Los Angeles | August 2012

I finally took a much needed vacation this year!! I wanted to check out a place with beautiful weather and beautiful people. My mentor Escalante recommened I check out LA, so I dropped everything and left for a week. I also wanted to spend time with family that I haven't seen in a long time, so LA was a perfect vacation spot.

I rode on Virgin America Airlines for the first time. I was SO impressed that they had music and movies to watch. I was jamming to Prince and Adele on my way to the Westcoast!

As soon as I landed, I was instantly calm. There is a sense of tranquility in the air. Every one takes there time and things are quite blissful in LA.
  The flowers are so beautiful! Everything look amazing.
  I'm still a fan!!!! :-)   Can You believe this?? I WISH Chicago had these rates.   I had NO idea LA has a train system!   They have a blue, red and purple line as well.   It was so empty and clean compared to the CTA.     I also had a chance to meet up with the humble and sweet AJ Crimson during my stay. He was so divine! AJ gave me great advice on my portfolio and a little guidance for my career. I appreciate that he took the time to speak with me during his busy schedule.      

I work so hard and so much that I often forget to take out time to myself; Los Angeles was a MUCH needed relief at this time in my life.

I will be back and forth between Chicago and LA more often, so stay tuned for more projects and events coming up soon!

How to: Pack Your Bags Like a Pro!

So, I'm going to LA tonight. :-)

It took me a few days to figure out how to condense all my makeup stuff into small cargo, but I did it! I wanted to share how to pack all of your makeup items when traveling.

1.) In the wise words of Erykah Badu, "Pack light."

 I prefer to carry-on my luggage, so I packed both my hair products and my makeup items into this one, small unit.

I found this at The Container Store for $99! This is very similar to a Zuca case, but it opens up like a file cabinet inside. This has 5 big pockets that I can stuff all my palettes and products into.

 2.) Condense, condense, condense!

 I condensed ALL my makeup into these small containers.

I found these at CVS for $4.99.

You can use the bottles the travel kit comes with for your foundations, your brush cleaner, your skincare products, your personal items as well. I used a few of them for my personal stuff:

I used the bags for the rest of my makeup products and organized my kit with them. Here is what my condensed kit looks like:

3.) Make sure you keep everything UNDER 3 ounces.

Any liquid items you have, replace them with travel size items at 3 ounces or less. If you really need certain items in a bigger size, wherever you are heading, hopefully there is a store that has what you need in the size you need.

4.) Check Please!

If you are working on a big project and you have to carry heavier items, you'll have to 'check' your bags in. This always gives me a heart attack because your luggage could possibly be lost when checking them. Make sure you purchase travelers insurance. It's always better to be safe than sorry!

I hope this helps!!
I'll take pics of my trip :-)