Every celebrity has their glam squad, a team of experts trained to elevate their looks with clothes, hair, and makeup. For the past six years, the Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards has recognized fashion stylists, designers, and hair and makeup artists’ abilities to keep their clients looking fabulous for any event.
On Sunday, April 10, celebrities including Tiffany Haddish, Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Paris Hilton, and Christina Aguilera gathered to honor and celebrate their hardworking team.
During the special occasion, Aguilera took the stage to present her Mexican MUA Etienne Ortega with the Makeup Artist of the Year award. “Thank you @dailyfrontrow for the first-ever Makeup Artist of the Year award. It’s an honor 🤍 🇲🇽 Congrats to all the honorees!” Ortega said on Instagram. “Thank you to my Muse @xtina for presenting it to me with your beautiful words, I love you!”
“Congratulations to my amazing friend and fighter, @etienneortega 🖤,” wrote Aguilera alongside a video recap of the night.
“As a make-up artist, you have made me and many others feel beautiful on the outside, but your true gift is making those around you feel beautiful on the inside,” the singer said during the ceremony. “While your talent and passion for beauty has been celebrated around the world, it’s your friendship, kindness, inner-strength, and loyalty that are the reasons I am here to honor you tonight – along with how you beat the sh*t outta my face!”
“All work aside, you have been a true friend. We’ve traveled the world together and had each other’s backs in some of life’s most challenging moments. You have always been massively supportive, both personally and artistically, from being a long-time fan of Stripped to now reconnecting musically with my Latina roots, and understanding how important that is to me. Thank you,” she continued.
“There happens to be a handful of women in this room who have been blessed to be your canvas and you somehow manage to make time for all of us. I must say, I highly encourage you to take some well-deserved time off for self-care! However, your endless hustle and passion for what you do never goes unnoticed.”
“Etienne, you shared your battle with cancer with the world this past January, maintaining such a beautiful disposition while quietly fighting through the pain,” she reveals. “We all know this journey has not been easy for you and we are all so inspired by your grace, your poise and your positive energy throughout these difficult few months. We can all take a major life lesson from your strength and spirit. I am proud of everyone who calls themselves a fighter, but I’ve never met a fighter quite like you.”
Ortega took the stage and thanked the most important females in his life. “I want to thank all the incredible women, especially those in this room who have changed my life!” he said. “Throughout my journey I’ve had the privilege to work with and get to know extraordinary women like Eva Longoria, who opened the door for me at 22-years-old, Kim Kardashian who discovered me on Instagram and exposed me to a different world of opportunity. I’m humbled to have both personal and professional relationships with Kris Jenner, Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera – I admire and love you guys. Sorry guys, but women really do run the world!”
“I could never leave out the most important woman in my life, my mother Monica. Dealing with cancer the last six months of my life has not been an easy battle. And my Mom hasn’t left my side since my diagnosis in November 2021,” he reveals. “She came to every doctor’s appointment, sat with me for hours in chemo therapy, making sure I ate well and was my pillar of strength on all the days I simply couldn’t find it within.”
“Mom, you really are my hero and you deserve your own award. The most positive thing about this journey has been spending precious time with you. We are unbreakable. I love you so much mom…and dad, Diego, David and Michelle, I love you too!”
“This award proves that even with odds against you, anything is possible. No matter where you come from, you just have to believe,” the MUA advices. “This award opens a new chapter in my life, and I feel like it’s just the beginning and I have a lot of work to do, but I’m ready. Thank you so much for this award. I will never forget this day!”
Among the well-deserving and talented artists behind the scenes, The Daily’s sixth annual Fashion Los Angeles awards presented several categories, including:
- Lifetime Achievement: Russell James
- Style Curator: Maeve Reilly
- Music Stylist: Adam Ballheim
- Designer of the Year: Brandon Maxwell
- Fashion Entrepreneur: Paris Hilton
- Fashion Visionary: Elizabeth Stewart
- Hair Stylist of the Year: Bryce Scarlett
- Makeup Artist of the Year: Etienne Ortega
- Fashion Influencer: Barbie
Derek Blasberg hosted the awards. Other celebrities in attendance were Kendall andKris Jenner, Adam Ballheim, Maeve Reilly, Gigi Gorgeous, Zoey Deutch, Elizabeth Stewart, Brie Larson, Bryce Scarlett, Lisa McKnight, Sean Combs’s daughters D’Lila Star, Jessie James and Chance Combs, and more.