WPI Top 8 Blog Post and Moments of 2017
2017 seemed to be a stellar year for many people and brands. There are so many wins and celebrations continuing to happen in the social media and business feeds. We had some defining moments at WarPaint International and also some top trending blog articles. Take a peek at these top 8 and let us know which one is your favorite in the comments section at the bottom.
The top 8 blog posts and a few defining moments in 2017.
2017 seemed to be a stellar year for many people and brands. There are so many wins and celebrations continuing to happen in the social media and business feeds. We had some defining moments at WarPaint International and also some top trending blog articles. Take a peek at these top 8 and let us know which one is your favorite in the comments section at the bottom.
1. WarPaint International & Opera Carolina ROCK New York Fashion Week
Not only was this our top shared blog post, it was also a defining moment for WPI Creative Director Jessica Mae and WPI Director of Education for Hair, Katie Rote. Thanks to Opera Carolina and Opera Recycles, this high-class runway show at Couture Fashion week in New York was not only the experience of a lifetime, but a smash hit.
Photography: Benjamin Huynh
2. An Interview With Samantha Rei
Samantha Rei is a Minnesota fashion designer who found her way to Project Runway with some help from Christopher Straub (another accomplished Minneapolis designer). WPI Intern Debbie Aderinkomi took on an interview with Samantha about personal stuff, challenges and her take on inner beauty.
Image courtesy of A & E Networks
3. The Fall/Winter Hair And Makeup Trend Collection
Every year, WPI curates and produces hair and makeup trends with its Minneapolis team. WarPaint Artisans use these looks as guides when working with our "Night on the Town" clients. But we also take this opportunity very seriously to produce some high-end content that speaks to the everyday women - natural looks that anyone can achieve. Make sure to read the article adn watch the video. You can have these looks. Just book us online!
Photo by Chris McDuffie
4. The Bride Experience
We wanted you to know what is like as a bridal client to book your wedding with WarPaint International. We produced beautiful content to showcase both the booking experience with some words from Jessica Mae and Mariah Jere, and a behind-the-scenes look at how your wedding day should go. The Van Dusen Mansion was thrilled to have us in their space for this project. Watch the Videos.
Photo: Engle | Olsen Videography
5. Why WarPaint International?
For us, we feel the answer to this question is obvious. But for many brides-to-be and clients, it needs further explaining, so we published this article. WarPaint International is unlike many other agencies or companies in the beauty sector due to it's processes. We are supported by attorneys who write our contracts, we do national criminal background checks on all of our Artisans that enter your home, we teach standards and educate as well as immerse our contractors in our culture. With WPI, you're investing in experience, culture, skill and passion.
6. Real Wedding Submission: Anjie & Angelo's Melbourne Wedding
The WarPaint International Beauty Blog accepts real wedding submissions form time to time, that are not from our team. Its fun to see all of the beautiful wedding happenings out there around the world and we had the pleasure of posting this one from Melbourne, Australia.
Photo: On Three Photography
7. Three Top Trending Makeup Looks
WPI Creative Director, Jessica Mae, drives the mission of staying true to who you are - even in your makeup routine. Sure it's fun to put on a smokey eye and hit the town or glam yourself up for something fun. But these should be the exception, not the norm. Jessica wrote about 3 top trending makeup looks that she can subscribe to.
Photo: Justine Louise Photography
8. Essential Makeup Tips For Tweens
This one takes the cake! Jessica Mae wrote this article because mothers ask her this question all the time and struggle with the direction their tween wants to take with their makeup routine. The blog post didn't get shared too much but the Youtube video from her Twin Cities Live segment lit on fire with tween-aged girls cursing and swearing and reinforcing why we are targeting their parents and not them. Read the article and watch the video!
Screenshot from Twin Cities Live | KSTP 5
Opera Carolina Rocked New York Fashion Week
Opera Recycles presented by Opera Carolina showed their eco-friendly fashion collection during Couture Fashion Week New York‘s 26th season on Saturday, September 9, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square with WarPaint International Beauty Agency.
