Where have I been?!

Hello my friends! I have been quite bad lately, being incredibly MIA and such, so I figured I owed you guys an explanation. I rarely go through periods where I neglect YouTube, but this month has definitely been one of those times. On top of that, July is a really special YouTube month for me, because it was this time 2 years ago that it all started! That's right... this Friday, the 23rd, is my 2nd birthday on YouTube. I will have to make myself a cupcake to celebrate :)

So where have I been? You guys know I have been traveling a ton based on my tweets, but I rarely explain exactly what I am doing (mainly because it won't fit in 140 characters). So a few weeks back I went to NYC with Blair for some meetings and a meet up. We met with Bobbi Brown and Marie Claire, along with a few more companies. We had a meet up which was incredible and we got to meet a ton of you, which was our absolute favorite part. I don't think you guys even realize how special it is to meet you in person. We spend all of our time alone in our rooms talking to a camera so it makes it way more real when we can meet some people who watch us... makes it seem a little less silly.

Blair and I stayed in a hotel in the middle of China Town so that was fun because we normally stay in midtown; we got to explore a part of the city we never have before.

After that we flew to LA for more meetings and 2 more meet ups, IMATS and the one at Forever21. IMATS was CRAZY!!! Last year I got way more shopping done, but this year was more fun overall. We spent the entire day hanging out with more of you guys, getting to know you and answering (and asking!) questions. Here is a picture of Blair and I in our hotel room right before leaving for IMATS ------>

Another picture, this one at the Forever21 meet up:

We flew home for one night and then we were back at the airport, flying to Memphis for our Marshall's commercial. That shoot was SO MUCH FUN! Blair and I got to shop around while they filmed us, and I think it turned out really well. You can check out my dorm room decor video for the link to the commercial. Blair and I have practically moved into the airport and we have gotten quite good at it. I will make a little list of everything I carry on with me (don't lie, you are curious...)

Elle's Airplane Carry-On Requirements:

• Laptop
• Camcorder
• Chargers
• My makeup brushes in my MAC hello kitty case - you can't carry products on but I always carry my brushes... I would hate to lose them!
• Fuzzy Socks
• Neck Pillow
• Fuzzy Blanket (these 3 things make for a very cozy environment)
• Headphones
• Book (I'm currently reading the City of Bones, which I quite like)
• Gum (I have bad ears... they pop like crazy on planes!)
• Hairbrush
• Travel size shampoo/conditioner/soap (I have a cute little set for this, I'll review it in my july favs video).

So yeah.. anyways. We then flew back to LA for another project that we can't mention yet, but as soon as we can we will! We also had a photoshoot, which was SO much fun. Here is a behind the scenes picture, even though its a bit blurry because it was taken on an iPhone. We are going to Atlanta this weekend for something else... I kinda can't wait to have a whole week at home to detox, as much as I love traveling.

I promise I will be back on the video making wagon soon... this last month just got kinda crazy.

More updates:

Bear is doing wonderfully, he can now jump up on my bed by himself, which I honestly didn't know if he would ever be able to do (my bed is high). The only thing weird is that he is slightly bowlegged now, so I'm not sure if his hip set properly, although his vet said it's perfect. I have to stop myself from diagnosing him with more problems, as I am a slight hypochondriac. Case in point: Last night Blair realized she has an eye infection (we had a makeup artist that used the same mascara on 3 girls... NEVER LET ANYONE DO THAT!) and I spent almost 30 minutes in front of a mirror examining my eye, making sure it was still there.

We are not living in LA! Gah I don't know where this rumor came from, but no Blair and I are NOT in LA. We are considering moving there, yes, but we have not signed a lease yet. We haven't even decided on a place TO sign a lease at yet! Please don't believe everything you hear.. I feel like people are quite impressionable on the internet.

I wanna do a quick update on my hair extensions because it has been... 7 weeks now? They are doing great, and I am slightly addicted to them. I want to wear them forever. I have made a few mistakes with them, such as melting a few of the bonds together with my curling iron and forgetting to sleep with them in a braid one night (they tangle WAY worse than normal hair... be forewarned) but overall I think they have been pretty low maintenance. I love them, I think they were worth it, and I will get them again. Unless they pull all my hair out. And then I probably will rethink that statement. Don't judge.

I just realized I am sitting in the dark writing this post... what am I, a vampire?!

Quick list of videos coming up:

July Favs

Bath Product Review

A silver tutorial

A contest (YAY!)

Have any requests? Tweet them to me! (I sounded just like a commercial there).

