An Open Letter to Velour Lashes

Update: Velour responded to my email query in the following way. I received my replacement pair of lashes:

Hello Katherine,

First off, thank you so so much for being such a loyal customer to us  : ) We really do appreciate it and  I am so sorry to hear about your lashes. Please send over a picture of the lashes and I can get a replacement pair sent to you right away. Send over your shipping address as well. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Angela Tran 

Founder/COO

Velour Lashes Inc. 

www.velourlashes.com

twitter: @velourlashes

Dear Velour Lashes,

Hi! My name is Katherine. I’m a very loyal ran of yours. I have been loving Velour lashes since early 2012, and have ordered at least 12 pairs of lashes from you by now, though realistically, the number falls around 15.

I have written blog posts featuring your lashes…

Oops Naughty Me

Lash in the City

And you have reposted my pictures and shared them with fans…

My boyfriend even bought me a pair of lashes for my birthday (or was it Christmas?) and you told him from seeing the name and address that you recognized me.

I have spent a lot of money doing business with you, because I absolutely adore your lashes, and have never stopped ordering, even with disappointing mishaps on my end, or when the lashes haven't lasted a full 25 wears.

For instance, last year, I ordered lashes in T-Dot-ohh from you, and Doll Me Up. I featured T-Dot-ohh in this tutorial on YouTube…

And a whole video on Lash in the City on my YouTube channel…

Anyway, though I ordered both T-Dot-ohh and Doll Me Up last year, I tragically somehow lost one of each lash, so that I was left with one of each, leaving me with an essentially useless pair of lashes (twice!).

After absorbing that loss for the past year or so, the timing felt right for me to order them again, so I ordered those recently, along with Lash in the City, which I always order without fault since they are my holy grail lashes, and I go through them very quickly J

My sister also decided to order me a pair of lashes I have never tried before but have been very interested in, “Hey Shawty,” which she surprised me with for Christmas. Tonight I decided to pop them on and wear them out. However, when I tried to remove the lashes from their casing things got very difficult. To remove them, I tried to follow the instructions I once heard so long ago from YouTube guru Petrilude on how to properly remove false lashes from their packaging (a method I always use without fault). 

After opening the box and admiring the beautiful and full set of lashes, I gulped and began applying pressure to the lashes and firmly but gently tried pulling them away from their casing - but the lashes wouldn’t move.

I couldn’t understanding how this was happening, so I tried, ever more firmly but still gently (to preserve the lashes and shape) to tug them away from their casing. However, I quickly began to realize the glue attaching the lashes to their case was too strong, as lashes began falling out and becoming separated from the seam. In the end, I was finally able to grab hold of the inner corner and pull the rest of the lash away from the casing. This was bad, but still, the lash looked mostly intact.

However, when it came time for me to attempt to do the same with the other side, the glue was even stronger, and many, many lashes came out (at least 15). I was so upset I got my sister to film me doing this, to share with others on YouTube, as I felt I had just wasted a fresh, beautiful pair of $29.99 lashes, except that to me, in the moment, and looking back now after a few weeks have passed, the debacle wasn't truly my fault.

Here is the unlisted video of the session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRYM8oMreYk

The lashes now look incredibly tragic, and with the seam being so mangled, they are barely wearable. When I have tried to wear them and get past the sparse areas, because the lash has already been so abused, more hairs have continued to fall out. 

I must say that I felt truly horrible after this incident. I’m incredibly down in the dumps about this, and I’m not one to ask for freebies, but it felt pretty bad seeing my sister watch me basically ruin my own Christmas present, especially when once again, I felt like it was a manufacturing issue. 

I’ve been a customer for so long, and Mabel and Angela, I truly feel like you guys might actually read this post and reply… please do! All I’m hoping for is:

a)     a replacement pair of “Hey Shawty” lashes, and

b)    a response to my plea for less super-hold glue binding the lashes to their casing!

