Ruby Kisses "Real Women Makeover" Contest Part 3

A few hours before the contest I was still hesitant about my participation but had already given my word. I wasn't sure how I was going to balance my other commitment of working The Makeup Show and the doing the contest at the same time. On top of that I hadn't done any preparation for the contest and I didn't even have a model. Thank goodness for great friends, my bff Ty Brown went scouring the crowd of attendees to find me a model. I couldn't have picked a better model if I had planned it. Having Carla Reed as my model was definitely not by chance. Not only does she have amazing bone structure but her positive energy and supportive words kept me motivated through out the contest.

So check out Round 1 of the challenge which had all 5 of us competing to make a flawless face with foundation and contour.

I couldn't hear the judges so I had no idea what was going on the whole time.....lol.

Please check out other videos from Ruby Kisses on www.youtube.com/rubykissescosmetics

their blog at www.rubykissesblog.com

and their website www.rubykissescosmetics.com

Ruby Kisses "Real Women Makeover" Contest Part 2

  

Here we go with Part 2 of the Ruby Kisses "Real Women Makeover" Challenge web series!!

This is kind of exciting, like waiting for the next episode of your favorite reality TV show only you don't have to wait a whole week for the next part. This video introduces a few of the amazing judges (another reason I was so nervous) and our wonderful hosts. We had special guest appearances from YouTube Sensations Ateya from AteyaTV.com and Koren of EnKoremakeuponline.com along with Elessa Jade aka Pursebuzz.  

 The competition was set like any other reality TV competition ( I felt like I was on American Idol or something...lol) where 5 contestants will receive a challenge that must be completed within the a set amount of time. After time is up the judges review the work and someone is eliminated (like Survivor...voted off the island). Noted Fashion/Beauty photographer Brandon Showers (i'm feeling a little ANTM now), World Renowned Makeup Artist Kevin James Bennett, and Celebrity Makeup Artist Victoria Stiles were a few of the super talented panel brought together to judge this competition.

and so in my best Cat Deely voice "Here are yoooouuuurrr JUDGES"

So what do you think? Wouldnt you be scared too...lol?

Please check out other videos from Ruby Kisses on www.youtube.com/rubykissescosmetics

their blog at www.rubykissesblog.com

and their website www.rubykissescosmetics.com

Ruby Kisses "Real Women Makeover" Contest

Some of you may know that I recently participated in the Ruby Kisses "Real Women Makeover" Challenge held at The Makeup Show NY 2011. This was my first ever makeup competition and I was actually quite nervous. I was especially nervous when I heard that this would be the first ever web series contest to kick off the launching of Ruby Kisses new line of products. I barely like to have my picture taken but a when I heard the words "video camera" I almost changed my mind about participating....lol. I'm not comfortable in front of the camera which still keeps me from making you tube video's but I dont think I did too bad.

I will be doing several post giving detail about the company, pictures from the contest and even videos from the web series that was created for the contest. Here is part 1 of the 6 part web series. Make sure to leave a comment letting me know how you think I did :)

Please check out other videos from Ruby Kisses on www.youtube.com/rubykissescosmetics

their blog at www.rubykissesblog.com

and their website www.rubykissescosmetics.com

Happy 4th of July ....Make Up For Ever Style

I happily worked this Independence Day at the Make Up For Ever Boutique at Sephora SoHo, it's always so much fun. Such an interesting dynamic of customers and a group of super talented and creative artist.

Here is how we showed our patriotism...

Patriotic to my fingertips :)

My face was painted by an amazing French man (I forgot his name) but eyes and lips were done by me.

Val is the amazing Lead Resident Artist for the Make Up For Ever Boutique at Sephora SoHo and here he is working is artistic magic on Derek a regular freelancer at the store.

A close up of Val's work.



Derek created this master piece including the New York City skyline and even the Statue of Liberty. This picture does no justice.

The lovely Frenchman did Jennifer's makeup too!

I'm always so inspired when I leave there. I really need to step up my avante garde and creative makeup skills. I will definitely be posting some of my creations.

Did you do anything fun and creative to show your holiday spirit?



My NYC 1 Year Anniversary Bucket List!

So in 4 months I will have been living in New York City for 1 year!!!! Whooooo hooooo!

My how time flies when you’re having fun. But only I haven’t had as much fun as I would have thought. There are so many things in New York that I have yet to experienced. So I decided to make a list.

My sister and I use to make list and we were very productive and felt very accomplished, so I’m hoping this will provide the same results.

This list is not in any specific order and I’m sure I will be updating it with more specific links and other information as I start crossing things off. I also hope to blog with a little more detail about each of my experiences. I picked 38 things because I just celebrated my 38^th Birthday (yeah me).

