Don't forget Father's Day

As if you needed reminding but just in case…don’t forget that Father’s day is on the 19^th June, that’s less than four weeks away!  We know how difficult it is to find the perfect gift for Dad, so we’ve put our thinking caps on and come up with an idea that is guaranteed to make Dad smile on Father’s Day and in fact every day!

We know Dad's are sometimes camera shy so we think a great way to persuade Dad into the studio would be with his family, so we're excited to offer a fantastic FREE family shoot worth £75! Your family will enjoy a terrific fun and memorable day with us at Fresh Academy www.freshacademy.com and after the photo-shoot a selection of stunning photographs will be available for you all to view and choose from.

Maybe your Dad still won’t have his picture taken, in which case, having had your amazing Fresh Academy www.freshacademy.com or Fresh Families www.freshfamilies.com experience with us, you already have a selection of stunning photographs of yourself or your children. Why not pick out your favourite and get it printed for Dad? Choose either a photographic print in various sizes ranging from 5 x 7” to 10 x 8”.  Alternatively you could really splash out and show him how much you care by buying him a stunning wall hanging so that he will always be reminded of you each time he walks into his favourite room.  We have “The Block” a stunning, modern acrylic wall hanging which comes in four sizes, 6 x 4”, 5 x 7”, 8 x 6” or 8 x 8” these add an extra stylish touch to any room and adds real drama to an image.  Each acrylic block comes gorgeously gift boxed with a ribbon.  The blocks start at £125 going up to £245 and here’s the really good part!  As a valued customer of ours, we want to give you 25% off any Father’s Day orders, so you’ll not only make Dad happy but you’ll also keep your wallet pretty pleased too!

Just give our friendly team at Fresh Academy www.freshacademy.com a call on 01923 212 673 and someone will be delighted to help you.  Quote “FreshDads” and you will be offered your 25% discount.  It’s as easy as that – you don’t even need to leave home or office, now that’s what we call a perfect gift!

Some Fresh advice from BNTM Runner Up Charlotte Holmes

Hurry up!  It’s certainly summer time outside so where’s BNTM 2011??www.bntm.tv/

We know it’s due this summer but when?  Rumour has it some time end of next month when we’ll see the line up for the 2011 series.  How many Fresh Academy models are going to be in it?  That’s what we want to know!  We definitely know how to make a success of our girls as you Fresh Academy followers know, Charlotte Holmes came fourth (yes fourth!!) last year and we are sooo proud to be associated with her.  Not only is Charlotte a total beauty she’s also the nicest girl to work with.  We love her here at Fresh Academy and we’re hoping that one of our girls will also end up on 2011 BNTM www.bntmlive.com/and following in her footsteps.  Any of you out there who want help with putting together a portfolio just come on over to Fresh Academy!  www.freshacademy.comIn fact, take a trip round our reception area and you will see Charlotte’s Fresh Academy photographs adorning our walls.

Anyway back to BNTM.  We want to see ALL the looks and ALL the hairstyles now!  As it’s our business to make gals look their best BNTM is our favourite programme ever.  Charlotte is a testament to our work.  Her natural beauty was easy to capture because she really has got what it takes.   Charlotte has had a whirlwind 9 months since leaving the 2010 Britain’s next top model, modelling, presenting and being an exciting new celebrity in her own right!  Exactly what she wanted to do and the best result for our favourite BNTM top four finalist.

Any of you budding models out there have to hear Charlotte’s advice!  After all you don’t get to being 4^th on BNTM without being clued up.  Charlotte’s best advice is to totally be yourself!  No airs and graces, no “wannabes” and no bitching required!  Charlotte laid low in the house and had fun.  Just be natural and normal – that way you don’t need to put on an act (acts are hard to keep up at the best of time, never mind in front of millions of viewers!)  Always be a good listener too, you’re making friends not “frenemies” in the model world.  Don’t worry about your weight!  Not everyone is cut out to be catwalk, not every model needs to be catwalk!  There are plenty out there looking for models for TV, magazines, advertising campaign and even plus size so if you’re not a US size 0 all is not lost.  It’s better to be a healthy size 8 than a poorly size 4.  Plus with the wake of Christine Hendrix from Mad Men and singer/songwriters like Adele, the world is changing – big can be beautiful too!  Charlotte loves her curves – and Charlotte we love them too!  Charlotte keeps fit by following a regular exercise regime and she just ran the London Marathon and raised money for the Variety Children’s charity too.  That’s another thing we all love about Charlotte, she is always thinking of others. 

Charlotte also says to work hard and you’ll get what you want, never stop believing in yourself and never doubt your abilities!  You have to be a strong person to become a model! Don’t forget your studies too, it helps to have something to fall back on and Charlotte’s a bright spark too – with 10 GCSE’s and 3 A Levels.   As well as modelling Charlotte is also an accomplished TV presenter being a natural in front of a camera ….brains and beauty (sigh) she’s got it all!

 www.freshacademy.com

Fresh News! Is this one of Britain’s next top models?

