Transmission from France!
November 15, 2007 | Posted By:
ErinSkipley |
Uncategorized |
Greetings from the most civilized place on earth!
I’m on a TGV train, travelling from Poitiers to Lyon, the 10 day shoot for dress designer Madina Vadache is finished and I finally have some time to write about our fabulous adventures! We started in Paris and finished at a 12th century chateau in St. Julien de l’Ars.
The superstar team:
Photographers: Kim and Adam Bamburg
Model: Amanda Wall (Mode/Portland)
Hair/Makeup: Me!
We were sent with 3 huge boxes packed with Madina’s bridal, couture collections, and ready to wear, along with shoes, hats, etc. It was a dream shoot. We did 3-5 looks each day, and we still could have done more. In addition to the set up for Madina, we shot an editorial for Junebug Weddings (Fashion Report, April 08), another bridal story for publication, then some fashion stuff. At night, we couldn’t sleep so we shot even more!
The jet lag was intense. Luckily, we had two days in Paris before shooting! Our apartments in Paris were located at opposite ends of the city; Kim and Adam stayed in Montmartre, Amanda and I in Le Marais. We shot at the Hotel de Ville, Le Louvre, in the metro, in front of the Pompidou, all over Paris (gueriilla style of course to avoid the crowds).
I brought a huge suitcase packed with hair extensions, wigs, hair tools, and a makeup kit (more fake hair for the shoot than clothing for myself!) I wasn’t able to use any of my hot tools, or the air compressor because of the crazy voltage, so the hair extensions came in handy. I brought a power inverter and adapter, but still didn’t work! *&#%!!
We took full advantage of being in such an amazing place. Every look was our new favorite, and inspired us to start again. It was a match made in heaven: stunning model, super talented photographers, and incredible clothing. Everywhere we went, we attracted a huge crowd of onlookers with their cameras snapping away.
After we were done shooting in Paris, we squeezed into a rental van and headed for the Chateau (about 3hrs south). We were greeted by Nash and Linda, the wonderful owners (from the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle!). Linda made Earl Grey tea for us, with good bread and chevre cheese, and grapes from their own vines. Lovely!! At night we ate dinners in front of a huge roaring fire with lots of candles on the table. The picture perfect chateau sits on 60 acres, has a chapel next door, and caves undearneath. If you are thinking of a destination wedding, the rooms there are gorgeous, and the history is mind-blowing. Truly a magical place.
I’ll be in Lyon for a few days, then i’m headed back to Paris to catch my flight back to Seattle. Home soon! XO
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Backstage @ TIGI World Release Hair Show VEGAS!
October 4, 2007 | Posted By:
ErinSkipley |
Uncategorized |
I spent last weekend backstage at the TIGI World Release Hair Show as a hair model! They gave me one of the best haircuts that i’ve ever had, and I learned a TON. For two days, I looked on while world class stylists executed some of the most impressive hairstyles that i’ve ever seen. The show was at the Convention center in the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The entire TIGI creative force from around the globe was there, working crazy long hours to get every models hair colored, cut, and styled for the show. Mine too!
Sunday night was the big night on the runway, there were a few different themes. One was Street/Grafitti inspired haircuts, color, and grafitti-like makeup. The makeup was very 80’s (I had nothing to do with it!). TIGI just released a new hair color line with colors like pale lavender, fire engine red, bright yellow, deep copper, etc. Models were bathed in glitter, topped with fantasy afro wigs, others were dark and gothic. Looking through the wardrobe, there were amazing pieces from Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Miu Miu, and other designers.
The coolest part of the runway show, was the last segment. The models came out in gothic clothing, with huge whimsical afro style wigs that were tipped with white spray paint, and smoldering! The hair pieces had dry ice machines installed in them to create billowing smoke. Brilliant. Why haven’t I ever thought doing of that!
Isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?
The show was super cool, there was a magician on stage who made Anthony Mascolo (co-founder of TIGI) disappear from a huge tank of water where he was appeared to be trapped and drowning. The after party was also quite a scene! There was a dj from the UK on turntables, expensive bars serving huge drinks, and a crowd of insanely stylish people.
Global TIGI stylists Michelle and Richie, and me!
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Hollywood premiere of SinCity
September 28, 2007 | Posted By:
ErinSkipley |
celebrity ·
Uncategorized |
I was walking down Union street in San Francisco on a Thursday afternoon, when I got a phone call to do actress Devon Aoki’s makeup for the Hollywood premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Sin City. The film starred Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Torro, Jessica Alba, Elijia Wood, and Rosario Dawson. The premiere was to be held at the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the call time for makeup was 2pm on Sunday afternoon, at Devon’s house. I love my job!
I flew back to Seattle on Saturday afternoon, watered my plants, organized my makeup kit, and decided to sew a jacket for Devon. When I did her makeup for the DEBS premiere, she fell in love with the jacket that I was wearing (which was part of my clothing line, Yoshimi). It took me all night to make a custom jacket, but it was rad and I couldn’t wait to give it to her! At 4am, I took a 30 minute nap in my cozy apartment, and at 5am headed back to the airport to catch my flight to Los Angeles. The adventure begins.
Going through airport security was a nightmare. Already late, they made me go back and check my makeup kit. I was so flustered and sleep deprived that I left the directions, contact phone numbers, etc, all in the kit, along with my phone charger. I slept a few hours on the flight, and arrived into Burbank around 9 in the morning. I waited until all the bags came out on the carousel, and mine wasn’t there. I kept my fingers crossed that the bags would come in on the next flight, and went to pick up a rental car.
In the meantime, my phone battery was dying and I realized that I was going to have to go buy a charger. The time to be at Devon’s was quickly approaching, what if my baggage ended up in another city? What if I couldn’t find her house? Ahh! I couldn’t be without a phone. It should have been an easy thing, but it turned out that my nokia phone was obsolete, and I had to go to six different stores, in LA traffic, before I finally found one.
Thank god, when I returned to the airport at 12:30pm, my bags had arrived. I found the directions, navigated my way to Devon’s house in the Hollywood hills, and arrived on time!! YAY!! I gave Devon a hug, and gave her the jacket which fit her perfectly! She loved it, and danced around the house.
The makeup was the easiest part! I used Studio Tech foundation by M.A.C. mixed with a luminizer. Dior lip pencil in Tile, with #434 Dior Addict lip color. Blush was Dior #849, and eyeshadows were from M.A.C. Waterproof eyeliner by Dior in Trinidad black (best black eyeliner ever), liquid eyeliner by Bourgois in black.
After Devon left in her limo, I got back in my rental car and headed to the airport to go home. Finally could breathe. All that, for a makeup application that took 30 minutes!!
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