A Great Afternoon at Hot Heads

For those of you who missed it, the event at Hot Heads today was chock full of tips and techniques designed to help attendees maximize their beauty and style potential. It was a well organized, informative and entertaining affair.

I'll be posting a number of pictures I took today, as well as some of the things I learned during the demonstrations. Until I have the opportunity to do that, I wanted to give you a little preview. The picture above was taken duirng a make up application session with Salon Manager and Image Consultant, Georgette Marable. I thought it would be fitting since it's in keeping with the Pretty, Quick calendar I'm following this month. (Today is "Give Your Eyes a Lift" day. :)

Recapturing Our Glory Days

This past summer, my friend Cathy’s husband, Mark, wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, a bandana and a Fender Telecaster, provided the entertainment at another friend’s birthday party. One of the songs he sang was a parody of Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days. (If you knew Pam, the birthday girl, you’d know it had to have been a parody, because, clearly, she’s still in the midst of hers.)

Me… not so much. In fact, I’m afraid I have a little more in common with “the girl who lives up the block”… the one who feels like boo hooing because her glory days have long since passed her by.

I sure wish I had the girl up the block’s number right now, because I’d definitely give her a call. I heard something this weekend that I think she’d like to hear. I heard that our glory days might be returning. According to Georgette, who as I have mentioned before, knows these things… the 80s are back! Well… kind of!

The 80s were pretty great years for me. I graduated from high school and from college. I made wonderful new friends from all over the country and, in one case, outside of it!  I went to some amazing concerts.  (Bruce's Born in the USA tour comes to mind.)  I traveled to the other side of the world.  I wore lots of cotton candy pink satin bridesmaids dresses.  I married a guy I was crazy about. (My closest friends would say I should divide that sentence into two i.e. “I married a guy. I was crazy!” ...or... "I married that guy.  I was crazy!" ... or... "I married that guy.  He was crazy!"  Anyway, I digress!) I moved back to Florida and I gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy.

I like simple silhouettes as much as the next gal, but if you tell me that wearing shoulder pads again will bring back all the cute, available men, plentiful jobs and hope, then bring ‘em on! What else is new (again) this season?

Per Georgette:

• Black, black and more black!    .

• Fitted tailored suits. (Pin stripes are back too!)

• Scarves and hats

• The poetic look

• Lace

• Pale colors
 
• Printed hosiery &

• Big jewelry

She had me at printed hosiery!  Anyway, can't wait to hear more.  I’ll talk with Georgette about this again and I'll get back with you soon with additional details. I, for one, want more information about “the poetic look”. (All I can think of is that Elizabeth Barrett Browning look from a couple of posts ago.) In the meantime,

and they’re back! Yay!

Gems from Georgette, #1 - Skin Care Basics

Hot Heads Groupie: Georgette, if I was told to grab two items from my makeup drawer because my home was burning down, my initial thought would be to grab hairspray and a handheld mirror. Obviously the hairspray is flammable and could make the fire worse and the handheld mirror might protect me from falling debris. After further reflection, however, I think I would want two items that would make me look as fetching as possible for the firefighters and for the reporters. If I could only take two items from my makeup drawer, what would you suggest that I take?

Georgette:

HHG: Alright, that’s a ridiculous question. Let me rephrase it. Most of us have makeup drawers full of lotions and potions and creams in all shades, shapes and sizes. I am at a complete loss as to what to do with them all. Since this is our first session, why don’t we start with the basics. If our faces are blank palates, what are the first two things we should put on them?

Georgette: Without question, the two most fundamental items in any woman’s beauty arsenal are a good cleanser and a moisturizer.

HHG: Is there anything particular we should know about either of these items?

Georgette: Well, there are lots out different brands and formulas out there. I happen to be partial to a line called, BeautiControl Cosmetics, but there are a number of good ones on the market. Like a lot of things, the most expensive ones aren’t necessarily the best. Ideally what you want are products that do the job without breaking the bank. That’s why I’m particularly partial to BeautiControl Cosmetics, which I do promote, by the way.

The BeautiConrol Cosmetics line is compared to the higher price cosmetics in the department stores but is generally about 1/3 the cost of Clinique. I’ve tried everything out there and I absolutely adore all of the BeautiControl Cosmetics products.

With moisturizers, one of the key elements to consider is whether or not they contain sunblock. If you put nothing else on your face when you leave your home in the morning, you should put on a moisturizer with sunblock.

HHG: I usually do that when I go to the beach, but what about days when I’ll be indoors for the majority of the day. Is it really that important under those circumstances?

Georgette: It is. You still have to walk to and from your car. You may be heading out to lunch. You only get one face. You would be wise to take care of it in the best way possible.

HHG: I’ve seen SPFs as low as 8 and I’ve seen some that go up to 100. For daily use, what SPF would you recommend?

Georgette: I’d go with a minimum of 20. You also want to take a look at the ingredients. A good sunblock will include either zinc or titanium. What you’re looking for is protection from UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays are the ones most responsible for aging and UVBs put you at risk for skin cancer.

HHG: Alright, so if I do meet that dashing, adoring firefighter, I’m going to need to have more than clean and subtle skin. Where do we go from here?

