shamelessmaya.com has begun

it's up! phase 2 of my journey to #beshameless. for regular updates follow me by clicking on the links below:
my tumblr/site: shamelessmaya.com
facebook page
twitter: @mayasworld
YouTube.com/ShamelessMaya coming soon!

the rebranding of Maya

this is turning out to be an eventful summer! in addition to the house hunting which is coming to a close, i've booked a bag of voice work! I've been hanging out with cool peeps, and enjoying the summer with the love of my life...KISSES!!!
AND i'm rebranding!!! what that means is i won't be here on frugal artist much :( i find it sad since this site is my longest running online presence. why am i rebranding? this whole shameless thing is taking over and i need a dedicated site to all things shameless...i'll do my best to keep you up-to-date with all my frugal happenings with the house move and all which means redecorating, shopping! being creative!!!
but back to shameless...i need to see if my brother can AND has the time to design some cool logos and stuff and then i need to design a simple straight forward wordpress site on all the shameless happenings. i need my own #hashtag too! any ideas? anyways...here's my latest and 2nd last video up on YouTube.com/frugalartist

Big City Dreamin'

i moved here to nyc chasing dreams. my dreams happened to include love (my husband) and creating art. i've been living here for 2 years and dayum! this city is something specially. most new yorkers will tell you the same thing, "i have a love/hate relationship with new york". there have been times where i straight hated this town and everything in it. but the alternative? seriously? there is none...at least not at this stage of my life. this city forces you to quit or succeed. take it or leave it. bottom line.
i can say as of late my whole disposition has changed drastically. maybe God is saying, "give this kid a break" but i'm finally getting one! maybe i always have and i just couldn't see it. but yeah...amazing things have transpired in these past 2 days (i will elaborate in the upcoming weeks). my life hasn't "changed" but my perception of life is a complete 180 from where it was even last year. maybe it's because i started believing and having faith again. for whatever reason i thought being 'mature' and responsible meant sacrificing what i love for what makes "sense". i tried that and was a miserable human being and it showed in ALL areas of my life. thanks to this whole #shameless campaign i'm back to my cooky cray-cray self. i'm really beginning not to give a damn what that stupid little inner voice thinks nor what others think for that matter! i care about responsibilities and priorities and even opinions of others but life is about living and dreaming and having fun and being free. i'm slowly but surely setting myself free from my own insecurities and mental limitations and it is SOOOOO liberating! it's so #shameless!!!
believe in yourself and just do it! if you quit something and feel great, then clearly that was the right move, but if you quit and are unhappy, i implore you to revisit those dreams. you probably simply need to try another tactic. there are multiple ways to end up at your destination. work harder, work smarter and just start thinking creatively and out the box :)

i love you guys! thanks for your encouraging words and support.

"our doubts are traitors and make up loose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt"-Shakespeare.

i'm so grateful to live in this cut throat city. 

nyc i love you for forcing me to hustle and grind it out. i wouldn't dream of having it any other way!

Pretty Little Liars

man! what's up with YouTube's obsession with makeup and hair?! well it goes beyond YouTube. we are visual creatures. some people call it superficial and materialistic, but i believe at the root of it we are sophisticated animals...i mean, heck birds flaunt their feathers and so do we. the more outlandish the more "attractive". however positive or negative that attraction is. anyways...i'm taking notes of this obsession and thinking of creative ways to parlay and exploit this into my "shameless" study.
but i digress. MAKEUP! what better way to snag em than look your best?! here are my tips to trick those suckers :)

makeup used:

Face wash- Dr. Bronner's Organic Pure Castile, peppermint 

Moisturizer- Avalon Organics

Concealer- Rimmel (soft honey)

Primer- Tart

Foundation- Tart (warm walnut), love this line!!! all natural

Powder- Ruby Kisses $5, i bought this on 125th for my RuPaul drag face not wanting to spend $20+ and surprisingly this stuff  gets the job done! this brand is hypo-allergenic, non-comeogenic, and talc-free...SCORE

Eye brows- Lancome, but use whatever! my mom gave this to me so imma use it til it's gone :) i would totally go for a drugstore brand though

Eye primer- MAC (bamboo)

Eye shadow- MAC (arena and cork), cheap drugstore grey and black...i can't remember the brand but it was cheap!

Mascara- L'Oreal Voluminous

Lipstick- MAC (frost)

home hunting

David and i have been looking for a love nest on and off for a year. last week we decided to go full throttle and finally get us a home. the challenge...we live in NYC! how to afford!!! well we've been saving week-after-week, month-after-month and finally have enough for a down payment!!!! the only thing left...what's available in our budget? on father's day we found our dream home out in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and we're Harlemites! the apartments were gorgeous! indoor pool, gym, spacious living space, all new amenities, the works! however walking from the train to the apartment i questioned my safety at night. so we went on a midnight car ride last night to peep the hood and let me tell you! it was damn scary!!! i'm not sure what's more scary, the unfamiliarity of the neighbourhood and/or it being secluded and too damn quiet...but damn! it's like finding a diamond and tossing it back. or not...do we buy and invest knowing the neighbourhood should be popping in like 5-10 years? which means having my body guard pick me up at night until i'm familiar and feel comfortable enough to walk by myself OR keep looking...there are of course sacrifices that must be made, but what are we willing to sacrifice? i was talking to a familiar dog owner here in Harlem and he was saying how much these neighbourhoods have transform over the years. how these boarded up brownstones which either sold for $1 or were abandoned are now worth millions. the people that were able to see past the "ghettoness" of this hood are now reaping the rewards. do we brave it, take a risk in buying this property or wait for hopefully another opportunity? what am i willing to sacrifice? i definitely am not trying to buy a shoe box in Williamsburg but the alternative? ARGH!!! anyways! RENT SUCKS PEEPS!!! save your funds! buy a home! what we pay on rent is such a waste! no tax credits! no investments! just straight leeching!
$1,000/month on rent for 1 year = $12,000
$12,000 x 5 years = $60,000!!!!
that's a 20% down payment on a $300,000 home! WTH?!!!

it looks exactly like these!

but in the hood!

joking! 

in any event, you'll soon be getting a glimpse into the new crib and watch me create magic :)

all you need is love

i was fortunate to attend the wedding of Raye aka itsmyrayeraye and Eric Boyce's wedding two weeks ago. such a cute and intimate wedding! these two love birds remind me of the hubs and i 3 years ago. a new york city hall wedding with those closest and me snapping away in the background :) you don't need to have a crazy over the top wedding to get married. and you definitely don't need to be rolling in dough. all you need is love.

i edited the photos in both color and this slight black and white sepia tone and to my surprise we all loved the latter. i'm all about color but there's just something about this quality that makes it so timeless.

Raye styled it up in this cute strapless dress with floral embellishments, glitter pumps, red lipstick, black liner for days and turned it out!

to process these images i used Nelly Nero's Black and White Set action, Classic Black followed by Lucky Dip with minor adjustments to the sepia tone.

CONGRATS BEAUITFULS!!! the rest of the photos will be up on the site early next week fingers crossed :)

Real Talk (Take it to the Streets)

#shameless video up! now some peeps think i'm uber confident to walk up to strangers and maybe i am but that doesn't mean i don't feel awkward and scared! cause i do! but then i think, "hey, this guy is asking me for a minute of my time so why not ask him a minute of his?" but as i said, do the thing that scares you. because the more you do it the more confident you become. AND great content for my viewers :) i better be super woman by the time this year is up!!!