Drumroll please.....

And the winner of my 25 followers giveaway is................

ACTIONMAGS

Congratulations honey!!!  I am going to e-mail and tweet you in a few for your address :)


Just to provide some proof that I did NOT pick favorites, I had Random.org choose lucky winner #18, which was Actionmags!!!  

I want to thank everyone who entered and helped expand my readership in the process.  I will definitely have another when I hit 50 (which is coming up!) so tell your friends!!!  And let me know what you would be interested in winning!!  Take care loves :) Xoxoxoxo

Coral & the City

Hi loves!!  Oh my goodness I can't even explain how much I missed blogging these past 2 weeks and I am SO happy to start up again!  And welcome to all my new followers!!!   Just fyi, the giveaway ends tonight at Midnight PST, so watch for your name in tomorrow's post if you entered!!


Anyway, I went to my favorite place in the world last week for work/play, which is why I wasn't able to blog, but I loved every minute of it and miss that town already.  If you haven't been.... go.  I actually got some sun (imagine that.. I live in L.A. and I have to go to Chicago to get a bit tan).  And the best part - I was able to try out my new coral lipsticks since I was going out practically every night!!  Firstly, a couple shots of the Chi...

Secondly, onto the lipsticks!!  I picked these up from Target a couple weeks ago and honestly was a bit skeptical as to how they would look on me since I am the palest of pale, but was surprised how well they actually go with almost translucent skin!  Although coral probably looks best on tan skin, I wore it proudly anyway.  My first purchase was Revlon's "Kiss Me Coral" and if you have tried this one, I'm sure you can attest to how amazing it is.  It's SO bright and stays on forever!!  Well, not forever, but I had to eat a whole deep dish pizza before I noticed it disappearing..

I like to pair this with the Sonia Kashuk Ultra Shine sheer lipgloss in "Cheerful", which honestly, I'm not a big fan of.  It has a brush instead of sponge, which is fine if the formula wasn't so crap.  The gloss just streaks on and it's just not a good consistency at all.  This is what it looks like alone -

Cheerful

Cheerful over Kiss Me Coral

Same lip combo

I also bought Maybelline's "Coral Lustre" which is very different than "Kiss Me Coral".  It's a lot more sheer and shimmery with a reddish tone.  Coral Lustre is definitely more subtle and is a nice color that you can wear during the daytime.  The only downside is that it doesn't last very long.  After a cup of coffee you will definitely need to reapply and about 15 times before the color is noticeable.  I imagine I will go through this fairly quickly, but it's moisturizing and still a lovely color for my complexion.

Maybelline's Coral Lustre

And here are the swatches for you to see up close (Top to Bottom: Cheerful, Coral Lustre, Kiss Me Coral)

No flash                            With flash

(Left to right - Maybelline "Coral Lustre", Sonia Kashuk "Cheerful", Revlon "Kiss Me Coral")

I would say the swatch with the flash is most representative and you can really see the shimmer in Coral Lustre!  What summer lip products are ya'll loving??  

Hi loves!

I'm so sorry for being completely MIA the past few days.. I didn't even get around to doing my Sunday Night Ritual post and I've been kicking myself for it!!  I just wanted to let you know that for the next couple week I won't have a whole lot of time to post, but I wanted to say 'hi' and welcome to all my lovely new followers!!  


Also, for those who know me well, Anthropologie is my obsession and I just found their friggin' wedding line!  Now, I'm not getting married any time soon, but if you are and if you like pretty things, go here -->  www.bhldn.com (pronounced "Beholden")  And here are some pretty pictures for your enjoyment :)  Love to you all!!!!  xoxoxoxo

I heart my 25 followers - Giveaway!! --CLOSED

I finally hit the big 2-5 and I want to thank everyone for your amazing support and feedback the past couple months.  You keep me motivated to continue writing this blog and inspire me in SO many ways!  So I wanted to give you some products that I love and know you guys will too :)


First are a couple ELF products - The All Over Color Stick in "Golden Peach" and Super Glossy Lip Shine in "Goddess".  I've never tried the color stick, but it looked pretty.  And I actually own one of their lip shines and it tastes sooo good (and has SPF 15!).  I don't have Goddess, but it's actually more of a nude color (the picture makes it look more brown).

Also included are NYX products (I told you I would give away some pigments!!)  There's 6 pearl pigments (White, Lime, Baby Pink, Yellow Gold, Silver, Baby Blue) and 3 Jumbo Eye Pencils (Milk, Gold, Purple Velvet).  You can see my Jumbo Eye Pencil reviews here and my pigments review here if you aren't familiar.

I also did a look with my Gold NYX pigment today, which I just wanted to show you - 

Lastly, are a couple Ulta lipsticks, which I've also reviewed here, except not the same colors.  One is a lovely bright coral (#100) and then a shimmery nude (#130).  I took swatches in Ulta, so you can see them below - 

I may include a surprise something, but we shall see.  Here's the whole package, just so you know I actually DO have all these products just waiting for some lucky winner!!

*Giveaway open Internationally!

Time for the rules :)  - -


1 entry - Follow my blog and leave a comment below mentioning your GFC username and your e-mail address.


1 entry - Follow me on Twitter @ashla305 and tweet about the giveaway (Please remember to include me on the tweet and leave our twitter name in the comment box below)


2 entries - Mention my giveaway on your blog page 


If you're under 18, please get your parents/guardians permission before entering as a mailing address will be necessary if you do win.


The closing date for entry will be Midnight (PST) on Monday, May 23, 2011.


Random.org will be used to decide the winner.


Good luck and thank you all so much again!!

My Liebster Blog Award!

