Welcome and Blogger Tag!

Hello beauty lovers! (or just friends and family that get suckered into reading this blog to soothe my ego haha)

Here's some background for those who may have no idea who I am and what I'm all about.

My name is Rachel and I am a twenty something young woman who stumbled into the beauty world of Youtube around the fall of 2011.  I was looking up wedding looks to do for my sister's wedding and it over took my life.  I started with Marlena from MakeupGeek and Emily from Beauty Broadcast and became hooked.  I watch other Youtubers as well but these two are definitely my favorites...for now anyway.  I had been using makeup since I was in middle school and had no idea about the possibilities that makeup was capable of presenting.  I just covered all of the teenage drama that affected my skin and went on my merry way.  Holy cow, how did these women look so stunning all the time?  I was determined to know all about this new world.

On a more personal level, I was not in the best place in my life where self-confidence or self-esteem was concerned. These videos and this new passion brought me back to feeling like a beautiful person again.  A confidence I hadn't ever had before took over and literally changed my life.  I owe such an enormous thank you to those first beauty gurus, because I never thought I could feel this wonderful about myself and they showed me how through something as simple as makeup.  So thank you Marlena and Emily, if you ever read this, for shaking up my entire being.  I am beyond thankful for all you do to inspire and create every day for normal people like me.

After watching what felt like every beauty video known to woman, I began playing and experimenting with my own makeup and discussing makeup with my friends and family and giving out product recommendations.  One of my best friends, who took the picture on my stay in touch page, asked me to do makeup for a photo shoot.  I've never had so much fun.  But even more exciting, I felt like I was doing something that I was meant to do.  After much encouragement and long thought processes I decided to start this blog and see where my love for beauty can take me.  

I figured the best way to start a blog would be with some info about me and then this tag, which I got from Emily over at her blog Beauty Broadcast.  I love reading her blog just as much as I enjoy her videos and I'm so thrilled to begin this new journey. So without further ado, tag away.

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

 My hair is naturally very straight, the only wave it ever gets is from letting it air dry and it sitting on my shoulders haha.  I also happen to have a ton of very fine hair that likes to lay very flat to my head so I do enjoy bumping it or using some teasing to give it a little more umph.

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I have dyed my hair for a very, very long time....around 7 years.  My natural color is a mid-toned ash brown ( I would insert a picture but I truly don't have any which is kind of sad and hilarious at the same time).  My hair color now is more red strawberry blonde shade that I feel not only fits my coloring well but also my personality ;)

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

 I haven't changed the cut of my hair for several years, I like it a lot so no I haven't changed that aspect of the my hair styling.  I also work as a manager in the fast food industry so a lot of the time it is up in a ponytail or a bun but I do try to do fun things with it some that I keep it interesting haha.  However, I do enjoy changing my hairstyles quite a lot when I don't have to be at work because I am allowed more freedom.  I love curling my hair and wearing it in fun styles that I learn from Youtube!

 

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

 Nail polish is my favorite beauty product ever and I own entirely too many to go to the salon very often.  I do very much enjoy pedicures though, they just aren't the same at home.

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

As I mentioned in the last question, I own entirely too many nail polishes and I work in fast food which is really hard an your manicures.  I love to change up the colors and designs on my nails so I have to say almost daily am I doing something to my nails.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?

I don't think that my toes have been polish-less for more than a day or two in over a few years, so no matter the season, my toes are done haha.

 

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup?

It really depends on my time constraints and what I'm doing that day. At the most, I would say probably a half an hour for my normal routine, longer if I'm playing with new products or colors.  However, I can slap on some tinted moisturizer and mascara and be on the move in three seconds haha.

 

8. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

I have always done my face first.  Probably because growing up, I watched my mom and cousin do this in their routine.  I also tend to use very subtle eye colors that are mostly neutral to play on the color of my eyes so fall out isn't a huge thing for me to deal with because they kind of blend away pretty seamlessly.

