As I type this, bellas I’m in a moving car in the front seat, laptop on my lap, North Carolina zooming past me outside. But I’m bearing glad tidings of fabulous makeup tips, thanks to the gorgeous and wonderful Patrece Williams!

We met and clicked right away at the Macy’s Women of Color event, and it’s rare that I meet someone who I can instantly say, someday I’m gonna be like “I met her when.” I say this because I know Patrece is a star on the rise. Someday I want to click on Bravo or the Style Network and watch her dispensing makeup tips on her own show – she’s THAT sweet, warm, funny, and has presence and personality for days. And her attitude was both refreshing and inspirational. “A humble person is a successful person,” she believes, and let me tell you – from interviewing so many people, that is rare to hear, and even rarer to experience. I can’t say enough nice things about her.

Patrece is the makeup artist of choice for Laila Ali, Colin Cowie, and Debbie Turner Bell. And you can see her hard work every morning bright and early — Patrece is holding down the fort on the CBS Early Show, doing makeup for Julie Chen and all of the celebrities and dignitaries who come through the green room before their interviews. And it all began when she moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana to NYC, and worked at the MAC makeup counter.

“I am living my dream,” she declared during her presentation, and I know she inspired many of the aspiring artists and cosmetics employees at Macy’s that day. I managed to put together a little video of highlights from her demonstration. Click below to watch, but be forewarned – I’m the worst videographer ever. What are you in for here? Terrible, terrible camera angles, misguided attempts at zooming in, continuous shaking, not-so-great audio, occasional applause with the camera-in-hand, and cackling laughter from myself and the loud, loud lady right next to me. Oh, and amazing makeup tips!

Mark my words, one day Afrobella will have a video person down to produce some slick content. One day it won’t be up to me and my complete inability to film.

On this day, she admitted she wasn’t feeling well and her mom (who is her rock and her guiding light), had to stay behind to care for a sick relative. And very sadly, that relative has since passed. Please join me in sending positive thoughts and prayers to Patrece and the Williams family.

Despite the personal burdens in her own life, Patrece pulled it together and taught me and the audience so much about makeup, and about grace under pressure. I’m happy to share some of her top makeup tips!

— Patrece uses many different makeup brands, but MAC ranks high as her favorite. “I love MAC’s foundations. I think they’ve done the research and taken the time to really cater for women of color. I worked for them for 5 years, so I can attest they take it seriously.” Patrece loves Studio Fix liquid foundation, which dries to a powder. This probably explains why I look so frickin shiny in my photo next to her! Note to self, tone down the shine before posing for photos with famous people with flawless makeup.

– In Patrece’s professional opinion, the best way to put on foundation is to start in the T-zone area. Use a dime size amount, stipple on under your eyes, and on your nose and forehead. Then feather it down and out to make sure the coverage is even and looks natural. Patrece focuses foundation on the center circle of the face. “Foundation should just enhance your skin and give it a glow.”

– Patrece (and most makeup artists in general!) loves and recommends lipliner. But she doesn’t use the pointy part. “Lay the pencil flat and point the tip to the bow of your lip. Use the flat edge to give a smudging effect on your lips, rather than a sharp line. That way you can use lipstick or gloss to blend the color and it lasts all day,” she says. Patrece LOVES a plum colored lipliner on women of color. And she specifically recommended a brand and color of lipgloss – I’ll blog about that soon, promise! She used a lighter color of gloss at the center of the lip to highlight or contour her model’s lips. Note to self, try that at home!

– Patrece loves and highly recommends using powder eyeshadow as eyeliner. “If you have oily skin, liquid or cream eyeliner or eyeshadow is going to crease. With powder eyeshadow, you save money and get two uses out of one product.” She uses and recommends MAC brush #266 for applying eyeliner, or for filling in eyebrows. She used an indigo purple shadow and started applying it right in the lash line. “Eyeshadow looks matte, whereas pencil can look shiny. And you don’t always have to use black or brown shadow as your liner. Sometimes I like to use gold eyeshadow and smudge over it with brown to bring that iridescence out. I also love a plum or indigo shadow,” says Patrece. She used the very tip of the #266 brush to just place the color, not to brush it on the lashline. And she used shadow both on the lid and under the eye!

