How To Prep for the Beach (Your Body, Your Bag & Your Family!)

Are the gentle breezes of the ocean calling your name, is a cooler full of ice and snacks begging for you to head to the lake? Or do you just need a good ol' day-dream-vacation? 

Either way, I'm gonna give you my must-haves for heading to any watery, sandy location, to beat the heat and have some fun in the sun!

Come and Get Ready with Me (my smallest of them all, Ellie), CLICK THE TRIANGLE in the CENTER to play, as I get ready from shower to cellulite machine (ha ha ha):

1. Shower Action Shaving & Smoothing

 You want your skin to be as smooth and buttery and hair free as can be! So first, make sure you shave all those "we-don't-want-you-here-hair" areas. Then, make sure your feet look smooth, too. I like to use a pumice stone to soften them up, and for extremely rough areas I bring in the big lava rock stone.

After you shaved, swipe over any "freshly shaved areas" with the Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads, and ingrown hairs be gone! Yes, this will even work for that man in your life and his facial shaving ingrown hairs!

2. Self-Tanning & Moisturizing to Glow & Glisten

My new self-tanning obsession is the Vani-T Brazilian Bronze Self-Tanning Mousse! It's free of parabens, mineral oil and all the chemicals in most all self-tanners, streak-free, no stinky, burnt Frito-Lay chip smell, instant cocoa brown town, no orange, fake looking tan at all! Vani-T's special formula also disguises cellulite and stretch marks! Yes, A-to-the-MAY-zing! And you have to use the "self-tanning mitt" or your hands will end up being way darker that the rest of your body from smoothing it on!

Then to moisturize after your self-tanner has dried, I love the Shikai Borage Therapy Dry Skin Lotion. If you want to add some extra shimmer, you can mix a few pumps of MAC's To The Beach Body Oils. For lighter skin use Seaside or for a deeper shimmer, use Man Rays.

For non-shimmer, but pure moisturizing, I mix a few pumps of the Shikai Skin Lotion, with a few pumps of the Umidita Fine Wine Body Oil. It is rich in vitamins to increase collagen and cell growth.

3. Beach Beauty

I don't want to wear a full face of make-up to the beach, but you can put a little bit on that will also protect your skin from the sun! BB Creams are great because they even out your skin tone, get rid of the redness, and provide sunscreen! I've got two different options. A bargain beauty Maybelline BB Cream and the "bigger ticket purchase" of the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream.

Next add a little extra beach concealer. You may be taking a day off for the beach, but your under eye circles and blemishes are not! I‘m loving the Kat Von D Lock-It Tatoo Concealer (it's not for tattoos really, but it stays on like a tattoo!).

Then it’s time for beach blush. For a bit of waterproof beachy glow, I love the Make-Up Forever Waterproof Aqua Cream in #9.

Then, you need beachy eyes! A little swipe of some waterproof eyeliner is always fun! I used the Benefit Bad Gal Eyeliner and the Anastasia of Beverly Hills Covet Waterproofer Eyeliner in Noir.

The best bargain beauty waterproof mascara and primer to try are: L'Oreal Double Extend Tubes (using the primer side) and Covergirl Lashblast Waterproof Mascara. To splurge, go with DiorShow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum (the plumper is a mascara primer, which will add fiber and length to your lashes so they look longer, thicker, and fuller after mascara), and Dior Show Waterproof Mascara.

The finishing touch: beach beauty lips! I like to wear a nude lip at the beach, not only does the lip color pigment act as a sunblock for your lips, but it’s just a pretty look! I have two favorites: to "shell out" you can use the YSL Rouge Volupte in Nude #2 and for the bargain beauty, L'Oreal Colour Caresse in Pink Plush.

4. I Dream of Bikinis (Or Not!)

Since putting a bathing suit on is probably one of my least favorite things to do, I try to find the most flattering option around. The fringe bathing suit is my favorite right now! If you don't have a lot of boob-action, going on, this baby makes it look like "hey, look at all the fringe." You could be hiding little boobs or big boobs behind all that distracting fringe—no one will ever know!

I’m also a huge fan of anchors for some nautical reason. This bathing suit is old, but you can search anchor bathing suits. Just so cute at the beach!

