City Chick Online

This past Tuesday, I had another shoot with Frank Bradford at the beautiful Planting Fields Arboreum here on Long Island. This was another event in his and DJ LaDez's lighting seminar week and it was sponsored by Berger Brothers (www.berger-bros.com). This was my first time at the Arboreum and it was breathtaking! We had 2 great models for the day, Svetlana Kapralova and Marianna Postma and me and Flor (Makeup Artist) decided to split Makeup duties for the day (Me with Svetlana and Flor with Marianna). The best thing about that day though was the Vera Wang dress that was loan to us. This dress was just beyond...It's from their Fall 2011 collection (right off the runway from last Fashion Week) and one of the most beautiful wedding dresses that I've ever seen. Besides the Vera Wang gown, I styled both models for a total of 3 looks that day. Here are a few behind-the-scenes photo. And as always, as soon as I get the final images, I will post them here :-)

Svetland wearing the Vera Wang gown

Makeup by me

Frank Shooting Svetlana

Makeup done by me

One of the looks

And another rocked by Marianna

(one of the looks from that day)

Last Saturday, May 21st (the day that the world was suppose to end lol), I had a photoshoot at the fabulous Studio 385 in Tribeca (www2.ExposureCapture.com). The shoot was put together by my photographer Frank Bradford and lighting expert DJ Dez. It was sponsored by Lumedyne and it kicked off a week of four Lighting Seminars given by Frank and DJ throughout NY. I was the stylist for this event and I had an amazing time! Here are just a few of the behind the scenes photos from that day. We had 2 models and a total of 5 different looks between them. I've seen a few of the final shots, like the one above, but as soon as I get them all I will post them here.

Me and the team getting a model ready (Flor Diaz, Makeup artist and Julius Toussaint, Hair Stylist)

Some of the Wardrobe for the day

Jewelry

A few more

Flor and Julius doing their thing!

A few shoes

Pinning the model into the clothes

I love steamers...

I live for this dress *sigh*

This is what I wore to work yesterday. Even though its nice and hot here in NY, I still keep a light jacket with me when I'm in my store because the A/C is usally running and it gets a little nippy in there. Oh and btw, these are the other pair of jeans that my boyfriend got me about 2 weeks ago (I like these ones the best..still big but really soft and comfy).

Jacket/blazer: Jones New York
Top: The Gap
Jeans: Guess
Shoes:Urban Outfitters

This past Sunday, May 15th, I went to the Makeup Show for the very first time and it surpassed all my expectations. I kind of had an idea of what to expect from reading other blogs and watching youtube videos but nothing could prepare me for all the fabulousness that this event offered. Before going, I had an itinerary of all the workshops and seminars that I wanted to go to and a list of all the makeup that I wanted to buy. Let me tell you, my day did not go at all as planned.

My day actually started off pretty crappy. I got 3 hours of sleep because I went out the night before (see previous post) and didn't get in until a little after 4am. I woke up around 7am to get to the Show by 9 and I was a walking zombie. On my way to the train, I put a bottle of water in my bag so that I would have it just in case I got thirsty. That would have been a great idea if I would have remembered to actually put the top back on the water bottle...like I said, I was a walking zombie. The water spilled all over everything in my bag and ruined all my business cards, notebooks and my camera. I was most devasted over the camera because my boyfriend had bought it for me for my birthday last year. After that happened, I was extremely cranky and irritated and after getting to the Metropolitan and seeing a line down the block, my attitude just got worst. However, as soon as I stepped inside, my mood instantly changed and I was happy and overwhelmed with excitement.

Like I said before, I had my entire day planned out before going there but realistically you can only plan so much in advance. My first stop was the MG agency booth because I am a member of the NYC Makeup Artist Meetup and a few of the members were there so I stopped to chit chat for a minute. Right across from them was Dinair, who were on my list of people to see. I spent 2 and a half at that one booth. I missed 2 seminars that I wanted to go to but I learned all that I wanted to about their airbrush system and makeup. I ended up buying their system for a ridiculously cheap price along with a few additional foundations and blushes. After that, I went to the Sam Fine seminar, hung out with one of my friends who was working at Stila (where I picked up the Major lash mascara and a liquid eyeliner) and then went to the Billy B seminar. I didn't even get to visit 95% of the booths that were there. It was just not enough time. At first I was wondering why people registered for both days (besides the fact that there were different seminars on Monday) its just honestly impossible to do and see everything in one day. I didn't even make it to the business floor smh. Well, I know for next time! I will not only be there again, I will definitely register for both days. Here are some pics from the first day:

Billy B Seminar...He was amazing!

Sam Fine's Seminar

Sam Fine's model..Left side of face with makeup, the other side without.

What I bought:
Dinair Airbrush System with 14 colors (foundation + blush+eye brow colors)
Stila Major Lash Mascara
Stila Eyeliner in Black
Alcone Powder Puffs

(we took this pic at least 20 times...no joke smh)

Last Saturday night, me and a few of the ladies from my group,Long Island Suburban Goddesses, had a girls night out and it was sooooo much fun. We started the night off by having dinner at Grillfire in Rockville Centre then we went across the street to the movie theater and saw Bridesmaid.

Ok, I have to admit that I was really skeptical about seeing this movie. I thought that it was going to be a really bad knock off of the Hangover. Boy, was I wrong! This movie was f*cking hilarious!!!! From the opening scene to the end, everyone in the theater was cracking up. The acting was terrific and it had a great story line. My only problem with it was that some scenes dragged on a little but the rest of the movie made up for that. I would definitely recommend it to anyone and I give it 2 thumbs up.

