You are cordially invited to our sumptuous Fashion Feast where you can devour our artistic and ingenious photo and video shoot.

Enjoy the madness, mischief and mayhem with #TeamHeaven while we indulge our creativity and watch the magic unfold...

“Fashion shouldn’t be taken too seriously. You’ve got to have fun with it to make it work!

Think of all the endless possibilities of what you can create. Let your imagination run riot. Have fun, glam up - Love it! Rock it! Own it!"

**Femme Fatale**

‘Femme fatale’

noun

‘A mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous and deadly situations. Her ability to entrance and hypnotise her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch or demon, having power over men.’

What a theme for our photoshoot. I could just picture this strong, seductive and artistic monochrome shoot on location. Well that was how the theory went! And I thought it would make for a fabulous theme to capture on film. However let’s get real here… I’m a married woman and there was no way my husband was going to step out front from behind the camera to recreate these seductive poses and live out my ‘femme fatale’ fantasy!

He was remaining firmly and determinedly behind the camera, so I needed a man who was willing to pose with me and convincingly portray being under my spell!

Step forward Kris Brown - the man is a legend. He waltzed into the role with ease like he’d being doing it all his life.

We had him dance: my son choreographed some dance sequences, putting us through our paces to create the perfect ambience.

We had him pose: sometimes in almost gravity-defying positions, again choreographed by my son who seemed to forget that I, his mother, was wearing a figure-hugging outfit and not the usual bend and stretch-friendly fabric from a dance class!

In our quest for the definitive shots, we had Kris repeat the moves and poses until we had the perfect shots.

Not once did he complain; quite the opposite! So much so, Kris will be joining us for more shoots in the future.

With the male role cast, next up was to find a suitable venue - #NoBrainer - The Hyst, Swansea. It’s the new home of live entertainment in Swansea and an incredibly versatile venue for parties and functions. I speak (and write) from experience, as it was the venue for the recent ƎH Awards, second birthday party and location for filming our Ladies With Attitude feature.

The Hyst is the perfect backdrop for our black and white, femme fatale-themed shoot.

Next up was my outfit. As with the choice of venue, this was another #NoBrainer. It had to be black, floor length and simply fabulous dahhhhlings (did I really purr as I typed that…?!). I chose a full length, ruffled satin maxi skirt by Badgley Mischka and a Rick Owens, one-shoulder jersey top. A pair of black Louboutins with their distinctive, seductive, lipstick-red sole were the perfect finishing flourish for a femme fatale fashion feature!

Such a spectacular outfit needed a spectacular handbag. I wanted something different, sexy, dark and dangerous. Cue our newest addition to #TeamHeaven, our fabulous props and set designer, Rianon Jones, who was tasked with making this vision come to life...

**Rianon Jones**

Hello you lovely people!

This month Emma asked me to create a floral handbag for her femme fatale photo shoot. I instantly knew that the colours would need to be dramatic to fit the glamorous theme.

I came up with the idea of a high heeled, shoe-shaped design rather than a traditional bag shape so that the design would stand out against Emma's gorgeous outfit.

I sourced a silver wire shoe frame, using a round nose pliers to secure a wire handle to the top. The wire base was covered in Elaeagnus leaves, edged with conifer before spraying it gloss black and filling the heel with fresh red rose petals to echo Emma's Christian Louboutin shoes.

I completed the design with a small corsage of three red roses with pearl pins and gypsophila, before topping with a sophisticated black bow to finish.

I loved creating this bag which I'm sure you'll agree has captured the femme fatale essence perfectly.

I can’t wait for the next challenge!

Rianon xxx

Thanks Rianon, this was a stunning addition to the outfit. I wonder what amazing creations await me next month?!

You can find out all about Rianon and RiCreations at https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=ricreations

Nails: Created and painted by Rebecca Clark of Irresistible Beauty.

Here’s how Rebecca created my ‘Femme fatale’ nails.

**Rebecca Clark**

Hi everyone!

So first of all, let's just get this bit out of the way... The Emma Heaven ƎH Awards and party. Two words. FREE BAR!

OMG! I am holding Emma responsible for my ‘merriment’ and the after effects! But what a night. We partied and danced the night away for Emmaheaven.com’s second birthday.

The fizz was in full flow! NOT your typical two year old’s birthday party… Never mind cake and party bags, I won an award!! Yay to me!

The ‘graffiti nails’ won ‘Favourite Nail Design’ and I’m so happy! They were my fave nails too. Until now...

When Emma told me about the femme fatale theme I automatically thought ‘black and red’. However, we had already used that colourway for the Formula 1 shoot… Determined as always to mix it up and be different, Emma came to me with the amazing idea of using gold leaf.

I've never used this before so this was a creative first for us both. And boy did it live up to expectations!

Emma's nails were shaped into a classic oval and painted with Shellac’s 'Blackpool’, which is as ink-dark as its name suggests.

