New Year's Eve is such a fun holiday!  You get to dress up, drink champagne, and ring in the new year with your loved ones.  My favorite New Year's Eve ever was definitely when Omar took me to New York and we got right to the front.  It was so magical and even though we dressed to stay warm, most of the time people really go all out for this special occasion.  I love the sparkles, shimmer, and fabulousness that comes with this day.  Here are some of my favorite pieces that you can totally rock this NYE!

xoxo, Michele

Merry Christmas everybody!  I have already drank too much hot coco, unwrapped presents, and am currently stuffing my face with vegetarian Haloopki (it's a family recipe!).  I hope your holidays are going splendidly and I can't wait to see everyone's post later today with what they're wearing.  It's so much fun to see new clothes and makeup products everyone got for Christmas.  I don't see it as a bragging post by any means, I just really like seeing what unique products are out there!  Today I am wearing my current obsession, this burgundy velvet dress from Charlotte Russe.

I had originally purchased this dress to go on a date night to The National Harbor, but then I realized this dress is perfect for Christmas.  I paired it with my knee high black suede boots that Rocio got me last year for Christmas and a big knitted sweater.  I love the way this dress looks too!  It hugs all the right places and the cut outs on the shoulders give it that extra edge. 

I kept my makeup simple today, except for a dark red lip.  Red is the perfect color for Christmas and it complimented my dress perfectly.

Primer- Too Faced Hangover

Foundation- Too Faced Born This Way 

Concealer- Too Faced Born This Way 

Mascara- Benefit They're Real Brown Shade

Blush- Revolution Baked Blush

Eyeshadow- Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette

Highlighter- Anastasia Beverly Hill Sun Dipped 

Setting Spray- Revolution Makeup Setting Spray

I love this look and it fits in perfectly with today's celebrations.  What are you wearing on this festive day?  Let me know down below.

xoxo, Michele

One. Catch up on your favorite shows // I am so behind on so many show! I need to take a day or two to just catch up on Stranger Things, Mind Hunters, The 100, Game of Thrones...... and like four other shows because I really am slacking.

Two. Clean your makeup brushes // I don't do this nearly as much as I should, but this is something that can take a good chunk of time. I can clean them while I watch my shows!

Three. Clean out your closet // I get so many new clothing items for Christmas and this is the perfect time to clean out my closet and make room for new items.

Four. Volunteer // I have always wanted to volunteer with the animal shelters or something during the holidays. I just have no idea where to start, but if you do leave me a comment down below!

Five. Catch up on reading // I haves many books I need to read and let's be honest, there's nothing better than curling up next to the fireplace with a good book in hand.

Six. Photoshoot with family and friends // I feel as though I am always coming up with a reason for a photoshoot, but winter break is the prefect time to revamp your social media profile pics. Plus, I'm always available for a photoshoot if you live in the Washington, D.C. area you can e-mail me to schedule a shoot, I'm hosting a Holiday promotion right now too!


What are some of your plans this holiday break?  Let me know down below!

With the season of shopping rapidly approaching I thought it would be nice to take a trip down memory lane and share some of my all-time favorite gifts that I have ever received from loved ones.  Just to clarify this is not a bragging post by any means.  I am very grateful for every and all gifts I have ever gotten.  I have several loved ones who love to spoil me and who I love to spoil right back!  I just want to share the ones that meant the absolute most to me.

One. The Dollhouse // I can't remember how old I was exactly, but young enough to still play with Barbies.  I came down the stairs one Christmas morning and my rubbed my little eyes to see this gigantic dollhouse right in front me.  I'm a short girl in general, but I couldn't have been more than 3 ft. tall, because this thing was HUGE compared to me.  It was three floors, with multiple rooms, and even completed with furniture.  It was seriously every little girl's Barbie Dream House come true.  The best apart about this though is years later my mom tells the story about how my dad struggled to put it together.  She said he had worked on it all night, cursing under his breath, because it wasn't as easy as it had looked.  This made me love it even more.  Seriously, one of the best gifts ever.

Two. Macbook Pro //  When I got my Macbook Pro I cried.  It was one of those gifts that was so completely unexpected it just warmed my heart to open it.  All I had asked for for Christmas was gift cards to the Apple Store, because I knew between Christmas and my birthday in February I would have a good amount to put down towards a Macbook.  After a busy Christmas morning, my mom tells us to come back to the living room, because we forgot one gift.  Turns out it was for me so I started to open it and to be honest I thought it was a really mean joke when I opened it and saw a white Apple box staring at me.  It wasn't a joke though, my parent's had gotten me my very own Macbook and I've used this bad boy ever since then.  Even though it's almost seven years old, it's still one of my most precious gifts because it was completely unexpected.