Opera Carolina & WarPaint International Rocked Couture Fashion Week in NYC
Opera Recycles presented by Opera Carolina showed their eco-friendly fashion collection during Couture Fashion Week New York‘s 26th season on Saturday, September 9, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square.
“Opera Carolina Rocked Couture Fashion Week in NYC including a Times Square Takeover.”
The launch pad for New York Fashion Week could not have been better positioned. This year, Opera Carolina created their own show at the New York Couture Fashion Week, giving sustainable fashion enthusiasts an opportunity to see the stunning creations from the Opera Recycles initiative up close and in person. This show gave Opera Carolina an amazing opportunity to showcase Opera Recycles and their commitment to environmental conservation on a national scale. It also gave WarPaint International Creative Director, Jessica Mae an opportunity to showcase a talent often buried behind her core function of executive leadership and bridal application. And showcase she did...
Opera Carolina and WarPaint International Beauty Agency team up to deliver bold, striking looks to compliment opera-based recycle-design sustainable dresses.
Fashion Week Dream Team
Opera Carolina Marketing Director, Megan Miller, teamed up with Jessica Mae, Founder of WarPaint International Beauty Agency from Minneapolis, MN to design high-power makeup and hair concepts. Jessica brings 12 years of experience in her field with creative makeup design and production in the beauty industry. Her company, WarPaint International, is a Midwest Minnesota beauty agency founded in 2010 and based in Minneapolis.
“I was humbled and ecstatic to be invitied to curate the beauty behind Opera Carolina’s Couture Fashion Week runway show.”
WarPaint International produces spring and fall trend development for various looks that everyday women can speak to and wear with confidence. This core focus has been the artistic direction for the company since its inception which speaks to the message of sustainability being driven by Opera Recycles. Jessica Mae was accompanied by WarPaint International’s Director of Education, Katie Rote to help design and curate the hair and makeup looks for Opera Carolina’s entire runway collection, alongside WarPaint Minneapolis Market Manager & Artisan, Mariah Jere and members of the WarPaint International Manhattan team.
The recycled dress designs. The opera inspired looks.
Designers showing their looks included Kristen Alyce, Lyndsee Hairston, Malou Tabada Cordery, Emily Kramer, Venie Tadeo, Sarah Danee and Rocio Llusca. Hair and makeup curated and styled by yours truly - WarPaint International Beauty Agency.
Pagliacci
Pagliacci is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It is the only Leoncavallo opera that is still widely performed. This look was specifically curated to create the feel and emotion of the proverbial tragic clown.
Model: Hannah Duke | Photography: Geometria
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theaters at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.
Model: Madison Hicks | Photography: Benjamin Huynh (left) & Geometria
La Traviata
La Traviata, (The Fallen Woman) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La Dame aux Camélias (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at the La Fenice opera house in Venice.
Model: Lulu Ambrose | Photography: Geometria
I Dream
I DREAM is a largely through-sung musical drama – sometimes referred to as a “Rhythm & Blues Opera” – based on the life of a preacher from Atlanta. The full production features a cast of up to 25 actors and a 15-piece orchestra playing a dynamic fusion of musical forms – from the operatic, to gospel, blues, and jazz to contemporary – evoking the epic scale of a man’s life story, as well as the deeply moving episodes along the way.
Model: Allegra Paris | Photography: Geometria
Girl of the West
La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Fanciulla followed Madama Butterfly, which was also based on a Belasco play. The opera has fewer of the show-stopping highlights that are characteristic of other Puccini works but is admired for its impressive orchestration and for a score that is more melodically integrated than is typical of his previous work.
Model: Sarah Umphlett | Photograpy: Geometria
Indian Princess
This dress was also inspired by "The Girl of the West"
Model: Kenzie Malz | Photography: Geometria
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, (or The Useless Precaution) is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy Le Barbier de Séville (1775). The première of Rossini's opera (under the title Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione) took place on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, Rome. Even after two hundred years, it remains one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music.
Model: Lindsay Keuhl | Photography: Geometria
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which in turn was based on stories told to Long by his sister Jennie Correll and on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti.
Model: Julia Cornwell | Photography: Benjamin Huynh
Cyrano
Cyrano is an opera in four acts composed by Walter Damrosch to an English language libretto by William James Henderson based on Edmond Rostand's play, Cyrano de Bergerac. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on February 27, 1913, with Pasquale Amato in the title role and Frances Alda as Roxane.
