I know it’s been over 3 months since I last blogged, but we have a lot of catching up to do!  Because I despise long posts I’ll try to give you a quick recap in 50 words or less.  I’m still working full time, going to school at night for Fashion Design (got 4.0 last semester), Turned 30 (had a minor breakdown), still single (guys can be total jerks and it gets worse with age!) and oh yeah! I have the chance to go to the Project Runway finale and compete for $5000!! Ok that’s 55 words but whose counting?! I’m sure at this point you would like me to elaborate on my last point, which was strategically placed.  Therefore, because I aim to please I will oblige your request!

I was selected as a finalist for a contest Aquafina ‘PURE Challenge’ for a fashion design sketch I submitted.  I will have the chance to compete for $5000 and a year supply of Aquafina Water at New York Fashion Week!!  10 finalists were selected and the top 4 will have the opportunity to compete at the Project Runway finale in a live taping! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

And to think I almost trashed the sketch that was selected!  Check out the tea when you read the rest….

The sketch that landed me in the top 10 was initially my least favorite sketch.  I actually really hated it at first.   I created it on the night my friend’s father passed away.  At the time I was extremely sad for her, feeling extremely vulnerable and emotional and honestly wasn’t in the mood to sketch at all.  However, I attempted to be diligent in submitting a sketch a day during the submission period of the contest and decided to get to work.  While I was sketching I was extremely frantic and discombobulated to the point I was cried while I sketched.  I wasn’t concerned about making the sketch perfectly.  I wasn’t worried about using all the techniques I learned in school to make a flawlessly executed textbook sketch.  I just let go.  It was extremely hard to do and in the midst of creating my sketch I ripped it out my book and almost started crumbling up the paper.  However, my best friend convinced me to keep it and submit it.  (THANK GOD SHE DID!!)

I labeled it ‘I am Pure Transparency‘ because it has a double meaning for me. On the surface the dress has a skirt that is see through and transparent.  However, the design also represents my transparency as a designer and my willingness to let go with this sketch.  I included the yellow halo on the top of the design at the last minute as a means to thank my friend’s dad for inspiring on that particular night. I also added yellow highlights within to represent the light that we all have within us to shine and inspire others.  For these reasons, this sketch means that much more to me and it’s now my favorite!

Here’s where I need your help!

1.     Use the link below to like the Aquafina page.  (You have to do this from the desktop version of FB.  You can’t do it from the Mobile Version.

http://www.facebook.com/aquafina/app_180054292569?ref=ts

2.     Once you like the Aquafina Facebook page you should be directed to the ‘Pure Challenge’ or there should be an option at the tope to select the Pure Challenge. (If you select the link above after liking the Aquafina page it should take you right there.) 

3.       Find my sketch that you see below (Under Carmen Green) and Vote!!

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE YEARS!! YOU GUYS ROCK!! (P.S. I promise to start blogging on a more regular basis as well. )

Check out the latest pink lip looks when you read the rest…

Apparently, my girl Mikele wasn’t up to taking a picture of herself again so I had to find this random girl on the internet with Mikele’s selection of the day. (Smile)

I have on Wet N’ Wild’s “Just Peachy” lipstick coupled with “Pink Parfait” lip gloss by Mary Kay. I love Wet N’ Wild Lipsticks because they are available in so many colors, can be found in most drugs stores and they are super cheap!!   They cost about $2 in most drug stores.

Mikele selected Mehr by MAC Cosmetics for her look/non-look today.

In other news, since I’m suffering from insomnia I decided to work on my next DIY project; an army fatigue peplum blazer. Military camouflage prints are totally hot for the fall and so are peplums. I thought it would be a cool idea to attempt to make something incorporating both trends. I haven’t completed it yet, but I thought I would share anyway…What do you think?!

Ok loves…I’m off to bed. All of a sudden I’m tired and have to get up in two hours. #ShootMe Don’t forget to vote on your favorite pink lip from today and past days as well. Until next time…

I’m on the plane right night sitting behind an abnormally tall woman and there is a bad ass kid that I would love to feed hot sauce and mayonnaise sitting behind me kicking my chair ! Needless to say, I’m typing this post in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. However, I figure even though I can’t publish this post before I get off the plane I would have it all done and ready by the time I regain internet access. Besides the second I get in my house I’m completely crashing!

I had a blast in Cabo (Mexico) and had even more fun trying to figure out how to incorporate pink into each outfit. I will definitely share more pics later as soon as I get them loaded onto my computer. In the meantime, check out the latest pink lip selections from me and my girl Mikele of Press To Blend Blog when you read the rest…

On the last day of my trip I decided wear all pink. (See pic below) I have on MAC’s Currant lip pencil (which is like a deep purple) and Girl About Town which I lust after on a regular basis. I designed the bathingsuit pictured with my friend Shawn. Actually all the swimwear for this trip was custommade. The more I talk about this the more I want to share pics. I promise they are coming soon.

