BROWS ON FLEEK - BEAUTY MASTER CLASS WITH THE BLOG GUILD

You mention the word 'Beauty', and my ears will be all alert. When you add the words, Master Class to it, I am already signing up. Yes, that's how excited I was when I headed to the Beauty Master Class organised by The Blog Guild in collaboration with Nordstrom and Anastasia Beverly Hills. And the excitement only multiplied by the time the evening was over. Not to mention, it was yet another opportunity to spend some more quality time with my favorite Blogger babes.

I headed to the Nordstom located in the Oak Park Mall, in Overland Park . Our make up classroom was beautifully set up with a small vanity station for each of us. The evening could be divided into two parts: BROWS and CONTOURING . I have decided to break up the class into two separate Blog Posts, so that my readers dont get bored by an extra long one. 

The evening started off with a round of introductions to the brand Anastasia Beverly Hills. The first hour was devoted to Brows. How to properly dress up your brows? How to make them red carpet ready. If you want to get your hair done then shampoo and conditioner are the basic steps. You blow dry it, use the right products , iron or curl it. So why should you stop with your brows with just getting them threaded or waxed. Now that's a valid point. Personally speaking, my current brow routine was something pretty simple. I get my brows threaded professionally once a month. I ask the esthetician to leave them as thick and full as possible and to try and accentuate my natural arch. For products, I use the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Granite and I set it with Anastasia Clear Brow Gel. Pretty basic I should say.  

Angela Muir of the Handmade in the Heartland was selected to be the main model for the Brow Tutorial. The idea was the step by step brow routine would be first done on Angela's brows, so that we almost had a ring side view of it. We were introduced to the various products that the line specailises in, and how to go about selecting the right product. After that two bloggers were paired with one stylist, to help us through our personal brow transformations. I was paired with Blogger Annica Russo of Life Modifier with our stylist Alexis. A huge thank you to Alexis for not only teaching me a great Brow routine, but also taking my pictures. 

STEP BY STEP BROW TUTORIAL: 

Posing with my Beauty Master Class Teacher Alexis

Remove all existing eye brow make up . 

Next comes choice of product. We could choose from Powder Fillers from the Eyebrow Pro Palette or go for the Dip Brow Pomade. The Dip Brow Pomade , I feel is much less forgiving for those of us just starting off with our brow tutorials. So I decided to go for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Duo Brow Powder  from the Palette. I was matched to Medium Brown which is a far cry from the Granite I was matched to at Sephora. Then we are matched to a Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Stencil  depending on our existing brows and our bone structure. I was matched to a HIGH ARCH. 

Next we followed the Anastasia Beverly Hills Golden Ratio Technique to make three precise marks on our brows. Dip an angled eye brow brush in the powder . First lay the brush where the nostril begins. The place where the end of the brush touches the eybrows is your first point. Then lay the brush diagonally on the middle of the nostril, and have it pass over the middle of your iris, The place where it touches over your eyebrow , is the highest point of your arch. Lastly, lay the brush a at the edge of the nostril,and have it touch the end of your eyes. The place where it touches your forehead, is where the tail of your eye brow should end. 

Once you have the three marks on your eye brows, then pick up the stencil of choice. In my case it was the Anastasia Beverly Hills High Arch Stencil of the Five trademarked stencils. The stencil has a roman numeral one on one end. Match that to the first point made on your eyebrow. Make sure that the stencil is parallel to the ground below. Use a lobster claw as I have demonstrated in the picture below, to hold the stencil in place.

Pick up the darker color of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Duo Brow Powder with Anastasia Beverly Hills # 7 Mini Duo Brush and start filling in with hair like strokes. Use the spoolie end to brush through the color. 

Once you have filled in with the product , then its time to pick out your second product. If you are warm undertone, then your brow product should be warm. However for the second product, we pick out something cooler to bring in more dimension. I had a choice between Brow Wiz and Brow definer. I use the Brow Wiz at home so I went for the Brow Definer. In the picture below, you can see the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz on the left and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer on the right. I was matched to Dark Brown  in the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer.