Meanwhile, my favorite flip-flops are Havianas. I have several colors and they’re the most comfortable ‘flops ever

5. Itsy Bitsy Bathing Suits & Beach Hats

For my little ones, I love IPlay Swimsuits for boys and girls. They’re super cute, the baby and toddler sizes have built-in diaper bottoms, and they protect delicate skin on the shoulders and arms from the sun, better than any sunscreen!

We’re also fans of the IPlay Sunhats. They are cute, keep faces and necks free of sunburn, and we get compliments on them all day long!

The kids like these Cute Kids Animal Hooded Towels, but water from the bath is the same as water from the beach, so they’re fun to use there! We have monkeys, owls, dogs, and ducks—they’re just too cute!

And don’t forget the mini sunglasses! You can find the cutest pairs for under $10 and my kids love wearing them!

6. My Sunglasses

I'm always hunting for cool sunglasses. Whether it's retro looking glasses or these fun ones from Juicy Couture with the gold chain on the side!

7. Beach Bag Essentials

Grab a beach bag big enough to fit your little ones—just kidding! But she did love playing in this! And in all seriousness, the bigger the beach bag, the better!

Fun towels are also must for the beach. I love my leopard print beach towel and a roll-up beach mat is a great way to keep your towel free of sand!

For sun protection, I like to stick to natural and organic sunscreens. Many "standard" suncreens are full of so many awful chemicals. I also use the natural baby sunscreens for our whole family because they are more sensitive and better for you skin, so you won't break out, or have any allergic reactions.

For the face, I love the California Baby Sunblock Stick. It's free of chemicals—it's even gluten, soy, and dairy free (you'd be surprised what's in most sunscreens!)—and you can toss it in your bag without fear of messy, sunscreen tube leaks!

For the body, I like Badger Broad Spectrum Baby SPF 30. It's water-resistant, organic, blocks both UVB and UVA rays, and is cruelty free.

Then comes hair protection! Not too many people think of the sun damage to your hair, or your hair color! If you've spent time coloring your hair in any way, you might want to spray on something like the L'Oreal Color Vibrancy Dual Protect Spray, to keep it the color you want and prevent it from fading.

And last but not least...you want to smell like a little bit of heaven on the beach, and my favorite perfume is Sud Pacifique Vanilla Extreme.

Now let's all daydream and pretend we’re going here today:

Huge hugs, sunglasses and beach bags, from your virtual best friend, Kandee

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June Favorites and My Birthday Surprise

I know, I know...I haven't been doing a monthly favorites video, but here's a 2 for 1:

My June Favorites (2 of my favorites are missing from this picture) and my birthday surprise giveaway!

Yes, it is your virtual bff's birthday on July 9th!

I will also put the FULL LIST OF MY JUNE FAVORITES at the bottom of this post too!

I don't care about it being my birthday, and haven't really had a birthday party since I was about 13, see here was the last time I had a big ol' birthday bash-

look at my "cool" outfit and headband..bwaaaa haa haa and my little sister, Tiffany, on the far right:

Starring my featured guest: Ellie, who makes some awesome faces that I had no idea she was making until I edit the video! ha ha ha

NOW COME AND WATCH THE VIDEO WITH ME AND ELLIE, spilling some of my "favorites" all over my legs and hear my Kat Von D story:




FAVORITES IN THIS VIDEO:

NARS LIGHT REFLECTING TRANSLUCENT POWDER

LIME CRIME RED VELVET LIP COLOR

KAT VON D LOCK-IT TATTOO CONCEALER

10 FOOT COLORED IPHONE CORD

VANI-T SELF TANNER
or you get it on ebay HERE

PHYSICIANS FORMULA HIGHLIGHT POWDER IN PEARL TRANSLUCENT

JUICY COUTURE GOLD CHAIN SUNGLASSES

31 DAYS TO HOPE INSPIRED LIFE (BOOK) BY NICK VUJICIC

In honor of my birthday, the awesome peeps at BHUMI BRUSHES said they wanted to offer 50% off their "kandee colored" pink brush sets (all shown below)...until July 20th! AND
they are giving me 5 brush sets to give away in honor of my birthday!!!

