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Acceptance Mark

Award Show Watch: Emmy Awards 2010

Another awards show is in the books as the 2010 Emmy Awards took place last night. Much like the BET Awards this was a summer show at which the 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 balance to get right, but it’s a balance that has to be found because when an actress is wearing a stunning gown with fabulous hair, an underdone face just undermines the entire look. Here are my thoughts on who got the balance right.

Kim Kardashian @ 2010 Emmy Awards

Kim Kardashian @ 2010 Emmy Awards/ © Matthew Imaging for WireImage.com

1 ) Kim Kardashian – No one is more surprised than myself to see Kim Kardashian at the top of my list, but I really thought her Emmy makeup and hair were impeccable. Ms. Kardashian is a beautiful woman with beautiful skin who usually – in my opinion – wears entirely too much OTT makeup. This makeup beautifully accentuated her skin and features but left her looking soft, feminine and PRETTY. And she is impossibly matte in every photo I saw of her. I’d love to know what her artist used on her. Fabulous job!

2 ) Glenn Close – Ms. Close is proof that a ) you don’t have to go into overkill mode to have a sharp, well defined look and b ) just because you have a fair complexion, you don’t have to disappear on the red carpet. Without going into a bronzer extravaganza or smokey eye overkill, Glenn’s makeup gives her skin a healthy glow with her eyes as the focal point of the look. Combined with a nice soft hair style, the overall look keeps her soft, feminine and youthful looking.

3 ) Amber Riley – I don’t know Amber Riley (not a Glee watcher) but I was very happy to see her looking fab on the red carpet. She looks chic, pulled together and sophisticated without looking old (I’m guessing she’s a young woman and younger women often end up looking tired in an attempt to look ’sophisticated’ at formal events). I often say in my Awards Show coverages how fairer complexioned women look great when they wear color, and the reverse is often true for us deeper complexioned ladies. The white/bone colored dress – particularly with that neckline – brings all the focus to her pretty face. Just a kiss of blush, a pop of lip color, a little hit of smoke on the eye and a simple pulled back hairstyle was all that was needed to complete her look. And kudos to her artist for keeping her skin shine under control.

4 ) Heidi Klum – I agree with the masses on this one, I thought Ms. Klum looked fab for these Awards. She definitely went with a more “makeup” look than a lot of other attendees, but this is an example of how you can get away with more if you take the time to do it properly. She has just the right amount of smokey eye (accentuating the liner and the crease but not a solid heavy lid), the right amount of bronzer (gives glow while sculpting and contouring instead of one layer of bronzer all over the face), accented with soft pink lips and blush. Seamless, flawless, impeccable. I also love how the hairstyle picks up the slightly edgier look of the dress without going overboard. She looks fashion forward while still looking event appropriate.

5 ) Stephanie Pratt – Another blondie, Stephanie Pratt played up her eyes, glowed out her skin and otherwise kept her look simple and clean. She is another example of younger woman who looks finished and polished but still looks young and fresh. And I know she got some flak for it, but I liked her dress, too.

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Award Show Watch: BET Awards 2010

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. Continue reading →

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Award Show Watch: Oscars 2010

Old Hollywoood glamour. Grandieur. Extravaganza. That is what the Oscars are known for and what past years have delivered.

This year was no exception fashion-wise, but hair and makeup-wise… hmmmm…. Whenever the fashion shows are really neutral as they were this past season, there’s a collective “uh-oh” throughout the makeup community because – contrary to popular belief – neutral is actually fairly difficult to do and to wear. Most women look better with color on their face. The Red Carpet for the Oscars was no exception. The one variance on the “neutral” rule for the fashion shows this past Fashion Week was the neutral face with the strong lip. The celebs whose artists did a version of that look faired much better on the “Step and Repeat” than their all-neutral counterparts. Another runway trend that is difficult to translate to real life is “tousled” hair. It’s a fine line between tousled and un-done. In all, with a lot of washed out faces and not entirely there hair, there were several people who had aspects of their look that were good, but very few who hit it from head to toe. Let’s talk about those who did hit the nail on the head… Continue reading →

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Award Show Watch: Grammys 2010

