Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cremes

Its safe to say that I am addicted to lip products! I have probably 4 different red lipsticks, a million lip glosses and a few lip pencils and I am constantly buying more. They need to start a support group or something haha.

The latest thing in lip products this summer is "matte" which for those of you who don't know what matte is its a lip products that has no shine, shimmer, or glitter to it. I love the matte look because I think it is something different than just your average lipgloss or chapstick.

The 2 lip products I'm going to review today are the Nyx Matte Lip Creme's. I bought them from Ulta and they were $7 roughly.
The 2 colors I chose where "Tokyo" which is a baby pink, and "Addis Ababa" which is a bright hot pink.

I LOVE THESE LIP CREME'S. I think they were the best invention since the blow dryer (and that's saying a lot). There are sooo many things I like about them:

1. Great Price!!!
2. Vibrant, bright colors and you only have to use 1 coat. (they have a huge selection of colors)
3. They go on like a creamy lipstick but dry to the consistancy of a lip pencil so they don't feel heavy or cakey.
4. They don't smear or smudge like a lipstick. (Scott likes that haha)
5. The smell is fabulous, almost like vanilla or cookies, something sugary.
6. They have amazing staying power! I apply it in the morning or whenever I put my makeup on and they last throught the day and pretty well through eating and drinking.
7. Won't get on your teeth (thank goodness)
8. Really moisturizing for a matte product, I find that some matte products can be kind of drying on your lips but these are not.

(swatch on my arm)

There is really only one thing I don't like about them:

1. Until they dry and even for about 10 min after they feel a little sticky. I don't think thats a big deal but to some people it may be.


I would most definitly recommend these for everyone... as a matter (haha matte) of fact these are really the only lip products I wear anymore aside from my Maybelline lipstick in "Are you Red-y". They feel great on, they last and they are pretty dang cheap.

Have bright lip day!
Love and Lipstick
Ashley

"I'm still in love with Judas Baby" Lady Gaga Makeup Look

"I wanna love you, but something's pullin me away from you. Jesus is my virtue but Judas is the deamon I cling too."

"I'm just a holy fool, oh baby it's so cruel but I'm still in love with Judas baby!"

As you all know I'm a HUGE Lady Gaga fan and I saw her in concert last July in Houston (best arm and leg I even spent).

The music video for Lady Gaga's song "Judas" came out a few weeks ago and let me just say one word...

AAAAMAAAUZING!!

There is a lot of controversy over the song and video but I think most christians need to just relax and calm down and learn how to have a good time, but this is a makeup blog and I don't want to get off on a tirade.

Anyway.....

After watching the video a few million times I was really inspired to copy her makeup in the close up shots of her.

Here is a list and picture of the products I used (starting counter clockwise):
1. Tarte Clean Slate Primer
2. Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer in 001
3. Urban Decay Eyelid Primer Potion (depotted)
4. Revlon Photo Ready  Concealer in fair
5. Sephora Concealer Quad
6. Nyx Eye Shadow in black
7. L'Oreal Linear Intense Liquid Eyeliner in blackest black
8. Ulta Brand Blush (not sure the shade)
9. Revlon Eye lash curler
10. Maybelline Lip Perfection Lipstick in "Are you Red-y"
11. Covergirl Lipstain
12. (Not Shown) Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set everything.

 on a side note about the Sephora Concealer Quad: (I'll do a full review soon)
the top left is a creamy light nude for yellowish skin patches
the top right is a greenish white for redness and acne
the bottom left is a rosey color which hides purplish under eye circles or buises
the bottom right is a skin tone that goes over the green or rose to blend in with your skin.

 Now to start the look, always start with a clean face. Moisturize, prime and apply foundation (Ignore my horribly broken out skin and crazy hair)

Next apply Lid primer to lids up to your brow bone and let dry for about 30 seconds.

Then carfully apply liquid eyeliner to top lids, starting at the middle and working your way out gently tug on the corners of your eyes (I know your not supposed to) to make sure the line is straight, and then go back and do the inner corners. Wing it out a little at the ends.

If its not exactly stright don't worry we will go back and fix it later.

Now for the fun part....I heard that she did most of her own makeup in this video which I think is AWESOME!

For her under eye "lines" you are going to gently set the tip of the liquid eyeliner just under neith your water line making sure it starts parallel to and even with your top line. Then following the natural line of your eye draw a line all the way across and kinda swirl it towards your corner. Do that on both eyes, your going to do it twice but on the second line your going to make a little dot near your corner, make sure the lines don't bleed together.