Ok this post has gotten way long so I will leave you at that. I love you. That is all.

xoxo

Elle Fowler

Eyeball Stomping, Prom, and Hair Extensions

After getting about 5 hours of restless sleep I am wide awake but totally exhausted, so it makes perfect sense to write a blog post right now. I am currently trying to wake up for the day so I can put videos up on my channel and be a productive human being. I have talked about my theory of being a cat in a video before (5 random facts about me) so I won't go into details, but let's just say Bear and I are on the exact same sleeping schedule. We get hungry at the same time every night (around 3am) so we trampoozle down to the kitchen and make our snacks. He runs around my feet and trips me until I go into his food room and shake his food (weird Bear habit, he won't touch his dry food unless it has been freshly shaken up), and then waits until I make my food. Then he insists on playing with the guinea pig for a few minutes, which I try to avoid letting him do because he gets little bits of pine shavings all over him, but ultimately he wins by sitting down on his haunches and howling until I come and let him in the cage. Then he gets all in "I'm a sloth" mode and gets really pliable and fits in a cage half his size. Maybe he thinks Guinea is a brother from another mother? They are like bff's.

Anyway I realized recently how incredibly scardy-cat like Bear is. We were sitting out on my screened in porch and we couldn't see anything outside because it was pitch black. Dad was taking the trash out so we heard a scary loud creak of the gate being opened, and Bear sat there with his nosed pressed against that screen, ears flat down sideways and eyes wide, looking terrified. Downright terrified. And he is the size of a lion. I do not believe he would do any protecting if a monster came out of my closet, let me tell you.

I found a video that completely and utterly depicts how Bear treats me in the mornings (around 6am). Add some eyeball stomping and sneezing and subtract the baseball bat and you have Bear to a "T":


What else is new? I recently found out that my family is going to the beach next weekend for a week, which is really exciting because I haven't gone on a vacation in AGES. My birthday is on Tuesday AND I finally made an appointment to get hair extensions so I am very excited for this coming week. I had my consult yesterday to meet the stylist and make sure she knows what she is doing, and I really liked her... so yeah, I am psyched. I have had 3 consults over the last couple years (I have wanted hair extensions since I was in high school) but I never liked the stylist enough to trust her with my hair. She is using the brand "HairDreams" which according to my research is the very best along with Great Lengths. I will vlog about them the day I get them in (next Friday) and tell you what I think.



I wore clip in's for Senior prom so I will attach a picture where you can see my hair here ---->. The only thing bad about clip in's are they don't blend as well as real extensions, as you can kinda see from my hair (I was still happy with them though :). Should I go that length? Or a bit longer, shorter? Let me know your opinion!






It is pouring rain outside, but I guess that's for the best because I have some homework to do and I know I would put it off if it was pretty out by justifying that it is a Saturday and the pool is lonely... so alas, inside I sit, procrastinating anyway. I'm currently taking a few online courses which sounded a lot easier than they actually are, but that's life. I feel like I should be on summer break, but it was my decision to take a few classes online so I guess I have to deal with the not so fun parts of it. Hope you guys are enjoying the start of summer!

Speak soon,
Elle Fowler

Puppy Love

Due to the lack of videos on my channel I decided I would do a blog before curling up with the last few chapters of "The Lost Symbol", which I am quite enjoying. Blair and I just got back from LA late last night, and we slept the entire day today. Our plane got in at midnight last night, and we were supposed to have a cab waiting, but there was none to be found... only a lone stretch hummer party bus. Talk about causing a scene. Blair immediately took up the entire bus so she could stretch out and sleep, so I just sat with all the luggage and tried to listen to music. The radio station was playing a song from the 1800s, so I tried to change it but only succeeded in turning off the entire power system (including the strobe lights), so I decided to leave my technological instincts for YouTube, and didn't mess with it anymore.

Currently I am in bed enjoying my boringly uneventful night. Blair is sleeping beside me (we are at my house) and I have reached the following conclusions:
1) I think Blair has a secret power she has been hiding from all of us. She has the ability to flick a switch in her mind and go to sleep in a second (just like cats do!). It took her all of 20 seconds to go from "Elle, where is your remote?" to being out like a light bulb. I can't even move her. She has about 80% of the bed, leaving me with 20%, which leads me to conclusion 2.
2) Sharing a full size bed with another full grown human is difficult. I haven't slept in a full with Blair since we were little girls. She is not only a cover hog, she likes to push me off the bed by rolling completely on top of me. She is like a mini sleeping burrito.
3) I have completely fallen into a "I want a puppy" mode. It started when my roommate got an adorable maltipoo puppy (Rollie Pollie Bologna), but increasingly got worse in LA. I fell in love with a Bichon Frise, and I have decided I want one. I'm thinking a bichon would have a better chance at survival than a small dog since she would at least be the size of Bear, and therefore Bear wouldn't be able to eat her (maybe... then again he might).


