I CHANGED MARGOT ROBBIE'S HAIR COLOUR TO DARK

Just wanted to share with you the latest pic of Margot Robbie. Margot used to be sassy blonde and some of you may have seen her amazing acting in the film, Wolf on Wall St. I have recently been working with Margot on her new film 'Z for Zachariah' in the Banks Peninsular, once filming had finished she asked me to colour her hair for the Oscars. This is the end result colour which I think you will agree is pretty 'smoking" on this gorgeous lady. Pretty proud of this colour :-) Hils x

Hair colour by Hil Cook

Its all about the brows!!

Givenchy was showing a lot of Taupe and soft browns with groomed brows at New York Fashion week this year. Stella McCartney also followed the brow trend.  Is it any wonder we’re eyebrow-obsessed? Brows not only frame the eyes, but a well-groomed pair adds instant polish to your makeup look. Our team happen to think brows are the most important feature on the face so we thought we would put up a great DIY instruction on how to make the most of your brows this winter.

For a softer look, brush an old clean mascara wand through your brows to give a lighter feathery look :-)

Enjoy Hils x

Another beautiful bride pic

 This lovely bride went for a beautiful soft organic look. She knew how strong out Wellington winds can be so we came up with a style that was soft, romantic, still looked down but would work for photos in the wind. Picture perfect don't you think? Loving the cute head dress of flowers :-)

Hair and makeup - Hil Cook

Hair and makeup Hil Cook

Eyelash cheat

Heres a wee diagram for those wanting to try out falsies but are unsure how to go about it.

Follow these simple steps and before you know it you will have lashes to die for :-)

Enjoy

Hils x

The Lip Cheat

The Lip Cheat

As it turns out, we weren’t all blessed with Angelina Jolie’s lush lips. Now, there are a few tricks to making them appear larger (a glossy lip being one), but for a more dramatic effect, don’t be afraid to line your lips just outside of your natural line. When I say just outside of your natural line, I mean slightly. You don’t want to look like a clown by over doing it!
Flick us your try outs to hil@hilcook.co.nz ,we will give away a box of Hil Cook Solution buds to the best try out pic :-)
Enjoy
Hils x

DIY recipe to grow eyelashes and eyebrows that really works!

OK makeup lovers, today I have a super easy and fast DIY for you to try at home. As many of you know, in the past I used Li-lash to try and enhance my natural lashes. And while it did work it was really expensive at $180.00 for a few mills of product. Recently, I was looking online for recipes I could try at home to make my lashes longer and thicker, I found this quick and easy recipe with all organic materials that you can easily find in your local Chemist or you may already have these at home. :-)

You will need a travel bottle that is air tight
Coconut oil
Caster oil
and Aloe vera gel/ oil
an old clean mascara brush

Mix half and half of coconut oil and Caster oil in your travel bottle,  add a wee bit of the Aloe vera gel to your recipe and shake until mixed properly.

Caster oil has been used for decades to thicken and lengthen hair, eyebrows and eyelashes so give it a go, you have nothing to loose and will have thick long glossy lashes as an end result. Whoop whoop

Dip your clean Mascara brush into the mixture and apply to lashes, once applied run your finger over the lash line which will moisturise the roots. Thats it!

We would love to hear from those of you that give this a crack and get great results, email hil@hilcook.co.nz and tell us your story :-)

Hils x

A REALLY COOL & CHEAP BEAUTY TRICK :-)

Here is a little trick that one of the ladies in our team does and it works a treat :-)

BEAUTY: Dry/Wet Shampoo for Light or Dark Hair

Prep Easy Peasy :-)

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup arrowroot or cornstarch (arrowroot is preferable because it's a finer powder and doesn't go off as quickly)
• 1/4 cup vodka, rubbing alcohol or witch hazel
• Essential oils or a spritz of your favorite perfume to scent (we've used a few drops of tea tree oil to extend shelf life and 5-6 drops of lavender)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a small spray bottle and shake well. Shake before each use and spray on roots or oily parts of hair. Let dry and style as usual.

