One week from today I’ll be headed to the fanciest event of my young (ok fine, nearing middle age) life.
For those of you who missed it, I’m a nominee for Breakout of the Year at the 2015 Iris Awards.
Me, “Breaking Out”
Guys, this is fancy.
I get to fly out to Phoenix for the Mom2.0 Summit, which culminates in an awards night that is being pitched as “Golden Globes Style.”
I am told there is a red carpet. I cannot believe this. (Really. I’m not sure if I believe this. Is it like a real red carpet event or does the hotel just have red carpeting? Time will tell).
Oh, and did I mention that Molly Ringwald is the keynote speaker at this conference?? No?? Well she is.
There is a LOT that I need to get done in preparation for something of this magnitude.
In no particular order:
- Grow back my over-plucked left eyebrow
- Figure out how to apply makeup that wasn’t made for tween girls and sold for 99 cents at CVS (i.e. replace my entire existing collection of makeup)
- Pick a dress
- Practice putting on my dress in a manner which does not leave me tangled up and panicking like I’m caught in a beaver trap
- Learn hair
- Renovate second floor bathroom in order to maximize natural light so that I can identify and eradicate any threat of a developing mustache
- Become trendy
- Practice ordering something other than “the cheapest red wine you have.”
- Practice my losing, winning and surprised faces
Here are some faces that I’m considering for use during the awards:
Clearly I have very good control over my face at all times and am able to keep it looking attractive from any angle. This is a recipe for success with paparazzi. I figure if I win or lose the Iris Award I can bust out any of the above looks and I’ll be good to go. My face will have the endearing look of a constipated ingénue, which I think will be a crowd pleaser.
Here’s hoping someone gets a close-up.
Oh, in case you were wondering, I’m leaving Nolan at home. He was being a total diva about the whole thing, and I just had to say no. This is the look he was trying to pull together, if I were to let him be my +1.
Waaaaaayyyyy too much, kid. (Sometimes he thinks he’s Shakira).
In other news, I decided that my goal is to be the Jennifer Lawrence of the Iris Awards. So, kind of inappropriate, maybe a little drunk, but not so over the top that I scare people away from wanting to work with me. I don’t want to be Charlie Sheen. I want to toe the line between wildly “off” and mildly eccentric. My other goal is to fall asleep in the bathtub of one of the famous bloggers who will be in attendance. I’m not going to name names yet, because I don’t know who has the nicest tub.
* * *
So ladies and fashion-forward gentlemen: Thoughts on the dresses? Do you think the one on the left looks awards-y? Makeup tips? Hair tips??? Oh man do I need hair help. Serious hair help.
- This is my test run on fancy hair and fancy makeup. This may look like “everyday” hair and “everyday” makeup to many of you. But trust me, this is very, very fancy.
Leave a comment here or come hang out with me on Facebook!
Liz! You look so pretty!!! Like Liz circa 2002;) I have no helpful tips, but I think what you have going so far looks great!!:)
Thanks Lew! Oh man, back to the glory days of 2002!!! I feel so pumped up reading that, like I’m listening to a Springsteen song level of pumped up.
I love what you have going on, and think the floral dress is 100% great. If you’re concerned about your eyebrow (which I think looks fine), you can always use matte brown eye shadow or brow powder to fill it in. My other favorite trick is going to a department store make-up counter and having them teach me all the things about make-up, and then buying one or two of the bestest products. You could even go to a department store counter the day of the awards… though you can’t be sure of what you’ll get. Once I came back from such a trip and my husband was like, “You look like a geisha.” Whoops. Then I went roller skating as a geisha and it was wonderful.
“Then I went roller skating as a geisha and it was wonderful.” Ha! Best comment ever. Oh, and the reason my eyebrow looks ok in that photo is because I did fill it in with some makeup my sister picked for me! I am totally nailing that eyebrow situation right now.
First, let me say that I love that the backdrop for your dress choices and hair/makeup modeling is your shower curtain. I vote for the yellow dress, but you’ll need a little something something to throw over your shoulders, if it’s chilly inside. Jennifer Lawrence is a good role model, but let’s remember she has a habit of falling down when dressed up, once on the way up the stairs to the podium to collect her Oscar. I think very soon you’ll need a cool nickname like JLaw. LFar is one possibility, but it sounds more like a lyric from Mary Poppins. Do a deer,…, LFar a long long way to go.
