Beauty Tag!!

Hey guys, I found this tag on ElleandBlair.com and thought it might be fun to do. I am also going to do a tag video on my channel but it'll be a different one. This one is more beauty related and not really about me as a person. Leave your responses in the comments below or do one on your blog and I'll come check it out! :)

SKINCARE:
How many times do you wash your face daily? Twice
What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo) Combo
What is your current facial wash? Clean and Clear Morning Burst
Do you exfoliate? Yes!
What brand do you use? Well on my body it is Lush Buffy Bar, but my face I use a lemon scrub I made :)
What moisturizer do you use? Borba
Do you have freckles? Some, more in the summer though.
Do you use eye cream? Yes, Benefit Eye Cream. I get bad under eye circles.
Do you or did you have acne prone skin? No, but I occasionally have a breakout.
Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? Nope. MAKE-UP:
What foundation do you use? MAC Pro SPF 30, I think that is what it is called, don't have in front of me.
How about concealer? Yes for under my eyes, Boiing by Benefit.
Do you know your undertone color? Meaning like pink or yellow? I'm definitely pink undertones.
What do you think of fake eyelashes? Nice for events but not for everyday, on me at least.
Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? Yes, just got a new one. :)
What brand of mascara do you use? I switch it up, I just bought a MAC one but I have Urban Decay ones too!Sephora or MAC? Hmmm, that one is super hard. Can I pick both!!??
Do you have a MAC Pro-card? Nope.
What makeup tools do you use in make up application? Mainly my Sigma brushes.
Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? Yes Urban Decay Primer Potion.
For the face? Yes, Borba.
What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? Hmm, I just got the color Gleam from MAC and I love it already, but I'd have to say Woodstock from Urban Decay. Love it for going out!
Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? Gel! But I use all of the different types, depends on the look I am going for.
How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? Lol, no but I have with mascara tons of times.
What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? Love all eyeshadows!
Do you use mineral makeup? Yes.
What is your favorite lipstick? MAC Viva Glam V or the first edition of Viva Glam Gaga.
How about lipgloss? Nars Orgasm lipgloss.
What is your favorite blush to use? Nars Orgasm.
Do you buy your makeup on ebay? No but I have gotten nail polish from there.
Do you like drugstore makeup? Yes, Physicians Formula is great!
Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets) No, but I would like to!
Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? For a while after high school.
Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? Only if I'm late!
Name a makeup crime that you hate? When people don't blend their foundation around their nose and it gets clumpy on the sides of their noses!
Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? Prefer neutral for work but color is fun for going out!
Which celebrity always has great make up? Going to have to go with Reese Witherspoon or Rachel McAdams.
If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use? Eyeliner.
Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on? Yes, I've done it tons of times.
Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? I think different features of mine stand out when I don't have any makeup on and it gives me a different look.
In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? I'm becoming a bigger MAC fan everyday but before that started I would swear by Urban Decay and Benefit.
What do you think of Makeup? Makeup is art! It is fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously!

Embrace Couture Anthem :)

Hey everybody!

I heard something the other day that made me extremely excited and really creative. I found, what is now in my head, the anthem for Embrace Couture. So when I am drawing myself out and fighting with my silly sewing machine, which seems to be an everyday occurrence, I can listen to this song to remind myself why I'm trying to make this successful and why is it important. Now I am 21 and this isn't someone I would normally listen to but I have fallen in love with this song and the meaning of it. :)

Selena Gomez has nailed the perfect motivational song with this tune! And I am now a fan of hers because of it! I always thought she was a cute girl and a funny actress in the few things I have seen of her but now I might actually go out of my way to listen to her songs. :) Check it out above and check out my most recent video at http://www.youtube.com/user/EmbraceCouture!

I'm thinking about making an Embrace Couture soundtrack for myself to motivate myself! I'll share it on here when I finish it! I'm crazy picky with music so it might take me a little bit. Also have a haul coming up on my channel of the few things I just ordered from MAC and Borba. :) Subscribe for cool videos and Embrace updates!

Don't forget to watch The Voice tonight at 9pm on NBC and Pretty Little Liars on at 8pm on ABC Family!

xoxo, Christine

Self Tanner, Acting, and Vlog!

