Wella Twitter Forum Red Carpet Beauty at the CMA's!

This year's Country Music Awards are set to air on this Wednesday, November 9th on ABC.

Be sure to tune in to see some of country music's biggest and brightest stars.  This year a couple of Wella Professional Ambassadors will be tweeting live during the event to give viewers behind the scenes information about what their favorite stars did to achieve their looks for the broadcast.

Wella Color Ambassador Aura Friedman and Celebrity Stylist Andy LeCompte will be on hand giving insider tips and tricks and to answer any questions.

Join them on Twitter by following @WellaHairUSA visit their facebook page - WellaUSA.

The hair and makeup in that image is EVERYTHING and BEYOND, is it not?  Enjoy the show!

DC Sip & Swap with Black Swan Wines

I mean the title alone should have been enough to lure you in but let me give you just a little bit more info...

DC Goodwill and Black Swan Wines are working with the Swapaholics for a fun night of summer sipping, swapping & socializing at the historic and uber chic Clarendon Ballroom.  

 

The event is Thursday, July 14th from 6PM to 10PM. All clothing items left over will be donated to Goodwill of Greater Washington.

 

If you're interested in attending, please use this coupon code GOODWILLDC to receive 25% off the cost of tickets which is $20 for General Admission and $30 for Swapping for Two.

 

Here is the link to the event http://dcsipswap.eventbrite.com/

 

Pockets a bit light and you still want to go?  Follow @dcgf on Twitter.  During the next 4 weeks there will be a contest for free tickets!

 

Hope to see you there!

Four-two-eleven

This weekend I celebrated my birthday...it was one of the most memorable birthdays for a number of reasons  - I feel a level of maturity that seems new somehow.  I cant explain it I just have been feeling different but in a good way.  I had a lengthy itinerary despite saying this year would be low key, and well, I was hit with a HUGE surprise.  If you follow me on Twitter or are a Facebook friend then you already know but for those that dont, let me share my birthday fun via pics!

 

On my actual birthday, March 31st, "the sig" and I attended opening day at Nationals Park.  This was my first time visiting the stadium and while I enjoyed myself (the park is beautiful) it was freezing that day.  I will have to visit again once the weather finally breaks for good.

On Friday, April Fools Day, I had a birthday happy hour/karaoke celebration.  Always a great time at The Meeting Place for karaoke.  Thanks to everyone there and Greg of Double G Karaoke.  Above is my friends and I performing 'Diva" by Beyonce.  I felt it only appropriate given the occassion.  :)  Peep my birthday shoe game - The 'Forwood' wedge by Aldo #FTW!  They are super comfy, I wore them all night long.  The dress come tunic due to the cold temps is from Zara.

 

I apologize for the blurry image but the car was moving.  My mom and "the sig" arranged for a car to pick us up on Saturday - 4/2/11, for the dinner "the sig" arranged for us at The Palm restaurant.

 

 

 

The car was decorated in birthday splendor.  Complete with a bottle of wine and a issue of New Beauty magazine for me to read during the ride!  LOL  I thought that was such a cute touch.  I definitely recommend that wine.  A sweet red, but not syrupy sweet.

I had the beef carpaccio (omg it is a MUST try, delicious!), the 9 oz filet, oscar style(meaning with lump crab meat and asparagus and I believe that is a hollandaise sauce...just know it was good!), and for dessert I had the key lime pie.  I ate everything!

Now during the dessert course, the waitress comes out with a candle in some whipped cream.  I say to myself oh cute, the little birthday presentation ok.  Instead of her saying we have a birthday, she yells "WE HAVE A PROPOSAL!!!!"  So I am looking around like uh who is she talking about, its my birthday, nobody proposed nothing over here.  So I am still laughing like awwww they are going to be embarassed once they realize they got it wrong.  I am looking at "the sig" cracking up like what are they doing??? 

