Georgetown Cupcakes for Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful time with their sweetie's last night (or your closest friends for us single ladies). Yesterday was a day to celebrate any type of love in your life so I expressed my love of cupcakes! If you have seen the show DC Cupcakes or live anywhere close to Washington DC you know about Georgetown Cupcakes. This cupcakery makes adorable cupcakes that taste amazing! There is always a line outside the door that curves up a hill and even around the corner on a extra busy day. 

My selection last night was Big Apple Crumble which is an apple flavored cupcake with cinnamon frosting. It also had a cute apple cutout on top in red sparkly fondant. I finished the night off by seeing "The Vow" which is about a couple that falls in love and after an accident erases the wife's memory, her husband has to make her fall in love with him all over again. Cute if you like that sort of thing (on Valentines day I happen to LOVE that sort of thing). 

Big virtual hugs and kisses 

XOXO

Kelsey

Yummy Healthy Breakfast

One of the secrets to having your makeup look amazing is healthy skin. Your skin is a true reflection of how your health and can be affected immensely by what you put in your body from the negatives like smoking to the positives like drinking enough water. 

To help keep my skin looking great and my body feeling great I maintain a vegan lifestyle and I thought I would share with you one of my FAVORITE breakfasts that I eat at least 5 days a week! 

Vegan Berry Parfait:

Start with frozen mixed berries. I like them frozen because it keeps the yogurt nice and cold. If you can, go with organic because berries have such a think skin that any pesticides that are sprayed on them will get absorbed easily. (No one wants to eat poison!) I like Wyman's of Main because they come in huge jumbo bags and taste delicious. 

I like to fill up the bowl 2/3 of the way or about 1 1/2 cups of frozen berries.

There are a ton of alternative yogurts on the market for those of us who don't eat dairy. I have tried the coconut milk yogurt but I prefer Silk Live! Vanilla yogurt. It has a nice creamy texture and is available in most grocery stores. I usually use about 2/3 cup of yogurt or just enough to coat the berries. Let the berries be the start of this breakfast.

To finish it off I top it with a 1/4 cup of granola to add some crunch. This is vanilla almond granola from my organic market's bulk food section. Its less expensive when you buy it from this section rather than in the cereal isle. 

Vola! a yummy vegan berry parfait that is super easy and super nutritious. 

Have a wonderful (yummy) day!

XOXO

Kelsey

Photo Shoot for LavishExposure.com

Quite a few months ago a friend of mine asked me to do the makeup for a photo shoot he was orchestrating. I agreed and we came up with a "working lumber jack glam" vibe. The shoot went really well and the pictures are finally here! Special thanks to Ricardo for sending them to me. To see more of the shoot head over to lavishexposure.com.

For the guys I airbrushed their skin and used black shadow smudged under the lower lash line to give a "lived in" look. 

I also airbrushed the main model's foundation and created a green smoky eye using urban decay loose pigments and really heavy gel liner from Maybelline under her eye. 

XOXO on this lovely Sunday evening, 

Kelsey

Lipstick of the Day: MAC Saint Germain

Do you ever look through your makeup collection and find a favorite you had forgotten about? That is what happened to me today when I looked in my lipsticks and found MAC's Saint Germain. This color is so vibrant that it really does POP on the mouth. It has more color than many of the other "Pepto Bismol" pinks on the market.

 Another bonus: this color is in the permanent line! I hate it when you fall in love with a color only to find out that its not available anywhere you look. In these photos I'm also wearing Bobbi Brown brightening lip gloss in pink. It did not change the color, just added a nice highlight.

I went to the mall last night to pick up the latest from the MAC shop Mac cook collection and I went BANANAS on new lip products. Stay tuned for a few more of these "Lipstick of the Day" posts. 

Hugs and KISSES!

XOXO

Kelsey

Eye Tattoo

Every year around this time I start playing with a beauty trend that is a little out there or a little different. Last year if you remember I was rocking feather extensions in my hair. This year I'm addicted to this "eye tattoo" made out of eyeliner. 

I was inspired to do these little dots from one of my favorite makeup artists Kandee Johnson who draws little dots to extend her eyebrows. Its kind of a nice way to add a little edge to your look. I personally love wear really girly accessories like flower earrings or link lipstick with these dots to have mix of hard/soft.

These dots were made with liquid eyeliner. I tried it with some of the felt tip pen liners that have come out recently with Bobbi Brown and Maybelline but I have to say I get the best dots with my old tried and true L'Oreal Paris liquid liner. It has a felt tip but the tip is flat rather than pointed. This makes applying "dots" effortless. 

Its funny because they really do look like tattoos when your done. I was at work (Macy's cosmetic department) and customers were coming up to my manager asking if I had gotten a tattoo on my face! One older woman even said "she had such a pretty face but why would you ever get a tattoo to ruin it." My manager just laughed and reassured her that it was not a tattoo but instead eyeliner. She seemed very relieved. 

What makeup trend have you been rocking lately? Is there something edgy that you have been wanted to try? The best part about makeup... It all comes off at the end of the day. Try something edgy today!

XOXO

Kelsey

Glitter Ombre Nail Tutorial

Glitter is one of those things that makes a girl smile. I especially have been drawn in, like a lightning bug to a flame, to some of the glitter nail polishes that have been on the market this season. What better way to have a little bling when you don't have a ring?

I saw an ombre nail look on one of my favorite bloggers and I was instantly in love. It is such a modern, fresh way to wear glitter without looking childish. I recreated the glitter ombre manicure using a baby pink base and a hot pink glitter.

