Miss America: Kira Kazantsev

I recently just wrote a blog post about the extreme stereotypes placed on pageantry and girls who compete in them, but I realized that I focused very broadly on the stereotypes and hatred on pageants as a whole. I would like to focus on the stereotypes and harassment made specifically on our new Miss America. When the new Miss America, Kira Kazanstev was crowned, I was ecstatic and so very happy for her and her year to come. Unfortunately, others were not as impressed. I saw news articles, Facebook posts, tweets, all bashing on our newly crowned queen. Every article, tweet, post, were all stating, "Miss America won by a cup song", "She isn't talented", "You shouldn't have another Miss America from New York" and so much more on top of that. All these stories kept stating all of her flaws, but never complimented her strengths.

Kira worked so hard to prep for the Miss America competition not only in getting fit, practicing interview, and her evening gown walk, but she did hours upon hours of community service events, helped out at the Children's Miracle Network, informed others about STEM, and promoted her platform throughout the entire state of New York. When all of her work was paid off when she won Miss America, so many people were complaining about her success, instead of celebrating it. She finally achieved her life long dream of becoming Miss America and yet she received so much backlash because she sat on the ground and sang? What's so bad about that? Not only did she work so hard to become Miss America, she already has the qualifications of a great Miss America. Did you know Kira's parents immigrated from Russia to America and now she is trilingual speaking English, Spanish, and Russian fluently? She also goes to Holstra University triple majoring in Political Science, Geography, and Global Studies, and is now going to law school. Her scholarship money she won from Miss America is granting her ability to be debt free when she goes to law school to become a lawyer. So no, she won't be using the cash she won to buy more shoes, but instead placing it towards her education. Her platform, Love Shouldn't Hurt: Protecting Women Against Domestic Violence promotes the issue of eliminating domestic violence, where she speaks about her story of abuse at various shelters and homes about this important issue. 

Very recently, journalist found out that Kira Kazanstev was kicked out of her sorority for abusive hazing and it went viral. On Good Morning America and on Kira's blog, she states that she was only kicked out for sending an email that was "mean" and was only joking for the matter as well. While this is not a good reputation to have as Miss America, can we just all admit we all make mistakes? The great thing about Kira was that she owned up to her mistake (even though journalist blew it way out of proportions) and realized that she's going to make something positive out of it by informing young ladies today regarding the issue of hazing and overcoming her mistake. She took a crisis that could've ruined her reputation into something inspirational.

If you haven't realized already, Kira Kazanstev is pretty much superwomen. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous and maintains a healthy life style, she is intelligent and passionate about issues we are all facing today, she loves being an inspiration to others, and just having fun in life. Whatever comments, tweets, posts, that don't support Kira should all be deleted. This woman worked hard to be where she is at today, the least we could do is say congrats!

Gossip Girl: Fashion Review of Serena

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Gossip Girl. One day I hope to be living on the streets of Manhattan just like Blair and Serena, but of course, without all the drama they face on a daily basis. Not only is the TV series a great drama to watch, the fashion sense on the show is defiantly on point. Each outfit is luxurious and sophisticated with a hit of the New York street style pulled in. Serena and Blair have styles so different from one another, but yet each of them looks fashionable and stylish. Today, I will be reviewing the fashion style of Serena by showing some of my favorite outfits from her ranging from everyday style, school style, to wedding dresses!

Serena Van der Woodsen, the female lead played by Blake Lively, is a sweet and outgoing girl who just wants to find her place in her life without making a huge fuss about everything. Her style also represents that as well. While she does dress classy and sophisticated, she also pulls in bohemian and beachy looks as well. Serena rocks the "I didn't try, but I still look like $100" look. 

One of my favorite looks from Serena is in Season 2, where she is seen in a gorgeous white maxi dress paired with all gold jewelry and shoes. This look not only makes her look like a Greek Goddess, it seems as if she didn’t even try at all to pull this off! 

Her school look is pretty relaxed as well, though she is required to wear a tie and a button up shirt for her prestigious school, she always manages to loosen the tie and put a cardigan or leather jacket over the shirt to display a more boho look to the sophisticated outfit. 

One of my favorite classier, chicer look from Serena is when she is in Paris and pulls of a sparkly gold blazer with a white shirt underneath with some gorgeous bright blue cropped pants. This not only makes her already long legs seem so much longer, but also shows off her broad shoulders. This defiantly is a more sophisticated look that Serena pulls off, but she looks stunning! 

Finally, lets talk about her wedding dress. In the final episode, she gets married to Dan (sorry guys, spoiler!) and looks absolutely show stopping in the gold and white ballgown. I didn’t expect such a poofy dress from Serena, but she totally rocked it! The gold pulls in the unique Serena style, but the classic ballgown style still maintains that “wedding dress” tradition.

