Living, Learning, Eating: Model

Showing posts with label Model. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Model. Show all posts

Oct 7, 2018

25 Years, 25 Lessons

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 11:00 AM

The Boy recently made me aware that it was my half birthday. In honor of being halfway through 25 (a bit more than halfway by now), I'm taking a moment to look back.

Girl at the beach

Here are 25 lessons I've learned in the last 25 years. There's no particular order and some are pretty random, but I hope you learn something and/or are amused!

25 Lessons of 25

1. The ocean is my happy place.

Beautiful Mixed Girl

2. Relationships are what's most important.

3. You can't please everyone.

4. Never use regular dish detergent in the dishwasher.

5. Roommate compatibility is key.

6. Hot water + turmeric + honey = delicious, spicy, soothing drink. Try it and thank me!

7. There's something lovable in everyone.

Natural Beauty

8. You don't owe anyone affection.

9. You don't have to give everyone a shot.

10. Always being kind always feels better.

Jun 15, 2018

Style Post: Cold Shoulders and Flowery LBDs

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

I am 100% a winter person. If it could snow every day from December 1 through February 28 every year, I would so be down. I'd also be very, very down for it never getting over 75 degrees Fahrenheit, max, in the summer. Heat and I just don't go together.

That said, my favorite clothing style is definitely warm weather fashion. Ironic, right? It's not like I don't love slouchy sweaters and high socks, but summer dresses are just so fun and dreamy and perfect for frolicking about in!

Beautiful mixed girl dress

I have some summer dresses that date back to my college years (and that's... a while... ago), but I also love to get at least a few new summer dresses every year. It's fun to update your look and try something new, even if you still like the old dresses!

And I never hesitate to mix in some old favorites, like these sandals - I've had them for three or four years and, before that, they belonged to my favorite German cousin (she knows who she is).

Frugal fashion post

My earrings are also an old favorite! I got them almost 4.5 years ago now and they're absolutely gorgeous garnet studs. They're my first-ever Valentine's Day gift from my first-ever boyfriend (wonderful guy, but not my current boyfriend) and they're still my favorite piece of jewelry that I own, hands down.

Wouldn't this be the perfect place to insert a photo of said drop-dead-gorgeous earrings?

Choker necklace review

It was a total facepalm moment when I started typing up this blog post and realized that my hair is hiding the beautiful earrings in the detail shot I took to show you said earrings! 🙈

Total blogger fail. Sigh.

Anyway, you'll just have to take my word for it that they're gorgeous. Maybe I'll use them in another outfit post soon and then you can see what I'm talking about!

Anyway, back to what I do have photos of:

May 10, 2018

5 Things I've Learned From Modeling

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 7:00 AM

As difficult as it is for me to believe, I have now been working as a model for six years. Six years! Guys, I'm going on decrepit. 😩👵

How to be a model

Anyway, do anything for six years and you have to learn something, right? If you didn't learn anything in all those years, you likely weren't fully present. For all the young ducks out there, or just anyone who's curious about what I've learned, here are some of my takeaways from the past six years of professionally making faces!

Want to follow along on my ongoing adventures as a sometimes model, sometimes-a-million-other-things, twenty-something in NYC? Follow me on Instagram @danaikadzere!

5 Lessons from Modeling

1. Professionalism is everything.

If you've been on go-sees in NYC, or even looked through the competition on your agency's page (or other agency pages), you'll know there are way more beautiful people out there than there is need for models.

Heck, just swipe through Instagram or take a walk around the block and you'll find a ton of visually interesting faces! Especially in modern advertising, where the 'real person' look is growing more popular and inclusiveness, diversity, and quirkiness, your looks alone are not what's going to make or break your career.

...well, they won't make your career. It is a superficial industry, so if you don't meet some minimum of symmetry or whatever else they're looking for at a given time, you won't make much money in mainstream modeling. But even though looks are a prerequisite, they aren't enough! This job isn't just about being nice to look at.

Getting started as a model

You can be the most beautiful girl, but if your attitude stinks, they'll book another 'most beautiful girl.' It's a small world and you will get a bad reputation if you're flaky, late, rude, entitled, or otherwise unpleasant to work with.

At the end of the day, a professional photoshoot (or trunk show, runway show, commercial shoot, etc.) is a J. O. B. You are there with other working professionals and if you make the crew's and/or client's lives harder, you will not be booked again.

Show up, on time, with your business in order, and your game face on. If you want a lasting career as a model, you must treat your work with the same respect as you would a corporate job.

Jan 9, 2017

Style Post: Winter Wear

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 9:30 AM

I love winter! But now that my favorite part of the season (the holiday season) is over, the temperatures are starting to fall hard and fast. Brr!

Beautiful girl

It's getting colder than ever, but that's no reason to hibernate indoors for months on end or to forgo anything resembling style in favor of massive muumuus and anything else to keep us warm.

Especially in winter, with its short days and uptick in colds and flus dragging the general mood down, I like to wear bright colors to add some cheer to every day.

