FOTD show & tell bareMinerals peaches & plums (using the May Year of Beauty color)

this is probably my last show & tell video until i get back from vacation... but i couldn't skip my Thursday Bare Escentuals look!

unfortunately, i will have to skip next week's BE look since i won't be in town and won't be bringing any BE makeup with me on vacation. however, the 31st is the last Thursday of the month so i'll be back with another look.

i have a lot to do tomorrow so i'll be uploading a video i've already pre-recorded... i have laundry and packing to do... i also have lunch plans with a couple of friends. i also hope i will kick this sore throat that reared its ugly head a couple of days ago. i've already take Tylenol Cold, Tylenol PM, and Zicam. i don't want to bring this with me on vacation! right now, my throat (only on the left side) doesn't hurt as much as it did this morning... i'm not coughing either. i know that when it started hurting my mouth was open and felt cotton mouth when i woke up. it's been lingering ever since. i hope it doesnt turn into a full-blown cold or flu because that would just SUCK! okay, i'm outa here... i'll see y'all tomorrow! xoxo Kathleen

quick EOTD show & tell featuring Smashbox Beauty Exposed palette

i'm starting a new type of video to my channel where i only show you what i've done with my eyes. the show & tell will start after i have already put on my eyelid primer. if i use a colored base, like in this video, i will show you that as my first step.

i think these types of videos are much easier to film and edit and will be shorter than other videos. i won't have to be redundant with regards to telling you what i already did on my face. so i'll just jump ahead to the eyes. i hope you like these types of videos. once in a while i'll do a full-face makeup especially when i finally finished this Clinique Even Better makeup and move onto another foundation. so in the meantime, the face routine will be the same until all these items are finished. mucho kudos to those who are sticking to the stringent Project X Pan... in a way i am, too. i don't have 10 products and i'm switching it up sometimes... but the only difference is that i'm still buying makeup! when you're on PXP, you can NOT buy any new makeup until you've finished 10 products. i can NOT do that. there is just no way and who am i kidding? i'm obviously not fooling you when i say that i'm not buying any more makeup for such & such time. it's like i have to say that after feeling guilty for buying these things. oh, well! i'm only human! LOL xoxo Kathleen

FOTD show & tell purple smokey eye featuring tarte's envoke the smoke quad

i went a little bit more dramatic in today's look... i think you can easily do that with purples, don't you think?

i'm excited to do this again with a navy blue! there's an awesome navy blue in one of the bareMinerals READY 8.0 palettes. sometimes i have so many ideas that i can't even pick one to start with! well, there are still many more days left in 2012 where i can definitely come up with more looks. xoxo Kathleen

FOTD show & tell cranberry smokey eye using the BUXOM Tango e/s palette

since it's Thursday, you get a show & tell video from me!

i'm not the expert at smokey eyes, but i try to practice whenever i see a dark color that i really love. in this BUXOM e/s palette, i picked "embrace" which is the dark cranberry color. i must confess... i think i didn't do a really good job at blending out the cranberry and the charcoal color... maybe that's why i got a thumbs down? i don't know... but that's okay... i'll just keep on improving, right?

for next week, i need to pull out one of the kits i bought in the past and try to recreate a look from that (or pick something from my box of inspiration). for the following week, i'll be on vacation so i hope to have a BE video pre-recorded to upload on that day. i was almost thisclose to skipping that Thursday and upload an OOTD or FOTD while i'm on vacation, but i really want to stay consistent. most likely, i'll be uploading really short "on the go" vlogs with a hint of beauty. LOL xoxo Kathleen

