To help you understand me better, I’m going to share a bit of my background with you.

I grew up in a small town, with a younger sister, two parents, a dog, and with no clear picture of who I wanted to be as an adult. Most days I still don’t know. And that’s okay.

I enrolled in and graduated from Virginia Tech (in 2012), mostly because my parents only had Associate’s Degrees, and like all parents who want more for their children, they insisted I go to school so that I might have a better future than they had. I studied English because I was good at it, and I love to write, but makeup is my greatest passion. Surprisingly though, I didn’t become interested in makeup until my Sophomore year of college.

Since I wasn’t much of a partier, I spent many weekends curled up on my couch doing homework, reading fan fiction, watching Lifetime movies, and obviously, YouTube tutorials. I’m not sure at which point I started watching them, but by midway through college I was hooked.

While I didn’t have a job during the school year, and therefore, no income; I found ways to sporadically pick up drugstore brand products I’d seen gurus review. I’d stand around in the makeup aisles for thirty minutes just trying to narrow it down to which items I would get since I couldn’t get them all.

That was nearly five years ago. And these days, I have a much larger collection with much more money invested than I care to dwell on. In my mind, we all have those things we’re willing to splurge on. It might be expensive golf clubs for someone, fancy handbags for another, designer shoes, or yes, even makeup. And I don’t feel that I have to justify my makeup hobby to anyone. You shouldn’t, either. As individuals, we retain the right to exploit and celebrate our passions.

Over the course of the five-ish years I’ve thrown myself into honing my makeup skills, I have seen myself grow exponentially as an artist. I began with using loose powder from Bare Minerals, eyeshadow that didn’t go great with my hazel eyes, and bad acne that I didn’t know how to conceal. Now, my acne has vanished and I can select makeup that suits not only me, but an array of skin tones and eye colors.  As an artist, though, I know there is still so much I can learn and so many skills I can still further develop.

I’m like everyone else, though:

• I struggle with insecurities on a daily basis
• I have flaws
• My friends are off living their own post-grad lives and I’m just trying to forge my own, unique path
• Makeup makes me feel confident and beautiful
• I admire many beauty gurus, many of whom provided the basis for which I discovered my knack for makeup
• and lastly, I want to be the best artist and beauty blogger I can be.

I am so moved by the people who have shown me support, love, encouragement, and belief from day one, including my mom. She is always my biggest and most enduring supporter.

And I am also very thankful for the people who have let me do their makeup for events thus far. Thank you all for entrusting your special day(s) to me, for believing that I could make you feel like a true gem, a true princess when it mattered most.

It is my hope that I can use Gussied Up with Whitney to share my beauty secrets, passion and talents, and that we can learn more about being "gussied up" together. 

xx