– DON’T pump air into your mascara! Open it to where you can see just the stem of the wand, then turn it and pull it out. That way the product remains creamy and good to use while it adheres to the brush. Patrece prefers to put on mascara on the bottom lashes first, very lightly. She starts on the outer corner by the ear and moves to the center, using the wand to pull the lashes down as she applies mascara. “What we’re trying to do is create an illusion of thicker, fuller lashes. Push the mascara from the base of the lash, pull all the way down, then push them up,” she says.

– Patrece doesn’t always use an eyelash curler – bellas with long lashes don’t necessarily need one, she says. But she loves strip lashes, and reuses them four or five times a piece, just by removing the glue and reapplying them.

For now I just have to say thank you again to Patrece for the opportunity, and to my amigas at Macy’s. Of course you know normally I link to the people I interview, but Patrece doesn’t even have a website! She hasn’t needed to have one yet – her success has come from word of mouth recommendations. I plan to (and hope to) keep in touch with her, so if you’re in need of makeup advice or have a specific question, I’ll ask her for ya!

More to come from Patrece soon —I’m interviewing her on her drugstore product recommendations next!

This post originally appeared on Afrobella.

This past Saturday I attended the third annual Women of Color event at Macy’s Aventura, and bellas let me tell you — it was a beautiful thing.

I attended this event in its first year, and immediately saw its unlimited potential. It’s the one day of the year that the beauty department is filled with black, brown, Latina, Asian, and Middle Eastern women of all hues, all being wooed and catered to by experts at each cosmetics counter.

The event has only become more popular, and this year, Chanel, Dior, Benefit, Lancome, Goldenfaden, Clinique, MAC — all counters were at least five bellas deep, all seeking consultations.

I was fortunate enough to spend my time with the Macy’s PR (big shout out to Ivonne! She was very accommodating) and interview two celebrity makeup artists.

I really can’t say enough nice things about Patrece Williams. There’s always something a little magical when I meet another Patrice, whatever the spelling!

Believe me when I say, this sista is on the rise. Patrece has so much personality, so much presence and power, she needs to be on television. I want to see her hosting her own show on Bravo, she is THAT warm and wonderful and funny. If I had to compare her, personality wise, to anyone — I’d say she’s a little Mo’Nique and a little Niecey Nash, with a voice made for cartoons. You just want to be her best friend, have dinner with her, then let her give you a makeover. More on Patrece — with videos of her giving makeup tips! — in an upcoming post.

In her well-attended presentation, Patrece addressed the warm spirit and palpable excitement in the room with empowering words. “Women of color, embrace those full lips. Embrace that beautiful skin. People pay money to get what we got for free!”

Her top choice of makeup came as no surprise. “I love MAC foundations. I think they’ve taken the time and done the research to really cater to women of color. I worked for them for five years, so I can attest that they take it seriously.”

MAC’s name is already golden amongst black women, and I believe some other brands have tried to step forward to address the beauty needs of women all shades of beautiful.

Make Up For Ever has stepped up its shade game. Of course there’s Prescriptives, which offers so many shades it’ll make your head hurt, and I know quite a few dark skinned bellas who swear by NARS, and some who love Lancome. A few other major department store makeup brands offer more than 12 shades of foundation. And there are quite a few with woefully few options, that don’t venture past shades with names like “honeyed beige” or “ochre.”

I also had the pleasure of interviewing makeup artist to the stars, the Eyebrow King, Damone Roberts, in the green room upstairs as he tried to match the foundation for the model he was going to use during his presentation. Mr. Roberts had like 10 different shades of foundation and an entire coffee table of makeup out before him, as he tried to settle on what colors to use and what shades blended almost-perfectly.

We chatted about makeup and the divine Mrs. Obama — he’s dying to get his expert hands on her brows, and I think he’s the man for the job! Damone believes think a change’s gonna come in the cosmetics industry.

“They have to! We’re a powerful market and you can’t deny it. Not anymore. There’s a first lady in the White House who is a beautiful woman of color! Makeup for women of color is a neglected market. And when I say women of color, I’m not just talking about African Americans. I mean Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Native Americans — it’s all America!” he declared.