Hey everybody! It's been a while since my last blog post so I am so sorry! I have a couple things to mention in this post and hopefully I'll keep doing posts a couple times a week.

I had a self tanner disaster the other day! It was bad! I used Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Tanning Spray and oh my goodness did it come out bad! Surprisingly my knees look great! Nice and evenly tanned but as it goes below my knee there are just splotches of orange. :( Very shameful. I did everything I was supposed to, exfoliated, held 6 inches from my body, sprayed evenly, didn't put clothes on for 15 minutes and still a self tanner nightmare. Oh well, we shed thousands of dead skin cells every second so it should be off in a couple of days. Then I will be trying again with Jergens Natural Glow Self Tanner and I have heard good things about that so far. When I first post this it won't have the picture of my orange disaster of a leg but I'll add that in later tonight just so you can see how bad that self tanner works. I even had to wear long pants to work today and it is hot. Definitely summer dress time!!

Are any of you into acting? Acting has always been what I have wanted to do with my life and I actually went to a performing arts school for high school, best school ever, and I'm starting to really want to get back into it. I gave it up for awhile, I think it was a combination of feeling the pressure to go to college and the realization of how hard the business is to break into, but I always seem to come back to it. If any of you are interested in it let me know! I can always tell you guys some of the things I have tried to break into the acting world and what I am trying now if you guys are curious!

On my channel, http://www.youtube/user/EmbraceCouture, I just recently added a follow me around vlog and absolutely loved doing it!! It was a little under 3 minutes so it wasn't very long but I am thinking about trying to do another one soon and hopefully make it a bit longer. Follow Me Around Vlogs were always my favorite to watch so it was cool to be able to put one up. Check it out and show some love!

I missed about a week of no blogs and no videos just because I was feeling a little discouraged about some things and I just took the week to do whatever. However, when I was filming my follow me vlog, I was like, "why did you stop this for a week?! It's fun!?" And I am thinking the same thing as I type this up. I hope to not be gone long again except that I do go to the shore July 9th to the 16th and I have no internet there so maybe then but I guess I could write some and post them through my phone. I don't know, my phone is crap so we will have to see! Thanks for reading!!

xoxo, Christine

The Need for Embrace Couture

Heyyyy everybody!

I just got back from taking my little sister out for her birthday. I actually took her to meet one of her favorite actors Nicholas Brendan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We have been going to those types of conventions for awhile now and she always gets super excited when she sees him. Totally worth the long lines and crazy crowds. We are Buffy lovers so we do love conventions like this. We don't get into all the costumes and things like that but we do get all hyped up when we see our favorite stars. Today I actually did already meet most of the people there besides Julie Benz, so I got her picture and autograph today. :) It was more for my sister than myself anyway.

I'm not writing this though to just talk about my day to you guys,. Unfortunately, and I hate to word it this way, but the Buffy fans are some of the most "normal" I guess you could say. No way really dresses up and gets into costumes and paints heir whole body silver like some of the other fan genres do. I hate to use the word normal but I am just trying to make everyone understand my point. As I walked through the lines and I heard a lot of negative comments about some of the girls bodies that dressed in the costumes. For example, there was a girl dressed like Wonder Woman, I would never call her heavy or overweight but she wasn't super skinny either. Her costume looked somewhat small on her and someone made a comment about how she was bubbling over her costume. Well she overheard and to see her face drop broke my heart. Next time I saw her she was changed into normal clothes and just looking defeated. The look on her face just made me realize even more how important it is to spread the word of healthy body image. That girl took a huge risk today and got her feelings destroyed. And I regret not telling her to wear her costume proud and tell everyone else she didn't care what they thought. Girls shouldn't have to feel like they have to live up to a supermodel standard. And that is why I am working on this clothing line. Every time my sewing machine jams or my fingers get needle poked I can keep on going and hopefully eventually help girls have more inner peace with their body.

Wear your costumes proud ladies and EMBRACE YOUR BODY!!! <3

xoxo, Christine

I'm Blonde...Kinda

Gorgeous hair, funny face :)

Hey everybody!