IF YOU WANT TO GET THE BRUSH DEAL (ONLY UNTIL THE 20TH) CLICK HERE.
*the website might show the REGULAR price, but when you enter the code it will take the 50% off)

ENTER CODE: PINKKANDEE

FOR THE GIVE AWAY OF THE 5 BRUSH SETS:

Giveaway Details:
*Contest is open worldwide
*All winner will be generated by random selection
*Contest will end July 13th and  Winner announced here on this blog
*5 ways to win- Youtube , Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and this blog (so everyone has a chance everywhere)

1. YOUTUBE RULES:
*You must be a subscriber to my channel (CLICK HERE if you're not, because I will message the winner on Youtube)
*Comment below the video June Favorites & Birthday Surprise with:

1. The first video (if you can remember) you saw of mine and what costume look would you love me to do next!
*You can comment everyday if you want to until the contest ends on July 13th.

2. INSTAGRAM RULES:
*make a fun birthday "kandee" collage picture and include @kandeejohnson and #kandeebdaygiveaway

3. TWITTER RULES:
Tweet your favorite birthday present you've ever gotten with @kandeejohnson and #kandeebdaygiveaway

4. BLOG:
Comment below this blog post, everyday if you want also about when you started reading my blog (how long you've been reading it doesnt' matter, it's just a fun comment I thought up!) Make sure you account is linked to your facebook, twitter or youtube soI can contact you too if you win!

5. FACEBOOK:
Just share any of the posts I put up on my Facebook HERE, and comment your favorite or first video you ever watched of mine! Include #kandeebdaygiveaway


I don't care about presents, but I'm so excited to get to give you guys a chance to win something fun!

Huge almost birthday hugs, your almost birthday girl, and happy birthday to all the other July babies, your, Kandee

Ps. New video will be up on Monday (AKA my birthday eve...ha ha ha) and if you missed my Getting Ready With Me video here it is:



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4th of July Went A Little Something Like This:

 This was my festive red, white and blue outfit of the day...
*tank top I DIY-ed in the morning
*stars and striped bandana (I got at Zumiez)
*red slip-on Vans
*polka dot shorts that I can't remember where I got them, they are old

Ellie had on her Mini Harajuku dress I got from Gwen Stefani's collection for Target, which I bought last year and knew she'd fit in this dress one day! It's sailor/patriotic cute!

We headed to our favorite little town, Genoa for the Reno Philharmonic that was playing in the park. They played songs from some of my favorite old movies, like, An American In Paris. People sat with blankets and chairs, and brought fruit plates and cheese, picnics and our favorite was the ice cream truck:

 I had gotten 5, but as you can see my little "leader" already took hers for the walk back!

Ellie sitting with my grandpa (My mama's dad, and Ellie's great-grandpa) listening to the music.

Me and my grandpa...if only I had gotten more of his Danish genes, and had blue eyes! Who would've thought my Alani would get blue eyes like him!

Then we headed back up to the lake (Tahoe that is)...we stopped to get Rootbeer Freeze's and Milkshakes at The Snow Flake, drove around the lake a bit while Ellie took a nap in the car...

And look at the amazing Lake Tahoe sunset... it just kept getting more beautiful by the second...

We had some mexican food for dinner....and watched some fireworks...

Where did everyone else celebrate?!?

And if your day, was like ours, and filled with a heart that was missing a loved one, I send you extra hugs and love, your virtual best friendy, Kandee

If you want to see our "extra 4th of July Celebration" CLICK HERE TO SEE IT on my other blog KANDEELAND. (which is less about beauty and style, and more about my daily life! ha ha ha)

And if you wanna see a little of what it was like packing for the beach the other day, watch my latest video:

 

PS. I have a special Birthday Suprise video that should be up later today too! Check my youtube HERE to see if it's up yet!

Happy Festive 4th of July

Happy and Festive 4th of July!!!

This blog post will be short because I'm heading out to go to go celebrate the 4th of July, but thought you'd enjoy some "sparkly star photos" to inspire you to dazzle it up a litte extra today!

I got all my awesome 4th of July Festive-ness from Wal-mart or the Dollar Store!