Happy Saturday ladies!!  I'm back from the dead... I know, I've been really slacking on blog posts this week, but in fairness, life has thrown me a curveball and blogging had to take a backseat for awhile.  BUT I was pleasantly surprised that the lovely Katelin at alazygirlsguidetobeauty had given me the Liebster Award!!!  See here!

At first I had no idea what the Liebster Award was, but after doing a bit of research, I think it's such a great idea and am so honored to receive it (thank you again Katelin!)  Seriously.. check out her blog.  She's fabulous.  


Anyway, I love so many bloggers, but I wanted to give this award to the ones that I interact with the most and have under 300 followers (which was actually kind of hard to find - stop being so popular guys!!!)  Kidding ;)  


My first choice would be Beautylifeandthingsilike.blogspot.com - the title says it all folks!  Her blog is literally a mixed bag of beauty, life and things she likes.  She does great NOTD and skincare reviews and although she hasn't been blogging long, she always responds to my comments and is such a sweet person.  She's also extremely consistent, so totally deserves this award!

Second choice is my lovely Irish friend ArtDonatella. I'm sure most of you are familiar with her, but she was one of the first bloggers I started to follow and actually was the one who gave me The Versatile Blogger Award last month!!  Her "Looks of the Day" are absolutely fantastic (check her latest one out here) and her nails.. ugh, I can't describe the envy I have for her perfect shaped nails.  Anyway, she is one of my faves and deserves a million more followers!

Last but certainly not least is Charlene from Acosmeticaffair.  Another sweetheart in her own right (I only follow super nice people if you haven't noticed), and I absolutely love her.  Her reviews are awesome and she has such an array of beauty products.  It makes mine look pretty pathetic!  I've been following her for awhile now and certainly won't stop anytime soon!  Check her out!


Anyway, I thank you again Katelin for bestowing this lovely award upon me, and to my recipients, by no means do you need to do a blog post on this.  I just wanted to share your amazing blogs with my other readers and to let you know that I always look forward to reading whatever ramblings you happen to post!!  Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!!

NYX Pearl Pigments

Hi darlings!  How's everybody's Monday going??  Mine was okay until I was handed a package from Amazon.com and immediately perked up.  This was my first pigments purchase after reading a lot of reviews and blogs, so I decided on NYX, which was reasonably priced and I feel is pretty good quality.  I haven't swatched a whole lot of pigments, but am pretty happy with most of the colors that came in the 12-pack.

First of all, there are 12 pigments for $21 on Amazon.com.  They are .06 fl oz each, so total you are paying $21 for .72 fl oz of pigments.  A MAC pigment is .15 fl oz for $19.50, so I think I got a pretty good deal.  Plus it comes in so many amazing colors!

(This pyramid was extremely difficult btw)

The swatches are below, but I must say the only thing I was not a fan of was the packaging.  It comes in a bottle shape, instead of a completely open cap like a MAC pigment.  So you either have to dip your brush into the bottle or tap it out onto a surface, which I guarantee you will waste a lot of the product that way.  So I took a brush and applied it on the back of my hand over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.  

Booo

First swatch trial - I think Nude Pearl may just be my new favorite highlighter!  They are all pretty shimmery except for Rust Pearl.  Some contain more glitter than others, but every color is so radiant.  I'm already thinking of fun looks to do with these!!

White Pearl, Nude Pearl, Yellow Gold Pearl, Sky Pink Pearl, Penny Pearl, Rust Pearl

2nd swatch trial is below, but sidenote - the black is completely matte and the green came out a bit more yellow than I was hoping.  It's called "Lime" so maybe that's an accurate representation.  And the blue wasn't as bright as I was hoping.  Oh, but how gorgeous is Silver Pearl??

Mocha Pearl, Silver Pearl, Walnut Pearl, Black Pearl, Ocean Blue Pearl, Lime Pearl

I wish I had some fix plus or eye drops to show you the foiled version, but I don't.  I'll do a look with it soon though and show you that way.  Hope you liked this and since they're SO cheap, I was thinking about doing a giveaway once I reached 25 subscribers.  Let me know if you would have any interest winning these little beauties!  And maybe more... ;)

SNR - Bath time Edition

Happy May Day everyone!  I can't believe it's already May and I've been blogging for almost 2 months now.  Time just flies huh?  Anyway, I've had a pretty rough week with my fridge dying on me and then getting into a car accident Friday night, so I knew a bath was definitely in order this weekend.  


I have some Lush bath bombs still sitting in their packages, but I really wanted to use this Pumpkin spice bath bomb I received as a hotel amenity in San Francisco last month.  Half Moon Bay, CA is the country's "pumpkin capital", hence the pumpkin spice choice, but I mainly wanted to recapture that feeling of serenity and calm while I was there.

It's created by this company called Me! Bath which headquarters in Los Angeles.  However they are sold in spas, hotels and random salons all over the country.  You can find which retailers carry them on their website - www.mebath.com - but can I just say... I reallllyyy enjoyed this one.  I love pumpkin smells anyway and I know it's a bit odd since it's halfway into Spring and pumpkin is more of a fall/winter smell, but I don't really care.  Not only did it smell amazing, but it's made with 20% shea butter and made my skin feel so smooth.  

I put the whole bomb mainly because I was too lazy to cut it up, but it dissolves in about 2-3 minutes and this is what my bath looked like:

It made me really want a pumpkin pie or a Thanksgiving dinner.  It's actually got me thinking about the holidays already... is that sad?  They're only 7 months away people!!!  Anyway, the bath was exactly what I needed and now my skin is silky and my demeanor relaxed.  The rest of the evening I will probably spend doing laundry & cleaning.. like every regular Sunday :)  What did you guys do this evening??