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Friday Pretty: Kevyn Aucoin

Friday, October 14th, 2011
By Glinda

Kevyn Aucoin was the first makeup artist to show up on my radar way back when in the mid-80’s.  Hey, way-back time machines are fun, no?

He was a talented man, and one of the first (and best) to showcase and share his techniques so that “normal” women could get similar looks.   Here are some stunning transformations from his bestselling books Making Faces and Face Forward.

And people wonder why I love makeup.

Martha Stewart as Veronica Lake

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins as Josephine Baker

Calista Flockhart as Audrey Hepburn

 

Demi Moore as Clara Bow

Christina Ricci as Edith Piaf

Celine Dion as Maria Callas

Gina Gershon as Sohpia Loren

 

 

 


Beauty Icon: Sophia Loren

Friday, September 9th, 2011
By Glinda

Not only beautiful, but an accomplished actress as well.

I’m not really sure that I found even one picture where she didn’t look less than stunning.  Hair up, hair down, from the left side, from the right side, smiling or not smiling, they were all lovely.

She is no “classic” beauty, but the combination of her hooded, slightly slanted eyes, full mouth, strong  jawline, and classic Roman nose makes her one of the most unforgettable women in the world.

The killer bod certainly didn’t hurt, either.



Beauty Icon: Twiggy

Thursday, June 16th, 2011
By Glinda

Born Lesley Hornsby, British model Twiggy took the beauty and fashion worlds by storm in 1966.  

Her career began as somewhat of a fluke, being a test model for a new type of crop haircut, and a fashion journalist  just happened to see the pictures at the salon where her hair was cut. And just like that, Twiggy was christened “The Face of ’66.”

Known for her slim, androgynous build, long lashes, and short hair, I found it interesting that she admitted the lashes were always fake. She was quoted as saying “Back then I was layering three pairs of false eyelashes over my own and would paint extra ‘twigs’ on my skin underneath.” 

Agree or disagree with her renown or the “waif” look she supposedly promoted, it is impossible to ignore her as a figure who looms large in the modeling world.

As for her photos, I actually like her look better and better as she ages.  Go figure.


Beauty Icon: Iman

Friday, April 8th, 2011
By Glinda

Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, or Iman to you, is a Somali-born model.  It took Wikipedia for me to find that her father was a former Somali ambassador to Saudi Arabia and her mother was a doctor.  She was discovered by a fashion photographer while attending university in Kenya.  The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Iman is on my personal list of the five most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. 

Aside from her gorgeousness, she is an accomplished businesswoman who founded her own makeup line, and is well known for her charity work on behalf of her native country and the Children’s Defense Fund. 

Oh yeah, and she’s married to some singer.  David whatshisface.


Beauty Icon: Dame Elizabeth Taylor

Thursday, March 24th, 2011
By Glinda

Believe it or not, I was actually going to do this post last week, but couldn’t find the time to squeeze it in.

And now, of course, the sad news today of her passing.

I honestly believe that Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most stunning women to ever walk the planet, period.  And when I say stunning, I mean jaw-droppingly, hear-stoppingly so.  Much is made of her gorgeous eyes, and did she ever know how to make them stand out even more by having some of the best-shaped eyebrows I have ever seen.  If there was ever an argument to bring back thick, shapely eyebrows, Elizabeth Taylor is it.

But, enough of my words, her face speaks for itself.


Beauty Icon: Louise Brooks

Friday, February 11th, 2011
By Glinda

She began her career in silent films, and became famous for her acting skills as well as her beauty.  Her even more famous hairstyle was dubbed “the Brooks Bob” and it became the 1920’s version of the Rachel.  I would argue that her hairstyle was even more iconic, as we all instantly equate that particular type of bob with flappers.   Wikipedia says Louise was known for her use of salty language and her sexual liberation.  Sounds like my kind of gal.  Louise embodies what I like to call  “flapper chic.”

So salacious for the 1920’s!

Gorgeous, and I would kill for those earrings.

This picture would not look out of place in the Vogue magazine of today.

Lovely.

I adore the dark hair/dark lip combo with the white dress.

A photo from early in her career, note the extreme cupid’s bow lip, which she later toned down.

A rare photo in which she is smiling. 

She looks so stunning, I almost want to cut my hair!

