The X Factor

Hey guys!
You may know that I decided to try out for the X Factor (IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FB LIKE YOU SHOULD! just saying... lol) I got an email earlier today saying that I've been moved on to the second stage of reviewing by the executive producers and after I get accepted I'll audition LIVE! Eeeeeeeekk! haha If I make it on the show I expect Every. Single. One. Of. You. to VOTE! If you want, I will keep you posted on how things go. Just let me know in the comments below :)

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♡ 23rd Birthday ♡

Hey guys! 

If you didn't know, yesterday was my 23rd birthday :) I hate to admit I'm getting older but hey, we all do. Yesterday morning Brandon surprised me with a breakfast FEAST! lol I loved it. He woke up earlier than me to get everything set up. When I woke up about an hour or so later he heard me coming out of the bedroom and said "Get back in there!! You can't come out yet!" lol I guess he hadn't quite finished his set up yet. Ha Finally he allowed me to come out and this is what I was greeted with. :) I thought it was the perfect way to start off any birthday.

The gift he got me was Finding Nemo. And if you know anything about me, I LOOOOVE Finding Nemo! I used to have it on DVD but I showed it so much love that it stopped working. He got me this 5 disc collection so I can watch it pretty much where ever I am.

The next gift I got for my birthday was a pink CHI from Brandon's mom. I feel like I've needed one of these of a loooong time. I seem to have pretty bad luck when it comes to hair straighteners. 

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day here, we couldn't resist being outside. We drove around in the car and ended up doing a little "photo shoot." lol (can you spot him in the reflection on the car?)

While we were driving, we drove by all of these trees off to the side of the road. The grass was so beautiful. It literally is the color you see in the picture below. It's that green!!! Ugh. It was so pretty. I knew I wanted to get a picture there so we pulled over. We later found out that it was private property so we had to hurry up and get my picture taken before anyone came out of the house that was about a football field away. :P

Oh yeah, and we bought a snake. lol Brandon bought a Mexican Black Kingsnake as a classroom pet. It's really pretty. I was kinda freaked out to hold it at first but it grew on me.

Even though we didn't do anything crazy exciting for my birthday I still loved it. Sometimes it feels good to simply have a good, calm day :)

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Get Ready on the Fly Video + Valentines

Hey guys!

I got a request on FB to do a tutorial on how to get ready fast. In this video, I wanted to show you how I typically get ready when I'm in a big rush (maybe I woke up late or decide to randomly go somewhere). 

TIPS ON HOW TO GET READY FAST

FOR THE MAKEUP:

• First make sure to conceal and highlight. You want to look fresh and not like you just hopped out of the bed minutes ago. Brightening around your eyes and concealing any blemishes will give you a more even complexion.
• Next, to make the concealer last longer, set it with a translucent powder. I used my powder all over my face to combat any oiliness I may get throughout the day.
• Now that you look like a ghost, warm up your face by contouring with bronzer. This adds definition to an otherwise flat looking face.
• Next, add some color to your cheeks with a bright blush.
• After, frame your face by filling in your eyebrows. This step is one of the most important. 
• Next, take an "all over" eyeshadow. For this I used a bronze cream eyeshadow and applied it from the lash line to the crease.
• Then, I applied a highlight color to the inner corner of my eye and underneath the brow.
• To add more definition to my eyes, I added a medium matte brown into the crease and to define my lashes I took a black eyeshadow and lined the outer lash line. This gives the appearance of fuller lashes and is much easier than fidgeting with liquid liner.
• Make sure to curl your lashes and apply mascara. 
• Last, take a lip color you know will work with anything. Something that is so easy to apply that you really don't need to look in a mirror. 

FOR THE HAIR:

• Do something easy and fast like a pony or a messy bun. These are easy when you don't have time to straighten or curl your hair because they look good with any hair type.

FOR THE OUTFIT:

• Choose something easy. I chose to wear a combination of neutral colors because you really can't go wrong with neutrals.
• If you want to add a pop of color to your outfit, I suggest wearing a bright colored shoe, or jewelry. 
• Make sure that your comfortable. If you're running out the door, you don't want to worry about if you can last all day in the heels you put on or if your top is buttoned and straight.

PRODUCT LIST:

• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Neutralizer
• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
• Revlon PhotoReady Bronzer in Bronzed and Chic
• ELF Blush in Pink Passion
• ELF Golden Bronzer in Golden (to highlight)
• ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium
• Mary Kay Eyelash Curler
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
• Urban Decay Naked Palette- Virgin, Naked, and Creep
• L'Oreal Waterproof Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara
• Covergirl Lip Perfection Jumbo Lip Gloss Balm in 235 Coral Twist

OUTFIT:

• Necklace- Local Downtown Boutique
• Top- I don't know. I think it's an old friends ;p
• Pants- Target
• Jacket- Old Navy
• Scarf- Walmart
• Leopard Flats- Cato

For Valentines Day this year, I decided to give Brandon something sweet but easy to make. I took a picture frame with a picture of us (duh!) and I filled a jar full of all the reasons why I love him. I threw in a few funny ones to keep things on the lighter side. I don't think guys like to be too overwhelmed with lovey dovey stuff. lol 

This literally took ten minutes to make- including printing out the paper, cutting them into strips, folding them, and arranging everything on the counter. I think it's cute and lets them know you care in a sweet way. 

How are you spending your Valentines?

Subscribe to my Youtube channel so you don't miss any new videos! :) 

Love you guys and Happy Valentines!