FOTD show & tell featuring Laura Mercier lingerie eye & cheek palette

in the past, i was always too shy to tweet famous people/popular brands or companies on Twitter because i always feared that i would say something stupid... then i realize they probably have thousands of people tweeting them all day long that they wouldn't even see my tweet. this also applied to beauty YouTubers on Twitter... i've tweeted some and i might get a response back... there are a few people who ALWAYS respond back regardless (like Emily/emilynoel83) and i absolutely love that... i appreciate the acknowledgement! sometimes i wish everyone was like that, but i totally understand they can't sit on Twitter all day long responding to people, especially when it starts to get repetitive... but it would be nice to do so once in a while... i guess they would have to know if you've tweeted them in the past.

anyway, what was i saying... the reason why i brought this up is because i got TWO tweets from different companies based on the videos i created and tweeted. one from Bare Escentuals and one from Laura Mercier! i don't know if BE actually saw my video after they said "can't wait to see it!" and i don't know if Laura Mercier saw mine either, but Laura Mercier responded back, after i had tweeted the link to this look, with "flawless!" (which tells me they did watch it) and retweeted me, too. OMG i was so giddy like a school girl! and that's what i'm talking about. their one-word acknowledgement totally made my day! i even took a screen shot of our exchange so i could keep it forever. LOL

anyway, here is the video of the look i made with Laura Mercier's lingerie palette. it was my first time using it and i'm in love! i would've never bought the palette had i not seen Sandra and Yun talk about it on their channels. i've never bought anything from LM before... but now i have a wishlist! LOL i think this palette was the best introduction to her makeup line. the shadows are so buttery smooth and applied so easily! you really can't go wrong with any eyeshadow combination in this palette. all the colors go so well together! i can't wait to use it again... i'm glad i put it in my makeup basket of the month! i'll probably use it again on Sunday when i meet up with Yun/beautybijouxfashion and Sandra/makeuploverusa again. i'm so excited to meet up with them again. xoxo Kathleen

BUXOM FOTD show & tell featuring the new Color Choreography Eyeshadow 5-shade palette in Swing

this eyeshadow look came out so nice! it was my first time using this palette and i think i did a pretty good job coming up with a look on the fly.

i can't wait to use the Tango palette next week. i love the fall-ish colors. i want it to be Fall already! it's not even Summer yet and i already want it to be cold again.

sometimes i feel rushed when i do a video like this because i worry that i'm going to have 1) a huge file to import into iMovie and 2) i'm going to spend hours editing. well, i don't think i've ever spent more than an hour editing, but then again, if i added more bells & whistles to my videos, i can see it taking more than an hour or two. anyway, when i'm not filming and just putting on makeup, i feel like i'm a lot more careful with my makeup application. when i'm filming, i feel like i'm put on the spot and all eyes are on me... even though i'm all by myself. doesn't that sound weird? i guess i'm still not 100% comfortable showing others how i put makeup on myself. i'd rather talk about it than show how i do it... yet i'm so excited to do these Thursday videos!

i really like BUXOM's first attempt into pressed eyeshadows. between the READY eyeshadows and this one, i prefer the READY ones more. BUXOM already dipped into the eyeshadow realm with their cream eyeshadows and i currently only have it in "mutt" but i'm expecting 3 more (which i already did receive today and i'll record the unboxing tomorrow). i wonder if they'll release cream eyeshadows in their bareMinerals line... then again, there are lots of rumors of new products that will be debuting on QVC on May 18th (when Leslie Blodgett returns after a long haitus).

anyway, i hope you like the look. i hope i can come up with a different look using the same palette. i already know which palette i want to get next... and you'll just have to wait and see what it is. xoxo Kathleen

birthday party OOTD & FOTD

i really need to figure out how to do an outfit of the day in proper lighting so you can see my clothes (and not my dusty mirror) and my face of the day, too.

