Kristelle O' Chocolat

Pin Up Model who is sweeter than Chocolate!

Are you looking for one of the cutest and sweetest pin up girl today? Well, Kristelle O' Chocolat will satisfy that sweet tooth of yours!

A self-confessed 'retroholic' and a huge fan of anything that has to do with the 50s, she is truly your modern day pin up gal. She is a Bettie Page fan and a should we say reaaallllllly BIG fan?

Kristelle O' Chocolat has dedicated a lot of her time to hunt down rare, vintage photographs and memorabilia of Bettie Page herself.

What she loves about the art of pin up is that for her, it is an “ultimate celebration of fun, fearless and free feminity and a demasking of the notion that women have to look a certain way or be a certain shape, size or age to be truly beautiful”.

Oh, and there's more!

For her, pin up “amalgamates the rawest form of sexiness with the highest form of class and, when well executed, is just an explosion of all that is fun and exquisite about being a girl!”

Kristelle O' Chocolat is very promising and it looks like she's going to take the pin up scene in a her own sweet way. Surely, you just can't wait to see more of her!

Looks like our pin up beauty right here is not all about beauty but she's got the brains as well!

Get to know Kristelle more...

Hi! My name is Kristelle O' Chocolat and I am a retroholic!

I have a longstanding passion for all things retro and am a great lover of the kitsch arts. My houses are known for their gorgeous retro decor.

As a collector of rare, vintage Bettie Page photographs, I have always been utterly romanced by the phenomenal levels of fun involved in pin up.

It's hard to look at a good pin up photograph and not be made to smile and feel happy! Pin up is not just about beautiful women looking hot but beautiful women having fun, enjoying themselves and their surroundings and, of course, laughing, smiling and sometimes being goofy, which is the best soul medicine of all.

After dabbling with various types of modelling over the years, I began pin up modelling faithfully in 2011 and was lucky to start off with Nicole Klein of The Hourglass, who has become a very dear friend and mentor, and to whom I am eternally grateful to for all her endless help and encouragement.

Nicole is a truly fabulous pin up photographer who is not only superb to work with, but has her head wrapped firmly round her genre and is a powerhouse of fantastic, classic and innovative ideas.

Which pin up do you look up to and why?

I look up to each and every woman who has the confidence to be a pin up! Every day I come across photos of pin ups I have not previously encountered and these magnificent women simply thrill me!

I love to reach out to them and applaud them for the brilliant work they do and have made some fabulous friends in the process. If I were to list all the girls who impress me for their pin up work we'd need a lot more bandwidth!

Of course, every pin up fan near and far is going to have to cite the queen herself as an ultimate influence: Bettie Page.

Who hasn't Bettie inspired both in the pin up scene and other multi faceted areas of the arts and fashion world? Bettie was so ahead of her time, she seized the day and seized the world while she was at it!

She had an incredible, almost comicbook-esq bone structure that is so rarely seen it just has to be remarked upon again and again! Bernie Dexter is another lady who I just have to take my fascinator off to!

She embodies pure class and grace and emulates beauty both externally and from within.

Bernie knows how to work her face and body and has some of the best expressions and one of the most captivating, convincing smiles I have seen in the pin up world. Bernie, like Bettie, genuinely looks like she is having a whale of a time doing what she does. Mosh is another model I have great admiration for.

Though her work often ventures outside the realms of traditional pin up, I just have to mention her for her fantastic physique and the ability to contort her beautiful body into spectacular shapes.

Like Bettie, Mosh has the ability to pose nude whilst retaining every last slither of her class and being able to present her nudity in an highly artistic manner. It is clear that Mosh pays close attention to her physical condition and must have one hell of a yoga routine!

I recently saw some Elvgren inspired shots by a spectacular model called Emily Piper which blew me away, I am looking forward to seeing more from her!

There are so many other ladies I think are just fantastic and who really know how to captivate their audience.

