Backstage at the Grammy’s

The 54th Annual Grammy’s at the Staple Center in Los Angeles was a mixed bag of emotions. From the very beginning on the red carpet celebrities were expressing both their excitement for the award show and their remorse for Whitney Houston’s untimely death just the night before. The conversation backstage was more of the same.

Usually after someone wins a Grammy they happily come backstage to share their excitement with the press, but not this year. Most of the Grammy winners stayed away, but myself and the rest of the backstage crew managed to have a little bit of fun.

Aside from myself most of you probably wouldn’t recognize anyone in this picture accept for AJ Calloway a frequent host on Extra.

Here is me next to one the Grammy I would have won if they had an award for best shower vocals.

Here are a couple of the winners from this years Super Bowl, Victor Cruz on my right and Mario Manningham on my left. Just when I thought I had missed my chance to see them at the Super Bowl Parade in NYC. Go NYC Giants…

As the night was wrapping up and the anticipation of Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney Houston was on it’s way. AJ pulled up a picture of him and Whitney Houston and I personally had flash backs of all the wonderful memories I had to the soundtrack of songs like, I Will Always Love You, I Want to Dance with Somebody, I Have Nothing, My Love is Your Love and so many others. Many of these lyrics pulled me through sad, hard and happy times.

The lyrics to The Greatest Love of All, I hold near and dear to my heart, they truly are words I strive to live my life by and teach others. I have no judgment about the way Whitney Houston lived her life, I know that each of us do the best we can with the circumstances that we are dealt. During my childhood someone very close to me once struggled with drug addiction, I witnessed first hand their pain, disappointment and hurt as they would make it through rehab successfully and then fall victim to their addiction once again. Whether Whitney Houston’s death was a result of her addiction or truly an accident my prayer is that others who struggle with drugs and other addictions will find the strength to love themselves, because it truly is the greatest love of all. Thank you Whitney Houston!

Makeup Remover Straight from Your Kitchen

Just the other day one of my male friends called me frantic because he could not figure out how to remove eyeliner he playfully put around his eyes for this Goth party he attended the night before. I assured him everything would be just fine and he didn’t need to run to the store to buy something to get it off.

Here is how you can do it too: Grab a few cotton balls, he only had toilet paper (you can use toilet paper too), but I recommend cotton balls. Grab a bottle of olive oil from your kitchen. Pour a few drops of the olive oil on a cotton swab and very gently whip it across your eyelids and within seconds your eye makeup is gone.

Ladies, olive oil is also a really good moisturizer for the hands and scalp. Stay tuned for other kitchen remedies for your beauty needs.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Do you ever wish the mirror would just give you a barrage of compliments? Especially when you aren’t feeling like you look your best? What I’ve started doing instead of waiting for those ugly days is posting up little post-its on my full length mirror that have little sayings like:

• You are really sexy
• Curvy in all the right places
• Smooth Skin…I like
• Beautiful legs
• Sensual Tummy

It really works. Even if I’m only in front of my mirror for five seconds one of those post-it notes gets implanted in my brain and makes me feel really good throughout my day. I tend not to notice my imperfection so much and enjoy the playfulness so much more than the negativity.  

RevitaLIFT or RevitaLIE

The Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom has banned an advertisement featuring the actress Rachel Weisz on L’Oreal Paris’ Revita Lift Repair 10 product. In a statement, the ASA said that the image had indeed been altered to an unacceptable degree: “The image had been altered in a way that substantially changed her complexion to make it appear smoother and more even” and therefore, the image “misleadingly exaggerated the performance of the product in relation to its claims. Is it too much to ask companies to show us photographs that represent the true likeness of what a product can actually do when used by their spokepersons? 

If you want to get a flawless complexion for your photographs ladies here is what you need to do….

L’Oreal Paris admitted the following: “The photo was shot using a lot of light in order to make the picture more flattering and reduce the appearance of imperfections in the ensuing image by giving the image a soft focus and lower resolution.” They also said a professional stylist, make-up and professional photographers in a studio setting created the effect of the picture. Personally, I like L’Oreal Paris products and they tend to produce pretty good results, should we just ban all pictures on products with claims or have them take more realistic pictures? Your thoughts?

What’s In Your Cosmetic Bag?

Are you ever curious about whether or not you are just being sold at the cosmetic counter or if what they are telling you really makes a difference in having you look your absolute best? If you are a makeup junkie and love playing around with cosmetics then you probably have way more in your cosmetic bag than you will ever need, but I truly understand the addiction. If you would like some honest feedback about what you should keep, throw away or add to your cosmetic collection send me a couple of pictures. One of you in good lighting and another of your makeup and I’ll give you some honest feedback. 

Kundalini Yoga….What’s That?

Saturday, I was feeling a little bit under the weather, but I was determined to go to yoga. I put on my clothes and just as I was about to walk out of the house I noticed the time. There was literally only 12 minutes to get to yoga and I knew it would take 15. Just as I resolved to not going yoga instructor Parvati Shallow from ESP Wellness Center in Santa Monica convinced me that missing my yoga practice was not an option. She swiftly changed into yoga clothes and began teaching me the postures and breathing techniques of Kundalini Yoga.

It was definitely a different experience than what I am use to with Bikram Yoga which takes place in a studio where the temperature in the room is 110 degrees. It releases energy from the sacrum (your bottom) on up to the third eye or the top of the head. As Parvati explained at the start of our session it is a practice where you must completely surrender; it is not an energy which can be manipulated by the ego.