Model: Chandra Larson | Photography: Geometria
Romeo & Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Model: Alexis Sherrill| Photography: Geometria
Rusalka
Rusalka is an opera ('lyric fairy tale') by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil (1868–1950) based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová. A Rusalka is a water sprite from Slavic mythology, usually inhabiting a lake or river. Rusalka is one of the most successful Czech operas, and represents a cornerstone of the repertoire of Czech opera houses.
Model: Alyson Cordery | Photography: Geometria
The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (Italian: Le nozze di Figaro) is an opera buffa (comic opera) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786. The opera's libretto is based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro ("The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro"), which was first performed in 1784. It tells how the servants Figaro and Susanna succeed in getting married, foiling the efforts of their philandering employer Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna and teaching him a lesson in fidelity.
Model: McKenna Koch | Photography: Geometria
2015-16 Season Dress (First Opera Recycles Dress)
Model: Jaci Stofferahn-Ruesink | Photography: Geometria
2017 - 2018 Dress
These dresses were created from leftover marketing materials from the 2017 - 2018 season at Opera Carolina
Models: Elixis Ross | Photography: Geometria
The Times Square Takeover
Credits & Thank You's
Some really special people came together to make this runway show happen. First and foremost, THANK YOU to Katie Rote for interviewing all of the models with me and designing each look to specifically speak to the opera and gown that each model wore. Thank you to Mariah Jere, our Minneapolis Market Manager who is an absolute warrior in the trenches. Despite the fact that she manage a team of almost 50 Artisans in Minneapolis and over 150 wedding parties, she managed to get to NYC for two days and join this group of rock stars.
Thank you to the NYC Artisans listed below who dedicated this day to perfecting the looks that we sculpted from concepts in the sky. And a BIG thanks to Mariah's partner Chris who captured the below image and many more behind the scenes that hit our social media on the day of the show.
The Couture Fashion Week NYC Team
From left to right: NYC Artisan Stefanie, NYC Artisan Fay, NYC Artisan Gabby, MPLS Artisan Mariah, WPI Founder Jessica Mae, WPI Director of Education Katie Rote, NYC Artisan Danielle.
The Designers
None of this is possible without the uber-talented minds behind the designing of the dresses. Here are the Designers:
Kristen Alyce - www.vivrecouture.com
Emily Kramer - www.emilykramerdesigns.com
Sarah Danee McGee -
www.justbeautifulllc.comMalou Tabada Oordery
Venie Tadeo
Lyndsee Haristron
Rocio Llusca -
The Models
Could we be anything without the models? Its one thing to design a look and a dress. It's another thing to have the model wearing them own it like they were born with it. Thank you to these young women for allowing us to help them "Prepare For Battle".
Jaci Stofferahn-Ruesink • Allegra Paris • Sarah Umphlett • Chandra Larson • Lindsey Kuehl • Madison Hicks • Kenzie Malz • Hannah Duke • Alexis Sherrill • McKenna Koch • Lulu Ambrose • Elexis Ross • Alyson Cordery • David Wilkins • Julia Cornwell
You ROCKED IT.
Live on CBS Local/WCCO
The Journey from North Carolina to Minneapolis to New York City started right here in Downtown Minneapolis at WCCO.
Lipstick by Elixery Cosmetics
All lipstick looks for Couture Fashion Week for Opera Recycles were done using Elixery Costmetics House from Minneapolis, MN
Hair & Makeup Inspirations from NYFW 2016.
Lets go into the home of the woman whom, unlike fashion designers, doesn’t have a hair and makeup team at her disposal, for their models strutting the runway. She wonders, “ How will I show up and look on trend?” “ How will I belong?”
Beauty by Intuition. Hair & Makeup Inspiration from NYFW Spring / Summer 2016
From the Director's Chair
The streets of New York City were alive this year as the runways were rolled out. Champagne was toasted and the designers of our industry sent their blood sweat and tears down the runway at New York Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2016. For a year, designers tirelessly work, and in 3 hours from the beginning of hair and makeup to the final walk, it’s over.