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Birthday Wish List

Hey guys!

So next Sunday is my 23rd birthday and I figured I'd share with you what I've been craving lately. I've been eyeing every 

single one of these items for a long time. 

1. Leopard Z Palette- They've recently revamped their leopard Z Palette and I love this new style. It's not as 

cartoonish as the first leopard palette they had. And believe it or not, I don't own a single empty palette like this to hold my 

depotted eyeshadows.

2. Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder- I've seen this every where and would love to give it a 

shot. According to the reviews I've read about this setting powder, it works wonders to set the concealer under your eyes. 

PLUS, Kim Kardashian's makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, uses it on her. It's super cheap but the only little down fall is that 

it's only sold online. 

3. Beauty Blender- I think everyone except me has this thing! When it first came out, I bought an off brand 

version of it at Ulta and didn't like it. It felt stiff and didn't look like it was as squishy (yes, that's the technical term I used). It 

also didn't look like it expanded twice it's size when I drenched it with water. So now I'm ready to get the real thing to see

what all the rage is about.

4. Real Techniques Makeup Brushes-  Again, I feel left out by not having these. I know I 

just bought some Sigma brushes but I'd like to have these as well. Every time I go to Ulta, they don't have the ones I want. 

Maybe an online order would be best...

5. Lorac Pro Palette- Last, but definitely not least is this Pro Palette from Lorac. I originally saw this in a 

few Youtube videos and the colors looked so pretty. Then, I saw it at Sephora and swatched my hand up and fell in love. 

Some people think that this palette is pretty close to the UD Naked palette but it's really not. The colors are still "neutral" but 

not the same neutral as the colors in the Naked palette.

Do you own any of these? Which ones do you like?

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Lost Posts: How to Style Combat Boots

Hey guys!

Here is the last "Lost Post" I will do from last year. I slightly modified it to show you more outfits in which you can wear combat boots. I think you can wear combat boots with pretty much anything as long as you rock it with confidence. I love the edginess feel they bring to any outfit. I love wearing my combat boots and have to admit that I feel slightly bad ass when I do. lol I hope you enjoy the outfits I've put together and like the few pins I've added to give you more ideas. 

Note: I linked the pics that aren't mine back to the Pinterest link from where I originally saw them. :)

Here, I wore a white tank layered with a plaid button up, leather jacket, and faux fur vest.  My pants are simply distressed skinnies. 

I like to leave my boots untied and loose at the top to give a more effortless look.

http://pinterest.com/pin/10836855325118479/

^^this link has a bunch of other combat boot outfit ideas^^

Do you have combat boots? How do you like to style them?

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MAC Posey Cremeblend Blush Review

Hey guys!

I recently went to a CCO (Cosmetics Company Outlet) in Houston and picked up a cream blush from MAC for $13. I have never tried a MAC cream blush so I thought I'd give it a go.

The shade I bought is Posey. This is a warm peach color. There is no shimmer in it so it's completely matte. This blush is long wearing and also blends like a dream! 

This picture makes it look more bright pink than what it really is. Think peach not hot pink. 

This blush is so soft and creamy. A little goes a loooong way too so you have to be careful and not get carried away with how much you apply.

Here is a swatch of the blush blended and unblended. 

Here is what it looks like on. It blends so smoothly! I applied it with a duo fiber stippling brush and blended it out.

I would definitely recommend these if you are in the market for a cream blush. This blush is very pretty, easy to work with and lasts a long time. I think this would be great to use during the Spring and Summer months.


Have you tried any MAC Cremeblend blushes? What colors are your favorites?

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Sigma Brush Haul

Hey guys!

As a Christmas gift to myself, I decided I would order some Sigma brushes. I have wanted some Sigma brushes for years now but never broke down and bought some until now. I have always heard nothing but good reviews about them so why not? I ordered the Sigmax line of brushes and several individual brushes that I knew I would use frequently. So without further ado, let's take a look at what I purchased. 

This is how the box came in the mail and how the brushes were packed.

It came with a note that explained how to clean your brushes. 

Here is an overview picture of everything that was in the box. With my brushes, I also received three pamphlets that explained the details of each brush and how they can be used. In addition, I received a free single eyeshadow. 

Here you will see that the brushes came wrapped in plastic and a few of the brushes came with brush guards. 

This is the free eyeshadow I received in the shade Shine.

This eyeshadow is AMAZING! It is very, very, very pigmented and this eyeshadow alone has made me consider buying the palettes from Sigma to give them a go. I love this color. It's a super dark black with silver glitters in it. It also glides on like a charm. I barely had to touch the shadow for it to swatch like this on my hand. 

In this picture, you can see how tightly packed the bristles are in these brushes. The second on the left looks slightly used because it was. I couldn't resist feeling it on my face! lol Sorry.

These are the face brushes from the Synthetic Essential Kit.

These are the "babies" of the Sigmax Kabukis above. This is the "precision" part of the set.

These are the precision brushes from the Synthetic Essential Kit.

From top to bottom: Pencil E30, Short Shader E20, Eye Shading E55, Blending E25, Tapered Blending E35, Flat Definer E15

From top to bottom: Tapered Highlighter F35, Small Duo Fiber F55, and Small Contour F05.

That's it! Let me know if you have any Sigma brushes and what brushes from their line you recommend. Also, if you have tried their eyeshadow palettes, what are your thoughts? Is it worth it to you?


Sigma's Website
Sigma 10% off coupon code for January: JAN2013  February: BASE2013

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