Mine are a little thicker than hers but that's ok.....

Now apply the Nyx black eye shadow over all the liquid eyeliner. It will make the lines straight and keep it from running. It also sets it in so it stays all day (not that you would want to look like this all day haha)

Now for her eye brows....I saw these and I really don't know what she was trying to do but whatever hahaha I just kinda drew them on with the black eyeliner extending them past your natural eye brows and flicking them out at the ends.

 As for her lips they are really plum but I don't have anything that dark so used the covergirl lipstain that I HATE to make it kinda dark and then I put the Maybelline lipstick over it.

She doesn't wear any mascara in the video.

This is what the whole thing looks like.....

(oops that one is without eye brows)

I had a pretty fun time doing this and it was pretty funny hahaha my sister was laughing at me!

Like I said I LOVE Lady Gaga and I am so inspired by her, I think she is great artist not just in her music but also her fashion, her attitude, and her stage presence. She lets her fans know that it is ok to be whoever you want to be no matter what you believe, what you look like or who you love.

I hope you all enjoyed this look, Tarte Clean Slate Primer Review up soon!
Have a Gaga-rific day
Love and Lipstick
Ashley

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer Review

Now you may be thinking to yourself  "what the heck is primer and why do I need that" well let me explain: your face is like a canvas and when you are going to paint something you always paint a primer coat first to make the actual color go on evenly and stay on right? Well that is exactly what a primer does for your face, you put it on after moisturizer and before foundation to make your skin smooth and make your foundation stay on through out the day. It doesn't take much, a little goes a long way.

That being said I have never used a primer, in the 7 odd years since I've been wearing makeup, the only thing that really prompted this purchase was the fact that I watch a lot of makeup tutorials on Youtube. Most of them say you "have to use a primer before foundation or else you don't know crap about makeup" (ok maybe they didn't say that last part). So I thought to myself  "hey I think I'll try that out and see what happens" so I skipped on down to Walmart cause I had heard that their Hard Candy line was pretty good and pretty cheap (win).

So I picked up this little darling for about $6 or so, it was roughly a month ago so I can't really rememeber. I have been using it everyday under my Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer and first and for most let me say..... I HATE THIS PRODUCT!! Now with that out of my system there are a couple things I do like about it-

Pros:
1. Its SPF 15 so thats good but my moisturizer is SPF 15 and my Tarte is also SPF 20 so I think I'm good on sunscreen haha.
2. It does make your skin really smooth and fresh feeling
3. It really does make your makeup stay on and now I can't live without a primer.
4. It really well packaged, as you know I love squeeze top packaging.
5. The price is great if it works for your skin.

Now on to the things I hate (which are pretty big things)
Cons:
1. It smells a little weird.
2. It made my skin break out BAD! My forhead is compleatly broken out and around my mouth has some serious issues and the breakouts are really red, irritated, and painful.
3. My blackheads have increase from just being bad on my t-zone to now they are bad EVERYWHERE.

I thought my skin was just breaking out because it is a new product and it does that and that it would go away after it got used to it, but 3 freaking weeks later my face is still popping up little presents every morning :(. As you know I'm a freak when it comes to my skin and I'm kinda insecure about it and this definitly did not help matters!!
Needless to say I will never repurchase this product and I will probably never use anything else from Hard Candy.

I did go out today and  buy a primer from Tarte Cosmetics which I think will work much better since their products are mostly natural and my skin really agrees with their tinted moisturizer. I'll do a review on it after I use it for a few weeks.

I hope that saved some of you some money, time and definatly saved your face from horrible breakouts!!
Have a wonderful acne free day :)
Love and Lipstick
Ashley

When you fall asleep with your makeup on....

Last night I did the unthinkable (dun, dun, dun) I fell asleep with my makeup on! I absolutley HATE doing that but sometimes your just so tired or so lazy that you really don't give a crap, I hear you ladies I know how you feel.
I'm going to give you the inside scoop on what I use to clean my face and I how I prevent breakouts while not breaking the bank :)

My skin is really moody, It's dry one day and oily the next and combo after that, so I have to be really picky when it comes to what I put on my face. Also it is really important that once I find something that works I stick with it and try not to add any products with fragrance or lots of chemicals or thats when my skin gets confused and decides it will put a zit the size of the empire state building on my forhead.

I almost religiously wash my face every night before bed and every morning before I put my makeup on so lets start with my nightly routine.