Notes

Arrowroot or cornstarch can also be used as a mineral veil or finishing powder for homemade makeup or as an oil absorbing powder on the skin. I keep a jar filled with arrowroot on my dresser and use as a dry shampoo in my hair and to set my makeup.
If you have dark hair but don’t want to use cocoa powder in your hair, just use plain arrowroot and apply before going to bed the night before or at least 2 hours in advance so that it has time to absorb and you won’t get the fake-gray-looks-like-a-wig look.

This is such a great way to save on dollars with fab results, give it a go and email me to let our team know how you go....hil@hilcook.co.nz

Enjoy Hils x

Another beautiful bride from our season :-)

Another gorgeous bride from this wedding season 

makeup by Hil Cook

A peek at one of our latest brides :-)

Just wanted to share with you some of our latest works from the wedding season just gone. Thanks to Sarah Mcevoy for such lovely photography.   Hair and makeup - Hil Cook

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EVANGELINE LILLY'S GATSBY LOOK

I have had the great pleasure of being Evangeline Lilly's personal makeup & hair artist for the last year and a bit on Hobbit.  Evangeline plays leading lady Elf Tauriel, and will be gracing our screens in the very near future with the next Hobbit movie to be released.

Evangeline recently asked me to design her makeup and hair look for a Great Gatsby ball that was raising money for Charity in the Roxy. I thought I would give you a sneak peek of the end result :-)

HAIR AND MAKEUP BY HIL COOK

HAIR & MAKEUP BY HIL COOK

HAIR & MAKEUP BY HIL COOK

HAIR & MAKEUP BY HIL COOK

HAIR, MAKEUP & PROSTHETIC EARS APPLIED  BY HIL COOK

The Great Gatsby look

The Great Gatsby look is the hottest thing right now so I decided to have a wee play and come up with my own Gatsby look :-)

Hair and makeup by Hil Cook

My beautiful bride Tara Swanson

Tara Swanson had just the most stunning do for her wedding and I was lucky enough to be part of her day creating her bridal hair and makeup .  :-)

The stunning photography is by one of my favorite wedding photographer Kate Macpherson

Hair and makeup - Hil Cook

Beautiful shoot with Lucy in the Wairarapa

Hair and makeup Hil Cook, Assit Lea Hoare

Stylist Sopheak Seng, Photography Luke Calder

Wadrobe Assist Kelly Manu

I spent the week doing Cate Blanchette's makeup for the Hobbit Junkit and Red carpet :-)

I was lucky enough to be chosen by Cate Blanchette to do her Red carpet make-up (not hair, she had her own hairdresser with her), along with a weeks worth of makeup for her interviews leading up to the Hobbit. I walked a couple of paces behind Cate along the red carpet so we could do touch ups at the other end before more interviews and photography. 

 Cate wore a Nars primer,Stilia Illuminate illuminer, Sk11 foundation whom she is the 'Face' for, Chanticaille eyeshadows in Rose gold, Chocolate and pyrite, YSL Touche eclat high lighter pen, Loreal mascara, Chanticaille's Laughter Blush and Anitpodes Lippy in Dusky sounds pink shade with gloss over it.

Hils x

Beautiful Cate Blanchette - makeup by Hil Cook

and there are my legs in the back ground :-)

Cate and two of her boys ( the blondes) with the 3rd and youngest at home watching mum :-) 

Behind the scenes on our last editorial shoot

Thought I would share with you some of the pics from our latest Editorial shoot.

My Dinner date!

My lovely assitant Georgia Fabish

Last min touch ups before shooting :-)

Enjoy
Hils xx

Our lovely Lea's work on beautiful bride Nikki and bridesmaid

Bridal season has started again and here are the 1st pics of the season. Our talented Lea Hoare has over 20 years experience which shows when you see pictures of Nikki and her bridesmaid looking utterly gorgeous!

Nikki wanted to look natural with a glowing skin but enhancing her already beautiful features.  Lea gave  Nikki's hair a soft and effortless looking messy side bun adding twists and braids for a little touch of detail, then a simple silk flower added to finish the style off.

BEAUTIFUL!