Anyone who would listen knows how excited I was about the release of Maleficent, - and it seems I was far from the only one.
MAC brought out a limited edition colour collection inspired by Disney's iconic villain "in specially designed
packaging to delight the most demanding of dark sorceresses."
On the MAC website it is stated that Maleficent is "Intensely
admired for her evil elegance, despite her efforts to instill fear in
the hearts of generations, this icon casts a spell of absolute adoration
with sensuous shades so wickedly gorgeous, who needs beauty sleep?"
Stella McCartney launched "Maleficent by Stella McCartney Kids" back in April, and numerous make-up tutorials have popped up all over YouTube on how to recreate Maleficent's look.
(While I would love to look like Angelina Jolie, I am not sure where the Maleficent look would fit into my daily life?)
Now, on to The Review.
Spoiler Alert - before I begin, please don't read on if you would rather be kept in the dark about plot developments. I must comment though that the trailers more than hint at what to expect, and as an aside the film was nowhere near as dark as I expected.
The biggest surprise-that-wasn't: Maleficent isn't really evil. At all. King Stefan however is another story entirely, and his betrayal causes Maleficent great pain both physically and emotionally. She infamously curses his daughter Aurora at her christening, a curse that, interestingly, then everyone is trying to prevent from becoming true, and with everyone I mean Maleficent, too. Over the years Maleficent is literally watching over Aurora, and while she calls her "Beastie" and even tells a sweetly smiling baby Aurora "I hate you", her actions towards the girl (and, by the way, her raven "minion") show an increasing fondness and actually a total absence of evil on her part. However, a curse is a curse, and we all know what's going to happen, and I won't spell everything out for you. So instead I'll give you a summary of the pros and cons of this movie, this is my personal opinion so feel free to disagree. The Cons: Sorry, but the Scottish accent of King Stefan is both badly executed and unnecessary. Apparently South
African actor Sharlto Copley adopted a Scottish accent because he wanted his character to sound as
royal as possible (?). Hm. The three fairies - while the animated fairies entrusted with Aurora's safety were kind and sweet, the real life versions are just ditzy and seriously lack likeability and any emotional depth. In fact, you don't get a feeling that they care for Aurora very much at all. And, sadly, I was not very much convinced by Elle Fanning's portrayal of sweet, beautiful Aurora. Nothing wrong with it so much as that I felt it was all a little too bland. The Pros: The action scenes of various battles I found to be an unexpected and very entertaining bonus. I have also heard criticism of the "over the top" visuals, but personally I loved that The Moors were elaborately depicted as a truly enchanted fairy kingdom, Maleficent flying across the land and into the sky made me want to have wings and anyway, this whole film is based on a fairytale, so it gets a "yes please" from me to as much over-the-top visuals as you can squeeze into 90-odd minutes. (Along the same lines, I loved Stardust - if you do "fairytale", do FAIRYTALE - I don't want realism's nitty-gritty or elegant restraint) And last and above all, Angelina Jolie. Admittedly, her enormous wings and unusual horns certainly help, but her performance alone commands a screen presence that makes it difficult, literally, to take your eyes off her. You may be surprised who saves Aurora and breaks the enchantment with true love's kiss. Verdict: Genuinely moving and a feast for your eyes - enjoy! Stars: 3.9 / 5
There are few film releases that have excited me as much in recent months as Maleficent, due out on the 28th May.
Disney's classic "Sleeping Beauty" was one of my favourite childhood movies, and Aurora's nemesis Maleficent frankly absolutely terrified me.
Even from an adult perspective, not being invited to a royal christening may be disappointing, but Maleficent turns up anyway (rude), eerily polite, and points out how awkward the situation is. Well, obviously. Not only that, she bestows the worst, and also most elaborate, christening gift ever - a curse so that before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, princess Aurora will "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!" - now that is incredibly rude. So, to explain the background to Maleficent's irrational behaviour, Disney has gone through the trouble of making a film about it. Starring Angelina Jolie in the starring role - result: I literally cannot wait!
The
untold story of Disney's villain from
"Sleeping Beauty" goes something like this - a beautiful, pure-hearted young woman with stunning
black wings, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable
forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army of humans threatens
the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the
land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless
betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone.
Bent on
revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the king of the humans
and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora.
As the
child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in
the kingdom - and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.
Sounds like a Happy Ending for all? Only One way to find out!
Did I mention I can't wait? Also, just as an aside, I can't help being reminded of Dolce & Gabbana's Autumn/Winter 2014/2015 ready-to-wear collection - all fairy-tale forests, knights and mystery:
I'll post my review of Maleficent here as soon as possible.
P.S.: My favourite quote from Sleeping Beauty (and oh so true, always): Merryweather: It looks awful. Fauna: That's because it's on you, dear.
There was no question who would feature on today's YouTube Week finale - Lisa Eldridge is the queen of online make-up tutorials.
Lisa Eldridge is a make-up artist who has worked with everyone, and with that I mean - Everyone.
You may not realize it but you have seen her work numerous times on the pages of the world’s leading fashion magazines including Vogue, Glamour, Allure, ELLE and Harper's Bazaar. She has worked with designers like Prada, Donna Karan, Moschino, Lancome and Chloe for their advertising campaigns and runway shows.
I don't think there is a famous photographer left that she hasn't worked with (Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier and Rankin to name but a few) and her celebrity and model clientele include Kate Moss, Emma Watson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Cate Blanchet, Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley... the list seems endless. She has of course appeared on TV as the resident beauty expert on ‘Ten Years Younger –
The Challenge’. Lisa Eldridge has a beautiful, award winning website and was the first highly-successful professional make-up artist to create online make-up tutorials for her site and YouTube. Her videos were the first to feature a professional studio white
background and lighting, and have become the benchmark for online make-up
tutorials.
Her video tutorials are an absolute delight to watch. With all of Lisa's credentials and experience, she is never, ever condescending or patronising, sharing her insider knowledge instead with charm and understanding.
While Lisa's voice is so calm and soothing I could listen to it on a loop, you really can learn a lot about application techniques and, if you wish, how to recreate the various looks she has chosen for her many celebrity clients.
What I probably love most about her is that she makes everyone she works with so very beautiful, she really brings out the best features in a face and very often, when you look at the finished "Look", you actually forget about the make-up and just see a beautiful person. Now that is art.
On my improbable wishlist: Having my make-up done, once, by the wonderful Lisa Eldridge. Or, even better, have Lisa as my BFF. A woman can dream!
On this glorious Saturday, and nearing our YouTube Week finale, let's turn our attention to another beauty blogger who makes absolutely lovely videos about beauty and fashion with the occasional vlog thrown in - Lily Pebbles.
The Blurb: "Weekly beauty videos every Thursday!" (We notice that the blurbs often tend to be short and to the point. That's ok we say, just go straight to watching their videos)
Our Verdict: Lily Pebbles knows her make-up related stuff and we like her fashion style and choices. Our favourites are her occasional "Dupes" videos ("Alternatives" for us Brits - see her latest below) which are always well thought-out and, like all her videos, beautifully shot and presented. Lily mixes luxury brands with highstreet/drugstore without being either snobby or apologetic about it (while she admits she prefers high end foundations, in her April favourites for instance she recommends Nars Sheer Glow, she has gone to some lengths finding one in Boots or Superdrug that she may like just as much. I don't think she was successful)
Lily Pebbles' videos, while easy to watch, are of high quality, and while Lily is likeable and friendly, she always comes across as professional and as someone whose opinion on all things beauty products-related we would trust implicitly.
To visit Lily Pebbles' YouTube channel click here.