At night is when your skin can take a back seat from all the wind and dirt and makeup it's had on it all day and just relax and repair itself, so I think its very important to take extra good care of your skin at night. Since my skin is so sensitive I can't really use any type of makeup removers because they usually either break me out or dry my skin out so to take my makeup off I use the Dove Sensitive Skin Moisturizing Beauty Bar which is usually about $2 from Walgreens. Since its a bar soap it will last FOREVER!!! I just wet my face, lather it in my hands and rub it in small circles over my whole face and neck to remove any makeup paying special attention to all that eyeliner I put on my eyes every day. Then rinse.

Next I use an Apricot Scrub to remove any dead skin, dirt, oil or any makeup left on my face. I used the St. Ives brand for years but their stuff is pretty dang expensive in my opinion, its about $6 or so a tube which is outrageous. The Target brand which is called "Up and Up" is about $2 a tube and I think the Salicilic Acid in it (for breakouts and blackheads) is a lot more concentrated than St. Ives because I can actually feel it tingling on my skin. Also I think the texture is much grittier than St. Ives which will really clean the dead skin off your face.

So while my face is still wet I squeeze a little bigger than a dime size amout of the scrub into my hand and swirl it all around my face especially in the creases of my nose and my forhead but avoiding my eyes. Then this is where I think I do things a little differently, I let the scrub sit on my face for about 2-3 min so that it can really get down in the pores (its usually when I'm brushing my teeth). Then after the 2-3 min I rinse my face with warm water a couple times and then rinse the rest off with cold water. The cold water seals your pores and helps with redness. Then I dry my face.

Next, since I have acne prone skin, I use a prescription gel called Clindamycin Gel. It's just a clear gel that goes on your skin to fight the bacteria that cause pimples and seriously once I started using this I noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of pimples I was getting (which is almost none). It doesn't really help a whole lot with blackheads but I have noticed in the year or so that I've been using it that the number of my blackheads has gone down. I don't really know how much this costs because it is covered by my insurance but I'm sure if you go to a dermatologist they can tell you if this gel is right for you.

Then (a lot of steps I know) after the gel dries I apply a small amount of Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer  to my whole face and neck, never forget your neck! This is one of the few really expensive products I use on my face but I think a good complexion is worth the $15 your going to spend on this moisturizer. Its made with active soy proteins that help your skin stay smooth and keep away wrinkles (win,win).

 Then off to bed!

8-9 Hours later.....

My morning routine is much Much simpler. All I do in the morning is wash my face again with the Dove Bar dry my face and then re-apply the Aveeno. Then my face is ready for makeup haha

Now when I sleep with my makeup on I usually follow my night time routine in the morning except for the Clindamycin gel.

I hope this has helped anyone who sleeps with their makeup on (you know we all do it haha)

Have a great skin day!

Love and Lipstick

Ashley

I Just Had to Share....

Ok So I just had to share this with you guys!

My mom and I went to the mall today to get the rest of her mother's day present and low and behold Francesca's finally opened! When I lived in Houston they had on there and  I simply loved this store!So I am so excited they opened one here. Their clothes are amazing quality and for the most part they are pretty fairly priced.

But what I'm so excited to share with you guys is my mom bought me this great necklace from there for only $12 (it was buy one get one half off and I also bought a ring). Are you ready to see it?!!

(epic drum roll)......

Isn't it pretty awesome looking? Its a gold magnifying glass with crystals on the chain and around the rim of the glass. I just think this necklace is so funky and unique, but I don't really know what  I'm going to wear it with yet hahaha. Here's another picture of it.

And here's a picture of me being silly haha

Anyway I just wanted to share that with you guys! I hope your having a fabulous day and I hope all you mother's out there have a great Mother's Day tomorrow!

Love and Lipstick

Ashley

Target Haul, Outfit and Makeup of the Day

I went to Target today, and sadley like Ulta, Target is my weakness. I go in expecting to only get one thing and then get to the register ending up puting my arm and leg on the counter.

What I bought today were:
 2 lip liners and a lipstick from Covergirl's Lip Perfection line
 I also bought a nail polish from Salley Hansen's Insta-Dry Nail Color line called "Sherbert"
Also a  pair of pink shorts and a grey tank top,

Here are some photos of the lipstick and liners, they averaged about $8-$9 a piece which sounds pricey for a drugstore but its a really high quality product that is worth the money . One of the lip liners is a pinky taupe color and the other is a pretty light pink, the lipstick is a nice nude pinky taupe like the liner.

