Alyson - It began with, "How are we going to make over 5,000 women of New Orleans?"

Then, "How are we going to pay for the makeup and for our expenses?" Then, "WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?"

Well, they say that life is a journey NOT a destination and never has that been more true than with this project. As soon as I was contacted by Purva at V-Day to confirm my participation I jumped in with both feet. If you haven't had a chance to see my video, watch it, becasue it tells the story of how I got here. Essentially I did Eve Ensler's makeup for The September 2007 production of A Memory, A Monologue a Rant a Prayer. I had seen the Vagina Monologues many years ago but never knew about the V-Day movement until I heard Eve being interviewed by the press. (Coincidantally the first celebrity I ever did was Linda Gray, of Dallas fame, when she was in Atlanta performing the Vagina Monologues in 1999). I soon realized that the Vagina Monolgues was way more than a funny play about Vaginas and embracing and celebrating our womanness. It is a movement to END all violence against women and girls. I learned that V-Day is one of the top 10 charities to give to and has raised more than 50 million dollars which goes directly towards the women and children who need it. Check out http://www.vday.org/ for a full run down of all their accomplishments.I was in. In fact, many of you don't know that I have a sociology degree and nearly ended up a woman's studies major. I have actually struggled throughout the years with my decision to be a makeup artist becasue I truly thought I was going to change the world since I graduated college at the age of 19. I truly thought I was going to be a professor. Here I am full circle. I am part of an organization which is out to change the story of women on our planet. And, I get to be a makeup artist. Cool.

I asked Mary Jane Mahan to meet me for coffee. I explained to her what I had been charged with. "5000 women?" "5000 women". "That's a lot of lipstick". Mary Jane is a rockstar. It has been a learning experience for all of us involved. Nobody told us how to do this. We asked," How are we going to do this?" We came up with the idea of the affirmation card. Everyone we made over would get one signed by the person who purchased it. Then we realized we had to sell it since we are not a charity (yet). The affirmation card was something I wanted to be a part of Authentic Beauty anyway. Here was the excuse to make it a reality. Mary Jane asked Joanna Wallington and her sister Helen to come on board. Within a few weeks we had the idea to ask local businesses to support the quest and Mary Jane showed up with boxes that Helen and Joanna put together until the sun came up. They were beautiful. Then our press release. Mary jane has written all of our information about V-Day and NOLA. She put aside writing her own book to be a part of this project. Then our fact sheet we handed out explaining what we were doing. The cards began to get signed and purchased. As we collected them I couldn't help but be moved. Visit http://www.myimagejourney.com/ and take the time to watch the slideshow of the signed cards and take in what it must have been like for a woman who lost EVERYTHING in Katrina, has felt alone and forgotten to be handed a card with a personal message while being told, "You are beautiful".