I didn’t exactly reach enlightenment, but I did feel completely relaxed by the end, my thoughts were at bay and I was ready for bed. If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. It is an experience not to be missed. Oh….and it has many beauty benefits as well, like clearer skin and less stress which always is beautiful.

New Year, New Home, New York!

Early last year I was feeling like the universe didn’t support me at all. I was living with some friends, working as a makeup artist was very slow, I couldn’t seem to focus long enough to finish writing my manuscript and my relationship with my boyfriend was average at best. By the time spring rolled around I was determined to have my life look completely different by the end of the year. A wonderful lady named Catherine Hedden put out an announcement to one of my networking groups looking for coaching clients and without knowing much about her or her practice I was an immediate yes.

We met every two weeks for the better part of the year and with her guidance and my full participation I managed to manifest the following:

1.  Finished my book….something I feared may never get done. Now in the process of being edited.

2.   Landed an amazing new job with the Miss Universe Organization living in Midtown Manhattan. Check out my new pad.

3.  Developed a deeper and happier relationship with my boyfriend and even though we are thousands of miles apart our commitment to each others happiness is our number one priority.

4.  Found that I am truly supported by the Universe.

Throughout my coaching and practice with Catherine she assisted me in deepening my meditation practice, and if meditation is foreign to you please download my FREE guided meditation CD to learn some of the basics to get you started. 

We all are supported by the Universe and the best lesson that I learned from working with Catherine is when we take care of ourselves body, mind and spirit life around us and within us supports all of our dreams. 

Backstage at The Golden Globes

Here are my highlights from backstage at the Golden Globes and as Morgan Freeman said in his acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Globes equivalent of a lifetime achievement honor, “When you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life.” This is exactly how I feel when I get to share my gifts, talents and wisdom of beauty with others.

Mr. Freeman and I shared a special moment back stage…He looked me in my eyes and said to me, “You give beautiful face.” Then he went in to give me an eskimo kiss. Nose to nose. A moment I will never forget. I only wish someone caught it on camera.

Another special encounter was getting to shake Mr. Steven Spielberg’s hand and congratulate him on his win last night for War Horse.

Octavia Spencer is such a talented actress and her presences is extremely delightful. It was truly an honor to be in her presences. She won best supporting actress in a film, The Help. A must see film.

And cast of Homeland came backstage and were a lively bunch.

For more highlights from backstage tune into Extra TV where you will see me giving touch ups to the stars at the L’Oreal Paris touch station.

Resolve to be Resolved…

The New Year is upon us once again, it is an exciting time to make new goals and resolutions for what we want to make happen in our life a reality. Before stepping into the New Year and popping champagne let us look at our progress from this last year and resolve to be resolved around the goals that we didn’t quite reach or quite frankly we lost interest in when other things became more important.
Have some compassion for yourself and acknowledge everything you have accomplished for the year with this short exercise….

Step 1) What did you say you would do but didn’t – write them all out.

Step 2) Acknowledge where you made some progress but may not have reached the finish line.

Step 3) Declare your unaccomplished goals as complete. Things are only done when you say they are done. If it is a goal that you would like to keep pursuing in the new year look at what structures you could put in place to keep you present to the goal.

Here are some additional techniques that I’ve used to keep me on task and accomplish both big and small goals (These are versatile as well, so they can also be geared towards a goal of losing weight, fitting in to a new pair of jeans, finding a style that best represents where you want to be..etc.):

• Write out WHY you want to accomplish this goal. 
• Better than why write out how you will feel to accomplish this new goal. 
• Put up reminders of the goal as well as the word/s that express how you feel once you have accomplished your goals. 
• Tell everyone that can support you in accomplishing this goal so that they can help to keep you accountable for reaching your goal. 
• Look into whether or not you have all the information you need to actually accomplish this goal. 

2012 is sure to be one of dynamic change in every way, and the world we know will never be the same. Opportunities are plentiful which will require us to gain increased self-understanding and confidence in the 12 months that lie ahead of us. Esteemed coach and tarot reader Julie Rose will unveil what’s ahead of us, how to weather the storms, and how we can leverage 2012 to step into a new reality in relationships, career and finance. Join us for a FREE tele-call every Tuesday in the month of January. The first call is January 2, 2012 at 4:30pm PST. On this call we will be helping you to find your passions.

To sign-up for the call Click Here

My Christmas Wishlist

What’s on your Christmas Wishlist this year??? I always feel really awkward being asked what do I want for Christmas, my birthday or any holiday where gifts are exchanged. I realized my awkwardness around asking for what I want is not just around presents, it’s around everything I feel I want. Being completely honest underneath my awkwardness is this awful subliminal feeling of unworthiness, like I don’t deserve what I want for some reason.

Looking back on my life I can clearly see where I may have picked up some of these thoughts and feelings, but knowing where they came from doesn’t really fix my desire to overcome it. So, this year unlike any other year before, I’m making my Christmas Wishlist public…..

Dear Santa Claus,

I want a fancy place to live and a publishing deal for my manuscript.
I need a lots of money.
I’ll wear fancy clothes that make me look and feel incredible.
I’ll read trade magazines and books on health, beauty and style….And I’d really love for you to bring me a pair of diamond earrings along with peace of mind, happiness and stellar health.

Love,
Kenetia

P.S. What’s on your Christmas Wishlist this year?