(The pinky taupe)

(the light pink)

I put the lipstick and liner on my sister who has a similar skin tone to me and this is how it turned out.
I really am excited about this color :). Their lipsticks are really moisturizing and the finish is kinda matte, kinda shiney.

The nail polish I bought like I said is called "Sherbert" and I love this brand of nail polish because it dries fast like it claims and it only needs 2 coats to get a bright, even color. They are about $4.95 a piece which I think is a GREAT price for a good nail polish.

I also bought shorts and a tank top. Here's what they look like....all their tank tops were $8 and they had every color you could imagine. The shorts were $17.99 and they had the pink, a teal color, regular denim, and couple different floral prints (why you would want floral print shorts I don't know).

 I love thier clothes at Target because even though they are on the cheaper side they are VERY VERY good quality. I love their tank tops so much that I won't hardly buy them from any other store, they are so comfortable and light weight, perfect for summer!

I also wanted to do an "outfit and makeup of the day" today cause I am having a great "complection" day and I love this new dress I bought from Pac Sun.

First my makeup:
FACE
Primer-Hard Candy from Walmart ($6)
Foundation-Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer ($38)
Blush- Nyx "Hot Pink" ($7), Maybelline Mineralized Blush ($8)
Powder- Bare Minerals "Mineral Veil" (I think about $25)
Eye Shadow- Almay "Hazel Eye's" palette (I have had it so long I don't remember the price)
Eye Brows- The Brown from the Almay "Hazel Eye's" palette, TIP Use an angle brush to pat it on.
Eye Liner-L'Oreal H.I.P. Cream Liner in 930 Brown ($13), a Revlon Brown palette ($?)
Mascara-L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara in "Blackest Black" ($13)
LIPS
Liner-Covergirl Lip Perfection Liner ($8)
Lipstick- Nyx Matte Lip Cream in "Abba Addis" ($8)

And here's my outfit of the day:

Dress- Pac Sun ($29.90)
Shoes- Rocket Dog (birthday present from my mom)
Cross Necklace- Boutique in Houston ($35)
Purple Jewel Necklack- Barnes Jewelry (Christmas Present from Scott)

(lol serious face)

(Dancing it out lol)

So that's it :) Have a great day ya'll
Love And Lipstick
Ashley

Ulta Haul and My New Soap Dish

I went to Ulta today and spent entirely too much money haha. I went in expecting to buy only one thing, a matte black eye shadow from Nyx to put over my eyeliner but anyone that knows me also knows I have NEVER walked out of that store with only ONE thing!

I really love Nyx Cosmetics. Their stuff is really cheap, ranging from $5-$10 and its professional quality makeup, I have used their basic black shadow for years (literally). What I bought from them today was (in order of the picture) a new cream blush they just came out with in "Hot Pink", their black eye shadow in "ES01 Black", and their BRAND NEW line of matte lip creams in "Addis Ababa" (funny name haha)

Check out their website http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/

I really like the lip cream and cream blush and I can't wait to put them on tomorrow!

Also while I was at Ulta I saw this makeup train case and fell in love with it! It was on sale for $25 and I really needed a new makeup bag the one I was using I had since I started wearing makeup like 7 years ago! I told my mom about it and she got mad and said "your birthday is coming up duh!!" oops.....hahaha oh well. Here's what the case looks like-

And here's what it looks like with all my crap in it lol

I really didn't know how much stuff I had until I got it all out! Even my sister said "you have a lot of crap" hahaha I think the even sadder part is that I actually use all of it. But I'm so glad I bought it! If you have a lot of makeup this is really the best way to store and organize it.


Now for the best part and the part I know you've all been waiting for.....I also went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought a new soap dish for the wallet breaking price of....are you ready.....$4!! Its the steal of the day hahaha

Hope you all have a great rest of the day!
Love and Lipstick
Ashley

Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer

(A little dirty from my makeup bag lol)

First off I love Tarte cosmetics! Their products are made with natural ingredients and not tested on animals. If it wasn't so expensive I would probably buy most of my makeup products from them but se la vie money doesn't grow in a bush in my backyard haha (all though I might have to buy one of their matte lip crayons) you can go to their website to view their whole collection

http://www.tartecosmetics.com/

I know I just did a foundation review but I my lovely mom bought me this :).