After the movie, a few of the ladies and myself went to a club call Vibe Lounge which is also in Rockville Centre. It was a cool little spot that played reggae and hip hop all night. It was ok at best, definitely not worth the $20 admission at all but I was with the girls and it was better than us hiking to the city at 2am.

Overall I had such a great time. I really don't hang out alot so this was long over due. I can't wait until me and the girls go out again :-)

Ok, ya'll don't even know how excited I am about going to this show. It's my first time and I can't wait! For anyone who don't know The Makeup Show is the largest PRO-ONLY event in NYC (they travel to different cities also) that brings the professional beauty industry together. At the show there are top industry artists and pro-driven companies presenting the newest products, seminars, forums and hands-on workshops. Everyone who is anyone in the makeup biz will be there such as Billy B, Sam Fine, Crystal Wright, Michael DeVellis, James Vincent, just to name a few. And there will be tons of companies such as Make Up For Ever, Temptu Pro, Inglot, Stila, Crown Brush, Alcone, Mac, etc.

I'm seriously putting myself on a budget before I even get there because I know myself lol. I really want to attend the seminars more than anything though. These are the ones that I will be attending:

*Working in NY
*A Career in Makeup with Sam Fine (LOVEEEE HIM!!!)
*The business of Beauty with Billy B (I love him too *sigh*)
*HD Bridal Tattoo Coverage

The event is from 9am-6pm at the Metropolitian Pavilion (125w. 18th street) and I'll probably be there all day. I need to pick up a Pro Airbrush Kit and I'm on a serious quest to find the perfect mascara, since I have yet to find one that I can't live without. I will be taking alot of pics that day and will be posting them here. :-)

If you are in the beauty biz (Makeup artist, salon owner, etc) and want to learn more about The Makeup Show, please visit www.themakeupshow.com

This is what I wore to work yesterday (sorry the pic is so blurry its because of all the lights in my store and the gold that I was wearing)

Top: Ali Girl
Jeans: Guess Cigarette Jeans
Shoes: Colin Stuart

My boyfriend surprised me by buying me 2 pairs of Guess jeans the other day and this was one of them. Now honestly I haven't worn relaxed, straight legged jeans in forever and a day. My jeans of choice are extremely tight, low cut skinny jeans ...wait, now thinking about it, he might be trying to tell me something lol. These jeans were a tad bit big but I just threw on a belt and made it work. I also broke out my ghetto girl name plate necklace and some comfy Colin Stuart heels and called it a day :-)

So I got the pictures back from Saturday's photos shoot that I styled and I'm so happy with the outcome. So far, there has been over 40 pics but I always only choose one from each look and these 4 are my favs :-)

This photo was taken by photographer Susan N. who was at the shoot

This photo was taken by Michelle Neacy who was at the shoot also :-)

So I started my hair journey on January 29th, 2011 (which was also the last time I relaxed) because my hair was extremely damaged and I couldn't figure out why. I was going to the salon once a week religiously for over a year but it was constantly breaking off. My hair was always dry, over shedding and thinning (gasp!). I decided that there must be something that I could do and thats when I found youtube and learned about thousands of other women who are on hair journeys. Well I immediately started and during this short time, I saw my hair flourished. The more I started taking care of my hair, the less breakage and shedding that I saw. I decided that instead of relaxing at 6 weeks that I would do it at 8. When 8 came around I saw that not only was my hair manageable but that I was starting to fall in love with my new growth. I started inching towards becoming natural and I finally decided to do it. The main reasons being for me are these:

*Versatility (I can wear my hair big or bone straight if I choose)
*I love big, thick hair
*Relaxers just don't agree with my hair. I've tried several different kinds, different strengths, etc and they all have jacked up my hair
*and finally, because of my little sister's natural hair. Everytime she spends the night at my house, I do her hair and I am so amazed by how thick and healthy it is. She would always say that she can't wait to have relaxed hair like mine and the whole time I'm thinking that I want my hair to be just like hers!

I know that everyone has their own reasons for doing it i.e some women want to rock their hair the way God intended, for some its a political statement but I think many women are like me, who just feel that enough is just enough. Going every 6-8 weeks, dealing with the burning scalp, the breakage, etc. Honestly I know its not for everyone and I feel that if relaxing works for you and your hair then hey, work it out! There are many women out there like Megz who have healthly, long thriving hair down to their backs while relaxing. Me? no, I'm not and have never been one of them. I just believe that the definition of insanity is keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results and I finally decided to stop being insane lol. Here are 2 pictures of my hair.

This pic was about a month before my journey started (look at those edges smh)

and this was yesterday (I had just gotten my hair washed, trimmed and blown out for the first time since my journey started and I forgot to bring my own conditioner so they used this dominican protein conditioner on me which was a no-no. It dried the hell out of my hair. I will be bringing my ORS next time!..oh and I also usually have a black rinse in..this is my natural color..no bueno..will be putting back that rinse in soon)

In only 3 months my edges have grown in, my hair has gotten thicker and grew. Because my hair was curled under and I did get a trim, you can't really tell that it grew but trust me, it did :-). So I will continue on this journey and see where it takes me...and of course, I will keep a track of it on here.

I hope you all had a great Mother's day yesterday..I sure did! I took my mom, grandma, little sis and my little brother out to dinner and this is what I wore. Please pay the wrinkles no mind lol. This is one of my favorite maxi dress and for some reason, I never, ever iron it. I don't know if its just pure laziness on my part or what because it would have only taken 2 seconds and I iron everything else..just not this dress for some random, unknown reason lol. But I digress. I took my fam out to my mom's favorite restaurant in East Meadow and we had so much fun. I love my family. Here's what I wore:

Dress: by "As You Wish"
Cardigan: by Doll
Shoes: by Rouge

Here's the back: