Purse Inventory

Yesterday I was sitting in the Starbucks on campus with one of my friends and I pawed through my purse for about five minutes looking for my lip balm. After five minutes, I gave up and just started pulling everything out, piece by piece, determined to find that darn Eos lip balm!
Scattered through my purse and in my make up bag I had:
12 red lipsticks/glosses
5 nude lipsticks/glosses
1 plum lipstick
2 lip balms
3 black liquid liners
1 purple liquid liner
1 navy liquid liner
5 eye shadow duos
1 Too Faced eye shadow palette (Naked Eye)
5 mascaras
1 lash curler
1 brow pencil (blonde)
2 eye shadow brushes (medium brush and crease brush)
1 pressed powder
1 bronzer/highlighter compact
1 face brush
1 concealer/highlighter
1 moisturizer
1 pack of make up remover wipes
2 nail polishes
2 perfumes


It took up the entire table. Seriously


Who needs this many lipsticks?


At least they're all pretty!


I have no explanation for this.

I may be a touch crazy after all. What's in your purse?

Xoxo,
Ashleigh

CoverGirl Disappointing Eyelights

As you can probably surmise from the title, I wasn't a fan of CoverGirl Exact Eyelights. I think it is overly hyped, messy, clumpy, and difficult to work with, without the benefit of full, pretty lashes.
I have loved coloured/tinted mascaras for as long as I can remember, because they do such pretty things to your eyes and are a nice way to change your usual day-to-day make up without being too drastic. Navy blues are great for a morning after not much sleep, as it brightens your eye area, browns and greys are a softer alternative to black, and plum is beautiful for gals with brown/hazel eyes, because it pulls the "muddyness" out.
After a long deliberation, I bought Exact Eyelights in the shade "black sapphire," and as far as I can tell, it's just a pale black with a bit of shimmer in it. The colour itself isn't anything special, I actually think it's very "ho-hum," and out of the corner of my eye, I can see the shimmer on my eyelashes, which I find extremely distracting.



Even at close range, you don't detect the "sapphire" that's supposed to be in it.

Now, I realise that in the pictures, my eyelashes don't look too clumpy- that's because I applied a coat of mascara, combed my eyelashes, applied another coat, and combed them again. To get my eyelashes to look moderately decent whilst using Exact Eyelights is too much work and impractical for every day use.



I particularly dislike the mascara wand, because I prefer the classic wands over the rubber, nubbly ones that are supposed to be better at preventing clumps. In my experience, the rubber, nubbly mascara wands cause more clumps than they prevent, and they're a bit difficult to work with.



Cost: $7.24 at Target.com
Grade: C

Eyes Lips Face for a buck?

I’ve been seeing the scant E.L.F display at my local Target for quite a while and I finally decided to give them a try today. I very carefully perused what little selection they had and was torn between a three pack of liquid liners for $3 or a five piece eye make up set for $5. That’s right, it breaks down to just $1 a piece. I really was not expecting much out of this set.

The eyelash curler that comes with it is very bulky and difficult to use, BUT once you get it positioned comfortably, it actually curls lashes very well.



The eye shadow quad is called Drama and I wish that it offered it. When I swatched the colours on my arm, they looked pretty nice, but when I actually applied them, they were pretty wimpy. The teeny little eye shadow applicator that came with it is particularly horrid- very scratchy and so small it barely picks up any of the little pigment that these eye shadows offer.



I hated the “brightening” eye liner in black (how is black “brightening”?), but that may be because I am much more comfortable with liquid liners or applying liners with a brush. Apart from that though, it seemed to tug at the eye lid a little, which is always bad, and didn’t apply very darkly. When I wear black liner I want it to be BLACK, not a pale imitation of it.



However, I LOVED the Lengthening and Defining mascara! It applied very well with no clumping, even after three very liberal coats and my eyelashes are still pretty soft.



And to round out the package, it came with a “professional” smudge eye sponge. I usually use cosmetic sponges (you know, the round or square one that come about twelve to a pack for under $5) and really love those, so I was hoping “Oh, a stick form of it would be fabulous!” It’s decent. Not good, not bad, just decent.









Cost: $5 at Target
Is It Worth It: Debatable

Two for the Price of One, Kiddies!

Tutorial and Review Rolled Into One

Today I was at my local Walmart, browsing the make up aisle for some good steals, when I came across the Hard Candy display. To say that I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. Hard Candy? In Walmart? I believe I made a “buhhhhhh?” noise. I wound up getting Ginormous Lash Volumizing Mascara and Painted Lady Lip Color, because they were both super cheap (six dollars and five dollars respectively) and the packaging was adorable. Truth be told, I’m a sucker for great packaging and gimmicks that promise you the moon, even though I know you shouldn’t judge things based off of appearance.
I was torn between doing a straight up review of the two products or doing a tutorial that I’ve been thinking about doing for a while when I decided to just roll the two into one post. Killing the proverbial two birds with one stone. The look we’re going for is a classic pin-up inspired one. Think luxe lashes, winged liner, red lips, and smooth, even skin with flushed cheeks. Tres chic.

Step 1: Moisturize skin. I know that this usually goes without saying, but it’s something you absolutely cannot skip. Well hydrated skin is the most important part of any make up look.
Step 2: Use concealer where needed, then follow with foundation to even skin tone.
Step 3: Use eye shadow primer. It smooths out the surface, evens out the colour, and helps your eye shadow stay on longer without the dreaded crease marks.
Step 4: A beige or a taupe shadow make a great base shadow to sweep across the entire lid.



Step 5: A lighter shade, such as a white or a very pale pink, makes an excellent highlighter shade to be used across the brow bone and in the inner corner of the eye.
Step 6: A darker shade, like a brown or a gray, is perfect for the crease of your eye to add depth. I also smudge a little of it across my lash line. Make sure you blend your base shade and crease shade to avoid harsh lines.




Step 7: Curl lashes, follow with 2-3 coats of mascara on top and bottom lashes. Use mascara comb afterward to ensure no clumps.




Step 8: A liquid liner is going to give you the best result for this look. Follow as close to the lash line as possible and end the line with a slight “wing” at the end. If you are not comfortable with liquid liner, it is easiest to draw small dots along your lash line and connect them instead of trying to draw one continuous line. If you mess up, use a little make up remover or mineral oil on a q-tip and try again.





Step 9: Emphasize eyebrows using a brow powder and a slant brush. Brow gel is optional



Step 10: Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks. A peachy pink gives skin a naturally flushed, healthy look.



Step 11: Line lips with a pink or red liner, depending on the colour of lipstick you plan on using, and fill in the entire lip. This gives your lipstick something to hold onto and when your lipstick starts to fade throughout the day, it won’t be as apparent.

Step 12: Finish off with some great lipstick.


Items used in tutorial:

Olay Total Effects moisturizer
Rimmel Stay Matte Clarifying Matte Foundation
Estee Lauder Stay In Place Eye Shadow Base (splurge, worth it)
Maybelline ExpertWear Eye Shadow in Mocha Motion
Revlon eyelash curler
Hard Candy Ginormous Lash in Black Out
Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner in Navy
Studio 35 Brow Powder
Rimmel Powder Blush in Santa Rose
Clinique Quick Liner for Lips in Soft Rose (splurge, worth it)
Hard Candy Painted Lady lipstick in Kitten

Review: I absolutely loved both Hard Candy products I used. The mascara went on very well with no clumping, nor with too much definition of individual lashes to give that awful "spider leg" look. The lipstick went on very smoothly as a rich, creamy red with no hint of dryness.

Cost: $6 for mascara, $5 for lipstick at Walmart
Is It Worth It: Yes :)