And if you aren't sick of how much I've posted my 4th of July video, or you just haven't seen it yet.... (I know, it's one of my most ridiculous-but-fun videos ever) WATCH It HERE:
IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE A TUTORIAL, JUST FUNNY:

May your day be filled with fireworks, yummy food, and fun....

and if this is not a fun time, or your heart is hurting or heavy...

may you feel the love I'm sending from my heart to you...

I know, I spent last 4th of July with tears running down my face after my dad went to heaven,

My heart is with you today and every day, to tell you "You are loved! I love you" and I'm sending you a huge virtual hug from my heart to yours, Kandee

 *   WATCH MY LATEST YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE   *

Red, White and Blue Beauty Products You Might Love:

Have you been in search of some RED, WHITE & BLUE Make-Up?!? Maybe you have maybe you haven't, but maybe you'll fall in love with some of these:

1. CHINA GLAZE NAIL POLISH IN BLUE IGUANA

2. URBAN DECAY 24/7 GLIDE ON EYE PENCIL IN CHAOS

3. ESSIE NAIL POLISH IN BUTLER PLEASE

4. URBAN DECAY 24/7 GLIDE WATERPROOF LIQUID LINER IN RADIUM

5. L'OREAL INFALLIBLE EYESHADOW IN MIDNIGHT BLUE

6. LIME CRIME UNILINER IN LAZULI 

7. LIME CRIME CAROUSEL GLOSS IN LOOP-DE-LOOP

8. LA COLORS ART DECO NAIL ART LACQUER IN WHITE

9. NYX CANDY GLITTER LINER IN CRYSTAL

10. OPI NAIL POLISH IN ALPINE SNOW

11. ILLAMASQUA INTENSE LIPGLOSS IN RAGE

12. MAKE-UP FOREVER AQUALINER IN #16

13. CHINA GLAZE POLISH IN RUBY PUMPS

14. TARTE GLAMAZON  PURE PERFORMANCE LIPSTICK IN WILD

16. LIMECRIME VELVETINES MATTE LIP COLOR IN RED VELVET

15. NAILTINI POLISH IN BLOODYMARY

17. SUGARPILL EYESHADOW IN LOVE+

18. L'OREAL 8HR INFALLIBLE LIPGLOSS IN CHERRY FLASH

TWEET ME YOUR PICS IF YOU DO ANY FUN RED, WHITE AND BLUE MAKE-UP LOOKS TOMORROW!

HUGE HUGS, AND GET READY FOR MY GE READY WITH ME: GOING TO THE BEACH VIDEO AND MY BIG BIRTHDAY SURPRISE VIDEO WILL BE UP AFTER THE 4TH TOO!

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Now THIS is 4th Of July Makeup:

With 4th of July just a couple days away, I had to get you in the spirit (even if you are not in America, I hope this is just fun to see! If only I had a look for Canada Day yesterday!)...for the good old Red, White and Blue!

HOW TO GET A PATRIOTIC POUT:

I wore my VIOLENT LIPS AMERICAN FLAG LIPS ALL day, and they didn't not come off, even when I ate a deep fried snickers (Yes I did)! They are lip tattoos that I put on and wore in my very "entertaining" 4th of July video....if you've never seen it, may I present it to you here, and ask forgiveness for getting "What's that in your eye? THE 4th OF JULY!!!???" stuck in your head for years to come.....

Come and see just how festive I got for you guys and learn why you also might start saying:

IT'S GOT FRINGE ON THE ARMS BABYYYY!

BE WARNED: this is not a "real tutorial" at all...this was just meant to make you laugh....

oh man, if I could find the footage of this I'd love to re-edit it and put in some of the other funny parts I couldn't fit in! ha ha ha

Huge hugs and there will be a new video on it's way, possibly today on my youtube!

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Sometimes We All Need A Little Bit Of Country

A little bit of country is good for the soul...
*the smell of sweet alfalfa or pasture grass
*the sunsets over the mountains that look like your in an old cowboy painting
*the kindess of people that could care less about what you're wearing or the car you drive
*and seeing the colorful beauty that God painted nature with...

And as we obeyed the sign, sometimes you just need to "take it slow", "slow down", and enjoy the small beauty around you.

