Baby Showers...Boy it's alot of work!

Now this blog post is kinda random, and very old considering the topic is about a baby shower I planned was almost a year ago. The shower itself was March 13, 2010!

My girl friend here (the actual first person who was willing to meet and sit and chat with me when we first arrived in Germany) found out she was pregnant (which she and her husband were trying to do so).

Justin and McKenzie at the baby shower

Is it crazy to think that she was going to plan on her own baby shower for her little one?

Anyways long story short myself and another one of her friends (which is now my mutual friend) worked together to plan the event. There was a lot of going back and forth about this party as originally it was suppose to be just for her...then she wanted to do a double baby shower with another girl...and then it went to being just her baby shower. So needless to say it was a bit of a pain to figure out exact numbers for the party...but we finally did get all the taken care of! WOOT!

The other gal and myself each supplied different food for the party, while I also worked on making (at least my first attempt of) a diaper cake, and planned all the shower games. The shower games overall were pretty easy...I was just being quite anal and wanted to make sure they kept within the theme of the party.

If you ever need a really good website to figure out what type of baby shower games there are...besides the obvious and normal choices. Check out Baby Shower 101

If you are interested in knowing what different types of finger foods I supplied, they were originally the first recipes I showed on In the Kitchen with Lo.

HomeMade Chips

Egg and Cheese Puffs

Not only did I supply these yummy treats, but I made a nacho and salsa dip, veggie tray with dip and of course the diaper cake!

I watched a few videos on YouTube in attempt to learn how to make an acceptable Diaper cake. Overall, I thought it was okay for being my first one...however I wouldn't go into a business doing it! ha ha

As you can tell there are different layers to the cake. I tried to make it look like it had whip cream frosting..hence the usage of toilet paper around the diapers. And of course the extra additions to make it more girly with the pink flowers, ribbon and stuffing.

Gift Table with Diaper Cake and regular Cake

I was satisfied with how things came out...however after doing all the work for it...I have decided that being a party planner is just not my thing! ha ha!

Some Pics from the Baby Shower

FOTD: Christmas Party Look Using Sleek Make Up

So with December comes the buttload of holiday parties and get togethers that follow with the season. ha ha...if I was only that lucky!

This year there haven't been too many non work related events that I have had to go to, so when the opportunity arose to make myself pretty for Joe's Shop party I jumped at the chance.

First I recolored my hair, if you didn't already know. I dyed/bleached pieces of my hair back in May when I went black and red. So when the red washed out I ended up with bleached hair..that slowly as time wore on changed.

It got to the point where the bleached pieces were just too much for me...hence the change over to all black. Well I decided with the Christmas party I needed to touch up (as the bleached pieces were starting to look a nasty grey/green color...don't even know how that is possible).

So the party was on Friday, I colored my hair on Thursday. And as I tweeted that evening as I was waiting on the dye to process...my scalp was pretty itchy (and I did color my hair on dirty hair). However I did a no no and substituted Aquaphor to put around my hairline (verses vaseline..like I have heard people suggest). And I don't know if overall I'm more sensitive to products being there....but needless to say I had a nice little rash right about my hairline from the stuff! LOL

FOREWARNING...DON'T DO SOMETHING UNLESS YOU HAVE TESTED A SMALL AREA FIRST AND SEE FOR A REACTION. Even now, 2 weeks after the party and coloring my hair...my rash is just starting to clear up! :(

Anyways, so with hair done, I gave myself enough time that say to get ready..as I was going to have to leave from work and meet Joe at the Christmas party. Needless to say, I made sure to use all my Upper end products (just to make sure everything stayed nice until that evening).

I popped in my blue colored contacts...since I think light eyes is a huge contrast to dark hair.

The eyes themselves are just as dramatic closed as they are open! Well at least in my opinion

I literally put no shadow, eyeliner in or on the lower lash line or the water line. I have the experience that when I use my colored contacts and I start adding my product to the eye area.

1. I tend to have drier contacts.

2. My eyes are red because of the excess product

3. This was one of the few times I wanted my eyes to look naturally open/bright.

I reused a pair of Red Cherry #117 hence why there is a bit of lash glue visible...even though it states the glue is invisible...even with a good cleaning. I swear I can never get all of the glue off to use it again!!!

The shadows I used for this look were from the Sleek Storm Palette that I received from Cookie for my birthday last month. I have done a very similar look using silver and black (though I decided to make it a more grown up look by leaving out all the glitter).

My overall thoughts about the quality and vibrancy of Sleek Make Up Palettes is they are quite good. The Matte black that I used in the crease is very very comparable to MAC's Carbon Eyeshadow. Their shimmer silver and dark grey were quite pigmented and blended quite easily.

I personally want to create a few more looks with this palette before I give a review on the products as I think they are good to have in either a Make up Kit or personal collection. NO LIES, I'm very very happy that I received the palette as a gift!

