Friday, October 17, 2014

The editors here at HuffPost Style

The editors here at HuffPost Style have been discussing our Halloween costume ideas since August. We take dressing up for this holiday seriously. But when HuffPost Live makeup artist Kari Bauce tipped us off to the Instagram account of Lucia Pittalis, we started rethinking everything.

Pittalis is an Italian-based makeup artist and portrait painter who takes makeup transformations to the next level. Having studied the classics and art in school, she uses this knowledge along with her impeccable technique to alter her appearance into movie characters and music icons like Rambo, Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison.

iggy pop makeup

While Pittalis doesn't wait until Halloween to transform herself, she does go all out on October 31. Last year she was Danny Trejo in "Machete" and back in 2012 she morphed into English rock star Lemmy Kilmister.

Clearly we all can stand to learn a thing or two from Pittalis. Read on to find out how she gets into character, the products that help her to look unrecognizable and her most grueling makeup transformation yet.

HuffPost Style: What is the process like from idea to creation?

LP: The process is studying the character -- watching photos, movies, videos and saving frames where necessary. I think how can it be adapted on my face. It is a kind of acting process before. I must be that character. Then I put on background music related to that character to be in the mood and I start to watch myself in the mirror.

HPS: What type of makeup products do you use?

Lucia Pittalis: I use mostly an Italian product, IndioColor sticks, a very good brand for theater and cinema. Then, I mix various brands because I need wax and collodium sometimes.

HPS: What has been the most time-consuming makeup transformation?

LP: Rocky. [It took] more than five hours because I posted three different photos, with and without bruises.

rocky movie makeup

HPS: How do you remove all of that makeup?

LP: Yes, I remove everything after I take selfies -- mostly everything goes away with makeup removers, water and soap.

HPS: What do you use to take care of your skin and hair?

LP: As I am 43 years old, I take of my skin with mature creams, day and night. My hair is long and curly (Mediterranean type) so I use often balms and creams.

HPS: How much time do you give yourself between transformations?

LP: I give myself enough time to study my new character, being close to his or her image and having time to relax and paint my face. Sometimes it can be weeks and sometimes its days, depends on the inspiration.

bette davis makeup

HPS: So far, what's been your favorite transformation?

LP: My favorite is Bette Davis, [I have a] deep love for such a great actress and talent. I want to do "Baby Jane" too with her madness and expressions very soon.

HPS: If you could recreate any celebrity look, who would it be?

LP: David Letterman. I love him!

HPS: Any tips for people who may want to experiment with more makeup this Halloween?

LP: Love a character and have fun to create with your own possibilities. I buy old stuff at markets like wigs and accessories -- it is extremely fun searching for good stuff to create a character.halloween costumes websites www.lover-fashion.com best halloween costumes for sale

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Your Las Vegas nightlife bucket list

[The Nightlife Issue]
Your Las Vegas nightlife bucket list
A martini with a view at Mandarin Bar Cocktail lounges don’t come more alluring than this 23rd-floor haunt, where the inventive drinks and minimalist atmosphere complement floor-to-ceiling windows that lay the Strip out beneath you magic carpet-style. Just don’t get so drunk on the view that you forget the bottom line: Most cocktails cost $18.

•The cover experience: Get served by Chariot When it comes to Vegas bottle presentations, sparklers practically come standard. But big bottle orders merit blowout deliveries: Enter the Chariot. Hakkasan shows its appreciation for high rollers and special guests by sending their bottle via a server on an opulent throne held aloft by a quartet of dudes. With a train of servers following behind, it’s the ultimate nightclub spectacle—and an experience you’ll never forget.

•Crash a celebrity table Sometimes you’re just minding your own business two feet from Paris Hilton’s table at Tao when the velvet ropes part and a linebacker-sized security guard ushers you inside. And even though you have work in the morning, and your ride is leaving, and your better judgment says that any minute her Hilton Highness is going to spot you as an interloper and kick your ass back to GA, you stay. Because this is Vegas, and anything can happen.
The Nightlife Issue

