As an independent hair and make-up artist, Monaé Everett, is best known for her talent in enhancing each client’s unique natural beauty. Her blogs, www.HairandMakeupBlog.com and www.YouTube.com/MonaeArtistry, are different from others due to her experience as a licensed cosmetologist and American Board-Certified Haircolorist, she has been a part of countless photo shoots, TV, and theatre, and is frequently invited to write and speak about beauty.

It you decide going to the salon isn’t for you for whatever reason, don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Check out these quick uncomplicated hairstyles. These styles will have you standing out in the best possible way.

What do you think? Is this something you could do on your hair at home?

We all love a good hair day! Here’s a new product that will help you combat the signs of dull lifeless hair aging? Even your hair could use a little lift!

XO, Terez

(Images c/o)

All women want to look beautiful, we just don’t always have the time. Check out this this video to see how you can achieve sexy celeb hair in under 10 mins. You too can achieve the beautifully curled styles of Beyonce, Ciara, Jennifer Lopez, etc. Take the 10 min challenge. I’d love to hear about your results below.

I was asked to do a quick how to video on using Google+ Hangouts. I don’t use them often, but I believe they are an incredible tool that will revolutionize the way Bloggers Like Me and the Group will do online connecting. To learn more about Google+ Hangouts, click here:

Google+ is a Google based community that allows people to follow their likes or people and place them into circles. Circles are a way to categories the different groups of people in an organic way by topic. For example, I have a circle for Fashion, Social Media, and one for Photography. The circles help organize who and what you are talking about in each. Google+ Hangouts is a video service that allows you to video chat in the Google+ Community. I was on my very first hangout back in July of 2011.

It is rather dark, but there I am on a hangout with people I didn’t know from places far and wide. People who were curious about what this new way to connect that is Google+ was all about. Not to mention these are some pretty remarkable people on this hangout. An independent publisher of more than 400 books; a novelist, who’s written 3 books in the last 18 months (what an accomplishment), and a photographer and music writer. Not as varied as a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker, but you get the gist. This is what the web and social media can do. It connects people. It is he sole reason I love social media the way I do. I am connected and have connected with people I would otherwise never have the pleasure of knowing. I regularly contact bloggers in the UK. People who share my intense interest for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle information.

Why Hanging out is important?

Google+ has been around for a year, but I believe it has not even begun to catch the kind of fire I know it will when people throughly understand the value in how to use this powerful tool to connect. Hangouts is the best part of the community. They allow you to connect visually in real-time to a group of people. Google kicked it up even further by allowing your Google+ Hangout to be broadcast live from your Youtube Channel. I think this is yet another way you can expand your digital brand to your customers.

Your Fashion, Beauty, or Lifestyle business needs to use this tool. It is one more item that can keep you relevant and connected. I have seen hangouts used for interviews. Is there designer you want to feature on your site? This is the perfect way to connect with them and share it instantly with your audience. Live events have a vibe all their own. You can use that positive energy to boost your brand. If you are a makeup artist, you can use Google+ for free on hair makeup demos. You can give tips on skincare and answer questions about your work. You are a fashion designer. You can share your newest creations and receive instant feedback on your collection. You can even do a live event for buyer online! There’s an idea. You are a hairstylist. Well you can use Google+ Hangouts to show off a new trendy technique. Answer questions about your haircare regime for clients or easy “How to get the look videos”. Your expertise is always needed and useful. Why not share your information while gaining new customers and clients in the process?

To help you get started here is my video with a friend and fellow Blogger Like Me blogger. Dee of MissFoodieFash.wordpress.com

If you don’t know now you know

As nearly 70% of people start the search for your business via Google, why wouldn’t you want to further influence people’s search efforts? -Chris Brogan of ChrisBrogan.com

Google+ adds 625,000 users each day!

Don’t know how to use Google+ On Air Hangouts. Let me help you get started.

Chicagolicious and Chicago better get ready for Austin Elizabeth Maxfield. The young ambitious, MUA (Makeup Artist) is making her mark this summer in the Style Network’s new show Chicagolicious. I recently had a chance to catch up with this brown-haired beauty. Where we dished on how she went from a sneaker freak tomboy to a bona fide barbie,
and what people can expect from her on the show.

Dbabetta: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. First, let me say I am tremendously excited to see a Chicago show about Chicago beauty and hair professionals.

Austin Elizabeth (AE): Thank you. I think we do a fantastic job of holding Chicago up in a good light! This will truly highlight our city. We want to show the world we have what it takes.

Dbabetta: Where are you from? Are you a Chicago girl?

AE: Yes, I am a Chicago girl all the way.

Dbabetta: So tell me, how did you get started as an MUA?

AE: I haven’t been doing makeup that long. I have the least experience in the salon [AJ'S Salon]. I wear make-up every day. Especially when I am going to an event or going out. I will always have on makeup. I have only been doing make up for a few years, but I love it.

I was not always this girly. I grew up with 6 brothers and was a real tomboy. I wore ripped jeans and sneakers all the time. I used to work at Succezz, a Sneaker Boutique in the South Loop. Then I started seeing other girls my age wearing make up, and I would ask my mom to buy it for me. She would go to Walgreens and get my makeup. It was nice, but I had to learn to apply it.

Then, I started watching YouTube tutorials on techniques. It helped me get better. Once my friends started to see how good my makeup looked they wanted me to do theirs. So that is how I got started.

Dbabetta: That’s awesome. So how did you connect with AJ?

AE: I met him at an event, during the time I was networking like crazy to help my business. He complimented me on my makeup, and I told him I was a make up artist. He asked me to come work for him at the salon. So I did.

We see she’s made quite a change from the t-shirt and sneaker crowd.

Dbabetta: Who is your favorite face right now? Who would you love to do makeup for?

