I'm baaaaaaaack!!!

Did you miss me, or my blog?!?
Here's 3 things I want to share with you...

#1. Some of you may have missed this little ol' blog and my youtube videos....

Well, I accidentally deleted all my videos on my computer and my computer has been at the repair shop.
WHICH MEANS:
*I haven't had my computer to write my blogs or edit videos. (Yes, this felt weird and strange.)
*I went to Playlist Live in Florida without a working computer. (Yes, that again, felt really weird.)

I am now back in computer business. My files are gone, videos edited are no longer there. BUT, I will make ever better videos than those that got deleted!!

#2. Also....I am the proud owner of this brochure:

Why?!?
Because I was not being smart many years ago, and went to tanning beds a few times, now I had to go to the Skin Cancer Institute and get a little piece of my leg cut out, last week, to get tested for skin cancer.

MY WARNING: DO NOT GO TO  TANNING BEDS!!! You can fake that business now with a quick smearing of self tanner!

#3. Here's a little video to hold you over until I upload one, I'm aiming for tomorrow...because I have some exciting news to share with you guys, but here's an interview I did at Playlist Live, that I was pretty excited that anyone ever wants to ask me anything hee hee:



Let's make this Monday, this week as awesome as possible...let's do stuff we've been putting off, set new goals for the week, and make some stuff happen, cheering you on, your pal, Kandee

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Back in the day, yes, wearing a beret....

Yes, if there was such a thing as "outfit of the days" back when I took this picture, this would've been mine.
Beret - check
Striped Mime-like shirt - check
Suspender Dress - check
Knee high socks - check
Oh yeah, 2 Swiss Miss braids - check


Oh, giant suit case.....check-check!

This again, was when I worked at a clothing store in the mall, so a good portion of my checks went to buying more knee high socks and baby doll dresses, and who knows, more suspender outfits?!?

For some reason, every week I love digging through all my photos to find some picture I haven't posted already for my throwback thursday post. I flip through real photos, you can hold, not like now, where I have to scroll through my phone or computer. And if the power goes out, or your batteries dead, well forget looking for a picture! ha ha ha

I am typing this very late. I'm packing to go to Playlist Live in Florida, it's like a big Youtube convention sort of. I am still doing laundry. And today when I was supposed to upload a video to my 2nd channel, my vlog channel, Kandeeland on Youtube....well something went majorly wrong and every last bit of a video edited or waiting to be edited was deleted from my computer...
And I know some people will say, oh download a recovery software, restore it, all of that was tried, I even raced to computer repair place, at speeds that were probably on the verge of too fast, to get it there before he closed. The nice man stayed very late, only to tell me, nothing was found and that I'd have to do a deeper search but it still might not find anything. He didn't even charge me. I probably messed it up even more by trying to do what all the dumb mac forums said to do to fix it.

So I've decided that those videos weren't meant to be uploaded and that I will refilm whatever I need to and it will be better. IT will take me longer as some of those videos I've already spent days, and days and days and days editing! ha ha ha ha But I will have something even better up for you guys to see soon!

Big hugs from, your once upon a time, Beret-wearing, Kandee

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Lip Art: 4 Crazy Muppets Lips

Nail art, schmail art...it's time for LIP ART!

And I wanted to create some fun LIP ART ideas with the Muppets, since their movie is coming out and I've loved the Muppets since I was little!

So come watch this  "FUN-TORIAL" of how I did it and then I'll list some or I'll try to list all the stuff I used, I used aaaaaaaaa-lot! and let me know, should I do an entire face of ANIMAL?!? hee hee

Hi-ho there, just a lip frog lip look, that is really an everyday  lipstick look for school or job interviews #justkidding

KERMIT:
What I used to create "Kermit The Frog here".....
Urban Decay shadows from the Electric Palette in Thrash and Freak.
Green eyeliner from MAC.
For his "frog collar" below the lip I used the Lime Crime Eyeliner in Citreuse.
Red Mouth: I used Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet (because it dries matte, unlike a red lipstick or liner)
Kermit Eyeballs: I used tiny white puff balls from teh craft store that I drew the black of his eyes on with black liquid liner.