Photo Credit: NYFW.com
Looking on Trend
It would be logical to think that this season’s hottest hairstyle looks would be walking down the runway in full force. I would like to take you on a different journey this year... Lets go into the home of the woman whom, unlike fashion designers, doesn’t have a hair and makeup team at her disposal, for their models strutting the runway. She wonders, “ How will I show up and look on trend?” “ How will I belong?”
I speak of this woman figuratively as I saw her walking into shows all around the city either alone with her first ticket in her life to watch a show at Fashion Week, or as a guest of a well-seasoned fashion week goer. There is a word that inspires me greatly this month that we all use at some point throughout the day in our practice(s). Intuition.
• in·tu·i·tion
What does it mean? Through a quick search on the internet, Google dictionary defines it as the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. I believe that the way we do our hair each day is intuitive. We just do it, the way we know how and they way that makes us feel the best. Vulnerability does not have a seat at the table in daily styling for most, nor are we willing to take a risk most often when we are surrounded by people we know. Some of us would never dream of leaving the house with a topknot or a center part. Some of us cover our forehead with a strong fringe and some of us live for our long layered tresses that gently flow down our neck and wave with wind on the city streets where we conquer the world each day.
Sharing a #fringe #ootd and the secret of how to get invited to #NYFW on the blog today! 💃🏻 http://t.co/hMu876CEOy pic.twitter.com/z9JrDtzYCw
— Closet Luxe (@closet_luxe) September 28, 2015Your inspiration comes alive
During New York Fashion Week, the narrative changes and something so beautiful happens. Without asking, vulnerability knocks at the door, comes into the vanity and takes over. I can see the new-found confidence if only for the day, in the eyes of the women who power walk the streets of New York City. Some may keep their low casual pony, yet adorn it with a large bow or tie a scarf around it, while others take it to a new level. I saw bangs so fresh and free they were cut that morning with the sharpest scissors in the house. There was no care of too long or short, just an impulse to be alive and bold. It is in this moment that a “ Trend” becomes personal, private, and rebellious.
It is within this space that an artistic expression of our inner self is born. As you are going to the salon wondering “What do I tell my stylist today?” Ask yourself, what would you attempt to do if you realized that you just get one lifetime. Each time you cut your hair is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to extract the excitement and passion that your stylist has for their craft and wear it proudly and without shame. It is a commitment to not taking the path of least resistance and commanding growth and boldness from your soul. It is engaging in a deep and intimate relationship with vulnerability, and when this happens, life happens in a way you cannot imagine until you are there.
At WarPaint International beauty agency, we strive to help create a menu of options. Many of these options cater to helping you revisit your daily hairstyle and makeup regime in a new way. Others, challenge you to invite that unknown, "that vulnerability", into your home and take you on a journey back to childhood when your friend came over to play dress up. Where you put the most intense Red Lipstick on and as much color as you could fit on your eyelid. And after as many ponytails as your could tie your hair into were tied, you then sat and stared in your vanity mirror inspired and excited by what looked back at you. Maybe for the afternoon you were the princess you read about in your story books, or maybe you were the confident grown up you couldn’t wait to be one day. Whatever the case, you had no understanding of limits and no fear of what others would say. You only knew that this was exciting and bold and brought you to a frame of mind where imagination and pure joy took the wheel. This space is, for a hairdresser and a makeup artist, a playground.
Your Challenge
I would like to invite all of you in the months to come, to remember that you DO have a Hair and Makeup Team at your disposal. I ask you to challenge us here at WarPaint International Beauty Agency, to help you extract the inner child in you. Lets play with makeup and hair like you once did and make it work for the life you live now. Whether your look is polished and refined, or deconstructed and free flowing, we are here to help you make choices as to how to live in the beyond of beauty. A space where inspiration flows like the river. And when you’re done, never forget that the hallways in your home or the streets of your city are your catwalks for life. Happy Fashion Week to all and thank you for your continued business. We cannot wait to help you Prepare For Battle™
Fall Trend Collection - Inspiration
View the Fall Trend Collection behind the scenes video for inspiration towards new intuition.