Pretty biracial girl

A big new Primark just opened in Boston this past fall (or possibly already in the summer) and I found this bright yellow sweater there! It's the perfect amount of pep for a grey winter day and it's warm, too.

Oct 25, 2016

How to Stay Fit on The Go

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 10:30 AM

I'm currently split between Boston and NYC for work.

There are a lot of tricky logistics that come with living between two cities - choosing which one is home with a full time apartment (Boston for me), finding a part-time apartment in the other city, managing travel and doing cost-benefit analyses for different modes of transportation, etc.

Fitness on the Go

Another thing that gets trickier when you're not consistently living in one place is being healthy! You can't stock up on vitamin-packed produce when you're only going to be somewhere for two days. Getting two gym memberships generally doesn't feel worth it, especially when all the time lost in commute cuts into the time you'd usually have to work out.

How to stay fit on the go

But being healthy feels good and has countless benefits for wellness, productivity, happiness, etc. Here is how I stay fit with my on-the-go lifestyle!

Jun 29, 2016

Style Post: Summer Special Occasions

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Winter is full of fun dress up events, from work holiday parties to New Year's Eve celebrations. But summer can be just as fun for those of us who love dressing up!

While summer has holiday galas, summer has weddings, baby showers, and soirees galore! I love this elegant, but summery, dress from ASOS for any of the above except weddings.

Don't wear white to a wedding and most certainly not an all white dress! If you're not going to a wedding, however, summer is the perfect time to dress up in white. I'm not sure what it is, but I love white dresses!

I think they just feel so much lighter and floater and twirlier (we'll pretend that's a word).

Another advantage of choosing an all-white dress for your event is that you can add a pop of color with fun accessories and don't have to worry about clashing colors or having too much going on at once. Though I'm a big fan of pink, I tend to favor a pop of classic blue or red for my accessory color accent!

As is often the case, a little goes a long way. With the embellished bodice of this dress, just the blue earrings and simple eyeliner is enough to finish the look. I'm not big on going overboard with the jewelry or makeup, especially not in the summer! It just weighs your airy summer look down.

Jun 20, 2016

Style Post: Vamp It Up

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Dressing up is super fun and, though I wear little to no makeup most days, doing the girl thing and wearing a complete look sometimes can be so fun!

In general in makeup, I love a bold lip and emphasized eyes, with just very light skin stuff.

I am very lucky to have clear skin, so I never really wear anything on my skin when I do my own makeup, but I also think that the eyes and mouth are two of the most interesting areas on our faces and I love to play them up when I do bother to get all dolled up!

Jun 14, 2016

Style Post: Modern African

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

I am half-German, half-Zimbabwean and from South Africa. Now NYC and Boston are home!

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel around the world and experience many different cultures and ways of life. The people I have met and cultures I have experience inform my own perspectives, as well as influence how I cook, how I tell stories, and how I dress!

African Fashion

Style is all about self-expression and I love to mix cultures in how I dress, just as I do in almost every aspect of my life!

Fashion Blogger

African patterns and cuts, like this skirt, pair organically with urban items, like this top. It's a fusion that's meant to be!

Street Style

The necklace, earrings, and loafers pull the outfit together for a more chick look!

African Street Style

Mixing patterns, colors, and styles is such a fun way to make fashion our own.

African Fashion Blogger

Especially in cities, it's becoming more and more okay to stand out.

Black Fashion Blogger

Be individual, wear what you want, and never worry about what others might think. Life is too short to stick to wear boring clothes out of fear - and that applies to so many other things, too!

Beautiful Mixed Girl

Like this look? Tweet it!

Photographer: Vania Arroyo

Stylist: Bryan Alexis

Makeup Artist: Mea Sukri

Jun 5, 2016

Style Post: How to Rock Any Outfit

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Summer in Boston is absolutely beautiful! This is the second summer in a row that I've been lucky enough to have a change of pace and leave my (beloved) NYC temporarily for the quieter, quainter city of my college days.

Boston is often cooler in the summer than NYC, but we had a heat wave recently and we Bostonians - I can call myself that for the summer - took advantage of it to break out our fun warm weather fashion!

It's easy to pull off any look, even daring summer looks with these simple tips.

Don't forget about your face. It's part of your outfit! If you're wearing makeup, make sure that it works with your outfit! I love how the dark red lip pairs with the orange top - I wouldn't pair a pink lipstick, for example, with this look.

Don't forget about accessories! An outfit isn't fashion until you accessorize.

My personal accessories policy is that it isn't about dripping in gems or being covered in huge, bright necklaces and bracelets and countless rings. I like to pick just a few pieces, but make sure that they're pieces that I really like and that add something to the look.

May 30, 2016

Style Post: Behind the Scenes

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Happy Memorial Day! I have some work to do today, but also lots of fun to have. Hopefully you are all busy with fun Memorial Day activities, so this is a quick post - some behind the scenes shots from a shoot last week!

Bryan Alexis brushing a bit more 'fro into my halfro. I seem to be incapable of keeping a straight face between shots, but why bother when smiling is so fun?

Malaysian makeup artist Mea Sukri touching up my makeup on location!

