Monday Questionnaire

Since today's blog post wasn't my best, and I've hit the post limit on tumblr for the night (Story of my life), I decided to start doing Monday Questionnaires! Allison does these basically every week and they're really quick and sweet, so I thought I would jump the bandwagon! Let's jump right in!

1.) Mood:

Happy! School's cancelled tomorrow due to Sandy, so I have an extra day to study and hang out!

2.) On the topic of Hurricane Sandy, are any natural disasters common where you live?

Nope! Boston doesn't get much except rain, but I don't think that counts as a natural disaster? 

3.) What is your favorite song at the moment?

Little Things by One Direction has been on repeat since 7am and I regret absolutely nothing.

4.) Current nail polish:

Stiletto by Revlon :) 

5.) If you could only use one makeup product, what would it be?

Meeeeep! I have no clue! Probably foundation/tinted moisturizer? Or maybe mascara? Or eyebrow pencil? One of those, definitely.

6.) Current outfit:

Butter sweatpants + a tie-dye tee shirt that I made at camp a few years back.

7.) Are you good at keeping in touch with friends and family?

I'd like to think so! Most of my friends are from out of state, or they don't live close by if they are in state, so I'm pretty good at keeping in touch and staying up to date :)

8.) Are you excited about any holiday makeup collections this year?

I'm more excited for the holiday gift sets that come out. Josie Maran did one that I'm dying to get my hands on, and Tarte has an amazing lip set this year. Sephora always does the best little sets, so I'm anxious to see what they come out with this year! I've also heard that the MAC christmas collection is to die for, so we'll see!

9.) The world's most wonderful chef is at your home ready to fix any meal you desire-- what do you order?

Spanakopita with rice pilaf, a side of black beans and creme brule for dessert! 

10.) Weekly goals:

Study for the 3 tests I have this week (so far)

Get back into the routine of blogging

Eat healthier

Brainstorm video ideas!

Feel free to leave your responses down below!

1.) Mood:

2.) On the topic of Hurricane Sandy, are any natural disasters common where you live?

3.) What is your favorite song at the moment?

4.) Current nail polish:

5.) If you could only use one makeup product, what would it be?

6.) Current outfit:

7.) Are you good at keeping in touch with friends and family?

8.) Are you excited about any holiday makeup collections this year?

9.) The world's most wonderful chef is at your home ready to fix any meal you desire-- what do you order?

10.) Weekly goals:

I'd LOVE to read them!

Until next time,

Ashley

October Favorites!

Well hello there! I'm so sorry for my lack of postage last week! I've been so overwhelmed with school and some other personal stuff going on so I didn't have the motivation to post, however I'm back and better than ever!

Regular posts will resume tomorrow or wednesday, depending on how bad Sandy will hit Massachusetts, so for today I'm going to redirect you to my most recent youtube video!

I hope you're all staying safe in the storm and have an amazing day!

Until next time,

Ashley

October 2012 Empties

I'm not having the best of days today, so I don't really have the motivation to write a complete blog post and whatnot. However, I definitely want to get something out today for you guys, so I'm going to redirect you to my most recent video: My October 2012 Empties

Empties videos are quite common on my channel as I apparently finish products at a rapid race, which is good I guess! I'm definitely getting my moneys worth out of these products and loving (most of) them!

Anyway, enjoy the video!
While you're there, please click the LIKE button as it really helps me out!
Also, please click the ads on the side of the blog as that helps me out as well!

Thank you guys for reading, I hope you had an amazing week and an amazing weekend!

Until next time,

Ashley

Candle Collection

Like most Youtubers, I'm terribly obsessed with the candles from Bath and Body Works. Their 2 for $20 is just way too good to pass up and I usually take full advantage of it. I don't burn candles often, but I thought I would show you what I have!

I keep my candles on my lower book shelf, with the larger candles stacked on top of each other and the smaller ones all bunched together!

From top to bottom:

Eucalyptus Mint A bright and invigorating as cool mountain air- an uplifting blend of fresh eucalyptus, green mint, and citrus with a touch of ginger. This candle is definitely one of my favorites. It makes the room smell so fresh and clean, but the scent isn't super strong so it doesn't give me a headache, I've mentioned this bad boy many a time on my Youtube Channel, and it's a personal favorite of mine!

Flower Shop The delightful scent of fresh cut spring flowers - sweet lilac, pink freesia, and hyacinth layered with cooling greens. Floral fragrances and scents are my favorite of all of the scents! Well floral scents and clean scents, which is why this is my next favorite candle. It makes the room smell like - you guessed it- a flower shop, which warms the cackles of my heart!

