Tag: life

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Hawaii Living: Friday On The Beach In O’ahu Hawaii

img_4265When you get my age Friday nights doesn’t always consist of wearing a freakum dress, 6 inch heels and sweating out the hair on the dance floor.

When living on any island in Hawaii and your over 40’s you will probably catch us sitting on the beach before strutting in a nightclub. Don’t get me wrong if I had family and friends in town then maybe you’ll find me somewhere in Waikiki walking it out.

But for now, my Friday’s consist of me hanging out on the beach at home in Ewa Beach, eating, drinking and enjoying the beautiful turquoise warm water. What I love about our beach is it’s secluded and we have a catering company that comes out on the weekend and sell food, drinks and snacks to the community that live on the beach. This is one of the amenities that sold me on this location. A private beach that I can just walk to. I don’t have to pay to go on the beach, if I wanted to drive a few steps I wouldn’t have to pay to park my car. The weekdays are usually empty so it’s like having the beach to myself. On the weekend I see more traffic but still not what you would see in Waikki. The beach is so big that everyone can just spread out and find a spot and still feel like you’re alone.

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Today I only wanted the fancy grilled cheese sandwich with chips and a Blue Mermaid. I enjoyed the Blue Mermaid before so this time I ordered 2. So, I didn’t have to get my lazy ass up to get another.

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Finally Prince Charming came to join me, his evening right after work consist of going to the gym or running 2 miles around the lagoon. Then he showers and join me on the beach. Not a shabby Friday, right?

Honolulu Hawaii Makeup Artist & Beauty Blogger Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Waikiki, Waipahu, and Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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What It’s Like Shipping Your Car From The Mainland To Hawaii Using Matson

img_3885I’m so elated about Queen B, my mature Lincoln MKZ being here with me in Hawaii. She arrived today and I can’t express how happy I am. We only been in Hawaii for 1 week so items from the mainland is slowly arriving to Hawaii. Everyday it’s like Christmas when we receive a box or boxes. The big items (Furniture) will be here between June 25th-July 9th. Everyday we check in to see if the arrival date changed. Because that’s what happen with the car, Matson Ocean Shipping gives you a tracking number so you can check on your car. The date changed a few times always fluctuating between June 3rd and 4th.

So after the photoshoot I did with United Airlines at the Honolulu Airport we went over to Matson to pick up Queen B. Matson was so close to the airport that it worked out really great. You should have saw me all antsy in shit.

Matson basically is set up like a DMV place but with a nicer staff. You give them your booking number, they pull your info up and in our case they didn’t have a release name so Michael had to call the Cargo Management Group, Inc company who picked up the car to enter our name in the system for release. That was fast and painless nothing to complain about there. We noticed how fast they were getting the customers in & out so I was getting a little worried because we been waiting for some time now.

My husband knows my personality so he went to ask how much longer because we can hear the staff talking to customers about lunch time starting around 11:45 am. Because we been there for awhile I didn’t want to have to wait until they came back from lunch.

So we found out the reason for the delay, it was because Queen B needed a jump and more gas. We followed the rules that was given to us about the amount of gas to put in the car so I was a little alarmed about why the car was on empty. Then I started thinking why would the battery be dead. So, after looking online it could be for a few reasons. When a car sit for a long period of time it can cause the battery to die. Another reason was someone from the Cargo Management Company could have left something on when they were driving the car. Another thing would cause a dead battery was if the battery was old, but mine isn’t and last bad alternator and that also wasn’t the problem.

My only concern was the 20 miles Queen B was driven and how did one of the a/c panel get broken. Because it was to many people involved it’s hard to pick who was at fault. Now that we have our keys it’s time to go get her a nice car wash because she was ashy ashy. Can’t be driving around Hawaii looking like that.

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My girl is no longer ashy I got her looking SEXY again. Overall, I was pleased with the service I received because we have heard worse nightmares from what others had experience with shipping their cars to Hawaii. I definitely would use both companies again.

Honolulu Hawaii Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Waikiki, Waipahu, and Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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Our First Saturday At Home In Hawaii

img_2997It’s a beautiful Saturday morning. I find myself waking up early just listening to the birds, writing beauty articles and enjoying my new life here in Hawaii.

