Eye Candy

The change of the seasons brings about all kinds of beauty challenges. A client emailed me last week with this question:

"Hi Susan,

I'm still tan and not ready for you to peel it away, but I wonder if you have an eye treatment for the under eye? I am looking racoonish and getting dry spots on my lids.

Thanks"

Tired eyes at the end of summer is a common problem.

Luckily, I do have an easy eye treatment that you can do yourself.






Here was my answer:

"I don't do an eye treatment at Suite 300 but here's a little at home trick you can try...
Get some organic chamomile tea (in bags) thoroughly wet two tea bags and put them in a sealed ziploc in the freezer. When the bags are frozen put them on your eyes as an eye treatment. The chamomile is a natural anti inflammatory and the cold helps as well.

Talk to you soon,
Susan"

Chamomile is also a gentle sedative and safe to use on sensitive skin.


This quick fix is also useful for eyes that have been strained by insomnia or anxiety.




So lay back and take a few minutes to restore the windows to your soul.

You wont believe your eyes!

Fashion First Seattle

Autumn is here and it's time for fall fashion.



The NW is no NYC but Fashion First has been showcasing local designers, retailers and fashion enthusiasts for the last eight years.

Bumped into John Curley in the VIP lounge. He was the designated auctioneer for the fundraising portion of the event.

John Curley is quite possibly the hardest working man in show business. He sang, supercharged and sweat his way through the auction. He even succeeded in sweet talking Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon to work the runway.

As the models were stepping out in the season's latest trends I took a moment to get to know my fellow audience members.

This lady in red got her sparkly ensemble at Nordstrom.

Why Nordy's you ask?

She told me "I always shop at Nordstrom. In fact, on the day when the Rapture was supposed to come I spent the whole day at the downtown store because that's where I feel closest to God."

It's always nice to have some eye candy in the next row and these boys couldn't have been cuter. At one point I had their information to include in this post but unfortunately (and typically) I misplaced it at the after party, or the after-after party...oh well.

The trends this year ranged from opulent...

to mixing patterns...

to bright jewel tones and above the knee boots.



And it may not be politically correct but fur is everywhere this season.


There, I said it.

All the collections were note worthy but Lizzie Parker took it. Her staggered runway was, well, staggering. These layering essentials will easily transfer from catwalk to sidewalk.

The grand finale was celebrity model and jewelry designer Mandy Moon wearing a one of a kind dress made from pages of Seattle magazine created by the Art Institute of Seattle's Fashion Design graduate Rosalyn Librande.

Here is closer look at the necklace Mandy designed to go with her gown.

So the lights have come up, the complimentary bubbles have been consumed and it's time for this Beauty Queen to do some shopping. See you in the boutiques!

Xxxoo,
Susan

Photo Shoot With Beth Dixson Part 2: My Inner Bombshell

Here are some ginger snaps from the photo shoot...

Jacket: id Collection, shirt: Jockey, pants: Lois, shoes: Jessica Simpson.

We shot these behind the facade of the Old Rainier Brewery Cold Storage Building in Georgetown. Beth is wonderful to work with. She has an infectious enthusiasm that encourages her model to shine.

Look who showed up for a photo op as Beth and I were wrapping up! This is my favorite photo from the shoot and I have affectionately titled it 'My Grease Fantasy'. Thank you Beth for taking such smoking hot pics of me and my sweetheart! You are lethal with a lens and I love you!

Photo Shoot With Beth Dixson Part 1: Getting Ready to Roll

About a month ago the notorious Beth Dixson sent me this message...

"I was thinking it might be fun to do a biker babe photoshoot with you. I was sitting under body painted biker babes while eating BBQ the other day and thought it would be fun to do something like that with you...especially since I was pretty sure you're a motorcycle gal. Not the body paint, but you know, the hot bike chick."

I was thrilled of course. I did a pin up shoot with Beth and two of my besties a while back and we had a blast. So after I told her I was all in, I had to go down the checklist to get rough and ready.

The look we were going for was inspired by Varla of Russ Meyer's cinematic masterpiece Faster Pussycat Kill Kill. Clearly I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to pull off vixen of vroom vroom style.

Time to call in reinforcements. I secured my soul mate, I mean favorite hair and makeup artist, Crystal Kosta to help in my transformation.

And, as always, Crystal worked her magic.

This is Crystal's car modeling the hair extensions she selected to help me have the bodacious biker babe bouffant I wanted for the photo shoot. I think her car looks pretty good as a red head.

The day before the shoot I went to see Crystal at her salon Frederick's of Greenwood for a color and *gasp* for her to cut bangs. I haven't had bangs since I was in junior high. But you can see by the look on my face that I trust in her mad skills.



After she works me over I go home to drink water and get a good night's sleep.

Fast forward to 6am the morning of the shoot. I'm back at Frederick's pounding espresso and getting into hair and makeup. Obviously I'm not a morning person.

Why is Crystal so perky this early in the morning?

It's a good thing she is though because in a matter of minutes she transforms me.

Beth arrives and we all relocate to Georgetown where the biker babe photo shoot will take place.

I'm finally ready for my close up but I couldn't have done it without my trusty sidekick. How cute are we with our matching bangs?

So that's how we do it.

Stay tuned for Photo Shoot With Beth Dixson Part 2: My Inner Bombshell where I reveal the wicked hot pictures Beth took and how lovely she is behind the lens.