Mikele has on Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge lipstick in Spice Pink! I can’t even lie…She is killing it in that pink and I might have to take a trip to the mall today to get it my damn self! Check out her blog for more details on her lipstick.

Check them out when you read the rest.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I have on the Hip N Happy Lip Liner, Lady Gaga Lipstick, and Oyster Girl lipgloss all by MAC Cosmetics.

Mikele has on a Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in Pink Truffle. Check out the details of her lip color on her blog

You can probably guess why I haven’t posted anything in the last few days. However, since my girl Mikele called me out on her blog (even though she knows good and damn well I’m on vacation), I’m going to play a little catchup and post TWO looks for you guys to vote on.

Check them out when you read the rest…

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I kept it simple on Day 3 with this lip color from MAC Cosmetics.  It’s called Costa Chic and it’s a pretty coral pink.(In picture on the left) It looks like orange in the picture of me but hopefully you can see more pink in the picture of the lipstick. It would work on any skintone.

Mikele has on NYX Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink (MLS02) and MAC Magenta Liner.  Check out her for more dets…

Moving on….

Here is the next set of looks…My apologies but I had to take a random pic off the internet for Mikele’s feature because she was too lazy to take a picture of herself (Smilie)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

This is actually a nighttime look I wore out on the town to a boozecruise and then to the club. I attempted to put some makeup on during the day but folks on the resort started looking at me like I was an idiot for being at the pool in full face. I sort of felt like an idiot too. For my lips I have on MAC Cosmetics’s Embrace Me Hot Pink lip pencil, MAC’s Petal and Peacocks Lipstick (Limited Edition), and MAC’s Dreamy light pink lipgloss.

Mikele’s selection for Day 4 was Tarte LipSurgence natural matte lip tint in color ‘Hope’. Check out her blog for more details.

Okay guys…I have to run back to the beach because my travel partners think I’m totally lame for blogging while I’m on vacation. However, I couldn’t disappointed the two of you that actually read this thing. I promise to have pics from my trip and funny stories when I return back east. Until don’t forget to vote on your favorite Pink Lip from the past few days!! And hello! Try them out yourself!!

Check out our pink selections when you read the rest…

I guess Cover Girl is going head to head today because both Mikele and I pulled some of our favorite Cover Girl pink lip products for today’s challenge.

I’m vampin it out in Cover Girl’s blastlipstick in the color flashy eclatante. I love these lipsticks because they are two colors available and you can wear them individually or together. Today I’m rocking both of the colors to accomplish an ombre lip. (Pink on inside, purple on outside) Ombre hair, ombre lips, ombre is clearly taking over! I also used a dark purple lip pencil from MAC called Currant to increase the contrast between the purple and pink on my lips.

Mikele is wearing a Platinum Pink lipgloss from Cover Girl’s Queen Collection. Make sure to check out her blog for the details!

I’ve missed you so much but this girl has been super busy.  I would love to get into all the updates I know you guys are interested in (the date that I was supposed to go on that never happened, makeup contour tutorial, new DIY projects etc.) but I something WAAAAAY cooler to discuss. AND I need your help!!

I know those of  you who follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter probably saw the picture of all of these pink glosses and lipsticks I posted recently. I know what you’re thinking.  What girl needs to own that much pink lip stuff!! (Raises hand)  The reason I pulled every single pink lipdressing I own is because I’ve been CHALLENGED!! Yes, the queen of challenges has been CHALLENGE!!

This time it’s for a very good cause! Check out the challenge when you read the rest….

If you think I’m a makeup junkie, you’ve obviously never met my girl Mikele of Press to Blend dot com (Check out her blog!) A mutual friend of ours thought it would be a good idea for us to go lip-to-lip (not kissing) for the month of October to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness month. What does that mean?  Basically what that means is Mikele and I will feature a pink lipstick/gloss on our blog every day for the month of October and YOU guys will vote on your favorite look!

I will post a picture of our looks and you will need to vote on your favorite look/lip color. (Only one vote per person is allowed on each post) If I win, Mikele will donate a certain amount of money to breast cancer research and vice versa!

Without further adieu…Here are our first looks..

 Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I have on Snob lipstick and lip gloss by MAC. (My lighthing is off, so here’s a better picture of the lipstick and gloss)

Mikele is wearing Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Liptar.(Check out Mikele’s Blog for more details on this lip color)

In other news, I got my hair tie-dyed yesterday.  LOL  Some people call it ombre but it looks like tye dye to me.   And I’m totally in love with it! What do you think?

Find out how you can view AND purchase the items from the MM MAC Collection when you read the rest….

