SHE SAID - The Liebster Award!......wait, the what?

So apparently this is a real thing!  'The Liebster Award' is--as I understand--a way for 'undiscovered' bloggers to promote each other and say Job well done, friend!  Tell me more about your fine self! ....ok, maybe I'm paraphrasing a bit...you can find the full explanation on the two blogs that (amazingly (and surprisingly)) enough nominated ME for one!  Made my day! :)  

Meet Yasmin over on her blog Lipsiie, she is a beauty blogger from London!  I'll list the questions below that she asked me along with my responses!

1) What is your favourite makeup brand, one being budget and one highend?  This is hard!  For every product I gravitate towards different brands...so I'll split it up somewhat:
     Eyeshadows:  Wet n Wild // MAC
     Lipstick:  Maybelline // MAC
     Eyeliner:  Rimmel // Urban Decay
     Foundation:  Revlon // Bare Minerals
     Mascara:  Maybelline // Too Faced

2) What is your favorite lipstick?  MAC "All Fired Up" is my jjaaaammmmmmm.  Watch me blab about it here.

3) Three makeup products you could not live with out?  Mascara, Concealer, and a bold lipstick

4) Three things you have to do before you leave the house- beauty related? (e.g. wear foundation, fill in brows).  Mascara and chapstick for sure....and I always prefer to have concealer/foundation on to feel 'my best'

5) Describe yourself in three words?  Random, weird, creepy (...........but in a friendly way! muahaha)

6) The inspiration behind your blog?  Desire to be part of the 'beauty community'!

7) Drugstore foundation or high end, which one?  My all-time favorite is Bare Minerals Original Foundation, but I'm currently exploring the world that is Drugstore foundation....and I'm having tons of fun doing it! - check out my Foundation Series videos if you haven't already!  Start here.

8) What was your first piece of makeup that you owned or brought? I can vividly remember taking chapstick VERY SERIOUSLY as a child, hah, I even had a "lip brush" to apply it with.  But the first REAL makeup products I received were in 7th grade, I've written all about it here.

9) Name one high end beauty product that was a disappointment?  MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer....what a paste-y mess!  It's just too thick for me!  I've re-purposed it as a sticky-base to use with some eyeshadows, but it's going to take me FOREVER to get through it.

10) What country would you like to travel to and why?  Ummmmmmm......there's still plently of places in the US I need to get to first!

11) One beauty product on your wish list?  Stila "Kitten" eyeshadow!  MUST. GET. WILL. GET.  Just not sure when!

Now, meet Justine!  Justine and I have became quick friends on Instagram, and I'm excited to get to know her better!  Here are the things she wanted to know about me!

1. What made you start blogging? I just had so much 'built up' makeup-fodder in my head that needed to be documented in SOME WAY.  Derek and I started the blog together, but we both knew I'd have a heavy makeup-hand on it......

2. What do you love the most about blogging? Answering makeup questions!  I LOVE when people online (and in person) trust my answers!

3. What is you favorite drugstore brand? All in all probably Maybelline

4. What 3 beauty products could you not live without? Mascara, Concealer, and a bold lipstick

5. Dramatic eyes or Dramatic lips? At first I put 'lips' without giving it a second thought.....but that's just because I'm currently on a lipstick-kick of sorts.......if I really think about it, I'd say eyes because creating eye looks is my favorite part of makeup!

6. How long does your everyday beauty routine take you?  My everyday routine for work takes me 10 minutes, but if it's on the weekends, my 'everyday' makeup will take about 15 minutes or longer!

7. When did you first get into makeup and why?  Ohhhhh so long ago.  Read about it here.  You'll especially enjoy the photo on that post...

8. Did you make any beauty or fashion "faux pas" when you were younger?  Ohh yes.  I have a whole post dedicated to them!  Check it out here!

9. What beauty product are you most excited for in 2014?  My LORAC Unzipped pallet has quickly became a favorite of mine in my eyeshadow collection.  I'm excited to keep playing with it!

10. What is your favorite perfume?  I have a few that I jump around between, but I gravitate towards Calvin Klein CK One

11. Who is your biggest beauty inspiration?  I'm honestly not sure about this one!  I admire so many of the "beauty gurus" (uughh I cringe at that word, guru....ugh!) for different reasons.  I'll try to somewhat explain:

EmilyNoel83 - she has a VAST AMOUNT of reviews and is very eloquent in explaining her pros/cons of each...her husband is really funny when he makes video appearances too

Elle & Blair Fowler - they're from Kingsport, guys!  Kingsport!  But now they're big timers in LA!

VintageOrTacky and Xsparkage - they both are fearless with their makeup and get me excited to try 'out there' things

MakeupByAlli - she seems so cool....just watch her and you'll see what I mean.

KandeeJohnson - her HEART is as beautiful as her face.  And trust me, she's hott.

CarlieStylez - Carlie is drop-dead gawww-jusss and extremely REAL.  Her videos and posts are inspirational and motivate me to be a better me...check her out and see if she motivates you too!

Shwewww, ok, that was a long post guys!  If you've made it this far and are still reading - THANK YOU!  I appreciate your support!  A big thank you to Yasmin and Justine for letting me in on this happening!  Since this post is already so long, I'm going to do another post at a later date to nominate some friends to do this!  Be on the lookout for that!