Use the flat end of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer to outline below and above the eye brows and the heads of it. Fill in with hair like strokes. 

Then use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Base Pro Pencil #2 to outline the eyebrows. Its almost like a concealer pencil to clean up your mistakes and to create a contrast. Use the point of the pencil to draw the line. Then lay the pencil flat to blend it in.

Now is the time , to seal it all in. You have a choice of Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel or Tinted Brow Gel. I use the Clear Brow Gel everyday at home, so decided to go for the tinted brow gel. Our stylist had an interesting take on the choice of Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel. She said that since I have blonde dip died ends and highlights, I could use Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel In Caramel to tie in the eye brows with my hair. It made such a difference.

Here is a picture of Before and After. The Brow on the Left is the After and the Brow on the brow on the right is my natural Brow. 

After- Before : Left to Right 

I have learnt so much at this class. A huge thank you to The Blog Guild , Nordstrom and Anastasia Beverly Hills for such a great class, Stay tuned to the blog for the second part of the Tutorial where we learnt about Contouring. 

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KCFW FW 16 FRIDAY NIGHT - RECAP

Cameras charged, cocktails in hand, and it was time for the Friday Night Runway shows. Seven Designers took to the Kansas City Fashion Week stage. I feel this was the evening which brought back drama to the runway. Of late fashion shows have somehow been lacking in the Drama Department. This was an evening which did not disappoint at least where Fashion and drama were concerned.

My favorite designers of the night were Lauren Bander and the finale designer Madison LaRae Durant.

 Here's how the evening rolled by :

The shows were off to an Angelic or should I say Fairy Like start with the collection of My Heirloom Design. The textured hair, the floral crowns ,were adding on, to transport us to the land of dreams.

Coming back to what I was talking about Drama. Rachel Anne Gottlieb 's Present spelled Drama with a capital D. The lace, the construction details of every outfit were on point. She played up with the primary colors and delivered a killer collection. Very edgy and avant garde.

The perfect compliment to the outfits were the exquisite jewllery . Just check this necklace by KC's very own Enve Designs.

Now this is where things get interesting. Just check the skirt which Designer Rachel Anne Gottlieb wore when she walked out on the runway with her show stopper. Now look at the skirt worn by the Fourth model in Designer Kiana Godsey's collection , in the picture below. Both have similar leaf detailing in pleather. The colors are different but it seems like the inspiration might have been the same. The Modern Day Mermaid may be? !

I loved how Femininity shone out through Kiana Godsey's collections. Her play with golds and blacks surely seemed to have carved out a niche in every Fashionista's mind

Project Runway alumnus Michael Drummond returned to KCFW with his solidarity theme. His last collection was well known for the graphic prints of two ladies or two hands holding onto each other. Micheal jad mentioned in an exclusive interview he wa sinspired by Solidarity and that shone through his prints and collection. The story seemd to be repeating itself, although the silhouettes and colors were a bit different. While last season, he had played up wit citron colors along with monochromes, this season he brought in his prints in a metallic gold. Gold was everywhere this season, it seems.

Lauren Bander is a KCFW favorite and she never disappoints, I feel. Whats more fall than Browns and Reds. Loved her color palette. I think she can play up with tulle like nobody's business. There's a reason why she always steals the show. This lady knows her craft and knows it well.

The men took the stage with Designer Paulie Gibson's collection. Structured dinner jackets with intricate details, and winter coats shared the stage. Here was an interesting detail again. Last season, Paulie Gibson had a long shirt in a citrus green which was very similar to an Indian Kurta for men. This season he had a smilar Kurta Shirt, just that the color was more fall appropriate- black. Seems Mr Gibson clearly has Indian Menswear as a constant inspiration.

Finally, it was time for the Finale Deisgner to take the stage. 15 year old Madison LaRae Durant's collection L'amour Paris 2016 slayed it big time. She is the runner up of Project Runway: Threads Season One . And I guess she knew it. At 15 I was probably struggling with my Math. And did you check her prices? They were insane. Probably we pay more at H & M than what her designs were priced at. I am all set to shop . She played up with blues,blacks and whites in a collection which stood out aesthetically. Take a bow girl ! Those structured collars, those gowns, those tops with leather panels, can I have it all.