Georgette: One of the services offered at the salon is make up application. Obviously this is a service we provide to a lot of bridal parties and teenaged girls getting ready for homecoming or prom, but it’s something other women should consider having done, as well. Properly applied makeup can do so much to improve a woman’s appearance and to accentuate what is already beautiful about her. If a woman knows what she’s doing in this area, it can make such a difference in how she presents herself in the world and in how she’s received.

HHG: So, in other words, if the only things in a woman’s make up case are pale blue eye shadow and Bonny Bell Lip Smacker, it might be time for new look and a little one on one guidance?

Georgette: Most women have read enough magazines to have a general idea of what they should do and of what color families work best for them, but there really is no substitution for a customized session with a trained, objective expert in the field. In addition to being the Salon Manager, I am a certified imagine consultant. As such, I am able to offer our clients a number of different services. One of them is makeup application. I love helping women achieve their potential. I love being a part of making them look and feel absolutely beautiful.

HHG: If it’s OK, I’d like to sit in on one of your upcoming sessions… with the client’s permission, of course.

Georgette: That would be great.

HHG: Georgette, thank you so much for your time… and Ladies, get out your lip and eye pencils and prepare to take notes. Our next session promises to be an eye opening (and lip defining and cheek bone emphasizing and dark circle concealing….) adventure. I can’t wait!

The Hot Heads Salon Manager Plans To Help The Rest of Us Sizzle Too!

If Hot Heads is the Central Florida equivalent of The Charm City Bakery, then Salon Manager, Georgette, must be our Mary Alice. The similarities between the women are many. Both are friendly and self assured. Both have thriving side businesses in the creative realm. Both are crucial to the successful operation of their respective organizations and both are smart, knowledgeable and resourceful. How do they two differ? Well, for starters, Georgette would not wear that color yellow.

Left:  Charming Mary Alice Yeskey, Office Manager of Charm City Cakes, and
Right: The Unforgettable Georgette Marable, Salon Manager at Hot Heads  

I was interested to hear this. I know as much about fashion as Steven Cojocaro knows about this year’s BSC football standings, but even I know that yellow is a hot color this season. The idea that Georgette is willing to pass on it piqued my curiosity.

Though Georgette and I are just beginning to get acquainted, one of the things I do already know about her is that she is a certified image consultant. Why would an image consultant pass on an “it” color? Simply stated: because yellow isn’t her color. It wasn’t her color in 1999. It isn’t her color in 2009 and it won’t be her color in 2019.

Per Georgette, style is about more than just opening a fashion magazine and attempting to duplicate whatever you find on page 119. Style is about knowing what’s timeless and what isn’t. It’s about adapting trends to suit your lifestyle and it’s about knowing yourself. I like that!

I was raised by practical folk. My childhood wardrobe was not selected because it complimented my complexion or was in style at the time. My clothing was purchased because it was on sale, because it didn’t require ironing, because it would conceal stains and because I would grow into it. My sister had even less luck in this department. If she wasn’t sporting one of our mother’s sewing projects, she was wearing my hand me downs.

Me (far left) with my brother, sister and Mom at Busch Gardens in the late 1960s.

(Note the matching sundresses).

My Dad told me once that what he initially noticed about my mom was that she “carried herself well”. She still does. What she doesn’t do, however, even now, is follow fashion trends. She has great posture and an abundance of confidence. She exercises. She eats right and she rocks her signature look – matching, monogrammed sportswear in plaid or jewel tones, white walking shoes and short Anderson Cooper – colored white/gray hair.

Because of my Mom’s no-nonsense approach to style and because of my limited resources, I had very little access to the world of fashion in my youth. Anything I learned, I learned not when sitting at the well heeled feet of a style mentor, but rather by flipping through the pages of a friend’s Glamour. Even if I had studied every issue, there still would’ve been much to learn. I didn’t read them cover to cover though. Basically, I looked at the cute male models in the “How To Keep Your Boyfriend Drooling” stories, then flipped to the back of the magazine hoping I wouldn’t recognize myself as one of the fashion “Dont’s”.

Me, on Ft Lauderdale Beach, Spring Break 1982 or 1983, 

committing an unpardonable fashion “Don’t”

I guess that’s why I’m so excited about having the opportunity to spend time with Georgette. While I spent my childhood climbing trees and making mud pies, she was undoubtedly creating a fall clothing line for her paper dolls. It’s apparent that she knows her stuff and that she’s had a lot of experience.

I’m hoping Georgette will become my Nigel (Stanley Tucci’s character in The Devil Wears Prada). I’m hoping she can take this 5’8 ½” frumpy cerulean blue sweater wearing lump of clay and mold it into a head turning fashion dynamo.

What Georgette shares with me, I will share with you. We’re going to call these little lessons, Gems from Georgette, and they will be a recurring feature of this blog. In Gems, Georgette will pass along tips about everything from skincare and makeup application to wardrobe essentials and seasonal trends. I can’t wait ‘til we get started. Georgette will share her expertise. She'll answer questions. She’ll make recommendations about "must have" pieces and she’ll show us how to shine.