I truly appreciate your time reading this, and invite you to email me at KatMuniz@aol.com. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Fall Lookbook: Styling 10 Wardrobe Staples

Hello everyone! I recently put together a lookbook utilizing ten wardrobe essentials and basics that I think every girl could benefit from adding to their collection! Here are the looks and pieces :)

Graphic Leggings, Snood, Draped Cardigan

Comfy Oversized Knit (aka my travel outfit)

Kimono Wrap, High-waisted Shorts 

 Draped Statement Sweater

 Kimono Wrap, Summery Dress (to transition)

Chunky Knit Sweater, High-waisted Shorts

I hope you enjoyed the looks! Here is the breakdown of where I got these pieces from:

Outfit 1:
Snood - Forever 21 | No longer in white :( http://bit.ly/1aOMbXk
Tank - Forever 21 | Taupe: http://bit.ly/1dFZ4qO or Nude: http://bit.ly/1aVzduB
Leggings - Victoria's Secret Pink | Aztec Black & Grey Printed http://bit.ly/1b5mlyC
Cardigan - Forever 21 | VERY similar: http://bit.ly/1aWdZL1

Outfit 2:
Tank - Forever 21 | Taupe: http://bit.ly/1dFZ4qO or Nude: http://bit.ly/1aVzduB
Cardigan - American Apparel | Modal Shawl Cardigan: http://bit.ly/14OQFOH
Leggings - Victoria's Secret Pink | Printed Legging, may come back in stock: http://bit.ly/1b5mlyC
Bag - Aldo | http://bit.ly/1aAR0H7

Outfit 3:
Kimono Wrap - NastyGal | No longer available :(
High-waisted Shorts - Brandy Melville | Not currently on the site, but here is their bottoms section: http://bit.ly/11ENCSZ
Tank - Forever 21 | White: http://bit.ly/1aWfs48

Outfit 4:
Leggings - American Apparel | Black: http://bit.ly/Spzc9Q
T-shirt - Urban Outfitters | No longer on the site, try Forever 21, Brandy Melville, or VS Pink for similar styles
Draped Statement Sweater - Urban Outfitters | No longer available, but the brand Staring At Stars (which this sweater is) has many similar styles which I love: http://bit.ly/17B5AjE

Outfit 5:
Chunky Knit Sweater - Brandy Melville | I believe it's called the Moselle Sweater, not currently in stock but here: http://bit.ly/1eZwLUr
High-Waisted Shorts - Brandy Melville Not currently in stock but here: http://bit.ly/11ENCSZ
Tank - Brandy Melville | Not currently in stock but here: http://bit.ly/16gEWcv

Outfit 6:
Kimono Wrap - Brandy Melville | Not currently in stock but they have many kimono wraps in store, such as this: http://bit.ly/1b5oPNp
Dress - Brandy Melville | Not currently in stock, check the store, here is their dress section: http://bit.ly/1aWhBwL

Pictures: www.buzzedforbeauty.blogspot.com

Hauls featuring these items:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGqm9azH23A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItPb3GoPHhw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph94yBwDI9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFzKz-FaMy8

Get Ready With Me: Smokey Eye & Bold Lip

Hi guys! I tried to film a get ready with me when I went out a couple of weeks ago, but the quality and lighting ended up being horrible, so I recreated it a few days ago.

I was going for a nice dark smokey eye paired with a bright lip. I hope you like it! Here is the final product :)

Easy Neutral Glittery Smokey Eye

Hi guys! I recently did a glittery neutral champagne-y eye makeup look, and I'm happy with the results! I hope you guys like it, it was quite simple to do! The recipe is basically this:

Light shimmery color on the lid
Dark cool toned brown in the crease
Black to smoke out the outer V
Champagne-gold glitter of your choice (I used Lit Cosmetics Champagne Wishes)
Dark cool toned brown and black on the bottom lash line
Dark eyeliner to make your eyes pop
Mascara on the top and bottom lashes
Glamorous False Lashes

Flawless skin
Contoured bronzey glow on temples and hollows of cheeks
Bronzey-rose cheeks
Glowy tops of cheekbones and brow bone area

Warm terracotta-rose lips!

Anyway, I'll leave the tutorial in this post for you all to check out if you haven't already! You can also find specific product information and application details by checking out the description bar of my video. Here are some close-ups, and have a great day. :)

As you can tell, there is some clumping and uneven-ness on my right eye. Drats!!! :'( But aside from that, I like the look overall. I hope you guys do too :)

[Video to come tomorrow when published to YouTube]

Crop Top Pairings: Photos and YT Video

Man it's been a while since I've been on here! Anyway, I recently made a video demonstrating various ways of pairing lots of different crop tops with many different bottoms. Maxi skirts, bodycon skirts, high waisted shorts, the whole nine yard. My rules are simple: create balance.

You must create a harmonious balance between the two pieces of your outfit. If your top is fitted, it will look flattering to wear a loose or flared out bottom, such as a circle skirt or fit and flare (skater) skirt. However, a fitted top can also look aesthetically pleasing with a tight bottom, like a bodycon skirt. Such a pairing definitely turns up the heat on an outfit, and emphasizes your body more, so consider whether you're comfortable with that or if you'd feel like you were putting yourself on display.