I am still thinking he is finding this just as hilarious as I do, until he gets up from the table...pause

- while this is all unfolding the entire place is staring at us and cheering because they have started singing "Chapel of Love", I mean BELTING it out extra loud - unpause -

He gets up from the table and grabs my hand and I am like what are you DOING?!?!?!?  He has this really serious look on his face and THEN it clicks, so I start shaking my head and saying noooooooooo no no no omg no no, omg omg omg omg - literally it was just like that LOL  He pulls me up and then gets on one knee, the restaurant is super loud now and we are right by the window but at that moment I was totally oblivious because now the water works have started.  I cant even hear what he is saying because it is so loud. 

I finally get the courage to open my eyes and I finally hear him say, ok babe, are you gonna say yes, and I think our waitress said it too...then I was finally able to blurt it out all choked up "YES!" 

He gets up and hugs and kisses me and I am just still boo hooing, even now replaying it in my head as I type I am on the verge of tears.  After that my hands were shaking;  I couldnt breathe, my body was betraying me! 

People are saying congrats, women at the other tables are crying along with me.  LOL  It was just CRAZY and AMAZING and just everything all at once.  He got me really good.

I have no idea why this image is coming out so tiny but this was right after the proposal.  Both of us have the teary eye face!

This ring is a family heirloom, it used to belong to my great aunt.  My mother gave it to "the sig" to give to me and I hope one day to be able to pass it on to one of my kids.  :)  And so that was my birthday 2011 style. 

Now I have a wedding to plan!  YAY!!!!

Fluttery Fall Foliage - Lash GWP

What a corny title!  Sorry, I took a break from blogging and I guess my cleverness is still on break.  In any event I just wanted to alert you all to a promotion that is currently going on at Madame Madeline - one of the go to online retailers for lashes-where you only have to spend $5 and you can get a pair of Japonesque color lashes (3 colors to choose from) for FREE!!!  There is a catch to it though...You MUST be a subscriber.  You can also follow them on Twitter for more sales and promos.  Check the info for yourself below and happy lashing!

I Wanna Be an MUA - my 1st editorial style shoot - and becoming 1 with nature...

I did a shoot that I feel really gave me a glimpse into the editorial side of this business. When talking with the model beforehand and she gave me the location she mentioned a mall so Im thinking we would be near civilization...we were NEAR it but thats not where we shot. LOL There was a little clearing across from the mall with a bike trail, bridge and a wall with heavy grafitti (which is the main reason why we were shooting there) . The photographer has shot there before but it was in the winter so minus the extra foliage. Well unfortunately because of the added leaves that this time of year brings we couldnt make it down the embankment to the wall safely, with equipment, extra clothes, etc. so we had to improvise. FINALLY some behind the scenes footage courtesy of my BB! Those of you who follow me on Twitter were able to catch a sneak peek already. The pic above was the location we ended up with...

Here is the model & photographer before we put on our hiking shoes (not really, I had on FLIP FLOPS!!!)

In order for us to get here we had to climb under a wooden fence and then under a wire fence, climb down some rocks, hold on to some branches, dodge snake skins...again I was wearing flip flops people! LOL But hey we found some grafitti afterall!

Model & photog in action after a quick wardrobe change and makeup touch-up

The model was a real trooper, not one complaint was uttered from her! There were bugs galore down there (flies, mosquitos, spiders the size of our hands, etc.), she caught a dragonfly and perched it on her shoulder for one of the shots, just on a whim. It was great!

I was sooooooooooo tired afterwards but it was sooo worth it for me. I am really enjoying getting a chance to experience all of the different shoots. I think this is by far one of my favs despite having to brave the elements. Here is one of the final shots:

I adore it! Thanks for stopping by!

The Academy Awards: a makeup timeline

The highlight of the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars, for me is watching the coverage of the red carpet. I love to see what the stars are wearing and see them engage in a little "girl talk"; you know, makeup, fashion, accessories, etc. Well, since this is the year of makeup for me I decided to give myself, as well as you the reader, a little history lesson on how the Academy awards achievements in makeup.

