Compare & Review: My Foundations!

Something that I've always done is buy new products I don't need. I'm the worst with foundations. I started out with my Clinique Super Balanced Makeup, then I got Chanel Vitalumier Aqua, then there was the Stila Tinted Moisturizer, and finally the Nars Sheer glow. Why the heck I have so many bloody foundations, I'll never know. 

Anyway, I decided to swatch and compare all of the foundations I currently have and review each separately. Here we go!

From Left to Right*:

Clinique SuperBalanced Makeup in Breeze

Chanel Vitalumier Aqua in B10

NARS Sheer Glow in Deauville

Stila Tinted Moisturizer in Bare

From Top to Bottom*:

Clinique SuperBalanced Makeup in Breeze

Chanel Vitalumier Aqua in B10

NARS Sheer Glow in Deauville

Stila Tinted Moisturizer in Bare

Let me start off by saying that all of these foundations wear beautifully, with or without primer. They all last through an entire school day + work or therapy. 

Let's start with the first: Clinique Superbalanced makeup.

This foundation is hands down the pinkiest foundation I have. It has medium (buildable) coverage and it gives a really nice glow to the skin. However, it does oxidize to a solid pink color which doesn't work out with my skin too well. I have more yellow than pink in my skin, although I do have some pink, the way that this foundation dries is a bit too much. However, I love the coverage and the finish that this foundation has. It's a brilliant foundation to "start off" with, and it's the cheapest of the bunch, priced at around $22. 

I would give this foundation a 6 out of 10.

Pro's

Coverage

Price

Finish

Con's

Pinkiness

Onto the Chanel Vitalumier Aqua foundation! 

I freaking adore this foundation. I really, really do. It's one of my favorite foundations in the world. It's the perfect mix between yellow and pink for my skintone, it has a light to medium coverage that's very buildable, and it leaves the skin looking so healthy. It barely looks like I'm wearing makeup! I always feel so comfortable wearing this foundation because it doesn't feel thick but it really gets the job done. However, I can't justify spending $50-$55 on a foundation. I bought it for my birthday and, honestly, I'll probably buy another this year as well. But it isn't something I would pay with "pocket money". However, it has been 7 months and this foundation is still going strong, so maybe spending $50-$55 is worth it. Since I got fired last week (i know) and I don't have much "pocket money" until I find another job, repurchasing this foundation will have to wait until my birthday. It is, however, one of my very favorites.

Pro's

Coverage

Finish

Color

Label (come on, it's chanel!)

Con's

Price

Next is the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation 

I've already done a review on this foundation, which you can find here, but I thought I'd go into the details of the foundation a little more. To start, this product retails for $44, which is a lot. However, you get a lot of product in this guy, a lot more than you would the Chanel Vitalumier Aqua, so the amount matches up with the price (sort of). For me, it's much easier to shell out the $44 when you're getting more bang for your buck! It gives medium coverage, but you can definitely build it up to give full. This foundation covers all of my acne scars and takes the redness out of any current spots, it gives the skin a healthy glow, and it dries very similarly to the Chanel foundation, meaning that it has the perfect balance between yellow and pink for my skintone. It does dry a bit darker, but it's barely noticeable when  on your face. This foundation comes in a lot of different colors and, for those with oilier skin than myself, they make a "Sheer Matte" line that is the same formula, only matte.  This is one of my favorite foundations, and it's one that I'll be keeping in my kit for sure!

Pro's

Coverage

Finish

Color

Amount of product in the bottle

Con's

Price.

And, finally, the Stila Tinted Moisturizer. 

I talked about this tinted moisturizer in my last Friday Favorites, which you can read here, so I'm not going to go too much into it. Basically, this is a really nice tinted moisturizer. It has a lot more yellow than the other foundations, as you can see in the picture above, but it gives just about the same coverage. It just evens out your skintone, so you can see your skin peeking through, but it doesn't hide any broken capillaries or redness from spots. It feels nice on your skin once it settles in and has a really nice wear, with or without primer. This product is under $30 and can be found where ever Stila is sold.  