Also, looser crop tops look great with fitted bottoms. I haven't yet experimented with two loose pieces, as in a loose top AND a loose bottom but I'm sure someone out there could find a way to make that work. I'm uncertain. Anyway, please enjoy these pictures and check out my YouTube video if you'd like! (Once the video is made public I will link. Until then see below for the pairings!)

* So sorry for the inconsistency of the pictures - for some, but not all, of the YouTube pairings I posed for the camera. For the outfits I didn't pose for (I'm not sure why I didn't), I had to take screen grabs of the YouTube video.

* Note: I actually really don't like the last pairing, the top is way too masculine looking, whereas the dress is flirty, fun, and playful. Disregard!

Thanks for reading!

Style: Inspiration Boards

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've written anything on here... but I wanted to share with you a few inspiration boards I made for my birthday! :) Obviously only one look can win, but the rest can be worn for a date night or any special occasion. I have a thing for bodycon anything, and I've been mad about crop tops/bustier tops for the past year. I think it can look so chic to show just a couple inches of midriff, you know? So the theme between all these boards are really luxe, body-fitting, and flattering pieces.

I love this first board - it's so luxe and grandiose! The pave jewelry, the gold and sparkle, and the sexiness of the high heeled sandals just make me happy! The bodycon dresses are also exactly up my alley -- the glamour of it all.

This board screams city girl! The pieces are so chic and NYC. I kept the pave bracelet because I truly believe it is the singular sparkly glamorous piece perfect for any outfit - plus I own it! It was a Valentine's Day gift from my boyfriend :) In this board I put one great bustier piece from Shopnastygal that I just recently ordered, and put four different skirts for the bottom. I can't wait to wear this! I think this will end up being my birthday outfit. I already own the peach skater skirt, and I just ordered the Motel Alphabet skirt shown above and the floral bodycon skirt.

This one I actually wore on a date with my boyfriend when I went to visit him in California :) I wore this exact outfit - the sparkly bracelet, the lace bustier, the shiny black shorts, and the tuxedo vest. It was definitely a cute look, but the shorts kept riding up and I felt naked :'( I ordered these shoes just so I would have them for California, and when they came the mailman or UPS man or whoever didn't ring the doorbell. My sister and I were both home when the package was dropped off, but had no idea it was there and someone stole it off my porch. $50 wasted :( 

This board is so American Apparel-tastic. Also, I own the clutch pictured. But both the dresses and the striped bustier top are from American Apparel. I just felt the dress was so sexy and would make for an easy look that would turn heads. 

Anyway everyone I hope you enjoyed these inspiration boards! Hopefully I'll make some more soon and share them with you all. 

3rd Before/After

So for this edition of Before/After I did my go-to look: my signature smokey eye. This look entails loads of black shadow, a warm medium brown color to blend in the crease, and a whitish gold highlight color for the inner corners and the eyebrow highlight. Filling in my brows made a huge difference, and the second biggest difference are the lovely lashes I used. These are my favorite false lashes, a pair called Lash in the City by Velour Lashes. They're lush and full and lovely - totally dramatic. Then I perfected my complexion with some foundation, Hoola bronzer by Benefit, and a warm hot pink blush called Desire by NARS. However, I am somewhat unhappy with how my forehead looks. There really is something wrong with the unceasing breakouts I've been getting on my forehead, and I don't know what to do to make it better. Covering it also seems to almost make it look worse because you can still see the bumps, they're just skin-colored. Anyway, while I ponder what to do with that problem area, I'll tell you what else I did. I highlighted the tops of my cheekbones, but I don't know how clearly visible that is in this picture. Finally, I used Boldly Bare lipliner from MAC to line my lips and a beautiful sparkly nude lipgloss called Nudie Tude from Benefit.

Final Product:

Comment below to let me know what you think!

2nd Before/After

This one's pretty dramatic huh? Boy my skin's gotten pretty out of control lately. I have incredibly sensitive skin and it usually results in some blotchiness and hives, as you see here above my lip and under it, and the ruddiness of my cheeks. Also my eyebrows are tragic as ever, but as I've stated in my eyebrow tutorial video, the best base I can pluck my brows into to get the type of brows I desire. After all, I can't make my brow hairs grow into what you see in the After. If I left them unplucked they would just be a spotty dense patch. Other then that, I look like a normal girl. Hooded eyes, genetic puffiness under them, nose on the bulbous side, olive complexion, not so noticeable lips.