So here it goes…

1. Empire State Building
2. Ride the Central Park Carousel
3. Take a Carriage Ride thru Central Park
4. Take a ride to Ellis Island and tour the Statue of Liberty http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm
5. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge thru lower Manhattan (I hear its beautiful sight)
6. Staten Island and Staten Island Ferry
7. Chrysler Building
8. Tour the unique NY food landscapes of NYC http://www.foodsofny.com/ (anything food I love)
9. Cupcake Wars – Tour and rate cupcakes from 4 legendary cupcakeries, Billy’s Bakery http://www.billysbakerynyc.com, Cupcake Café http://www.cupcakecafe-nyc.com, Magnolia Bakery http://www.magnoliabakery.com, and Butter Lane http://www.butterlane.com/
10. Check out the floating barge in Brooklyn http://www.bargemusic.org/
11. The Roof Garden café at the Met http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/dining/
12. The Mandarin Oriental Lobby Lounge  – Stop by for afternoon tea, lunch or evening cocktails and enjoy a stunning view of Central Park.www.mandarinoriental.com/newyork
13. Sex and the City Tour http://www.screentours.com/tour.php/satc
14. Prospect Park
15. Guggenheim Museum
16. Metropolitan Museum of Art
17. Natural History Museum
18. Coney Island
19. Rockefeller Center/Top of the Rock
20. Tour the Apollo and See Amateur Night (I’m hoping to see Brian McKnight on July 23^rd)
21. Central Park Zoo/Bronx Zoo (Gotta see the animals)
22. Shakespeare in the Park
23. Madame Tussands
24. Museum of Television
25. The Highline (public park suspened 30 feet in air
26. Double Decker bus tour
27. Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival flushing meadow park
28. Lenox Lounge
29. Blues Bar B Que Festival August 22 and 23 Pier 54
30. Korean Parade October 2
31. Be in the audience for Regis and Kelly
32. And David Letterman
33. And Rachel Ray
34. And the Today Show and Good Morning America (I have to do these shows)
35. Attend an event (doesnt matter which one) in Madison Square Garden
36. Attend a play on Broadway
37. Take a real dance class.
38. New York Dinner Train http://railandcruisetravel.com/WineDineTrain.htm

By the way, I got a few ideas from this cool blog so you might want to check out his list: 

http://blog.chambermagic.com/places-you-must-visit/48-cool-things-to-do-in-nyc

Please feel free to add any suggestions :)

And I look forward to keeping you posted on my progress.

con't Birthday Wishes.....Time to make a wish!

So I spent most of my actual birthday with my roommate Ryan. He’s such a sweetie. I swear I am the luckiest craigslist roommate finder everJ. Anyway, first we took a little trip to IKEA. I know you are probably thinking who wants to go to IKEA on their birthday but I was excited. I hadn’t really been to IKEA since I moved to New York at least not one nearby. I heard it was so far on the train so I didn’t even try to find it. Ry rented a zip car (which is one of the best things invented) for a few hours and we took a drive to Jersey. It was such a beautiful day and only took 30 mins in heavy traffic. On our way there Ry mentioned how excited he was about the getting a hot dog…lol. I couldn’t help but laugh. We found what we needed for the kitchen right away and headed straight for the IKEA Café. Hot Dogs were our motivation to finish our trip early. We enjoyed hot dogs, split a cinnabun and had sierra mist and lingonberry juice (it was delish). Happy Birthday to me I thought.

I didn’t really know what was planned for the evening except going to dinner in the city, which was kind of exciting and annoying at the same time…lol. When we got back to the house Ryan quickly changed to go teach a spinning class (he’s an amazing instructor) and I got dressed. He told me to meet him at the corner of 14^th Street and 9^th Ave. I’m kinda familiar with that area from my many visits to the Inglot Store in the Chelsea Market. I sat and waited for him in this really cute little park area in front of the apple store where there was a street piano. I love to people watch so I was quite interested to see what was in store. I was pleasantly surprised to see several people sit down and play. They were all really good and I was hoping they wouldn’t stop.

My roomie showed up and we immediately headed to where ever, I still had no idea.

We went about a block away and he said "We're here!!" La Bottega Restaurant in the Maritime Hotel.

I have always walked past this building and wondered what was inside.

It was so freakin cute. Again to excited I forgot to take pictures, but here are a few I got off the internet.

It has the cutest little inside/outside spot in the middle of the restaurant.

As soon as we ordered I got to open my gift J

He always takes such care in wrapping packages. I have a minor obsession with purple that my roomie remembered.

It was the cutes little journal to keep all my thoughts and dreams for my next amazing year in New York!