 


Beauty Icon: Grace Kelly

Friday, January 21st, 2011
By Glinda

When you think of a classic American beauty, Grace Kelly is one of the first women who come to mind.  Well, my mind, anyway.  Born to a wealthy family, she began modeling, went on to acting, and finally managed to become a princess.  After scrolling through hundreds of photos of her, I am convinced that it was almost impossible for her to take anything other than a beautiful photograph.  She has no “bad” side.

Gorgeous and elegant.

Making wet hair look like a perfect accessory.

Doing pensive in a way that most of us can only dream of.

Flawless.

Cool and classic.

How could I not include a photo with her in the wedding dress, one of my all-time favorites?

Aging beautifully. And I want her jewelry.

Taken in 1982, and is actually one of my favorites due to the genuine smile.

 


Beauty Icons: Beverly Johnson

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
By Glinda

No list of beauty icons would be complete without her.  In 1974 she became the first African-American woman to be featured on the cover of American Vogue, and went on to have a long career as a model, with over 500 different magazine covers.  It certainly isn’t hard to see why she was in such demand.  She is, in a word, stunning.

 

The one that started it all.

Posing for Cosmopolitan in 1976.

 

This is actually from an album cover, circa 1979

Looking better with no makeup than anyone has a right to.

An Ebony Magazine cover.

 


V Magazine Somehow Makes Beautiful Women Ugly

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
By Glinda

Gorgeous women. Bad, bad, photos.

All right, even trying to disregard the badly placed and colored V, WTF? Jane recently admitted to having plastic surgery, and they really did do a good job because she still looks pretty natural and well, like Jane Fonda.  However, why do they have her hands placed on the side of her head as if she was trying to pull up her face? Or holding up her hair. And why is her hair sticking straight up off of her head? Everybody hated when Ke$ha did it, it doesn’t look any better on Jane.  Isn’t the open mouth photo the one we are always yelling at people not to take of us, as we are ready to take a bite of something?  “Don’t take a picture of me with my mouth open, for god’s sake!” But here’s Jane, right on the cover with the very same look.  So many questions, so little answers.

Next up we’ve got the stunning Sigourney Weaver, who has somehow defaulted to the “I’m having a bad hair day” soccer mom hairdo. A baseball cap? If they are trying to evoke youthful playfulness, it’s not working. This is  freaking Ripley people, not some poor schmuck who’s running late to carpool.  I take strong issue with the fact that we have what basically amounts to an upshot of her nose.  Well, at least the V frames her face nicely, and that’s all the good I have to say about this one.

Oh lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The wig Susan Sarandon is so gamely sporting looks like it came out of a moth-eaten trunk from the wardrobe of a small-town, low-budget production of Lady Macbeth.  If you look past the egregious hair, she definitely looks the best of the bunch.  Which isn’t saying a whole lot.

If that’s the best they can do with the wonderful subjects they had to photograph, no wonder everyone is afraid of aging.


Beauty Icons: Boy George

Thursday, November 11th, 2010
By Glinda

I’m going to make this a regular feature here on the ole’ Manolo Beauty blog, and for my inaugural icon, I thought we’d have some fun.

I will never forget the first time I saw Boy George.  It was, of course, on television, in a music video for his band Culture Club.  The voice! The dreads! And oh, the makeup!


The year was 1982, I was in sixth grade.

Now, were there men in music who had put on makeup before?  Of course! There was Bowie in the Ziggy days, Lou Reed dabbled in some eyeliner at one time, not to mention KISS and their full-on facepaint.  I’m sure there are others, but it’s late and I’m too lazy to do a bunch of research.

On all of those men, though, it seemed like the makeup was a definite affectation, a persona.  But Boy George was just born to wear tons of eyeliner and outrageous eyeshadow combinations  He was a natural.  Notice I didn’t say he looked natural, but he was by far the most comfortable man in makeup I’d ever seen.

He had some fantastic eyebrows, didn’t he?

This was in the days long before hi-def and spray-on makeup, yet somehow he always managed to have a flawless complexion.  I know many women who could learn a lesson or two in makeup application from Mr. George.

And while he wasn’t the first male spokesman for Viva Glam for M.A.C. (that was Elton John) he was certainly first to rock the makeup. Viva Boy George!












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