    Local DJs talk about navigating the tricky waters of Vegas nightlife
    Wynn nightlife photographer Danny Mahoney: ‘Anything could happen at any moment’
    Your Las Vegas nightlife bucket list
    These nightlife alternatives aren’t your average parties
    It costs how much?! A pricing tour of Las Vegas bottles
    After the party: Where do the big guys go following their DJ sets?
    Veteran DJ Warren Peace is once again on the rise
    With dating apps like Grindr and Scruff, have gay bars become less cruisey?
    Club ink: The many stamps of Ghostbar
    Veteran Michael Toast tips us off on the cheats of phony DJs

•Visit Seong Ha Lee’s alcoholic laboratory at 365 Tokyo Usually members-only experiences are best left to people desperate to be part of the club (we got over that in middle school), but this is a rare exception, thanks to the skillful hand of mixologist Seong Ha Lee. In a glass box jutting from Inspire, this tiny, pseudo-secret cocktail bar is a booze geek’s fantasyland, where smokers, liquid nitrogen and hand-chipped ice all contribute to a one-of-a-kind night of imbibing.

•Breakfast in last night’s clothes If you haven’t ordered eggs in a micro-mini or taken down a short stack in a wrinkled suit, you’ve been missing out. There’s something shameful and thrilling about showing up for breakfast in last night’s clubwear—like a badge of questionable honor that says, Yeah, I haven’t gone to bed yet. Whataboutit?

•Soak in the kitsch at the Peppermill’s Fireside Lounge Every local should spend an evening throwing back cocktails in the glow of the black lights and fire pits at this mirrored, retrotastic wonderland.
wholesale sexy lingerie
•Get a famous DJ to tweet you Persistence is key. Just don’t be too persistent; that’s the key to a restraining order.

•Spot a celebrity in the wild The wilds of the Hard Rock, that is. Whether it’s a Rehab host or a Joint performer, eyeballing A-listers at the off-Strip resort is a favorite past time. At Body English! At Pink Taco! Ten points if you catch one drunk at Center Bar!
The most royal of meet-and-greets.

The most royal of meet-and-greets.

•Meet the Queen … of England It reads like the SNL sketch of a Vegas bottle service package: For $300,000 you can have Life nightclub’s the Royal Life, which includes a 30-liter Midas bottle of Ace of Spaces Champagne (clocking in around 100 pounds) and a meet-and-greet with the Queen of England(!) this coming June at the Royal Ascot horse race in Britain. Also listed on the Live Life Legendary menu: a ride on a Mardi Gras float and breakfast with Harry Connick Jr. in New Orleans, and backstage access to a runway show during New York Fashion Week.

•Attend a suite party Every now and then someone rents one of the Palms’ Luxe Collection suites—like the two-story Sky Villa with cantilevered pool, the Hardwood Suite with indoor basketball court or the Real World Suite with original confessional booth—and throws down. And every now and then an invite lands in the hands of one of us mere mortals. Instagram everything.

•Drink all the taps at Crown & Anchor Next time you hit this British pub, ask for one of its Down the Hatch Club cards, then prepare to order by number. You’ll have to drink all 30 draughts—and get a bartender’s initials for each one—to score that coveted free T-shirt.
Alexis Bellino and Lil Jon at Surrender on Saturday, June 28, 2014, in Encore Las Vegas. Photo: Aaron Garcia

Alexis Bellino and Lil Jon at Surrender on Saturday, June 28, 2014, in Encore Las Vegas.

•Take a shot with Lil Jon The dreadlocked king of crunk is a regular at Surrender and Encore Beach Club. We hear he’s partial to Don Julio 1942.

•Tables 33, 52 or 53 at 1 Oak Bottle service isn’t just about getting a table, it’s about getting the table, and at Light Group’s 1 Oak, that means Table 33. Known as the owner’s table, this prime post is on the main dancefloor and right next to the DJ booth, but it’s not the only great seat in the house. Tables 52 and 53 overlook the venue with the opportunity to chat up whoever’s manning the decks. Whichever number you land on, you’ll be in good company: Jessica Alba, Dr. Dre and Katy Perry have put their butts on this hallowed ground.

•Belt one out at Dino’s The dive bar/karaoke joint/drunk haven is a Vegas classic. Get a pitcher of beer and the nerve to step to the mic, then show the regulars what’s what.

•Pull a party triple-header Perhaps Vegas isn’t the only place where you can dance all day poolside, disco nap, then hit the club and rage right through into afterhours, but it is the easiest place to stage a party marathon. Mix and match your venues, or grab a room at Cosmo and make Marquee your one-stop day, night and late-night shop.