As the days were counting down towards the weekend of the Winter Salsa Carnival, DJ Julio and I almost forgot that we needed to wear masks on Saturday. And since DJ Julio can be counted on be a "salsa partner in crime", I came up with the brilliant idea to have masks painted on as I knew it would be irritating to wear one while trying to DJ, take pictures or even while dancing...

Step 1: The Hair
The first step was getting my hair inspiration. As always, I headed down to my favourite hairdressers, Grace and Mario of Beauty Image Makeover on Queen Street near Spadina. Grace always picks my hair colour as she is also a colour consultant for Revlon and appears regularly on the City TV Morning Show on Beauty Makeovers -- I've been friends with her for years. Mario is her husband, is very creative when it comes to styling; and I always give him free rein to try out all types of funky hairdos. Each time I visit them I never know what style he will come up with... I've had everything from traditional updos to Asian "Crouching Tiger" hairstyles.

Normally, all I do is either get a cut or a style, but this time he was inspired to bleach some of my layers as I asked if it was possible for me to have coloured layers as all their clients around me were having them done.
For the finishing touch, I always hope he's in the mood to do a funky updo that I couldn't recreate very easily at home. These knots served as my own inspiration to add more for the Winter Salsa Carnival to complement the mask I would have on the weekend.


Step 2: The Make-Up

What was even more helpful was having the foresight two years ago to see a Fantasy Makeup Poster in a store, take a digital picture of it, and buy the corresponding fake lashes that were part of the kit -- that served as my inspiration for my mask. In this picture, there were also extra crystals; and just the week before I had watched an episode of America's Top Model where the models were bald and bejeweled with lots of Swarovski crystals. So I did some research and was able to find a store that sold them on Queen Street.

Armed with my supplies, I headed down to Mac Cosmetics to get my make-up done. They had warned me that it might take more than an hour; and they were right of course... but it was worth all the stress of running around, not getting enough sleep from the night before and rushing to find parking in downtown traffic on a Saturday. As always, I found a spot nearby as someone was pullling out and met my make-up artist, Ricky. He was great to work with and was open to feedback on the look that was a combination of both our ideas.

Step 3: My Partner in Crime - DJ Julio
DJ Julio came in about halfway through my session and he had an idea of what he wanted. He had his own make-up artist; and between the four of us, we tossed around ideas while his face was being painted -- his results were also exactly what he wanted with very little preparation. The square crystals that I bought for him just added the finishing touch to his mask; and I even convinced him to use some mascara to add the final fantasy touch! After all, if you want to have the full effect of make-up -- you just have to go all the way...

And finally... The Reactions
When I left the store to put more money in the parking meter, a few kids screamed out "Star Wars", and one little girl just did a little scream... Definitely it wasn't the type of make-up you wear on a bright sunny day.

In Yorkdale Shopping Centre on Sunday, I got the totally opposite response from the cosmetic counters as they all came up to me and wanted to talk about how it was done. The make-up almost stayed on perfectly until the next day, but it did need a few touch-ups as I would forget and occasionally touch my face. I was told it could have lasted up to four days!

And at the Winter Salsa Carnival, there were lots of costumes, but very few painted masks. It was so realistic at night that most of our friends didn't realize until much later that our masks were painted on... And it was so comfortable to "wear" all night that it was worth all the preparation and effort; and definitely much more fun to do it together with a friend!

Thanks DJ Julio for stepping up for the challenge and sharing this experience with me... Thanks for the Memories and hope you enjoy my little salsa photovideo...