She wanted a scattering of purple to give it a feminine twist and immediately I thought of the beautiful 'Livvi' a ‘Magpie Nail Glitter'.

I dusted Livvi from the base of Emma's nails up. Then came the 24k magic! Random flakes of gold leaf were patted and dotted over the nails. The end result made these my favourite nails to date.

I've never seen anything so beautiful. I actually wanted to lick them. But would that be too weird!? Say nothing...

I can't wait for next month’s set... Although these golden beauties will be pretty hard to beat.

Thank you Rebecca for creating such decadent, femme fatale-tastic nails.

Book yourself into the award-winning Irresistible Beauty, Treboeth, Swansea on 01792 773887 to let them work their mani/pedi magic on your nails too.

Hair: Created and styled by Hilary from Pimped Up Pins hair salon.

Here is how Hilary styled my hair into sexy and seductive tresses.

**Hilary Jones**

Ola,

Emma’s hair was prepped with straightener curls using vast amounts of hairspray on each section before curling and pinning.

I don’t usually use this amount of product but the curls were to be brushed out to give the hair fullness and a wave on the ends.

Once brushed out, I sectioned Emma’s hair on top, from her parting to her temple, before backcombing and brushing it over my hand, smoothing the hair yet retaining height - pinning it in place with the hair bending to the right and then to the left to create a siren-esque ‘S’ shape.

The opposite side was pinned back behind the ear and decorated with a diamante brooch.

See you next month...

 

Thanks Hilary for creating such a striking femme fatale look.

Hilary is available to cut, style and/or colour your hair at Pimped Up Pins, Treboeth, Swansea. 01792 799775.

Makeup: Created and applied by Jenna Kelly.

Here’s how Jenna interpreted this month’s look.

**Jenna Kelly**

Good morning/afternoon/evening ladies and gents!!

Well I think I covered all the bases there.

I’m writing this month’s column from the seat of a Ryanair flight, really not very glam, (however, I do have extra leg room which I guess is about as close to glam as it’s going to get around here!) on my way to the beautiful Algarve, Portugal. The reason I mention this is because the look we created on Emma for this month’s issue has SERIOUSLY influenced my makeup bag for this holiday!

I’m calling this look...

SASSY BITCH!

As you can see in this issue’s shoot and video, Emma really did bring the sass - all very Latino, flamenco and FULL of attitude.

This look for me was all about the eyes. I created super intensity with a black lash line and lid, warming it out with a burnt red tone just to blend the edges.

Bringing this combination to the lower lash line really finished off the smudged, smokey eye that matched this look perfectly. Lots of eyeshadow with lots of blending however does mean a lot of ‘drop down’ (a term we use which means eyeshadow falling down your face) … I mean, it happens to the best of us - occupational hazard!

Top tip #1: when wearing a dark-coloured eyeshadow or one that needs a lot of blending, always start with your eyes so you can clean up your ‘drop down’ and start your base on beautiful, fresh skin.

I created a glossy skin on Emma with lots of sharp shaping through the cheekbones, down to the jaw line, adding a red lip for extra impact.

The finishing touch to ‘sign off on the sass’, was a faux beauty spot. I placed this in line with the outer corner of Emma’s eye, on the highest point of her cheekbone.

So my challenge for you ladies this summer is to embrace the sun and release your inner Latina, Get that smudgy smokey eye on and a beauty spot like our mothers/grandmothers/great aunts used to. It was glamorous then and it can be glamorous now! #TimelessClassic

Top tip #2: with a damp, pointed eyeliner brush, use a brown eyeshadow to draw on your beauty spot for the most natural finish.

Love

Thank you Jenna for creating this sassy, sultry look.

You can find out all about Jenna and her work at jennakellymua.com.

**Lights...Camera...Action**

“And now we invite you backstage to see this month’s shoot: Femme Fatale.”

Credits:

Producer: Emma Heaven
Location: The Hyst, Swansea
Photographer: Adrian Heaven
Makeup created and applied by: Jenna Kelly
Hair created and styled by: Hilary Jones
Nails created and painted by: Rebecca Clark
Shoe handbag (floral arrangement) designed and created by: Rianon Jones
Video filmed by: Shannon Heaven & Christie Heaven
Video edited by: Rhys Warlow
Social media clips & photos: Christie Heaven
Choreography: Oliver Heaven
Music: Feeling Good - Michael Buble

Thank you to everyone on #TeamHeaven involved in the making of this issue’s video.
Your creativity and commitment never ceases to amaze me!

Thank you to The Hyst for accommodating us in spectacular style and for supplying a buffet that was to die for. If my skirt was snug before the shoot, let’s just say I thankfully had the sense and foresight to change out of it before tucking in!

And a huge thank you to my leading man, Kris Brown. You were born to shine. And strut!

Enjoy…

Don’t be a stranger…