Pro's

Price

Coverage

Color 

Finish

Con's

Coverage is very light.

All in all: These products are all amazing. However, I'll be repurchasing the Nars, Chanel, and Stila products for sure. Nars and Chanel for all year round, Stila for lazy days or summertime. The clinique is a bit too pink for me, but it's still an amazing foundation nonetheless.

Next time you're in Sephora, definitely check these products out!

xxx,

Ashley

*All photographes where taken in natural lighting

Compare & Review of: Covergirl Eye Trio's "Shimmering Sands" & "Cafe Au Lait"

If you've ever seen Nikki Phillippi's videos, you'd know that she absolutely loves the CoverGirl Shimmering Sands Eye Trio, which you can get at the drugstore for under $10. That trio is gorgeous. It has shimmery neutral colors that are really pigmented, aren't chalky, aren't patchy and they all blend together beautifully. This trio is perfect for an "Every day school makeup", which I will be doing a tutorial of on my YouTube channel when we get closer to school! Anyway, because this trio was such a hit, I decided to pick up another Covergirl trio in Cafe Au Lait

Left: Cafe Au Lait

Right: Shimmering Sands

In the pan, the colors look like a toned-down version of the Shimmering Sands trio. However when you swatch it, it comes out really, really, really chalky. See below.

Left: Shimmering Sands

Right: Cafe Au Lait

Swatches of Cafe Au Lait

Yes, these colors are decently pigmented, but you can see how chalky and patchy they are. And that's only on the hand! When you put it on your eye, you can literally see patches of skin. Not a hot look for anyone! The colors are really hard to blend, they're chalky, they're mildly pigmented. This trio is basically everything that the Shimmering Sands trio is not. It retails for around the same price, but it's absolutely NOT worth it at all.

Sorry for the blurry shot of the Shimmering Sands swatch!

Even from the blurry shot, you can see how smoothly the Shimmering Sands colors swatch. They go on evenly and they have really nice pigmentation.

Shimmering Sands

Pro's:

Pigmented

Go on evenly

Blend together

Can use each shadow individually, or you can achieve a really nice everyday smokey eye.

Easily accessible 

Price

Con's:

None

Cafe Au Lait

Pro's

Price

Easily Accessible

Colors (in the pan)

Con's:

Pigmentation

Chalky

Don't blend easily

Don't have a lot of options 

All in all:

Get the Shimmering Sands

Run far, far away from the Cafe Au Lait

xxx,

Ashley

Friday Favorites 7.20.12

So, I was going to take a picture of my Friday Favorites today but I'm way too lazy.

Either way, here are my favorites for the week!

- Stila Tinted Moisturizer in Bare

- Maybelline lash discovery mascara 

- Too Faced Natural Eye Pallet (Velvet Revolver & Sexpresso)

- My leather mini journal!

Stila tinted moisturizer:
As I explained in my last video, which you can find here, I have a serious love/hate relationship with this product. I got it when I went to IMATS New York in April because the guy said that it gave more coverage than the Laura Mercier one. However, when I brought it home and actually tried it out I absolutely despised it. It felt really thick and gave basically no coverage. What a waste of $15! However, when I pulled it out this week and tried it without a brush, I loved it. Yes, it still felt a little thicker than a "regular" tinted moisturizer, but still thinner than a foundation. The coverage is really buildable and it gives your skin a healthy, not greasy, glow. I've been using it every single day this week and I've been enjoying it a lot! :)

Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara:

Definitely my favorite mascara of the moment. Not too much to say about it, because I've already done a full review on it, which you can find here!