Doris MayDay, Frankii Wilde, Angelique Noire, Sally Sparrow, Katja Cintja, Morgana, Fleur De Guerre and Bianca Bombshell amongst many, many others have style which always impresses and inspires me!

What makes you so unique?

Each and every pin up model is unique as there can be no two alike!

Every girl brings a world of idiosyncratic passion to the work they do and that is always a pleasure to see, as well as all the different body types which are so much more diverse than what one sees in traditional fashion modelling.

I love to think outside the box when it comes to shoots and am always on the look out for fun outfits, props and locations to keep things fun, exciting and innovative.

I have lots of interesting ideas up my sleeve for when the weather improves in the UK so watch this space!

What is your favourite thing about yourself?

I am lucky to have my lovely Mommy's very big, brown doe eyes! Thank you Mommy! :)

If I think an emotion my face tends to speak it quite well!

For every bunch of pin up faces I practice, I just love to throw in a truly silly clownish face to keep things fresh and hilarious and keep that all-important fun element in mind!

What is confidence to you and how have you become so confident in yourself?

Confidence to me is being comfortable and at ease with yourself. Accept yourself and be yourself and everything else will follow suit.

I stand up for my beliefs but I respect the right that other people have to theirs.

I believe in the power of attraction and that a positive attitude can turn the world into your oyster. I like to always present myself in a clean and tidy fashion but don't fuss or worry should people see me without my make up on.

I do prefer to be au naturalle most of the time as its healthier for the skin and always a fun surprise for me and others when I put my full pin up get-up on and turn, fully, into Ms. O'Chocolat!

I love to laugh at myself and, at times, make an absolute buffoon of myself to give my friends a good laugh when they need picking up and just not worry about what the Joneses will think!

Your ultimate beauty tip?

Skincare and health are two of my great interests in life.

It is my ethos that beauty starts from the inside with a super exercise regime and a good, wholesome diet high in lean proteins and plenty of fresh vegetables from the entire colour spectrum, but especially the green ones!

I try and eat the best diet I can loaded full of antioxidants and drink fresh green juices whenever possible. I take it easy on sugary fruits but eat lots of red/black berries.

I have learnt to make lots of healthy "raw food" treats so I never feel deprived of the good stuff but every now and again I DO eat a cupcake of the super naughty variety to treat myself for being a good girl!

I have a mini trampoline (rebounder) which I just love and have a good 20 minute bounce on every day to keep fit, ponder life and get the endorphins flowing.

I also do Pilates 3x weekly for relaxation and fitness, it helps with those 'leg up' poses!

The two single most damaging things to the skin (if you don't smoke) are UV rays and sugars, with the the former causing the formation of wrinkles and sun spots due to free radicals and the latter glycation, in other words ageing!

Ick!

I wear an SPF 30 zinc oxide sunscreen every day of the year as those rays are doing a number on your skin even on an overcast winter's day believe it or not! I never, ever, ever tan and always cover up and wear huge hats, shades and even gloves when I'm out in the sun.

I love the fact that I am pale and embrace it, it works perfectly for pin up!

I use organic skin care products including natural cold pressed oils and antioxidants and never use products containing unnecessary fillers, perfumes or preservatives which can cause irritation and even disrupt the endocrine system! Scary! I recommend a good creme cleanser if your skin is sensitive like mine.

I use super gentle non-sudsing ones or else they tend to strip the skin and disrupt the acid mantle causing irritation. I wash my face every night with my organic creme cleanser and a Clarisonic face brush.

Then I use antioxidant serums containing vitamin C, A, and green tea and always moisturise generously before bed! I exfoliate my face gently twice weekly with a willowbark wash and toner or my micro-fibre cloth.

I just splash my face with luke warm water in the morning and then moisturise and apply sunscreen and am good to go. I do cheat slightly on the no-makeup front though, my cat-eye eyeliner is tattooed on! Facial massage, especially types like Tanaka, are also fantastic for bone and muscle stimulation and lymphatic drainage so I perform them on myself 5x weekly.

