xoxo, 

  Arlene

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If you can't see the pictures or videos, click here.




Some of you already know that I work a 2nd job as freelance makeup artist so balancing 2 jobs can be a struggle. So lateley I've been real busy working doing both makeup and hair for photoshoots and haven't had as much time to blog as much as I'd like to.

So instead, I decided to make a video to show you a little of what I do and to show you what it's like behind the scenes of one of my photoshoots. So here's a video that I edited of a shoot that I did with Cristian Gomez and Cristal Hernandez. I worked as the makeup artist and stylist on the set and the photographer was Jess from Tastefully Bare. If you want to see more of my makeup work, you can keep up to date with me on my Facebook. Watch the video below and I hope you like it and enjoy!

Have you ever looked at the ingredients of the cosmetics you purchase and have a hard time pronouncing them let alone have an idea what it is? Well if so, then you might want to keep reading...

There is this website that I found out through one of my beauty friends, Charmaine.
The website is called Skin Deep. (www.cosmeticdatabase.com)

This website is a great tool to take advantage of because as scary as it sounds, companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn't require companies to test products for safety before they're sold. Environmental Working Group of scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating an in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.


How it works:

1.) Search for either: Cosmetic Brands, Ingredients, and/or Products (see picture for example)
2.) Once you search the item that you're looking for, you'll be provided a long list of ingredients.
3.) A definition of each ingredient is explained and any possible toxicities it may cause, such as: cancer, allergies, violations, etc.
4.) Each ingredient will be rated as score to show any level of hazardness, for example:

- Items Rated 0-2 = low hazard
- Items Rated 3-6 = moderate hazard
- Items Rated 7-10 = high hazard


I am always conscientious of the type of products that I use on my face after experience of working with my mom in her Beauty Day Spa. My mom has her esthetician license and through her I learned a lot of damages that certain products can do to your face. So I thought that this was a great website for everyone to know about. =)

As Christmas is just 2 days away...we have to remember the most important things in our lives and to not forget to show gratitude for what we have. Because as easy it is for things to be given to us...whether it be a job, a home, or a family...those same things can easily be taken away.

This is my first Christmas not spending it with my family since I moved across the country. And instead of feeling sad about it...I really wanted to do something this year to help others. My uncle and I used to go to different shelters to feed the homeless during the holidays. While everyone was at home with their family enjoying their holiday hot meals...my uncle and I were out feeding the homeless on our holiday.

I wanted to do something special again this year being that I'm now living thousands of miles away from my own family. So this is what I decided to do. (watch video below).

Help Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate.

I was very honored to be able to work as the makeup artist with a group of fabulous and talented photographers. I enjoyed every second of it. And the end result, was amazing.

And you know you have done a good thing when your inbox is flooded with messages like this one to the right (click on image to enlarge).

I wish you all a safe and wonderful Christmas. Don't forget to tell the ones that you love those 3 special words....
"I love you."

I have been nominated for a blog award by RayQueenBee who is from Miami, Florida. Her motto is "Beauty is Within."

Thank you girl for taking interest in my blog, given that my blog is pretty random....like me...random. I'll blog about everything and anything whether it's about me or something else. If it interests me, i'll blog about it. =)




So the rules for accepting award is as followed:

The rules

* To accept this award: Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
* Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
* Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am nominating:

1.) BeautyNewbie (I love B! This girl is one of the sweetest girls on YouTube as well)
2.) DatGirl25MakeupOnABudget (I love watching her YouTube videos. She always inspires me to workout and lose weight...haha.)
3.) ImprovEverywhere (Some of you know, this is the group that I belong to. We make random scenes and pranks in public places and it's all in fun to make people laugh and smile)
4.) MakeupbyRisa (I love Risa. We share a lot of the same interests..especially since she used to live in New York then now moved back to California....so I know she still misses New York. Then I used to live in California and now I live in New York...so now I still miss California...haha. Homesick. Arghhh!!)
5.) Petrilude (His website is temporarily down...due to updates. But once it's up, check it out. www.petrilude.com I love Josh's page. I've learned a lot of tips and tricks in the makeup world because of him.)
6.) StayYoungForever (Kathy is my first blogger who subscribed to me and has been a faithful subscriber since day 1.....I appreciate her and I also enjoy reading her blogs. We both love Kim Kardashian...lol)
7.) Sscastandeda (Sonia, she has an awesome YouTube channel as well. I have been watching her since she was still pregnant. Sonia and my sister had their babies at the same time so it was so cute watching her till the last moments til she went to labor. She reminds me a lot of my sister.
8.) MyLifeIsAverage (This kid who blogs about average and sarcastic moments in his life...which I find quite entertaining sometimes....lol)

Okay, I can only think of 8 people. haha.

