#dionneandjoy: an evening of hair-styling and makeup artistry at its finest

Just over a week a go I had the pleasure of attending a beauty event. It was an evening that showcased the work of hairstylist Dionne Smith and makeup artist Joy Adenuga. Both ladies have worked with celebrities, glossy magazines such Blackhair Magazine and more. I was running 'fashionably late' or so I told myself while hoping beyond hope that the event would not kick off at its carded time of 4pm. Well, the gods were with me and it started a bit later. The outcome was that I had time to have my nails done by Colour Riot, then mingle before taking my seat three rows from the front. I was not about to miss a single thing, as this month I hit the BIG 40. After three years of sleep deprivation,  I feel that I need to learn a few beauty tricks quick-time. I was not to be disappointed. Proceedings started with a prayer and I knew I was in the right place amongst good people. Thanks to Dionne and Joy  that week ended on a high.

Dionne demonstrated her mastery at hair-styling and made everything look so easy. Attendees were shown how to use Curlformers. We saw the results on both kinky and curly hair.  Believe the hype. Its a must have product for any girl who wants to rock the curly-look. What really took my breathe away was seeing Dionne's skill at creating a quiffed-updo on a  naturalista (model Lauren) with seriously BIG hair! Think Esperanza Spalding-like hair. Dionne rolled and puffed and pinned that hair into shape with ease.  The result was a truly elegant hairstyle. TIP: when using elastic bands, always remove in same direction that it was put on to avoid unnecessary snagging.

When it was Joy's turn, she stepped onto the stage with her table of brushes, creams, powders and glitter at the ready. Joy created a day time nude-look and evening party-look. Her strokes on the models' face was like a master painter working on a canvas. I found the following tips pertinent for me and I'd like to share them with you:

• Beauty blenders good for blending on concealer
• For hyper pigmentation use corrector not concealer
• Positioning of brush is important when blending eye colours
• Apply banana powder after foundation and contouring. Use under eyes to make them pop
• When using glitter gloss on lips with smoky-look put gloss only at centre on lips 

Other personal highlights for me were meeting a few amazing bloggers/business women I normally tweet to: Leillah Sekla (No Scrunchie) Keysha Davis (editor of Blackhair Magazine), Natalie Clue (Keziah Connections) to mention a few.  I also won a medium sized hamper for most tweets about the event! Easily done, there was so much good content! I just had to share as fast as my fingers could type. Here are few images from the event:

Big up to comedian BOE , DJ of the evening and Annika Allen of Flavourmag. They kept the positive vibes and high energy going throughout the evening, at the Black Velvet club.

You can follow Dionne on Twitter  and Instagram , as for Joy you can also find her on Instagram and on Twitter.

Thank you for a lovely evening ladies. See you next year!