by Candice DeVille | Feb 28, 2015 | CDV Vintage Salon, Vintage Weddings
I realised the other day that I’ve not shared my vintage styling work with you all in quite a while, and as it has been keeping me so very busy, it was overdue!
Valentines Day weekend was one of our busiest in a long time. The team and I rocked up to Ballarat in country Victoria to run a mini beauty salon for the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival. I’ve learnt (the hard way) that these festivals are not something where you can combine business with pleasure. After eight or more solid hours on your feet, transforming ladies into visions of retro loveliness, what you really need is a cup of tea and a good lie down!
What I find particularly rewarding about these events is the diversity of women who come to see us. Women of all ages and very different backgrounds. Those who love makeup and getting dressed up on a regular basis, as well as those who haven’t touched a makeup brush in decades! Seeing the looks of delight as we reveal the transformations and the warm, heartfelt letters of thanks we received in the following week, is a reward beyond measure.
Seeing our work appear in bridal blogs and magazines is an honour I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. I had the pleasure of working with It’s Beautiful Here for an editorial shoot in Hello May. With beautiful gowns by Neveka, the ladies created a Jayne Eyre inspired bridal feel; complete with overgrown woodlands and wild flowers.
Working on Weddings and other special occasions is such an immense honour and privilege. Being invited in to someone’s personal space and helping them to create a perfect memory of their day, is nothing short of marvellous. Seeing the excitement, nerves and joy all bundled together in a room full of happy women as they prepare to make the big leap. Best friends tell stories of their years together and anxious family members potter about the kitchen making tea and sandwiches to keep themselves busy and focused.
While I’m often not there to see the final walk down the aisle, the pure joy and emotion that comes back from these talented photographers is something I’ll always treasure. My team and I travel all over the countryside (indeed all over Australia), bringing our brushes to bear on bridal parties of all backgrounds and ages.
This beautiful wedding was shot by Eric Ronald and featured in Rock N Roll Bride.
Now, as I look toward the rest of 2015, I’m planning out dates for our full day hair and makeup workshops for cities all around Australia. So if you would like to come and play with me one day, drop me a line!
by Candice DeVille | Feb 23, 2015 | Food & Drinks, Travel
Wind swept desert plains, the delicate softness of a muslin wrap around your face and the sweet stickiness of fresh dates; these are the sensations that I dream of when I imagine trekking into Egypt, Agatha Christie style.
Always on my “Must Visit” list, I have not yet taken that adventure, and so it lives on in a romantic fantasy inside my mind.
In one small afternoon visit, who’s purpose was entirely different, I caught a glimpse of a place I am longing to visit again; The Raffles Hotel in Dubai. Ostensibly our visit was for the purpose of a Christmas themed afternoon High Tea, but as our bus drew along side the portico I felt the bitter sweetness of anticipation and the desire for time to stretch itself, allowing me to bask in the splendour of this building.
Through the etched wings of Isis we entered a foyer of grand proportions. Polished sandstone and marble, the scent of lemon grass trailing behind us as our hostess greeted us with a wave of her hand and a motion towards a most sumptuous setting.
There amongst the lofty ceilings, pillars rising like creamy asparagus spears, was our table set with a decadent and delicate array of treats.
The care and attention in each create evident by the placement of individual petals, Tendrils of snow peas placed, no doubt, with a surgical precision. The perfect geometry of pumpernickel bread sandwiching smoked salmon and cream cheese curls. Slices of fig atop circles of creamed chicken and cranberries, cresting toasted discs of light white bread.
Chocolate creations of Christmas cheer, gleaming like polished plastic, the scent of gingerbread rising from tarts and men alike. The Raffles Festive Collection High Tea was both a spectacle of perfection and indulgence. I’d recommend allowing yourself a few solid hours to full appreciate and enjoy this experience, there is so much to take in and like me, you’ll also want to capture each morsel for your photo brag book.
With only a minute to spare before we needed to head to our next engagement, I grabbed my camera and tried to capture the magnificence of the setting. All I really wanted to do was grab a gin and tonic, and lounge in the foyer soaking in the ambience of ancient glamour.
I’d love to be able to host a big blog meet up here and have you all around for drinks and tales of your own grand adventures. Perhaps one day, I shall be able to do just that. Even as I write this, I’m planning more trips for this year, especially to the USA. If you’re interested in arranging a meet up, please let me know. I’ll be headed to quite a number of cities and am considering hosting both meet ups and workshops, so any feedback you can offer would be wonderful.