if i aim my iPhone at myself so that i'm looking at myself in the phone, i feel like the phone is too shaky and i find myself out of frame all the time. i should just use my video camera but there is not a lot of room behind my makeup table and i find myself backing up against the closet door. i know i can reposition my camera, but i don't want the background to be so busy. i'll figure it out. xoxo Kathleen

on the go: FOTD, OOTD, a haul from Dillard's, Bath & Body Works, Bare Escentuals, and many thanks

these car vlogs are so much fun to do, but when you're talking to yourself, in your car, i sometimes get tongue-tied and repeat myself! LOL

i need to wrap the birthday present and also check to see when the party is. we're going to the Science museum. i don't think i've been to the one here before. i've been to the Houston Science museum many, many times when i was younger.

so i still didn't get my haircut... somedays i like it long and straight and then somedays i just want to cut it all off. i just want to grow out my bangs! when i comb my bangs down straight, it goes past my nose, but when i sweep them to the side, they are still too short to tuck behind my ears. i think i'll cut my hair before our vacation in May.

i hope you all had a great end of the week. i'll be back tomorrow! xoxo Kathleen

FOTD show & tell featuring bareMinerals rose gold high shine eyecolor

i took about 3 hours to film, import, and edit both videos today. this didn't even include exporting the videos prior to upload. well, i took a short break in between to FaceTime with my youngest sister and 9-month old niece.

i don't know why it took this long to use these high shine eyecolors! they are so pretty! i remember walking into the boutique to see them and one of the girls showed me how she applied them and i was amazed at how her eyeshadow looked. i took the easy way out in this video and only used one color, but i will use two or more in a future video. i picked up all the brochures that were displayed with these eyecolors because i knew that i would need some inspiration.

these high shine eyecolors have a LOT of fallout! as i was watching the video back while i was editing, i could see that they were all over my eyelashes and then they fell on my lower lash line, too. it wasn't difficult to remove, but fallout is really not a pretty sight. it's a good thing this color wasn't so dark otherwise it would look like i got punched in the face! LOL i hope you like today's look! xoxo Kathleen

on the go: FOTD, Buc-ee's, and picking up the Boo

this video was fun to make and almost a little intimidating! LOL i've never filmed inside a store before since i started making videos this time around...

i really wanted to take you into a Texas store and what better store than Buc-ee's! there are smaller locations than this one, but i wanted to show you the biggest one that attracts the most people. it's a popular stopover for folks who are travelling between Dallas and Houston and any town in between. it's located in Madisonville, which always gets a kick out of me because my dog's name is part of the town's name.

this was also the first time i ever did a voice-over in a video! i didn't know how anyone else did it so i just experimented it. the microphone from my iMac made me sound like i was in a tunnel. then i realized that my webcam was still plugged in (and the webcam has a microphone, too) and after i unplugged it and recorded my voice again, there was no change. after about 7 attempts, i decided to pull out my iPhone earbuds from my purse and use that. and VOILA, it worked! i had to rerecord my voice two more times because i was speaking too close to the microphone. once i got it to sound correctly, that last try is the one you hear in the video. i might get a USB microphone from Fry's so i can just leave it on my desk... but now i know how to do a proper voice-over!

i mentioned this in the car vlog when i took the dog to the kennel the first time and when we picked her up and took her home, she did bark a little and some of her voice was gone... it sounds so funny! she just has to bark when there is someone outside. at least she's good at alerting us when there is someone walking in front of the house. then for the rest of the day, she passed out. xoxo Kathleen

FOTD & OOTD April 22nd

i filmed this at my parents' house, in my youngest sister's bathroom. i thought it would be nice to show you what i had on today because i quite liked the outfit i put together!

it was not as cool outside as it was the day before but i still wore my white cardigan which is like a million years old from The Gap. i have a black one just like it and i think the dog ripped a hole in it. anyway, i really liked the tank top, and honestly, i almost thought it was "grandma-like" because of the pattern, but it isn't. LOL i don't have many tank tops like these because i tend to gravitate to solids and stripes. at least i was able to make it work! otherwise, it would've probably sat in my closet with the tags on. (i have a lot of clothes still with their tags... how sad!) ugh... looking at this video, i desperately need a haircut! xoxo Kathleen