Dinner was great. Then we headed home for cake!! But first we made a stop at the Duane Reade for some ice cream and milk.

Saw this strange sight….lol. Who wheres dress shoes and shorts anymore...lol

Look at how cute my cake was! My roommates friends have adopted me and they got me a cake. They affectionately call me Townesy :) (mispelled on the cake)

     

Its all about presentation :) A cute little party for two.

My roomie sang to me (I wish I could have recorded it, it was beautiful)

Then I finally got to make my wish!!!

What a great day!!! What a great birthday...and its still not over ;)



con't Birthday Festivties!!!

A last minute gathering on a saturday night at Fontana's with a few close friends!!

My hair was still wet and it was so hot in my house I was super shiny but I still felt birthday festive :)

We had CUPCAKES!!!! :)

Not sure why he was trying to give me his drink...lol

Awww look at me and my little brother Orlando, it was his birthday celebration too.

One of my few NY confidants!

Cupcake toast!!

The dynamic duo!!

Working hard as always!!

Fun times....................con't....

Birthday Festivities!!!

So it seems like I've been poppin bottles for my birthday for weeks now but it really hasn’t. Since this was my first birthday in New York I figured I should do something exciting but really wasn’t motivated at all (a low budget can do that to you sometimes). Since the actual day fell in the middle of the week I kinda figured most people would be quite busy. The weekend after is a holiday weekend which can be tough to plan anything around so I picked the weekend before. Well I should actually admit that it kinda chose itself. My friend Francisco called to hangout on Friday night and I was in the bed....lol. At 5 o'clock in the evening...lol. After a little work convincing me to get up I finally got dressed and we met at the Red Rooster in Harlem.

(I wish I had actually taken a picture because they have really cute outdoor seating this time of year)

I didn’t think we would get a seat so last minute without reservations but we did. I’ve never sat at a community table before and thought it would be weird but it was quite cozy. Our neighbors overheard us tell the waiter it was my birthday so they extended very kind well wishes also. They also shared their thoughts on the food they ordered. Since I was so close to where the food was coming out I got to see everything that was on the menu and almost wanted to change my order a few times…lol. I would have taken a picture of it all but I thought that might look a little odd plus.

We toasted with a bottle of Rose` to many more fabulous time in New York and crazy New York adventures together.

The food was all amazing. We didn’t leave a thing on the plate. I don’t know exact names of anything but these little tacos were surprisingly amazing. Francisco had the catfish and I had the salmon, both were cooked perfectly. We then ordered a side of green to share and they were quite flavorful.

We then had dessert!!! My favorite part! I cant believe I didn’t take pictures but I was so excited to eat it I forgot. I had strawberry rhubarb pie with a meringue cream on the side and Francisco had sweet potato donuts with an amazing vanilla cream. So dinner was perfect. We were the only ones left at the table but we were still engrossed in conversation when the waiter said he knew it was my birthday and didn’t want to interrupt our wonderful evening but he needed the table for a large party that had been waiting for a while. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it but we were about to leave anyway so it really wasn’t a big deal. The waiter then offered us free drinks and a seat in the lounge downstairs. We gladly took him up on that offer.

( I dont know if you actally see the crushed grapes in the bottom of the glass but the were an amazing little treat)

I believe the names of the drinks were the Savoy. It was delicious!! And the lounge is super cute with a great DJ. I was impressed with the space. I didn’t realize it was so big. There is more dining area downstairs too. All in all it was a great unexpected birthday surprise thanks to a good friend, good food, and good conversation.

 To Be Continued….



Birthday Wishes!!!

Birthdays are such a momentous time of the year that can evoke such a wide range of emotion. From happy to sad, exciting to depressing, or even outrageous to uneventful. As the true Cancer that I am, I have experienced all of those and then some during my birthday life. But I am happy to say that this birthday brought a whole new group of emotions and thought process.

Thoughtful, Grateful, and Thankful!!

When I think back from my last birthday until now, my life has gone through such a drastic change. Last year this time I had stable and secure income, amazing health and financial benefits, a new car, a decent savings account, vacation days, and a large 2 bedroom apartment with a garage, elevator, pool, and central air condition,  but yet with all those things I was still unhappy. I was still searching for my purpose in life. I was pretty sure I had found it but had no idea if I was right or if it was even possible. I am so grateful for the people that believed in me and continued to support and even push me to do what I needed to. I am even grateful for those that doubted me and intern gave me the desire and motivation to prove them wrong. I am so thankful for the opportunities that presented themselves and the courage I had to take them.

