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

Beauty…

I just had to share these images from a photoshoot I did recently. I really enjoyed working with the talented photographer and models.

 

Photography: S.Sevilla; Makeup: Pink Diamonds by Tiwa Lawrence; Model: Courtney

Photography: S.Sevilla; Makeup: Pink Diamonds by Tiwa Lawrence; Model: Justice

This is what I used to create Justice’s look. All products are by MAC unless otherwise stated:  

Face:  

Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone Treatment  

Use whatever concealer, foundation and powder that works best on your skin type. Make sure the products match your skin tone perfectly and blend, blend, blend. I used my Graftobian HD foundation palette to get her perfect match.  

Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Deep Dark   

Prep +Prime Transparent Finishing Powder  

Eyebrows:  

Spiked Eye Brow Pencil  

Eyes:   

Urban Decay Primer Potion  

Tete-A-Tint Eyeshadow (to highlight the brow bone)  

Woodwinked Eyeshadow (on lids)  

NYX Eyeliner Pencil in Sapphire (around the lash line as a base), then I added Sea and Sky Mineralized Eyeshadow (I used the darker blue side of the eyeshadow. I wet my angle eyeliner brush and used it to line around the eye)  

Sea and Sky Mineralize Duo Eyeshadow (in Crease)  

Carbon (to darken Crease)  

Lashes:   

I can’t remember which mascara I used.   

False Lashes- Ardell Lashes #134  

Lips:   

Prep + Prime Lip  

Cherry Lipliner  

Morange Lipstick   

Cheeks:   

Raizin Blush (very light touch)  

Enjoy!   

Thots,   

Tiwa  

Where Music and Beauty Meet….

AnnMarie Fox is a recording artist I had the pleasure of working with these past few months. She has an amazing voice and a beautiful personality. Another added bonus… she is a great dancer.

 

You can check out AnnMarie music, HERE and pls join her facebook fan page, HERE. I see her going places…and I look forward to her continued success.

 

Below are some images from a photoshoot we did last month, and pictures from her performance at Allure in Charlotte, NC, this past weekend. I also included a video below of her performance.  

 

All Makeup by Pink Diamonds by TL; Musical talent by AnnMarie, lol:

  

AnnMarie

AnnMarie Fox

 

 

AnnMarie, Later that night before the performance

AnnMarie, Performing at Allure in Charlotte

 

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

Updates…

Hello Guys!! I didn’t mean to neglect my dear blog. I really didn’t…I have been extremely busy. I hope you all had a good week. I wanted to give a few updates about what’s been going on with me. 

As I said in a previous post, I had the privilege of working on a photoshoot for Essence magazine back in November. I did the Makeup for a wonderful lady called Yvonne for the “Fit and Fab”article. I was impressed with her dedication and success with losing weight. It motivated me to start making some changes in my life as well.  

The article is now out in the March 2010 Issue (with First Lady, Michelle and President Barak Obama on the cover). Please pick up your copy and spread the word about PINK DIAMONDS by Tiwa Lawrence.  

March 2010 Essence Magazine

Image from: Here

I also mentioned in a past entry that I would be discussing my skin care regime and my natural hair story, but I put a hold on those entries, because some things have since changed in my routine and I wanted to make sure the results are perfected (well perfected for me, lol) before I talked about it.  

I really do love each and every one of you. I appreciate everyone who continues to visit my blog. I would love to receive feedback on what you would like to see featured on future blog entries. 

And like always, I look forward to hearing from you.   

Thots, 

Tiwa 

Beauty for Haiti…

I will be offering Beauty makeover sessions for $20 on February 6th 2010. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Non-profit organization of your choice to help the people affected by the earthquake. The makeover sessions will take place in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Please join me as we try to make a small difference. Haiti, has a long road to recovery. The future is uncertain and the people of Haiti need our help. Lets do what little we can to empower the people and help on the journey to rebuilding the country.

To RSVP: Please leave a comment or email me at pinkdiamondstl@gmail.com

While on the topic of Beauty makeovers, below is an image from a Beauty photoshoot I did last year:  

Photography by Ed Frazier

Thots,

Tiwa

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