2013 BET Awards: The Ford Hotspot

Ford Motor Company sent me to the #FordHotSpot to cover the activities in their social media lounge at the 2013 BET Awards. All opinions expressed herein are solely my own and not those of the company.

After a whirlwind last-minute packing spree and a 6 hour flight from NYC to LA, on Saturday I finally touched down in LA. After being picked up by a super-cure pastel colored 2013 Ford Fusion from LAX, it was straight to the J.W. Marriott L.A. Live to prep for the Ford Hotspot.

My chic ride from the airport - the 2013 Ford Fusion

After arriving at the hotel, it was straight to the Ford Hotspot to chat it up with celebs stopping through. I picked up my press credentials and went straight to the lounge.

Upon arriving, I spotted hostess Toccara interviewing different celebrities test driving the brand new 2013 Ford Fusion on display. She looks great, right? Go girl!

Ford Hotspot hostess Toccara

So many celebs stopped in to check us out at the Ford Hotspot. Everyone from Elle Varner to Tamar Braxton, Adrienne Bailon, Letoya Luckett, Michelle Williams, Janelle Monae and more!

I was beyond excited to be a mainstay at the lounge for the second year in a row. Each blogger had their own special table for conducting interviews and lounging with the hotspot guests.

I managed to grab a pic with former 3LW member and reality star Adrienne Bailon.

Also, BET Award nominee Elle Varner's curls gave me so much life. Love her!

I had a blast at the Ford Hotspot on Saturday. Promptly after leaving the hotspot, we headed off for dinner with the Ford team and then to get some rest in preparation for the 2013 BET Awards day.

Stay tuned for a recap of all that I got into at the 2013 BET Awards!

2013 BET Awards: Prep Day

Happy Friday guys! I'm back from a week-long hiatus. Things have been super crazy as I'm prepping for a slew of travel this upcoming month. So hectic that I almost forgot to check in and share my BIG NEWS!

I'm pleased to announce that for the second year, I will be heading out to LA for the 2013 BET Awards courtesy of Ford Motor Company. I will be live-tweeting, blogging and socializing as a correspondent in their #FordHotspot backstage at the BET Awards yet again. I cannot wait to get in on the live action. As I did last year with my Road to BET series, I'll be keeping you guys up to date with live celebrity pics, red carpet updates and more from LA. If you follow me @LoveBrownSugar with the hashtags #FordHotspot and #fordand you'll be able to see everything surrounding and leading up to Sunday's awards.

Last year, I met everyone from Elle Varner to Common to Boris Kodjo and more! I'm beyond excited. Part of me hopes I catch a Beyonce sighting. Cross your fingers for me y'all. Blue Ivy here I come.

With less than 24 hours until I touch down in LA, I'm on a mad dash to find an amazing dress (ASOS has a few options for me, pick out a glam nail look (headed to the salon to find something chic now), lay this head of hair and PACK!

Here are some dresses I'm choosing between for the weekend:

ASOS Curve Mini Dress | ASOS Skater Dress | ASOS Asymmetrical Ruffle Dress

I'm in love with all three, but I need to see them on me before deciding. Thoughts?

And I think I'm going to try out Stiletto nails for the first time:

Which of these styles do you think I should try - Graphic Print, Solid Color Neon or Half Moon?

Thoughts on these options? Leave a comment below or holler at me in social @LoveBrownSugar and tell me your picks!

Missed me at the Ford Hotspot last year? Check out my video debut with everything you need to know about the #FordHotspot (look for me at the 1:30 mark):

LoveBrownSugar Feature: Ford Hotspot Video

Hey loves! So remember my whimsical trip to LA to cover the BET Awards with Ford? Well, it turns out our time at the Ford Hotspot was documented via video! Check me out with the other Ford Hotspot bloggers as well as celebs like LaLa Vazquez-Anthony, Boris Kodjo, Toccara, Usher, Taraji P. Henson and more! I'm so honored to have been apart of this:

And here's a sizzle reel of the 2012 BET Awards red carpet sponsored by Ford:

Celeb-Spotting at the BET Awards Ford Hotspot

So I told you guys all about my red carpet run-ins yesterday, but the real celeb spotting took place at the Ford Hotspot backstage, complete with the 2013 Ford Fusion as a centerpiece. Take a peek at all the amazing people I met and a few I interviewed:

[CONTINUE]

Kickin' It: 2012 BET Awards

Yesterday I had the plesure of attending the 2012 BET Awards as an exclusive media guest of Ford. From conducting interviews on the red carpet, to snapping shots inside the Ford Hotspot backstage, I had an amazing time covering the event. Here's a recap:
[CONTINUE]

Nicki Minaj at the 2012 BET Awards

Caught these snaps of Nicki Minaj backstage at the BET Awards!

She just won the Best Female Artist category of the 2012 BET Awards.

And Tyga closed out the show with an awesome performance. Congrats to the whole YMCMB camp!

Tamar Braxton at the 2012 BET Awards

Looking fab in a local Atlanta design and Louboutin heels.