It’s funny to think that I can just barely managing my bills, I have no benefits, no savings, no paid vacation days, a weekly metro card for transportation, and live in a room on the 3^rd floor of a brownstone in Harlem with no elevator and no ac but I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I truly feel like I’m living my Dream!! No one ever said living a dream was easy. If it was easy everyone would be doing it, right? So as I blew out my candle this year I remembered what I wished for last year and realized that Birthday wishes really do come true. And I made an even better wish this year.

Friend Friday: Work, Life, Balance

Image courtesy of Coach Terri

I'm not an official member of the Friend Friday project (YET) but I have definitely enjoyed the last couple of Friend Friday posts. Enjoyed it so much I wanted to participate. I decided to respond to Gorgeous in Grey by posting my answers in a blog.


When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does blogging fall? Since moving to New York my day to day life is still in the adjustment phase so I am definitely in search of my Work, Life, Balance. My priorities seem to change on a day to day basis but they are all focused on survival. I would love for blogging to be number one but I'm not quite there yet. It is something that I now I atleast think about everyday and make a contious effort to work on. As a beginner blogger it has definitely surprised me how much I enjoy blogging and so it is has moved from the bottom of the list to somewhere in the top 10.

Have you discovered any short-cuts that makes blogging easier or more time efficient? I have started to write about things that I have experienced or would like to know more about. So I do research for myself and then share what I have learned or experienced in my blog. Like my BFF Gorgeous in Grey I also like to blog surf but typically get way to caught up reading other blogs. :) Then I run out of time to work on my own post...lol. I'm still a work in progress..

Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that help you plan ahead? I don’t have an editorial calendar, yet but I do see the need for one. I have missed a few things in the past few months that I would have loved to write about so I think a calendar will be quite helpful so I don't forget about up coming events or projects.
We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible? Since I am still in the discovery period of my blog I don't think I am as productive as I could be. I definitely over think some things and wait to long to write about other things. I definitely plan to set goal for myself each week and have my blogging buddies help keep me accountable. I plan to take a moment to work on my post while I am still in the moment and everything is still fresh.

If time wasn’t an issue what would you be doing on your blog or for your blog that you aren’t doing now? If I had more time I would do more product reviews and instructional videos. I'm still a little camera shy but I think I could be more detailed in my reviews and instructions. I love my twitter friend @JenJamesBeauty's video set up and hope to one day have one just like it.  I would also do contest and giveaways via you tube. I enjoy the excitement of a contest and the opportunity to giveaway cool stuff.

So since it was asked of me I ask the same to you –" How do you find balance in your life? Whether you are a blogger, a mommy, an entertainer … I wanna know what keeps you sane!"

So if you are interested in Friend Friday, Grit and Glamour has all the rules on how to participate. I am going to see if this baby blogger can keep up with the big dawgs and join in on the Fashion, Beauty, Friend Friday fun started by Modly Chic.

I got my picture taken backstage at the Suzanne Rae Show

I thought it was cool that a fellow bloggerista "Krasey Beauty" posted this great image of me hard at work :)

I so love what I do but I really need to work on my concentration face. I need to be more camera ready...lol!

Check out the whole post at the link below:
http://www.kraseybeauty.com/2011/02/backstage-at-new-york-fashion-week-suzanne-rae.html

Thanks Krasey Beauty for my 15 seconds of fame...lol. Oh and thanks to Stephanie Flor for sending it to me :)

Fall/Winter 2011 Fashion Week: Suzanna Rae

As a Make Up For Ever Alliance Team member, I had the pleasure of working with an incredible team of artist lead by the amazing James Vincent for New York Fashion Week. My first show was the Suzanne Rae Collection.

Here are some pics...(not sure why half of the image is cut off at the bottom but it has to do with my phone and picasa...sorry, I'll figure it out. I'm still new at this stuff)

In my shirt ready to work!!!

Still couldn't really believe I was here!

Im set and ready to go....oh wait that's James' station...lol. One can only wish :)

James' gaves us a demo on this gorgeous model.

Very thourough but still allows us to express our own creativity.

Here's my set up....not too bad. I'm getting there.

I felt so lucky to have such a cute model.

She could take a bad picture if she wanted to.

After instruction we all started working hard.

Orlando Santiago was in his element.

Angelique Velez was working it out!

Stephanie Flor got to work with my girl Zaya from DC! Im so proud of her :)

The hair was really cute too. I had just seen this in a magazine and was so excited to see this technique in person.

Complete Look!!!

My girls complete makeup application, now off to hair....Next!!

I got to snap a few pics during the run thru.

I loved the look!

We even had time for a few of our own photos :) Ahbi Nishman and I happy to see each other and work together again.

I still havent mastered the art of the self portrait but Angelique didnt mind.

 As I was leaving the show I got a copy of the program. I was so excited for James. He designed an amazing look that went perfect with the collection.

I love Fashion Week!!!