It is finally December and you know what that means? Winter is here! One of my favorite parts of Winter is getting to change up the colors that I use in my makeup. To me, Winter means lots of rich, deeper colors and there is no place that I think works better for those colors than lips. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite Winter lip products with you!
This is a beautiful, high pigment lip color. It is in a rich purple/red color. It isn't too sticky and it lasts well. I find it looks best layered over a similar color lip liner to create a bold lip.
I love using matte liquid lipsticks, especially during busy times like the holidays. This one is incredibly long lasting and doesn't loose any of it's color. It would be perfect for a holiday party or any occasion like that. It is a very deep red color that has plum undertones. Also at $9 it is a steal!
If you are not as bug of a fan of intense red or berry lips, a darker nude color can be perfect. It still gives you a really rich lip color while allowing you to do a more dramatic eye look because it isn't as dramatic.
Why yes, I do blame Zoe Sugg for this lipstick. I bought it ages ago because she was talking about it and it has become not just one of my favorite winter lip colors but one of my all time favorite lip colors. It is matte without being too drying and it is very long lasting. I love red lips but am not a fan of the bright red or orange red colors. I much prefer berry reds or slightly brown toned reds and this is perfect for that. It is also a huge bargain at under $5.
This one isn't matte. Bet you didn't see that coming. It's no secret that I love a good matte lip color. I typically lean towards matte colors because they are longer lasting. However, I have found a glossy color with amazing stay power. Now, I wouldn't get carried away and say it lasts 24 hours like the package says, but it lasts a lot longer than most. I also love that there is a conditioning balm built in. The color Always Blazing also is a very true bright red if you like those colors more than the deeper red colors that I love so much.
Those are 5 of my favorite Winter/Holiday lip colors. I would love to know what some of your favorites are so make sure to leave a comment or tweet me because I am always looking for new ones to try!
One of the hardest things for me while also being one of the things that drives me the craziest when it isn't done, is organization. In some aspects of my life I am so organized it is ridiculous. I can find anything on my computer in less than 10 seconds and there are 1,000 gigs on my hard drive. My room, on the other hand, looks like a tornado went through it and I have been looking for a dvd in here for over a week. I have been taking steps towards organization through all parts of my life recently and there has been one thing that has been helping me with that.
I am using a planner. Now, I have always used planners but this is the first time I have used a planner like this and put this much time into my planner and it is resulting in it being much more useful for me. I use it a lot to plan out my filming and upload schedule as well as my everyday tasks and work schedule.
The planner that I use is the Happy Planner. I LOVE it. It is perfect for what I need and I love that I can take pages in and out of it. This is the exact planner that I use.
Any planners I have used in the past have a horizontal layout with a few lines for each day. While it did work, that layout was just never ideal for me. There are three boxes for each day. They are labeled for morning, afternoon and evening. I'm sure this is great for people who have schedules that are crazy and have lots of meetings or appointments. I use washi tape to make my own labels. Currently since I have a lot of filming and writing to do in advance since I leave for LA so soon my labels are YouTube, Blog and Other. Typically I only use half of my blog box so I will write any overflow things from my other box in there in a different color ink. This is what the layout looks like.
I also decorate my planner to make it a little more fun. If you would be interested in seeing a Plan With Me post, let me know! I think that could be a lot of fun to share how I am using this to truly organize my life!
Hi blog friends. I don't know if any of you are the same age as me but I am 18 years old and am at the point in my life where I am trying to figure out my next step and it is TERRIFYING! I have had a few positive things happen and am looking at applying for something big but trying to figure out what is right for me is hard.
Weather or not you are going the college route, there are a lot of choices to come up at this time. Am I ready to move out? How am I going to make money? Should I move out of state? Should I be going to college? Can I afford college? Can I survive in an expensive city? Just know that you are not alone in this. Me and many others just like me are going through the same thing. I think there are a few questions you should ask yourself before considering any big changes.
1. Is this something I really want? This is the most important. Before you uproute the life you have had for you entire life, make sure you really want it. Ask yourself if the desire to do this is coming from you or an outside source. Only do it if it is what you want.