ANIMAL:
Urban Decay Lipliner in BANG all over.
Lime Crime Red Velvet Velvetines for the red line of his tongue.
Black liquid eyelier for the black of his mouth and eyes.
White Acrylic paint for his eyes and teeth.
Black pencil eyeliner for his brows.
Revlon Precision Eyelash Adhesive to glue the feathers (from a red boa and pink feathered hair clip, I got at Michael's crafts)
Nose: a red puff ball from teh good ol craft store again!

Wocka! Wocka! Wocka!
FOZZY BEAR:
Urban Decay Red Lip liner (mouth) in BANG
Lime Crime Yellow Lipstick in New Yolk City
Orange and gold eyeshadow, I can't actually remember which one I used!
Urban Decay Brown Eyeliner for his hat and ears in Whisky
White Acrylic paint for eyes and scarf.
Lavender acrylic paint for his eyelids.
Pink Puffball nose, you know it, the craft store again!

MISS PIGGY:

I used concealer on the lips and a lighter one on the nose.
Plum lip liner from MAC, to lightly shade under the lips.
Miss Piggy Blue Eyes: NYX Blue eyeliner in Extreme Blue
Black liquid waterproof eyeliner from L'oreal.
Pink acrylic paint for the ears and to dab on the nose.
White acrylic paint for eyes and pearl necklace.
Gold acrylic paint for the hair.

And if you want more Muppet Madness, come see the Miss Piggy inspired make-up look I created for  Disney Style:

Now make sure you add this to your daily lip look! You will get lots of compliments and maybe weird stares and people asking to take their picture with you, you could be instagram famous with these lips!

Huge hugs and so much love, wocka wocka wocka, your friend, Kandee

PS. I have some kinda exciting news....I'm finally uploading a new vlog video to my 2nd Youtube channel, Kandeeland today!

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This is why I Run...

I've been a "runner" (or sometimes just a fast jogger) for years. I run to clear my head. I run to be away from my computer. I run because I like breathing in fresh air and feeling the rhythm of my feet pulling me across this little piece of Earth. I run because I feel like my head is free from distractions.

This week started off being heavy on my heart, just some sad news, the health of my sister, my mom waiting to hear test results from doctors...all this has caused my eyes to be washed in tears. I know God has a plan, and our faith is grown in times of hardship, but as humans our hearts just get sad.

And so I go to the same place, where I would run everyday after my dad died. Where I'd run as fast as I could with tears streaming down my face, because no one had to see me cry when I was alone in the wilderness.

I run, because I feel like I can process all my thoughts with the rhythmic sound of my feet meeting up with the dirt and rocks.

I don't ever want to run away, well maybe I want to run away to Disneyland, but not alone, with all my family! ha ha ha

I run to be alone with God. I remember after my dad died, and I went running, and I looked down and saw a spark plug. As I picked it up, I could feel God telling my heart: He may not be with you on Earth, but He will always be the spark plug in your heart, igniting all the memories and things he's taught you. I cried, as I held that dusty spark plug in my hand, all the way home.

Do I want to get in shape? Yes, not to be skinny, but to feel that my body is strong, with muscles that are strong, not so much jiggle when I jog! ha ha ha

 Sometimes we just need to start with a step, towards our future, a step towards knowing that we are overcomers. That nothing needs to keep us down. Yes, it's ok to be down for a minute, a moment, some time, but always remember that you can get back up, that joy is waiting, it's bubbling up in your heart, waiting to be released. If your day or week or month has been hard, or filled with sadness, know that you're not alone. My heart is with you, saying: WE CAN DO THIS! WE CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THIS LIFE, WITH A SMILE! Even if that smile has just been covered in tears!

I was supposed to write my blog about the Muppet Lip Art video I put up last night, but this is what was heavy on my heart to write! So please forgive me for this post, if you were awaiting the stuff I used for the Lip Art video, I'll put it up tomorrow. But I hope that the tears I shed this morning, and my heavy heart, might be used to comfort someone else, to know,you're not alone!

