I actually missed this year’s BET awards and had to watch it on a re-run. In past years I’ve actually had the pleasure of making up faces attending the awards, but this year I was out of town. This year was kind of a mixed bag. Both on the Red Carpet and on the awards stage, looks – IMO – were either Over The Top or not quite done enough. I attribute this to having the event take place during the day on the West Coast so that it can be aired at night on the East Coast. There was a vibe of “what kind of event am I dressing for??” in the air.
I say – when in doubt, go for Classic Beauty. No one has ever been dinged for looking too beautiful. Edgy can backfire if you don’t get it just right. Casual can look like you didn’t care. Beautiful is always the right answer. Here’s who got it right in my estimation.
Ashanti – Ashanti had my favorite look of the night. Her red dress added much needed color and vibrancy. The upswept hair made her look award show worthy but it wasn’t a severe up-do that made her look old. Her makeup was well defined. She had great brows, great cheeks and pretty painted lip but NOT a red lip. By avoiding the “red lip to match the dress” cliche, I feel her look was fresher and more current. Her makeup was fully appointed yet it did not overpower. The result was a look that was chic and both age and event appropriate. She looked fab!
Ashanti at the 2010 BET Awards
Ciara – I don’t know much about Ciara, but I’ve read various things questioning her taste level. Ironically, perhaps, I thought she had one of the more tasteful looks of the night. Her look for Awards night was chic and simple without looking old. With a light smokey eye and a clean nude lip, Ciara looked great both outside in the harsh daylight and indoors under studio lights.
Jeanette Jenkins – I tend to focus more on makeup & hair and not the fashions, but as I’ve said before, what you wear often affects how your makeup and hair ultimately looks. I noticed a red carpet trend towards beige-y, tan-y fashions that were about skin tone for many of the ladies wearing them. Hence, several ladies looked quite washed out on the Red Carpet. Jeanette Jenkins – fitness trainer to the stars – wore a white dress that looked crisp and fresh and accentuated her skin tone instead of washing her out. Along with her short cropped, natural textured ‘do and fresh makeup with a pop of color on the lips, Jeanette put together a look that was both casual and put together.
Nia Long – Is Nia Long a part of this Illuminati we keep hearing about? Because she is just NOT aging. LOL! Nia looked fresh and chic w/ light smokey eye and nude lip w/ trademark pixie haircut. Like Ciara, she looked great both indoors and outdoors.
Omarosa – Reality Show persona notwithstanding, most times I see her, Omarosa looks very well put together. For the BETs I loved her beautiful Veronica Lake hairstyle, simple & chic makeup with a nice hit of color in the dress and on the lips
Mowry Sisters – On the Mowry sisters we saw sides of the coin; one easy chic (Tia) and one nighttime glam (Tamera). Both look polished and put together without going over or under the top.
Keri Hilson – I picked her for the list because I love when ladies aren’t afraid to wear color on the eyes for these types of events. By forgoing a smokey eye and employing color instead, the look is younger and a bit edgier.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Marsha Ambrosius – I actually though Marsha fell into the ‘under done’ category overall makeup/hair-wise but I wanted to make an honorable mention of her for wearing a natural hairstyle. As a black woman who wears my own hair natural, it’s always refreshing to see something other than that parade of straight weaves walking down the step and repeat. Hopefully as more celebs confidently wear their hair natural to these events, more people will see that natural hair can be glamorous, too.
Nicki Minaj – In my review of the Grammys I had to give Lady GaGa points for cultivating an image and going for it, so it’s only fair that I do the same for Nicki Minaj. She’s clearly working a visual image and not trying to do a simple “fit in the crowd” beauty. Her hair and I don’t get along, but I have to say her makeup is always impeccable. If you want to wear over the top color, Nicki is a good example of how to do it.
© 2010, Tania D. Russell / Makeup to Go. All rights reserved.
[...] attendees entered in the daytime for an event that was to be aired at night. Therefore, much like I mentioned for the BET Awards, there were a lot of underdone and/or washed out faces on the Red Carpet. It’s a tricky [...]