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

I don't have a ginormous makeup collection but I have more products than I believe a typical woman my age does.  I'm more recently finding myself buying things to test out and so my collection is starting to grow.

 

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

I love false lashes but I don't wear them as often as I would like because I of where I work, I don't have time to touch them up if one tries to come loose and especially with summer coming up, I try to keep the extras off of my face because it gets so stinking hot.

 

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Not every day, for instance as I type this I have not a single swipe of makeup on, however, for most days, I usually at least have mascara on, and those are only the days where I have to be up at 4 am haha.  If I go into work later than 7 am or I'm off all day, I usually have a full face on.

 

12. Do you wear makeup when you're home alone or with family?

 Most of the time yes, because that's my time to relax and play with my makeup so I do very much enjoy wearing makeup around the house.

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Yes, as much as I love makeup I just can't seem to get much on my face when I'm half asleep at 4 am on the days that I open.   I also believe that I'm beautiful without the makeup too which is an important key for me. Makeup doesn't make a person beautiful.  You make you beautiful and makeup is there to accentuate or play up certain features.

 

14. How many high-end products do you have?

I have very few high end products, I can list them that's how few there are haha.  Even though I love high end products and wish I could have more, I know that going out and buying them all the time isn't practical for me right now in my life.  I do have the Urban Decay Vice palette and it was a gift and I adore it.  Definitely my favorite of the high end things that I do own. 

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you're getting dressed?

 Well most days I go to work and have a uniform so no, I don't have enough options to feel the need to plan ahead.  On my days off I just throw on whatever I'm feeling like wearing, usually jeans and a tshirt.

16. How often do you change your handbag?

Not very often, my bag is from Thirty One and its a good size, not huge but not too small.  I have to go through it a lot and take out all of the crap that clutters it haha.

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

I usually wake up at 6 if I go into work after 7 am.  If it's anytime before that I wake up about an hour before I have to be a work.  If I'm off work, I can usually sleep in to about 7 am but usually not any later, I'm just a morning person.  Going to sleep depends a lot on when I woke up but it's almost always before 11 pm.  I love me some sleep haha.

 

18. How often or when do you workout?

I don't work out hardly ever, which I should definitely change especially since I have a membership to a local gym haha. However, I prefer to work out in the morning and get it over with haha but with my changing schedule that doesn't really work out all the time and by the end of being on my feet for 8 hours I don't really have the desire to go to the gym.  I really enjoy Zumba when I do workout though and I would really like to start doing some yoga and regain some flexibility from my cheerleading days.

 

19. Left handed or right handed?

Lefty!

 

20. How tall are you?

 My boyfriend refuses to believe me but I'm 5'3" he, who is 6'4", for some reason thinks I'm taller than that haha.

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

I took four years of French in high school and have been to Paris once and I basically have retained none of it.  Hopefully Mademoiselle Holmes will never see this, she would be soo disappointed haha.

 

22. How many pets do you have?

I have two wonderful little dogs whom I love as if they were my children.  A Yorkie named Daisy and a Shorkie (Shih Tzu - Yorkie mix) named Parker, both my little girls.

23. How often are you on Blogger?

I love to read other blogs so I think probably everyday.

 

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

I do read some comments on other people's blogs but I'm sure to read comments on my own.

 

25. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

I do write down products that I would like to try and sometimes I even go so far as to pin them on my makeup wishlist board on Pinterest.

 

26. How did you come up with your blog name?

It's my name, Rachel Louise

 

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

Well currently I'm using my phone, an HTC Vivid, or my web cam.

 

28. How often do you clean your house?

I clean my room probably once a week on a day off but I like to keep it decently clean because it's a pretty small space.

 

29. What's your favorite color?

PURPLE!!! All shades haha

 

30. Do you swear?

 Way more than I should according to my mother ;)

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

I am going to go to lunch with my boyfriend and hangout with him until we go to my little brothers final high school choir concert this evening.

So there you have it, thank you so much for stopping by and checking this out!

SOO much love to you! 

Rachel