Still can’t believe that I’m calling Hawaii home. The Hawaii locals are all amazing, we have met some really chill peeps and I look forward to meeting more and doing things in the community just like I was doing on the mainland.

Today we were invited to see this young surfer compete at Surf Grom, I think we will go check it out tomorrow in Waikiki. Today I just wanna spend my day on the beach with my son creating some new content and just enjoying my new lifestyle.

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As you know I’m from NOLA so I’m always craving seafood so while we were on theimg_3713 beach we started looking up what seafood joint was near the house and we found a spot called, Da Crawfish and Crabshack. Sounds like my kind of place, so New Orleans. So after we left the beach we washed up and went to Da Crawfish and Crabshack in Kapolei. The owner was so very kind to take us because they stp seating at 8:45pm the hostess said but he came over and said that we could stay, just place our order fast so the cooks can wrap up for the evening. Now that’s what I call GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. Just because of that I will talk about how great this place is to anyone that ask me about a seafood spot. So, let’s talk about this menu of Da Crawfish and Crabshack. Everything sound good, and we decided on Combo 1 and Combo 2. Can I just tell you how impressed I was with the portion and the taste of the Cajun Sauce. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it. Our server Jacob, was excellent. He was on his job making sure we were ok, that ou drinks were filled.

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Da Crawfish and Crabshack Combo 1 consist of; Snow Crab Legs, Clams, Mussels, Shrimp, Crawfish, Potatoes, and some type of Sausage.

Da Crawfish and Crabshack Combo 2 consist of: Dungeness Crab, Clams, Mussels, Shrimp, Crawfish, Potatoes, and some type of Sausage.

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It was so much that we had to bring half of our food home to finish it. It was so worth the market price and we definitely plan on returning. So, if ever in Kapolei, Hawaii you have to stop at this restaurant, just call to get the correct hours. I don’t want you to miss out on GREAT SEAFOOD.

 

 

Honolulu Hawaii Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Waikiki, Waipahu, and Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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We Moved From The Mainland To Hawaii

img_2882Yes, you read the title correctly. The Gomez-Duplessis is now residing in Honolulu Hawaii on the island of Oahu in Ewa Beach. I know it’s still so surreal to us that we’re here and not on vacation, that we will now be calling Hawaii home.

Everything happened very fast, God gave me the directions and from my bed I was able to set everything up. As you know I have Lupus, RA, Lyme, and Asthma. My lungs has been my biggest challenge the last few years and very swiftly they started shutting down. I was on that damn breathing machine so much was going through my 2 inhalers very fast. Couldn’t leave my house had to stay in one room being isolated from everyone was the worse.

Having double pneumonia and hearing the doctors saying stroke and I’m now on a stretcher, shirt being open and wires placed everywhere was the icing on the cake for me but more for my husband. Hearing him say “WE NEED YOU” and seeing his eyes I knew it was getting bad. Right after he started talking about moving to Arizona.  But nothing bit for him, but he did get a bite from a company that said “we would love to relocate you to Hawaii”. Then it happened, he was offered the position and I was on the computer, doing a lot of virtual house tours, and calling shipping companies for the car and furniture. Then having open house going on and packing like it all happened in 1 month basically.

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We have never been to Hawaii, so we didn’t know what to expect. But God made this transition so easy that I know it was the right move for us. Now, getting here was our only challenge. The weather in NY was horrible so our flight was first delayed for many hours than finally cancelled. It took us 2 days to get to our new home but we made it safe and we now have all 9 of our luggages that was sent to LAX.

I can’t wait to share pictures with you and I think I want to start doing video blogs. I just don’t know how to edit them. So, this is my first video so please don’t be to hard on me. Yes, I will still work doing what what I do best and that’s makeup. I actually start working on June 11th. I did lots of digital interviews and calls last month so life will be back to normal just in PARADISE…ALOHA

Honolulu Hawaii Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Waikiki, Waipahu, and Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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Celebrity Makeup Artist And Beauty Blogger Moving From The Mainland To Hawaii

 

img_1666Today is a big day for the Gomez-Duplessis Family. We have shippers coming through all day to give us estimates for our move to Hawaii. This is the most expensive part of the move and the most stressful part as well. But at the end it’s going to all be worth it. Because I’m getting my health back. This is really the reason why we’re moving. My Lupus, RA and Asthma is kicking my ass up here so I need to be in a warmer climate with better air quality.

