Clients

-- Story by Lolita Harper; photo by [TK] SHE IS Revealing the inner beauty with outer adornment CREATING YOUR OWN ROUTINE Many women enter the small shop on the top level of Triangle Square with their heads down, hiding the fact that they are wearing little or no makeup. But after an hour with makeup artist Romaine Markus, clients walk out of the Grecian-themed store sporting a new look, a look created with an expertise that comes from making up hundreds of faces, each customized especially for one. "It's important that women not only look good in their makeup but feel comfortable applying it themselves," Markus said.

-- Story by Deirdre Newman, photo by SHE IS Brightening the lives of her clients with her creative floral designs A PERSONAL TOUCH She traded in her wool business suits and pumps for Levi's and tennis shoes to try her hand at floral arrangements and never looked back. Kathy Lyon, of Artistic Florists in Costa Mesa, has been adding her personal touch to weddings, special events and funerals for the past 16 years. "I always try to do something unique," Lyon said.

Professional organizers like Amanda Armstrong can be a lifesaver for people who find it hard to throw things away. Armstrong operates Corona del Mar-based Room to Breathe, a professional organizing service for businesses and homes. She works in offices and at people's houses throughout Orange County to set up systems that are personalized so that maintaining the area is a more realistic feat. "We come up with systems in talking and understanding people's lives," Armstrong said.

Simon Brown With a drill, a hammer and some imagination, Leona Laurie turns clutter into cleanliness. The 27-year-old Estancia High School graduate launched Working Space Unlimited last June with the purpose of helping people organize their previously unmanageable space. "My goal, when I enter any situation, is to create a sense of productive peace where any space becomes a room where you can feel at ease and get things done," Laurie said. To that end, Laurie meets with clients to determine their needs and then combines that with her vision for the space.

Two Costa Mesa-based nonprofit organizations that serve residents with developmental disabilities are considering a merger that would likely mean a boost in resources and a significant expansion in programs. Board members from the Vantage Foundation and Project Independence, both founded in 1977, are in preliminary discussions about the potential merger. The agencies are already united through Debra Marsteller, who was named executive director of Project Independence in July and who has headed Vantage Foundation for 25 years.

NEWPORT BEACH — Shelli Stutz believes inside every man lies a charming, suave individual, but before getting to that side, he often requires a little "fixing. " Stutz is the sole owner and operator of ManFixer, a one-on-one consulting business geared toward helping men achieve personal goals. The requests she gets range from an improved sense of fashion and how to boost confidence to, say, how to ask a woman out on a date or get internal overhauls that seek to change their professional, personal and home lives, she said.

Michael Theriault stood next to a golf cart and waited to take his tee shot on the 10th green at the Newport Beach Country Club. Theriault was one of several businessmen who had the pleasure of taking part in the Toshiba Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday in which regular golfers are teamed up with PGA professionals. And like many of his counterparts on the course, Theriault, who flew out from Illinois for the tournament, confirmed that for him golf is just as much about business as it is pleasure.

JOHN DEPKO In his previous major film, David Russell directed and wrote the screenplay for the critically acclaimed "Three Kings." It was a very offbeat reflection on the fortunes of war for a few greedy American soldiers at the end of Desert Storm. It offered plenty of sarcastic twists and turns about matters of life and death, politics and power, opportunity and destiny. It was a minor gem in that year's movie offerings. Russell convinced several top actors to try to take these quirky observations to a higher level in his new and very strange comedy "I {heart}

A Newport Beach businessman charged with sexually assaulting one of his clients is an upstanding citizen who has been falsely accused, his defense attorney said Tuesday. Steven Wesley Lovell, joined by his wife, appeared in Harbor Justice Center court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing, which was continued until Oct. 30. Lovell’s attorney, Robert K. Weinberg, said Lovell was rehabilitated after he served his sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery in 1999.

Bryce Alderton Not even a trial will taint or tarnish the legacy that Leigh Steinberg wants to instill in sports and its athletes. The 53-year-old Newport Beach resident and Chairman and Chief executive officer of the Newport-Beach based firm Steinberg and Moorad continues to champion efforts to teach athletes on becoming role models and looks into the world of television and film to get his message across....