Pretty in Pink...It was a MAKEOVER GIVEAWAY!!!

I have awesome friends. I have awesome fans. Every once in a while I get very random but awesome ideas. I got an idea for a Facebook contest the day I was going to get my hair done by Katrina at Haute Salon. I was excited, because I knew she'd be game and willing to participate. My idea: To give away a makeover and new 'portraits' to a Facebook fan.

HOW: Announce the contest on both of our fan pages. People could nominate themselves or someone else by sending a picture and a 'story' of why they deserve the makeover to my email. Then we would post the entries on our fan pages and people could vote.

WHO: Its all about "who you know"...really it is true. We knew that in order to give a proper makeover we were going to need more than hair and pictures. We needed Nails, Makeup, Jewelry, Clothing, and maybe some extra services, like a massage. Once the contest was posted, I was contacted by Michelle, owner of The Nail Spa. She was in. I emailed my friend DeAndrea Williams, who I knew was a Mary Kay consultant. She was in. I emailed my friend Bianca Garguile, who is a Cookie Lee consultant. She was in. Things were coming together, all except the 'clothing donations'. But I wasnt worried.

"My mother (Monica) has 8 children and 1 grandson. she is a survivor of breast cancer. she went through two years of chemotherapy where she lost all her hair and eyebrows. my mom stayed strong even though she went through struggles that weighed heavily on her. ive never seen my mom wear makeup or get her hairdone. she has so many responsibilities that she never had time to pamper herself. thats a mother. she is an amazing mother who has done everything she can for her children . no matter how tough life got. please pick my mom. shes the most generous and loving person i have ever had in my life, even if she is my mom. my mom is beautiful and i hope you guys can show her that. the first picture is before she got cancer. the second is after she beat the fight ."

The voting ended and Monica R, received an overwhelming number of votes. Mother of 8 children, Grandma to 1, Breast Cancer Survivor, someone who appreciated life and all of its lessons. We set our makeover date for October 15th. All of us were excited.

I picked up Monica and we headed off to meet Bianca who had a surprise of jewelry for Monica. We headed off to the salon where Katrina was ready to give her newly grown in hair some new color and a cute cut. Michelle joined us with her nail table, ready to give her nails and feet some special treatment. Julian of Mary Kay joined us at the last minute to help us with makeup (Dee couldnt make it). So appreciative of Julian!

We then decided to head over to Twice Around the Closet Consignment Shop to see if we could find a gently used outfit and we did!

The day was perfect. Monica received a new look and a shocking reaction from her family.

You can view the entire gallery here: Makeover Gallery , but enjoy a few of my favorite pictures.

Bianca and Monica

Thank you again to Haute Salon, The Nail Spa, DeAndrea Williams and Julian Kohlbrand of Mary Kay, Bianca Garguile of Cookie Lee. We made an AWESOME makeover team!!!!