Stay glamorous my friends!
by Candice DeVille | Feb 17, 2015 | Self
The moon rise in the Dubai desert -Image by Melbourne Girl
I spend a lot of time talking to myself. I am a great conversationalist with a million ideas, but sometimes it gets so noisey in there it makes it hard to hear what I’m really saying. Sound familiar?
When we began this year I shared with you my plan for 2015 The Year of Living Bravely, and since that time, although the journey began long ago, I have been taking small steps every day to get me closer to this reality. When I looked at the insurmountable piles of ‘things’ that my life had accumulated, I didn’t know where to begin. When I saw how many things I was attached to, I had to force myself to ask hard questions and determine what that stuff really meant to me or how it enriched my life. Even the smallest challenge, like jumping into the pool, was a big deal for me. And so with each day I have taken on new challenges, big and small, all in the process of becoming more aware and in control.
I had the opportunity last week to talk to a group of other Nuffnang bloggers about my time in Dubai and what I loved about it. While there are so many things I can say about the incredible adventures on offer, the food or the sumptuous malls, I found what I really wanted to share was a moment that happened in my mind.
In one singular moment as I stood in the Dubai desert, I watched the sun setting in front of me as the moon rose behind me. Connected, together filling the sky with fire and the warmth of its reflected glow. The expansiveness of our world, our universe and just how small yet integral we are, washed over me like a wave. All of the minutia of our daily lives, the irritations and the stresses fall away in an instant under the eye of those two great forces. And suddenly I see that the door to the cage we create for ourselves had always been open, you just need to walk through it.
Seeing the multitude of pins, and quotes appearing on FB and Twitter, I get the very real sense that we are all sitting in our self created cages, staring out through the bars at those we think are somehow magically on the other side. Those that have what we wish we did; more time, better wardrobes, Pinnable lives. The more time we spend watching these edited realities with their Valencia filters, the further away our release seems to be. I am yet to meet someone who does not suffer from some degree of life envy of another, no matter where that may stem from.
While I stood bathed in the amber glow of the Dubai sunset I listened to the ‘me’ I always chat with; the one who has always said, “You create your own realities”. For once, there was a silence, a peace and tranquility that let that often said phrase stand alone in its simple glory. The only thing that is truly within ourselves to change, the catalyst from which everything springs, is ourselves. That shifting of a mindset, that penny that must drop and suddenly you realise, you had the power all along.
(image via Pinterest)
by Candice DeVille | Feb 12, 2015 | Shopping
by Candice DeVille | Feb 11, 2015 | Events, sponsors
I am an ideas woman.
There is nothing I love more than a good old-fashioned brain storming session with like-minded people. Caffeine on tap, white boards and large gestures all make for my kind of mental adrenaline ride. I’d like to think I have much in common with one of my favourite Golden Era icons, Hedy Lammar. Beautiful actress and inventor, without whom we would not have a technology which has become so precious to us; Wi Fi!
It is because of the commonalities between Hedy and myself, that I am incredibly excited by an event that next week brings. Pause Fest is Australia’s premier digital event that began in 2011 and this year the TAC is partnering with Pause Fest to run a one-day Hackathon, entitled “pause the road toll”.
The idea is that on Friday 13th, a whole bunch of digital creatives all get together to brainstorm ideas and compete to win a major development prize. It’s not a day of hard core coding, but rather to workshop ideas with your team, or alone, and come up with something truly revolutionary, helping to effectively reduce the road toll.
Participants are presented with a brief on road safety and then, using their diverse skills and knowledge base, put together ideas that could contribute to a reduction in road crashes. Pause Fest attracts all kinds of digital creatives, start-ups, developers, and early adopters; much like many of my blogging friends. They are people with a passion for problem solving, ingenuity and an elegant technological solution.
The winning idea will be awarded $75,000 worth of prizes, including $5,000 cash and a $70,000 incubation fund to help further develop their idea. So as you can imagine, this is a major, and now sold out event!
The idea behind Pause Fest and the kind of ideas it generates, is fascinating to me. As someone with such a passion for the past, I find an equal satisfaction in fantasising about the future. Living in a time where technology changes our reality day by day, is one of the most exciting things I can imagine. Watching these concepts grow into something that has the potential to save lives, is astounding.
It’s an interesting time in Australia, watching organisations struggle to find new and more effective ways of reaching their audience and communicating their message. The TAC has taken a bold and market leading step in reaching out to the brains trust of the digital community; one that will undoubtedly uncover some brilliant concepts.
To follow along with Pause Fest and the TAC Hackathon, simply check in at their website or follow along on social @TACVictoria
Brought to you by Nuffnang and TAC.