It’s ridiculous to think that Michelle Obama couldn’t find her shade of foundation at the department store in 2009, but even today, it’s kind of true. Her options are still limited. She’d have to look at a few big-name brands that truly cater to her skin tone, because not all of them do. Yet. Things have come a long way, but we’ve got a ways to go.

Seeing the excited crowds at the Women of Color event gave me hope. I hope that Macy’s makes it a traveling event, because this could be huge in a city like Atlanta, Washington DC, Dallas, New Orleans, or heyyyy – Chicago, where I’ll be living soon. It might be one day out of the year, but it’s a start. More on my interview with Damone Roberts to come, including his top tips and product recommendations for brown skinned beauties!

What do you think, bellas? Am I looking at the industry from a glass half empty perspective? What are your predictions? Do you see change coming to the department store cosmetics counters?

This originally appeared on Afrobella.com.

I was looking at a picture of Jason Wu, the designer who did Michelle Obama’s Inauguration Ball dress, and thought, hmmmm he looks sort of familiar, and then I realized, it’s because I had taken a picture of him a few years ago. In 2006, I was slumming it in New York for the Village Voice and went to a benefit party for AIDS org DIFFA at clothing store Jeffrey. On the right is infamous tranny Amanda Lepore, and she somehow finagled Wu into making replicants of her. The dolls were for sale, and the proceeds went to the charity. And, yes that’s Wu on the left.

So, to review: Jason Wu: friend to the gays, and designer to nightlife trannies and First Ladies.

Last night’s “Green Initiative Humanitarian blah blah blah” was not as interesting as it could have been, although my enthusiasm may have been tempered slightly by the fact that they made the crowd wait in line for over an hour (after sending a slightly sharp email about how we all had to be on time).

Emily Factor, M the Movement, ecoSkin, lilikoi, and smartglass recycled jewelry were all featured, and the clothes were all sort of boring. Lots of jersey knit, again with the bright colors (I guess even the green kids got the nineties memo), and some very wearable stuff from M the Movement, but otherwise… eh.

The more interesting part of the show was the, ahem, sideshow. For whatever reason, organizers decided that it would be fun (and appropriate?) to “go native.” Like, African dancers and what looked like Polynesian chest-beaters. It was not explained, and it was odd.

I have issues with using random “cultural” stuff as a sideshow, to begin with, but beyond that, I have no idea what it had to do with the theme of the evening: sustainability.

There was also a wolf. And a monkey. And an…uh… boa constrictor? Yeah. Not sure what they were going for, there.

And, yes, the runway was strewn with leaves. I guess because deleafing trees is the new way to show your environmentalism.

In any case, props to the designers for taking some steps toward sustainability in what is arguably one of the most unsustainable industries going. I do think that even having this event is a testament to LA’s fashion industry. There is a “Green Market” show (which is geared more toward buyers then the runway shows) on Saturday, as well, proving that this isn’t just a one-off event.

There is a full gallery of the clothes at Zimbio, here.

Tempting Timberlake directs his fans to “Vote in the Box.” All of Hollywood is partaking in this movement to sway young peeps to exercise their democratic right to vote; most celebs just cross their fingers and cuss a lot to get the point across. But when JT croons, all the girls swoon, so he rocked an off-the-cuff version of his Emmy-winning SNL ditty at a Vegas “Last Chance for Change” rally last weekend.

KILL YOUR SATURDAY NIGHT PLANS. Sarah Palin is set to appear on SNL this weekend. “It would be fun to meet her, imitate her and keep on giving her new material,” said Palin about potentially sharing the stage with Tina Fey. A certain someone obviously doesn’t realize that the world isn’t laughing with her—just at her. But we’ll keep the vice-presidential nominee in the dark for the time being. I mean, that’s where she’s most comfortable, yeah?

Quote of the Week: “If she wins, I’m done . . . And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth,” said Tina Fey to TVGuide on the topic of Sarah Palin. Whether Fey’s “leaving Earth” would be prompted by the demands of having to impersonate Palin week-after-week for the next four years or the mere idea of a Palin vice-presidency is left to our interpretation, but for the sake of being objective, I’ll tell you—she means the latter.

