Nepal Film Festival News Featuring Allied FX

With the 2nd Annual Nepal Cultural International Film Festival streaming from December 1st to the 29th, it is really gratifying to know that the work is paying off and that the Allied FX team is on board to support this: Allied FX are amongst the most respected brands in the FX market and understand the difference that makeup can be in a film, especially for character work and stand tall with their portfolio of clients and body of work hitting the highest marks in International cinema and TV.

Combining these two elements of the Nepal film festival showcasing international talent in cinema with Allied FX is a huge coup and shows the creatives that are behind the films are respected, redefining boundaries and bringing a whole new level of artistry to Nepal is something that the festival organizers are passionate about with their training and Q and A Sessions designed to bring about a creative dialogue.

Taking a commercial and intellectual stance on the film sector this media partnership is going to change the game of many artists in the FX realm both pros and trainees allowing a greater dynamic of creativity.

To learn more about the Festival click here. For more information and details on the Allied FX range see the Allied FX Facebook page.

Rethinking Your Kit Featuring Mykitco

Now that we are seeing more productions opening up and shoots starting to push forward people are having to rethink and replan how they will work (including our own creative director JamesC). Packing for a shoot is becoming a more carefully structured process with a lot it requiring you think in terms of what to bring and if you are working on the fly doing shoots on location, minimizing as much as possible for speed and efficiency.

Mykitco has always been ahead of the curve in that respect and has set the benchmark for practicality (with a touch of artistic quirkiness) that allows artists from across the spectrum to work. The latest additions to the Mykitco bag range are a prime example of this and soon to be added to our own working kit in particular the My Mini PVC Pod which for us means we can carry separate kits of brushes built to suit rather than mixed into a general set up it is possible to pack around your needs, (Yes the “spread” looks good but in current working environments it’s not practical).

Putting practicality in motion and packing smart is something that co-founder of Mykitco: James Molloy is really keen and it shows, combined with the business and event savvy of Alex Thompson, you can see the logical process behind the brand as they both understand (from different angles) the need for efficient working kits.

The new bags which consist of My PVC Cube (perfect for skincare and larger items), My PVC Slim (for those miscellaneous items we all have in our working kit), My Mini PVC Pod (a perfect add-on to store brushes for individual talent or those in need of cleaning separately from the rest).

*Special credit should go to the My Body Buddy designed to work in a similar and more practical fashion to the classic set bag or an apron.

More than ever we need to be cognizant of how we work and the practical aspects of the craft.

To learn more about Mykitco or to purchase see (including information on the pro program) see:

*Mykitco Pro details can be found by clicking here.

Mykitco website.

Mykitco Instagram.

Mykitco Facebook.

Mykitco Twitter.

Mykitco Pinterest.

Location Scouting a Lost Boy Shoot Part 1

Finding a little free time our creative director (JamesC) decided to break away from his usual duties of admin and management to do some location scouting for a 3 part story built around The Lost Boys concept, with his trusted point and shoot camera he walked along the promenade and into town to find some specific locations that would fit the brief and in doing so has settled on 3 distinct locations that will add a touch of drama to the shots (with a video being planned to add to the drama of the scene).

“The images themselves will be built around derelict buildings, waste ground, and a fractured symbolism of nature. Each model will have his own story that will hint at both the inspiration of Pans Lost Boys to the more dystopic visuals of the backdrop to fit with the ‘council estate boys’ look of the models.”

A full and detailed explanation of The Lost Boys shoots can be found by clicking here. We are really excited by the concept and the fact we have the support of fellow Creative Director Shakti Sood founder and brand manager of The Sons of Adonis and the amazing Lord and Berry makeup line, both seeing the potential of what we are working on.

The Full Depixym Kit

The team behind Depixym paints have been building the brand and it is now seen as a staple for many in the realms of fashion and print with film and TV artists also reaping the benefits of what is a multipurpose cosmetic grade emulsion that can be used to create a wide array of looks and fits neatly into a working kit. Taking the step to create what can only be described as a covetable working case housing the full collection of the Depixym paints, they have given the artistic a professional case, a full collection in one place of colors that can be blended to make anything that you may require as a makeup artist.

Depixym is a brand that looks at the artist and sees what they need, the tubes are styled to look like traditional art materials and work in any given situation, editorial and creative artists have taken the brand to heart and are creating a storm on social media while others are integrating the range into the more day to day elements of their business, a truly must-have range that needs to be seen.

The newly launched Pro Program (we have joined) offers an even wider incentive to the professionals and has opened the door to new and exciting possibilities, which for us is perfectly in line with the editorial goals we have in motion.

To learn more about the company or to purchase see:

Depixym Website.