I love this song by Mandisa, I hope it puts you in a good mood and lifts your spirits, this song is the anthem for my week, month and maybe last 2 years, you're an OVERCOMER:



And for fun, you can watch this video, and yes tomorrow I will post it again, when I have it in me, to search all the stuff I used in the looks and upload some more picture, until then I hope this makes you laugh or smile:



Huge hugs and love to every heart reading this, I love you, Kandee

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Why I Blog...

Some of you guys might think this is interesting:
I started writing my little blog the of 2008, before I uploaded my first video to youtube in January of 2009.

But why? Why Did I blog?
There was no such thing as an "outfit of the day post" back then. And I didn't own a good camera, and my blog still isn't amazing like some of the super cool awesomely designed blogs I see everywhere.

I was inspired, to show people cool stuff, a peek into my life, so that you could feel my heart, welcoming you to be my friend. I wanted to offer encouragement, inspiration, be it creatively, emotionally, spiritually, or just to inspire you to dress or put on make-up up or do your hair however you like! I wanted you to see, hey if she wears that, maybe I can dare to let more of the "me that's hidden inside", come out and shine more!

I had started reading NieNie's blog back in 2008, and she inspires me to start blogging my Kandeeland blog. I loved feeling like I peeked into her day with her babies and had a "virtual friend" even though I've never met her, she inspired me and I felt like she was my "extra internet friend"! I wanted to inspire others that you can be a mom, be cool, be loving, be a little baby-wearing, organic eating, nurturing mama that still likes to dress cool and be fun, and so Kandeeland was started, although it was Adventures in Kandeeland before.  A little while after that one, I started my KandeeJ.com blog, to show more style, beauty, hair fun DIY and all that stuff, with less about my boring days and mom stuff! ha ha ha and this blog became more popular. I didn't think too many people still read Kandeeland, and it took up a large portion of my day writing it, uploading photos, and so I haven't written her in a while, but maybe someday she'll (and I refer to my blog as a she, hee hee) come back.

Yes, since I was a freelance make-up artist (that means no one employs you full time, you just get jobs as a photographer, ad agency, production company or whoever hires you) I wanted to share all my tips and tricks as a make-up artist, and show you what I thought was the best products that I was using and how to use them.

I didn't start blogging to be "internet famous", I didn't start Youtube to be "youtube famous" (that wasn't even a term when I started. I started because I wanted to help people, teach people, inspire hearts, inspire creativity, fill you with hope and love and to feel that you have an extra "virtual friend", that you may not be able to talk to, but to know the second I see you that I'll hug you, and you already know that I love you, no matter what.

Many blessings have come from Youtube and my blog...the biggest ones are the ones where people have said I've encouraged them or given them hope from my words. That means more to me than anyone saying, "gosh, you really taught me how to highlight and contour really well"...ha ha ha which is still awesome, but when I can show you how to "highlight your heart" instead of just your cheekbones....that is what's truly important anyway!

I don't even know why I felt like writing about this today, but it's what was on my heart...and I want to thank all of you for reading my little blog, that I've been writing all these years. I write it in hopes that you get inspired, laugh, I show you something cool, or that maybe in the midst of a crazy day filled with sadness or overwhelming-ness, that for just a few minutes I've proved a little escape and a whole lot of fun and love....

The picture above was on set of the videos series I'm doing with Glamour Magazine, which was a huge blessing to get a chance to do this...I cried on the way to set the last day of our filming, just thanking God for such an amazing opportunity. I wanted to tell my dad about how awesome it was, and I know from heaven, he is proud. I know he is more proud of me sharing love with people, than of any show, celebrity, or thing that seems great here on Earth.

I care more about people, inspiring them and making them feel encouraged and loved, than about a shoe, a purse or a celebrity. Nowadays many blogs focus on Prada, Chanel, and do you have the latest "must have" piece of the moment...all of that is fun, but in the end it's really meaningless. Are you loving people around you, do you think about ways you can spread kindness and hope, or are you just obsessing about a purse or a shoe? I hope my blog shows you fun styles and fun make-up and inspires you with creativity, but I always hope it leaves you feeling happier and little more loved!

