Fashion Fridays: The Devil Wears Prada Makeover Moment

The Devil Wears Prada is an oldie but goodie.  Caught it the other night on FX, and what Vanity Girl doesn’t love that movie?  The fashion, Anne Hathaway, Paris and Adrian Grenier  and ohhhh, the makeover scene.   What is it about this quintessential makeover scene that just has us believing in possibility?  From her frumpy, size 6 (yeah, OK, whatevs on that one) scene in her lumpy blue sweater (yes, we know, it’s actually cerulean) — to the Gucci boot unveil with her tres chic bangs.  BTW, did anyone else get a Julia Roberts moment a la Pretty Woman with those boots?  But, Julia was in her hooker moment in the over-the-knee boots whilst Anne was in her fashion plate moment, anyway, I digress.   I remember the first time I caught this movie was at the Arclight on Sunset, and you could hear people audibly clapping during the post makeover scene fashion montage of Ande Sachs fiercely stomping the streets of NYC.   It is Hollywood  after all, so I’m sure there was more than one stylist in that crowd critiquing that scene.

And hello, Paris?  One of my favorite moments in life was when my friend M and his x-BF P took me to Paris for the weekend (we were in London).   P arranged for a dinner across from the Eiffel tower right when it turned dark, and ordered champagne.  Some hate the twinkly lights on the Eiffel tower.  Declasse they say.  I don’t care.  I like shiny objects and champagne I thought it was just divine.  

What about you?  What are your favorite makeover moment movie scenes?  What’s your go-to chick flick when you just want some bubblegum moment to lighten your mood?  And, what do you think of the twinkly Eiffel tower lights?

Makeup Mondays: Marketing for Makeup Artists

It makes sense that a lot of our customers are professional make up artists.   We know that beauty is an area where women will still invest their money.   Who wants to feel broke and less-thank-beautiful?  Talk about insult to injury.   We thought we’d put together a little list of marketing ideas for those talented, independent artists who make us look and feel beautiful.

1.  Define your target market.  Editorial?  Movies? Bridal?  Special Effects?  The more closely you can identify your ideal client — the more effectively you can go after them.  Yes, we know that you can do it all.  But sometimes going after everything and everyone is simply too broad.  And anyway, wouldn’t you rather work with the people you love and in the environment that makes you most creative?

2.  Become a Socialite.  Social media is definitely here to stay.  Twitter, Facebook etc are great places to create your online brand and start spreading the word about who you are and what you do.

3.  Start a blog.  This is a way to share your work, your philosophy and begin a conversation with potential clients.  If you can’t afford a website, it’s also a way to have a web presence and a place to send prospective clients.  The thing about the web is that it can work for you when you are off doing other things — like someone’s make up perhaps?  I personally love WordPress because I think it’s very user-friendly.

4. Start an e-mail marketing campaign.  People need to hear from you on a regular basis so you are top of mind when their big occassion comes up.  Tools like Constant Contact make it pretty easy to begin a campaign immediately.  And BTW, make sure to sign up for our Vanity Girl Newsletter so you can see how the tools works for you. And we giveaway cool stuff sometimes, so you wanna make sure you know about that.

5. Video tutorials.  Have you noticed how many make up tutorials are online?  Why shouldn’t yours be?  Things like the built in camera in an Apple lap top or the new Flip camera make it pretty easy to create an online video.  And thenew iPhone features an easy way to get that video online (I’m soooo excited about that one).  And with so many aspiring filmmakers out there, chances are you can start a great relationship with someone who simply needs more experience and content out there.  (BTW, dontcha think that one of our vanities or lighted make up mirrors in the background would make things look even more glamorous and professional?)

6.  DIY PR (Do It Yourself Public Relations):  Things like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) keep you apprised of reporters who need experts and sources on tons of different stories with upcoming deadlines.  Become a resource.

7.  Sexy Soundbites.  Last but not least, what are YOUR sexy soundbites?  Why would someone choose to work with you?  Do you ramble on and on when someone asks, “What do you do?”  When you tell them what you do, are they excited or glazed over?  Make sure you set yourself apart from your competition … in a really good way.  Do you have at least a short bio put together, maybe some testimonials and photos that show off your work?

We want to hear from you!  How do you land new clients?  Where are you stuck?  If we don’t know it, we’ll try and get an answer for you because we want to make sure that you keep America looking beautiful!   

Make Up Mondays: How to Curl Your Lashes

It’s such a treat to get your make up done. Last time I had the pleasure was by Teri A of P3 Beauty. As she worked her way to my eyes, she handed me an eyelash curler because well mine are … well … pretty stick straight. Here’s the 411 on getting your lashes on their way to fluttery, flirty curliness.

Step 1: Start when your lashes are clean, dry, and mascara-free. I find it best to do it after the rest of my make up has been done (foundation, eyeshadows, etc). Open the eyelash curler and, keeping your eyes open, place your upper lashes between the two sides.
Step 2: Starting at the inner corner of your eye, careful! Don’t pinch your skin. Place the curler as close as possible to your eyelid as possible. When your lashes are between the pads, gently clamp the curler together.
Step 3: Hold for ten seconds, and then move along the lash line, repeating until you have done your whole lash line.
Step 4: Set with mascara. I like MAC and Maybelline. Here’s a great article on great mascara choices.
Step 5: Flirt with your eyes darling, you look beautiful!

