Lake Zurich makeup artist puts right touch on famous faces
Cheryl Harvey Gorey of Lake Zurich knows how to keep a secret. Perhaps that's why so many sports figures and celebrities, including Betty White, Jay Leno, Brooke Shields and Joan and John Cusack, keep asking for the freelance makeup artist.
“I won't talk about their personal stuff,” Gorey said. “I've got to keep a good secret. That's why they trust me.”
Others high on the request list include Chicago Blackhawks announcers Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire. Gorey had the opportunity to do their makeup while the hockey team pursued the Stanley Cup. And she also was part of the team that hit the ice at the United Center moments after that victory last week.
“It was crazy,” said Gorey, 50. “We were all trying to figure out where we would go when they win,”
For about 30 years, Gorey has been a sought-after makeup artist in the Chicago region and traveled nationwide with clients when not working at Michael Thomas Salon & Spa in Buffalo Grove and Studio M in Lake Zurich. She began when legendary WGN radio broadcaster Orion Samuelson, a family friend, asked her to do his makeup for some programs. She later worked for WMAQ-TV for about 11 years, doing makeup for “First Thing in the Morning” hosts Bob Sirott and Allison Rosati, among others.
She then partnered with Oprah, Jerry Springer and Doris Christopher, founder and former CEO of Addison-based Pampered Chef.
“I remember being on a book tour with Doris and my son was just 5 months old. I would call my husband and tell him I was sending him breast milk from New York or another city,” she said.
Over the years, Gorey and her husband of 26 years, Tim, have raised three children.
Yet it's been the Stanley Cup wins for the Blackhawks that have given her an extra boost in recent years, she said.
She kept busy doing makeup and touchups for the announcers during regular and playoff games, taking even more care during the playoffs to make sure their hair and clothing looked just right.
“I just love taking care of them,” she said. “It's the mother in me.”
On the night the Stanley Cup was won, she piled onto the ice after the game during the celebration.
“But I didn't hold up the cup. That's not my place. That's for the team and their families. I was still working,” she said. “I have to admit, it was fun watching the players and their families. And touching the ice later, now that was really cool. It was all very exciting.”
Gurnee couple's sweet new restaurant
Bill and Donna Collazo, 37-year residents of Gurnee, have opened The Chocolate Sanctuary in their hometown. When Bill said he wanted to own a restaurant, “I always just nodded and said, 'Sure sweetheart,'” Donna said. “But when Bill heard about a franchise offering for something about a chocolate martini bar, we both found our creative juices running.” They then wrote an 8-page plan on what The Chocolate Sanctuary would look like and serve a variety of foods, all with a connection to chocolate and under the leadership of Executive Chef Ahmed Mora. When space opened at the Saratoga Square, “we felt it was time to turn our virtual restaurant into reality.”
Speaking of food ...
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FastTracks
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