About a month ago I did something I had never done before which was go blonde. Well, my hair got lightened two shades and I got blonde highlights. However, I wouldn't really classify myself as a full blonde because I still feel like I have a lot of brown hair underneath all the blonde. So I'm thinking I want to go blonder. I was originally going to go blonde for the summer then darker in the winter but I am starting to think in August I am going to even blonder! I just can't decide how much blonde my face can handle? What do you guys think, looking at the picture of me with my natural hair can my face go even blonder than I am now? Surprisingly, I don't have any pictures of my new-ish hair but in my recent videos I have my blonde hair so check them out to see the difference I have already! I'm thinking maybe Reese Witherspoon blonde or Kristin Bell blonde? I'm just not so sure. Or do I go Buffy Blonde? Have any of you guys ever gone from brunette to extreme blonde, which is what I think I really want?

My favorite picture of her!

Anyways, I wanted to talk about my YouTube channel for a second because I got a request from one of my subscribers asking me to do an Urban Decay makeup collection video. She went on to explain that I would just show all of my Urban Decay products instead of my whole collection, which would be better for me because I tend to be a mess. I don't think I have actually ever seen any videos like that but I think I am going to go ahead and do it sometime next week probably. It might be cool to see it broken down by brand. Especially if you're a vegan or you are strictly against testing on animals, which is something I always try to check my boxes for and am usually disappointed in a lot of good brands. So subscribe to my channel so you can find out when that gets uploaded and subscribe for lots of other cool stuff. I am slowly introducing my animals into videos when I'm at my mom's house.

Buffy Blonde! Lover her blonde!

Tattoo blog or video will be coming. Haven't decided on if I should just post pictures on here or if I should do a video of them either way I would go into why I chose each one and stuff like that. I am also designing one for my boyfriend so I can upload my drawing here once I perfect it. It is going to come out like a heaven/hell underwater scene for his back. I think it'll look really cool. I'm excited to be working on it but I tend to be a perfectionist so I erase alot.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I know I have extra pictures on this one but I wanted to show you the blondes I might go! Have a great day and don't forget to check out my channel!

xoxo, Christine

PS: My spell check says blonde is spelled "blond" but I am keeping blonde because I have seen it that way a lot and it looks better!

My brain is screaming for a mini cake...

My weekend did not turn out like I thought it would! No hiking, no food shopping, no blog posts, nothing really all that productive! I apologize for promising blog posts that never came! I did do one thing semi-productive though. I actually got down a couple of designs that I want to try to sew. I got a little a head of myself and instead of just drawing underwear I was drawing dresses and all kinds of stuff! It got insane! I actually think I need to have someone just teach me how to sew instead of trying to figure it out by myself. I might have better luck with it and it might not take me as long.

Like these?!?!

Ok so this questions is kind of irrelevant for the next 3 months because I am starting a strict workout plan to just get more tone and muscle to my body but does anyone know how to make mini cakes? I mean like they are individual cakes that look like a really nice big cake but mini-sized? I think they are the cutest things and whenever I get married I am going to have mini cakes for everyone instead of one big cake. If anyone knows how to do that or how hard it would be let me know. I'm not the best in the kitchen but I can usually follow a recipe! I know this was short but my head is totally all over the place today. All I keep thinking about is mini cakes!

xoxo, Christine

So I filmed a video...

I filmed a video today at my lunch break and I went to upload it on to YouTube and it said it would take 234 minutes! My mom needs to take my camera for the weekend in 90 minutes! So obviously I couldn't post like I wanted to and I am very sorry but hopefully I can do extra videos for you guys next week to make up for it...please forgive me? The video was actually quite rambley but I talked about how I healed my lips. Hurraw! Hurraw for healed lips and Hurraw! the brand. :)

I also asked if all the Harry Potter movies were worth watching?! I haven't seen them or read the books and one day I was like you know what, I am going to watch all of those movies! So am I wasting 14 hours of my life or are they going to be awesome. Hint about what TV I like, I love love love Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, pretty much all Whedon shows, but I also love Glee and Modern Family and some other random shows.

Also, I am starting Gossip Girl soon. I got season 1-3 pretty cheap and I'm going to have a Gossip Girl marathon soon!

And I introduced my cat Sinbad. I haven't really covered how many animals I have, have I? Well maybe that will be one of my blog posts this weekend! I have lots of pictures so I'll put them up :) You guys already met Tahmoh in a video and Rocco's picture is on here! I'm a crazy animal lover! Like, so much that my next tattoo is probably going to be the word Purr on my hip but with extra r's and in cursive.