Too Faced Natural Eye Pallet:

This pallet was given to me by my friend Grace's mum for my birthday, which was beyond sweet! It was actually something I was planning on buying for myself! Anyway, this pallet is amazing. On the left side of the pallet there are 3 "base" or "highlight" colors, ranging from a matte white, to a light champagne, to a pinkey color. And on the right side, next to each base color are 2 "actual" colors that you use as your makeup look. My favorites have always been Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso, which go with the matte white highlighter. All of these colors are matte and make the nicest, but dramatic, smokey eye. I'm actually wearing that combo today and I've definitely fallen back in love with it! Look out for a full length review and pictures coming up!

My Leather Mini Journal:

I picked this up 2 weeks ago because I'm obsessed with journals. I don't keep a journal, I don't draw, I don't write often. However, I'm absolutely obsessed with collecting journals. I actually have 10 sitting in my room. Anyway, I picked up this journal cause it looked kind of vintagey (it isn't) and it was small enough that I could carry it around with me. I've been making myself use this journal to:

write down to-do lists

write down video ideas

write down blog post ideas

write down products I'm going to finish 

write down products I want to buy

etc.

And it's really come in handy. This little guy has been "keeping me in check" and, whenever I check something off of my to-do list, I always get super happy and proud of myself!

Those are my friday favorites! Sorry there were no pictures :/

xxx,

Ashley

Friday Favorites: July 9-13 2012

I haven't done one of these in so long! 

I need to get into the habit of doing them again.

Meep!

Please excuse my hand in the last photo!

My favorites for this week are as follows:

NARS Silk Road Eyeshadow Duo

Mac creme blush in uncommon *discontinued

Origins Clear Improvement face mask

Organic Hair fertilizer 

Mac prolongwear concealer in NC 20

CARGO Eye brightener

And my song of the week is:

Lightning by Alex Goot!

See you next week for another Friday Favorites (I'll try to remember! :D)

xxx,

Ashley 

Book Review: "Between the lines" by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

If you know me in real life, you'll know that I read. A lot.

99% of the time, I always have a book on me.

Or I just finished a book.

If you're on the internet, you'll know that people get really attached to books. (Harry Potter, oh yeah)

The characters become their friends, the story becomes part of their lives, the lessons the characters learn, we learn. Books that we love have a huge impact on who we are and what we do.

If you don't understand that, then read Harry Potter and get back to me.

Anyway, the book I'm talking about today is called "Between the Lines"

This book is about a 15 year old girl named Delilah who never fit in. She isn't popular, she doesn't have many friends (except for her BFF Jules who, according to Delilah's mother, looks like a vampire), and she's obsessed with a book.

But this book isn't a "normal" book that 15 year olds read, it's a fairy tale. 

The story is basically about a prince named Oliver who has to save the love of his life from an evil guy, and he has to overcome a lot of obstacles and yada yada yada they live happily ever after.

Delilah finds herself relating to this book more than she relates to the "real world", and she develops a fondness towards Oliver.

However, she never expected him to talk to her.

The rest of the book is basically about their developing relationship, which I'm not going to spoil for you guys. 

This book was amazing.  I read it in under 2 hours because I couldn't put it down for one second. It's written by Jodi Picoult, who is one of my favorite authors, and Samantha Van Leer, who I've never heard of.

It's written beautifully, the plot is amazing, the character development is beautiful, and I, personally, find myself relating to this book a lot. 

Not to the fictional characters talking to me. 

Another perk of the book is the chapter formatting.

It obviously bounces between Oliver and Delilah, but you also get to read the actual fairytale that Delilah loves. So you're falling in love with the characters, but you're also reading another story.

2 in 1 book OH YEAH.

I was really happy with the way the book ended too, which is always nice.

It's also nice how the book kind of messed with my emotions. You may not like that, but I love when books make me feel 50 different things at once.

Pro's:

Writing

Character Development

Plot

Chapter formatting

Pictures

Author 

Con's:

I seriously cannot think of any.