Ah the Grammys…. what can you say? The music industry is a very different look from the film industry. There is more emphasis on looking edgy and even glamourous looks will have a bit of edge to keep them forward looking. When it works, the look can be spectacular. When it doesn’t… well…

Picking out the best of for the Grammy’s was a bit more challenging than the Golden Globes. To be honest, there was a lot of Just OK in my opinion. Personal taste aside, there was also a lot of the same look going on. All of my makeup friends made the same comments all over Twitter – too many smokey eyes going on, and all pretty much the same heavy black/charcoal smokey eye. That’s the thing – smokey eyes can actually vary quite a bit, can be achieved through the use of a lot of different colors and create a look that is both dramatic and new and fresh. Alas, most ladies stick to the heavy black/charcoal variety. A well done dark smokey eye is never a bad look, but lets just say it’s a look that’s been around for a long time now if you catch my drift..

Ankywhoo, with that said let’s celebrate who came strong with the hair and makeup… Continue reading →

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Beauty Breakdown – Softer Side of Smokey

editorial outtake / © N. Horne

editorial outtake / © N. Horne

Makeup by Tania D. Russell/ Makeupwerks.com

Model: Cassidy/Ford Models

Not all smokey eyes have to be severe. With a natural brow, dewey skin and an otherwise neutral color palette, the smokey gives high impact without being harsh. Here’s how I got the look…

Foundation – Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX Foundation in Light 1 & 2
Stila All Over Shimmer in #1

Eyes – Tarte Lock n’ Roll Cream & Powder eye shadow in Sandstone
Smashbox Eyelights palette in Smokebox
Givenchy Magic Khol eyeliner in Brown.

Mascara – Maybelline Great Lash over individual false eyelashes

Cheeks – NYX Creme Blush in CB02 Natural
Givenchy Prisme Again Blush in Euphoric Orange

Lips – Nars Lip Lacquer in Chelsea Girl
Nars Lip Gloss in Striptease

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Award Show Watch: Golden Globes 2010

We are in the midst of Awards season and the first major event is a wrap. As a makeup artist, celebrity is not my focus. I do a few celebrity clients on occasion, but overall it’s not been the focus of my career (this is probably because as a person celebrity is not my focus). That said, I do think it’s important to keep abreast of trends as to keep your own makeup current, as either a professional makeup artist or as a makeup consumer. Celebrity makeup artists are amongst those who set the trends so seeing what their clients are wearing are good indicators of directions to take with your own makeup looks.

Some of the makeup/hair looks that I think are worth a mention; Continue reading →

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Beauty Breakdown – Summer Beauty

© L. Ulrichova for Relate Magazine

© L. Ulrichova for Relate Magazine


Model: Bay/Ford Models

Soft color reflects the ease of summer beauty. Here’s how I got the look…

Foundation: Makeup Forever (MUFE) HD Invisible Cover Foundation (mix of 2 colors)

Eyeshadows: Urban Decay – Midnight Cowboy / Hotpants

Eyeliner: Makeup Forever (MUFE) Aqualiner #3L – Iridescent Navy Blue / MUFE Aqualiner 14L – White / Urban Decay 24-7 Pencil – Bourbon

Mascara: Givenchy – Phenomen’Eyes Mascara

Cheeks: Il Makiage – Spumoni / Playful Pink

Lips: NYX Cosmetics Lipliner – Natural
Nars Lipgloss – Stella

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Beauty Breakdown – iColor

makeup by Tania D. Russell/Makeup to Go!

makeup by Tania D. Russell/Makeupwerks.com

© Lenka Ulrichova
Model: Bre/Ford Models

Nothing shakes off the winter blahs like a jolt of intense color. Play with the hues of spring’s bloom and enliven your makeup palette. Here’s how I got the look…

Foundation: Smashbox High-Definition liquid foundation in Medium 2 (mixed with Medium 3)
Eyes: Lid – Nixie Cosmetics Cream Eye Shadow Stick in Apple Green
Crease – Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Baked
Contour – Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Color in LaFayette
Mascara – Maybelline Great Lash over individual false eyelashes
Cheeks – NARS Cream Blush in Cactus Flower and Powder Blush in Zen
Lips – Smashbox Lip Enhancing (Full Color) Gloss in Aura

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