Each year three films are nominated for the category of Best Makeup. William Tuttle received the first award for his achievements for the movie The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao in 1964 at the 37th Oscars, however the Makeup Award didn't become annual itself until 1981 with the 54th awards. An American Werewolf in London took the honors that year.

Below is a list of all artists who have been awarded this honor since its inception:

1964 (37th)
HONORARY AWARD
To William Tuttle for his outstanding make-up achievement for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.

1968 (41st)
HONORARY AWARD
To John Chambers for his outstanding makeup achievement for Planet of the Apes.

1981 (54th)
MAKEUP
An American Werewolf in London -- Rick Baker

1982 (55th)
MAKEUP
Quest for Fire -- Sarah Monzani, Michèle Burke

1984 (57th)
MAKEUP
Amadeus -- Paul LeBlanc, Dick Smith

1985 (58th)
MAKEUP
Mask -- Michael Westmore, Zoltan Elek

1986 (59th)
MAKEUP
The Fly -- Chris Walas, Stephan Dupuis

1987 (60th)
MAKEUP
Harry and the Hendersons -- Rick Baker

1988 (61st)
MAKEUP
Beetlejuice -- Ve Neill, Steve La Porte, Robert Short

1989 (62nd)
MAKEUP
Driving Miss Daisy -- Manlio Rocchetti, Lynn Barber, Kevin Haney

1990 (63rd)
MAKEUP
Dick Tracy -- John Caglione, Jr., Doug Drexler

1991 (64th)
MAKEUP
Terminator 2: Judgment Day -- Stan Winston, Jeff Dawn

1992 (65th)
MAKEUP
Bram Stoker's Dracula -- Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, Matthew W. Mungle

1993 (66th)
MAKEUP
Mrs. Doubtfire -- Greg Cannom, Ve Neill, Yolanda Toussieng

1994 (67th)
MAKEUP
Ed Wood -- Rick Baker, Ve Neill, Yolanda Toussieng

1995 (68th)
MAKEUP
Braveheart -- Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, Lois Burwell

1996 (69th)
MAKEUP
The Nutty Professor -- Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson

1997 (70th)
MAKEUP
Men in Black -- Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson

1998 (71st)
MAKEUP
Elizabeth -- Jenny Shircore

1999 (72nd)
MAKEUP
Topsy-Turvy -- Christine Blundell, Trefor Proud

2000 (73rd)
MAKEUP
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas -- Rick Baker, Gail Ryan

2001 (74th)
MAKEUP
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -- Peter Owen, Richard Taylor

2002 (75th)
MAKEUP
Frida -- John Jackson, Beatrice De Alba

2003 (76th)
MAKEUP
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- Richard Taylor and Peter King

2004 (77th)
MAKEUP
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events -- Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso

2005 (78th)
MAKEUP
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- Howard Berger and Tami Lane

2006 (79th)
MAKEUP
Pan's Labyrinth -- David Martí and Montse Ribé

2007 (80th)
MAKEUP
La Vie en Rose -- Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald

*2008 (81st)*

MAKEUP

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button --Greg Cannom

In perusing this list, one would notice that the winners are being honored for thier expertise in the art of transformation on the most extreme level. A lot of hours, study and manpower goes into creating these looks. This article on Variety.com gives you a glimpse into just how much work it took for this years winner, Greg Cannom, to get it just right. He mentions VFX as being a part of the process to bring his vision to light.

VFX, or visual effects, is described by Wikipedia as "the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects often involve the integration of live-action footage and computer generated imagery (CGI) in order to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or simply impossible to capture on film."

While on Twitter last night Elke Von Freudenberg, also a very talented artist, mentioned that CGI was used and asked if Cannom's win was fair. A very valid question indeed...should all makeup artists now include CGI in their studies or should those that utilize it not be considered for one of the highest honors available in their line of work?

What do you think?