If you want to read about the rest of the KCFW fun, then click on the label Fashion Week, in the main menu of my blog. 

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NOBU, LA - EATING OUT

Its time for a Food Post. I know I have been bringing forth Fashion Week stories for all of you, but many of my readers wanted to read about my latest food escapades. I am guilty about not being very prompt about writing about all my Eating Out adventures. I am working on it. Recently, we were on a small holiday to LA to celebrate my daughter's birthday. She loves the beach and Disney so we decided to take her to both. In between Mom and Dad also squeezed in some foodie adventures of their own. Four very different Eating Out experiences, which I shall be chronicling on the Blog. Lets kick off the Four Part series with the most lavish one of the three - NOBU.

I think the name says it all. The NOBU experience is an experience worth its salt and every penny. The name sake of celebrity Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Its almost a dream come true for any Food Blogger, I feel. It was my Husband's gift to me, and I was surely over the moon. The evening before our daughter's birthday seemed to be just the right time to go for one of the fanciest dinners in town.

NOBU is located in the  Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles and is known for being a favorite for the glitterati of the Hills they call Hollywood. (Wink) .

We didn't have  reservation and we were told that it was an hour long wait. We  were ready to wait as the waiting lounge seemed perfect to rest our tired touristy toes. Me and my husband were going over our plans for the next day(My daughter's Birthday), when the Maitre'D told us that they had a table ready. Celebrations should never wait, she said ! Thank you daughter.

Our daughter's Pre-Birthday celebrations were sweetened with her Green Tea Gelato and Chocolate Lava Cake. Usually this combination comes in a Bento Box, but to make it more celebratory, it came more deconstructed. I could have had that Gelato by the gallon every night,it was so good. And I am not a Tea fan at all.

Nobu has been designed by famous architect David Rockwell  and has three separate eating areas, besides the bar and lounge. We decided to sit at the Main Dining Room with the Sushi Bar. A round table and we were all set. Our server explained that we should imagine a Japanese Chef who had been on a Peruvian Holiday. So our dinner was supposed to be a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian.

Our server suggested we start off with the Cold Dishes and then venture off to the Hot Dishes.Your dinner at Nobu is supposed to be an experience and the Menu has been designed accordingly.

Yellow Tail Sashimi was our first course. Love how fresh the yellow tail was with just a drizzle of a curing sauce and the sliced jalapenos, packed an explosion in your mouth.

Monk Fish had been on my Husband's foodie wish list for a long time. So when he saw a mention of it, we both wanted to order it. Our second course was Monk Fish Pate with Caviar and chives, a slice of radish and a wasabi infused sauce. It was creamy and almost very Foie Gras like, in its texture. Very decadent indeed.

Our birthday girl enjoyed her Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with some rice and Nori. 

We ventured to rolled Sushis as our fourth course. Every Sushi order came in twos and we decided to try two different kinds.

My least favorite of the night had to be Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce. Somehow it reminded me of Dynamite Shrimp from our very own P F Chang. A major let down where the others were compared to .

How our faith in the menu was restored with the brilliant Wagyu Gyoza. Another item ticked off from the Foodie wish List. Wagyu beef in all its glory. Soft and succulent dumpling with minced Wagyu beef were super flavorful. It came with two different dipping sauces which complimented each other pretty well.

Overall, it was a great experience. Going through the course and savoring an enjoying every bit of it while ringing in my daughter's birthday. Did take the time, to chat up with the Sushi masters at work. Our server was so good with his suggestions on how to take the meal forward. I am surely going back to Nobu, whenever I am back in LA.

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KCFW FW'16 CHARITY NIGHT - RECAP

Last Thursday was the first night of Runway shows for Kansas City Fashion Week 's Fall Winter shows. From the kick off party held at Counterpoint, the action  had shifted to the iconic Union Station. Its the fifth year of Kansas City Fashion Week, and the preparations were apt for the 5th Anniversary celebrations. If you want to read about my outfit details of the night, then click Here.