We decided to go with Hawaii Moving Pros to ship our furniture. Our Moving Coordinator from Hawaii Moving Pros has been very efficient and accessible throughout the entire planning.

So, how do you pack a 5 bedroom home and make it fit a pod for a studio/1 bedroom home? You need lots of alcohol and you cry, shit you need an entire bottle of alcohol. Let me tell you, this is so hard purging and deciding on what to ship to Hawaii. It’s not the same feeling when we lost the entire home to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans but it’s high on the emotion list. I tell you what, because of this move I’ve learned that we’re hoarders, no really. I think because of Hurricane Katrina that I try to keep everything pertaining to the kids, my husband and all of my achievements and awards. The great thing is I can just google myself to see things that I’ve done. So, when I look at it that way, it makes it easier to throw away things away about myself. 

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My Soul Sista Buddha, we don’t know yet if she’s able to travel with us due to her size.

I have managed to do a lot online with setting up the family lifestyle for success. Things like digital interviews with Field Executives for Estée Lauder, virtual tours of the house with Angela our Leasing Professional, getting eRenterPlan Insurance, and setting up cable/wifi service with Spectrum. The next thing we have set up is for Queen B, my car to be picked up this week.

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I’m a fan of Z Gallerie home decor and stylish chic furniture store so I have a lot of great pieces from there especially wall art and large wall mirrors. I’m not ready yet to part from any of my things from Z Gallerie but unfortunately I have to. Because it’s costing me so much to ship my really big pieces. So, on Saturday, I’m giving them away to a few families from Columbia who just moved to Connecticut. So I know they will appreciate these fab pieces but it’s going to be hard to part from them.

I’m not shipping any of our outdoor living set up either. In Hawaii we will have a nice yard to start all over with so thinking about that project make it easier to say goodbye. I’ll be able to plant exotic flowers and have more trees and even a beach to enjoy daily.

So, if anyone from the mainland wants to know how we managed to move to Hawaii just shoot me a comment and I’ll answer them for you. I’ll continue to share about our Pro’s vs Con’s of moving to Hawaii and I’ll link the companies that we used along with feedback. This is going to be a great chapter in my book.

ALOHA

 

Hawaii Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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A Lit Easter Egg Hunt With My Adult Kids

 

This is how we do it on Easter in the Gomez-Duplessis family. Since they were babies it’s been our family tradition to have a Easter egg hunt in the yard. Now that everyone is of age and this year is our last Easter together in our Connecticut home we decided to add a little libation to this egg hunt. This year concoction was made by my son, I saw Svedka Vodka, and Finlandia Vodka but I’m not sure of his mixture. It was actually DE-LISH!

After the egg hunt we sit at the table, we eat and drink while enjoying each others company.

Then watch a few movies outside. Usually the kids will pick a movie and hubby and I pick one movie. I don’t usually make it for the bonus one. Either I have fallen asleep 😴 💤 or I’m cleaning my kitchen. And it goes a little something like this….

Do you have any fun family traditions on Easter Sunday?

 

 

Hawaii Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Brandy is located on Oahu island in Ewa Beach but you can find her working doing makeup in Kapolei. Being a top influencer & blogger don’t be surprised to see her writing beauty articles and taking selfies for her 60K followers on Instagram on the beautiful beaches in Honolulu…and YES, there are black people living in Hawaii. 

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New Orleans Celebrity Makeup Artist Talk About Who She Is Becoming In 2019

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New Orleans Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis

 

Do You Like Who You’re BECOMING? Chapter 2019, I want to continue to elevate myself to becoming a Global Makeup Beauty Guru. My 22 years in the Beauty & Entertainment industry, I feel like I have so much to share especially to aspiring beauty artists (Hair & Makeup).

I’m not stopping at just doing makeup and having a makeup line, Entitled Beauty Cosmetics. I feel like I have so much more to bring to the table. Makeup for boogie down brown women, mature women, healthy makeup, creating makeup and makeup looks for women who’s going back into the work force.

