Katherine Chloé Cahoon

On Jessie J’s Burnin’ Up music video, the lyrics aren’t all that’s hot. The singer’s makeup is smoldering. I realize that I don’t have her exotic allure, but I learned how to create a similar look from celebrity makeup artist Kevianno Guerrero—and now so can you!

I couldn’t have found a better man to tackle this project. Kevianno’s work has been featured on runways, in music videos, and on the pages of major magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Elle. Most importantly – for someone who is frankly very important – he is refreshingly fun and caring.

Kevianno tweaked Jessie J’s look for my coloring with NARS products. You can do the same using this step-by-step tutorial with product links.

Just as we were getting started, two of my favorite friends, Jordan and Sean, stopped by to say hi. They are also cosmetic experts, so it felt like a makeup party.

First up, Kevianno applied NARS’ All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation. One pump covered my the entire face, and one word describes this product…amazing.

Next, Eye Paint goes all over my lid, followed by a Valhalla Shimmer Shadow, peach shadow, and a neutral tone in the crease. Duo D’Ombres Essentielles, the eye shadow Kevianno used on me, is a limited edition so you know what that means:) Then along the upper lash line, he applied Eyeliner Pencil and false eyelashes…

He topped this off with black Eye Paint liquid eyeliner, and dusted Reckless Shine under my eyes for a glamorous glow.

The eyes and lips provide the drama in Jesse J’s look. Kevianno had me pucker up with Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil and Jungle Red Lip Liner.

No face is complete without blush. For this, Kevianno used Deep Throat. I adore the look he gave me. He drew the entire step-by-step on this face chart.

I had the makeover last Friday and wasted no time flaunting it for evening adventures!

I’m so glad to have had the privilege of getting to know Kevianno. He’s truly an outstanding person and makeup artist.

And who are the two babes with him in this picture? The one on the left is Heather, a NARS makeup artist who helped out, and the one in the center is my mom! She took all the pictures and when we were done, Kevianno did a beautiful makeup job on her too. Thank you Mom and Heather! And of course, a huge thanks to Kevianno.

I can’t think of a Downton fan who wouldn’t love to join the cast at the castle dressed in elegant period clothing. Well, now you almost can. I attended a Downton Abbey trunk show and learned how.

The event was hosted by Andover, who made the above Lord and Lady Grantham quilt. It is the only company authorized by the show to create the Downton Abbey fabric line, which is sold at independent fabric stores along with authentic Downton patterns by Butterick. Due to the popularity of the show, Vogue and McCall are planning to re-release their vintage 1920s patterns—so now you can get decked out like your favorite character, or create your own look.

The Downton Abbey designer dresses each character based on personality and coloring. One of my favorites is Lady Rose. Her color scheme combines pastels with cobalt blues, hot pinks and purples. I’m standing in front of her quilt in the photo below.

Lady Rose often appears in sweaters, so her fabrics incorporate faux-knits that were made popular by the Prince of Wales.

If you watched the January 25th episode, you saw Lady Mary attend a fashion show in London where some of the gowns had Egyptian influences. Back in the day, the real owners of the castle funded numerous expeditions to Egypt and helped usher in the Egyptian fashion influence. Andover revealed that you can expect to see more this season.

In addition to Downton Abbey clothes and quilts, you can make bags and hats.

You can even decoupage your own hatbox to complement the colors of your room.

At the trunk show, I snapped pictures of these fabric patterns that Andover created in conjunction with Downton’s fashion designer.

Andover says that the show is committed to making another season after this one, so you have plenty of time to create your Downton Abbey DIY ensemble!

If you’ve been in Seattle lately, you know that the people there think only two colors exist in the universe—blue and green. They’re showing off their Seahawks’ painted nails, streaked hair and jerseys. And if you think blue-and-green face paint is just for kids, think again. But today’s Travel Thursday isn’t focused on Seattle. I’m hopping over to Arizona and covering Super Bowl festivities, no matter what team you’re rooting for…although in my mind the correct answer is the one that starts with an S!Yesterday, January 28^th marked the beginning of Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix. A dozen blocks are teaming with live concerts by local and national artists, along with appearances/autograph signings by NFL alums, ice skating, interactive exhibits and a climbing wall. National TV shows are broadcasting from the area and excitement is off the radar. If you missed the three biggest Seahawks fans cheering on their team, here they are.

