Mikki Taylor: New Make Over Show and Summer Beauty Tips

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

Respected beauty diva Mikki Taylor has teamed up with the good folks at TV One for a new show which transforms people's lives -- Makeover Manor. On Makeover Manor, Taylor oversees a team of style, beauty and spiritual experts to assist with the transformations of those profiled on the show.

Some of the experts include health/nutrition guru Dr. Ro (Rovenia Brock); celebrity fashion and wardrobe stylists Carlton Jones and Pamela Macklin; top make-up artists Sam Fine and Eric Ferrell; and Emmy Award-winning hair stylist Lawrence Davis. Some of those to be profiled include a 32-year-old police officer who's back on the dating scene after a seven year relationship; an overworked father of three who is tired of being overlooked and underpaid; and a courageous woman who battled chemotherapy and won, all the while raising her young son as a single mother.

So tell us all about the show

Well, I have to tell you, we are thrilled about Makeover Manor in it's new incarnation because it really looks at making one over from the inside out. You know there are a lot of shows on television that give you a hairstyle, make-up and a dress and send you off in to life and what we find is that often, particularly in the case of women is that a few days later when you see them, they're back into their familiar self, and that's because real change happens on the inside. Nothing profound happened on the inside, and it was just the suit that they were just wearing, they weren't comfortable in it.

Makeover Manor, the concept behind it is that there is an expert for your every need and desire. And the interesting note is that the candidates on the show, they were their own mastermind as we call them or their significant others in their lives wrote in about them and talked about what they wanted for them and that's how we chose the eight candidates, both women and men for the show. The letters were really heart felt but they really test the reality of many of our lives: no time for self, having trouble saying no, life is a clutter, just not living the life they want or the life they are living are two different things. And you know I always say that grown folks shouldn't have wish lists, wish lists are for children. Grown folks should have check lists and what we're doing about them. That's the approach that I took with the various glam squads that we use at Makeover Manor to help move the lives of those candidates that we worked with to help move them from where they are to where they desire to be; point them in the right direction.

What was the most profound makeover for you?

Well we are three episodes into the season now. And there was something about each of them that really touched my heart. Whether it was the single parent police officer who no longer saw her feminine side, self deserving of time for herself apart from her child to be the woman that she dreamed of being; putting that gift back in her hands again.

Whether it was Kim Whittley who came in needing a look for the red carpet after one of the tabloids had blasted her as being worst dressed, so to speak, and giving her more than that; helping her clear the clutter out of her life, teaching her how to lovingly say no to all those demands that people put upon her so she could say yes to things that were important and then giving her that new look as a bonus for the red carpet. Or the young brother who lost 130 pounds on his own, and yet he was still a prisoner in the old body, shopping for the old self, still dealing with insecurities and so forth. So each of the stories has their own nuances and their own "aha" moments that mimick the lives of many. And the show is not only about these subjects but there are take away tips for the viewers that make sense for everyone's lives.

Top Summer Trends from Mikki Taylor

Bright colored toes are in this season. "Orange on the toes is a fabulous trend to play with to contrast that with a dark or a nude nail," says Taylor. Celebrities have been seen rocking this summer trend.

"If you're someone who's been wearing black or conservative colors, buy a fuchsia blouse, buy a yellow blouse; pair it with a some jeans and a sandal"

"The bang is making its way back and we'll see that it'll be at its height in summer about a month from now moving into fall and we're seeing it in all shapes: a blunt bang, a flipped bang, a wispy bang, a razored bang."

"Certainly color is back in a big way in fashion, color is in full bloom. Whether it is in solid like vivid greens and orange and yellow and roses or in dynamic artistic prints or bright floral."

"If you wear your hair straight, texturize it and use the best tools which are your two hands and finger comb it and see what nuances that brings you."

"If you're a person who's been wearing neutral makeup, experiment with a little color. Play with it on your lips, go from that brown to maybe a fuchsia and keep the rest of your skin bare and learn something new and sensual about yourself."

Can't stand the heat or always on the go? "The pony tails that are not so done are big hair trends," says Taylor. This effortless style is the look for the summer because it's simple yet still cute.

"Metallics are very big in beauty. We love metallics brushed across the skin, on the cheek or a metallic eye or mixed in with a bit of gloss."

How do you think that you got to this point to instruct people how to live their best life?

Well it's like I always tell young people and I try to practice what I preach. Our job is to find out our gifts and honor there in. This is the work I was created to do, it is the work I have been doing for 28 years with Essence magazine, it is the work I do when I go across this country and speak. I think that when you give people the gift of self discovery you give them the best of all possible gifts. And so I'm on course.