Sarah Palin, is that you in those fully-loaded stilts? Someone wore a killer pair of pumps to a premier in NYC this past week. Was it gun-’em-down Palin or some other high-profile nutcase with a penchant for pistols and such? Find out here.

OK, so maybe there’s a semi-legit reason behind Madonna’s mean pair of pumps. She and Guy Ritchie are calling it quits after seven years of marriage. Now comes the dreaded tug-of-war over the overstuffed piggy bank. Both parties hope to have everything finalized and wrapped up nicely in a pretty little gift box by Christmas, but we all know that’s about as real as the Clause himself.

Another Too-Good Quote of the Week: “We don’t call them crazed fans, we call them Moms,” said Zac Efron about the crowd that shows up for the High School Musical 3: Senior Year premiers. Think the Disney-backed, sing-song feature film is intended for the itty-bitty-teeny-weeny crowd? Think again. Don’t overestimate the taste of them hockey moms, oh dontcha know . . .

It’s official: the B.S. comeback we’ve all been waiting for. And by “B.S.” I mean Britney Spears. Of course. She released a single off her upcoming album a couple weeks ago and it quickly topped the charts. She debuted the music vid for the hit song on “20/20″ last Friday (cuz the Barb Walters crowd is totally with it, y’all) and pretty much affirmed that she’ll do anything for attention. Squirm around butt naked in a steaming hot sauna? That’s the least of it.

While there were a couple moments in Christian Audigier “American Lord” show that scored highly on the unintentional comedy scale, overall the line was coherent, cheeky, and very, very hip.

If you haven’t heard, the nineties are back. And how! Remember plaid? It’s back. Remember hole-y jeans and pleated skirts? Check and check. Big metallic peace-sign earrings? Saw ‘em (on staff, not the runway). Embroidered tattoo patterns? Audigier lives for them.

It must be a thing for details, because he also outdid himself on the showmanship. A live band played grunged-out classic rock covers, and the whole thing kicked off with two guys in British Royal Guard uniforms (or some variation thereof), dancing their little asses off, who were then joined by two models in skimpy black frocks and Converse, dancing *their* little asses off. And so the party began.

With the guards flanking the opening to the runway, a slew of models began a 20-minute procession which heavily featured tartan and American flags. There was some sort of commentary going on about the British-American empires. Something that looked a lot like a theory that Americans took British basic and made it cool. Of course, Audigier is French, so I might not know what I’m talking about.

Then again, Audigier had to know what he was talking about when he sent a long, lank, blond-haired model down the runway in a kelly green top hat to background music of “Don’t Come Around Here No More.”

He also had to know he was being cute when he sent two models down the runway with Great Danes, and when a bunch of kids came out at the end, hipped to the nines and mugging hard for the cameras. They were all pretty cute, I must say (dogs and kids alike), and the audience loved it. Like I said, the man can put on a show.

In one particularly cute (or ridiculous) moment, a tall, gorgeous, male model slunk to the end of the runway in a hoodie and jeans, with his hood up. He struck a pose, tossed back his hood, and… adjusted his fauxhawk. The moment was just a little too brief to feel intentional, but I couldn’t tell you for sure if it was actually a product of the model’s own vanity.

That is to say, while the show was good, it may have taken its tongue-in-cheekness a little too seriously. When Audigier himself stepped out to take a bow, bronzed, grinning ear to ear, a whole lotta silver confetti rained down, and the band played “Simply the Best.”

It was a little too self-indulgent for my taste. Still, you could do a lot worse than taking a look at American Lord Spring 09 and seeing, if not where fashion is going, at least where it is Right Now.

It ain’t anything new. Celebrities have been pimping out random product lines for a long time now. It’s one thing when a reputable athlete, such as Michael Jordan, pairs up with Nike to “re-invent” the basketball sneaker by adding some kind of fake air pump to a style of shoe, or when Tony Hawk releases a skate boarding vid game, but it’s another when Tara Reid gets the entrepreneurial itch to release— wait for it, wait for it—a bathing suit line.

