* Nick cave and PJ Harvey

it's comforting to know that these two superior beings have found each other at some point in their lives.

* martina's haaard work.

Ok...back to freelancing with make-up now so doing some honest self promotion. This is what I've been up to for...well...a little while now ;)

hope you like it :*

www.martinaluisetti.com

Love,

- Me -

* Soko: "I Will Never Love You More".

This song by french singer Soko was brought to my attention by my friend Nicola. If I remember well his reaction to my "...Who? Soko? Nah, I don't know her.."

was:

"......................what? ...WHAT??? you don't know SOKO??? .........YOU don't know this song?!?!?!"

...and to cut a long story short he showed me the following link on YouTube and after listening to the words I was just as surprised as he was: that - I - didn't know this song. Better late than never, they say. And for my views on relationships...definitely Better now than Later. Or Never!

 I took the liberty of writing the lovely lyrics below (for people like me: non-english) and if you're lucky enough you may already be listening to the song AS we speak, since it is on shuffle on my playlist of this blog ;) also here is a link to gorgeous Soko singing live: Soko: "I will never love you more" - Live

I will never love you more than the drummer of flaming lips
I will never love you more than Woody Allen movies
I will never love you more than the White album of the Beatles
I will never love you more than God only knows

I will never love you more than DVD's night with my girlfriends
And we talk about stupid things like feelings and men
I will never love you more than my boyfriend when I was 14
Even if he's now an asshole, I will never love you more

And you say, you love me more than everything
And compared to me everything is nothing...

I will never love you more than meeting Paul McCartney
And we asked him to play a song on my Ukulele
I will never love you more than my Scandinavian Tour
Which was more than paradise, I wish you remembered it too

I will never love you more than dancing to Phil Spektor
I will never love you more than my Casiotone keyboard.
I will never love you more than Daniel Johnston himself
For me he's more than God, I will never love you more

And you say, you love me more than everything
And compared to me everything is nothing

Ohh this is sweet, I just wonder what it means

You say you love me more, than all the girls you have had before
Even more than music, even more than yourself
Even more than everything, but it's just a lie
So I will never love you more, than anything

I will never love you more than singing in the shower
I will never love you more than my Mac computer
I will never love you more than having a daughter
I will never love you more than peanut butter

I will never love you more than kisses all day
I will never love you more than cuddles all night
I will never love you more than kissing girls lips when they're really pretty!

* Skyping with Bianca at 6am.

Weird things happen when we chat.

 

She is part of DA PEOPLE now.

* Mina: The one and only.

Last year i did a make up master class for MAC cosmetics and i was asked to chose a topic. I sat down with make up genius Terry Barber and i told him about my love for this unusual woman and how surprised i was that not many people knew of her in England. I grew up in Italy and Mina was there since i was born...one of those constant presences that are with you your whole life. A bit like Michael Jackson or dirty dancing did, for people of my generation though i'm not comparing Mina to him as it'd be like comparing ice to fire.
I don't remember a day when i switched the radio on and i didn't catch one of her songs. The woman has been around from 1959! (even though she didn't make any public appearance since 1978, the year i was born.) Also, I could always remember how "weird" she was...her look was unique and her make up....OH HER MAKE UP!!! i think Mina was the first person, other than my mum, that made me realise just HOW powerful make up can be. So, i decided to do my class on Mina...and the world of the 70's "underground" make up.
I started researching and..........my love for this amazing woman grew and grew ...and grew some more.
Louis Armstrong was quoted calling her "the best white female singer of all times" and there's an interview on youtube where Liza Minnelli names Mina "her number one". Frank Sinatra was supposed to duet with her in America but Mina had a nervous breakdown that year so, that, unfortunately is a gem that we're all going to miss out on...
She recorded over 110 albums, sold over 76 million records and scored over 70 singles. She was the first italian female rocker, hehe, the first to "dance" in front of a camera (at the time singers used to sing with a hand on their heart and Domenico Modugno -the popular author of "volare" got in trouble for even raising his hands on tv!), the first to shave her eyebrows off completely in Italy which started a major fashion trend. I love that throughout my research, which lasted for a couple of months, my mum FORGOT to mention that she was with her on the day she first shaved her eyebrows!!! Mum said that she arrived in the make up room to go to her then-make up artist and said "so...what do we do today??" and he said to her "Mina! what else can i do on you!!! i've done every possible make up...the last thing left to do is to shave your eyebrows off!" and laughed at that thought. She said "OH. Ok. Let's do it." I love this about her: She wasn't pretty but she had the courage to use her un-pretty features and instead of hiding them, enhancing them to an extreme. I mean....Imagine doing a corrective make up on Greta Garbo.........pretty...but you'd KILL her glamour!!!!
I know for a fact that make up artists used to try and give Mina the fashion's liquid liner which was "à la Marilyn" and she hated it, it just wouldn't suit her. My godmother was one of the first make up artists to start drawing her eyes "downwards", something that genius make up artist Stefano Anselmo completely made into a statement for her later on.
Mina and Stefano found each other, artistically speaking. He became her loyal make up artist till the last time she appeared on stage. And Mauro Balletti her photographer of choice. There is a book i have: "Mina nelle fotografie di mauro balletti" who should NOT be missing from make up artists book case...it's expensive but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do!
In 1963 mina was banned from singing in public (???!!) because she refused to hide her pregnancy and relationship with a married actor (yes those where the times where one would have to face a trial in court if found adulterating on his/her partner...but i'm not surprised, given that one would get in trouble for dancing on telly!)
Record sales though were unaffected and the audience forced to lift the ban.
To the "bad girl image" Mina responded with her new image on live tv: dyed platinum hair, shaved eyebrows and the first cigarette to appear on screen.
Mina decided to "retire" from public appearances in 1978, never appeared again, up to date,and never commented on as to why she withdrew from public life.
In 2001 she appeared briefly on line with her new album and the website had to shut down the same night because of internet traffic...Millions had log on to see their idol and crushed the site!