I like to sit cross-legged in front of my little mirror in the evening and give myself a lovely facial massage before bed, its very relaxing!

I use a natural bristle brush to dry brush my whole body before I shower to exfoliate my skin and stimulate my lymphatic system and then, in lieu of shower gel which again can strip sensitive skin like mine, I use natural hair conditioners to wash my body, its super moisturising and kind on my skin!

Every so often I love to pretend to be Cleopatra and have a good soak in our lovely vintage clawfoot tub. I add goat's milk powder, dried flowers and virgin cold-pressed coconut oil to the water, turn on my star machine which projects the cosmos onto the ceiling and just drift away!

Mmmmmm…. :)

Why do you love the pin up look so much?

Pin up style and photography is crisp, joyful, the embodiment of class, eternally classic and dripping with potential for models who love to influx their own eclectic style, pizazz and emotion into their work.

Retro pin up style is the ultimate manner in which to accentuate and compliment the female body and its finest features.

The relative simplicity of the make up, combined with its feature popping capabilities, makes it an absolute winner for making the female facial features look their absolute best. From huge doe eyes to gorgeously sculpted brows and flawless skin, it is undeniable that pin up make up emulates irresistible feminine allure and looks good on everyone.

To me, pin up is the ultimate celebration of fun, fearless and free femininity and a de-masking of the notion that women have to look a certain way or be a certain shape, size or age to be truly beautiful.

I feel that Pin Up amalgamates the rawest form of sensuality and sexuality with the highest echelons of class and, when well executed, is just an explosion of all that is fun and exquisite about being a gal!

I must add, I LOVE the fact that the retro look is gaining quite a following in the mainstream too with stars such as Dita, amongst many others, perpetuating the notion that naturally pale, milky, flawless skin is truly beautiful and classy in contrast to the belief that, to appear attractive and healthy, you need to roast yourself under the sun and use products to achieve a state of biohazardous orange!

Yikes!

Knowing how dangerous and ageing tanning can be I am most relieved that our look is growing in popularity and enabling women to feel comfortable and even proud of their pallor.

Embrace the pale I always say!

Just to clarify I, of course, adore naturally dark skinned pin ups! Most of all I love the fact that pin up can present sexiness in an absolutely hilarious and light hearted manner!

Pin up is raunchy at times, yes, but the comedy element keeps it cute and classy all day long.

I love seeing pin up photos that tell a little story or show a girl getting herself into an amusing pickle.

Your favourite quote?

If you don't laugh, you cry!

Who is the inspiration behind your look?

I am pretty faithful to following a vintage look wherever possible with my hair, make up and clothing and tend to look at many pin up girls of era bygone for inspiration.

I love the fashion, textiles, colours and shapes of the 1940s and 50s.

Pin up hair absolutely fascinates me. To turn one's head into an ornate nest of glorious, perfect curls, rolls and flowers without a hair out of place is an artistic statement in itself and I never tire of looking at the hair ideas other girls come up with and just wish I was as competent and skilled at doing my own!

Practice makes perfect right?

Ultimate dream for your pin up modeling?

By just being a pin up model and having fun in front of (and occasionally behind) the camera I am living my ultimate dream!

The best thing of all has been the friends that I have made and the fantastic fun and entertainment this wonderful world brings me! I would love more than anything to feature on the covers of some of my favourite pin up magazines, that would be beyond thrilling and I would feel truly humbled to have that pleasure.

I would also absolutely love to work with some of my favourite fellow pin up models!

Now, if Olivia were to immortalise me in one of her beautiful pieces, that would be a real honour and I think I'd need some smelling salts waved under my nostrils as I'd surely faint if that opportunity were to arise!

Cheers my lovelies and thank you so much for being wonderful enough to take the time to read about me! I love to make new friends so do feel free to pay me a visit on my Facebook page and say hi!

I also have a Facebook Fan page and would be ever so grateful if you showed me a little love by pressing the "like" button!

Pip pip! :) xxxxx