Fresh Celebrates the Royal Birth!

Once again, the nation (and FreshAcademy) was kept in suspense and The Duchess of Cambridge became centre of attention for the second time!

We’ve been waiting for the birth of the Royal baby for a good fortnight now, speculation was rife that the new heir or heiress to the throne (who will be the 43^rd monarch since William the Conqueror) was due well over a week ago but there was no show. Finally, it was announced at 7.30am yesterday morning from Kensington Palace that Princess Kate had gone into labour and had been taken earlier to the prestigious Lindo Wing in Paddington to give birth.

We waited…and waited…and waited. The news stream was the same, BBC News had in their own words “No News”, Sky News again was on repeat. Our Fresh Academy Studio was a hive of excitement with bets weighing heavily on a future Queen being born.

We left the Studio with no sign of a new Prince or Princess and returned to our own homes – where we sat in the humid evening watching, and waiting…..

Finally, at around 8.30pm we had the announcement we were all waiting for! Our Prince and Princess had produced a son and heir to the throne – weighing in at a whopping 8lb 6oz and born at 4.24pm! A very exciting moment for the nation. The announcement was made four hours later than the birth itself, allowing Wills and Kate some precious time with the baby with no one else knowing their little Prince had arrived.

We can’t wait to catch a glimpse of the new Royal heir, sometime today when William and Kate leave St Mary’s – pictures on the steps hopefully!

                                          (Newborn photography by Fresh Academy)

 
Here are some interesting Royal baby facts you may or may not know!

New Royal Prince is now 3^rd in line to the throne, knocking Uncle Harry back to 4^th place
The birth was announced in the Royal tradition, with a note pinned on the gates of Buckingham Palace
There will be a 41 gun salute in London today to celebrate the birth
The baby will wear a lace christening gown made by the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly and her team
William has never changed a nappy (bet he has now!)
Baby will be christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace

Congratulations to Gemma L for guessing Kate was going to have a boy on our Facebook Page! You have won yourself a photoshoot with a 5 x 7” print included! 

For all of you out there wanting to commemorate, we can promise you a photoshoot fit for a Prince or Princess at our Studio for just £19 with a 5 x 7” print of your choice included.

To book, please call Fresh on 01923 212 673 quoting “Royal Baby Offer”
Offer available for a limited period only.

CONGRATULATIONS GREAT BRITAIN!

PS: Kate, please make sure you have some gorgeous newborn photos done, you know who to call!

Face of the Hair Group – Heat Winners and Wild Cards Announced!

Summer is here and we have some great news to add even more sunshine to your day! Our Face of the Hair Group finalists have been announced!

Out of thousands of entries that we received this year, our Heat winners were selected from the shortlist of girls who attended the Fresh Academy Studio for their entry shots. Our judges had such a difficult task narrowing it down as the standard of entries was just so high this year...
So high in fact, that they have selected 3 additional Wild Cards!

Our three lucky Wild Card winners are:

Fernanda Zorzal, Holly Drinkwater and Meral Gjonbaiaj.

The Heat winners are:

Charlotte Davies

Elizabeth Cox

Yasmin Ryan

Destiny Toussaint

Skye Wilson

Nadia Sayers

Ayesha O’Kelly

Amber Twell

Mia Wolsey

Gemma Druce

Preya Chhatralia

Alexandra Cadman

Eleanor Martin

Chloe Rambirini

Destiny Sedlacek

Brucha Howe

All the Heat winner’s photos can be viewed on the Face of the Hair Group website here.

On the judging panel this year we have our very own Charlie Kaufman CEO of Fresh Academy who was recently responsible for selecting Kirsty Heselewood as our Fresh Modelesque winner. Kirsty went on to claim the Miss England crown earlier this year! Having aided the careers of many successful models during the last 8 years, we were eager to find out what stands out for Charlie when judging a competition like this. When we caught up with Charlie in the Studio last week, he said…

"I’m all about the girls look. Is an editor of a top fashion title going to want to use our winner on one of The Hair Group promotions in their magazine? Are they edgy enough; is their look current, could they do Commercial, Beauty and Editorial?"