I didn't start blogging to get free clothes, to get into fashion shows or magazines. I didn't start blogging to post my outfits of the day. People just asked me to take pics of what I was wearing sometimes so I did....but "outfit of the day" was not a phrase like it is now, ha ha ha. I just hoped showing you how to cut a t-shirt, or distress your own jeans would be something I would show my friends....who are YOU.

And that is kinda', a little bit, of why I write my blog, errors, typos, lower case "i's" and lots of "ha ha ha's" and all.....

And if no one, or even if someone has told you today, "I love you", I'm gonna tell you one more time...this crazy girl, named Kandee Johnson, loves you and will hug the heck out of you when I see you...I will, just wait and see!

PS. This is the video I'll be uploading later today, which is very fun! My editing software crashed and erased the video I'd edited about 3 times I had to start from scratch editing, which usually takes me days, so when you see it, I hope you love it...here's a sneek peek... Wait until you see the 3 other looks in the video....yayyy:

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What I got at Inglot:

I was so excited to have 10 minutes free while in NYC in between teaching makeup classes and meet and greets at the International Beauty Show, hosting a hair and make-up competition, and right before I went to go speak at Google and I found myself in Times Square near the Inglot store! So this is what I ran in and got, as well as hugged all the girls inside too:

3 Colored Gel Eyeliners:

AMC Eyeliner Gel  in 88- the pale blue color

AMC Gel Eyeliner in 72 - hot pink

AMC Eyeliner Gel in 87 - turquoise

I love Inglot because of their amazing pigments and they're paraben and animal cruelty free!

The lipsticks:
#265 - pale cool nude pink
#423 hot mink matte

I also got the Duraline - the clear glass bottle, which you can use to re-soften dried out gel liner and to mix with loose or powder eyeshadow and create a gel liner by mixing it!

 And lasy but not least, I got the Inglot Color Play eyeliner in #202 (bright pink) so that I can play around with coloring my brows in with this baby or just make a girl pink cat eyeliner look!

Happy Friday, did anyone notice I've been blogging everyday, or did anyone even miss it or notice at all! ha ha ha I'm back and I'm sending extra smile to anyone who's reading this....your virtual bff, Kandee

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Make-Up Monday: A little make-up artist secret brand you need to know: Viseart

I'm going to share a make-up brand with you, this quite amazing and nothing like any eyeshadow you'll find at Sephora or Ulta. This is a hidden gem and secret of make-up artist that work on tv, like my friend Cindy Miguens, the make-up artist for Pretty Little Liars, and my editorial make-up artist working on Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and all the rest!

Viseart was one of the first make-up brands to remove petroleum, parabens, silicons, butylene glycol or propylene glycol, phthalates, and artificial dyes. And above is a shot I took at The Make-Up Show in LA last weekend. The top 6 are eyeshadows, the bottom left 2 are lipstick palettes and the bottom right is a concealer palette.
I'm on love with this lip palette, the Viseart Palette 12 Lip Palette, and they were sold out at the show:

 I got this palette and 2 others which were pretty much the only eyeshadow palettes I used for the shoot I worked on for 3 days for Glamour magazine (I'll blog more about that later because it was so awesome, I can't even get started on it right now! ha ha ha) But here's a pic of my make-up table set up, one of the days:

This is the Viseart 12 Paupieres Eyeshadow Palette Basic: 03 Pearl - this is their best selling palette, and I have to say, there's nothing I've used that compares to this palette. You can use these colors for eyes, to highlight and contour the cheekbones and I don't even know how they get the formulation they do, but it's incredible.