I don't only love Mina for her unsurpassed voice. I love her for being true to herself, for being the emancipated woman she always has been - the tiger of Cremona -  for changing italian laws and attitude towards women and marriage, for sending back a blank check to that super-dubious italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who gave it to her hoping she would sing for one of his parties (lol!), or...for some of the best make up i have ever seen and will ever see in my career: the intensity of the 1920's, the downwards lines of the 30's, the glam-rock of the 70's...all combined to make her as powerful-looking as it gets. Her eyes were leaning towards her cheekbones, not her temples, her cheeks were drawn to a straight strong cut on the face, her lips -the erotic element- annulled or darkened in an impertinent shape. All of this on a nearly white pancaked foundationed skin.
Mina IS the reference of champions, full stop.
The first photo is of her without the make up that made her a beauty icon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cx_dhPGlSM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXj1cg-OR58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-sZDlZEJI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jPl22_7UTM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzzg6LyOIZs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFR3SxnvTs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ayOIHnLBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNhDBURIf8I

"With Mina a word became.....THE word, a note became...........THE note."

* the PostSecret project

This is very cool.
Nearly as cool as "the 1001 journals project"...but that's for the next post.
Frank Warren has handed out blank postcards to strangers, asking them to reveal their deepest secrets anonymously and to send them back to him... obviously, knowing what human nature is like, it comes as no surprise that the experiment worked extremely well and he published the secrets online as well as a book where even darker secrets have come to life.
I don't have many secrets, in fact i can't think of any right now but i know i must have some. Some words that i never said or some thoughts that i push at the back of my mind... nevertheless i completely surrender to the fascination towards secrets and all that they represent. Whether it is about getting something off your chest or about the truth granted by anonymous writing...this site is still pretty interesting. Enjoy xx

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/

all images are copyright of Postsecret

* Siobhan Fahey for Ponystep.com

Very happy to have worked for Ponystep :)

Photography: Jermaine Francis.
Styling: Richard Mortimer.
Hair: Lok Lau at CLM for Taylor Taylor London.
Make-Up: Martina Luisetti using Laura Mercier.
Photo Assistant: Ben Etridge.
Digital and Retouching: Full Metal Jacket Digital.
Lighting & Studio: ProVision and ProLighting.

http://ponystep.com/music/article/Sequinsorlam_416.aspx

* I just started a journal.

Soooo......
This blog thing.
I have no idea what to do with it...I guess it'll be just pictures and thoughts and links to things i want to share.
My new journal is one of them so i'm just posting these for now.
I have a fetish with journals: it's like Mel Gibson in that film...Conspiracy theories i think it was called. The government sets his brain to be compelled to buy Catcher in the rye every time he sees one around. Something has set my brain to buy journals and most of the times they just lay there in my book shelf, beautiful ad untouched, smelling of "new" and the pages are always smooth. Sometimes i start one, then leave it. In the past i used to finish writing them, now i don't, it seems, anymore.
Pen are another thing my brain is set to buy.
Oh, and brushes........in fact one job i would definitely do if i wasn't doing make up is to work in a cartoleria, i don't know how you say that in english. And a record shop, a small one, possibly working with John Cusaack, Jack Black and Todd Louiso.
But that's moving away from the Journal thing...