But it is not just presenting your outward beauty that will be your ticket to modelling success. Keely Silver, Fresh Academy’s Marketing Director always has high expectations during the interview round of the competition. Keely gave us a simple explanation of what she is looking for during this round.

"I am looking for a model to be able to express her personality and convey a ‘can do’ attitude."

Next in line on our judging panel is Ruth Deane, editor of Everymodel magazine. Ruth has a trained eye for new talent in the modelling world. Thanks to Ruth and the competitions she judges, many modelling dreams have been realised. To name a few, Siobhan Perry (an international model) Bailey Tye Baker (featured in Les Miserables and Snow White) and Alize Lilly Mounter (Miss England 2011) are all successfully working as a direct result of competitions they entered.

Ruth’s advice is both practical and encouraging…

"Personally I will be looking for a fresh, healthy looking model with natural beauty. Her hair will preferably be her natural colour, in great condition, with no added extensions, flashes or styling which defers from their natural self. To judge a great model is to see them in their raw state. Styling can be done later. What I look for in the first instance, is a blank canvas."

With that in mind, it seems an event like this is not as simple as posing for the camera during the makeover photoshoot at round one. We asked Stevie Walters, director of ModelsPlus, how the girls could get prepared. Stevie meets many girls every week who hope to break into the modelling world, she gave us some top notch advice for our FOHG finalists and unsuccessful contestants alike.

"Get plenty of early nights and drink lots of water so your skin is at its best. Get plenty of exercise so your body is toned. No over-tanning, keep sunbeds to a minimum as UV is aging and bad for other health reasons. No over-tanning products either and remember to think carefully about what you are going to talk about. Winning is not everything… Beauty comes from within."

So girls, keep your head up, smile and be yourself… This sounds similar to Charlotte Holme’s advice she gave to the Miss England contestants (Miss England 2012). On the topic of Miss England, we’re absolutely ecstatic to announce that our presenter this year is Laura Coleman, former Miss England 2008!

We can’t wait to meet all of our finalists in August! They will be strutting their stuff in casual jeans, bikinis and finally (our favourite) stunning ball gowns. Our FOHG winner last year has already begun her success story since being featured in Marie Claire and Hair Flare Magazine. We can’t wait to see who will win this opportunity this year to kick start their career.

Good luck to all our girls – keep your hair looking lush and in the meantime…
Please don’t dye it blue!

Kiss & Makeover...

Guess what couples? This Saturday is International Kissing Day!

We love meeting new couples here at Fresh, so to celebrate this fun day we've got an amazing offer on our Couples Makeover photoshoots!

Perhaps it is time you dared to have your first photo session together, or maybe it has been a while since your wedding photos were taken? For an anniversary or just for fun, this could be the perfect treat... You know what us girls are like - any excuse for a present!

Our brilliant offer includes a makeover for your special lady (yes girls, this does mean leaving the house without applying any make-up!) followed by a photoshoot in our adventure playground of a Studio! Whatever your relationship style; romantic and moody or fun-loving and silly, we have a huge selection of sets and all kinds of superb ideas to make the photoshoot your own.

To save you time and effort returning to Fresh another day, your photoshoot is followed by a cinema viewing session with one of our professional photographers. They'll help you choose your favourite image for your complimentary 5x7” print. We also have a variety of print sizes and wall hangings you can upgrade to if you have ideas for presenting your memories in your home.

We recently met a wonderful fun couple who came for their first couple shoot together since meeting online. They made a day of it, shopping for new outfits in Watford’s bustling shoping centre (just round the corner) and having some colourful photos taken on a selection of backdrops that were designed in-house by our Fresh production team.

Pay attention fellas! Now that your lady is all made-over (and she’ll probably have some heels in her bag) it would be good timing to take her out for dinner or dancing! Fresh Academy is a 5 minute drive from Watford town centre and just 20 minutes away from Central London on the train... You'd better mark this one in the diary as a second Valentine's day after all, the 14^th February shouldn’t be the only day of the year for something truly romantic!

To take advantage of our offer, call us on 01923 212 673 Option 1 and quote:
International Kissing Day Blog

Photoshoots must be booked on or before 6^th July for sessions during July & August.

Session details:

Consultation

Make-over for 1

Photo-shoot for 2

Viewing

5x7” print included

£30 refundable booking deposit required