Please don't mind the pink hair brush in the background!

For this look I used an OPI shade for the base. The glitter polish was from Material Girl (Madonna's daughter's line) in the shade Wild Flower. This look is super easy to recreate and requires no special skills or tools.

Step 1: Paint nails with a solid base color. I used two coats to get the baby pink to be as opaque as I wanted.
Step 2: Using the glitter polish, wipe off the majority of the brush and apply in downward sweeping motions to the top 1/2 of each nail.
Step 3: Using the glitter polish, load up the brush and apply a second thick coat to the top 1/4 of each nail.
Step 4: Finish with a top coat.

Check out the video tutorial:

The Things We Are Afraid Of

I feel like everyone knows someone who is afraid of something BIG like heights, or snakes (like my dad is) or creepy bugs. These are all legitimately gross and scary but sometimes I find myself being afraid of the smaller things. 

A couple of Saturdays ago I had dinner with a friend and afterwards I felt like seeing a "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" but my friend had to work. The movie theater was right there and a movie I wanted to see was about to start but for some reason I felt really embarrassed to be going to the movie alone. I was literally afraid to go see a movie by myself. I even pretend I was meeting someone by saving the seat next to me and texting during the previews. Of course no one in the theater was paying any attention to if I was there with someone or alone... it was all in my head... but knowing that didn't help at that moment. 

I really think life has a way of letting you know when you make the right decision (or the wrong one for that matter) because at the end of the movie, the movie theater gave us all free movie passes due to some disruptive customers that started a fight at the beginning of the movie. I just felt like it was fate's way of rewarding me for stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing something I was afraid of. 

I pass along the challenge to you today. Is there something small that your afraid of that is holding you back? Today is the perfect day to take a risk. Muster up an ounce of courage today, it might be all you need to concur a fear. 

XOXO

Kelsey

Combat Chapped Lips

Winter always seem to do a number on my lips. With all of the wind and cold weather, they end up chapped or pealing. Luckily I have found a 1-2 punch that helps to get rid of dry patches and keep lips soft supple and kissable (Smooch!)

The first step is to exfoliate your lips using a lip scrub. I like This sugar scrub by LUSH because if you get a little in your mouth, no worries, its just sugar! It also tastes like bubblegum! LUSH makes this in other flavors too. 

To use this just put a little on your finger and work it into your lips. Either wash or lick off! I like to use it right before I wash my face. You can also use white sugar from your kitchen and it will have the same effect.

After your lips are nice and soft finish with your favorite lip balm. I like this balm by Kiehl's because it comes in a tube (no need to get your fingers dirty) and it is a very soft formula so it absorbs into your lips well. Another great product is the lip balm in the white container by Dior. It is a thicker formula and gives a nice protective layer to the lips. I am currently out of that one :-(

And Ta-Da! Beautiful lips for the winter and all seasons. 

XOXO

Kelsey

High Heel Cookies

Besides playing with makeup all day, I also like to bake when I have the time. Winter break has alloted me ample time to get crafty in the kitchen. Today I made high heel sugar cookies!

Tomorrow I am attending an intimate tea party with a good friend of mine, Anna, who has been featured on the blog before. I'm bringing her an assortment of these shoes as a hostess gift. My favorite is the shoe with the edible pearls around the edges! 


I used the basic vegan sugar cookie recipe this time which I found to taste just like the real thing. Sweet but really just a simple dough to cut out shoes. 

• 2.5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 tablespoon organic vanilla, almond, coconut or lemon extract
• 6.5 oz. of vegan butter like earth balance or coconut oil. (I used a mixture of both)

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 


If you are looking for a shoe cookie cutter of your own, I found mine at Wal-Mart. It came in a pack of 3 with a crown and a castle all for $2.95. 


Can't wait to pass along these treats!
XOXO
Kelsey

Fashion Obsession: Scarves

I have always been slightly obsessed with all things lady-like. I even have a stack of articles I've clipped from the weekend style section of the Wall Street Journal about domestic loveliness and etiquette. For some reason, these things help me feel confident to walk into any situation and be able to make a good impression and conduct myself well. It has recently affected my reading list and wardrobe. 

When it comes to reading, my Kindle Fire is currently stocked with biographies of Audrey Hepburn and Emily Post.  As for fashion, I've been stocking up on scarves. Here are few of my favorites. 

This scarf is from H&M, one of my favorite places to pick up a "silk" scarf. H&M has a wide variety of prints, sizes, and weight. I especially like this one because it is so light weight, I can fold it several times over and wear it as a headband. 

This scarf is also from H&M and is the one I wear most often. With its muted color pallet it is wearable with most neutral outfits and pulls in the color of my purse. I usually wear this one like a bib with it looping in the front. 

I got this one and the one I am wearing in the first picture at a consignment shop in Madison, WI called re-threads. This one is label-less but the pink one I'm wearing is Escada and 100% Silk. They were each $10 and around the same price as the H&M finds. I think vintage stores are the perfect place to find scarves because they were popular long ago and you can find some great retro patterns for reasonable prices. 

There are also tons of different, modern ways to wear scarves. (Click here to see Michelle Phan's youtube video with 9 different ways to wear a silk scarf)They are the perfect way to add a pop of color to an outfit and an accessory that a woman of any age would love. Scarves are also great for traveling because you can change an outfit by switching out the scarf  helping to stretch a basic few items over the time you are on your trip (this is what I'm doing while at home for winter break!)

Enjoy wearing scarves this season! 

XOXO

Kelsey