London Makeup Haul!

Hellooooo! So I've been gone once again,,,whoops. I was in London and Paris for 10 days and before that it was Christmas and New Years and it was just a lot. Lol. But in celebration of my trip I thought I would show you some of the makeup items I bought while I was gone.

I mostly just got things that I can't get in the US and I'm soooo excited for these products.

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer

Every British beauty guru talks about it every 2 seconds on youtube and on their blogs so I knew I had to try it out. Let me tell you that this is not all hype. It's so good! It gives amazing coverage and is smooth/creamy but doesn't crease.

Soap & Glory Supercat Carbon Black Extreme Eyeliner Pen

THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST EYELINER I'VE EVER TRIED. (I'm yelling because it's that serious) It's super black and pigmented and it lasts allllllll day. I have super oily eyelids so my eyeliner tends to transfer onto the rest of my eyelid but this one doesn't budge at all. I loved it so much I had to buy two.

Sleek Contouring Blush Palette

I knew I had to try some Sleek products while I was here because it's inexpensive and I heard that they're amazing quality. This palette is perfect for travel. The bronzer is such a nice contouring shade. It's not orange at all and not too muddy. The highlighter is pretty but natural and the blush gives you a nice bronzy-glow.

Sleek Lip 4 Lipstick Palette(s)

Ballet 858 (Nudes)

Tease 856 (Reds)

There were so many nice lip shades that I literally wanted to try them all so I thought a couple of palettes would be the perfect place to start. All of the shades are super highly pigmented and each palette includes matte, gloss, and satin finishes.

Topshop cream blush in Head Over Heels

Yes, you can get Topshop in the US but I just saw this and really wanted it so, sue me. Lol. But I love this cute corally-pink shade. Even though it's winter, in Southern California it feels like Summer so I'm just going to live it up with this summery color. 

Topshop lipstick in Beguiled 

I love this deep, berry, vampy shade. (That was a lot of adjectives. Lol) It's deep but not overwhelming and it makes your teeth look really white :) I also really love the formula because it feel very comfortable on the lips.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some foreign makeup products. Haha. You can buy pretty much all of these things online it's just a bit of a pain. Lol. I think I did a pretty good job at restraining myself in terms of not buying too much. Everything else I bought on my trip were just clothes and gifts for others so I didn't go too crazy ;) 

P/S: A little random but I got this ring from Topshop and thought it was so cute. I also liked my nail color today. So. Yeah. This picture happened. Lol. In case you're wondering I'm wearing Mint Candy Apple from Essie.

I hope the new year is treating you well so far and I can't wait to see what 2014 brings! :)

Thanks for putting up with me <3

-Ashley

Wanderlust? Makeup travel essentials.

Sooooo I just went to Vegas last weekend and as I was unpacking my stuff, I decided that I wanted to show you guys my travel makeup essentials! These are all items I use to keep my baggage at a minimum while traveling :)

This cosmetic bag is pretty much my lifesaver! It holds everything I need while still looking sleek! My sister got this for me from Tory Burch.

It might be hard to believe, but all of these items fit into this bag perfectly!

My staple products (in the order in which I apply makeup):

-NYX Pore Filler face primer

-Urban Decay Naked foundation. I usually pack a fairly lightweight foundation so I can wear it day or night. Just be sure to pack a great concealer! :)

-Sheer-cover concealer duo (do not let the name fool you. You get great coverage out of this!

-NARS Light-Reflecting Pressed Powder. A translucent powder is a must especially if you plan to go out for a long time and have oily skin like me. Glowy is cute, greasy is not.

-Benefit brow kit

-MAC eyeshadow palette (not pictured here but this is the point in which I put on eyeshadow. Also, side-note, I normally wouldn't travel with this much eyeshadow for only 3 days but I planned to do a lot of my friend's makeup and also it's Vegas so I thought, go hard or go home.

-Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in Zero. I honestly think you can get a great effect with a great pencil and some black eyeshadow so I don't even bother bringing liquid and/or gel liners.

-Urban Decay Cannonball mascara (it's definitely not as hard to remove as everyone says it is. I use the Almay makeup removing pads and they work perfectly fine and I never thought they were anything special or heavy-duty)

-Clinique bottom-lash mascara. This stuff is amazing! It has the tiniest brush to get all of your lower lashes and I don't know what they put into this formula but it doesn't smudge through oil, sweat, or tears and it's easy to remove as well.

-NARS Danmari blush palette. This palette is amazing as it is pretty much all inclusive. It has 4 blushes and a bronzer that I use for contouring and a highlight. Though this was limited edition last Christmas, they came out with another one this year with gorgeous shades as well and the same layout. This is so much more convenient than bringing 3 separate products.

-Smith's Strawberry lip balm. Because girl, crusty lips are not your friend! Especially as it gets colder we have to pay even more attention to our lips and skin in general.

I personally always take 3 lip colors: 1 nude, 1 red, and 1 berry. That way I can drastically change up my took depending on what I'm feeling.

(From L-R: Loreal; Fairest Nude, Revlon JBKBS; Crush, and Revlon; Mauvy Night all of which were featured on my Top 10 fall lip colors!)

Hope you guys enjoyed seeing some of my makeup travel essentials! I plan to do another post on all of the tools and brushes I take with me as well! If you have any further questions feel free to ask :)

Thanks for putting up with me <3

-Ashley