--Well, a week and a half too late to encourage you to come out for the Portland Mercury Open Season fashion show, but I'll give you a little re-cap on it! Huge loving shout out to sponsors of the show--Dry Fly Distillery, Ninkasi Brewery and Art Institute of Portland! All are so supportive of local happenings.
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I had the privilege of helping Andy Lifshutz backstage assisting makeup artist Jeffrey Kyle and WATCHING AND LEARNING AND SOAKING UP ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING JEFFREY SAID AND DID. You see, to learn about makeup, I just did it. I worked hard, threw myself into crazy situations where I had to create under pressure. Create my ability on the spot. I ditched the idea of going to the Jemma Kidd Makeup School in London (for the moment) and just worked. Thank god my hand always seemed to know what it was doing even when I personally had no idea. I'm so grateful I had to work for it and didn't have my hand held through my learning process, but any time I do get the opportunity to watch a pro in action, I do not blink an eye for the entire application. Everything technical I have learned about makeup artistry has been from watching a pro just work. 
I had the good luck of meeting Lisa Bass (of LBASS Cosmetics) in Eugene, and I apprenticed as her assistant to get me started--there I similarly absorbed EVERYTHING SHE SAID and trotted along behind her sweeping fabulousness asking question after question after question. I met top Portland makeup artist Kymm Ernst a couple years back on a Portland Monthly Magazine fashion shoot and nannied her beautiful children for a couple summers, constantly grilling her about her experience with photo shoots, magazines, models and makeup. When Andy mentioned he had this great makeup artist for the Mercury show who worked for years with Pat McGrath on the Paris and New York and London shows, and who just happened to mention he needed an assistant, I nearly fell off my bar stool and spilled my tequila sunrise! Hell yes I am free that night! And absolutely I will assist him! 
Pat McGrath is my makeup idol. I've been reading about her and studying her work since I opened my first Vogue in middle school. Jeffrey was fantastic, hilarious and endlessly patient with all my questions. Andy's models and I grilled him about all our favorite style.com models he's worked on, and he gave us merry renditions of the crazy high fashion backstage drama. I learned so much new technical, and he was so empowering--he didn't hover or correct anything I did. 
Andy's jewelry and armor stood out with the simple but beautiful metal makeup and those hot little body suits. In my opinion, he stole the show. (But then again, I was backstage the whole time.) Mr. Lifshutz is a talented young man. Do not underestimate the power of leather, mixed metals and found objects. ("My materials for this collection were gathered in Berlin, NYC, Mexico and Portland.") He is going to rock your world, so watch him closely. And be proud that he is from Portland and helping lead and represent our movement of fashion design. I brought his work with me to China and it got a lot of attention. Thanks to Lisa Warninger for these great photos.
Awesome job to the models: Dique Scott, Amelia Pape, model Adazoe and ballerina Mia Leimkuhler. I can't say it enough--I love fashion, and I LOVE Portland fashion. There's some good shit happening here. 
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