FOTD show & tell teal blue & grey eyes with peachy lips & cheeks

it was totally on a whim to put this eye look together. i needed to use the April shadow from my Year of BE collection and it was a soft, silvery blue, and i decided to pair it with a grey shadow. totally fall colors, but i was just in the mood! i think it came out really nicely...

for the next Thursday video, i think i'll include my foundation routine using my realTechniques brushes, like the multi-task brush and the buffing brush, because it has been requested, and also because i have been leaving out the foundation part of my makeup routine before i start recording. xoxo Kathleen

on the go: OOTD & FOTD

this video was a lot of fun to make! i wedged my iPhone into the nook where you see your gas meter, speedometer, and i was able to make a car vlog! i'm calling them "on to go" videos. i think i'm going to do more of these because they're quick and easy and i don't have to edit them.

i would love to get an attachment for the iPhone that i can stick on the dashboard or the windshield so that i can angle it better. putting the phone in this nook are is really not flattering at all! LOL i hope you enjoyed this type of video. xoxo Kathleen

OOTD/FOTD & a lipstick haul PLUS i met up with my YT girlfriends again!

yet another fun day with my new girlfriends! i met up with both Yun/beautybijouxfashion and Sandra/sandrawaltersusa today at the mall and holy moly, we talked for nearly 5 hours! we didn't close the mall this time (we came close) but we had a lot of fun catching up and getting to know each other even more. this is what makes making videos on YouTube so much fun - meeting such great ladies like Yun and Sandra. i'm so thankful that they live close enough to me so we can meet up from time to time.

we met up at noon and then chatted while walking towards a restaurant in Nordstrom for lunch. then we chatted some more and after that, we walked around the mall and hit up Sephora, MAC, and Neiman's. before today, i never went into Neiman's unless i was just walking through if i parked near by. today, we went to the Chanel counter, Dior, and Bobbi Brown. wow! i never touched any of these brands before so i was in AWE because i was actually holding these products in my hands instead of just learning about them on YouTube. i already know what i want when i'm ready to try out a new brand: Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Mirifique (black w/ shimmer) and Ebloui (burgundy w/ shimmer). OMG both Yun and Sandra bought it for themselves and i wish i did, too! but i held back because i know they're permanent and i know i can get them another time... but wow, i so wanted to bring home Mirifique. the Chanel MUA put it on the upper lashline on both Yun and Sandra and it just kicked their eyeshadow look up a big notch. it was just so pretty! i just couldn't justify paying $36 for one cream/gel eyeshadow... however, i did spend just as much on 3 items at Bare Escentuals.

at our mall, the Bare Escentuals store moved and now it's called bareMinerals. i thought that was a little weird and had no idea they were going to rename their stores. i finally bought the red lipcolor Strength in their Pretty Amazing line, another 100% natural mineral lipstick in Red Zin, and the charity eyecolor in Invincible. i also exchanged 18 more eyeshadow empties at MAC and got 3 lipsticks: See Sheer, Amorous, and Creme In Your Coffee and i'm so happy with these colors! i think See Sheer is my favorite out of the three, but i'm pleasantly pleased with my MAC lipstick collection. as i said in the video, once i have exchanged all my empties, i will not be buying anymore MAC. not because i don't like it anymore, but because i have WAY too much and i just need to use what i have. it'll probably take me years to make any kind of dent in my MAC eyeshadows.

we took a break during our shopping spree and got some frozen yogurt (me) and shakes (Yun and Sandra) and talked some more. i felt that there was just no awkward moments. i think the fact that we watch each other every single day on YouTube it helps take away those awkward silences because on YouTube you subscribe to those you like to watch because of what they say and how they say it. Sandra said she felt like she was meeting movie stars and i found that so sweet and funny. i was just happy to meet new people who i call my friends now because they can totally appreciate how enthusiastic we can get when it comes to talking about YouTube and beauty. i think i like YouTube more than Twitter or any other text-based social network because you just get that extra closeness of the person you're watching. i don't know if that makes any sense, but it make sense to me. it also helps that these girls are so nice and sweet and actually interact with you. some of the more popular YouTubers just don't have the energy or the time to respond to comments. i mean when you get that big, you can't respond to every single comment, but it's worth a try, i think.

