Dress: Sherri Hill // Earrings: Jim Ball // Bracelet: David Yurman // Makeup: Full list coming soon //

Lipstick: Bobbi Brown Pink Mauve Liner and Anastasia Beverly Hills Pure Hollywood Liquid Lipstick

So this one time I won a pageant. And each year they invite me back where I willingly squeeze myself into a beautiful Sherri Hill gown like a big ole sausage and try and appear elegant whilst standing next to Heather French Henry(the forever Miss America and my friend to whom grace comes easily). I paint my makeup on like a drag queen and smile…then I remember…lawd knows I didn’t win for my grace and polished presentation…I won for the fire I had in me and the spirit I couldn’t quite contain. And this weekend at Miss Kentucky I was reminded of that. The first couple days I tried the pageant song and dance then slowly I let it all go and finally cut loose on that stage singing Fancy and Girl Crush (watch it here Mallory Singing Girl Crush). To let the grown black woman singing voice out of me I can’t be wearing the gown that it took 4 people to zip in the dressing room backstage(true story).  I need one like this Sequin Swing Dress.  I always do forget to breathe…or that I have to breathe. Also the brand Single has great sequined dresses that allow for things like breathing.  I also go hard core heavy on my contour for stage.  Kat Von D is my go to contour kit at the moment to make my face look less moon pie on stage.  I’ll show you how to use it in my tutorial to come…I can’t spill all my secrets at once!  But I will share one more quick secret…the girls in these things are actually really nice and awesome.  It’s much less cat fight and much more painting abs on each other with a paint brush and spray tan in the bathroom at 3 am.  I’ll teach you that too.

I get asked all the time, what’s the secret to winning…well there are a lot but the biggest one is be yourself. It took me a while to figure that out.

And while I’d LOVE the image the world had of me in a pageant was this one…

I’m quite certain it’s this image that’s burned into their brains forever…thank you for loving me for me.  Tutorial for the above look in coming posts…

Oh and congrats to our new Miss Kentucky Clark Davis…get it girl!!!!!