2. What big changes would this entail? Will you have to move for this? Do you need to have reliable transportation? An apartment? All of these are things you need to figure out before you make your choice.
3. Can I handle these changes? You need to ask yourself if you are ready for all of the changes that come with it. If you don't feel that you can handle cooking and cleaning and doing your own laundry, maybe you aren't ready for something this big.
4. Can you financially support this? If you do not have a job lined up, you probably want to look into that. Even if it is a job that you are looking to uproute your life for, will the job support a life in the place you are living? Do you need to pick up extra work? This is incredibly important. Wanting to do it and feeling you are ready are important, but if you can not financially support it, it doesn't matter.
5. Ask yourself again, are you ready for this? If you are anything like me this is the first huge life choice you have had to make and it will be scary. Make sure you are ready for it. There is no shame in admitting that you aren't ready and waiting a year. In that time you can save up and live at home, assuming that is an option, and give yourself a year to warm up to the idea.
I hope this was helpful to some of you. If you are going through something like this feel free to contact me and we can figure it out together, hehehe. Also, if you have any tips, please leave them in the comments, I know I could use them and I am sure others could too.
It's Music Monday!! Now, for a warning, this week is going to be music heavy because of my trip. Today, though, we are starting with an album review. As many of you know I am a huge Little Mix fan and opened for them this summer. Today they released their second album, Salute. I have already listened to whole CD and it is out of this world. It is an amazing mix of pop and urban that you can't help but dance to. There are also some beautiful, emotional ballads that will make you feel every word that they are singing with them. My favorite songs are Little Me, especially the unplugged version, and Boy.
Make sure you buy it, listen to it, and then let me know what your favorites are! I would love to talk to some people about it. What new music have you been listening to recently? I am always looking for new music both for reviews and myself. Hope your week is going as amazing as mine is. I will see you tomorrow with an update on my trip!
Wow this past week was crazy. Where do I even begin. Maybe I will leave that for another post. One amazing thing that did happen this week was I started working at even more jobs, it's crazy, I know. Because of this, I have been able to buy myself a ticket to something that is one of the most exciting things in my life. If you watch my youtube videos or follow me on twitter you will know that Demi Lovato is one of my biggest idols ever. You also will know how much I love Little Mix. A few months back I bought tickets to see the Neon Lights Tour with Demi Lovato, Little Mix and 5th Harmony. I had presage codes and took the day off from work, yes I understand how crazy that sounds, and ended up with 10th row floor seats!!! Well, my all time favorite song is Believe in Me by Demi and she announced that she was going to be singing it at the soundcheck parties. I have gone back and forth on wanting to get soundcheck tickets since they were released. I love Demi and she has changed my life and to get to be at soundcheck would be a dream com true, but tickets are $75 each, and I would need one for me and my mom since she is coming to the concert with me. I talked to my mom and she said that she would bring me early for soundcheck and I would only have to get one ticket. I worked really hard all week and found other jobs to take and was able to make the money for my ticket, so I bought it!!! She doesn't know it but I am saving to get one for my mom as well because I have made her a big Demi fan and she loves Little Mix. It is looking like that day is going to shape up to be one of the most amazing.
Now for something unrelated. SCHEDULE CHANGE!!
If you read my post a while back with my blogging schedule you will know that I have had problems getting post out everyday. Trust me when I say that is not for lack of trying. Between work and writers block I have been having the hardest time. I decided that I was going to change up my schedule a little bit so that I would have an easier time writing about each topic.
Monday is going to still be music related.
Tuesday is going to be health related posts.
Wednesday is going to be beauty.
Thursday is going to be DIY.
Friday is going to be fashion.
Saturday is going to be random.
Sunday is going to stay a weekly wrap up/reflection.
I hope you will like the new schedule. I took out some of the things that were making my writers block worse and added some that I have been wanting to write about. If you have any suggestions make sure to comment or tweet me @lovefromkelsey. I am still flogging everyday on youtube.com/kelstalks. I had some computer problems so I am having to edit everything tonight and get all of my previous vlogs up now, but I haven't missed a day! Between daily vlogs, daily blog posts, working as a tutor, doing graphic design, working as a nanny, recording, and any other odd jobs I take on, I think it is safe to say I have pushed myself to the max.