This is one of the few pricey makeup products that I have but I think sometimes if you want a good product you have to fork over the money.

We bought this from Ulta for...are you ready...you might want to sit down......$38! Now I know, I know that sounds like a lot but let me explain, this product is worth EVERY PENNY!

This is a tinted moisturizer which means it is has a lighter feeling than a normal foundation and a more sheer coverage. It is buildable so if you want/need a medium coverage foundation it will also give you that.

It has an SPF of 20 which is great for my fair, easily burned skin.

It is also GREAT for your skin its :

Paraben free

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate free (which cloggs pores)

It also is dye and fragrance free

Its formulated with:

Amazonian clay which soaks up surface oil and makes skin matte and it also helps balance skin tone and texture.

Chamomile extract which cuts down redness and calms dry, irriated skin

Vitamin A,C and E which help reduce wrinkles, redness and inflammation (awesome!!)

I am crazy about this foundation! I don't really like wearing a heavy foundation cause I hate the way it feels on my skin. This foundation is really light and lets my skin breathe. It gives my skin a healthy glow with great coverage and since its a tinted MOISTURIZER it has really helped the dry patches on my skin.

I have been using this for about a month now and my face hasn't broken out and my blackheads haven't gotten worse (if you read my previous foundation review you will know I have a problem with that). I honestly haven't found any flaws with this foundation! Tarte has a lot of color selections which is great because a lot of tinted moisturizers only come in a few shades.

I would recommend this product for anyone with any skin type, it is definitly worth the high price! If you have dry skin it will help moisturize it and even if you have oily skin the amazonian clay will help mattify your face. This is WAY WAY better than the Covergirl Naturelux Foundation.

I hope this inspires someone to try Tarte and maybe get out of the drugstore box :)

Love and Lipstick

Ashley

Sorry for being gone :(

Sorry it's been so long but I've been lazy haha. So to make up for it I'm going to do a couple reviews :)

First I"m going to do a review on L'Oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara

I came across some video reviews for this product on YouTube and people had mixed feelings about it so I decided to try it for myself

I bought this mascara from Walgreen's for about $13 which is a little pricey for a drug store product, but its well worth it!!

I LOVE THIS MASCARA!!!

I will admit I am a mascara junkie! I've tried nearly every drugstore mascara out there and I'm ashamed to say I've even tried boutique mascaras costing up to $20 a tube. I know I know outrageous!!! Everytime I would buy a mascara I would find it would be good for a few weeks and then dry out or it would make my lashes look "spidery".

This mascara has what is called "beauty tubes". The "beauty tubes" form a coating around your eye lashes that L'Oreal claims when dry won't smudge, flake, or run. They also claim that it helps protect your lashes from falling out and conditions them.

This is 2 step mascara, the first step is the primer which goes on white and builds the tubes and the second step is a lengthening matte black mascara.

(lol chipped Hello Kitty nails)

There are so many things I loved about this mascara!! It is better than ANY drugstore or boutique mascara that I have used! It made my lashes look full and volumous and long! True to its claims once it dried it never smudges, flakes or runs (which is great for my watery eyes), you can even sleep in this mascara and it looks pretty much the same as when you applied it!! I feel like their claim for conditioned, longer lashes was also true I have noticed less eye lashes falling out when I remove my eye makeup.

 

Application is pretty easy,

First you apply the white primer, I like thick almost clumpy lashes so I apply 3 coats, to each eye (alot I know).

Then IMMEDIATLY after applying the primer I apply the black mascara, if you let the primer dry to much it makes it really hard to cover completely. I apply 2 coats of that to each eye and then let it dry and apply one more coat to the tips.

The only downside to this mascara is if your in a hurry in the mornings then this is not for you. It does take a little longer than normal (obviously).

Removal is extreamly easy!!! All it takes to removes the tubes is hot water! That's it! No soap, no eye makeup remover...just water! Sounds too simple I know but its true. To get the tubes off all I do is warm up a wash cloth or cotton pad, place it on my eyes for about 15 seconds and then gently wipe downwards. Tubes will come off and look like little fibers. Its pretty awesome :)

The only downside to this mascara is it dries out really fast and sometimes the primer can be hard to cover if you don't apply it right but over all those are pretty minor things in my opinion.

I would recomend this product again and again I am on my second tube myself.

 I can not say how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this product!!

Seriously go out and buy this mascara right after you read this!! haha

Next up my review for Tarte Tinted Moisturizer

Love and Lipstick

Ashley