On Friday I had the amazing opportunity to go down and review a new service being provided by the team at Fresh Academy. Fresh is the largest fashion photography make-over studio in the UK with a whopping 8,000 square foot. At Fresh you'll find an in house hair salon and make up artistry, a cinema viewing room (where you can view pictures from your shoot) and their studio has over 30 purpose built sets including a car, disco floor and even an outdoors set (which is indoors!) - how cool is that?! Fresh offer all different types of professional shoots and covers photography for all different types of things including modeling portfolios, family photo shoots and even boudoir. Fresh Academy also sponsor Miss England and sit on the judging panel too.
Lately they've introduced a new package which I think is an amazing idea. Fresh Style is a package where you are welcome to come in and have your hair and make up done professionally for any occasion - be that a hot date, a wedding, a gig or even just a night out - for just £50. When I was offered the chance to review this package I jumped at the opportunity because personally it is the type of package I've thought about so many times in the past. Although I love experimenting with make up, you all know how terrible I am when it comes to styling my hair and there have been so many occasions where I've had to rush to get ready for something and often wished someone would just come and do it all for me. I really love the idea of this package, it's so perfect for when you're too rushed or nervous to take time to doll yourself up. It's perfect for when you're heading out and can't be bothered to faff around - it's so easy to book in an appointment and have all this taken care of by someone else. You can even turn up in what you're planning to wear for your special occasion and the team will happily make you up, knowing what would go best with your outfit, and you can even just go on from there.
I was heading out myself Friday night so knew this opportunity would be perfect for me (although I so wished I'd heard about the Fresh Style package before the gig!) and in the end it was such a timesaver. Whereas I normally take ages to get ready to go out, myself and my friend Amy ended up heading out early that night and having a great night. I felt beyond confident with how my make-up was and enjoyed my night a lot more than I did normally.
The whole experience was beyond lovely too. The rooms were set out so beautifully with deep purple walls and a plush purple carpet - I felt very VIP! The lady doing my make up was lovely and chatty and made me feel very at ease. She asked me how I'd like my make up and I explained that I'd like a deep red lipstick for my lips - something quite vintage without being too over the top. I was amazed when she finished - by using a darker lip pencil she made my lips look beautiful and full - I've never seen them looking so big! She made my skin look lovely and smooth as well, I know on a night out I tend to pile on my cover up a tad but she managed to cover up all my blemishes and make it look natural. The eye makeup was stunning too and I was so pleased with the over all affect. The whole process only took about 20 minutes which again made me think how ideal it would be if I was planning to head out straight afterwards. She used some setting spray on my face as I was actually heading into the town centre to do a bit of shopping afterwards but even in the pouring rain the make up stayed on perfectly across the evening and the lipstick needed minimal topping up once I was out drinking.
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| I know its a daft pose but it's the only way I could show how beautiful the make up was! |
The studios were based in central Watford and are easily accessible by car but personally we found it a bit hard to get to as we were traveling by bus from Luton - I think our journey time was well over an hour in the end! However we found they were only literally a five minute taxi ride from the town centre so I'd definitely recommend driving and double checking the address should you choose to come here.
I really loved the whole experience and think it's such a fab idea. For any local ladies I would 100% recommend this package for your next night out or special occasion - you wouldn't believe how much more relaxed you are when you're not worrying about applying your make up just right or styling your hair.
The package costs £50 and includes both your hair and make up being done and you are welcome to bring in photographs if there is a particular look you want to achieve or way you'd like your hair to be styled.
01923 212 673
www.freshacademy.com