All in all: Get this book. Get it now.

xxx,

Ashley

Photos by Brittney

My sister has always had an eye for catching little things about me in a picture. Some are good, some are bad. I thought I would share with you some of my favorites from this summer so far.


Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
Check her out on:
Twitter (@britt_yorks)
&
Tumblr (lovewill-killyou.tumblr.com$

Xxx,
Ashley

Benefit Hello Wow Oxygen whatever Foundation Update!

Remember the review I did on the Benefit foundation a while back?

Well, I'm here to amend it. 

I'm going to an event tomorrow and I'm way too pale to wear my Nars Sheer Glow, so I searched my stash and found another sample of the Benefit foundation in the color Champagne.

Thinking "why not" I put some on one cheek and stood away from the mirror. 

Let me tell you, it looked flawless.

It didn't match my skintone 100%, but it matched 98 or 97%, which I haven't found in a foundation besides the Nars one.

Everyone on YouTube is always talking about their "summer foundation" that they use, obviously, in the summer. I've never had a summer foundation and thought it was quite pointless to use a foundation only a few months a year, so I used my MAC MSF Natural as a base and went on with my day.

The problem with powder is it looks, well, powdery. Very powdery. It looked very fake looking and I didn't like it one bit, so I'm really thankful I found the sample of the Benefit one. 

This foundation is small enough that it's good for travel, it has enough product that it should last me for at least a month and a half, and it compliments my tan nicely. 

The orange in it that I didn't like before works lovely when you have a nice color to you, so it all works out in the end.

I still love the coverage and the dewey glowey finish it gives. 

Will I purchase a full size one? Possibly. 

Will I purchase a full size one this summer? Most likely not.

If I haven't found a foundation that's reasonably priced, has good coverage, and compliments my tan by next summer, this one will be an instant buy.

Pro's:

Coverage

Color (when tan)

Finish

Price (cheaper than the NARS one)

Con's:

Color (when not tan)

All in all: Fantastic product for those darker than I am. Not so amazing for pale skintones. 

Great with a tan.

Definitely grab a sample next time you're in Sephora or near a Benefit counter.

This foundation is worth trying!

xxx,

Ashley

Book Review: "Grl2Grl" by Julie Anne Peters

Hi guys,

So I literally just uploaded my book review on "Grl2grl" by Julie Anne Peters, which you can watch here!

I just wanted to write my pro's, con's, and conclusion about the book here!

Pro's:

The writing is beautiful

Character development

Because of those two things, you really find yourself getting attached to the characters and wanting (expecting, even) more.

Con's:

The stories are really short.

You don't get what you pay for.

All of the relationships in this book are the same (lesbian relationships, with a transgender story thrown in there), so everything gets kind of repetitive after a while.

The stories are really short, leaving you disappointed and wanting more than you got.

All in all:

Read this at the library. Don't spend money on this book.

This isn't a book I'd buy again because it left me really, really frustrated. 

I wanted to know more about the characters and how they dealt with the situations. I wanted to see them come out and develop relationships with new people. But the stories end in such an abrupt way that it's frustrating and leaves you feeling like you were ripped off.  

This book will now sit in my collection collecting dust because if I read it again, I'll get even more frustrated.

xxx,

Ashley

Shoe Wishlist: solestruck.com

Hi guys!

So, I've been browsing Jeffery Campbells ever since my best friend Amanda got her Litas.

So, today I went on Solestruck and looked at all of the shoes. I'm getting paid next week, and I'm strongly considering picking up some new kicks. 

Yes, I'm aware that these shoes are expensive. But, I'm really looking to expand my wardrobe and finally figure out my "personal style". I'm 100% willing to splurge on shoes because I:

1) Don't want (or need) any new makeup.

2) None of the clothes in the shops interest me right now

3) I would absolutely get a lot of wear out of whatever shoes I decide to splurge on.

Also, I'm going to be selling/donating/giving away a lot of shoes, some of which I may sell on a blog sale, so keep your eyes open for that. If not, I'll post pictures of the shoes I'm selling. Or I'll sell them to a thrift store. Either way, I seriously need to clean out my closet.