To finish off the overall look I used a very light hand and applied Mac's Fever blush. With just a small swatch of Hard Candy's Baked Blush in Pin up as a highlight.

For lips I applied my Fall and Winter favorite, NYX Lipliner in Fuschia...filled in my lips and topped it off with some Glamour Gloss in Scene Queen from Glamour Doll Eyes. I really think the lipliner and gloss are just amazing together. Whenever I want to rock a pinky lip...that combination is what I have been reaching for.

Overall, I felt cute. I sadly dont have a picture of the outfit I ended up wearing to the Christmas Party...but I got to rock my Christmas Boots so I was totally happy about that!

FOTD: Using Sedona Lace 15 Ultra Shimmer Palette

As you know I picked out the Sedona Lace 15 Ultra Shimmer Palette for my birthday, as I LOVE purples, blues and greens...especially shimmery eyeshadows.

No Lies, I'm damn happy that I decided to choose this palette for a present, as this palette is just to die for...and you can seriously just go hog wild with the different colors...especially if you like blues...no lies there are about 7 different hues of blues in this palette. Wow...I'm not at all tired while blogging about my palette!!! ha ha ha

Anyways so I have dug into the palette, and in a different post I will do swatches of the different colors so that anyone who hasn't seen it can get a better idea of the loveliness that it is! But let me get to the FOTD. I have done this looks twice so far and always get a compliment that day about how pretty the colors are.

No Flash

I used a mixture of the darker purple on the first 1/3 of my lid, followed by a light grey on the 2nd 1/3 and then the bright blue on the last 1/3 and blended that blue up into the crease. For a highlight I used Mac's Vanilla.

Looking at the picture the middle grey shadow looks more blue...I think it is due to all the shimmer that is in the shadows. No matter what the case maybe, I think the colors are so vibrant!

for the rest of the face I used Mac's Coy Girl on the cheeks, though I opted for no highlight on the cheeks considering I wanted the man focus to be on the shimmer on the eyes. And for Lips I have just been in love with my NYX Fuschia Lipliner and Glamour Gloss in Scene Queen.

You can actually tell better in this picture, but for the lower lash line I used on the outside half the darkest green shadow, and on the inner half I used the lightest green shadow.

Flash

I will comment this much, when the flash is used, the shadows especially the grey and the blue do look pretty similar...however in person you can actually tell there were different colors.

Overall, I think this is a fun look, I was a bit inspired from the Lovely Vee, yes Miss Glamour Doll Eyes herself, to create this look. After seeing her tutorial using this palette, the video pretty much sold me on getting it.

And NO LIES....so glad I did!

FOTD: Kat Von D Tattoo Chronicles Palette

Another day, Another FOTD!

Since I got an amazing present from an amazing two lovelies, Lorris and her hubbers Eric. I decided it was time to bust out the goodies that they had sent me!

I do need to include a picture of the full birthday presents from them, besides do swatches of the colors from both palettes that I received! I know I know, I'm ubber behind!

So without further due I will get into what I used to achieve this lovely look. I used the Skin Primer from the Chronicles Tattoo Palette, which is what I used. BTW, Lorris and Eric sent me both the Tattoo Eyeshadow Palette as well as the Lipstick Palette (yes I will do swatches of the lipsticks as well). I promise things will get back to how they use to on the blog...it's just harder to get focused on what I want to post considering there are so many different things I can do! UGH! ha ha okay before I get distracted!

I am just using this picture so that everyone has a better idea of what this palette looks like. I will include pictures of my own when I have some more time.

Shadows used:

Hollywood on lid

Tijuana in crease

Peanut as highlight

I used Revlon's ColorStay Black Marker for the top last line...which btw I'm really not a fan of. I was waiting for a my go to liquid eyeliner that a different lovely was so kind enough to send me. Please refer to different post that will be up soon! And used Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil in Zero for the waterline, having dragged a bit of Tijuana on the lower lash line.

To Finish off the face I used MAC's Plum Foolery blush with a tad of Hard Candy's Baked Blush in Pin Up as my highlight. Lips I used my trusty Maybelline Moisture Lip Liner in 60 Wine, as I think that during the winter...wine colored lips will be my signature look. As Cookie pointed out that Gaga was my signature look during the spring/summer!Elf Essential Lipstick in Voodoo has been the Go To lipstick followed by a bit of Elf Studio Minty Lipgloss in San Diego, one because San Diego is my hometown and I need to represent. And two because I love the way it tingles on my lips...which is always nice feeling. Plus it adds just a bit of shine besides sparkle!

I do dig this look, something with Gold and having brown eyes that I think look really good. Although I don't doubt this look could be great on anyone!

I need to play with this palette more and see what fun looks I can come up with...but for now...I can say a few things. One the eyeshadows are quite pigmented, two the primer is interesting I think I want to try some other shadows using it, three there are quite a few looks I can do with the palette!