I practiced a zombie look on myself after being inspired by the New York Halloween parade of the zombie dancers from the Michael Jackson Thriller video. (Picture of the zombie dancers below)

The tutorial is below of the process. It's definitely not your everyday look that's for sure....but it was fun for a one time Halloween occassion. Happy Halloween.

Well, I'm very excited to announce that you can get some awesome Konad Stamping Nail Art from the company WowSoCool for a fraction of the cost. It's very simple and easy to use. You don't have to spend hours at a time decorating your nails anymore since this process takes no more than 10 minutes or less. The instructional video is below. Now, let's talk about the DISCOUNT shall we?

1.) Go to the website: www.wowsocool.com
2.) When you order, use the coupon code: queenleilani and 30% will be taken off your purchase. Isn't that awesome?
3.) Do note, that the discount does NOT apply towards "Build Your Own Kit" since that is already discounted.

(picture from google, just to give you an idea of the end result).



The customer service and shipping is EXCELLENT! I actually emailed the company letting them know how happy I was with my products and the next day, I received a reply back by a representative named Jessica. I was very happy about that. She has been so helpful and very open in communication with me and I sincerely appreciate that. I know it takes a lot of work to be in the Customer Service world especially when you do not feel as though your job is appreciated. Trust me, I know....I've worked in customer service before for years. So when I deal with EXCELLENT customer service, I make sure that I give credit where credit is due.

The shipping was rather fast. I ordered my Konad stamping kit on a Friday and I got it on Monday. I was very surprised how fast I received my products! Oh another thing, the shipping is very inexpensive. If you are in the US, it's FREE SHIPPING for orders over $20.00 within the USA and Canada and $2.00 for anything that is $19.99 and under. There is no complaints there for me!

I am very big about customer service and shipping. You can shop on a website where the products can be cute, but it's the customer service that stands behind the products that matter to me the most! If the customer service is horrible, I will not put my money towards bad service. I will shop elsewhere. So if I say that WowSoCool has EXCELLENT customer service, it's because they really do. It's like that saying: "a beautiful woman with an ugly personality, makes her look ugly."

My friend Mary ordered from them after I brought my Konad products to school to show her a demo. She fell in love with them on first sight and ended up ordering them online right in front of me. I saw her a few days later and she ran after me very excited to me to show me her newly painted toes. HAHA. She said she was also surprised how fast the shipping was.

So check it out and let me know what you think.

Okay everyone, I have news for you. I started a new blog site. You're probably wondering "what for when you already have this blog?" Well, it is because I'm getting inquiries for gigs to do makeup and hair and people are asking to see my portfolio. I'm getting asked to do weddings, photo shoots, commercials, etc. YAY!! Unfortunately, I do not have a professional portfolio (but I will be having a professional portfolio very soon). However, I do have pictures that I have saved onto my computer and on my blog. So instead of sending links to my personal blog, I decided to start a separate blog for strictly fashion.

My new blog will still have my normal flare and personality to it. But instead of it being like THIS blog where I talk about anything from fashion to electronics to celebrities to makeup to just about anything (I can't help it, so much interests me)....I'm keeping this new blog I created, strictly fashion. It is much more organized that way. Therefore, if someone wants to see work that I have done, all I will do is send them a link to that blog...and if they decide to roam around throughout the rest of the blog, it will all be within its category. Make sense?

Okay, the name of my new blog is "MAKEUP + HAIR + FASHION = ART" pretty catchy, eh? If you wish to support me by visiting it and/or following that blog too, click here or you can go to (www.QueenLeilaniLovesArt.blogspot.com). I would greatly appreciate the love. There is not much on there since I just started it and I pretty much just transferred any makeup or fashion looks that I've done on this blog over to that blog. Don't worry, I won't stop posting on this blog. Thank you to all my faithful readers! =) Much love, Arlene.

Gwen Stefani never ceases to amaze me with her beauty. It seems as though the older she gets the more beautiful she looks. I saw her on the cover of Glamour's October 2009 issue and she just looks fabulous.

My friends who know me know that I'm a huge fan of Miss Gwendolyn Renee Stefani. I can't believe she's going to be turning 40 soon since her birthday is around the corner on October 3rd. She is definitely looking great. She still looks like she's still in her 20's. I hope when I reach my 40's I can still look like i'm in my 20's. haha.

My boyfriend actually took me to see her in concert a few months ago. He knows how much I love No Doubt. Seeing No Doubt reunite and perform together on stage after 5 long years was definitely a treat. I didn't know whether to cry or to smile since it was all an emotional experience for me. I will never forget the day of the concert, given that it was the day before the death of Michael Jackson.







My friend Damien also went to see No Doubt in concert and was lucky enough to be in the pit and get close up for great pictures. The pictures to the right are the ones he took for me. Pretty close, eh?

Hearing all their classic songs brought back many memories. I look forward to when they come out with a new album.