The Fashionista

All images by Lynee Ruiz. For as long as social media has been around, I’ve been glued to the screen watching all the photos of New York fashion week (NYFW). My dream, of course, was to got here one day, and to do hair backstage was my ultimate goal. I tried out to be on Amika’s backstage hair team for NYFW, and I couldn’t have been more excited when I found out I had been accepted. I was able to go for five days of fashion and fun. It all started with a walk to Lincoln Center, which is the…

Each year Callen Construction puts on a fabulous event called “Refashion For Life,” that benefits the CommonGround Ministry and Elena’s House. This year, it falls on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the Callen Showroom in Muskego.  There will be a silent auction, live music, Saz’s catering and beverage stations. But my favorite part? The fashion show. This year I’m honored to emcee the show, and some of my favorite boutiques will be participating. We have the show broken up into four themes around which the boutiques will coordinate the outfits: sweet and sophisticated, re-purposely reused little black dress, Gastby greatness and…

A screenshot of Miranda on the first episode of “Project Runway” season 12. It’s State Fair 2013 and I’m walking around with a few of my friends. As we pass a group of teenage girls, one of them looks up, gasps and announces “OH MY GOD!!!! IT’S MIRANDA FROM ‘PROJECT RUNWAY’!” Photos are taken, and I watch a young girl legitimately freak out and shake as she greeted Miranda. Her beaming father tells us: “We were just watching the show before we came here.” So this is what fame looks like, I thought. How did this start? Let’s back up.…

Photo illustration by Lynee Ruiz. In no way do I think getting cosmetic enhancements is necessary for a person to feel good about themselves. Embracing our differences is something I feel strongly about. That said, I’m 25 years old and I recently got my lips injected. Why? Because I wanted to.  I can’t remember when I started to wish I had fuller lips. Since I began putting on makeup, I suppose. I was always zeroing in on my upper lip, mostly because I felt it was a bit weak. Was I influenced by makeup ads, the Kardashians, et al? Maybe.…

As soon as I saw the petite bubbly blonde walk into Starbucks, I knew this had to be the right girl. She flashed a bright smile at me and sat down at my table, a breath of fresh air on a hot humid day. Her name is JJ, and she had been emailing me about her jewelry line JJ Number 8 for awhile. And I couldn’t wait to ogle over the gems. This stunning 30-something grew up in Brookfield and moved to Laguna Beach, where she started her own jewelry company.  Her jewelry collection is bright, graceful and elegant. The…

U.S. of Angels Summer Swim Tour photo credit Daniel Boczarski /Getty Images I can’t tell you how many times a client has sat down in my chair for a hair service, and brings out a picture of a Victoria’s Secret model. “I want my hair to look like this,” she’ll say. Generally, I put my hand up to block out the model’s face and body and explain that a fan won’t be blowing her hair around in real life, and I’ll need to put in a few hundred dollars worth of extensions. Why? Well Victoria’s Secret is widely known for having…

For the past five years, I’ve been growing out my hair as long as it could go. Whenever I got a trim, I threatened the stylist that anything more than an inch would mean a painful sudden death. I was attached to my long locks like a security blanket and shivered at the thought of having short hair.  Then I read about 2013’s haircut of the year “The Chop”, popularized by model Karlie Kloss. It’s a very blunt bob that lays just a few inches below the jaw line. The difference between this cut and the angled Victoria Beckham bob,…

Who got the chance to see Wicked while it was in town? The act packed itself up this past Sunday, July 7, and moved on to Texas – but they weren’t able to leave town without me high-heeling my way in to their lives. How? I was lucky enough to be their makeup and hair stylist for professional acting headshot sessions, taken by talented photographer Victor Velazquez. I did natural hair and makeup for photos that the cast could submit for future acting gigs. And over the past few weeks, I was able to spend hours with them and get to…

This Friday at Summerfest, Radio Disney Live! will be on hand with Disney star Kelli Berglund. From 2-5 p.m., Berglund will be meeting fans, signing autographs and taking photos. Berglund plays a bionic superhero on Disney’s “Lab Rats,” where she and her family live underground and have never been out in the real world. Naturally, the series follows the struggles of everyday life, even for superheroes.  But what is it like to be a young Disney star? I was lucky enough to chat with Kelli Berglund over the phone about just that.  Fashionista: How long have you been in the entertainment business,…

When I was asked to interview Lauren Conrad the feeling was a bit surreal. Not only had I grown up watching “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills,” but Lauren Conrad was also involved with everything a fashionista could love: designing her own clothing line for Kohl’s, an author of best-selling novel The Fame Game, along with gracing the covers of many fashion magazines. Conrad was in town at Boswell Book Company, teaming up with Kohl’s to treat three deserving teen girls from Children’s Hospital to a styling session. The girls received outfits handpicked by Conrad and spent the afternoon with her to…