I’m sure we all recall a certain television series, egotistically known as “Taradise,” where a certain someone traveled to exotic destinations around the world to teach the viewers at home a thing or two about . . . crickets, crickets . . . Nevertheless, the show was canceled in ‘06 after a single season due to “production complications.” My guess is that those complications had a thing or two to do with Miss Reid keeping her bathing suit on straight. But that’s unconfirmed, of course.

So here we are, with summer nearly over, and Tara is coincidentally releasing this line of charm-ing bikinis (literally, bikinis with charms) branded under the name Mantra. According to People magazine, Tara’s pitch is as follows:

It’s about putting into the universe what you want in life: Red means love, pink is friendship, green is lucky, black is protection . . . You’re gonna have a story when you wear this bikini or when you put this dress on: You’ll either get love or meet a new friend or you might meet a guy.

Who says you have to stop playing with crayons at the tender age of two? Coloring is fun, man. Especially when you’re an adult, or whomever the heck she’s marketing to, and can cover, I mean “color,” yourself in an out-of-line fashion (cuz coloring within-the-lines is so passé) with strings and cool charms and triangle tops and stuff.

In conclusion, we should all run out and buy one of these suits. Not only because all the cool preschoolers are doing it, but before the whole darn line gets discontinued. You wouldn’t want to put yourself in harm’s way by not owning a black Mantra bikini, now would you?

(By the way, since when does the color pink signify friendship? Hello— yellow.)

The key to a successful campaign stop is keeping it local: apple pie at the neighborhood diner, ice cream socials on the common, tours of county farms, factories and schools. So where do the candidates go when they want to rub elbows with LA locals? The hottest clubs, of course. But how hot is too hot for the six ’08 Democrats coming to town for LOGO’s Forum on issues facing the LGBT community? We checked in with two stylistas to get the scoop. Erin and Randi, the co-editors and creators of the LA Source fashion blog, shared dish with us on everything from who’s likely to show to what to wear when the candidates get down in Boy’s Town. See the interview after the jump…

The candidates are flooding WeHo tomorrow night after the LOGO debate. Obama’s heading to Area. Hillary’s hitting up The Abbey. John Edwards plans to cozy up with a small group of contributors at Republic. Bill Richardson is going to stake out WeHo steak house Eleven. And Kucinich is getting down at Circus Disco. Good picks or “ish-don’t-think-so”?

Randi: Well, I think it’s interesting that Hillary chose a gay bar.

Erin: I think The Abbey is a really good choice for Hillary. Not only is it a popular place, but the type of people who go there are a little bit more laid back than the crowds at some of the other places… Hillary Duff had her album release party there earlier this year . It’s a good young, hip, but a little bit relaxed kind of base.

So The Abbey has ‘street cred’ as a popular place to party?

Erin: It is a safe bet. It’s not that outlandish. Everyone goes to The Abbey just to sit outside and have a drink, even though it’s in Weho and it’s in Boy’s Town. It wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. It’s a good diverse crowd.

What about some of the other venues?

Randi: Never actually been inside Area, but did a story on it…

Erin: My take on Area is that it’s a very stereotypical Midwest-perception of LA: loud, obnoxious, sceney. Not cool, laid-back sceney, but the “look at me!” sceney that I hate, and full of people who look like they’re trying too hard. It’s the club that was all over “The Hills,” after all. That said, it’s probably the perfect place for Obama to be because it’s well known and considered pretty cool to people who aren’t from LA.

When I first moved here, that was the question people would ask me—if I ever went to Area. So, from a PR standpoint, anything well known that will generate interest among the MTV-set is probably a good idea—not that I’m a political strategist… Area is definitely a venue that Obama’s MySpace friends will recognize.

Randi: I’ve read good things about Eleven. It’s supposed to be really beautiful inside… I’m sure for these debates any of the venues are going to attract an entirely different crowd than they normally would on a Friday/Saturday night.

Erin: With Eleven, I think that’s another safe place, another hot spot. As far as Republic goes, it’s where celebrities go. It’s in WeHo, but it’s down the street and I don’t think anyone would really consider it a gay bar.

