Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Little Surfer Girls

About a year and a half ago, I got a call from a London Based Magazine called Cooler, they were going to be shooting in Hawaii and wanted to book me as the Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist. I was stoked! I ended up working with Sanoe Lake, Sonya Balmores and Alana Blanchard. All of whom are beautiful girls and I so enjoyed working with them all.
Alana Blanchard is the best friend of Bethany Hamilton, a modern day hero since she survived that infamous shark attack, and someone I really admire. Alana and I talked a bit about Bethany, and the attack... but we also talked about life and adventures, travel, boys, boards and of course makeup and surfing! (Not necessarily in that order!) Here is some behind the scenes look at the cover shoot we did with Miss Alana for COOLER Magazine. 

Close up of the behind the scenes... reapplying lip gloss on the beach!  

And the big picture... 

And finally the Cover Shot with our cover model, Alana Blanchard. Makeup and Hair by yours truly! 


I was inspired to post these pictures and write about the shoot after a chance meeting yesterday with some pretty incredible men of film making. They shared their story, and I shared mine. Enjoy the story below!


Today I had the incredible pleasure of catching the sunset at the Turtle Bay resort while having cocktails (well, okay... so I had a strawberry/banana smoothie!) with a wonderfully talented group of men; the Producers, Writers, and the Director of the new movie on the life story of Bethany Hamilton called Soul Surfer. I was enthralled by their stories, moreover, Bethany's story. I've had the great privilege of meeting Bethany and her family in the past, and was really touched by Bethany's faith and strength, but also her gentleness and love that just poured out of her. I remember talking to her mom about possibly doing makeup on the set of the movie that they would one day be making of her beautiful daughter's powerful story.... well that day has come, and Hawaii will be happy to hear that they begin filming Sept 15th. (The day before my mom's birthday... easy to remember!) I was excited about this major motion picture coming to Hawaii, but after this fateful, joyous encounter on the shores of Turtle Bay, I'm even more elated! I was in the company of dreamers, visionaries, achievers, story-tellers and I left so high on life and eager to create myself!! It was a glorious day on the North Shore... and this was only the beginning to the story of Soul Surfer comes to Hawaii. Many more to come... 

This is the cover of Bethany Hamilton's Book, Soul Surfer, that will soon be a major motion picture. (Just to clarify, I didn't do the makeup and hair for this cover) Wait till you hear the ALL STAR cast!! I'm talking all-star. I can't wait to finally read this cover to cover, and as I linger in my Turtle Bay room overlooking the East Bay, with the sliding glass doors open to reveal a summery, sweet breeze, this seems to be the perfect time and place to do so. Let me please, entice you with an excerpt of Bethany's book. This is actually the opening paragraph.

" It came, literally, out of the blue. I had no warning at all; not even the slightest hint of danger on the horizon. The water was crystal clear and calm; it was more like swimming in a pool, rather than the deep ocean waters in Kauai, Hawaii, where I go almost every morning to surf with my friend Alana Blanchard or the other girls on the Hanalei girls' surf team. The waves were small and inconsistent, and I was just kind of rolling along with them, relaxing on my board with my right hand on the nose of the board and my left arm dangling in the cool water. I remember thinking, " I hope the surf picks up soon... ," when suddenly there was a flash of gray. That's all it took: a split second."

And she sums it all up pretty incredibly toward the end of her book:

"But for me, knowing that God loves me and that He has a plan for my life that no shark can take away is like having solid rock underneath me. (Matthew 7:24-27) Look, lots of bad stuff happens to people. That's life. And here's my advice: don't put all your hope and faith into something that could suddenly and easily disappear. And honestly, that's almost anything. The only thing that will never go away, that will never fail you, is your faith in God." 

I'm so blessed by her story... and I'm excited to see her story come to life this September, here in Paradise! 

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