Yes! I forgot that Jennifer fell down at the Oscars! Oh man that was great. I love her even more now.
Liz, I am sure you will look fantastic at the Iris Awards! And if it helps, my vote is for that very pretty printed dress. Love the practice facial expressions, by the way!
Diana, those facial expressions were from some photos a friend took at Nolan’s first birthday party. WTF is my face doing!?!? Man alive, I need to get a grip on my face!
I think the dress on the left is awardsy and my second choice would be the yellow dress. I always find a little lip colour is nice to balance the look of eyeliner. There are lots of good makeup tutorials on YouTube. My favourite is Anna Saccone because she doesn’t use crazy expensive makeup.
Your hair looks nice curled but straight would be nice too. You didn’t mention jewellery, I think a nice necklace is a must for the neckline on that dress.
Have fun at the awards!
Yes! I have necklaces! Oooh I forgot all about showing that. I might take a few photos in full dress/necklace/shoes right now. This is basically the mom version of prom, so I have my game face on 🙂
Yes, I’d love to see the dresses ON you intead of just on a hanger, too! I can’t decide which dress I like unless you wear them 🙂 But I did think your hair looked great (I am AWFUL at hair, but your hair looked the way I wish mine always did!)
Ok I will see if I can do a little fashion show later, time permitting! If so I will post it on the Facebook page!
I love your hair down with loose curls like that … I kinda like the solid blue dress for a couple of reasons:
1. You can “dress it up” with a bold lip color and maybe a statement necklace or a bright bag?
2. I feel like the solid blue color will photograph really well … maybe better than the dress with the pattern? AND I bet that blue color looks great on your skin/hair color
4. It has sleeves something I always look for in a dress now …. I have “mommy arms” 😉
Also maybe practice a good simple cat eyeliner? (if that’s your bag, and it’s def mine … but I know it’s not everyone’s) If you do a bold red lip with that it would be so cute. https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrTcdohsTdVSTAAaxknnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTB0ZWVkYm84BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1lIUzAwMl8x?p=cat+eye+and+bold+lip+tutorial&tnr=21&vid=EDE6036617B39EAF1BE9EDE6036617B39EAF1BE9&l=850&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.DuyuJ%252bbYbvDZitObm5DO8w%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=121b34env&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDlqP8yR4Vik&sigr=11a6k8lv8&tt=b&tit=Cat+Eye+with+Bold+Lip+Tutorial&sigt=10uj8g6mt&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dcat%2Beye%2Band%2Bbold%2Blip%2Btutorial%26ei%3DUTF-8%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-001&sigb=13sjdvp7e&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
You’ll do great no matter what you wear! 🙂 Have fun. (Love your blog!)
I’ve never heard of cat eyeliner! I will look into this. My sister is really good with hair/makeup/fashion so she has been coaching me along this week. You sound like you know what you’re doing too!
we need to see the dresses on you!!! when i got married i went to the clinique counter and had them do my make up a couple weeks before and i just bought everything they used. i think they will write things down for you and they can definitely take your picture with your phone so you can refer back to that.
i like the way you have your hair and the way you talk about yourself you would think you look like you just walked out of a dumpster. you look amazing just embrace it.
Ha! That dumpster comment just made me laugh out loud. Yeah, I’m not that bad. Definitely not dumpster level. But anyone who knows me can attest to my history of underperforming in fashion 🙂
Just remember to keep it simple. Don’t overthink it. I think your makeup trial looks great and hair is pretty. You don’t want to look or feel unlike yourself. Your personality and confidence is what should shine through. That said, I personally like the floral and the blue dresses for the event. The yellow comes off a little TOO casual. But, you should wear whichever makes you feel gorgeous and confident. That way, when you’re fighting for apps and straight arm drinking, you’ll look and feel amazing too!
Damn, if you were very pregnant, you could wear your favorite black dress. Your fancy hair and makeup look fabulous. Wear the dress you feel most comfortable in. You will rock the red carpet. Congratulations and have fun!
I think you’re choices are great, and as a teacher I never have anything fancy!! I don’t know if it’s too late for this now, but Rent the Runway is amazing!!! You could get a Golden Globe dress mailed right to you! I’ve done it and loved it 🙂 if not for now, for future awards!!