona who is known for her reenactment and historical costuming and Amber (currently studying fashion manufacture and retail) who came to the table with the more current and fashion-led options, it was a fun little catch up that led to me leaving with a beautiful 3 piece suit that will be split up to create two different and distinct looks thanks to the input of the girls during our little meeting.

Aside from being a fun time to catch up and discuss our individual progress, it also allowed me to run ideas past them concerning future plans such as collections and our TV plans for 2020.

The Lost Creatives is pushing forward into new areas of business and with the support of the various talented people in our address book, such as our fantastic wardrobe mistresses Shona and Amber, we are able to pull resources and access different areas of expertise that will benefit the projects either by consultation in our meetings with style or through direct action on film/TV/print projects.

In what we are pushing to become a regular thing, we will be calling these get-togethers “a meeting with style.”

The Lost Creatives continue to be a priority for The Lost Team and we are really excited about the future.

All We have is Now

When I was asked about the motivation behind The Lost Creatives, my answer was simple. All we have is now. Over the last few years, we have seen a dramatic change in the industry both from an observational standpoint and as a hands-on member of crews for film projects.

Not all have been good experiences and made me realize that the only way that would change is if I did something to rectify it and move forward.

Professionally I see my work and that of the Lost Creatives taking a more film and TV-based route geared toward something solid that can be sold, creating projects from a commercial stance may seem against the grain for some but that does not stop the artistic process contrary to the myth you can be artistic and commercial.

It is not easy to build something solid and takes time, earning credentials and getting started is a scary process but for me, that is half the fun.

Taking the stance that “all we have is now,” I plan to keep moving forward and taking creative and personal risks in business whilst supporting the arts. Each step we make will be a triumph and give more fuel to the business.

*We will give consideration to taking a team to an off-schedule London show during fashion week if we can work the marketing to suit.

Progressing forward we are now looking at additional script ideas for festival projects and editorial concepts that we will use as promotional material over the coming months and then in the new year (watch out for this one) our big marketing push. Creating a new narrative is what we are about.

The expansion will be over time and give us a more solid base to work from with a range of placements coming up which will be designed to give professional experience in the media and fashion arena.

Laying The Groundwork of The Lost Creatives

The Lost creatives site is being built around the idea of the cast and crew of future projects, we are talking to potential festivals to tie up with on the cross-promotional front and looking at what will be a series of films built around this from a few minutes to an 8 part TV series and of course ultimately, a feature film.

With the Lost Project, we have been doing a lot of groundwork and have successfully created a respected beauty blog with PR agencies and brands across the globe come to us for support and product placement, etc. Which we will continue to do.

For the remainder of 2019, we will be focused on smaller photographic shoots, looking at creating a series of editorials and character-based projects from a single image to a series for print and online magazines to help with pushing the Lost Creative narrative. This may include some behind the shoot films and creation of fashion films with either a youtube or Vimeo channel added to the Lost Creatives stable to showcase behind the camera moments.

Naturally, our primary focus is the be thriller and horror, over the course of years we have seen how much easier it is to sell this type of project and we also have ties to two fantastic independent distributors we will work with on this and are more than happy to have in our arsenal for the future.

Stay tuned for more news and updates.

Starting a New Journey

We are firm believers in the idea of a journey beginning with a single step. At this time we are building up a database of different magazines and projects that will be worked through in a two-fold fashion:

Magazines (particularly online) will be used to promote not only The Lost concept but the team behind the shoot. With a focus on a more character and a dramatic feel touching on naturalism, *the insta/social media makeup style doesn’t appeal to us.

Film and TV, we do have one project earmarked (more details on this later) with a writer from Iran who has been fantastic about supporting the concept and has agreed to be a part of what we are doing. We are negotiating terms to pick up the first of what we hope to be a series of projects starting in 2020.

The Lost Project continues to grow and we are really excited about the prospects of this new avenue of The Lost Creatives which will allow us to work a different side of the business and keep to some degree our artistic roots at its core while opening up commercial avenues that we will explore over time.

We do try to think about our work as commercial with an artistic edge allowing us to create and gives a distinct and soon to be an identifiable edge to our work that will become synonymous with The Lost Concept.

Marketing The Lost Creatives with Web Magazines

Something we are really keen on is marketing as low cost as possible but with a maximum push. I know this might sound odd but it is possible and we are working on a few different strategies that will help that.

Featured Product: Brushwork Cosmetics (promo code Jamesc 10% off your order)

To begin with, we have given serious thought to festival entry films (short) and of course editorial work. Naturally as a makeup artist myself and the creative director of The Lost Project, principally an arts and lifestyle blog with a heavy hand toward beauty because it’s my passion, it’s actually quite enjoyable to think of the terms we need to address and how we can make this work in our favor.

Keeping the costs to a minimum to begin we are looking at magazines that allow minimal submissions (for example 1 plus images) that will allow us to push all the social accounts of those involved. There are some great options and of course, will produce something for the World Fashion Media News website who we have a long-standing relationship that will continue.

Editorial is a fantastic method and can with planning and a little effort, give a wider audience reach that will bring attention to the work we are doing and of course what we are planning.

Naturally, we will make full use of the contacts and resources we have built over time and as we always do share and talk about the different brands we are supported by through careful and strategic placement of products to help not only ourselves but the brands as a thank for sticking with us.

Our goal is to push The Lost Concept as hard as possible and of course, create a cohesive, commercial story that illustrates what we do.

Welcome To The Lost Creatives

Welcome To The Lost Creatives, this site was set up as an expansion and sister site to The Lost Project founded by creative director and makeup artist James Clark. our plan is to create new work on a monthly basis for marketing and of course bring a sense of business to the creative arts. Our plans include:

• Editorial and advertorial for both print and online.

• short and feature film projects.

• TV projects.

The blog will showcase behind the scenes on our projects and what goes into a shoot alongside cast and/or crew calls from makeup assistants to actors and models, we will be working with the best talent for the job and giving new artists a chance to work as part of a larger team.

Combining the different elements of a long career in makeup with the various different skills honed over that time, the lost concept will be the a way to showcase and create projects that will be entertaining, thought provoking and commercial.

Stay tuned for more updates and exclusive behind the scenes stills and video’s from our shoots.

*We will be launching our galleries soon with a range of both stills and video from behind the scenes on our shoots.