Mahogany Teakwood The scent of fine woods- mahogany, cedarwood and oak- highlighted by delicate lavender and geranium notes conjure up an escape to a cozy library on a chilly fall day. It smells like mens deodorant and that makes me so happy. This is a really nice candle if you're a man who enjoys candles, because it's still a very pleasant smelling smell (what?) but it's also quite masculine. I just love mens deodorant, what can I say?

Autumn On the brink of sweater weather- this inviting fragrance blends dark pomegranate with red apple and notes of fir balsam. This is definitely the sweetest of all of the candles I have, but it's absolutely gorgeous. Apple is one of my favorite scents and you can definitely smell it in this candle. The scent really fills up the room and lasts for a while which is a definite plus!

Onto the smaller candles! 

From top to bottom:

Pink Tulip As sweet as Spring's first bouquet, fresh cut tulips, soft lilac and hyacinth blend perfectly with watery violet and a touch of sandalwood. While this scent is slightly sweeter than flower shop, it's still very floral. I absolutely adore this little guy! 

Winter A festive holiday blend of shimmering pine, orange clove, crisp bay leaf and warm winter woods. The only way I can accurately describe this candle is that it smells like Christmas. 

And there's another little flower shop on the bottom!

I then have 4 of the baby baby candles in the scents Spring and First Bloom. I wanted to try these candles but BBW wasn't having their 2/$20 so I bought these to try.

Spring Like a dream of walking in a lush garden with tulips in full bloom, sweet apple blossoms, yellow daisies and daffodils. I'm quite terrible at describing scents, luckily Bath and Body works is spot on with their scent descriptions, but this really does smell like spring. All floral and clean and apple, gah!

First Bloom Like the first tender blossoms in the garden, a delicate blend dewy pear, peony petals, and water lotus with sweet apple blossoms. Smells like flowers, basically.

As you can tell, I may be obsessed with floral scents but that's okay.

The big candles retail for $19.50 each (I recommend waiting for 2/$20, they have them quite often) , the medium candles retail for $9.50 each, and the baby candles retail for $3.50 a pop.

These candles burn beautifully and the scents are really accurately described, which makes everyones lives a lot easier.

What is/are your favorite candle(s)?

Until next time,

Ashley

Purple Punch

Let the outfit posts begin! I'm sorry about my lack of postage yesterday, I wasn't feeling 100% and took the evening to rest and catch up on some YouTube videos! But, I'm back today with an outfit post! I'm so excited to start doing these, they're so much fun to shoot! Huge thank you to my mom for taking these photos, you're the best!

On with the show!

Shirt: Gap

Leggings: As old as the wars, I have no idea where I got them

Shoes: Giorgio Armani

Scarf: Gap? Can't remember exactly

Headband: Forever 21

Today was just one of those days when I wanted to be comfortable but look put together at the same time. This button down from Gap is one of my favorites, the color is so light and feminine, it fits a bit big (which you know I like!), but it's just thick enough that it can keep me warm in the 50-60 degree weather.

I've just started getting into wearing scarves and this one is one of my favorites. Although I can't exactly remember where it's from, the dark purple goes really well with the lilac pastel shirt, but still adds a pop of color.

Basic black leggings are, well, basics. These I've had for absolutely ages and the little skull detailing on the side keeps things interesting. Paired with some black oxfords and we're all good!

I added the gold headband for a pop of something other than purple, and I really like the way it all came together!

That's todays outfit! Prepare to see a lot more fashion posts on the blog. Oh yes!

Until next time,

Ashley

Skincare Shutdown

Well hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Mine was stressful, but nothing I couldn't handle. I also went to a Body Pump exercise class with my cousin yesterday, now a weekly routine, and I can't feel my legs. But, we're here to talk about skincare, not my exercising adventures!

Like most beauty bloggers and youtubers, I'm a bit obsessed with skincare. I love switching up my routine every so often, but the influx of new products may not always be the best for my skin. My skin has been quite terrible since July and, after many months of trying new routines to figure out what the heck will work, I've shut it all down.

Yes, you heard me. I haven't been using anything on my skin except for two things, Bioderma and the Origins Super Spot Remover. But more on those in a minute.

Last Tuesday I decided to go on a "skincare shutdown" and take my skin off of every single skincare product I've been using. Shockingly, my skin cleared up almost instantly. I haven't gotten a new spot since then and my old spots have either gone away or are slowly dying down, which is a significant difference from the new-pimple-a-day lifestyle I've been living.