 For Serena’s makeup, it’s always very natural. She rocks a winged eyeliner every so often, but keeps her eye shadow to a minimum. She looks great in nude or slightly pink lipsticks to complement her tan skin. For Serena’s hair, she usually wears her hair down in natural, beachy waves that give that boho, relaxed vibe. If she’s in a more sophisticated outfit, you can always find her hair pulled all the way back in pony to get all of her hair out of her face. Serena’s fashion sense is mix of boho and sophisticated New York Style, which seems like it would be very difficult to create, but every one of her outfits are gorgeous and put together. Next blog post, I’ll review Blair Waldorf! XOXO

The Secret to Makeup

Do you hate it when your foundation looks blotchy and smeared after a couple hours? Do you hate it when your eyeshadow fades away due to oil eyelids? Fear no more because there is a solution to this mid-life crisis we are all facing today. If you want your makeup to stay on all day and not smudge, use a primer. No, not a paint primer, but a makeup primer. Before you put on foundation, spray on a makeup setting spray or a foundation primer to ensure that your foundation can stay on all day. Before you apply your eyeshadow, be sure to first apply an eyeshadow primer to the eyeshadows can stick to your eyelids and not smudge.

 But what kind to use? My favorite foundation primer is the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. This setting spray is super easy to use, just spray it on your face 2-3 times and you are done. And since it’s a clear spray, it won’t change your foundation color in any way as well. What makes the All Nighter different from other primers is that you can also spray it on after you applied your makeup to ensure that your makeup will not budge, but also give your foundation a natural dewy finish and not a cakey, powdered finish. From my personal experience, this setting spray can make your foundation stay on day. I first spray a few spritz of the All Nighter before I apply foundation, then I conceal and powder to finish my foundation. Because some powders can make your face look extremely cakey, I then spray on All Nighter again to get a nice natural finish to your makeup. The only downside to the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray is that it is on the expensive side (costs $30), but I think it’s a much better investment than buying more foundations and powders! For eyeshadow primers, I also recommend the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. This will not budge; I used it for Homecoming last night and my eyeshadow stayed in place even after being all hot and sweaty after the dance!

The secret to having makeup staying put all day is a good makeup primer. Test different kinds out to see which brands and types of primers work best for your skin. Once you find your favorite primer, you won’t ever have to worry about redoing or touching up your makeup because it won’t fade or smear off! 

Youtube Style Icons

Our generation is becoming more tech savvy than ever. With a new iPhone 6 out this week, schools having SMART boards or essentially huge iPads as whiteboards, and all the information in the world by entering google.com onto safari, we have the world on our fingertips. With new social media sites and technology, the beauty and fashion industry is working its way in as well. YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the Internet and popular videos receive up to millions of views each day. These videos aren't just music videos and How To's, some popular hits are created from normal people like us! YouTube stars are the new rising celebrities and you consistently see them at red carpet events, TV interviews, and even magazine covers. Though some YouTube stars are comedians and singers, many of the hottest YouTube stars are beauty and fashion YouTubers. Big names like Bethany Mota, Michelle Phan, Zoella, and Ingrid Nilsen were once just a small YouTube account and now have up to 8 million subscribers and 600 million views on each of their YouTube accounts. These YouTubers post videos of makeup tutorials, hair tutorials, fashion lookbooks, hauls, and everything in between. If you need any tips and tricks regarding beauty and fashion, just look it up on YouTube and you are guaranteed to find a helpful video.

Today, popular beauty and fashion YouTubers are rising up in the celebrity world. Bethany Mota has a huge fan base called the “Motavaters” and created her own clothing line in Aeropostale and now is on the cover of Seventeen Magazine! Michelle Phan created a makeup line in Lancome and now is the CEO of her own makeup line “Em Cosmetics”. Ingrid Nilsen is the new Covergirl “Glambassador” and Zoella just released her first book. Now you might ask, what makes them so famous? They just sit in their bedroom and make videos. While that is true, teens today look for those normal everyday girls who they can relate to, and seeing a girl in her bedroom talking about fashion or doing a makeup tutorial feels like home. These YouTubers not only can relate to the viewers watching, but also provide a little inspiration for them to, whether it’s fashion related or just for them.

For me, I began my love of fashion and makeup through YouTube. I instantly got hooked on watching tons of YouTube tutorials and fashion lookbooks. I started watching videos from Bethany Mota, Michelle Phan, and Ingrid Nilsen way back when they own had a few thousand subscribers. Now they are dominating our fashion and beauty world by just a simple click away!

Miss America Misconceptions

Last Sunday on September 14th, a new Miss America was crowned on ABC. For a pageant girl like me, this was like Superbowl Sunday. I was on the edge of my seat cheering on my favorite state queens (Go Miss Iowa Aly Olsen!), seeing if my predications of who would win were correct, and drooling over every girl’s evening gown wishing it was in my closet. But I do know not everyone was as excited as I was for this competition. It’s disheartening to see so many misconceptions about pageantry and girls who compete in pageants. Stereotypes are thrown all over the place about what a pageant girl acts like. As a woman who competes and devotes her time into pageantry, I can tell you for a fact that all of the misconceptions of pageantry are false.