Hope you are having a good day!
Well, today has been an utter disaster. I ended up at the doctor as well as the blood lab and radiology. I am hoping to get some answers tomorrow seeing as this specific issue has been causing me pretty horrific pain for 5 days.
But on a better note, something truly earth-shatteringly amazing happened this morning. I was able to buy presale tickets to the Monumentour, which is the Paramore and Fall Out Boy tour. Paramore is one of my all time favorite bands. I have been a fan for about 8 years and everything they have ever put out is on my laptop and phone. I have been trying to see them live since 2005. I was nine years old and had fallen in love with the alternative, punk music genre. I was introduced to Fall Out Boy in 2nd grade by one of the girls in my class. I had never listened to any music like it before and fell in love instantly. It wasn't until I was talking with my mom today that I realized I have actually been a Fall Out Boy fan longer than I have been a Paramore fan. Clearly I love both an incredible amount and getting the chance to see them both together is a dream come true. I almost got to see Fall Out Boy with Panic! At The Disco this year, but I wasn't well enough at the time. Similarly, I was planning on seeing Paramore in Orlando in November but I was less than a week post surgery and although my parents were going to go against all of their parental instincts and drive me three hours away and bring me to the concert in a wheelchair, I was not well enough to go and it almost destroyed me. If having to go through the medical issue I have and the surgeries wasn't enough, now I was missing my chance to see my idols for the first time. It was really hard to accept at the time but I promised myself that the next time Paramore was here, I was going to be well enough to go.
If you have been reading my blog you will know that my most recent surgery didn't work in the way we had hoped so my medical issues are still a problem but that is not going to stop me from finally getting to see the people that have gotten me through some of my hardest times. I use music to cope and Paramore specifically has been there through me in even the darkest of times. I wish I had the money to get meet and greet tickets but because I haven't been working since surgery, it was a struggle to afford even the least expensive tickets there were, but my parents made it happen which I am so thankful for.
I honestly don't care that they are not the best seats. I am going to be there for the concert and it is more than I ever could have dreamed of. I cried for quite a while this morning after I get my tickets because I was overwhelmed by how lucky I was and that I was finally getting to see them.
Honestly, this has gotten me through another rough day of pain and even more painful tests to try to identify the pain, but the whole time I just kept saying to myself "I am seeing Paramore" and it made everything okay.
Sorry today's post is a little mushy, it has just been an emotional day between the tickets and my health. We also started house sitting today so as I speak I am surrounded by 4 dogs plus my dog Maddie. I will make sure to take pictures and post them because they are some of the cutest and sweetest animals I have ever met.
Hope you are having a great day! Wish me luck with my test results. :)
Hello blog friends! Today is the first day of the new chapter of the blog!! I, for one, am so excited!
Today, being Monday, is all about music. Now, I bounced back and and forth between writing about all sorts of things but I landed on a review of a new CD. Okay, before I dig myself so far into the whole of being a stereotypical teenage girl let me explain my choice. I got a new CD and thought about if I should review it on here. So, I decided that I wanted to post what I thought about it.
The CD I am talking about is Midnight Memories by One Direction. Before half of you sigh and click away, I think you should hear me out. Going into this, their third album, I was a tad skeptical. Don't get me wrong, I had a point where I was the biggest One Direction fan that you could come across. I knew about them from the start, I fangirled when Up All Night came out and I was one of the lucky ones to get tickets to the Up All Night tour. Then, however, Take Me Home came along and while most fans heard it and loved it, I heard Up All Night with different lyrics. I felt that it was the same generic pop-manufactured sound that the first album had and it felt lack luster in everything except their ever evident talent. I pulled away from being a fan at this point. I still considered myself a One Direction fan but my allegiance had changed. They were no longer number one in my heart and no longer occupied the space on my walls. Now, maybe it was growing up or maybe it was that I love music with heart but the only songs I was impressed with were the songs written by Ed Sheeran, my all time musical idol.