Another added bonus of this skincare shutdown is my lack of oiliness. For those of you who don't know, I have combination-oily acne prone skin and, since tuesday, I haven't been needing to powder my makeup! Shock horror! But yes, my skin isn't as oily or shiny anymore and the only thing I've changed is the lack of product use.

Now for products I have been using. If you don't commonly read beauty blogs or watch YouTube videos then I don't know if you would have heard of this cult favorite, Bioderma. Bioderma is a cleansing water that is marketed towards sensitive skin. It's commonly used as a makeup remover, but can also be used as your basic day-to-day cleanser. Just put some on a cotton pad, rub it on your face and you're good to go!  It's a french skincare product and, because of that, it isn't regularly sold in the states. The only place you can get it is through amazon (click here for the seller I use). Through that seller, these sell for between 12.99-26.73 + shipping. I get the 500ml for 26.73+3.95 shipping which is honestly a steal.

I've been using Bioderma to take off my makeup when I get home from school and it really does get every single bit of everything off. It's like holy water! I couldn't be more in love with this product and it will forever be a staple in my skincare routine.

The other thing I've been using along with Bioderma is the Origins Super Spot Remover. I've spoken of this many a time on my Youtube Channel so I won't go into too much detail here, but all in all it is my absolute favorite, holy grail spot remover. You put it on your spots at night with a Q-Tip and they're visibly reduced the next day.

Put these two bad boys together and BAM!

After almost a week of nothing, I'm slowly adding things back into my skincare routine. Last night I added a tretinoin cream that my dermatologist gave me and so far so good. No new break outs or anything, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Basically the point of this post was to give you guys a quick little update on what I've been doing with my skincare routine, or lack thereof. I'll update you all when I repurchase the cleanser + exfoliant I know work for my skin, but haven't been using lately.

That's all for now!

Until next time,

Ashley

Shoe Unboxing: Jeffery Campbell 99 Tie!

This is the first time I've done a shoe unboxing on the blog, and I have to admit I'm excited! It seems to be much easier to type out my thoughts than to speak them on camera, so I think this will go well! Anyway, I was going to film my shoe unboxing for my Youtube Channel today, but one thing led to another and I didn't. So, here we are! Let's jump right in!

Jeffery Campbell has to be one of my favorite shoe designers in the entire world and Solestruck.com is my favorite shoe retailer. Solestruck really sells quirky shoes and, since I'm quite quirky, it all peaks my fancy. Originally, my mum offered to buy me some Doc Martens, but things got really complicated and I ended up getting these shoes instead!

                                                                      The Shoes

These shoes are the 99 Tie by Jeffery Campbell in black. I chose these over other Jeff's because I don't own a black shoe, and wedges are typically very comfortable. Since I am a student, comfortable yet fashionable shoes are almost impossible to find. 

I wore these shoes all day today and I have to say that the quality is outstanding. The quality of the leather is very very rich. It's durable enough to be worn around my school (and my school is giant, mind you), so it won't scuff easily. I don't know how water resistant it is, but I'll be spraying them with some leather spray just to be safe. 

The heel is a 3 3/4 inch with a 1 inch platform, making it extremely easy to walk around in. My feet didn't feel cramped, uncomfortable, or sore, which is a plus since I had worn them from 6:45-3. 

The shoe fits, like most Jeffs, true to size. One of the really nice things about these shoes is that the ankles have a bit of give, meaning that in I could wear them with tights or socks and they would still fit well. 

These shoes are amazing for students who have the guts to wear heels to school, for people who work in a bit more of a formal environment, yet want to look chic. The only person/profession I wouldn't recommend these shoes for is probably a doctor because, lets face it, that job ain't pretty. No sir.

Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled with these shoes and will definitely consider buying more versions in the future.

The Packaging

Jeffery Campbell boxes are a thing of art, really. The box for my Litas is different than the box for my 99 ties, which makes things interesting. Regardless, the art work on both boxes is lovely. Feminine enough to have on display, yet it isn't too loud. 

I also really like how everything is displayed on the side of the box, making picking out your shoe a lot easier and more time efficient. 

Each shoe comes as shown above, wrapped in a mesh-baggie-type thing and arranged neatly. You can't see, but there's a small cardboard divider between the shoes, making it really easy for clumsy people like me to figure out what shoe goes where.

I'm also really happy about how stackable these boxes are. Yes, that all depends on your shelving, but that still made me happy nonetheless.

All in all: Fantastic shoes. Absolutely perfect. I couldn't say a bad thing about them if I wanted to.

Until next time,

Ashley