You mentioned Hillary Duff had her album party at The Abbey (which rehab-regular Brittany Spears has been known to frequent). Adrian Grenier and his “entourage” shot an episode of the HBO hit at Republic this summer. And Area’s velvet ropes usher in Hollywood’s biggest A-listers for exclusive parties. Have you had any celeb sightings at these places that might give us some insight into the typical Thursday-night crowd?

Erin: Last time I was at Republic I saw somebody. He was short and he was cute.

Randi: Not the “Entourage” dude?

Erin: No, He was a professional surfer… or a soccer player. I remember seeing some sort of sports place… It’s a ‘scene-y’ place, but it attracts people who might not be exactly on the scene.

Randi: Someone that’s cooler than the scene, you mean?

Erin: It’s kind of an Area-like place, but not as well publicized.

Your blog often includes a feature called “Appropriate Dress For…” So, give us the scoop on the “appropriate dress” for a campaign bash at a chic Hollywood club. What should the candidates wear out tonight? Will Hillary “get low” with yet another, ahem, revealing blouse? Maybe pretty-boy Edwards will drop another 200 benjamins to have his stylist part his hair on the other side?

Randi: I would probably stay pretty neutral as far as color. You have to keep in mind, you’re in a club, too. I would probably wear a high-waisted, knee-length skirt and a conservative tank top.

Erin: I would love to see Obama in cool jeans, a blazer and a vintage graphic tee… just kidding. I think they should definitely try to blend in to their surroundings and that means ditching boring presidential garb.

Randi: Hillary would look really good in high-waisted slacks and a blouse—maybe kind of chiffony… I think they definitely need to blend in. People will probably laugh if they see any of them wearing a suit. And Edwards can sport a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of vans. That would be super perfect at, like, Republic.

If it’s anything like usual at the clubs, the paparazzi will be buzzing, and we all know that exposure is key in an election. LA is infamous for its gossip blogs. Which sites should the candidates hope their shots show up on Friday morning to really hit the young, hip demo?

Randi: Well, hopefully, that’s not really their main concern. I guess if they do want traffic, I would say TMZ or Perez. They definitely already got mentioned in that they’re coming to West Hollywood.

Erin: I think it shouldn’t be their main concern, but that’s a great way to reach out to a younger audience. People our age will be much more receptive when they see Perez talking about them or making fun of them on the web. Realistically, the majority of people our age are not reading the New York Times cover-to-cover every night… It’s interesting that they’re running [the LA visits and LOGO debates] like they’re promoting a movie.

Randi: Yeah, it’s interesting that they’re buying into the media.

Erin: Next they’ll be like promoting products… wearing a new designer t-shirt with a logo.

On your site, you two are pros at tipping readers off to up-and-coming fashion trends. Any chance you can look into your Swarovski crystal ball and give us the dish on what political topics will be hot for the two of you this fall?

Randi: Obviously, the war is the pretty hot issue nationwide. I was reading a Q&A with Hillary last night in Marie Claire and the issue of abortion came up. I definitely think that’s going to be a hot topic with Hillary because she’s a woman.

Erin: I hope that I’m able to get social security, that they don’t take that away. You know, as young journalists, we need all the help we can get! Insurance… that’s another scary scene. I’d like to see, just in terms of a lot of the big business profits and stuff, [the government address issues] with the credit card companies. It’s so hard for people our age to even think about [paying for] flying home. And everyone is in debt. It would be nice if credit card companies weren’t able to give an 18-year-old kid a card with a $1,500 limit. As fun as it is to go shopping, that’s just so not a good idea. And of course, the war— can’t forget that one. But I’m kind of sick of hearing about that.

One last question. From what you’ve seen so far, who’s the best-dressed candidate?

Erin: I’m a big fan of John Edwards’ suits.

Randi: There’s something about Barack that’s really hot. Also, I was telling Erin before you called— I think it was for the age issue for Vogue— they had a feature on one of Hillary’s chiefs of staff, [Huma Abedin, traveling chief of staff and Arabic-speaking aide]. They profiled her and the way she dresses. Anyway, I could see her being a good influence on Hillary.

Erin: Hillary has yet to wow me with any of her fashion choices. I’m hoping to see something a little more exciting from her!

Note that La Lohan’s somtime BFF party pal Ronson is going to be spinning. Will Obama be dancing?