You can't judge a book by it's cover...

Most people associate me with manners, pearls, and Chanel... I  actually get asked if I wear or own sweats at least twice a week. I know it comes from seeing me in work attire and in my business environment. But, I have many layers, I feel there are times and places for everything, and if I'm in a professional setting, that is what I am....Professional. I actually listen to rap, hip hop, jazz, alternative, folk, country, and pop music. I have an obsession with Mike and Ike's, I have more than one messy dresser drawer, I've been known to dance on tables, I've smoked, and used profane language. 

Making up a persona for someone else is the fantasy you have for them. But, we all have many layers, if all you have is surface stuff, you can end up being very empty. Living life means seeing things from a different perspective. I want to LIVE life, not just exist on this earth. That's why I love Chanel so much, she was born in poverty, given away by her father to an orphanage, became a follies girl ( kinda like a strip tease singer/dancer), she had a sugar daddy take care of her and open her first atelier. Her brand now is associated with tradition, etiquette, and wealth. If that's not the perfect testimony to having layers, I don't know what is...

Just eye's...

I think I speak for most "Artist" as I write this blog entry, we DO not enjoy just doing your eyes!

Picture having your car vacuumed, shampooed, and having all the interior polished as if it was right off the the assembly line. Then, picture the exterior chipped, nicked, dirty, and the tires drug through the mud. It doesn't make much sense does it? Well, that is exactly what you are asking when you want someone who does make up for a living and has a passion for a perfect finished look to "Just do your eyes." Your skin is the foundation or the exterior, and if you think you don't have any blemishes or an uneven skin, you are probably 3yrs old, because that's the last time you went without the environment affecting your skin. So, next time you ask a professional artist to do your make up, let them do what they have worked so hard learning to do!

North vs South fashion...

I was raised all over the world, so for me I do not have an origin, other than being born in Dayton, Ohio and that it was homeroom for when my Dad was waiting for his next orders ( military orders). When I travel to some of my favorite cities, like Chicago, New York, and DC I remember that our country is full of unique and different cultures. One of the clear differences in the North and south is the way we dress. I was raised by a southern women ( My mom is from Georgia), and she had the proper southern way of presenting herself and her children. What I love about my personal style is, it is a juxtaposition of both north and south. I feel the South has a uniform of what is expected and proper, where northern states, especially bigger cities don't have any rules, unless you have to present yourself professionally or traditionally. Of course that is my opinion, and means nothing really. What I love about the newest craze of street blogging, is that the world can see the amazing style of fashionable people. I follow about 8 street blogger's, and it inspires me more than anything!

Nail Art!

I have been obsessed with nail art lately. As the universe would have it, I happen to have one of the best nail artist. At first I thought it was going to be a short lived trend, and I would have fun this summer and go back to sensible nails in the fall. But, it seems nail art is here to stay. At New York Fashion Week, designers had up to 20 nail-artist doing nails back stage for the models. It was as important as the clothing. With all the award shows having a nail-cam on the red carpet, and the hoards of nail art boards on Pinterest, nails art is here to stay, for at least another two seasons.

Pink Heals!

For the last 3 years Van Michael salon has supported and created the hair and make up for an amazing nonprofit Breast Cancer foundation fundraising party at the W Hotel Buckhead, http://www.pinkheals.org/ourstory.htm. 

This foundation brings  fashion and femininity to the otherwise serious or overly corky ways to raise money for Breast Cancer. I have taken a lead on organizing our backstage crew for a couple years and we have made the survivors look and feel amazing. The survivors are the models along with style bloggers that help dress the ladies for the show. For one night we turn them into runway models and honor their journey. It's a great time and I hope if you live in the Atlanta area you would consider supporting Van Michael and Pink Heals Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 7 p.m.

TBT...My Born Day!

Tomorrow I celebrate my gift of life. I take this day in, from the moment I wake till the moment I lay my head back down. I lost oxygen when I was born and could have not made it past an hour of birth. But, somehow I was meant to be here...

I have had some interesting situations and experiences in my forty-three years, many you would never have guessed or even can picture, judging by what you know about me now. What I know for sure is that every step lead me to this day. The people that are around me, the people I meet, and the people I have yet to meet, all are aligned by purpose. When you know your purpose, the path you take is the fun part. So, I don't just celebrate my life tomorrow, I celebrate everyone I've ever come across, because you made me the person I am today. The people who knew I had more to offer and gave me a chance, the people who uplifted me when I had my darkest days, and the people who didn't even know that their rejection was my motivation. I am thankful and grateful for ever minute I have lived...

GOD GAVE US THE GIFT OF LIFE; IT IS UP TO US TO GIVE OURSELVES THE GIFT OF LIVING WELL.

Voltaire

Virgo spirit...

I wasn't born into privilege, but my family definitely prepared me for the moments when I had to associate myself with people who were. I have always been able to befriend and align myself with all types of people. I actually honor and pride myself on being so diverse. In my life I have worked for many women of wealth and knowledge, but there is one lady that changed my life. Not only did she expose me to lifestyles fit for Queens she taught me how to negotiate and to be a business women. What is so beyond amazing is that we shared the same zodiac sign, so the things she deemed important where the same level of importance to me. 

Virgo's have two great strengths, The ability to focus their attention, and an uncanny scenes to see what's wrong with a person, a situation or your environment.

The motto is "Perfect is almost good enough."

The weakness : The need for perfection gets in the way of enjoyment.

