Represented: Backstage at the Crystal Agency for Makeup Hair and Fashion Styling

Crystal Agency's Celebrity Stylist Tiffani Rae Gets Up Close and Personal with Professional Dancers from Dancing with the Stars

Ra Cha Ra Cha Cha! The television show Dancing with the Stars has become one of the most popular shows over the past couple of years. Who would have guessed such a simple equation where celebrities team up with professional dancers to compete in front of a live audience would be such a hit.

I never really got into the show, until I had the opportunity to attend two of the tapings myself. It was an AMAZING experience! The dancing, music, wardrobe, and mouthy judges made for great entertainment.

Anyways, what I am trying to get at is that one of our celebrity stylists, Tiffani Rae styled two of the dancers, Edyta Sliwinska and Karina Smirnoff, for Muscle and Fitness’s June 2008 Issue. The girls landed the cover and a four page spread inside. Of course Tiff had the girls in bathing suits to show off their rocking bodies. But she really made the girls pop with her Spanish inspired accessories from the jewelry line Septimo.

Check out more of the photos HERE and get inspired for bathing suit weather this Summer.

The Ex-Intern

I read Crystal's blog about her ex-intern Chelsea. I have recently had the chance to talk with her about work and life, and I concur with Crystal's rave review. Chelsea is smart, bright, adorable, eager to learn, and "on it." I wish I had more time to get to know her before she leaves for her fabulous internship at Anna Sui. She says it's only for the summer, but after having the small chance to interact with her, I doubt she'll be coming back. She's off to big things. Crystal is right. It is hard to find someone with the focus and work ethic as Chelsea. Good luck Chelsea! I can't wait to see where you end up.

The WRIGHT List: 10 Things You Can Do To Take Your Power Back from Your Hair Stylist by Crystal Wright

It is widely known amongst my small circle of friends that I have an opinion about almost everything. When it comes to women and their hair, I just go crazy because I know a ton of fabulous powerful women who get their hair done every week by stylists who barely satisfy them. Inspite of their dissatisfaction, they keep returning to the same hair dresser who gives them the same bad hair-do, and sometimes keeps them waiting for hours for the priviledge of having the bad experience.

It just makes me nuts. That said, I want all women to stop it! It's your money, and your hair. The stylist works for you. It's not the other way around. Today is the day you take your power back. Here's how.

10 TEN STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
TO SHOW YOUR HAIR DRESSER WHO’S IN CHARGE by Crystal Wright

1.    Ask the hairdresser to order you a set of the same tools that she uses to do your hair. You can’t get the same bounce at home with a 1-inch barrel, if your hairdresser is using a 2-1/2-inch barrel in the salon. It won’t work.

2.    Ask the hairdresser what products she uses on your hair, and then note the order and amount of each product that she uses to give you the style you love so much.

3.    Start showing up on time to ALL your hair appointments, and the next time your hair dresser keeps you waiting more than 20 minutes for an appointment, leave, or ask for a discount

4.    Always have a plan B. If you wait til’ the last minute to get an appointment and your hairdresser is booked you should have at least 3 other numbers in your speed dial who can get you together at a moments notice––even if it costs a little more. Otherwise, do your own hair with those tools from the list that your stylist gave you.

5.    Tell your hairdresser what you like about the way she cuts, or styles, or conditions, or maintains your hair, and then let her know that you are looking for someone else to do the other things.

6.    Stop tipping your hairdresser when you’re unhappy. It sends the wrong message. You wouldn’t do it with your kids, don’t do it with your stylist.

7.    Stop leaving the chair unhappy without letting your hairdresser know why. Your girlfriends cannot solve your hair issues unless they have a recommendation for another stylist.

8.    Know when it’s time to get a new hairdresser. If it takes you 3 hours in the salon to get a shampoo, blow-dry, and curl, it’s time to look elsewhere. If the stylist still thinks that Royal Crown is the only product he/she can use to get your hair straight––it’s time to get a new stylist.

9.    Build a rapport with your stylist’s assistant, so that if he/she gets backed up in the salon, you can ask the assistant to complete your do.

10.    If you’re looking for a new stylist, call the manufacturer [who makes the products that the stylist is using on your hair] and ask for a list of stylists in your area that are considered experts with that hair care line. Set up an appointment to go and meet with them, and spend an hour watching what they do with someone else’s hair.

Photo credits for this story: 1. Leila Arcieri hair styled by Darico Jackson Los Angeles. 2. Suzanne Stevens & Crystal Wright. Out on the town. Circa 2007

Fashion Stylist Melinda Tarbell Styles Genlux February/March 2008 Luxurious Editorial

                                 With summer just around the corner, we’re replacing our wool, bulky sweaters for sheer and sexy fabrics. Magazines are bombarding us with all the latest trends for Summer 2008. So it’s only obvious that Crystal Agency fashion stylist Melinda Tarbell had to do the same for GenLux Magazine’s February/March 2008 issue.