This brings us to Midnight Memories. Still I consider myself a fan and I wanted to hear what they had to offer. My mom bought it for me while we were out Black Friday shopping and I listened to it on Saturday. I considered this as a sort of last chance for One Direction, they either knock me off my feet or I walk away. I am both happy (and a little sad) to say that they blew me away. Song after song I was loving it with every fiber of my being. At this moment I think my favorite song is You and I (although Story of My Life has been a constant favorite since I first heard it). I love that they kept their pop roots while also taking influence from the indie rock that I love oh so much.
In conclusion I am nothing short of in love with this CD. It has been on repeat all weekend and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.
On another note, if you want a post on my 1D Concert Experience let me know, it would be a blast to look back on that day I shared with my mom and one of my best friends.
Hope you are having an amazing day and I am looking forward to tomorrows post.
Why hello there again blog friends, look at me, blogging two days in a row. Today I wanted to fill you in on one of the most amazing things that has EVER happened to me.
As you may know, I am a massive fan of the UK girl group, Little Mix. They have been very big inspirations to me and I absolutely love their music. Well............back in March/early April they started a competition, Mixers Magnets. It was a contest to get Little Mix to come to your country. Myself along with many other amazing US Mixers fought tirelessly to get the United States to won, and we did! The next stage of the contest came in deciding where Little Mix would visit. There was a list of cities announced and the closest to me was Miami which is about a 5 hour drive. I took part in the first few challenges but the big moment came for me when they announced a cover contest! Being a singer I jumped on this right away. I quickly started rehearsing and working hard to make their song Wings, my own. There was only one small problem, I GOT THE DEADLINE WRONG. I thought that I had another full day to properly film a video but instead I found out at 5pm at my dad's office that the entry was due at 6pm! Luckily there was an old guitar there and I had my laptop. Thinking fast I balanced a few boxes on top of each other as a make-shift tripod for my laptop and sat on top of an exam table to film with the old, lousy guitar. After quick editing and rendering, I got the video in literally 5 minutes before the deadline. Thinking nothing of it, I went home and had dinner and then went on twitter. I didn't know why but my interactions were blowing up. People were tweeting me things like "THEY POSTED ABOUT YOU" and "CONGRATS" and I was incredibly confused. I finally saw one tweet saying something about my cover and almost had a heart attack. I remember running into my parents room and yelling "I THINK I WON BUT I AM NOT SURE" and running back to my room to check. Sure enough, I had won. The girls had watched and picked my cover as their favorite in the country! I was so excited and overwhelmed that I cried for quite a long time. It meant the world to me and gave me the biggest validation as a singer. They even posted my cover on their website.
The Winning Cover
I went on with my normal life not thinking about it more than to make myself happy from the memory. Then, Miami won the contest! My mom was amazing and said she would drive me across the state to see them perform. The concert was on 6/1/12. We have family that live about half way so were were going to leave the night before and stay with them. My dad was going to stay home with our dog. An hour before we were supposed to leave I got a DM on twitter from them asking me if I was coming to the event. I told them that I was and they sent me a message asking me if I could bring my guitar because the girls would like to hear my cover!!!! I got really excited and replied that I could for sure and they asked me to call a phone number. I quickly called and the next thing that happened blew my mind. I was asked if I would open for them the next day in Miami. I feel bad for the person on the other side of the phone. I just kept asking them "Are you serious?" and he started to laugh. The first thing I did was call my dad and tell him. I am pretty sure that he started crying. I wanted to wait until my mom got home so that I could see her face. I also called one of my best friends and told her and then I just started crying while on the phone because I couldn't believe what was happening.
We quickly called my cousins and asked them if they could watch our dog so that my dad could come and then we headed to my cousins house, me, my mom and dad, and our dog Maddie all in the car with our bags. I posted on facebook what was happening and the entire ride to their house I had almost everyone I know calling me asking me about it. The night was a blur and sleep was nonexistent. All I remember is obsessing over how I was going to do my hair.
