Confession: I have never been able to properly pull off a red lip. Pink, purple, burgundy, even orange, I’ve managed to (mostly) master. But red? I look like a naughty toddler playing in mommy’s makeup. It just never seems to look rose-blossom right.

Until…Amy of Cincy Chic invited me and a few other lady-bloggers to The Bridal Studio to have our makeup–including the Perfect Red Lip–done by pros Mollie and Nancy of FACEing.

Reds, reds everywhere…

Gettin’ my makeup did

Marsha and Brock of Style Edit

Photographer April Smith was there to record the transformation, and Brock and Marsha, Kate, Amy, Julie and I posed and preened for the camera like pros.

 This is how you give good glam, bitches

You can show off by posting a picture of yourself wearing your Perfect Red Lip on Cincy Chic’s Facebook page! When you do, you’ll be entered to win two tickets to the sold-out Go Red event on February 3rd, a $50 gift certificate to Stone Creek, and a personalized FACEing makeup class gift certificate. Bonus entry if you make your Red Lip Pic your profile picture!

I made Mollie and Nancy of FACEing and photographer April Smith take a turn in front of the camera

Mollie used a combination of Revlon Crimson and Laura Mercier’s Neutral Brown liner on me (plus false eyelashes–my first time wearing them!). What shade(s) do you use for a red lip?

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Time for another round of “Ask T”! This is not so much a styling question as it is a stylist question:

Hi Tamia,

I really like your work in A-Line magazine!  I’ve always wondered how you get the clothes for photo shoots. Do you have to buy a bunch of stuff? If so, who pays for it and where do you keep it?

~K

Hi K,

I’m freelance, so I usually pitch an idea or concept for a shoot, then the editor suggests tweaks/adjustments according to the timing and theme of the issue. From that point, it’s my job to set up the shoot, including a date, location, photographer, models, hair and makeup artists, and of course, clothing and accessories.

The clothes are “pulled” or “sourced” from local retailers since it’s a local magazine and we’re too far away to work with showrooms and designer PRs in NY and LA.

So, instead of flipping through lookbooks and picking the skirt from Look 4 and having it messengered over (apparently, even when that’s possible, it’s a hassle–hence services like The Runthrough), it’s more about researching boutiques, visiting retailers to make an introduction, and getting a feel for the type of merchandise each shop carries.

Pictures and Pick-ups

For each shoot, I pick out several looks (outfits) from local shops, including clothes, shoes, and accessories. There’s a lot of running around, jotting down notes and taking pictures of various items at each store to keep track of what’s out there and which shops have what I’m looking for!

Once I figure out which pieces will work best together, I pick them up from each store the evening before the photo shoot. The items are loaned, meaning they’re returned to the shops after each shoot. There’s a merchandise loan form that we use to keep track of the stuff we borrowed and guarantee their safe return, or payment if something happens. Nothing has ever happened, but it’s nice to have backup in place!

Styling for publications in a city like Cincinnati requires a slightly different process than it would in a place like NY or LA, but I’m fairly anal about the way I like things to be organized, so it all works out!

Hope I answered your question!

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I went to see Tim Gunn speak at Smart Talk Women last night (big thanks to Erin for hooking up the tickets!) and was extremely impressed by how down-to-earth and funny he was as he talked about his books, Project Runway, and all sorts of, um…entertaining stories involving Anna, Andre, Heidi, et al.

He shared so many funny stories and such good advice that I couldn’t tweet it all, but I gave it a shot!

Zach and I chatted while waiting in line to meet Tim (I called him Mr. Gunn and he immediately insisted I call him Tim), and he was just as lovely and accommodating up close. I seriously want to shrink him down and carry him around with me all day so he can tell me amusing anecdotes about the over-the-top behavior of fashion industry folks. Make it work!

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Another day, another photo shoot! These images are from the A-Line shoot I styled for the January issue, with the lovely Sheila Gray as the model. You’d never know she has a teenage daughter–she came out of the dressing room in jeans and socks and looked like a teenager herself!

Snappin’ away at The American Can Factory

The photographer for the shoot was Gina of Kiwi Street Studios, one of those multi-talented creative types who does it all. She even managed to get a few snaps of me!

We wound up dragging some bonafide firemen (who just happened to be there answering a call) into a few pictures, too. No one is safe!

We totally caught these guys off guard, haha!

Check out the photos and the rest of the January issue of A-Line here. Happy reading!

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The great thing about having a mom who reads your blog (besides the fact that supportive moms are the best EVER), is that they kind of already know what you want for Christmas. Selfish Wish List posts are like public letters to Santa!

I posted this query for flat boots and reader Tamu really came through with suggestions. I got these comfy Calvin Klein boots for Christmas!

After expressing my obsession with non-ugly camera bags, I found this Epiphanie bag under the Christmas tree. I LOVE this purse-bag! It works perfectly with the little gift I bought myself…

…A “used” new-in-box Nikon 18-55 VR lens to replace an old lens that was broken in a freak parking lot incident (the camera crashed to the ground and I swear I stood there with tears in my eyes willing time to move backwards for a good five minutes).

Yay for grown-up toys! Did you get anything good?

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A few days ago, a group of Cincinnati style bloggers and friends got together at Neon’s for our (perhaps annual?) Holiday Style Bash! We had a great time awarding each other silly superlatives, taking pictures of our respective “assignments” (see below), and just having a plain ol’ good time mingling with shop owners, PRs, designers, and each other.

Tiffany’s donated a beautiful reversible bag to raffle off (thanks, Darcy!), and jewelry designer Megan Fenno donated a lovely pair of earrings. Both winners were NOT ME, so whatevs.

My assignment for the evening was Accessories, so bags, belts, and jewelry were of extreme importance and worthy of extra attention:

Leopard and leather and shine, oh my!

Attendees left with a gift bag that included a free FULL SIZED Olay product (thanks, Kasmira!) and the new issue of A-Line magazine. We wound up with bags of clothes to donate to Dress For Success, plenty of business cards, and several invitations to do it again.  Trust me, we will–and I hope to see you there!

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The Cincy Style Bloggers group (and plenty of fashionable guests) had a blast at last night’s Holiday Style Bash! Thanks to all my lovely blogging buddies for their help planning the event–more pics to follow!

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