     Melinda interpreted the upcoming trends with beautiful sheer and romantic pieces. She kept accessories simple, but luxurious to create that little bit of glitz and glamour. The spring/summer editorial is absolutely flawless. Be sure to check out more photos HERE!

Onward and Upwards - Chelsea - My Intern No Longer

Whenever I keep an intern around longer than a couple of weeks, you can bet that they are doing a great job, and I like them a lot. I have been known to send them packing, and/or give them realistic reviews on their performance, which these days seems so foreign to many young people who tend to think that everyone gets a BLUE ribbon just for showing up. NOT!
    But Chelsea gets all top marks from me. From the very first day she arrived, she made a contribution.
    I always look for something important for my intern to do. Grunt work is not what interns do here at Crystal Agency. To me, that's a perfectly good waste of a brain.
    My very first intern was an amazingly bright young woman named Cara. Loved her. Still do. She went on to work in the public relations department at Frederick Fekkai in New York City.
    When Cara arrived in the summer before her senior year at the University of Arizona we were in desperate need of a website for Set The Pace Publishing Group. I gave her a budget and the job of building one. She did it. This internship was quite a bit different from the filing she was saddled with at a major magazine publisher the summer before.
    One of my other interns, Lauren Tanaka is working in New York right now, and Melinda Tarbell, my former intern in 2006 is now a top fashion stylist. I gave her, her first styling job, and many more after that. Another intern, a Washingtonian like me, worried me for a second, but pulled it out in the end, and now works for BCBG.
    D'Ixara came in from Riverside 2 days a week. With very scattered thoughts and direction from me she designed (Download tca_blog_dixarablog_001.pdf), picked out the online software for, and started the blog you are reading right now.
    And then there was Chelsea. She walked into my office, and a blog in transition. But when I suggested that she take it over as her project during her internship, her face lit up, she mentioned something about how it had been a
topic or assignment in school at FIDM in Los Angeles, and she just went for it.
    Not only is the blog now fabulous, but she has totally organized the way it's done, and gotten the artists on board for making their own contributions.
    I sent her out with her camera to take back stage photos, and her imaginary microphone to get quotes from them while they were working on shoots so she could get to know them. It worked beautifully, and before you knew it, they were all inviting her to assist them.
    She's heading to Manhattan this summer for her 2nd internship with a top New York fashion designer . A few thousand miles away, but not to far that I can't keep a watchful eye out for her. I've already enlisted one of my former interns, and a few of my favorite makeup artists and future film-makers to help her find an apartment.
    Good Luck Chelsea. You will be sorely missed. But I'm only a phone call away, and available 24/7 for you. Thanks for making a difference.

    Sincerely,

    Crystal

My time is up...

Well it’s time for me to say my goodbyes as the Crystal Agency Intern. My time is up, and I’m feeling very bittersweet. Four months ago, I could have never imagined what my experience at the Crystal Agency would have in store for me. I have learned so much through this internship. Crystal and all the stylists I got to work with provided me with invaluable information about a career path as a stylist, and life in general.

My Wednesday’s and Thursday’s feel so empty, since I am not at the agency. There was never a dull moment and I had so many great experiences. I learned how to create my own blog, I had the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes at photo shoots, I was fortunate enough to attend one of Crystal’s Building Your Portfolio Workshops, and I even worked my first paid job as a stylist's assistant. However, most importantly I created great relationships with the people around me.

I cannot even express how thankful I am that I had the chance to work with Crystal Wright. She’s an unbelievable entrepreneur, agent, teacher, listener, public speaker, mentor, and friend. Although, it’s sad to say goodbye, I know it’s only the beginning of more great opportunities to come.

Thank you so much Crystal Agency!

Crystal Wright and The Makeup Show on the Same Weekend in New York City - May 18 & 19, 2008

––Coincidentally, Crystal Wright will be in New York on Sunday, May 18, 2008 teaching portfolio building and marketing at the same time as The Makeup Show NYC. A few spots are left, so call and you can join her at Rouge Makeup Studio in Manhattan from 8:30AM to 5:30PM. Don't miss Crystal, or the All Pro "Makeup Show NYC".
    To register for Crystal's portfolio building workshop for Makeup, Hair, Fashion Stylists and Manicurists call (323) 913-0500 or click HERE. To purchase tickets for The Makeup show NYC call (212) 242-1213 or visit The Makeup Show.

Click this link >> Download pyp_workshop_flyer_2008.pdf and download our brochure.

Coming in July 2008, my 1-Day workshop on Video and Audio CD's for your car.

Don't miss Powder Group's The American Beauty Tour this summer featuring Sharon Gault, James Vincent and Orlando Santiago presenting Airbrush Nation.