Depixym Facebook.

Depixym Instagram.

Sideshow IPA Palettes by The AFX Company

The Allied FX company is widely known for their professional-grade IPA (Isopropyl alcohol activated) palettes under the name Bluebird FX and their latest addition to the family: Sideshow, an affordable, quirky, high-grade palette that since its launch in February has in short order become a go-to for makeup artists across the spectrum of the creative fields.

“With a clever mix of old favorites and brand new colors, the sideshow palettes are stealing the show for their cost-effective quirkiness. “

Currently, a range consisting of 7 palettes (with other elements being added soon) each with its own unique color set and vintage style cover image, the palettes are designed carefully to suit a particular requirement and has the savvy of a team who are working artists themselves looking to make not just their jobs a little simpler but also a little more fun, beyond the quirks you can see what is a genius move for the Allied FX Company, opening the door to a whole host of new clients from students to professionals the Festival range is perfect for those working in the low to mid-range budgets of film and TV (with the increasing use of internet services such as HOD TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Streamlette, this will be a welcome addition to a makeup kit) and carries over the larger, high scale budget productions, a professional palette that transcends its price range of $59.10 in Australia (in the UK £36) and puts a whole new slant on character work and development.

• Body art: designed for body art and tattoo creation.

• Bruiser: a unique and carefully structured palette suited to its name, bruising.

• Dark Ride: a series of day glow shades that come to life under blue light.

• Dead-Alive: Perfect for zombies and illness, the death pallor look of haunted houses and Halloween.

• Gore: for the creation of scratches, cuts, and wound filling a box of tricks that is worthy of note.

• Gothic: aethereal and suited to those deeper, more cool tones looks (think vampire).

• Rouge: designed for breaking down and creating crusty characters and drunks.

For us at the lost creatives, yes we can see a use for the whole set but standing tall in this are 2 in particular that we are adding to our working kit via creative director and head of makeup JamesC, to match the work and styles of shoots we have planned for TV and print: Bruiser and Gore, which will be perfect additions to our work and will see multiple uses with the possibilities of this range being endless and others coming into play with projects in development (early stages of scripting).

In what is a market-led move, the Allied FX Lab are tackling and offering up quality products at a lower price point without compromise, the AFX company are amongst an elite of the profession and are pushing the boundaries of the makeup world giving us what we need to create the most realistic (and surreal when required) and putting the prosumer at the heart of their thinking.

The Festival range fits perfectly with a wide array of requirements and situations including:

• Students.

• Film and TV production professionals.

• Haunted House.

• Halloween artists.

• Cosplay.

To learn more about the range or to purchase see:

The Allied FX company website.

The Allied FX company Instagram.

The Allied FX company Facebook.

Wolfskin London Mens Grooming Kit for Makeup Artists

As the makeup industry landscape changes to meet new standards and we see the need for new techniques and methods, especially for TV presenters, Wolfskin London offers a simple solution that allows men to look smart, well-groomed, and professional in any setting.

Increasingly people are required to work from home using software setups for digital meetings and the full HD screens are opening up our faces to closer scrutiny and the need for a clean, fresh, groomed look as we work from home is becoming a must and in a media format, this can also mean that for male presenters who are often used to having a makeup artist on set, they will now need to do their own makeup which is where Wolfskin London becomes integral to the media business.

For the Lost team, the reason we are looking to Wolfskin London is fairly straight forward, it is designed to suit men and is simple enough that it is suitable for most situations and we can (if required) teach our male talent to do their own makeup with minimal fuss and will be something we reach for when we cover events such as fashion shows.

Pushing forward in the make-up realm having a range that is designed for men both professionally and personally will be something we work with more in line with not only the projects we have in development but for the future of the company overall.

To learn more about the Wolfskin London range or to purchase see:

Wolfskin London Shop.

Wolfskin London Instagram.

Wolfskin London Facebook.

Wolfskin London Twitter.

Depixym paints in the new media sphere

As we move into a whole new world for makeup artists, influencers, and creatives in general, many people are having to rethink how they work within the beauty industry.  Starting out of the blocks and ahead of the game in terms of packaging and are starting to think long term with their clients to ensure that they are working safely.  Developed as a brand for experimentation and fun that translated across genres from theatrical makeup to film and television. 