I could also do a post on my tattoos! Right now I have 3 but I'm one of those people that believe your body is a canvas and if you choose you can get creative and display art on yourself. My mind is going crazy with ideas right now and I am getting pretty excited! Let me know if you guys are! I love communication! Hearing from you guys brings me huge happiness. :)

I'm going hiking this weekend so wish my legs luck! I am also starting a new workout plan this weekend, got to go food shopping for some healthy food! I hope you all have an amazing weekend and I hope to hear from you and hoepfully you'll enjoy my posts!

xoxo, Christine

Glee, Promotion, and Hurraw!

Hey everybody!

Glee was so amazing last night! If any of you like Glee and haven't gone to one of their live shows you have to check it out. Their talent will blow you out of the water! Unfortunately no good picture. I was pretty high up so you really couldn't make out who the people were in the pictures. They were great seats though I had a great view of the stage.



Not my picture, but it is from the 2011 tour :)

So today's blog post is me reaching out for your opinions on something. If any of you have YouTube channels or you watch YouTube videos, how do you feel about the promoted YouTube videos? They are the ones that show up at the top of a search of are an ad that pops up during a video? I was thinking, not right now because my videos are more for just fun, but in the future when I do have my line up and running and have a website where you can buy my stuff, do you all think promoting through a video on YouTube and using the YouTube promotion program would be a good way to go? I just want to hear your opinions because I know that I usually don't pay attention to those ads but I'm sure some people do. Let me know what you think in the comments below please. :)

Also, I'm sure a lot of you guys found my blog through ElleandBlair.com, so you most likely have read their Hurraw! review and giveaway. Ok, so I'm the sucker that didn't wait to hear if she won the review and went and bought them the day I read the review and they are amazing. I just got them yesterday and I am hooked. Recently, my lips have been really chapped, I'd say for almost the last week. I used my MAC Bountiful lip plumper for a week straight and it dried out my lips so bad! Nothing was helping, I had my Fresh Sugar lip treatment and it wasn't showing any results whatsoever. I was hating the way my lips were looking, I couldn't wear lipstick because it showed every flake in my lip then my Hurraw! came. I ordered three. I ordered the grapefruit one because I love the citrusy smell of grapefruit, the Sun one, and the Moon one. (The Moon one is a night treatment for your lips.) So I used the grapefruit one every half hour on my lips and I actually thought they were feeling a bit smoother then after the Glee concert I went home and before I went to bed I applied the Moon Hurraw! and when I woke up in the morning TADA! My lips were almost back to 100%. I could not believe how well these worked and how amazing they were! I am forever a Hurraw! lover now and I am so glad I didn't wait to see if I won because if I did my lips would still be chapped! I am impressed! There is a lime one I want to try too so that will be my next purchase. I think I am going to mention them in my next video too, which I hope to get up tomorrow and you will be able to see the excitement on my face! Actually, see the excitement right in the picture posted. :) It is a little small but I took it on my phone while I was typing this.  They are super great, you should check them out I wouldn't steer you wrong!

On an end note, spread the word of my blog and channel so I can get to that giveaway! It gets me motivated and puts a fire under my booty to start producing undies! Thanks for all the ongoing support and remember let me know what you think of those promoted videos!

xoxo, Christine

Embrace Couture Vlog :)

Hey everybody,

I'm going to the Glee concert tonight! Can't wait! I'll try to get a good picture of it and post it for you guys but I'm not sure where the seats are and if my camera will cooperate with me because sometimes it doesn't want to change back to picture instead of video.  So that is going to be my night!

I was originally going to write this up last night but The Voice was 2 hours long instead of 1 and that was great surprise. Does anyone watch that show? It is the best! Only Christina and Blake's teams went last night so Javier didn't go, which if you have read my previous posts, you know he is my favorite. I have fallen in love with Dia Frampton's voice. She did her only beautifully done, piano rendition of "Heartless" last night and stole my heart completely. I really liked her in the beginning because her voice is so different but now she is probably one of my favorites. It is sad that two people from each team go home next week and I am so nervous for my picks! If you guys watch, who do you like?

