I'm An Unapologetic Fashion and Beauty Blogger, It's Nice To Meet You.

"Above all, remember that the most important thing you can take anywhere is not a Gucci bag or French cut jeans; it's an open mind."

This post has been swirling around my brain for days..almost a month. About a month ago, I won Featured Blogger for the month of January on 20sb-due to many, many of you voting. I joined 20sb almost the day I started this blog, and I met so many of you through it. I love that community and am thankful for the honor, and the WONDERFUL people I meet everyday.

But all the visits from people outside the fashion blogging community got me thinking, and I have to admit that this month I've been self conscious. It's nothing anyone said or did, but here I am, afraid, and I hate that. I've tried, but I couldn't seem to shake the yucky feeling that I was quickly becoming the poster child for "are fashion bloggers worthy, talented, etc"...and it kind of left me questioning where I fit in as a fashion blogger in a world of personal bloggers.

In conversations with friends lately about what my true passions in life are, not just the blog, but in REAL LIFE, people, there is no denying it. Fashion. Beauty. And that's not something I want to be uncertain or embarrassed of, no matter what.

Maybe this infamous article in the Guardian reignited my fire. I don't know. What I do know? The day I was hired as a MAC make-up artist was one of the best days of my life, and this is just a little of my story. I had dreamt about being a MAC artist for years, and after working for Lancome and Estee Lauder, I landed the chance to "audition." First, there was a group interview, and then a round of cuts. Then the rest of us left had to do make-up on a model while some of MAC's highest ranked makeup artists looked on, silently, with their elite judgey eyes. Nerve.Racking. Except? I was in the zone. I didn't give a damn who was watching me. My model looked fierce when I was done with her.

And I made it, to the "Pro" team, even. I got the call while I was in the car with my best friend, obsessing over why they hadn't called me because they said they would either way, and maybe I sucked, what if I didn't get it and omg I had to get it, right, and is my phone working?!

I'm not going to defend the fashion or beauty industries in this post. I am not their voice, I am only my own. I don't want this post to be-can you be pretty and a writer? Can you be a make up artist and smart? Can you be interested in fashion and have a blog worth reading? Because I hate to sound harsh, but if you answered NO to any of those questions-you're in the wrong place, and I'm relieving myself of the burden to change your mind.

My experience with MAC and since, freelancing, define my happy place. Doing makeup for a fashion show or photo shoot? I don't think I've ever felt so alive! How fun is doing prom make-up and talking to the giddy and nervous 16 year old in your chair about her dress, her date...and smiling at her mom, trying to communicate with your eyes that you will not have her daughter looking like a streetwalker when she leaves. There is nothing like doing bridal makeup. Nothing. Period. Being a part of someone's wedding day?! A pretty intimate part too, especially if I'm on site. It's an honor. For the rest of her life, that bride will look at her wedding pictures, and she has trusted in me that each time she does, she'll see herself as beautiful as ever. And there is nothing as simple, but as lovely, as spending ten minutes with a young girl who has saved up for a few new lipglosses.

In my experience, beauty and fashion go hand in hand. Sometimes, we'd spend longer debating the make-up when styling out a photo shoot at my previous job than what the model was actually wearing-there were dresses, pieces, looks we HAD to shoot...but makeup and hair?! THAT is where we could get creative, and artistic. Most of my marketing budget went to hiring the best makeup artists in the world. I've stood next to Troy Jensen on a shoot as he transformed Miranda Kerr into a badass sex kitten. She is SO sweet in person...but it was Troy I couldn't keep my eyes off of, the one who I grilled during downtime, the one who, when I was introduced to HIM, and he said, "Marketing manager and make up artist huh?!!" I became a complete stuttering mess-basically my "I carried a WATERMELON" moment- "Um, yeah I mean for MAC, not like you, you're amazing..." With every flick of his wrist, it was magic. He brought our vision to life.

I don't usually talk about things like that, because there is something sacred about them to me. I have had experiences with fashion and makeup that nobody can take away from me, that I haven't wanted to share, but I felt it fitting for this post, my point of which is that the self doubt, the blog doubt and "what will they think" stops here. Covergirl recently sent me a ton of products, and turns out-I LOVE THEM. I know, I was surprised as hell too. I've talked about the products with so many friends, including some of you-but I've been afraid to blog about it. In the back of my mind I worried, what will they think if I do a makeup review? A tutorial? What will the 2.5 dudes reading my blog think? Am I vapid? Shallow? Not "serious" enough? Wait, when did I start taking myself so fucking seriously...especially on my blog?

{There is nothing I don't love about this photo. Just sayin. All images via}

Well, dolls...expect the Covergirl review this week. Expect more "Liz is Loving" , Balmain, and badass shoes. Expect coverage of NYFW. Because if I take away the fashion and the beauty, I take away some of my joy and I stifle a lot of me, of the girl those of you who have been reading for a while know-and I won't do that. This is just a part of me though-that is truly what I want you to understand. I'll still be writing about matters of the heart (my heart is in a really good place, fyi) anxiety, or the dumbass situations I get into (that subsequently cause my anxiety), don't worry.

Your blog is YOURS, and no matter the awards, page rank, number of comments-my blog is still MINE, and I apologize for letting fear get in the way. I'm back, betches.

Thank you's and hugs to Lilu, Kathleen and Kyla for helping me gather my somewhat jumbled thoughts. :)

Winners of last week's giveaways will be announced soon! xx