Yesterday I received an e-mail from MAC informing me that the MM collection was available for sale online. I remember hearing that it would be launched in stores in early Oct but I thought perhaps Jesus was just being his normal miracle worker self and made it available for me in stores early! (Smile) So I called my local store to see if this was the case and the MAC associate said confirmed that it would be available on the 5th of October. However, as I was hanging up she thankfully stopped me and said ‘BUT, we are having a preview event for our VIPs where you can see it a week early if you spend $50 on our product!’ Ok maybe I made up that VIP part…hehehehe

The preview event is only available to a small amount of customers so if your interested call your local MAC ASAP. It also includes getting your full makeup done which is cool especially if you have something to do right after. So I will be going on Friday before I have a night out on the town! They are having previews on Thursday (9/27), Friday (9/28) and Saturday (9/30). All you have to do is call and sign up.

The collection includes include a range of eye shadows, nail lacquers, eyeliners, and lipsticks. It also has some lashes that I’m totally living for so I will be adding them to my collection as well. Prices range from $15-$27. Honestly, all I think I’ll mainly get the lipsticks and lashes because the shadows and powders don’t look like they’ll compliment my skin. WELP! We’ll see on Friday!! Do you think you’ll be getting anything from the collection?

***EXTRA***

I couldn’t resist sharing my progress on the peplum top sewing project I discussed in yesterday’s post! I did most of sewing but my mentor should had to demonstrate a few things for me. I’m learning so much from him and I’m so blessed to have him in my life. (Don’t tell him I said that because he’s so mean!…lol) Check out pics below…

Check out Shawn looking like a proud papa…lol

I’ve been super busy lately and my vacation is only a few weeks away and I have so much to do before then. In addition, my fashion design courses are starting to kick into high gear and I really have to start managing my time between work, school, blogging and my other side projects. At the same time this is a super exciting time for me because I’m finally learning the things I’ve been wanting to learn since starting the program like learning how to sew properly and sketch fashion designs.

Check out the rest of this post for pics of my sketches and my latest sewing project…

Yesterday we learned about proportion and how to design the croquis (sketch people) according to the type of garment you want to sketch. However, all we really did in class was draw skinny naked people. Here are a few of my sketches. You know what’s funny? The most exciting part for me was learning how to draw pink and purple hair!! lol

In other news….

I have a date on Thursday and wanted to look super cute. Peplum is totally in this season and in my mind I’m wearing a peplum top on this date. Lol I love this style because it’s kind to the figure of thick girls like me and hides my heinous midsection. I was totally inspired by this Rebecca Minkoff leather peplum top that Brandy and Tika Sumpter are rocking in this pic. (Tika rocked it better in my opinion) However, I don’t have $350 + tax to spare unfortunately.

I kindly sashayed my way down to Joann’s and purchased this New Look Pattern for $4. I’m going to attempt the make a similar top with the help of mentor Shawn of course. I’m black vinyl/pleather fabric would normally be used on motorcycle or bike seats because I can’t afford real leather. That cost me about $20 because the pattern calls for about 2 yards. I already cut out the pattern and altered it a little because I wanted it longer in the back. So wish me luck!! If it doesn’t turn out disastrous I’ll post pics. In the meantime, I’ll be out shopping for my Plan B date night outfit.

Hope everyone has a good day!!

As most of you know I’m obsessed with footwear. However, as much as I’m obsessed with some hot new shoes, I’m even more obsessed with getting them on sale and for a good price.

Check out my latest shoe purchase PLUS another awesome find that my friend Karla so graciously grabbed for me during her most recent shopping journey when you read the rest….

The first pair of shoes that I’m featuring are by the designer Jeffrey Campbell. JC specializes in creating over the top shoes that serve as the center/statement piece of any outfit. I’ve been stalking these shoes for quite sometime and when I saw a picture of Meagan Good rocking them I was determined to get them; not because her style inspires me but because I thought they were super cute on her. Lol

For a long time I shyed away from purchasing them because I thought they were a little bit too expensive. In most places they retail for about $200 but I found these puppies on Revolve Clothing’s website for $152! (Which may still be pricey for most folks.) However, I found a 15% off coupon on line and paid even less! (Around $132)

I have to admit I’m a little afraid to wear these shoes because the spikes on them could seriously be a deadly weapon. Then again, perhaps a little prick from them will keep some jokers out of my personal space! HA!!

In other news…

Remember I told you about my friend Karla that bought 10 pairs of shoes from Nine West for $70?! Well she hit me up yesterday, asked me for my shoe size and twenty minutes later I had a picture of these lovelies in my inbox!! And guess what? They only $4.50!!!! SCORE!!!! I just love the fact that people think of me when they are in shoe stores. It gives me the warm and fuzzies in the inside…lol. AND if you feel the need to take the lead from my friend Karla on purchasing me some fabulous shoes when you’re out, I promise you I don’t mind. I wear a size 8. Hehehe

What you guys think? Would you risk taking someone’s leg off with those JCs? What’s your latest shoe steal? PLEASE DO SHARE!!