Monday, October 10, 2011

Halloween Tutorials - Best Makeup Videos for that Spooky-Sexy Vibe!


Halloween brings out the kid in all of us but gone are the days when a sheet with two eye holes or the face painted cat whisker/nose combo will get you much notice. The Wicked Witch of the West even needed a green face and warts to get her scare on. Here are some of my favorite makeup tutorial videos that can help inspire any girl to rock a Halloween Bash.









Costumes require a mesmerizing look to complete their effect so you'll need to decide if it's going to be a Good Witch, Bad Witch or Mistress of the Night kind of Halloween. Adding the oompf with makeup will guarantee a boost from your normal yawn worthy idea to that lasting, searing impression. Bewitch your friends and arm yourself with a little tube of Latex from Party City to re-create X-Men's blue Mystique above and become a little more creative this year for a bloody-good finish!


Me? I am going as a BEE this year ... just trying to decide if it will be a QUEEN Bee, Honey Bee or KILLER Bee. Yep, the costume stays the same - the difference will be made with the makeup!

TO stay in the know and learn a model's secrets to looking your best Every Day ... check out my new book Face This: Real advice from Real Models!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Lesson #2: Flattering Angles- Tips on How to Take Your Best, Most Gorgeous Photos Ever!

Models and photographers both know that angles are what will make your photos look Shelltacular, whoops, Spectacular! An angle can illuminate, confuse, disorientate, and can turn a boring photo into an emotionally powered shot full of drama! 

My book, Face This, will give you all the tricks to creating the right look and angle for yourself in front of anyone’s camera for perfect photos every time, but what you can do when YOU are the photographer, to make interesting pictures involving angles? Here is your monthly, get-better, photography tip!


EYE-LEVEL. The traditional way most of us take our pictures and view people is head-on, eyes straight forward, at about shoulder level. It conveys reality and represents the moment just as we remember it ... beautiful, but ordinary. Since digital photography is FREE why not change it up a bit with a little more creativity?






LOW-ANGLE.  This  photo is created by the photographer crouching down and angling the lens upward.  These photos convey superiority & power. It can have the added benefit of creating height for the subject by exaggeration. If your angle is strong enough, you can get cool photos with just bright blue sky or trees as a backdrop, eliminating an otherwise distracting background.






HIGH-ANGLE. This is when you elevate your camera over your subject. It tends to make your subject seem smaller, at times almost swallowed up by their surroundings, making them feel more approachable and less intimidating.






CLOSE-UP. This is the classic way to get your best ever photographs of children. Many times it involves laying on the ground, with no angle at all, and using a zoom or getting really close. This technique magnifies a subject and creates a very intimate image of significance with the background just a blur.

Changing your perspective or the angle that you are taking your photo can change the feeling of your photos altogether, so get up on the chair, lay on your back, down on one knee, hover overhead and get in someone’s face for a photo that will be framed and cherished for years ahead!



Sunday, October 2, 2011

Calling all goddesses - Fun Birthday Party Ideas with Girlfriends!



Along the transitions in my life, I have been empowered by many great goddesses that have surrounded me in a protective bubble of love, harmony, unity and wondrous kindness. This year for my birthday I called out to my ethereal friends and their demi-gods, to merge these energies to celebrate my birthday and nourish my soul with laughter at a local Hookah lounge.



I asked my girlfriends to come dressed in whatever made them feel goddess-like, flowers in their hair, glitter, draping chiffon … time to play dress up! I selected goddess names for each, framed as a keepsake
 and requested that if they wanted to extend gifts that they be hand made from the heart. I received a wondrous poem, art, and jelly! We were nourished with hummus, entertained by exotic belly dancers and enticed by the pineapple hookah!

Birthdays. Love em or hate em … they are inevitable. Why is it that we dread celebrating or wait until the milestone big-0 to commemorate them? It’s normal to feel reluctant about a change in your chronological age, but I encourage all of you to put away your expectations that you should be checking off a list of accomplishments. Life unfolds for us in such awe-inspiring ways and if you are too caught up in a scheduled path you may miss it!

Birthdays are good for you! A study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that people get happier as they get older! Have you stopped celebrating your birthdays? How old would you be if you could decide your own age? Personally, I think you have to be over 40 to finally be REALLY happy! I read about a woman in Florida who celebrated her 100th birthday on a treadmill … She said she “feels good after exercise!”

Here are a few ideas:
  • An around the world party
  • High tea
  • Gratitude party
  • Diva Safari ~ night on the town!
  • Karaoke room
  • SPA Shindig
  • Street shopping ~ Walk down a quirky street for a trip down memory lane. Try on outrageous hats, check out an old bookstore, bargain shop at a vintage/resale store, visit a wine bar or funky bistro!

This is what I know:  One bite of birthday cake is never enough, I am the only one like me in the world and I want to live my life from the inside out, celebrating with the people I love most every year – at dinner with my kids, on a long weekend getaway with my husband or throwing a goddess party ... Singing happy birthday every year, right on key!



I would love to hear your birthday ideas!

XOXO 
from the 47 year old celestial brunette!