New Product: “Broadway” Lighted Make Up Mirror

 

So, we know that people love our lighted vanity tables.  We hear it all the time  from photographers, make up artists and yes — the self-professed make up junkies.  But what if you already have a table and don’t need all the extra features of our vanity table (generous drawer, blow dryer holsters, etc.)

The beauty of manufacturing right here in the City of Angels is that R&D goes really fast.  You ask, we design and then we offer it to you!  We are so proud to launch the Starlet Lighted Make Up Mirror which can turn any table top into a backstage, runway style make up station.  Yes, you still get the power plugs AND the signature dimmable bulbs with this sleek stunner.

It’s available in white, black and light grey for the introductory price of $299.  Call us to order yours today at (888) 308-0041.

P.S.  If there is something that you are dying to have or simply haven’t seen yet — give us a call or shoot us an e-mail.  You never know  ….

Girlfriend Fun: The Barbie Penthouse Suite at The Palms Las Vegas

Some of you may recall that Barbie turned 50 this year, and the Palms Casino and Resort has just added a Barbie Penthouse suite to their themed rooms designed, of course, by Jonathan Adler. Even though we are in LA, we weren’t able to get to the real life Malibu Barbie home that Mr. Adler created for the celebrity studded birthday soiree earlier this year.  But for those with some extra cash to burn and visions of life-size Barbie dream house perfection, we can get ourselves and 49 of our friends to the Barbie penthouse suite.

Some occasions that might warrant a visit to the bubble-gum pink suite include: baby girl showers, bridal showers for those marrying their dream Ken doll, Super sweet 16‘s, any other birthday for a diva/princess, gal pal reunions, perhaps even a girly bachelorette party.  It got us to thinking, do you think a smaller scale bubble-gum pink vanity would be popular for little vanity girls?  Let us know ….

Workout Wednesdays: Fitness Factory

 

Most people know that I have fitness ADD.  I like to stay active, but kinda bop around in terms of what I’m doing.  Let’s call it cross-training.   Sprint triathalons, hiking, Pilates, cardio machines, Extreme Boot Camp, Barry’s Boot Camp – you name it, I’ll try it.   Lately, I’ve been strength training with trainer Erin Lanahan (she’s also a Vanity Girl guest blogger).  I first met Erin a few years back at Equinox on Sunset where she taught a cross-training class, and she was perfect for me.  Compact and hyper, she was equal parts cheerleader, holistic guruette and fitness competitor.  Her approach was completely ADD, mixing up Bosu ball functional moves with mini-meditations and then going into hard core squats.

She’s developed a signature approach that we’ve been hammering hard in the past 2 weeks and the results are already coming through for me.  Right now she’s focusing on building my Foundation strength (focusing on where the muscle meets the bone), and I can already feel myself getting stronger.  We train 3 days a week for an hour, and the results are visible. (Don’tcha just love it when other people notice your hard work and tell you?)  She even gave me a food plan with the goal of keeping my metabolism torched.   She wants to see me doing 30 minutes of cardio on the days I train with her, and then 60 – 90 minutes of cardio 2 other days, with rest for 2 days.  She says we’re working up to using one of her faves — the TRX.  

The other fun aside to training at this low-key spot is seeing some celebs training hard.  Fitness Factory is primarily a private training facility, and I routinely see Ryan Reynolds (loved him in the recent Wolverine), Scarlett Johannson, Bob Harper, Lisa Rinna, David Boreanaz, Natasha Beningfield, etc.  Of course it’s West Hollywood, so it isn’t that unusual to train next to your faves …. but it is a nice way to keep ADD at bay.

To train with Erin, friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @fit_gal.

If you’d like us to review your fitness business and you are located in LA — please leave us a comment!

Vanity Girl Interview: P3 Beauty

We sat down with P3 Beauty Creator and celebrity make up artist & hair stylist Terri Apanasewicz last Friday and got a backstage peek at her life as an A-list make up artist.  As we sat in her Los Angeles home and listened to her try and sum up an exciting 20-year career in a couple of hours, we realized that we’d have to give you this story in a series of blog posts.  As you know, we interview make up artists for our young Vanity Girls, who have dreams to one day be those A-List Glam Squad members who give us the looks we lust after in the magazines and on the runway.  Enjoy!

VGH:  So, Terri, how did you decide to become a make up artist?

TA:  I grew up in a VERY corporate family in San Jose.  It was a different world back then, and fashion and make up were not in the mainstream like they are today.  I honestly didn’t know there was such a thing as “make up artist,” but I always knew that I was artistic and creative.  When I was about 19, I got really sick and was in bed watching soap operas.  I love soap operas, and still watch them to this day.  So, while I was in bed, I started reading the credits and that’s when I saw the words that would change my life forever:  MAKE UP ARTIST.  I knew at that moment that was what I wanted to do.

I then ran to my bathroom, grabbed my lighted make up mirror (just a tiny one, because of course there weren’t any Vanity Girl lighted make up tables then) and began practicing.  This was the 80′s – so I’d do one side of my face in crazy colors and switch to the other.  I got really clear that my creative, artistic nature were being channelled into something and that I was falling in love with this craft.

Lessons Learned:  1.  Be open to inspiration … it may come where you least expect it.  2) PRACTICE.  On yourself, on your friends, on your family.  3.  Just because your passion seems a little different than your hometown, that’s OK. You may have to work a little harder to find resources and inspiration – but the internet has really leveled the playing field.

Shameless Plug:  Great lighting makes all the different in the world when practicing!  

Stay tuned to future installments – like Terri’s first TV job and her career in Italy!!  To hear about her up-to-the-minute happenings, follow her on Twitter.