Hi everyone! My name is Melody Lesser and I’m one of the women who was chosen to be part of QVC’s annual National Makeover Day. There are four of us and, while we’re each unique and different from the others, we share a passion for beauty and fashion. Our whirlwind QVC adventure began on January 26th when we met in NYC for our makeovers. We were restyled with hair color and cuts, makeup, and fashions from Dennis Basso’s new line of ready-to-wear. All of this led up to a fashion shoot for Vogue Magazine. Yes, we appeared in the April issue of Vogue with Dennis Basso, Shoshanna Gruss, who provided the beautiful jewelry; Josie Maran, who customized our looks with cosmetics from her eponymous and pure and effective line; Suze Orman, who gave us each a financial makeover and Lisa Robertson who, well, as QVC viewers, you know that Lisa is gorgeous, smart, funny, charming and charismatic. And in person, she is all these things as well as being incredibly nice. Lisa, and everyone at QVC and Vogue made us feel welcome, comfortable and special.
Before I introduce the other amazing women, let me tell you how we arrived here ... The first question everyone asks when they find out that we were chosen by QVC to be made over for an ad in Vogue Magazine is: How did they pick you?
As Vogue subscribers and Beauty Insiders, we received an email in late December asking if we wanted to be in a Vogue ad. The email went on to explain that the lucky winners were going to be made over and would appear in an ad for QVC in Vogue Magazine. All we had to do was submit a photo and write a blurb about what we liked about QVC. I think that each of us was quite shocked when we received the phone call that we were chosen. We had only about a week to prepare before we were whisked to NYC for the makeover and photo shoot.
Now, meet the other beautiful and amazing women who were chosen for this special event. (I call it our QVC adventure - because that’s exactly what it was - and continues to be.)
Christine Kennedy is a civil litigator for a nationally-renowned law firm in NYC. She works on World Trade Center and toxic tort litigation. She’s not only beautiful but is incredibly smart. Christine is the person you want around in case of an emergency - or any time. She’s the warmest person but is cool under pressure and has a calm and calming demeanor that envelopes you and puts you immediately at ease.
Rocio Rivera, another beauty, is a neurobiologist with a Ph.D. (Beautiful and brilliant. Do you sense a theme?) As if this isn’t enough to keep her busy, she’s also the mother of Adrian, her 19-month old son. Rocio is originally from Spain and has a worldly view that gives her a unique perspective. Rocio is utterly charming and funny. We can always count on her to make us laugh.
Mary Martha Douglas is the youngest in the group. A senior at an Ivy League university, Mary Martha graduates in May. She’s also concurrently in a graduate program and will receive her Master’s degree in Political Science in 2012. Mary Martha (or MM as we call her) is another brilliant and beautiful woman. She brings an upbeat energy to the group. Just look at her amazing smile and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Then there’s me. I’m the mother of two beautiful, smart and talented daughters, Emily and Victoria, who have embarked on careers of their own. I’m a writer and have spent my entire career writing for national consumer and trade magazines. I now freelance and recently launched my own website, www.EverBeautiful.com. It’s devoted to beauty, fashion, health and fitness for ageless women. I’d love it if you check it out.
When QVC chose us for this adventure they had no idea who we were or what we were about. How could they? We were chosen on the basis of a photograph and a few written sentences. We bonded immediately and our friendship continues to this day. When we’re together, we chat endlessly, our words often spilling onto one another’s. We exchange emails, sometimes several times a day. We get together to celebrate life events or for no reason at all. We went through an amazing, exciting, happy, and sometimes nervous-making (ok, maybe that’s just me. I’m definitely the nervous one in the group) adventure together that forged a friendship that we hope will be lifelong.
We hope you’ll watch when we appear on QVC’s National Makeover Day show on Friday, April 22. It airs from 10 pm to midnight. And check out the QVC website to see videos of our makeovers. Oh yes! There were video cameras that followed us around like we were reality stars. And that’s how we felt!
I’m happy to answer any questions you have about our QVC adventure. Just post them here and I’ll address them when I can. In the meantime, follow this blog. I’ll be posting regular updates and more information about our adventure. You do want to know what Dennis Basso is like in person, right? Or what it’s like to be in front of the camera? And I can’t wait to tell you about the QVC/Vogue launch party where we got to meet a number of celebrities. Keep reading ...
See you soon.
xo,
Melody
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