Yesterday I also posted a video about my upcoming clothing line. I say upcoming because I am still working hard on mastering what I need to make it a successful line. I just wanted to put my message on here for anybody who isn't subscribed to my channel on YouTube, Embrace Couture. I am trying to send the message out of healthy body image for girls, which I have mentioned in my previous blog posts. So I decided that if you guys spread the word of this blog and my channel and I get 100 subscribers or even 100 followers I would then hold a giveaway for one of my first creations for my line, Embrace Couture. I think it would be a really fun way to get more support and help spread the word of healthy body image! Go check out my vlog about Embrace Couture! Let me know what you guys think because your opinions matter to me.

You guys are beautiful, always remember that!
xoxo, Christine

My June Wishlist!

Hey everybody! So I'm sure if you enjoy blogs like mine or watch YouTube videos similar to mine, there is probably a big part of you that loves to shop! Correct? We all have our shopping obsessions. I used to have an extremely big shoe weakness, and now it has turned into a weakness for clothes, makeup, electronics, books, and still, most importantly, shoes. I just thought it would be a little fun for us to share our June wishlists! I want to make this an every month thing so if you write in the comments below leaving your blog link and post a June wishlist up, I'll follow you! We can all grow our blogs this way and have fun doing them! I'm going to give the top couple things on my wishlist now because I'm sure you would not want the whole list!

#1. Steve Madden Wildd Sandal



#2. IPhone4 in White




#3. MAC Cosmetics "Beach Girl" Powder Blusher




#4. Benefit Cosmetics "Cha Cha Tint"




#5.Wildfox Daisy Sweatshirt



#6. New Adventures of Christine DVDs.

#7. Miraculous Swimwear by Victoria's Secret

#8. A Puppy!!

 So more than anything I would love to have a puppy in my apartment but no puppies allowed. :( I always grew up surrounded by animals and it is really weird not living with one. I love boxers so that is why I posted this picture but I actually found it on the DailyPuppy. (Cutest site ever!) Every summer calls for some new sandals, the hottest summer makeup, a sweatshirt for beach nights, a funny tv show to make you smile and a hot new bathing suit. And of course the latest phone to keep you updated with all your friends and of course man's best friend. This is my June wishlist! I hope you all enjoyed and will do one for yourself!

Love to all,
Christine

Today's Video!

Hey everybody! I just filmed my video for today, my May Favorites, on my lunch break. Couple things before I upload it...I ran out of time on my camera. The video ends with me begging my chihuahua to jump up on the couch so you guys can meet him and I couldn't say goodbye or tell you one more favorite I left out. I'm so sorry! I heard my camera beep and I was like "Crap! No!" So I apologize for that. Second thing, when I am talking about my nails I say eyeshadow instead of nail polish. Dumb mistake, sorry! Another thing is I did horrible on describing my favorite perfume to you. Here is a better description: A surprising and bold fragrance, Play for Her radiates its unusual alchemy, combining the floral notes of the tiare flower and the warm accords of amyris wood to create a voluptuously flowered fragrance with woody tones. Imagining a woman who is naturally seductive and ready for life's surprises, Givenchy's perfumers created this sparkling composition to astonish and captivate. Hope that gives you a better idea on what it smells like.

Ok so I hope that video wasn't a huge fail. Please still check it out. I just wanted to clear a few things up for you before it goes live, which will probably happen around 5pm tonight. My channel is called Embrace Couture, it is easier to find on YouTube if you don't put any spaces, so EmbraceCouture not Embrace Couture. :) I won't be able to do a video tomorrow but hopefully Saturday. I have both jobs tomorrow and I don't want to bring stuff to my mom's to do a tutorial there. I'd rather set up my apartment nice and do it there.

Almost forgot to tell you my missing May favorite! My apartment!!!!!! I have been in there a month and I love love love it! I'm so in love with my apartment. Maybe I'll post some pics if you guys let me know you want to see it. I am an Anthropologie junkie so lots from there! Please spread the word of my YouTube channel and blog. It would be greatly appreciated. The support is my muse!

Love to all,
Christine

Here is a picture of Rocco, he was the one I was encouraging to jump on the couch at the end!