Austin Elizabeth: Kim Kardashian!!! I love her makeup style. I love her fashion style. I do my makeup in that same style so I love how her’s looks. If I ever got to do her face, I would be starstruck. I know a lot of people hate her, but I think she is great.

Dbabetta: I love the Kardashians. I think they are funny. If I had sisters that close in age that is how we would be.

AE: Right. I love them [Kardashians], but I love doing all women’s faces though not just celebrities. I think makeup can make you feel better about yourself, and I want to help women do that.

Dbabetta: That’s an incredible reason. Did you know that the Kardashian sisters are coming out with their own makeup line called Khroma Beauty?

AE: No, I hadn’t heard about that!

Dbabetta: Well now that you know, will you try their makeup?

AE: When it comes out I will have to check that out.

Dbabetta: What is the one makeup item you can’t go without in your purse?

AE: I can’t pick just one. I actually have two, no three items.

1. Nude lip gloss. My favorite right now is Mac Cosmetics’ Richer Lusher ($19.50)

2. Black eyeliner (no brand mentioned).

3. Lash glue (no brand mentioned).

I find that during the day my lashes start to come loose then I have to run and go buy more lash glue. Then I ended up with so much it just made more sense to keep it with me at all time for fast fixes on the go.

Dbabetta: Everyone hates a wayward lash! What can we expect to see from you this season on Chicagolicious?

Austin Elizabeth: You can expect to see my transition. You will see me transition from a sneaker girl to enjoying more high fashion and being chic. Like my other cast mates in the salon, they are stylish. You will see me, working hard on my profession. I am passionate about what I do and even though I don’t have much experience I want people to know that I am good. In my personal life, you see me getting into a good relationship. After dating bad boys for so long. In the beginning, I struggled to fit in at the salon. So a lot of things will happen for me.

Dbabetta: We see you find love on the show, but are you still in a relationship?

AE: Yes. I am still in a relationship.

Dbabetta: Great! What is one thing you want people to know about you that they may not see on the show?

AE: I am a jokester. I love having fun. I am that way with all of my brothers. I don’t even think I would know how to be serious with them. Even though, people will see me struggle, I want them to know that I am not all serious. If you read my tweets you will see how fun I am. Twitter is where I get to let loose.

Dbabetta: I read some of your timeline, and I felt like I walked in on a lot of inside jokes.

AE: Exactly! I am just fun.

Austin’s such a sweet girl. I cannot wait to see how the season of Chicagolicious turns out. You can find out more about Austin and the rest of the cast on the Style Network. Be sure to check out sneak peek footage from the show. And watch it each Monday this summer on Style. Please check your local listings for the channel and times.

You can follow Austin on Twitter @AustinEMaxfield

You can also follow me each Monday live tweeting with the #Chicagolicious hashtag via @TerezBaskin

Leave a comment below if you are excited to see Chicagolicious or Tell me why you think it might just be another hot mess!

Photos c/o: Style Network

Photographer Credit: Matt Dinerstein/Style

Interview by Terez Baskin.

How small boutiques have the opportunity to level the playing field with Social Media. Being small means that you can leverage free social media tools just like the big brands and designers without hurting your marketing budget. D’babetta started working with Zaraz Collection Chicago on a campaign to build brand awareness within the great shopping corridor of Wicker Park, more specifically Division Street.

Identify which tools will work for you
Our plan was to start with Facebook, clean up the boutiques website, and lead to a more consistant message from the store. Terez of D’Babetta worked directly with the owner Heidy to gain traction and build a community with the current Facebook fan base. Terez would also tweet the updates from facebook to her already vast fashion network to further push the brand name within the city. The idea of using twitter for the boutique itself would be a very time consuming task. Twitter is a great amplification tool for a brand with a built in network/customer base.

Twitter is a tool that has great potential to build engagement with a brand, but would not work for this project. So we decided to focus on Facebook. The store had enough fan page likes and customers who commented pretty frequently on new items. The boutique was not using this powerful tool to the best of its ability. So D’Babetta took over the fan page and started updating and engaging with fans. We posted pictures of new products and included some short blog posts on how to best to utilize the boutiques’ products for the season.

There was video created from Photos taken at the Boutique leading up to our Bridal 101 event. The better updated photography grabbed more attention on the fan page. Customers were commenting and liking the new photo albums going up each week. This increased impressions 300% over previous months.

Why your website matters
We also cleaned up their boutiques splash page website. A large part of your boutique is its online presence. It often times becomes just as important as your in store presence. You may believe that no one is watching, but the truth is there may people who just see you sign driving or walking by and they will want investigate more on who and what you do. The splash page had out of date information and needed some clarity. While building your brand if you aren’t using your website to create constant updates then using Facebook is a good place to start building a community around your products/services. You don’t want to declare something is “coming soon” on your site when you don’t have a clearly defined date of delivery. Customers will understand you are a small brand, but are not be understanding if they feel you are being dishonest about what you can offer.

Why offline tools should extend online themes
The owner Heidy was also using a plugger to advertise to customers who made purchases as a bag stuffer. The insert needed a rework. It didn’t have clarity. Heidy is the owner of two vastly different boutiques. The other store was for a completely different crowd. It was suburban, it trended younger, and it already had a very distinct voice and target customer. When spending money on a tangible printed items you need to make sure you are using the prime real estate of that printed material wisely. The information has to be instantly relevant to the reader and reflective of your brand perfectly. The information for both stores was on the insert. D’Babetta explained that the customer wanted only the information regarding the store they were buying from. The crowd in Wicker Park would not travel to the other store in the Southern Suburbs. So the information for this customer was irrelevant.

The Promotional video for Zaraz Collection Chicago

All Photography taken by Terez Baskin