Get the London Look!

Every one knows that I love me some grey nail polish, especially if it has something unexpected like a bit of shimmer or opalescent flash to it.
Night Life by Rimmel has both, and it makes me really happy that in indoor lighting, it has more of a "greige" feel to it, but as soon as light hits it, it really comes alive.

Bargain for a Buck (Or, More Accurately, $3)

I really like E.L.F because they're a super cheap brand that still has pretty good quality products, and their make up removing wipes are no exception. On an average day, I've got about two coats of mascara on, Milani waterproof liner, eye shadow, and some kind of primer, so taking it all off can sometimes be a bit of an adventure.

I think this is actually a pretty "light" day for make up.
And, OMG, ignore the untamed brow!

E.L.F's make up remover wipes take off all of my make up (gently!) and doesn't leave behind a greasy or tacky residue that other, more expensive brands do. There's also absolutely no stinging whenever I accidentally get it in my eye, which I cringe to admit, happens on a fairly regular basis.

For $3 you get a pack of 20 7x7 wipes, enough to get you through almost three full weeks, assuming you use them every day. These guys are perfect for on-the-go or to store in your car for last minute touch-ups or make up melt downs!

Also, I love that the package has a lid that actually clicks closed so that all the wipes don't dry out by the third time I use them!

Party of Five Glitters

I've had this polish floating around for several months and I bought it mostly because I'm not crazy enough to shell out $18 for a certain nail polish I'll only use a couple of times. I'm not gonna name names or anything, but I'm humming a pretty popular birthday tune that talks about happiness...

Now I'm not sayin' that it's the best dupe in the world, buuuuuuuuuut, looking at swatch pictures, it's pretty darn close.

"Party of Five Glitters" by Wet N' Wild is a much more manageable $2 and looks pretty swell over most solid colors. Instead of throwing it on over black, I just did it over my Essie "Trophy Wife" manicure and I'm pretty pleased with the results, especially since it hides the imperfections in my nails!

Trophy Wife?

I don't know that I'd say that this polish has me thinking about trophy wives, but it does have me thinking about luxury, so I guess it's not too much of a stretch.
"Trophy Wife" by Essie is a beautiful teal with a slight metallic finish that is just gorgeous on shorter nails. I used three coats to make it fully opaque and then topped it with Orly's Glosser. The slight bubbles that you can see in the finish is from a combination of damaged nail beds (silly me, I had solars for about two months) and my bottle of Glosser getting a wee bit old.




















I'm not really one for only wearing certain colors during specific seasons, but I can see "Trophy Wife" transitioning from Summer into Fall really well, especially paired with neutrals.

Long time no see!

So it's been about eight months since my last post on here, and I feel kind of bad about that, but I made the jump over to tumblr and didn't see the point in keeping two blogs active. However, I've been thinking about reviving this one and basically cross-posting all the beauty related stuff from tumblr over here!

Besitos,
Ashleigh

Let's Talk Customer Service

Customer service is one of the most important things to me, not only as an avid shopper, but as someone who is studying Marketing. Word-of-mouth is possibly the most effective form of advertisement, with negative reviews garnering more attention than positive ones. With increased attention to bloggers and vloggers who share their honest opinions on products and their individual experiences with companies, there are some who really need to step-up their game. The customer is, amazingly, not always correct, but they do need to be kept happy to ensure repeat business. There are a few places that I don't actually shop with in-store (Sephora, I'm looking at you), some employees that I try to avoid altogether (streaky blue-haired useless boy at Ulta, you know who you are), and some stores that I will no longer shop with all together (CVS) due to varying forms of poor service.
Today's focus is on the level of customer service that e.l.f. provides. As ya'll know, I placed an order with them a few weeks ago and have been pretty happy with the products I received. Unfortunately, my tube of Posh arrived damaged, so I emailed their CS department to see if there was anyway I could return it for a replacement. The next morning, I woke up to an email from them that said:

We apologize for the item(s) damaged from your order.

We are sending the item(s) to you as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.


Sincerely,
the e.l.f. team

e.l.f. Cosmetics Affordable Luxury

Okay, so pretty general and to the point, but I guess not everyone can be verbose with an amazing command of the English language. Modesty. I gots it.
Anyway, ten days later, I had a lovely little parcel in my mail box that contained an unbroken tube of my beloved Posh, and I did a gleeful dance.
e.l.f. has proven themselves to be a great company to order from, not just because of their products, but because they seem to actually care whether their customers are happy, and want to fix issues before they turn into large problems.

XOXO,
Ashleigh

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!

Quick! You've overslept and only have fifteen minutes to become your fabulous self; what do you do?

First thing's first: If you use hot tools, plug them in immediately to let them heat up.
While you're waiting for that, wash your face, brush your teeth, then fill up your basin with warm soapy water for a duck's bath.
Use bobby pins (or a cute clip) to pull back the front of your hair. If you straighten or curl your hair, use your flat iron/curling iron to touch up any bits that went wonky while you slept.
Moisturize!
Quick swipe of liner, two-three coats of mascara to make your eyes look wide open, your favorite lipstick, and some powder.
Get dressed.
Get out the door.

Sad thing is, this is my routine about two days out of the week.


XOXO,
Ashleigh