Fresh from one of our photo shoots, this lady wins our Portfolio of the Month!

We’re pleased to introduce Chloe Hawkins to all of you Fresh Academy www.freshacademy.com fans out there!  We think she’s got what it takes to go far.  Chloe came to see us back in March to put together her stunning portfolio for Miss Fresh Photographic, which is one of the photographic heats for Miss England!  As you can see, the photographs themselves are pretty impressive.

Chloe is from Bristol and is 18 years old.  She’s enjoying a great gap year experiencing as much as she can before continuing with her studies.  Chloe was a pleasure to have at the Fresh Academy and everyone here hopes to see her again soon.  Her photographs speak for themselves; she’s a natural beauty with a strong, sultry look together with sparkling green eyes and a figure to die for!  Chloe, we hope all your dreams come true be it for a modelling contract in the future or with whatever you choose to do with your studies.  Please come back and see us soon, you’re always welcome at Fresh Academy!http://www.bntm.tv/

Wondering if the Apprentices get Fresh in the boardroom?

Woohooh! The Apprentice is back for its seventh series next week starting on Tuesday night.  No night out for me then - I’m going to be glued, are you?  The advent of the new series got me thinking about the looks that some of the girls go for when going through the series.  Last year’s winner Stella seemed to go for a fairly fresh face with mascara and lipstick and a little blusher, in stark contrast series 5’s Kate managed a full face on every day!  In fact she amazed me because she always looked so perfectly turned out.  Frankly it’s a mystery to me that they get time at all to even put a lip-gloss on.   Supposedly Lord Alan gives them half an hour from getting up to getting out the door!  Works for some, definitely doesn’t work for me.

So the question is boardroom beauty?  Yes or No!  Lot’s of people think that too much make up detracts from hard graft.  I’m not convinced but that’s only my opinion.  Why shouldn’t working women want to look their best at the office?  Having your make up on gives you confidence, right?  Some women like a powerful red lipstick to show who’s boss – wonder if Sir Alan likes a nice red lipstick (not for him of course!).  Others go for a totally natural look, barely there make-up, less is more so to speak, as Stella showed us last year.  I prefer a full face on! 

Fresh Academy could certainly offer some pointers and tips on creating the perfect boardroom look in less than fifteen minutes, although when in our hands we prefer to take our time when creating our looks.  Nevertheless, we’re thinking about that uber executive women’s make up look for work.  Sometimes less is more, or is an office siren the look you want to achieve?  Interesting to see who the Series 7 ladies on the Apprentice are and what they’re going to wear this year.  I will definitely be mentioning their style in the coming weeks.  Back at Fresh, we’re  hoping that we get some boardroom beauties at the Fresh Academy, with our 15 different purpose built sets and collection of furniture, wall-coverings and backdrops we probably could furnish a boardroom look!  Perhaps The Apprentice will inspire some of you to give Boardroom Beauty a go! Who’s going to be first in then? XOXOXO

FRESH from the Royal Wedding!

Well all that I can say is WOW, didn’t Kate look unbelievably beautiful? Every detail was just perfection, hair, make-up and that DRESS!! I thought she’d have her hair up in a chic chignon rather than half up, half down but I was almost right! Nevertheless, it was the right style, although I would have loved to see more of her lace bodice across her back and shoulders. The hairstyle was truly magnificent and I think I heard through the grapevine that she had a dramatic hairpiece sewn in to keep that amazing tiara in place and really give a cascading wave down her back.

Her make up, understated but natural was as suspected, rumour has it she did it all herself – she can have a job at the Fresh Academy anytime! As if she needs it! On a serious note, it was to perfection, her creamy skin was shown off with a delicate rosy glow and natural, earthy tones on her stunning almond shaped eyes – the effect was just breathtaking.

As for the dress – any bride would have been over the moon with a creation by the head designer at Alexander McQueen – Sarah Burton did him proud and what a well kept secret! I’m sure he was smiling down today as the now Duchess of Cambridge swept down the dramatic aisle at the Abbey, looking resplendent. I wish I had been a guest! Back to the dress, a creation of sumptuous lace and duchess satin. The bodice was fitted with an overlay of the most gorgeously crafted lace – did you see the tiny covered buttons at the cuffs and down the back? The lace was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework in secret. Apparently, the flowers in the lace are all emblems of the United Kingdom, the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock, how patriotic! The train measured 2 metres and 70 centimetres. As for the veil, it was ivory silk tulle with hand embroidered flowers.

A simply awe-inspiring day and I know I spent most of the time looking at all the guests scrutinising designer outfits, hair styles and make up. The rest of the team at Fresh were also glued, we love gathering inspiration from these incredible events so we can re-create all the sensational Royal Wedding looks for all our Fresh devotees! I’m wondering how long it will be until someone asks us to re-create Kate’s look…

What did YOU think?