Yesterday, for Beauty Trend Tuesday, I covered Emily’s sleek hairstyle at the Dubai film festival promoting Into the Woods. Today is all about her exquisite emerald Lanvin gown.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote this description of Into the Woods… “As enchanting a screen version as the show’s fans could desire.” Enchanting also describes Emily’s look. After seeing her picture, I went rummaging around in my closet for something similar. Emily’s gown is floor-length, but I was heading off to a cocktail party so I chose one ending above the knee. Mine came from Victoria’s Secret. They have great dresses to twirl in if you want to dance the night away.

The cocktail party wasn’t in the woods, but thanks to Google I figured out how to outline myself and drop the image into a woodland scene. Besides, it’s winter; frostbite isn’t my idea of fun!

The unique film Into the Woods isn’t the only work catching audiences’ attention. The film’s stars have been captivating on the red carpet. Emily Blunt proved that the sleek bun trend, which has dominated for a while now, continues to be in vogue. Here she is rocking it at a Dubai film festival.

In high school, I donned this style six days a week heading into the ballet studio. Although those days are gone, I recently decided to wear the look to a fancy event.

If you’d like to recreate Emily’s hairstyle, here is a step-by-step bun tutorial.

Tomorrow, I’ll be posting about Emily’s gorgeous green dress.

We love you, Seahawks. Last year in honor of my team making it to the Super Bowl, I created a dance video that was a spin on the Legion of Boom, called the Triplets of Boom. And since our boys did it again, the Triplets are back to cheer them on!

It’s Meeting Men Monday, and you all know what men I’m talking about.

There are some things a girl first does as a child at girls’ camp that she never wants to stop doing. One of those is relaxing around the bonfire at night, roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.

And although I’m the first to say that I adore dressing up, there are also times when I want to pretend I’m back in those camp days and get comfy. Fortunately, normcore – that average, unpretentious, laidback attire – is in. I can’t think of something more normcore, and more s’mores-making appropriate, than a padded vest and jeans.

In honor of last Sunday’s Seahawks win against the Packers, I’m chatting about a Seattle landmark on this Travel Thursday. My friend Betsy introduced me to this place, and to say I am in love with it would be an understatement. We had the ultimate girls’ night—shopping followed by dinner.

Then we headed over to Tractor Tavern in Ballard. It’s a little bar that features big local singers. Depending on the night, you can expect to hear incredible music echoing off the walls. The vibe is friendly with people in their twenties up to those in their sixties. Ticket prices are known to be very reasonable. Ours only cost $8 each.

And there is dancing, but it can take some daring souls to start it out. You know that was Bets and me:) The below pic was taken at the Tavern; however, those crazy colored lights aren’t part of the décor. My camera all of a sudden started acting wild. Do you think it was giving me a message that it’s time to be replaced?

…to my New Year’s Resolution.

And they thought I couldn’t handle this cookie? They thought wrong!

A girl’s budget always loves bargain beauty finds. Here are five faves:

Blistex Lip Balm. This weighs in on your balance sheet at under $2. If your lip balm says “medicated,” it will not only help protect your lips from sun and cold weather, but double as an excellent cuticle cream.

Cucumbers. Not all beauty products must be bought at a mall or drugstore. The produce isle at your local market is packed with great options. Obviously, eating cucumbers does wonders for your body, but if your eyes are puffy in the morning, laying cold cucumber slices over them is a miracle cure.

Ardell. I don’t normally wear false eyelashes, but sometimes a woman wants to add extra thickness for a special event. I used to pop for the department store lashes, but found that Ardell’s are just as amazing and last as long while only lifting $4 from your pocketbook. The ones in the department stores can triple that. My favorite natural-looking Ardell number is 124.