NOW, I know I usually keep all my "day in the life" posts for my KANDEELAND blog, but I had to share this, even though this kinda crosses over into this blog that I try to keep more about beauty/style/DIY and stuff like that...I know, I will be merging them into one big-ol-website-of-kandee-goodness, but I have had zero extra time to do that, yet!

As you guys may, or may not know...
I was born in LA, my sister and most of my family, still live in LA.
However, I, live up near the Lake Tahoe/Reno area, right now. And although I am in LA a lot,  I'm not there everyday as I wish most days, because I really miss my sister and miss seeing her everyday. And everyday we include, "ahhhh, I just wish we lived near each other!!!" in some part of our phone conversations, there's always a reason for why we are where we're at. And we may not see it until later, but there is.

When I started on youtube, my dad and I were the only ones who lived up here in the Tahoe/Reno area. You see, that's sorta of how I even started on youtube. My friend Esteban, showed me a video of Lauren Luke doing tutorials on youtube. And I loved her, and if I had still been in LA, working like crazy as a make-up artist, I never would have had time to ever film one video for youtube.
My mom and sister were both living in Southern California. And as much as I wished, almost on a daily basis, and would pray that I could move to LA, nothing was working out to move, even when I was going down their for work, all the time.

I didn't realize until after my dad lost his earthly life, and gained his heavenly one, last summer...
the last time I saw my dad, was actually when he dropped us off at the Reno-Tahoe airport to go to LA. And as I had texted my dad in the morning, he asked what time to pick me and the kids up from the airport that afternoon, and on my way from my sister's house to the airport in LA, is when I got the call that my dad had been killed an a tragic accident.

I was so thankful that God didn't answer my prayers to let me move to LA...because I wouldn't have had all those precious memories of getting to do things with my dad, and the kids getting so much time with my dad - spending the night at "camp Grampa". He would take them on adventures to Chuck E. Cheese, they'd go miniature golfing, they'd go for "Grampa vs. Wild" walks down to the river behind his house. He was even planning to take Jordan that weekend, to go do fun guy stuff. The best was when he'd come over to visit, always bringing something yummy to eat, excitement, laughter, and so much fun.

Sometimes we don't see the reason for some of our unanswered prayers until later. And until the day, that I move away, I will cherish every "country sunset", every bit of green pasture, every sparkle of water on the lake, and every bit of clean air and water...

You may not live where you want, be where you want, or you might be in a small town and dream of going to a big city. Well, I just have one piece of awesome-ness for you, some of the most creative and talented people I know, didn't come from big cities, but from small towns. Sometimes it's in the SMALL towns that BIG TALENT is grown.

Sometimes God will guide you, shut doors, open doors, or not answer your prayer to move, yet...because he has blessings to give you, that can only happen in a place you may not like, or think is too small, or not glamorous enough, or ____________(you fill in the blank), but that might be right where you need to be for those blessings to happen. Like the blessing of time with my dad. And I probably wouldn't have had time to start youtube if I was still busy doing make-up jobs all day in LA.

So here's a little more of our "Kandee in the country" weekend:
Dairy Queen- Dairy queen makes the most amazing S'mores "blizzard" (it's like a thicker-than thick, almost like if you just stirred your favorite toppings into ice cream and stirred it up).
This is what it looks like when you hold it up in the country sky:

This is what it looks like when you take a walk after dinner in one of our favorite little towns, Genoa. Doesn't that road just look adorable?

If you ever go to Genoa, Nevada, make sure you go to the Genoa Station. It is some of the best food and everything is homemade, even their mudpie (which is my favorite).
Ellie, sitting outside the little antique store with her Baby Belle doll. We try not to leave home without Baby Belle.

And I had to show this picture to you it again, without any words gettin in the way. Yes, words get in the way in life and in pictures too!

Huge hugs and even bigger, wide open views for your soul, your best friend, Kandee

PS. And remember, those small towns are like gold mines, with more creative gold nuggets than some of the biggest cities. It's not about where you're at, it's about where you shine from! Sometimes in the city people see the same inspiration, and all have a similar "style", but when you're in the country, sometimes, your own style grows brighter because there's no one else to copy! Ha Ha Ha

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