anyway, i've rambled on enough... i'm currently watching all these QVC episodes that somehow my DVR picked up. i'll be seeing you tomorrow! xoxo Kathleen

date night OOTN & FOTD

so for date night, the hubby won free tickets to see La Cage Aux Folles. i had never seen the movie The Birdcage, so i was curious to see this musical and it was just nice to do something like this with my husband. we hardly do things like these because we're such lazy bums and we just love to stay at home and relax.

before we left for the theater, i filmed a face of the day and outfit of the day because i quite liked how my makeup looked. i couldn't fall asleep after we got back home so i edited and uploaded it around 2am! so i hope you enjoyed this bonus video. xoxo Kathleen

bareMinerals FOTD show & tell Bare Luxury A-D #2 kit Inspiration is Everywhere

i got this kit 2 days ago and i finally got to tear right into it! i was MOST excited about the Marvelous Moxie lip glosses... i call them the tamer plumping version of the BUXOM lip glosses. i can't believe i'm still going to get 4 more glosses with this series of kits!

right when i opened the kit, i almost thought this was the Return to Radiance kit that comes with the READY blush and the foundation primer... but i was still pleasantly pleased because it came with the glosses... and the round the clock waterproof eyeliners with the new cap! hearing that "pop" when you take off the cap is music to my ears! i've mentioned this before either in a blog post or in a video that 3 of my 6 round the clock waterproof eyeliners dried out and that they were going to fix the cap issue and i was really happy that they did! i hate wasting products! i wonder if i sharpen the dried out liners enough to get to product that wasn't dried out... like the product towards the middle of the container? i'm curious enough to try!

i just checked my auto-delivery shipments from QVC and the next one is in May and it's the Mally Defend Your Beauty collection. then i get another tarte kit -and- the 3rd bareMinerals Bare Luxury kit in July and the next bareMinerals Return to Radiance in August. that means i don't get another READY blush until August! oh, man! LOL so i have plenty of kits coming my way over the next few months... and so why do i still shop for makeup? your guess is as good as mine! LOL i hope you enjoyed this look! i recorded about 29 minutes of footage and had to whittle it down to 17. xoxo Kathleen

The Hunger Games OOTD & FOTD & Ulta haul

whoops! i forgot to blog again yesterday! i don't want to make this a bad habit!

i finally went to see The Hunger Games all by myself. i enjoyed the movie. it had a lot of suspense and action. i didn't realize i was so tense throughout the entire movie that when i walked out, i couldn't walk! my legs were so stiff! it was so painful to move! LOL i do need to read the book itself as i only listened to it via audio. i know i missed a bunch of stuff that didn't show up in the movie and couldn't quite understand some of the stuff that did happen in the movie. i should know by now that i can't pay attention to audio books. i get so easily distracted that while i think i'm listening, i'm really not and then i'm lost or too lazy to rewind.

i hadn't been out of the house in a while because going out of the house usually means i go shopping so i treated myself to lunch at one of my favorite places and then went shopping at my FAVORITE clothing store ever - LOFT. then i went to Ulta (before i went home) and picked up the rest of the real Techniques brushes that i wanted and a couple Revlon lipsticks and a couple of cream eye shadows. i think i did pretty good at holding back on wanting to buy more. i perused the nail polish section and picked up a few bottles but did not put them in my bag. i really cannot buy anymore nail polishes because i have every color that i need. my collection is utterly ridiculous.