Thursday Night at KCFW is the Charity Night. A portion of the ticket sales usually go to a charity. This season, the charity partner was Rightfully Sewn. I had first heard from Rightfully Sewn, when I was interviewing Designer Alicia Janesko last season. Rightfully Sewn is the brainchild of Jennifer Lapka Pfeifer, which offers to provide seamstess training to women-in need. The night was also the second Annual Mayor's Night. Kansas City,Mo Mayor Sly James graced the occasion and congratulated the KCFW management for their contributions. Beauty Brands was one of the sponsors of the night, and had such an amazing Swag Bag for all the media. I cant wait to start using all the beauty tid bits and writing about them.

My favorite designer of the Night was Designer Brooke Comley's line Gyspy Blaque. But let me go around the shows chronologically.

The Designer to kick off this season's shows was Olathe based, The Little Line by Liz. This was her debut on the KCFW stage and clearly it struck a chord. I loved the lace overlay details. Her colors ranged from blue, black, grey and white and seemed very appropriate for Fall Winter . She played around with layering and had some great vests and ponchos. Wool, denim and lace were cohesively connected in a collection. The pricing seemed pretty affordable, and surely those were clothes which I could afford without breaking the bank. As I am a Olathe resident myself, I could not help cheer a bit harder for her. Another interesting detail about the show was that one of the models, had won her victory over ovarian cancer. Go Girl !

It was time for the kids to take center stage. Next in line was designer T Michelle. I was wearing Hounds tooth that night,and it was great to see a lot of Hounds tooth on the runway. She played up monochromes with pops of color in purples and blues. The silhouettes were very retro inspired , especially those of the Flower Power era. Ponchos were very prominent in her collection

Jewel Tones came to the KC runways with Brooklyn based designer Eve Emmanuel's line More than Just Fig Leaves . She started off with velvet in rich tones and ventured off to light cottons. Although I am not a fan of velvet, I did like her numbers. Somehow the later part of her collection lost steam when she changed up to lighter fabrics . Capes and midi skirts were highlighted in her collection.

The second half of the night began with St Louis based Designer Ola Hawatmeh's Ola Style. What stood out was her choice of fabric. I had covered her show last season, and she had chosen to repeat the same shiny satiny fabric, albeit in a different print, for two consecutive collections and seasons. She brought in 'Florals for Fall' with a loud bang. Most of the outfits had very interesting backs . The models later came out with headscarfs paired with their outfits. The designer rocked it in her black romper with golden chain belt. I was not much of a fan of her collection last season, but this time around I am blown.

My favorite of the night was undoubtedly Designer Brooke Cromley's line Gypsy Blaque. She had made her debut last season with a killer all black collection. She took it a few million notches higher with her current collection. Military Green and Black were the colors for her this season paired with some gold foil here and there. And did I tell you that her first model looked like a young Donatella Versace almost.

If Shirt dresses are big now, then Brooke made them edgier .

Twinning with Designer Brooke Cromley of Gypsy Blaque

K J Clothing Design by Designer Kendra Harris started off with a gold Wedding gown. This Gown was a work of art in itself. The layers, the construction, the textures, I could do a whole post on that single gown. Aesthetically speaking, I felt that her collection of wedding gowns was inspired by Indian wedding wear .  Golds, Burgundy and a dash of tulle were pretty prominent in her collection. There was a model in her show, who almost stumbled but managed herself beautifully and carried on. Kudos to her.

The last designer of the night was designer Khai Hutchinson of The House of Khai. I have a detailed interview with the designer coming up later in the blog. Khai's designs were inspired by the post punk era. His designs could be described as androgynous and avant garde. The models had very grungy eye make up to compliment their outfit.

The first day wrapped off on quite a promising note.

If you want to read about my Outfit details of the night, then click Here.

If you want to read about the rest of the scoop from KCFW, then click Here  

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