Speaking of, Mom called me to inform me that Bear had torn down the curtains in Blair's room while we were gone. He doesn't even have claws; I have no idea how he manages these great feats. Mom doesn't understand that he needs stimulation when I am not there for him to bother, and that he was probably just trying to tell her he wants to play in the guinea pig cage, which is his favorite pass time. He and guinea are quite close. Bear doesn't really fit in the cage well, being the size of a lion, but I think he turns on his sloth powers and gets really pliable, and somehow fits. He is essentially made of play doh.

Okay back to important updates:
I am still noodling over the contest and trying to figure out what to do, I might just pick 5 random followers to win since my comments went berserk.
Project 10 pan in the slowest thing in the world, and as of right now I don't recommend it if you want to stay sane.
My eyes are still sore (not terrible but enough that I'm not trying to tug on them or put on a ton of products) so tutorials will have to hold off for a bit longer. I am going to film some non tutorials soon though, send requests to my twitter :)
I am researching all of the eyelash growth serums and I think I want to try lilash once my eyes get completely better - what do you think? Has anyone tried it?

Okay I'm off to move the sleeping burrito and hopefully score at least 10% more bed space. Wish me luck!

xoxo
Elle Fowler

Who Dunnit???

While watering my bouquet of flowers tonight I discovered a disturbingly ancient pattern of flowers droppings around my vase. Naturally, my first thought was CROP CIRCLES! ALIENS! But then I came to my senses and remembered to think logically. Take a look at this picture -------------->

Now, there are two things that could be going on here. The flowers did not just drop gracefully down in pattern form, all facing outward. No... larger forces are at work here. There are two explanations, in my opinion. The first one is that Booga the pottery elephant has been messing with my flowers. I must admit he looks very guilty in this picture, as if he was caught "red-handed".

The second explanation I must look into is that Bear might be chomping on my flowers. Now, given that he is a monster of a cat, being part mountain lion and part firefly/sloth, I don't see how he could be nimble enough to get up there behind the vase without knocking it over. You can't tell from the picture, but I don't even see how he could have gotten up there! There is not a lot of room at all! Highly suspect... I am more likely to blame the elephant, to be quite honest.

I think Bear knows I suspect him, because he is being very cuddly right now. Let me insert an insanely fluffy picture to the left. He is all "ur's": Fur, Purr, and kinda a blurr.

You guys tell me. Was it Booga, Bear, Aliens, or something totally different?

On a side note, while writing this blog I tried to type "in my opinion" and blogger automatically corrected it to "in my onionskin". Hahahahaha good job Blogger - I'm not sure how common that phrase is, but I'm glad it's there for me when I need it most.


On a slightly more serious note (as if LUSH is serious):
Tonight I was finally feeling up for a nice bath so I mustered up the energy to walk over and start up the water. I chose a Lil Lush Pud Bath Bombfrom my slowly dwindling lush stash (which I have to remind myself is the point of Project 10 Lush), and got in. I decided to wear my goggles because I do not trust myself not to splash about like a 5 year old, and I couldn't risk getting water in my freshly cut open eyeballs (which feel fine, but still... don't wanna dislodge those flaps!). I wore sunglasses in the house all day and felt completely ridiculous, but it was nothing compared to how I felt with my goggles in the water.

Hello!!! It is not a swimming pool, Elle!

So I sat in the water with my book (still chiseling away at The Lost Symbol) and waited for the water to fill up, and then I plopped this baby in. Before I review it let me tell you my "before ponderings". I have been avoiding use of this bath bomb in favor of, for lack of a better description... prettier ones? It is not the best looking bath bomb lush makes... let's just be honest. This is from their holiday collection, hence the Christmas holly design, and is supposed to smell like Holiday pudding. It smells nice, sweet and soft, and I assumed it would be an enjoyable, if a bit boring bath bomb. Tonight was the perfect night to use it; I wasn't in the mood for a really exciting one, I just wanted something relaxing.

This is what the Lush site says:
"Looks like a pudding, smells like a pudding, fizzes like a spicy Bath Ball. It's perfect for nursing your hangover. Clove powder warms and stimulates, as aloe vera and rose calm and soothe suffering skins. Lemon peel adds a sharp citrus zing to the Ball and creates part of the authentic Christmas pudding aroma."

My thoughts? It smells nice, but the smell goes away in the water much too quickly, and the scent doesn't linger on your skin like other bath bombs do. I CAN smell it on my skin, but I just took the bath two hours ago. I doubt I will be able to smell it in the morning like I could with my Blackberry Bath bomb - review here. It fizzed up WAY too quickly - it was one of those ones. It turned the water a weird tan color, which was a bit offputting, and it was just kinda... boring. Just like I suspected it would be. Nothing exciting, not something I would necessarily buy again, but it was okay. I don't have the price off hand, since it is only available during the holidays, but it would be on the cheaper end since it was one of the smaller bath bombs.