I set my alarm for 4 am to get up and get ready so that we could be on the road by 7. I was excited and hyper and emotional but there was one thing I wasn't, and that was nervous. We headed out on our way to Miami and I would like to say sorry to my parents because I know I talked the entire car ride. We got lost in a scary section of Miami but we finally made it to the mall where the concert was being held.
When we got there, 4 hours before it started, the line was already huge. I walked to go get in line but my dad went up to the check in table and said to the people "Hi, my daughter is opening today," and the next thing I know the guy that I had talked to on the phone came over. He got us checked in and told me to come back in about 2 hours for sound check. We went into the mall where I bought a very cool Wings inspired necklace from Forever 21 to wear to perform and just walked around until it was time to go back. We went back at 2 and it was time to sound check. I went up on stage in front of the couple thousand people that were already there and started to play and sing for about 20 seconds. Even though it wasn't very long, people started to cheer and if it was possible, I got even more excited. Next I got interviewed by a few people and someone from the radio station until they brought me to the room backstage where we stayed until it was time to perform. We hung out with Little Mix's guitar player Curtis who was as nice as can be. Time seemed to move so slowly while I was waiting. Then they came and gave me a 10 minute warning and told me that after I performed, they would take me to meet the girls. I had been so excited about performing, I had almost forgotten that I was going to get to meet my idols. At this point I took a few deep breaths and got ready to go out and perform. The next thing I knew I was waiting side stage as they introduced me and the place started cheering.
Doing Interviews
Crowd before sound check
Sound check
Curtis, the guitar player
Cool Little Mix Balloom
Ironic box of wings by me while practicing Wings
Backstage with my parents
Me and my mom
The moment that it hit me that I was opening
Very into rehearsing
Little Mix guitar case
I went out on stage and played my cover of Wings that won the contest and let me tell you, there is nothing more terrifying than playing a cover of a song in front of the artist and 5,000 of their biggest fans. I nailed it if I do say so myself. At the end the most amazing thing happened, the entire place started chanting my name. That is the kind of thing I have dreamed about since I was 4 years old and it actually happened.
Amazing sign that someone made for me
Me onstage
After this I got to watch Little Mix perform from the side of the stage and they were amazing. When they finished the person that I had been talking to all day that had told me where to go and what to do told me to come with him, that the girls wanted to meet me. They brought me back into the room I had been in and there they were. I tried my best to stay calm but it was hard. I had made them each hats and I was able to give them to them. The most amazing thing is that the girls knew who I was when I met them. They told me that they loved my cover and loved how I changed it up and I was pretty much speechless. They each gave me a hug and we took pictures and they signed my CD and magazine and it was incredible.
Little Mix performing
Backstage with the girls
I even had a couple of surreal moments during the weekend. Before I performed I had two people to stop me to take a picture because they recognized me and that was pretty amazing. I also had people stop me on the way out when they realized I was the one that sang. The next morning, we had stayed at a hotel, my dad and I went down to the lobby for breakfast. I was tired and too lazy to change out of sweat pants or do my hair and makeup because I knew no one would notice. Well, half way through a few girls came up to me and asked if I was Kelsey that opened for Little Mix!!!! I suddenly wished that I had at least put on some makeup, haha.
It was the most amazing thing ever and then it got more amazing. I received an email on that Monday letting me know that my interviews and performance were going to be made into a My Day, My Life episode for Teen.com!!!! This is a series that I watch and love and that has been done on a lot of my biggest idols and now it was going to be on me. It came out about two weeks later and had almost 20,000 views overnight.
This entire experience has been one of the most amazing things to ever happen to me and I am so thankful to everyone that made it happen especially Little Mix, their management at Columbia Records and most of all my parents for making it all happen. I got to live out my dream and now that I've had a taste of it, I want it even more. I also vlogged my experience so I will make sure to link that at the end of the post along with the Little Mix website post about my cover and the My Day, My Life episode.
I had so much fun getting to relive this while writing this post and I hope you liked it! I think I am going to make sure to post about something music related every Monday and make it Music Mondays.
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