Sandra Anderson Baccus was born today, she no longer has any use for her earthly body, but I think of her daily and rewind every moment that she and I had together. I loved her critical Virgo traits so much, because they were so familiar. Happy birthday Mrs. B!

Shamless Selfies...

If you haven't mastered your own selfie by now, you either don't have a smart phone or you truly don't like pictures of yourself. More than 31million Instagram photos have been hashtagged #selfie. 

Some of the coolest photoblogs are on Intagram, take Sara Sucker's ( Nars, PR girl) mirrored wall in her lobby at work, every morning she post a selfie of her outfit, or Coco Rocha's ( Model) Pic Stitch, where she groups her selfies in a collage so you can see details of her outfit, and Karlie Kloss's ( model) Kissy faces and Smooches, which she sends out daily to her followers on Intagram.
 Many may say that this is self absorbed or narcissistic, but I argue that people will try to make you feel badly about yourself, due to their own feelings about their appearance or looks. If you feel confident and secure let the world see you!

Coco Rocha

Sara Sucker

Karlie Kloss

R.S.L.

People come in your life for a REASON, SEASON, OR LIFETIME...You know that there are people that are purposely placed in your life, may it be to show something amazing about yourself, may it be a healing or you are the healer. Then there are the seasonal people that stay just for a while, long enough to bring you a change of pace or shake up your complacency, then there are your lifetime people who you may not talk to everyday, but you know that they will always be a phone call away, they have been there from the beginning, and don't plan to disappear anytime soon. I have a list of all of the above, but who I want you to meet today is one of the many people who has witnessed a few ups and downs and has cheered me on every step of the way! Thank you Lila for coming and spending some beauty time with me yesterday!

Hollywood Glamour design...

I bought my house in March 2006, I had been searching for a house a year prior, but never could find anything that would allow me to design the interior space the way I liked, at the time all I could think about was top designer Kelly Weartler.

  She had done some amazing things in California and started to gain some notoriety across the country. One of her first projects was the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. As the universe would have it, I had a job in Santa Monica and the first thing I did when I had free time was to walk over to the Viceroy. I was able to see pictures already since she had put out a coffee table book of her work. But, it was even more amazing in person. The take on traditional shapes and styles of furniture with modern fabrics and materials made my heart sing. At that point I knew what my house would be like design wise. I haven't changed a thing really since I chose that style  other than freshen up some wall colors or adding accessories here or there to keep current. She has since started amazing lines of furniture, accessories, and is a judge on Interior Design shows on HGTV. I call her the Tom Ford of design ( along with my friend Michel Boyd, of SmithBoyd interiors), I love the sexiness of her aesthetic and the use of every material, fabric, color, and texture known to man. Hats off to Kelly Wearstler and thanks for helping me find the perfect interior style.

My living room

My reading space

My living room

Throw back Thursdays: The Real Fashionista's of Atlanta...

If reality shows were as popular in the late 90's early 2000s, I would have the top grossing hit show with two of my dearest and wackiest clients. One from NYC, and one born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia both being as proud as ever to tell it. 

Joan Dressler, was mistaken as a witch doctor, fortune teller, and circus conductor pretty much everyday. She came to get her hair and make up done twice a week, Tues. & Fri with Rod Lawson and myself, in which she wouldn't wash her face or change her hair until her next visit. She wore all black everyday, labels you didn't even know existed like, Yohji Yamamoto, Marithe & Francois Girbaud, Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood. It gave me such joy to see high fashion worn as everyday attire. Rod and I were pushed to make the hair and make up just as couture, I truly think my abilities to create fascinating make up came from doing Joan twice a week for 3 years or more. She would allow me to shave her eyebrows off to get an authentic geisha look, including the Kabuki white face, and Rod would create head pieces with such architectural appeal, you couldn't figure how it stayed on her head. When Joan left us and moved to North Carolina and in her own words to become "Ordinary" for her children and grandchildren, Rod and I morned for a long time. We are still looking for our next Joan, of course there will never be another!

Wight Crawford, was the epitome of the southern bell. She came in every week for a blowout and make up, with a mint julep sterling silver cup (filled with Gin, instead of bourbon). She once was a model and was so transformable that she could look like Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe just by changing her hair. Her father lived well into his hundreds, I think... and like a southern little girl, she called him "Daddy." I would get so excited to try new versions of red lipstick on her, she only wore red lipstick. As she aged and with the torment that models hair go through for their careers, she had about six strands of hair left, but Rod would create a mound of hair with some hairspray and rollers.

If only there was a camera that would have followed these two ladies around Atlanta, it would not only been great TV they would have taught ladies a thing or two about dressing up just because you're a women and it makes you memorable....Nobody remembers or cares about a women in her workout clothes.

Joan is on the far right...

Wight Crawford

Silver Linings...

Two years ago I decided I wouldn't stress about the breakage I get around my temples anymore. When I had my hair colored it would break off just around my face, in fact just on the right side. So, I decided I won't have that particular area colored anymore. It was a huge undertaken since I work at a hair salon that has it's on color boutique and people who only specialize in color, I got offers everyday to have my hair colored. It looked awful at first since you only saw white roots. About 5 months of growth and it started looking like a streak. I've since made it my signature, I get asked daily if I have it colored white. Which, made me wonder who would purposely color their hair silver/white? Well, I found out it is actually a trend now and many people young and mature in age, are embracing silver hair as a look. I hope it stays in vogue for a long time, because I'm fighting a losing battle and may need to rock the entire silver head...