Most of the time when you think of a pageant girl you immediately think blonde, blue eyed, and skinny. People often relate to pageant girls as those who are in the show “Toddlers and Tiaras” and constantly get spray tans, have fake teeth, and cause drama. I like to point out that there are two very different kinds of pageants in the pageant world. I like to separate them into glitz and well, pageants. Glitz pageants are solely based on outer beauty. These pageants are the pageants you see in “Toddlers and Tiaras” where moms dictate their daughters and spend tons of money on unnecessary beauty products. These types of pageants don’t represent who pageant girls truly are and the popular show "Toddlers and Tiaras" is not my defiantly not my definition of a pageant girl.

Then there are pageants that promote inner beauty, poise, and intelligence of women. Pageants like these are like the Miss America Organization that just recently aired on television last Sunday. The Miss America Organization isn’t just a pageant; it’s actually a scholarship organization for young women. Last year they awarded $45 million in scholarships for young women, making it the largest provider of scholarships for women in America! This pageant includes 5 main areas of competition, Evening Wear, Interview, Talent, Swimsuit/Lifestyle and Fitness, and Platform. Each contestant must participate in a 10 minute one on one interview with the judges and this counts for 30% of their total score. And these questions aren't just "What's your favorite color?", it's real life issues we are facing in America today regarding Isis, domestic violence, gay marriage equality, and so much more. The next 30% is based off of talent. These women can perform anything from dancing, singing, ventriloquism, to even doing the "cup song" while singing "Happy" like Miss New York did this year. The next 15% goes to evening wear and another 15% goes to swimsuit. While the girls do have to walk down the stage in a swimsuit, you can see that the total percentage of the swimsuit score is not as big as talent or interview. When judges are judging swimsuit and evening wear they aren't looking for the girl with the skinniest body or the girl who has the best dress or suit, they are looking for those who are healthy, fit, elegant, and confident in who they are as a person. The final 10% of their score is based off of their platform. A platform is an organization that the girls are a part of and they try to promote that while being a title holder, if its local, state, or national. My platform is "Diversity Advocacy: Embracing the Unique in Everybody" where I try to promote diversity and inclusion in our community. Each girl will be asked several questions and must write and essay about their platform and why they chose it and what they have done to promote it. As you can tell, this isn't just a walk on stage in a pretty dress competition; the Miss America pageant requires so much preparation not only on prepping for competition, but also just devoting time to community service projects and promoting your platform.

If you didn't watch Miss America on Sunday, you missed out. The women on that stage proved that pageant girls are talented, intellectual, funny, beautiful, and everything in between. A huge congratulation to our new Miss America, Kira Kazantsev (Miss New York) She nailed her onstage question, her talent was entertaining and fun, and she was just a joy to watch onstage. I cannot wait for what she has in store as Miss America! Also, big congratulations to our Miss Iowa Aly Olsen for placing in top 12! She was stunning onstage and I only wished we all could've heard her talent because I know it would've been killer. Congratulations ladies!

While pageant stereotypes will always be around, I hope more and more people can be influenced by the power of the Miss America Organization and how much it gives back to our young ladies today. This organization doesn't create the reality TV stars on MTV, this pageant creates the next leaders, CEO's, lawyers, and doctors of our nation. Miss America isn't just a pageant; it's an opportunity of a lifetime.

New York Fashion Week 2014

 The lights are set, the runway is clear, the audience is ready for one of the biggest events in fashion society. New York Fashion Week 2014 (Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York) kicked off on September 4^th showing off the new fall/winter line from all the name brand designers you can think of. This event featured new designs from Calvin Kline, BCBG Maxaria, Rebecca Minkoff, DKNY, J Crew, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Betsey Johnson, and so much more. This event draws in hundreds of people and designers to get a first hand look at the new fall and winter items and what’s going to be in style for the next season. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion week is only the first stop of this international fashion event; big cities like Berlin, Istanbul, Australia, and Russia will have their fashion week soon after.

Fashion week was first organized in 1943, this event was intended to attract attention away from French Fashion Shows in Paris due to many Americans not being able to travel to Paris during World War II. A Fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert organized an event called Press Week that showcased American designers for fashion journalists; it quickly became very popular and now is one of the biggest events in the fashion society. Today New York Fashion Week is not only showcasing a weeks worth of brand name designers to the people who are at the runway, but also making a livestream video of the show to allow everyone to get a peek at what’s happening in New York Fashion Week.

This year, many new styles and trends popped up in these designers. The 3 main trends I see is Midi Skirts with a crop top, slit skirts, and structured men’s wear (Blazers, pant suits, etc.) These trends were prevalent in many of the designers clothing line. Kendall Jenner proved to be one of the most talked about models at New York Fashion Week. Her presence was everywhere during the week, whether it was modeling for all different kinds of designers, making a red carpet appearance, or just posting Instagram pictures; she made a statement during New York Fashion Week.

This year, New York Fashion was a definite success. Let’s hope one day instead of blogging about New York Fashion Week, I’ll be able to sit on the sidelines of the runway and watch it!