anyway, i enjoyed my day and i also received the rest of my packages that were already coming to me in April. i plan on not buying any more makeup until i go on vacation in May. i think i can do it. do makeup brands come out with summer collections or just spring? either way, i am going to try my best not to buy anything until i go on vacation in May and even then, i might not pick up anything new because i don't think we'll be going shopping much. i just plan on relaxing by the lake, taking in the sites, and eating lots of good food... like you should do on vacation. xoxo Kathleen

what's in my stash? NARS cosmetics (and a FOTD using NARS)

i have a tiny collection of NARS cosmetics in my collection. as much as i would love to own one of their blushes (like Douceur), i am holding back on this brand during my "no buy 2012." in fact, i most likely won't buy anything more from NARS because it's a brand that i can't seem to get into. maybe it's the price point. most likely, it is the price point. i could actually do without all my NARS products - EXCEPT - for the smudge-proof eyeshadow primer. OMG you have to have it. it's such an awesome primer for your eyelids.

i do have oily eyelids and even when i use the NARS smudge-proof eyeshadow primer, my eyeshadow still creases on me... BUT my eyeshadow lasts LONGER with this primer. i can't tell you how long it lasts because i don't wear makeup for very long. when i'm not going out of the house, i only wear makeup when i film my videos and then i quickly take it off after i get back home from picking up my husband from work. that's probably about 4-5 hours, give or take. there could be slight fading in the inner corner, but no creasing on the rest of the eye. i give that an A in my book. i don't think you would go wrong owning this in your collection.

other than that, i love the eyeshadow palettes - the shadows go on very smoothly and are very pigmented. i've not used the Laguna bronzer as a bronzer but as an eyeshadow and it's a very nice color to wear on the eyes as well. i only tried the multiple in Orgasm during this video so i can't tell you how it wears on me because i actually put it on top of my blush instead of underneath. i might try it again in a future video. on a side note, i'm so close to 200 subscribers i can almost taste it! xoxo Kathleen

what's in my stash? MAC face products (not foundation)

i'm really enjoying these trips down memory lane when i do these "what's in my stash" videos... i've been so engrossed in my tarte Amazonian clay blushes and Milani baked blushes that i have forgotten about my beloved MAC blushes!

i need to rotate thru my blushes a lot more... i have my tarte and Milani on my makeup table but i don't want to store them in my white cubes because i don't want to forget about them. oh, the woes of a makeup collector! sometimes i wish my collection was like 1/20th this size...

i also tried to record another video this afternoon to elaborate on my no buy 2012 plan, but it went on too long and it would not be interesting at all to watch. so i figure it would be better to just expand on it in a blog post. i just feel that if i share my plan with you, it will help me stick to it better... even though, i do have momentary lapse of reasoning (is that the correct word?) and fall off the wagon again. i want all the pretty things! LOL it'll be coming up soon... enjoy your weekend! xoxo Kathleen

bareMinerals FOTD show & tell soft pinks & brown eyes

i decided during the video that i will be making these Bare Escentuals look videos on Thursdays. i might do them more than once a week, but for certain, i will be making them on Thursdays.

i was very happy to find the perfect color for my eyebrows! all it took was a bit of digging in my collection. the color is "serenity" and i got it with the Sea Yourself kit from QVC that i got back in late 2008 or sometime in 2009. i made a video on it on my old channel, but i can't recall the date.

my goal with these weekly videos is to use all my BE shadows at least once. it sounds crazy, but i have so many shadows that aren't even opened yet... today alone, i had to open up 2 shadows for the look! i haven't been keeping track of the shadows i've already used this year (except in the description box) so you might see duplicates pop up now and then. i just hope i'm able to use them all because some of the older shadows didn't come with sifters so they're already open and jammed pack with shadow. thankfully, i have never dropped them on the floor! that would make me cry!

so i hope you tune in every Thursday for a new eye look from BE. i will do other eye looks from other brands on the other days of the week, but Thursdays are reserved for Bare Escentuals. xoxo Kathleen