The Royal Baby.

     I have been pretty exciteable, shall we say, over the birth of the Royal Baby pretty much since Kate's pregnancy was announced. If you know me, or follow my business page on Facebook, then you know I try to stay on top of my Royal news and kept everyone updated, whether they wanted to be or not, on the Royal Bump/Baby watch. So the day before yesterday when my royal baby app ((yes, of course there is an app) went a buzzing with news that Kate gave birth to the new Prince of Cambridge (4:24pm London time, 8lbs 6oz) I was markedly smitten and we all began the loose countdown until Kate & Will would appear on the steps of the Lindo wing of St. Mary's debuting their son (whose name will be announced later).
     I was watching E! for a good portion of yesterday afternoon since they were live streaming the event and I'm not going to lie, I was slightly emotional when Kate walked out holding that precious little baby. If you didn't have baby fever before, you surely do now!!
Sidenote: typing a blog post from your cell phone in the middle of a thunderstorm does not help upload all my Royal Baby photos!! I'm quite sure we have all seen them by now, they're pretty unavoidable.
     Anyway, the moment that Kate appeared carrying that baby, Will at her side, I was glued. She looked so beautiful and happy. I was surprised that they held a little impromptu press conference but it was refreshing to see them outside the royal light as just new parents. Kate's polka dot Jenny Packham dress was perfection, as was she and Will both wearing pale blue in honor of the new prince. Then when Will put the baby in his own car and actually drove it himself, I thought that was super presh!!
     Everyone continued to speculate when we would hear the baby's name. Charles and Diana waited a week to announce William's name and Elizabeth and Philip waited a month to debut Charles's name, so I was surprised when we all learned this morning that the baby was named George Alexander Louis, which I find to be quite a regal name. A lot of people were of course quick to offer their opinion of the name, and I don't want to get all historical but the name is quite significant!!
     So, I think we all are beginning to see the hype wind down, which I find to be a bummer because it was nice to have good news in the headlines. I will, however, remain a royal family follower. There are just a few more things I wanted to add to my royal baby write up: Kate went through natural childbirth as planned (and I haven't come across a source saying otherwise as of now), which I find to be quite admirable. I haven't given birth yet so I can't speak from experience, but this certainly speaks as to part of why she is my role model. Also Kate has been buying several nursing gowns/dresses pointing at the likelihood that yes, she is breastfeeding baby George. Of course she is! She's amazing!! Seriously though, it's really lovely to see her already being such a hands-on mom, especially when you look into the history of children born into the monarchy.
     News stands are going to be plastered with all of this this weekend, so you know I'll be all about that!! Call me a nerd for the things I fan girl over, but I can't help what I'm drawn too, haha. I've always been highly interested in British royalty, all through college and now, so my love of the royals, Kate in particular, is actually pretty fitting. I could go on and on, but I really did try to condense this post for my own sanity over attention to details. If you actually haven't seen the royal baby pictures so far released, they are on my business Facebook page (pretty and clever by Jacqueline Clark) and on my Instagram (jacquelinecxo).

Hope everyone is having a lovely week thus far!!
XO,
J <3.

Fight Like a Girl, Pt. II

   If you haven't read part 1 you might want to read that first... Picking up where I left off... On May 24 I had day 1 of 2 of my excision procedure. I went in full of anxiety despite the valium I had taken prior. My sister works at the office, as I mentioned before, so luckily she was able to come back with me and take me home that day. The first day was not as bad as I expected, they referred to it as a "glorified biopsy". They used local anesthetic injections and removed what appeared to be a silver dollar size amount of skin from the melanoma site. That sample was rushed to a pathology lab to check for clear margins and other things. They cauterized the area and packed it with bandaging to last me until the next morning when part two of the procedure was to be performed. To be honest I was not in a great deal of pain that day, just nervous for day 2.
   My best friend took off work to come with me day 2 ((because of my husband's new work contact they wouldn't allow him the time off to come with me either day)). We got three and they told me all the margins from the area removed came back  clear, meaning they got all the melanoma from the site. Good news. I had taken 2 valium before this procedure, but being numbed with the local anesthetic is still no walk in the park. Its lots of multiple little behind sticks that burn!! They even played John Mayer on Pandora to help relax me. When she began to make the incision (they have to remove an additional perimeter of the area as precaution), part of the anesthesia didn't take so I actually felt the scalpel!!! Yes, it hurt. I cannot express that enough. So, more anesthetic sticks. So, forthe rest of the removal I got along fairly well. Then as she went to cauterize I started feeling the burn again, and that combined with the smell of burning flesh... No good. So, more anesthetic. Next was the stitches, I hadvs row of 7 and a 2nd row of 9 stitches that would dissolve in time. I also had to have a third row of stitches... The long continuous stitch kind, that would be taken out about a week later. Again, when she started the last line of stitches I was feeling things again, cue more anesthetic. But, I did make it through. Thank you Jesus.
     After a lot of bandaging and administering of after care information and scheduling of follow up appointments I was able to go home, cancer free!!
     Luckily I have an amazing best friend who was able to keep me company the rest of the day, because the road of recovery was just beginning.
((part 3 coming soon))

Be safe in the sun guys!! You'll be doing yourself a favor, believe me!!

XO,
J.

Review: Khroma Beauty, Kim's Kardazzle palette

     I was rather excited months back when news hit of the Kardashian's make up line, Khroma Beauty!! Like them or not, the girls always have flawless faces. I also figured that they wouldn't put their names on products that would make them look bad. Kim Kardashian's makeup is of my most requested looks as a makeup artist, so I picked up the Khroma Kim's Kardazzle palette to check it out.

     The palette is smaller in comparison to say ones by Urban Decay, I would compare it more to the size of a pack of cigarettes (sn: I do not smoke!!). Kim is known for her edgy smokey eye and precision contouring and highlighting. So, as you can see, the palette contains 8 shadows suitable for creating more dramatic looks. The pull out compartment additionally contains a blush shade, and shades for highlighting and contouring/bronzing. Below I have swatched all shades in the palette for you to see. Note: each shade was swatched with one swipe of the finger in natural light, no filters.

I was immediately drawn to the last 2 shades on the top row of shadows, as well as the 

middle 2 on the bottom. I also really liked the highlighting shade. The more gray matte colors I felt were so matte they came across as looking dull. The blush was okay for a soft sweep of color, but the bronze shade did not feel very pigmented to me, which I was a little surprised about given that this is Kim's palette.

     Well, I've worn a few of these shadows on occasion since I've had the palette, but today I did a full on eye look (just realized I lost the picture from my phone, laaaame!), using all the darker shades I mentioned before as being drawn to. I used potion primer as my base and topped everything off with a setting spray. 10 hours later everything was still in place and just as pigmented. That is definitely aces in my book!!

     Overall I would say that if you are looking for better quality makeup that doesn't come at a prestige line price, then Khroma is a great choice. I do wish all shades had amazing payout color wise, but the shadow is buildable and blends nicely. The price is affordable and you can find the line at Ulta. I can't wait to try their mascaras, since I am a proclaimed Lash addict. Another added bonus, at least for me anyway, is the packaging. It's well designed and a lot of thought was put into visual appeal, which I do appreciate.

Have you tried any of the Khroma line?? If you have I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend, and make sure to follow me on Twitter for expert makeup, fashion and hair tips, as well as my random musings. I'm also on Instagram: jacquelinecxo.

XO,

J <3.