I also want to bring awareness to my health challenges; LUPUS, LYME, RA, and ASTHMA. I need for our community to understand what invisible illness look like and what chronic pain can do to a person. We get chemo, we deal with hair loss, we need care takers and we need the right meds. So, my goal is to continue to speak on this issue in 2019.

She Ready! Who are you BECOMING?

New Orleans Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Gomez-Duplessis is a wife and a mother of 2 adult kids living in Connecticut. In 2014, Brandy was diagnosed with Lupus, Lyme & RA.

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Heading To New Orleans On InterNational Champagne Day

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Wearing Entitled Beauty Cosmetics

YAASS, It’s about to be on….I made it to New Orleans and I’m about to be LIT! Isn’t that how the kids say it. Beautiful weather, great food, the best champagne…EVER. So, I’m in New Orleans because two of my clients from New Orleans are getting married on the same day so they flew me out to do makeup on their special day.

My flight was very early, 5:30am but it’s ok because Nancy booked me First Class on United Airlines so I was able to enjoy great seating and unlimited mimosas. My Girl Pal, Jamielyn picked me up from the airport and we had reservation at one of the best NOLA restaurants, Brennan’s. Guess what, it’s also International Champagne Day so you know it’s going to be a fancy day.

 

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Ended my fabulous day by witnessing a second line…only in New Orleans.

My makeup is from Entitled Beauty Cosmetics:

  • Eyes “Broke A$$” Social Class Eyeshadow
  • Cheeks “Resting Bitch Face” + “Pretentious” Spotlight Highlighter
  • Lips “Anastasia” All Nighter Liquid Lipstick

 

Entitled Beauty Cosmetics

“Resting Bitch Face” Spotlight Highlighter

$24.00

 

Entitled Beauty Cosmetics

"Pretentious" Spotlight Highlighter

$24.00

Entitled Beauty Cosmetics

“Anastasia” All Nighter Liquid Lipstick

$19.00

 

New Orleans Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Gomez-Duplessis is a wife and a mother of 2 adult kids. She also has a home in Candlewood Lake in Connecticut. In 2014, Brandy was diagnosed with Lupus, Lyme & RA. She uses her platform to help bring awareness about her health.

 

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Another Lupus Warrior Asha Sharron Loses Her Wings

img_0490-1As I sit in bed today wheezing my ass off I’m sorry to announce that another Lupus Warrior left us on yesterday. Asha Sharron has been in the hospital for 7 months fighting to live. I have always admired her because she was able to document everything about her life of living with Lupus. Asha was definitely my kind of girl because she loved her makeup, hair and fashion like majority of us women. She was just a sweet girl you can tell in her videos. Always funny and spoke positive of what she was going through.  Even though I talk about my journey and share my hospital pics I was still guarded about how much I shared because the feedback I received was to stop if I wanted to keep working in the beauty industry.

13 hours ago everything was looking good for Asha. As you can see she was up dancing. Like many of her fans we thought that this was a sign that she was going home, but God had another plan for her. He wanted her home with him.

Just 5 days ago she was up reading her lovely cards that was sent to her by family, friends and social media friends. Even on this day she struggled with doing her physical therapy session. Her body was so weak and wouldn’t allow her to have much activities without being exhausted. It’s gotten to the point that she couldn’t go to the bathroom on her on own. Her amazing mother and caretaker had to care of her needs in the hospital bed.

 

On April 4th Asha celebrated her 30th birthday in the hospital. She made the most of her day. This is why I was such a fan of her.

 

If you would like to know more about this beautiful soul Asha, check out her YouTube page where she documented the good and the bad of living with Lupus. I promise you will be touched by her like I was. I just can’t believe shes gone, she fought so hard and it just saddens me that she couldn’t to stay with us. Please let them find a cure for us because we keep losing our good ones to this horrible disease.

To Asha mom, sisters and family, I am so sorry for your loss. Thank You for being a part of her journey. She was loved and respected by us Lupus Warriors. 

 

New Orleans Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis has 22 years of experience in the Beauty & Entertainment industry. Gomez-Duplessis is a wife and a mother of 2 adult kids. She also has a home in Candlewood Lake in Connecticut. In 2014, Brandy was diagnosed with Lupus, Lyme & RA. She uses her platform to help bring awareness about her health.