My ICONIC Series: Bettie Page

For the past few years, I have been working on a series called Recreating Icons…My Iconic Series. In the series, I recreate makeup looks of iconic women who have left a lasting impression on me over the years. Bettie Page was one of these women. Her sense of style was timeless. If not for her trademark bangs and her striking blue eyes, she also made it on my list for her daring ways and for the role she played in immortalizing the traditional pin-up look.  I posted these images on the facebook fan page last year, but for some reason I never posted in on the blog. So, meet Carsa as Bettie Page.

Photography by Ed Frazier; Modeled by Carsa; Makeup by Tiwa Lawrence

Carsa as Bettie Page

Carsa as Bettie Page

Carsa as Bettie Page

Thots,

Tiwa

My ICONIC Series: Diahann Carroll

To continue with Recreating Icons…My Iconic Series; I have a few more images from the photoshoot in January 2010 to share with you. Who remembers Ms. Diahann Carroll in the movie Claudine? Me, me, me!! I loved her in that movie. And then in the TV Series Dynasty. Wasn’t she the best?

Apart from her obvious beauty and talent as an actor…back then she brought an innocent quality to every role she touched. This is our interpretation of the young Diahann Carroll. She turned 75 years old this year, but I think she is forever young!!!   

 

 

Shari as a Young Diahann Carroll

 

Shari as Diahann Carroll

 

 

Shari as herself. Beautiful!!! Antwan did a great job with her hair.

Hair: Antwan Marcel; Makeup: Tiwa Lawrence; Photography: Nick Oza; Model: Shari

 Below are the two images used as inspiration:

 

 

 

Thots, 

Tiwa  

My ICONIC Series: Diana Ross

To continue with my series called Recreating Icons…My Iconic Series; I would like to share some images from a photoshoot I was part of in January 2010. When I talk about a True Icon…I mean someone who has made an impact for generations…be it, in fashion, makeup, hair statements, music etc. Diana Ross is definitely a Beauty Icon in her own right. I am inspired by many things about her sense of style, especially when she was a young woman. She chose to enhance her features, rather than minimize them. I also love how graceful she always looked. These particular images were inspired by the “young” Diana Ross.  

Toyin as a Young Diana Ross

Toyin as Diana

Toyin as Diana, Circa 1970's...Think Mahogany

Makeup by Tiwa Lawrence

Hair by Antwan Marcel

Photography by Nick Oza

 

Below are some of the images I used as inspiration:

  

  

 

 

 Inspirational images from HERE

 

Thots,

Tiwa

***Pink Diamond’s ‘Steals and Deals’ Alert***

Hey Guys…

Because I love you guys soo much, I keep my “eyes and ears to the streets” for you

With this recession we all need to help each other out. Keep checking back periodically as I will be posting deals from time to time. The first deal being:

Urban Decay is having a friends and family sale from April 6th to April 19th 2010. 30% off… You can’t beat that! The code is 1SFNF

Some of my favorite things from Urban Decay are their Liquid and Glitter liners. I also love the Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion and some of their eyeshadows.

I’m definitely stocking up, lol.

Thots,

Tiwa

My ICONIC Series: Fela’s Wives

As I said in my introduction blog entry “I’m inspired by everyday things, everyday colors. I love recreating looks while adding my own personal twists”, hence the creation of my Celebrity Inspirations series and now, my new series called Recreating Icons….My Iconic Series.

About 2 years ago, I watched the documentary “Konkombe: The Nigerian Pop Music Scene.” The 1988 documentary, depicted how Nigeria’s distinctive juju, Afro-beat, Afro-pop and Lagos street music styles in the 1970′s used traditional melodies and rhythm to influence modern music in Nigeria. One of the Artist featured in the documentary was Fela Kuti. Growing up, Fela’s music always struck a chord with me (even if I really didn’t understand the gravity of what he was singing about at the time). As I grew older I started to realize just how much he did to stand up to the social and political injustices in Nigeria through his music.

There was a scene in the documentary, in which a few of his 27 wives (He married them in one ceremony to make a political statement) were sitting around him. They seemed to really adore him. They all looked so regal and beautiful. Their sense of style was inspiring to me. I realized the amount of makeup they had on might have been considered offensive back then.  But my take on their look, is that they were ahead of their time.  These women did not follow trends, they made them! They really didn’t care what society thought of them. I also began to wonder about the dynamics between the wives. Did they like each other? Did they fight? Were they happy? All these thoughts led me to the concept of a photoshoot I did recently.

As I started to process the information, I realized I wanted to create a story (well, a story that made sense to me). Enter…four amazing models and one very talented photographer. Ed Frazier is a professional photographer based in Charlotte. He was able to capture my vision perfectly. I would like to share some of the images from the photoshoot.

Photography by Ed Frazier; Concept, Makeup, Head Ties and Styling by Tiwa Lawrence;  Models–Bianca, Justice, Katrina and Pep. 

  

Interpretation of some of Fela's Wives interacting...

Bianca as one of Fela's Wives

 

Justice as one of Fela's Wives

Katrina as one of Fela's Wives

Pep as one of Fela's Wives

 

Another Look...

Thots,

Tiwa

Bringing the 70′s back

Working with Chi of Vibrant Photographics is always fun for me.  We both wanted to add a 70′s themed look to our portfolios. I loved his vision of paying homage to the Blaxploitation movie soundtracks and posters of the 70′s. Neira was the perfect model to capture his vision. Her essence captured the era perfectly. The photoshoot was this past weekend and I did the hair and makeup. I love how the images turned out, so I wanted to share.   

 

 

Photography by Vibrant Photographics

He also put together the movie poster below. Nice one, Chi!  

 

 

Photography by Vibrant Photographics

Thots,  

Tiwa   

The Purple Flower

I had a dental appointment last week. It was such a rainy day and I was trying to get indoors as soon as possible. As I was walking into the dentist office, I saw something that made me stop dead in my tracks. I took a step back and I had to reach into my purse to get grab my camera. This is what I saw:

The Purple Flower

Amazing…right?

The Puple Flower...So beautiful!

The Purple Flower

It has to be the most beautiful flower I have ever seen. It was huge (about 11 inches diameter). I thought it might be a peony, but I am not sure. If any of you know what this flower is called please let me know. It really inspired me because it still looked so pretty even with the rain beating down on it. It was like it was standing up to the rain and looked even more radiant. The beads of water that formed on the petals are soo cute to me. It made me think we have so much to be grateful for. When we think we are going through a stormy day, we can be resilient like this poor little flower, lol.

Anyways…this flower is the inspiration for a makeup look I have coming up. I will post the pictures as soon as I can.

Thots,

Tiwa

Edit: My friend just told me it is called a decorative cabbage

Cold as Ice…

One of my favorite photographers, Chi Brown of Vibrant Photographics, contacted me about a concept for a model, named Ms. Ice. He wanted her to have a frozen look. This is how I translated his vision.  I think it turned out nice. What do you think?

Photography by Vibrant Photographics