Eyeshadow Trio. Options in sets with three stunning shades are offered by e.l.f. for only $4.

Easyliner. Beautiful lip liners by Jordana are known to stay in place and cost under $2.

If any of you have more bargain beauty finds, I’d love to hear about them!

Valentine’s Day is now less than a month away. Is someone maybe getting a little prematurely excited?! Wouldn’t be the first time. In honor of this upcoming holiday, I found some romance research that will make you lovebirds with a lack of cooking ability happy. And I definitely fall into that category. Unless you consider smoothie making cooking;) I can bake, but unfortunately a girl can’t just bake her way through life. If only the food pyramid were inverted.

According to the journal Emotion when people are in love, bland food can taste “sweet.” Like I said if you’re worried about cooking for your sweetie, just remember what Emotion had to say and turn on that stove with confidence. And if you really want to make sure your partner is going to love what you make, throw in some aphrodisiacs. In case you missed it, here’s a recipe for a Five-Star Entrée with Five Aphrodisiacs. I cooked this up with a friend of mine who’s an award-winning chef, which is why it turned out so well.

It’s no secret that I support the Seahawks. If your favorite team is in the Super Bowl playoffs and you want to show your pride by getting their shirt, you know that the options are pretty picked over by now. When I went shopping the other day, there were no Seahawks smalls or mediums left. But I didn’t let that stop me from wearing my blue-and-green!

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can try my DIY solution. I bought a large shirt and shrunk it like crazy in the drier. Then it basically fit, but was still very long, so scissors to the rescue.

I cut up the top. How high you go is up to you. Since showing a peep of stomach in very trendy now, I cut mine so that when I’m standing still it covers my skirt band, but when I’m cheering my boys on, it’s raises up a bit.

And speaking of skirts, I didn’t want the tennis girls to have all the fun, so I stopped by Lucy and got one with build-in shorts. Although I’m no tennis ace, I’m not letting that stop me from wearing this style. I’ve used it in aerobics classes. Actually, this particular skirt was made for running, so the look isn’t limited to the court.

I take an aerobics class that bars the door if you don’t arrive in Seahawks garb on game day. Well, I’m prepared!

In anticipation of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl playoff game against the Packers, here’s a dance tutorial to a favorite Sea Gals’ routine. The field is always filled with beauty on green-and-blue game day thanks to those ladies!

Since it’s Travel Thursday, I’m showing off Seattle, where the game will be held. Some of my favorite spots around here besides the famous Space Needle and Pike Place Market are The Pink Door and Frolik. The first is a charming restaurant near the Market that features live music and even trapeze artists on certain nights. When the weather warms up, you can enjoy dinner on the terrace with a stunning view of the seascape.

Frolik is an open-air, upscale downtown lounge with a panoramic city view just right for grabbing drinks and mingling.

I have a close friend who is a chocolate connoisseur and creative mastermind. Clients specifically request her services at Seattle Chocolates to custom create their orders. And I’m not just talking about individuals. She is in demand with corporations who seek her expertise to design their chocolate packaging and pick their selections. When she brought me some—let’s just say, I entered chocolate ecstasy.

And I couldn’t agree more with the below saying. If there ever were a chocolate fanatic, that would be me!

I love chocolate. I love my friend. And I think you all would love Seattle Chocoloates’ treats. Okay, that was a lot of loves…but can I help if it that’s the way I’m feeling?!

I was clearing out my 2014 files this morning and ran across this pic I snapped heading off to an event a few weeks ago. It was one of those rare nights where the party was held in a ballroom, the tables were sprinkled in confetti, and the dancing went ‘til dawn. These types of events don’t come around every week, so I took extra time picking out what to wear to make it extra special.

Since I felt like a princess that night, I couldn’t think of a better hair accessory to wear than Tasha’s teeny tiara barrette. I love Tasha’s pieces because they are comfortable, stylish, and stay in place.

And thank you to the person who invited me to this magical evening…you know who you are:)