MUD Alumni Shine Backstage at MISS USA

Vanessa Moreno

Ashley Guirdy with Nia Sanchez

Jill Pugh

Lauren Smeraglia, Vanessa, Dee, Chelsea Wallace

Jessica Poche

DeLaney Henry

DeLaney Henry

Dee Zamora

And the 2014 MISS USA winner is … Nia Sanchez representing the state of Nevada! Last Sunday, the fourth-degree black belt beauty received the MISS USA 2014 Tiara amidst a cheering crowd at the Civic Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  As the official cosmetics sponsor for MISS USA and MISS TEEN USA, Make-up Designory congratulates all of this year’s beautiful contestants!

It has been an absolute thrill to have taken part in this event which included not only the sponsorship for cosmetics, but the opportunity to have a special team of MUD Make-up Artists chosen by Sean Conklin, Lead Artist to make-up all 51 of the MISS USA contestants for the registration and fitting events, photo shoots, the dress rehearsals and the live show.

The MUD Alumni team of make-up artists included Lauren Smeraglia, Ashley Guirdy, Vanessa Moreno, Chelsea Wallace, Jessica Poche, Jill Pugh and Denise Zamora.

We asked Sean to elaborate on his strategy for choosing such a successful group of artists. Sean stated,

“I chose our team based predominantly on their skills and personalities, and each artist had to be a MUD graduate. The goal was to create a great working dynamic. Since we would be working on 51 contestants, judges and t.v. personalities in a span of 12 hours, we needed to be quick, precise and, needless to say, pleasant. Now that the whirlwind of events are over, I look back and am astonished at the way our team performed—like clockwork. The girls were all willing and able, and as a whole, I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”

It takes amazing individuals to make a great team, we asked Sean to sum up in a few words why he chose each artist. Here’s what he said:

On Lauren Smeraglia “Lauren carries MUD products at her salon The Powder Room. She is familiar with MUD products. When I went to her Salon to offer further product and retail training, we connected instantly.  She was one of the first on my list of contacts.

On Ashley Guirdy: ”I remember Ashley as a student. She has a great personality and she’s a fantastic artist. It was great to have a Louisiana local!”

On Vanessa Moreno: “This gal is as sweet as can be, but her skills really ‘pack a punch’!”

On Chelsea Wallace: “Chelsea’s background includes Pageants. Her experience, along with her upbeat personality, and her excitement for joining the MUD MISS USA team is what sealed it for us.”

On Jessica Poche: “She’s another Louisiana local, so having her friendly personality and excellent make-up skills on our team worked out perfectly.”

On Jill Pugh: “Jill is fast and furious (laughs). Her make-up skills in beauty are superb and her work ethic is phenomenal. We are lucky to have gotten her on board.”

On Denise Zamora: “Dee is my right hand woman! She’s great at delegating, awesome at her make-up skill and loved by all.”

Thank you to all who participated in this amazing event. For more photos, visit our Flickr Page and http://instagram.com/makeupdesignory