Gidday Gorgeous!

Category: Blog

by Johanna Osborne

An expose on beauty: MIRANDA MILLEN Makeup and Beauty Boutique

Why hello there… allow me to introduce you to the delightful Miranda. If you came to the recent Wellington Wedding Show you would have spotted Miranda and her team: trademark shiny hair, great skin, beautiful make up and all super cute in their pink pinafores, busily working on a bevy of gals in front of golden mirrors – encapsulating an aura of elegance, impeccable style and great taste. Exactly the kind of person you want looking after you, when looking good counts the most: on your wedding day!

I’ve known Miranda for a while now, and I was aware that she was highly experienced and very good at what she does. But it’s only when you actually sit and probe a little further that you find out the depth of someone’s history. And so it came to pass that I discovered Miranda worked for my favourite museum in the world, back-stage in the hair and colouring department of Madame Tussauds in London. And as chance would have it, Miranda was Kate Moss’ hand model when the model herself could not come in to have her hands moulded. “Storm, Kate’s agency said I was a pretty darn close match!” Miranda laughs.

And not only does Miranda have supermodel hands, she knows how to use them. It’s no coincidence that in 2006 she was Jerry Hall’s live-in Beauty Therapist, Make-up artist and Hair Stylist, and spent time living it up in France with the supermodel and her entourage. Ever discreet Miranda doesn’t give too much away, but she does share that she often travelled via Mick Jagger’s private jet and even attended his 64th birthday party. And Miranda laughs when recounting this little ditty; “Jerri was so wonderful to work for and is such an appreciate woman. At the time we were staying at her holiday villa in St Claire with her sisters and children. Jerry had a broken foot and was supposed to attend the Who concert that night. Pete Townsend had given Jerri the tickets to the show in Monte Carlo, and I vividly remember Jerry leaning over the balcony, looking down at me and in her Texan drawl saying “Miranda honey, you’ve been working really hard darlin’, do you wanna go to the Who Concert tonight?” Well of course I wanted to go! As a huge fan this was the chance of a life time!” So as luck would have it, Miranda flew via private jet to use her VIP tickets alongside Jerri’s sister and daughter and daughter Georgia-May that night. And that’s not all; “Afterwards we went backstage and Bono and The Edge from U2 were there. I got a hug and kiss from each of them. It was without a doubt an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience!”

But it’s not all head in the clouds for Miranda, for she’s as down to earth and natural as they come. Having returned to NZ 5 years ago to start a family and set the wheels in motion to create her own business and brand, Miranda is certainly making an impression on the hair, make-up and beauty industry, with a loyal client base and bookings being snapped up far in advance. Miranda has created a gorgeous in-house studio at her home; “It’s a french shabby chic styled boutique and make up studio. It’s a lovely space to welcome my clients in, and they all love the amazing sea views over Island Bay”. Here she offers the works – make-up lessons, hair and make-up trials, group bookings, spray tanning, eye lash extensions, hair and beauty treatments including the coveted Environ range… the list goes on. Miranda also very much enjoys providing brides with complementary consultations, which she finds to be a very laid back way to share ideas and meet informally before the madness sets in. Often brides have booked Miranda before they have even chosen a wedding dress or theme for their big day!

Miranda is also 100% mobile and enjoys travelling to locations to style her brides for the most important day of their lives. Wedding day preparation is a true highlight for Miranda, and she enjoys being able to offer her brides a full range of services on location whilst sharing in the joy of it all. And whilst Miranda takes what she does very seriously, she loves having fun with her bridal party; “For me it harks back to the vibe you experienced when you were a teenager getting ready for a big party or a special ball. It’s about the music, choosing outfits, the excitement of it all and feeling the anticipation building… it’s a bit like re-living that in a way, except you have a much bigger occasion to prepare for this time. Back then you were doing it to find the husband, this time it’s because you are getting married to the guy!”

You can tell Miranda loves what she does and that she’s passionate about it. “I like making people feel good about themselves. You get such a sense of accomplishment when you have somebody who comes to see you who never wears any make up, and they say “I want to still look like me, and not look like I’ve got tons of make-up caked on.” And then when you are done, their face lights up with this amazing sense of surprise, like “Wow, I really am beautiful!” Miranda empathises with the many young ladies who don’t have a huge amount of confidence and loves nothing more than to bring their natural beauty out and give them a much deserved confidence boost.

Now on to the hot topic at the tip of everyone’s tongue… airbrushing! Personally I’m just dying to know what it is!! Miranda explains to me that high definition make-up, which was traditionally applied via sponge, fingertip or brush, was just too visible in the pores with the advent of High-Definition for film and television. So experts set out to discover a way to apply make-up that was less visible, with an effect almost like not wearing any at all. And so airbrushing was discovered. A simple process via compressor that produces air attached to an airbrush which applies (i.e. sprays) the make-up lightly on to your face. Simple yet very effective! And of course amusingly to the more hands-on blokes out there, this technique rather seems familiar in the work shed too.

Miranda explains “Basically it creates a more even coverage. I use Temptu which is the most amazing brand. It has a gorgeous silica ingredient which leaves the skin looking so luminous. Brides always tell me that it feels like they’ve got nothing on their skin. It lasts so well and photographs beautifully. And I get a lot of comments from photographers who tell me it minimises their work – they get better photos and need to do far less re-touching later.” I’m gobsmacked when Miranda tells me that 100% of all her brides at present use airbrushing on their wedding day. Clearly she is on to a huge, massive winner here. Where was this stuff when I got married?! It’s so effective that one keen and eager bride even slept in her airbrush make up post wedding, and wore it to the day-after party the following day to great success. No one knew, and she was chuffed to get such a long lasting effect from her make up!

Being a girlie-girl I could go on and on, it’s a subject matter I would never tire of! But to conclude I must add my personal impressions on my very interesting chat with Miranda … Speaking to her you can tell she’s smart. She knows her product, she’s passionate about it and she loves an essential component of the job – the people she works with. “I just love being part of the wedding team. The pre-wedding contact, building a rapport, the moral support I get to provide in the lead up and on the day itself… it’s such a fun adventure and I feel so lucky!”

And that to me ladies and gentlemen sums it up perfectly… with Miranda, you are on to a winner! My hunch? We are going to see great things from Miranda Millen… after all, Jerry Hall handpicked her!

www.mirandamillen.com
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