May 16, 2016

Style Post: Seeing Stars

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Do you remember that cute eShakti coat I posted about last year? eShakti doesn't just make custom fit and super chic outerwear. They also make really cute customized dresses!

I liked the original version of this dress when I saw it on their website, but it was still pretty chilly in NYC, so I swapped to long from short sleeves.

I also swapped the scoop neck for a high neck, because I think they look so nice on mini dresses.

I love that you can start with a design that you like and adjust it to get exactly the dress that you want!

The dresses can also be customized for skirt length, so you can go mini, midi, or maxi, depending on your preferences.

May 7, 2016

Style Post: Dreaming of Flowers

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Spring is so beautiful and one of my absolute favorite things about spring is that the world comes into bloom in spring!

There's something so magical about flowers. They're beautiful, they're alive, and (as the seed-bearing part of the plant) they're life giving.

Being adorned with a lovely fresh flower crown for a shoot for Maisie Coulbert Photography was so fun!

Apr 28, 2016

Style: Florals and Fitting Out

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Fashion isn't just about clothing. I'm not an egg short of a full carton, I just mean that while clothing is, of course, part of fashion, you're not done once you've picked out the clothes for your outfit.

In other words, clothing is necessary for great style, but not sufficient. Accessories finish a look

Accessories are all too often overlooked because, unlike pants, no one is going to raise an eyebrow if you forget them. You'll feel under-dressed if you forget to put on a shirt one day, but the same usually doesn't apply for a bracelet.

But, like lingerie, your accessories can change how you feel in your outfit and throughout your day.

It's great when other people appreciate our style, but most important is that we appreciate our own style and that it makes us feel good and comfortable in our own skin.

Apr 22, 2016

Style Post: Springing Towards Summer

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

The temperatures are warming up and our wardrobes are switching from wintertime drab to springy fun! I love dresses and I love feeling free and light, with swishy skirts for twirling and bare arms for cartwheeling.

I'm spending this summer in Boston and I can't wait! I had a trip out to Boston a week ago for a fun shoot and we stumbled upon this fun hot pink scaffolding in Chinatown. It was the cutest scaffolding I've ever seen in my life and paired wonderfully with this gingham and daisy dress from ASOS!

With a bright, happy welcome like that, I can't wait to return to Boston in just a few short weeks and make it, once again, my warm weather home!

Apr 7, 2016

Travel Round-Up: Turks and Caicos

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Those of you who follow me on Instagram (I'm @danaikadzere) already know that I had a very fun, quite last-minute work trip to Turks and Caicos last week!

It was beautiful!

Oct 8, 2015

Healthy Beauty: Model Skin Care Secrets

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

I am really fortunate to have clear skin and people - whether it's makeup artists or other models at shoots, friends and family in day to day life, or random acquaintances - often ask me what my skin care secrets are.

Part of having skin clear is often genetics, but there are also a lot of go-to tips and tricks that models and others in the beauty industry use to keep our skin healthy and beautiful, despite the stress of heavy makeup at shoots and events.

Putting on and taking off a full face of makeup like that certainly isn't great for your skin!

Read on for my go-to hacks for a model clear complexion!

Sep 10, 2015

Summer Style: Manhattan Parks, Shades of Pink, and Lace

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

Before we bid a final adieu to summer, let us enjoy the last beautiful days of summer.

Even in NYC, a daytime getaway to a downtown Manhattan park can be a romantic daydream. Without more discussion, I hope you enjoy this final taste of summer style!

Jun 20, 2015

Luxe Lashes: No Extensions Required

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 11:41 AM

My neighbor's son has the thickest, most decadent lashes ever.

And he's a nine year old boy. A BOY. How is that fair?

While the fortunate child is completely indifferent to his lashes, most style-loving girls and women aren't.

Eyelashes, as the frame for your eyes (which are, in turn, a focal facial feature) are one of the areas where makeup can make the biggest positive difference in your appearance.

Me with falsies

Full, dark lashes make your eyes pop!

Mar 30, 2015

12 Lessons I Learned While I Was 21

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

I turn 22 today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) so it's time to reflect of life lessons and experiences from my twenty-first year of life. It's been a very full year of crazy highs and painful lows.

I graduated from Harvard, I discovered the addictive (but sometimes helpful!) social media network that is Instagram (follow me @danaikadzere), I made new friends but fell out of touch with some old ones, I experienced my first real relationship and my first real heartbreak, and so much more.

Here are 12 lessons that I learned while I was 21!

Feb 21, 2015

Why Undergarments Complete A Look

Posted by Living, Learning, Eating at 6:00 AM

When we talk about perfecting a look, we tend to talk about things like the right shoe pairing, the right accessories, the right makeup, etc.

Often we neglect the most fundamental of things - no matter how great your outfit is, it's not going to be amazing if your undergarments aren't up-to-par! Undergarments are what take a good outfit to the next level - the Super-good level.

Since just wearing a superhero outfit isn't all that socially acceptable in most parts of the western world.

'But no one sees my undergarments - why do they matter?' That's a rookie mistake. There are so, so many reasons why undergarments are arguably one of the most important components of a great outfit!

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