Road To BET Awards: The Big Day

 If you guys are following along on Twitter or Instagram, you probably saw me updating all the BET Awards - Ford Hotspot action live yesterday. I'm having so much fun! Between meeting celebrities at the Ford Hotspot, to shuttling around LA in the 2013 Ford Escape to meeting Usher (I nearly fainted), it's been an amazing time so far. I finally figured out how to live-blog directly to the site so today on the red carpet I'll be updating the site every hour so you guys can see the action straight from the source. In the mean time, here's a brief recap of what I got into yesterday:

I arrived at the Ford Hotspot around 2PM yesterday. Immediately I was greeted by the lovely ANTM finalist and model/correspondent Toccara.

Can I say how PROUD I am of Toccara? From being the first plus-sized finalist on ANTM to now being a reality show star and TV host, she's definitely proving that big girls do it better. Love her!

She showed me her faboosh nails. So gorge!

I have my own little VIP table at the Ford Hotspot. Felt so special!

The 2013 Ford Fusion is the main attraction at the Ford Hotspot. Isn't this chic? I would not mind giving this baby a test drive. Ford will be giving one of these cars AWAY during the BET Awards Pre-Show with 106 & Park. You can register to win at www.bet.com/brandnewescape - it could be you! Don't say I didn't tell you...

Toccara chatted it up with all the stars. Above she's with Nadine Ellis of BET's series "Let's Stay Together"

With Tank, who I randomly ran into at LAX earlier that morning. 

Here I am with cutesy boy band Mindless Behavior. They are so adorable!

 And with Elle Varner, who has an awesome head of curls and a killer voice. Can't wait to see what her stylist Wouri Vice will have her clad in tonight.

We got to meet R&B crooner and producer Usher! Omg I nearly fainted!

And here's a group picture of Toccara with the Ford Hotspot bloggers once we were off duty - EURWeb and TalkingWithTami.com.

 That's my quickie update for now! I'm in the midst of choosing a dress and getting my makeup done so I'll catch you guys later. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and right HERE on the blog for my live-blog of the red carpet at 1PM PST/4PM EST!

Who are you looking forward to seeing on the carpet??

Road to BET Awards: Day 4

I'm in LA yall! It's officially the day before the BET Awards and I've finally landed in the Sunshine State. Right now I'm getting ready to head over to the Shrine Auditorium but not without a quick update about my crazy day yesterday. So, despite being incredibly annoyed with ASOS for not shipping my other dress options (major fail), I focused on getting my hair and nails done in preparation for the big day. Here's a brief recap:

So yesterday I finally went to the Dana's Loft salon in the Lower East Side and got my hair "laid" by celebrity stylist and salon owner Dana Gibbs. I showed her my inspiration pictures from this post and told her that I wanted big beautiful curls with ombre hair.

She started out by washing and blow-drying my hair. She blew out my hair in twists then started to braid it up for the extensions install. To achieve the color, Dana lifted the hair with bleach and kept it just light enough for my liking.

 Here's me with Dana after she was complete. 

 Stay tuned for a full video of the whole process - coming soon!

Next I went uptown to celebrity manicurist Lisa Logan's salon for a minx session. Yes, guys. The same manicurist who does Beyonce's nails! And who put Minx nails on the map. I was BEYOND excited, and she did an amazing job. We picked a tribal print pattern from her newest exclusive collection with Minx. More details on that coming in a follow up post!

 I know this post is short & sweet but I promise to post a follow up with more detail, pics, etc! Running short on time so keep up with my 2012 BET Awards x Ford Hotspot shenanigans on Twitter @LoveBrownSugar and on Instagram!

I'll be tweeting live from the #FordHotSpot - feel free to send me questions for your fave celebs if you see me snap pics of them!

Road to BET Awards: Day 3

So yesterday it really hit me, like for real for real. I was running around town like a chicken with its head cut off. Here's what I got into:

The Makeup

So remember yesterday when I said I was heading to new cosmetics store Lisi Cosmetics for a consultation? Well I did and they hooked me up with an amazing look that I may be able to replicate in LA. It's neutral enough to wear with different dresses but dramatic enough for red carpet. Take a look at the process:

So the arsenal included a combination of Foundation, Illuminator, Blush, Lipstick, Lip gloss, Eyeliner and Eye Shadow.

Here's my face before - no makeup, blank canvas.

The makeup artist Erica Nicole used a flat Foundation Brush to apply the foundation in my shade.

Then used a loose powder to set the look.

Above is my face after foundation applied.

Then she used the Illuminator to warm up my face and applied smoky eyeshadow to my eyes.

Above is the complete look! She topped off my lips with "Fierce" - their intense burgundy red lip color. Thoughts?

The Dress

Next up, I hopped over to the Monif C. showroom in midtown to see what options they had for my red carpet look. 

The first look they pulled for my was the Zoe Charmeuse Dress in Blue. I love the asymmetrical style and the vibrant color.

Next I tried out the Marilyn Convertible Ruched Dress which was really sexy but I was a bit self-conscious about my midsection.

It's super convertible. There are like 40 ways to wear this dress. Love it!

I tried on the Zoe Printed Dress as well, which I thought was awesome but in the end, I ended up loving the blue one best! This is going to be in my top three arsenal for the big day.

Big Thanks to Monif C for allowing me to stop in! They have some AMAZING piece, and you can check them all out on the Monif C Website. Stay tuned to see if this dress makes the final cut. 

Thoughts? Should I go with the "Zoe" Dress in Blue?