Freelance Make Up Artist Again?

Another day, another opportunity to get some work in the freelance business! YAY!

I was contacted by a local active duty military wife, who was having Bridal pictures done by a local (again active duty) photographer.

Considering I had never done bridal before, I jumped at the opportunity to try my hand at it. We all met at the photographers home, which is where his studio is located at. However, they only met there so that the bride could be shuttled to their actual location...which was an old church about 15 minutes away from the photographers studio.

So I took a total of just over an hour to do the bride's make up, I was nervous as heck. However I did what I had to do, attempting to get everything just right, besides in a hurry. I tell you what...me and trying to rush false eyelashes! FAIL! Took me a few tries but I finally got everything in its place. Made a new contact in regards to photographers and added some nifty pictures to my make up portfolio.

Bride to be, Sarah Adams

Before Shot

After Shot

Overall, I thought I did a fairly good job on the make up, considering Sarah had a bit of a break out. Thanks to some good drug store concealer, Maybelline Dream Mousse in Light 0-1 and Revlon PhotoReady Foundation mixture of 001 Ivory and 006 Medium Beige. I think her skin came out pretty flawless! YAY for drug store products in my kit! ha ha

Some more pics while I was doing her make up

This by far was my favorite pic of Sarah while we were talking!

Finally Pictures during Sarah's Shoot

Sarah's Gown was so pretty!

She makes a gorgeous Bride!

Big Changes for My YouTube in 2011

I haven't been blogging nearly as often as I was in the past few months, I fell off the horse shortly after my birthday/anniversary week. And have been struggling to get back to it!

It's crazy that it is going to be the first weekend in December already!!! Where has the time gone.

I have been very much lagging on the videos on the YouTube channel, I finally got a question about it from my best friend back in the states. I know right, of all people, she was all..."Excuse me when are you going to put up more make up tutorials". This coming from the same girl that actually introduced MAC into my life back in 2005!! CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!!!

Starting next week, my time will consist of working my job at the gift shop, being a good house wife and attempting to stay on top of the chores around the house, being the head coach of the Girls 13-15 yr old Basketball team through the Youth Programs on base. Besides of course, when I have time freelancing my artistry skills. Needless to say, that is alot that I have on my plate...besides the fact that I am back on the work out wagon. So my goal is to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week.

Keeping all this in mind, I realize I will more than likely lose subbies on my YouTube channel and I am okay with it. I understand people want to watch videos are that up to date and entertaining of their favorite gurus and persons. I feel lucky enough to have so many people who are interested in watching and learning from me. Considering I don't think of myself as a guru, just a girl that loves to play in war paint.

All this said, I will be trying to do alot of prerecording the next weekend or on days I have off from work, so that I can and will have some things to throw on my channel. As I do miss making videos, plus the longer I go not making videos...the rustier I am at speaking! Ha HA, you guys don't even know the struggle I had the other day working on an intro piece to a video I have filmed..and it's sad because the intro is only a minute long!!! UGH...good job Lorena!!!

However, I hope everyone will understand that I do have other committements that will occupy alot of my free time, which I normally use for my hobby time (ie YouTube). So I hope I will be forgiven but not forgotten with me being less active.

**This next section is something that I am very saddened to write...but I know it's for the best**

Due to my busy upcoming schedule, I realize I have not done a proper justice to the mineral make up line that I am a team member of, Mayra's Cosmetics.

After alot of thinking, some praying and correspondence with Mayra, I have decided I will be retiring from my position as Team Member and Spokesperson for Mayra's Cosmetics. This will be effect as of Jan 1, 2011.

I have had alot of fun these past 6 months of being the active face to the line, however I feel that with my busy schedule. I am not doing my job that I have been very lucky to have and I feel that it is time for hopefully someone else to take that role. Someone who can committ the time, energy and effort to really make Mayra proud.

Now, just because I will no longer be the face or member of Mayra's Cosmetics, doesn't mean you will stop seeing products from the line in my videos. I still love the products that I have purchased as well as received as a team member and I plan on using them until they are finished. And I will repurchase the items that I love best!

I just wanted to share that bit of information with you guys, as I know I have gotten alot of support from Mayra & many of her followers and subscribers on YouTube.

So to everyone, whether you found me because of my team member position, or because you found me randomly. Thank you for all your support and love...I truly appreciate it! :)

Being a Team Member of Mayra's Cosmetics has been the most memorable event of my 2010 and so far my YouTube career (yeah I know career is probably not the best word to use, considering I don't get paid for it...but you guys know what I mean). I will look back at the time of being a Spokesperson for the line...when I'm really old and wrinkly...and be like. Yup, I was on the internet....doing lots of makeup...and it was fun!!! he he

**Now Looking towards the Future**

I don't know what 2011 will bring to my personal life as well as my Youtube life...however I am very excited and ready for whatever good, bad and challenges come my way!!!