Black Women Rock in St.Louis...

Beverly Bond's, Black Girls Rock, has gained much attention in the urban communities. It is a movement that brings recognition to black women doing what they do, and being amazing at it. From business owners to entertainers to phenomenal mothers...there is much respect for those women who make it happen daily! I was very excited to be back in St. Louis. I was born there, but moved to Houston when I was 5, so I still have family there that came out to support the event as well. I've actually done Beverly Bond's makeup before, and it's amazing to see how her movement is growing!

Young girls rock too!

Vivica Fox was asked to present a few awards at an event built around the black women who rock in St. Louis. This event was held at Lights On Broadway, and it wouldn't have been an STL party if Chingy didn't perform! We had such a good time, and there was so much love in the place. It's nice to see women put an event on, come together, dress nice, compliment each other, and work hard to keep that momentum going. A tornado hit this same night, but that didn't stop anyone from coming out. Chingy did his thing, new songs and old songs...we had a blast to say the least. Check out Vivica with Chingy and some of the young women from the event. Black "Women" certainly Rocked....STL style:)

It's not cool to be a BULLY!

PSA's are a great way to get an important message out to the world, and an even better way is to have celebrities help with that message. Vivica Fox was asked to do an Anti-Bullying campaign with Erik Estrada for the Cool Cat series. Cool Cat's character comes from an interactive family series created by Derek Savage to teach important lessons to children. The lesson for this video was that it's not cool to be a bully. It was super cute, and the video got right to the point. I can't wait to see the finished product! Vivica is pictured here with the cast.

Blac Chyna.....up close:)

I haven't worked with SMOOTH Magazine in ages, so I was definitely hype when they reached out to me to do makeup for one of their summer issues. The last issue I did was with The Game, and it was a cover shoot....so I was curious to see who we were shooting this go round:) Well, well, well.......to my surprise one of the models was Miami dancer/Nicki Minaj stunt double/Tyga's boo with the killer body, Ms. Blac Chyna. You've seen her in the Rack City video, and all over the Internet, but I had no idea who she was until that day. She was an absolute doll to work with, she was super sweet and actually pretty shy??..I know, right! Lol!

YSL Golden Gloss 20

Stila Kajal Eyeliner

GET THE LOOK: She said she was trying to get away from the pink lips, so we went with a nude mouth for the entire shoot. I smoked out her eyes with MAC Artjam paint on the lids, using Stila's Kajal eyeliner pencil in the water line and smudged across the top. To make her brown eyes pop, I used NARS Duo Eye Shadow in Cordura on her lids and under the bottom lashes. Her lip color was Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Volupte 4, with YSL Golden Gloss 20 on top . Her lashes were her very own, and they had to be big so they could be seen through the bangs. She told me that if she doesn't like the makeup on a shoot, she will wipe it off and do it herself, so I was glad she approved:)

I've had my share of oiling up scantily clad ladies early in my career, but it's always a pleasure to work with Sandy (owner of Smooth). Shooting with her is always a good time. Wardrobe styled by Brea Star, hair by Anthony Cherry, assisted by Aden Marq....this shoot was FIRE! Needless to say, I look forward to seeing how this issue sells out in stores. Thanks again SMOOTH!! xo

See Blac Chyna's own behind the scenes post at www.blacchyna.com

Memphis Film Festival

Vivica Fox and I headed to Memphis one more time this year to introduce her new movie "In The Hive" directed by Robert Townsend at their Film Festival. I saw the movie before in DC at the Black Caucus, but this time it's effect on me was different. It was apparent that Mr. Townsend had made a few more edits to the film, as some of the scenes were cut which made the story's impact stronger. Vivica and I watched the movie in the theater with film students, media, and some of the Memphis elite.

Also joining us was a group of young boys aged 8-17, who were there with a non-profit organization called Stain Your Brain. This is a prison deterrent program, giving youth the opportunity to do more with themselves than turn to street life. I felt it was wise to have this group there, since the film's content was something I felt they needed to see.

After the film, there was a Q&A session with the audience which led to the main question of why the film has not been released yet. Unfortunately, there is not always the proper funding to get the content that should be seen, out there. Either way, I stand behind this film and support it's message. Please keep an eye out for "In The Hive" in the near future!

Here is Vivica with the founder of Stain Your Brain, Andrew, and a few of the young men in the program.

Healthy Hair Care Event.....LA

I was invited to be a guest speaker at my friend Vanessa Beard's, "Healthy Haircare Kick Back Event". There were vendors there with hand made jewelry, custom clothing, and all natural skin and hair products made right in the kitchen. I was excited to be there because with everything that I am working on, it's good to share techniques with regular everyday women who want to look fabulous as well! My main concern with ANY woman is her brows, so I spent this day giving mini brow lessons and makeovers. The ladies were so eager to get the lesson that they formed a line. Eyebrows is serious business folks.....you better ask somebody! Lol!

There are three basic steps to the perfect brow....These three C's will guide you to the brow look you desire.

CLEAN: First you groom your brows to the desired shape. If you've never had your eyebrows done, please seek professional assistance in either tweezing, waxing, or threading them to remove the unwanted hair. If you do get your brows done, clean up the random hairs you see growing out. If you're in between appointments, the next step will be a way to make them appear clean.

CONCEAL: Brush your brows up with a mascara wand or eyebrow brush. Take an angle brush, and a concealer that's a tad lighter than your actual complexion and outline the area immediately under the brow. Blend that out to nothing, and this becomes your brow highlight. Now you can just apply shadow.

COLOR: Once you've outlined the area and highlighted under your brow, use a pencil or eye shadow the same color as your brows (or lighter) to color in your brows. Use the color to fill in brow to your desired shape, thickness, and style.

That's pretty much the basics of getting that perfect brow to frame your face. This  technique has always worked for me, and on my clients. I hope the ladies at this event took notes:)

Tools needed: Concealer, Angle Brush (MAC #266), Eyebrow brush, Tweezers, and an eyeshadow color the same color as your brows or a pencil.

The ladies who attended the event put their names in a raffle to win a free makeover from yours truly! Here I am pictured below with the winner, the lovely Ms. Brittney Page. Stay tuned to see her transformation!! Thanks Vanessa for the opportunity to be apart of your fabulous event! xoxo

*All photography from this event for me was done by Jasmine Mercedes of The Beaux Art Collective. http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosbyjmm

Blessed Beauty...

This past weekend I attended Gospelfest 2012 with Vivica Fox, who was hosting the event in Memphis, TN. When doing make up for an event that will be televised, I had to keep the make up HD friendly, which means matte using a light application. She had three wardrobe changes, so we wanted the hair and make up to change a little as well. Hairstylist Charlie Ponder was heaven sent because I didn't know how I was going to do both in so little time! Here are a few of her looks for the show (below). The look above was for her ABC appearance that morning.

Since this was held at Temple of Deliverance church, we made sure we kept her look conservative and fun. The performances were amazing, and the presence of the Lord was definitely in the building. I even ran into another client of mine, gospel singer Brian Courtney Wislon. It was a great experience to say the least! The hospitality in Memphis was like no other...I will be back!

Classic Beauty....

I love doing event make up for Vivica Fox, but this look was uniquely thought out because of where she was going. She was speaking to a room full of professionals in Virginia who were honoring a few heroic Marines. I immediately thought....military...patriotism...red, white, and blue!! So I created a look for her that would be classic, and clean to match her navy blue dress. I even waved her hair like women in the 50's. It reminded me of old Hollywood glamour and she loved it!

The event was a success and her speech was spectacular, you had to be there!!