Three. New York for New Year's Eve //  I love New York, as you can probably tell by now.  However, something I have always wanted to do was to attend New Year's Eve in New York City.  I just always thought this would be a cool experience, and I was right.  A couple year's ago Omar surprised me by setting up a trip to NYC for New Year's Eve!  It's not like a talked about it forever, I probably only mentioned it once, but he remembered and set up the whole thing.  It was an incredible experience and I'm so happy I can cross it off my bucket list.

Four. Juicy Couture Locket //  Rocio has always been good at buying me gifts, but one of my most cherished gifts she has ever gotten me was for my 21st birthday.  She got me this rose-gold statement bracelet (seen in this blog post) from Juicy Couture (which I am low-key obsessed with) and it turns out the charm dangling from it is a locket.  When you open up the heart locket there is a picture of Rocio and I from freshmen homecoming and let me tell you... it's as awful as it sounds!  I about cried of laughter at how horribly awesome this gift was.  And I was only influenced by the martini's I was also sipping on just a little bit.

Six.  Anything From Gabe //  Gabe and I have been friends for almost twenty years, which means we've exchanged a gift or two throughout the years.  I think it's the story that goes behind the gifts, rather than the gift itself that just warms my heart.  Like last year, he went to three different stores to find a book that I wanted.  A BOOK!  Or the fact that he got me a Mexico soccer jersey with my name on the back and the number jersey we shared in high school.  My favorite one though, is when we were in grade school and he had cut out a picture of a cat and in his second grade handwriting he wrote To: Chelle Frum: Gab-o.  It's so wonderfully mispelled, it was awesome.  So basically, anything Gabe gets for me will always make me smile.

Seven. My First Big-Girl Bike //  Let's be honest, grandparents dominate Christmas.  If there's anyone who a parent loves to spoil more than their own, it's their grandchildren.  My brother and I were no exception to this each year when we would go to our Nanny and Pap-Pap's and saw that the pile of gifts were as high as the tree.  Except one year, after we ate a ton of Christmas cookies and started to play with our new toys, our grandpa brought out two bikes!  I absolutely fell in love with mine.  It was a metallic blue with a green tint to it, shiny black accessories, and green and blue tassels hanging from the side.  I had a bell, a basket, and even a place for my water bottle.  I rode that bike for years and was honestly super upset when I outgrew it.  This has to be one of my favorite gifts ever, because I can still remember my Pap-Pap's face as my brother and I rode in circles outside on Christmas day and every bike ride after that.  

It's gifts like these, the ones that come with memories that make them my absolute favorite.  What are some of your favorite gifts?

xoxo, Michele

xoxo, Michele

The holidays are all about sparkle.  It's appropriate to wear sparkly dresses and knee high boots all season long.  Dressing up for the holidays is always a lot of fun and I love how glamorous everyone looks this time of year.  About a month ago, I worked with Alex from Alexandra Artistry, to create a fall makeup look and we worked together to create this winter glam look too!

To go with this look, I wanted to to go all out with this navy and gold sparkle dress with these neutral knee high boots.  I got this dress forever ago at Plato's Closet so I'm not sure where exactly it's from.  I linked a ton of similar ones down below though!  I love this holiday look because it's very glamorous and perfect for the holiday season!

Alex from Alexandra Artistry created a winter glam look for these pictures. It's easy to recreate and definitely helps complete this look.  To see all of the products that Alex used to create this look view this blog post. What are some of your favorite holiday looks?  Let me know down below.

xoxo, Michele

I wanted to add one more gift guide before you finish up your Christmas shopping.  If you've got a college student you're buying for or someone who is about to head off to college, let me tell you, it's expensive.  Not only is school in general expensive, but it's hard being on your own for the first time and balancing all of your finances.  Help a kid out, but supplying them with things that they may need while being away at college!

One.  Gift Cards // I wanted to start with an easy one, but load them up with Starbucks, Taco Bell, Panera Bread, Chic-Fil-A, or even just grocery store gift cards.  They only want to eat the dinner hall food for so long.

Two.  Keurig // Maybe you want to get them the actual Keurig machine, or just a lot of K-Cups, but they will appreciate it because you'll be saving them time and money in the long run.