Half of the shoes I own are "cheap" and/or shoes that I haven't worn in years, so they're just taking up space in my shoe closet. 

EITHER WAY:
I want shoes I'll wear often. Shoes I love and shoes that are comfortable, classy, and practical. 

So, without further ado, my solestruck.com wishlist.

Jeffery Campbell Litas in Black Distressed Leather. $159.95

I want these Lita's in Matte Black Leather. Online, these look like the matte black, but I have to ask mandy when she comes back. 

Unif HellRaisers $164.95

These come in a bunch of different colors, so I'm not set on exactly what color I want, but I have a lot of options with these shoes. I heard about them from Bunny, who absolutely adores hers. 

How gorgeous are these sandals!? These are the Dolce Vita Idra, which retail for $159

However, where I live it's cold 1/2 of the year, so I wouldn't get a lot of wear out of these sandals. If I lived in LA, Florida, or somewhere warm, these would be an instant buy.  But since it isn't summer 24/7, I'd rather stick to my $30 Jessica Simpson sandals. 

Sam Edleman Adena. These shoes retail for $150, and they're stunning. They're a bit more toned down than the Unif Hellraisers, and they're also a bit more feminine. But with an edge. Which I love.

I could wear them all year round, which is nice. GAH I'm drooling, they're so pretty.

So, those are the shoes I'm looking at buying! (minus the sandals, I just wanted to put those in there cause they're freaking beautiful)

I don't exactly know which shoe I'll get first, but I'm hoping that I can own all of these one day!

xxx,

Ashley

Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara: Day 2

Hi guys!

I've realized something about the maybelline lash discovery mascara between last night and now.
Last night I was absolutely obsessed with it (still kind of am) but when I put it on for work this morning, I wasn't too pleased.
The mascara wand left a line behind my lashes, which would have looked like eyeliner last night, but since I'm not wearing any eye makeup it just looks weird.
So I've decided to change my verdict.

This mascara still does everything I said last night. My lashes look amazing today, however this is the perfect mascara for the days when you're not wearing any makeup. It makes your lashes look more defined, because of the line it leaves on your lid.
But this mascara isn't one I'd wear when I'm wearing a full face of makeup, just because I don't want to risk messing up my eyeliner.


All in all: still great, but not my favorite.

Xxx,
Ashley




(ps sorry this is weirdly formatted and kind of rushed, I'm writing this on my phone!

Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara Review & Photos!

Hi Guys!

I don't know about you, but I think that lower eyelashes are sometimes neglected in the YouTube community. You hear about mascaras that work amazingly well for your upper lashes, but what about the baby ones?

Through Bunny (click here for her channel, she's the best!) I discovered the Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara. It's an itty bitty baby wand that, according to her, catches and defines every single lower lash. 

I was surprised to hear about it at first, a drugstore mascara that worked well on your lower lashes!? Awesome! But, how did it work on upper lashes? 

We're about to get very up close and personal.

I just filmed my first installment of the "Naked Pallet" eye looks and decided to try out the mascara. I'm highly, highly impressed! Although the wand is super duper small, it volumizes  and lengthens your upper lashes. As for your lower lashes, Bunny was 100% right. It does catch every single lash, even with the small brush, coats them in the perfect amount of product, and defines them. 

However, I'm lucky enough to have naturally thick and long lashes. But, I think that if you have shorter or thinner lashes, this mascara would be perfect for you! 

I bought this product at my local CVS for $9.79. It also comes in a waterproof formula, which I'll definitely be using. 

The mascara makes your lashes stand out, and can also be used to achieve a "natural" look.

This mascara is definitely one of my favorites, right behind the Almay "Get Up and Grow", which is my #1 favorite for 2 years running!

All in all: If you're looking for a good drugstore steal, get this now!

xxx,

Ashley