inspired by: holly madison (cameo video + makeup look)

Sometimes, a celebrity just connects with you. That is definitely how I would describe my feelings towards Holly Madison. I remember watching The Girls Next Door years ago and immediately thinking that Holly was wonderful. I loved her bubbly personality, her beauty, and her perspective on the world around her. After reading Holly's books, I also admired her strength of character. More recently, keeping up with her on Instagram has made me fall for her fangirl side. She is constantly posting pictures and videos from Disney theme parks or The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Basically, she is amazing. Holly is beautiful, yes, but she is also relatable. Perhaps that is what has made her so successful over the years.

The view in my office. Yes, I have a picture of Holly over my desk! 

Needless to say, I am a fan. In fact, I featured her on a love it or leave it? post several years back. I just adore her style. From her fashion sense to her makeup and hair....she is perfection. Today, I wanted to share a Holly Madison inspired makeup look with you all. Typically, she keeps her makeup fairly simple and glamorous. Neutral eyeshadow shades, cat eye liner, and lots of lashes. Then a warm blush. As for lipstick, it varies between a lovely peach tone, a warm pink, or a vibrant red. For my own Holly-inspired makeup look, I opted for a peach toned lip and eye look to signal the start of the spring season.

The products used to create this look included: Rimmel foundation, blush trio, Jaclyn Hill Morphe eyeshadow palette, Cover Girl The Super Sizer mascara, Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous eyeliner, and NYX Butter Gloss.

You may be wondering why I decided to do a Holly inspired look. Why now? Well, the reason is simple. My husband surprised me with the most wonderful gift: a personalized video from Holly Madison herself. In case you haven't heard of it, Cameo is a website where celebrities charge money (the amount varies from celebrity to celebrity) for videos. I've looked at it time and time again but never felt like I could justify purchasing a video for myself. So, imagine my surprise when my husband woke me up late one evening.

He led me to his office and sat me down in his cushy chair while I was half asleep and totally confused. Then he pressed play. There was Holly Madison herself, saying my name, talking about how grateful my husband is for everything I do, and even doing a Tarot card reading. I was beyond stunned. Never in a million years did I expect something like this. It was overwhelming. I don't know if it was due to my sleep deprived state or the simple fact that Holly Madison had just said my name...but I cried. A lot. For hours. Long after the video had ended and we had gone back to bed, I stayed awake, feeling grateful, blessed, and shocked. I cried happy tears (so many happy tears) and barely slept a wink. The next day, I shared the video with close friends and watched it at least a dozen more times.

Out of all the gifts I have received in my life, this was one of the best. It was so thoughtful and unexpected. And the fact that it involved one of my favourite celebrities made it even better! Holly is someone I truly adore, so this experience was definitely a highlight. My husband certainly earned some brownie points with this lovely video. It is something I will never forget.

Are you a fan of Holly Madison? What do you think of this makeup look?