How Celebs Get The Red Carpet Look & How You Can Create It at Home

By Marcy Clark
As we approach the Oscars this weekend, seasoned celebs are already beginning their Red Carpet beauty routine for the big day. Lora Condon, a professional makeup artist and licensed esthetician, is a sought after beauty expert. As a 15 year veteran of the Beauty Industry, and the author of “Spa Wars: The Ugly Truth About the Beauty Industry,” Lora knows first-hand how many skilled hands it takes to get an A-List celeb like Reese Witherspoon or Michelle Williams Red Carpet Ready.

For the benefit of those of us with charity events, office parties and very special days of our own coming up (or maybe you are going to the Oscar’s too?!), Lora shares the celebs Red Carpet tricks of the trade:

Shimmering Skin – It all starts with soft, hydrated and glowing skin, and the best way to accomplish that is with a sugar scrub.  Phoenix Rising, All Natural Skin Care, has a healing sugar scrub that is marinated in luxurious natural oils that leave your skin, oh, so touchable. www.phoenixrisingskincare.com Next I recommend applying Body Bling. Lots of celebs use spray tans, but Christina Aguilera can tell you how that can go wrong. Scott Barnes, the make-up artist for JLO, developed Body Bling, the world famous instant tan and shimmer in one.  This cream looks beautiful on every skin type and can even be used as a blush.  It’s also incredible at fixing and blending self-tanning mistakes.  The best part is that it washes right off when you have to go back to reality. www.scottbarnes.com

Give Good Face – As the winner of the SPA WEEK award for Best Facial 3 times now, Lora knows what goes into a great facial. Her number one tip is to use hot moist towels rather than steam. Too much steam can make the skin irritated, red, more sensitive, flushed and dehydrated. This is the reason that people are often red and blotchy after a facial. Some estheticians say the reason for steaming the skin is to open the pores. This is false. Pores do not open or close like gills on our face. This is a lie that salespeople made up to sell products like toners. Steam or warm, moist heat is used to soften the dead skin cells and should not be used for more than three minutes far away from the skin in order to make the skin pliable enough for extractions. Warm, moist towels are the perfect way to achieve the same result without irritating the skin. Lora is also a Reiki Master and very practiced with her hands so she know how to make every facial relaxing and healing overall, even if extractions are required. If your facial isn’t at least somewhat relaxing, go to someone else. Being relaxed means being beautiful. Lora recommends a facial about 2 or 3 days before a big event. www.makeupwithme.com

Lash Extensions – Lash Extensions are an easy way to look great 24/7 and a staple of Red Carpets, Film sets and Broadway Stages. Celebs love Lash extensions because they are like a mini eyelift and immediately make you look younger and fresher. Many of Lora’s clients noticed that it takes the precision of a skilled surgeon to properly apply individual lashes. They started calling her the “Lash Doctor” and the name really describes the technical ability needed for the perfect lash application. If you only try one Oscar Beauty Trend, this is one you don’t want to miss out on. If you can’t come see Lora in New York or New Jersey, then make sure to see another certified Xtreme Lash professional. www.thelashdr.com

Pearly Whites – White teeth project a youthful, healthy image. Most celebs go for professional whitening. Whiter Image has a great in-salon teeth whitening where you get about 6 shades whiter in 45 minutes. You won’t get fluorescent white which looks really strange, just pearly white. You can also do it in fifteen minute intervals which is great for those short on time, money or pain tolerance. For an At-Home solution Whiter Image’s Chic-Flic, is a rhinestone studded, teeth whitening pen and lip plumping gloss in a convenient dual ended brush that fits perfectly into any clutch.   www.whiterimage.com

Airbrush – Airbush makeup is what the pro’s use because it gives the most even and thorough coverage and hides imperfections. If you have steady hands and want the look at home I recommend investing in Stream Cosmetics as the best laymen’s airbrush system. It is very easy to use with three pressure settings so you don’t have to know the p.s.i. needed like professionals do. There is a ton of education provided to the consumer, which includes a DVD, online tutorials and distributors who will come to your house to help you. Yes, this is a company that has distributors and I loved the product so much, I became a distributor. They also have personal airbrush tanning systems that give the most beautiful color. www.streamcosmetics.com/lora

Red Carpet Workout – Lora’s friend Nikki of NikkiFitness is a dynamic trainer famous for her Red Carpet Runway workout and she shares her top tips: “My tip for red carpet arms is to do three sets in a row that work one muscle group, then do a cardio interval. Then move on to the other sets. For example I will do stains triceps presses, then bent kickbacks, then triceps push ups, then revolving cardio lunges with a kickback.” She calls that quick and effective set “Impressive Arms and Camera Kickbacks.” www.redcarpetrunway.com/shop/accessories/nikkifitness-red-carpet-runway-workout

Red Carpet Diet – Celebs know how to eat healthy and light the day of, and at least a few days before, a big event. The biggest trick is – DO EAT. Fainting and loud stomach rumbling aren’t sexy. Lora recommends lean protein with some non-bloating vegetables for even-keeled, sustainable energy. And whether you are at the Oscars or at your work event, avoid too many sugary drinks – they go down faster and get you drunk quicker. You don’t want to lose your cool when your boss congratulates you for your stellar sales numbers or become a sobbing mess when you accept your award for “Best Punctuality.”

Lora Condon
“The Beauty Buster” and “The Lash Dr.”
4 Time National SPA WEEK Award Winner
Author of SPA WARS: The Ugly Truth About The Beauty Industry
www.makeupwithme.com
www.thelashdr.com