So how did I jazz my complexion, lips, brows and eyes up? I used a shimmery white-gold shadow on my inner tear ducts, and only two shadows on my lids and lower lash line: a dark smokey purple-brown and a black to intensify the outer edges. I kept it soft with no eyeliner, something highly unusual for me. The lashes I use are Ardell 105s, very prettily separated and long. I fill my brows in as usual with my Maybelline Define-A-Brow and for my complexion, I even it out with Graftobian's Cream HD foundation, set with powder, bronze with Benefit Hoola Bronzer, and warm up with NARS' Orgasm Blush. Finally, I go to my favorite lip combo of MAC Whirl lipliner and MAC Cherish lipstick.

After Product:

So what do you think? Comment below.

Before/After - Total Honesty

Hi everyone. Thought I'd put together a little Before/After for you all to see. I feel like it will confirm whatever it is the person who sees this already thought about makeup prior to even looking at the picture. Either that makeup is a lie, or I looked way better before putting on makeup, or I look way better with makeup, or I'm disguising my face or making myself look like someone else with makeup. Either way I don't really care. I like this before after though, because I think it helped me realize things about myself. For example, even though the blemishes are much more apparent with a flawless face, there is something nice about seeing my natural skin. And my eyes also still look nice even without eyeliner, something I seriously doubted before. When I say nice, I just mean nice -- they have a kind quality and look bright even if not necessarily beautiful. The sparseness of my eyebrows is unfortunate, but oh well, c'est la vie. I think my made up face is much "prettier" and more feminine, but I admit that it looks a bit drag-ish almost next to my natural look. And also, the lashes -- they look a bit much and slightly unproportionate, but that's because one actually is longer then the other. I had to trim the front of one of the lashes because the hairs had literally fallen out and the seam had been compromised and was actually bent out of shape and completely irreparable... so yeah. Let me know what you think in a comment below!

The After Product:

BaubleBar Unwrapped! My Experience

Hi everyone! Today I stopped by BaubleBar Unwrapped (twice)! It's a 2 week pop-up shop BaubleBar has set up in celebration of their 2 year anniversary. BaubleBar is an online jewelry site which is amazing. The taste of the stylists there is amazing, everything is beautiful, chic, glitzy, and glamorous. It's also relatively cheap. There are things in the teens, but mostly in the $20-40 range, as well as some items being priced much higher in the $60-70 range and up. They have amazing bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. The pop-up shop is set at 344 W. 14th St. between 8th and 9th avenue, and it is absolutely stunning. It runs from Feb. 1st- Feb. 16th so hurry over if you're in the area and are interested in going. I had a generally good experience, and I'll go through the highs and lows of my time there. But first... pictures!!

* The pop-up shop has just been announced to now be running through February!

Free treat every visitor gets just for giving their email address! Who doesn't love surprises?

 My purchase! Click my YouTube video below the text to see what I got :)

Highs:
- They let me film to my heart's content. It felt a little awkward, but I really wanted to show my blog viewers and YouTube viewers the store and it felt exciting to go to a launch. Today wasn't technically the launch, but it was the 2nd day so it still felt exciting. There were people still staring at me however and I do kind of feel like the girls were looking at me a little also... but then again I guess it is weird to have someone walking around your store with a camera filming all your jewelry

- I really really wanted to make it there in time to be one of the first 50 visitors, because the first 50 visitors would receive a $25 gift card to spend in store, and I WAS!!!! So exciting!! The store opened at 11 AM and I got there round 12:30, maybe 12:15. I didn't think I made it, I felt so downtrodden, but then I went in and was approached by a girl who I thought was stopping me to ask me not to film. I explained why I was filming to her which seemed to take her by surprise, because in her hand was the $25 gift card the whole time and it turns out she just wanted to ask me if I'd like it! Woohoo!

- I bought a really beautiful bracelet. I'm kind of a nerd so yesterday night I went online to see the things that specifically caught my eye to take pictures of them on my phone to keep an eye out for in store, and I found the one I wanted the most! :) I also loved that I got to use my gift card to help pay for it. The bracelet was $32 so I ended up only having to pay $7 :) There was one other item I hoped would be in store, but it wasn't. I wasn't surprised though because it was sold out online so I knew it would be a slim chance but I was hopeful :(

Lows:
- I thought the register girls were nice, but the manager kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She wasn't rude or anything but she breezed over to me very straightforwardly after I asked one of the girls who worked there if she could speak a little on camera about the pop-up shop and Baublebar. The girl went to go get the manager, who I assumed would speak to the camera about it, but instead the manager said she couldn't speak on film today but that if I wanted some text pulled together or something like that she might be able to do it. She did ask if I was from a beauty blog which made me feel a little nervous because, let's be honest, this is my own little beauty venture and it really is a small blog. But I just told her it was my own blog which she seemed to find credible enough. But yeah either way she was very professional and straightforward and told me I could film the girls in action and film whatever I wanted in the store, which I appreciated, but I still don't quite know why she couldn't have spoken to the camera about the shop even for a little bit. I mean come on, it was free exposure! Blah.