Three.  College Apparel // The most tempting thing to do is to buy any and all of the t-shirts with their college name on it.  My brother just got accepted to American University so you know were going to deck him out in a ton of AU stuff.  Plus, they're the most comfy things to wear to class when you don't feel like dressing up.

Four.  Sneakers // You do a lot of walking as a college student.  And like I said, most of the time you throw on a comfy shirt and leggings and you're off.  Make sure you're wearing comfy shoes too.  A pair of really nice sneakers is a great gift for any college student.  Plus, you know they'll get a lot of use out of them!

Five.  Electronics // This one is broad, but it's a must!  Everything form a new laptop or a Bluetooth speaker would be a great gift!  College kids work hard, but they play hard too... with Netflix. Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, and Google Home or Amazon Alexa would complete any college kids dorm room!

What else should I add to this list?  Let me know by commenting down below.

xoxo, Michele

Winter is such a magical time.  Especially with all of the holiday parties.  I worked with Alex Patrick of Alexandra Artistry again to bring a fantastic winter look to life for this post.  This look is perfect for when you're out to dinner with the family then out for drinks with the girls.  I had Alex go over the details of everything she used and I even linked all of her contact info down below.  Definitely contact her if you have a special event coming up or just need a new glam look for the seasons!

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into the beauty industry.

I have always struggled with acne, so naturally, at a young age, I learned how to utilize makeup to cover up my condition.  I always loved reading magazines to find the latest makeup tricks and trends.  I was struggling with staying focused in college and started taking art classes to explore my artistic side, at the same time landing a receptionist job at Frizzles Salon in Old Town Alexandria.  I was always fascinated with art and I always knew that art was a passion of mine.  I found that makeup is just like painting a picture.  Through social media, I found this whole community of people in the beauty industry and it inspired me to get serious about my artistic skills.  My peers are Frizzles also provide me with the positive reinforcement that I had the talent to succeed in makeup artistry.  In January 2017, I started freelancing part-time and never looked back.

Stocking suffers pretty much stay the same each year.  Anything mini, candy, even electronics can all be put into a stocking.  So instead of just listing some of the most common things, I wanted to put a twist on it!  Let's do all of the simple stocking suffers but make them more interesting.  Fun things that people wouldn't usually buy for themselves.

One. Candy //  This is an obvious one, but instead of buying a pack of M&M's at the store, let's buy some more unique candies.  Reptar Bars have made a comeback and although they're being sold online for over $10, I was lucky enough to find them in North Carolina for $3 each.  Godiva has a great deal where you can get a ton of wrapped chocolates in a tin for only $12 so check out your local Godiva.  Sugarfina has a wide variety of gummies and chocolates, plus it's ascetically pleasing.  Other local candy stores have unique truffle boxes that make for a great stocking stuffers.

Two. Travel Products //  This kind of goes hand in hand with getting someone beauty supplies, but make it mini!  Guys and girls can appreciate this, because everyone travels and it's awesome when you can pack the travel version of your most used products versus a full sized bottle.  Sephora and Ulta also have a great miniature sized products at the check out line so make sure you stock up on those!

Three. Camera Accessories //  This is a unique one, because they're inexpensive and can be really fun.  If someone has a Instax Mini Polaroid Camera there are a lot of accessories such as film, selfie mirror, and color changing lenses that can be fun to play with.  Don't forget the film!  Urban Outfitters and Amazon has some very unique film packs out there.  For the smartphones there are fish eye lens, phone rings, and even selfie mirror lights.  These gifts are great because they're fun, cheap, and will get some use out of them before they break or get lost.

Four. Face Mask //  Guys and girls love this one.  There are some really inexpensive ones and then there are really high ends ones.  I love how the guys in my group of friends (including my boyfriend) love a good face mask.

Five. Gift Cards //  I mentioned this one last year too, but lets be honest- it's an oldie, but a goodie.

Six. Desk Accessories //  This is a a perfect stocking stuffer, because they're small!  Things like stickers, pens, colored pencils and even mini notebooks go a long way.  If you have someone who is obsessed with their agenda like I am, they'll love a back of agenda stickers to keep them on track.

Seven. Unique Gadgets //  Your best option is to go to Tilly's, Forever 21, Francesca's, or any other store that you may like, and search for gifts under $25.  A ton of unique things will pop up like phone chargers, car accessories, notebooks and so much more.  You know the person you're shopping for and what they'll like.

Any other ideas for stocking stuffers?  Let me know by leaving me a comment! 

xoxo, Michele