Overall thoughts: It's nice, but just kinda blah. If I was given another one as a gift, I would use it and enjoy it, but I would probably save my money for something a bit more exciting in the future. This brings me up to number 5 on Project 10 Lush.

Quick Project 10 Pan Update: I haven't made any progress because I haven't been wearing any makeup at all the past couple days, but I haven't bought anything new either, so that's good! Project 10 Lush has been very successful though!

Elle Fowler

Bear: Part Sloth, Part Lightning Bug

Sloth: a funny looking animal with a long neck that sleeps all day. The other night while I was watching Ice Age (which stars... a sloth. Go figure?) it reminded me how much Bear reminds me of one. I am pretty sure his grandma somewhere down the family tree was a sloth.




Case in point- Look at this picture. He is looking incredibly sloth-like there. On a different note, I think it is funny people think that I green screen my bedroom - this is the same bedroom with a sloth on the bed and a different comforter. That is some seriously good green screening powers!



So basically, I have come to the conclusion that bear is 50% sloth, 25% lightning bug, 20% mountain lion and 5% cat. The lightning bug (called a firefly if you aren't from the deep south) part comes from his love of my lampshade. He likes to be close to the light, ya know? It's only natural, being part lightning bug.



Hmmm... now that I'm thinking about it... maybe he is part ostrich? They like to stick their heads in holes (the whole, if I can't see you, you can't see me theory), and he likes to stick his head in lampshades...

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I still use the ostrich theory. If I get scared at night it makes me feel a LOT better if I duck under the covers. Then whatever scary monster is there won't be able to find me.


Hahahaha I kid you guys. Maybe he is just a normal cat, but I like to think he is special ;)


'-Elle Fowler

Insomnia, Bear, and my first birthday

Today is my one year birthday of videos on youtube, as you all probably know from twitter. I had planned on doing a little video about it, but honestly I am a bit tired today. I was sick earlier this week with a bit of a stomach bug and I am getting over that, so my body just feels tired and sore. I will eventually go and buy myself a cupcake though :)

So basically - and HUGE thanks to everyone who has stuck with me throughout this last year. I would not still be doing videos if you guys weren't watching them and leaving such nice feedback. We all complain about haters and stuff like that but the fact of the matter is that 99% of comments I get are extremely positive. I encourage everyone to make videos if they want to - don't be scared.. my first video was horrible! Want to see a screenshot of it? It is not even public anymore on youtube.. but here is a nice picture..

Basically I am not angled towards the camera at all, I don't even look at it, and the worst part is.. I don't even talk! I turn the camera on and then sit there putting on my makeup. My point is, anyone can make videos.. even if you are a bit shy at first. If you want to see how it will turn out, do what I did! Make a video (you don't even have to speak if you don't want people to hear you) and then put it up to see what it looks like! I did that a miraculously got about 7 subscribers - and I was like YES!!! HAPPY DANCE!! Hopefully that will encourage some of you to go out and try it :)

On a different note, Bear is doing a bit better. That is him over there <----- with his head in my lampshade. He is eating a little bit of ham every day, which is progress because he used to not eat anything at all. Mom encouraged him to eat by telling him for every bite he eats he can have 3 minutes in the guinea pig cage, which he loves. They get along quite nicely (no, he would never hurt guinea.. guinea is more likely to hurt Bear).

Have any of you guys read the book "Agnes, thongs, and full frontal snogging"? If you have, then you will know what I am talking about. I kind of want to write a book like that, only about my life. I think that would be funny. I might do that when I have time on my hands, which is never, unfortunately. It would be diary style, and very silly.

I have decided to classify myself as a full-fledged insomniac. I have always thought that I am one but I never really would have said, "Hi, I am Elle, and I have a problem. I have insomnia." Now I will say that when I meet people. My life consists of waking up insanely early for my liking (I can't help if my body "naturally" wants to wake up at 1pm), walking about sleepy all day, feeling ready to pass out by 7, and then as soon as the sun sets it is like BAM! And then I am wide awake and super productive. I can study for exams, clean my room, make videos, work out.. anything! So then I stay up late because I am doing things that need to get done and then I have to wake up early again. It is a vicious cycle. Maybe I should move to a place like Alaska where it is light out less time than normal places. But that opens an ENTIRELY new problem - I am afraid of the dark! I wouldn't want it to be night all the time because then I would never leave my house!

Oh dear... I have exhausted myself. I must wait until sundown to contemplate all this new information.

What would you guys like to see more videos of in this coming year? More tutorials, reviews, fashion videos, drugstore videos, vlogs? Let me know in a comment :) Love you!! MWAH!