- Another person who rubbed me the wrong way was this girl who I initially liked. She was out on the floor and helped me search for a necklace, the item I mentioned that I was interested in earlier. I asked her if they had it in stock and she said they should have, which I found to be one of those things where they might not know what they're talking about and are just assuming, because online only the silver was left in stock, and the store only seemed to have the silver on the floor. However since she said they should have, and did earlier I believed her. She however couldn't find it and walked over to a computer they had in the corner to search it up online, where she found (as I had already known) that it was sold out online and that they probably didn't have it in store. That was okay to me though because she still helped me look for it, which I thought was nice. However when I came back later in the day and approached her, saying "Hi! You helped me earlier in the day -smile-" she simply looked at me like she didn't recognize me at all and looked a little freaked out. I tried to jog her memory... to no avail. It was really awkward. She was kind of shaking her head like "Really...? Have we... met?" That kind of thing.

- I thought it was really cool that the store let you have a second treat in exchange for merely snapping a picture and posting it on a social media site with the hashtag "BBUnwrapped" and mentioning Baublebar in the caption/tweet/post. However, I couldn't use my camera to do it, since they wanted it instantaneously, and I also wasn't told I could do it at home and come in, show them the post and then pick up my free treat then. So I cam back later in the day with a friend who had a smartphone (as my parents think data plans are unnecessary and too expensive and so I still do not have a smartphone). It was then that I asked the girl who helped me how the process worked and she just seemed so different then earlier in the day, much unfriendlier and a little freaked out by me, kind of like I made her nervous just being there... I didn't mean to weird her out jeez I just wanted to say hi and tell her she helped me earlier :( I figured it was a nice introduction and it would show her I remembered her, but I guess she didn't remember me. Either way, I ended up getting my second treat after my friend instagrammed a pic of me but it was rather awkward. The girl from this morning who gave a girl a second treat didn't say to take a picture of anything specific, but later in the day I was told by this girl that it should be a picture of the treat I received earlier, so I had to pull it out of the pouch and everything. Either way it was worth it to get my hands on that mystery little second treat! The girl handed it to me and I got the hell out of there. When I got outside I opened it (on camera which you'll see in my video) and was so. disappointed. Inside was this pair of earrings, but it wasn't pretty at all and I really felt it was a clash with the store's elegance and sophistication and natural style. The treat I got in the morning was so much prettier, a classy necklace that I wasn't in love with, but liked and felt was a nice solid piece. This was just... bad. gaudy. tacky. I felt like they got it from a 25 cent vending machine :( I felt like I've probably gotten that pair of earrings before, in fact, from a 25 cent vending machine in my childhood. Anyway when I logged onto instagram to check out pictures other girls had instagrammed with the BBUnwrapped hashtag, I felt so let down. Some girls had received really cute things like gold stud earrings that looked adorable and expensive, and I felt I got something really tacky and on the total opposite end of what I could have gotten. :( And I made the trek back and everything just for that second treat. So that really disappointed me.

Moral of the story: I know my lows seem to outweigh my highs of the experience, but I really did think the store was absolutely beautiful, and if I had had more money to spend I would have had an absolute blast there. I wouldn't change a thing about the layout except moving the treat table to the front of the store instead of the back. Everything was decorated beautifully and was the height of decadence and sophistication without making me feel intimidated. It was really a lovely store, and I thought the promotions they did in terms of free treats and extra freebies for the first 50 people for Saturday and Sunday was absolutely fantastic. I give them a total thumbs up for that, and also think that them having people all hashtag one unified hashtag to social media was really smart in terms of driving traffic to their brand and to the pop up store, and that the treats were a great really generous way for them to achieve that goal.

So I hope you all enjoyed my words on this experience! Thanks for reading everyone. Please check out my video below, especially if you're interested in the trinket I bought! It's an absolute stunner. It's coming soon so hold tight if you don't see it in the post as of right now.