Depixym is going to be a game-changer as the rules and potential guidance long term for how makeup staff can work on set, the products we use creatively will need to change to meet a whole host of new needs and dynamics.  The advantages of having a product that is: 

• Longwear 

• Non-transfer 

• Vegan

• Cruelty-free

• Matte, 

• Blendable

• Mixable 

• Waterproof

Those working in fashion and editorial or even the film/TV industry will be able to minimize their kit and get creative without losing the edgy, beauty styles that are often needed or even put together a simple clean makeup look for a more commercial shoot, and with the Depixym emulsions being long wear, it is possible to minimize touch-ups on set as the product itself is designed to be long wear which in the future will be a major consideration when choosing products.  *0194 black emulsion is a multi-tasker (like all the colors) which for liner and mascara should be seen as a potential staple for all artists who need to be able to maximize their output with minimal items for speed.  

Creativity is at the heart of the brand and it is easy to see that but from a pro stance, Depixym has the hallmarks of a kit staple that in the coming months is going to be a game-changer and powerhouse in the cosmetics field as we have to work smarter.   *They also stock brush and sponge soap to ensure you can keep your kit clean which is an important aspect of working today.

To learn more about the brand or to purchase see:

Depixym Emulsions Website.

Depixym Emusions Instagram.

Depixym Emulsions Facebook.

Editorial Makeup Submission Featuring World Fashion Media News

Frustration is really kicking in for a lot of the creative talent out there (understandably) and it is gratifying to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who are returning to salons and for the photographic community this also means we can push forward with plans and marketing strategies with fresh, exclusive content for the digital market. The online magazine and long-standing supporter of the Lost Concept, World Fashion Media News has been hard at work creating new avenues for creative talents and revamping the website to better showcase artistic work from catwalks to individuals. Submitting your work has become a much easier prospect in the last few years and we (like many others) are getting our work collated ready to submit, promote and showcase our inhouse creative talents such as creative director JamesC.

While we are going down the exclusive route there are options to have editorials, covers, and tears with magazine logos that can be used to create not only a stellar portfolio of work at a low cost but a chance to experiment with new ideas and stretch your artistic muscles.

Our primary focus is going to be about exclusive content and will be shown across websites and as you can imagine with our ties to the HOD TV team, Horror concepts will be played alongside some other fashion portraits and of course we will be doing a full series of images and conceptual work with exclusive to our websites in amongst this.

In our capacity as a creative team and with the support of our partners in Nepal Film Production, we are structuring this to be a wider campaign based concept with a series of long and short term goals to be met over the next 12 months.

*To learn more about submitting to World Fashion Media News Click here.

Project Planning With Nepal Productions

We really do owe a debt of gratitude to our team in Nepal especially Digbijaya Bharati from the Nepal Film Production team, who has been patient during the lockdown and happy to continue working via Whatsapp so we can as a team which gets our work moving forward, not just with media but other elements and promotional avenues we are exploring. As our regular readers will be aware our plans are geared toward Intenet TV, in particular, the horror and Thriller genres with a sideline in the editorial market to boost marketing via social accounts and strategic placement of ads.

For us, it has become planning and strategy that allows us to focus our energies in new areas of business and develop further as a business although at heart we still love makeup work and our creative director JamesC is part and parcel of the ongoing plans, we are all on board with changes being made to the business and have some smaller elements such as the facecharts being brought back in (the JamesC facechart will be available again via his site soon).

We already have several scripts in play for development in the realm of TV and will be working on a range of new images and behind the scenes work while the weather is good and allows us flexibility, the new guidelines for production work will be a big part of how we move forward ensuring everyone involved is safe and the work is handled carefully.

As our previous blog has stated we are going to also look at skills development for our in-house team to allow us to multitask and keep the crew requirements to a minimum and safe.

*Change in how the media and fashion industry will be massive and we are doing all we can to ensure that our staff is safe, the team (both the UK and South Asian) are up to date on the latest changes.

Taking Online Courses

Continuing education has become a much easier prospect in the last few months with courses available in a wide array of subjects including suitable training for those in the media industry that professionally add dimension to your work and are well worth taking the time to do (roughly one hour for health and safety training). We are really pleased to say that our creative director and head of makeup JamesC, has completed and passed the Safe Sets COVID 19 Level A certification on behalf of The Lost Agency to ensure that our team is leading the way forward and ensuring that all of our staff are safe at work.

We would really like to thank the team at The Makeup Armoury whose blog details options of different training including Barbacide certificates for salon and freelance workers.

At this time we are advising our partners to share and take the course themselves for future work and we will be taking additional online training in other areas of both the fashion and media business to expand on our creative work and give our team an extra edge as we move forward in 2020 into 2021 allowing us to be more cohesive and offer a better service to our clients.

Our plan is to take on photography and creative direction courses to augment our work in editorial and later add to this with courses in direction for film and TV.

Pushing forward we do recommend and will be asking for the Safe Sets COVID 19 Level A certificate as part of working with our team *as will many companies so it is worth doing to ensure that you are up to date with your health and safety training.