Here's the same palette but in different lighting (this palette is probably sold out as it's so popular!):

There are no words for the awesomeness of this Viseart Matte Palette, you will fall in love with these, and out of love, with your old eyeshadows:

What you need to know about VISEART:
-They are made in France, in a private formulation laboratory in Paris.
-They are used by professional make-up artists in Japan, Paris, London and Los Angeles on tv and movie sets and editorial shoots.
-The pigment payoff, color, long lasting ability that isn't matched, is why make-up artist use and trust these on movie sets for their make-up to last on long shoots days.
-They are free of dangerous chemicals that are in most make-up brands that are popular.
-They began in a winery in France, and still have the winery today. How romantic is that?!?
-These palettes are $80, but worth every penny if you are a make-up artist or make-up lover. And that's an average price for professional grade make-up. There's more pigment and less fillers in pro make-up, than in the cheaper make-up you'll find in Sephora and especially in drugstores, that use less pigment to save money to sell it for cheaper prices. Make-up artist need the pigment to last longer and read truer on camera.

If you are a professional make-up artist, or just want to own the same palettes that are coveted by make-up artists who are working on some of the biggest shows and movies you might fall in love with these too!

Where to get them (you won't find these in Sephora or Ulta) these babies are like finding rare treasures, but you can get them at MUSE BEAUTY or from VISEART.

Happy Make-Up Monday and hope you like these posts sharing "secret" goodies! Which palette would you love to add to your beauty arsenal?!?

Giant Monday Hugs, your friend Kandee

And if you missed my review and first look at the new Urban Decay Electric Palette, come watch is here:



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The New Urban Decay Electric Palette

It's HERE! The NEW Urban Decay Electric Palette...and my video review is below!
Hide your Naked Palettes, because it's time to add some flowery, springtime colors to your eyeshadow collections and eyelids with the Electric Palette.

Are you ready for the UD Electric Palette Swatch & Review-tee-dooty-doo?!?

Let's get this party started....

10 all new highly pigmented, feel like silk, texture that feels like it's creamy butter, pigment power that's out of this world, and these babies practically blend themselves. I have not ever seen pressed color eyeshadows that blend or feel like these... (my fav is the Fringe color...I would just buy this whole palette for that color!)

SWATCHES:
Here's Electric Palette swatches without primer, just swiped onto my arm with my finger:

 And here's when I applied UD Concealer stick in DEA on my arm first, then applied the Electric Eyeshadow colors on top:

Revolt is a microglitter, more like a sheen, Savage is a matte, and the rest are the most beautiful velvet sheen finishes that you just want to eat they look so good!

My top favs: FRINGE, FREAK, THRASH, URBAN, CHAOS

The Electric Palette, is just like candy for my eyeballs, just look at all these happy colors waiting to be a like a colorful flower on the garden on your eyelid...

VID (very important details):
-You can get an Electric Palette on UrbanDecay.com on March 18th and
in stores in early April.
-This will be in the permanent collection.
-It will be $49

Now come watch my video review of the Urban Decay Electric Palette, my arms get very colorful and I show you long they last:


Which color would you want to wear today?!?
Colorful hugs, your colorful friend, Kandee

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How I Did My New Hair Color!!!

I am no longer a blonde!

Woop! Woop!

Ok, which hair color just jumps out at your eyeballs and makes you love it?

 I thought I'd make a video on my hair color BEFORE & AFTER and how I colored my hair.....

And this might be a total "surprise spoiler", but I did dye my hair pink!! I should've written "how to dye your hair HOT pink"....ha ha ha

Come peep the transformation of my hair color, and don't be afraid of my lack of make-up, if you watch to the end you see me with makeup and a little "hair color" song treat for you bwaa ha ha ha and I'll tell ya all the stuff I used below too Here's my new hair color how to....CLICK THIS:




And what I used:
I know everyone talks about Manic Panic or Pravana hair color is the new rage, but all I had at my house were some Ion Haircolor (which was not my fav), and a Joico Color Intensity Vero K-pak Hair Color in Pink:

I stinkin' love this color...it's like it glows with different dimensions of hair color. I want to try a few Pravana  shades and the new Vidal Sassoon London Luxe Colors too!

And I have to share a pic with my new hair from last night, because it kinda matched my dress, and it was kinda awesome....you now how often I wear dresses ha ha ha:

Pink Hair Hugs, well not hugs with hair because that would be gross, but pink hair in my hair brush does seem less gross to me ha ha ha, I heart ya, Kandee

PS. I will be uploading a very exciting video to youtube tonight at midnight PST, stay tuned!

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