Beach Blonde

I briefly mentioned the John Freida Beach Blonde Sea Salt Spray in my Sunday Link Love post back in May, so I thought I would fill you in on my thoughts on some of the other products in the Beach Blonde Collection. It would have probably been more appropriate for me to talk about this line in the summer, but sometimes I need a hint of  summer to help me get through the winter. 

Beach Blonde Sea Waves Salt Spray

As I mentioned before, I actually used to use the John Frieda Salt Spray years and years ago and was really disappointed when it was discontinued (it used to be called Ocean Waves), so the re-release was really nostalgic for me. I'm not sure if it is the exact same product at it was before, but it smells the way I remember it smelling. I love the scent and I love the salty texture effect. It smells like coconut sunscreen, which is pretty much summer in a bottle to me. It's described as a texturizing product "for carefree tousled styles, windswept waves, or piecey perfection". 

Beach Blonde Cool Dip Purifying Shampoo

When I saw that there was also a shampoo, conditioner, and a deep conditioner in addition to the salt spray I was pretty excited to see what they were like. The shampoo states that it cleanses heat-damaged hair and is infused with energizing mint and seaweed. It's also described as light weight, but adds texture and brightens hair. I find the mint scent is energizing and invigorating, and a great scent to help you wake up in the morning. 

Beach Blonde Smooth Seas Detangling Conditioner

The conditioner is also described as being infused with mint for a cooling effect. It's also meant to be light weight, calming, and smoothing. Along with the mint it is infused with omega-rich kukui. 

Beach Blonde Kelp Help Deep Conditioning Masque

The masque is meant to be used in place of the conditioner for a deep conditioning effect. It has sea kelp and monoi oil to help repair damaged, dehydrated hair. I didn't know what monoi oil was, so I quickly googled it. Apparently it is a scented infused oil made from soaking Tahitian Gardenias in coconut oil. It has many uses, but one traditional use is to soften, repair, and rehydrate hair. 

Over all I really like these products and am happy they have been brought back. I love the mint and coconut scents and I know that in the depths of winter I'll be happy to have little reminders of summer weather when I use these products. Have you tried the John Frieda Beach Blonde hair products? 

xo Ashley

Estee Lauder | Pure Colour Envy Matte Sculpting Lipstick

The Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy Matte Sculpting Lipsticks are described as saturated colour in a creme matte formula, and includes a curated collection of 12 shades. All shades in the range are means to stand out and be bold. I received the colour Stronger* and adore it. Stronger is described as a vibrant violet, and I think it's quite a wearable version of a purple lipstick.  I also think it is one of my favourite matte formulas because it's so comfortable on the lips. Another thing that I love about the Pure Colour Envy Lipsticks is the packaging, which is square shaped with gold detailing and a magnetic closure. 

Have you tried the Estee Lauder matte lipsticks? I'd love to hear some your favourite matte lipsticks! Let me now in the comments below.

xo Ashley

Red Barn and White Jeans

I took these photos with my sister a couple weeks ago when it still looked like Fall, but now we are full blown into winter here in Calgary. I woke up this morning and there was a blanket of snow everywhere. Anyway, I loved taking these outfit photos with my sister. We always have fun when we go on our photo adventures. 

xo Ashley

Outfit Details

Oak and Fort sweater

Joe Fresh distressed white boyfriend jeans*

Madden Girl slip on sneakers

Target floppy hat

American Eagle blanket scarf

Coach Willis bag

Rayban Meteor sunglasses via SmartBuy Glasses*

Irresistible Me Curling Wand

I received the Irresistible Me 8 in 1 Sapphire Curling Wand* to try out a little while back and it's been the perfect addition to my hair styling tools! For the past several years I gave up on curling irons. When I felt like adding some curl to my hair I just used my hair straightener. I still use my straightener to add curls every once in a while, but I really love the effect of a curling wand. 

It took me a little while to get used to using it, but now that I have the hang of using the curling wand I really love it. If I just want to create messy curls like the curls pictured above it only takes me 5 minutes. I haven't had a chance to trying out all 8 of the attachments yet, but so far I've loved being able to create subtle differences in my curls. I think the best part of this curling wand is how quickly it heats up (20 seconds!). Another great feature is that the LED display screen shows the temperature and changes from blue to green when it is ready. I also like that the display screen flashes blue with the words off when you turn it off, which I use as a reminder to unplug the curling wand. It also has an automatic shut off so you don't have to worry about accidentally leaving it on. I love this because my straightener doesn't have any features like this and I always find myself double checking that I turned it off, and even finding a couple times that it was still on!

I started a YouTube channel a little while ago, but haven't been brave enough to put up a video yet. If anyone is interested I can attempt to make a video using the Sapphire Curling Wand. Let me know!

What hair styling tools do you use? Do you use a curling wand?

xo Ashley

Marc Jacobs Decadene

A few weeks back I attended a launch event for the new Marc Jacobs perfume Decadence, and I was lucky enough to receive a bottle to test out! I'm already a fan of Marc Jacobs perfumes, so I was pretty excited to see what this one was like. Currently I  own Daisy, Daisy Eau So Fresh, and Lola and love all three. Decadence is quite different from the other three Marc Jacobs perfumes I own. 

The scent is described as sensual, luxurious, and woody. It starts with notes of plum, iris and saffron, then the middle notes are of rose, jasmine and orris, and finally the base notes are vetiver, papyrus woods, and liquid amber. I'm not the best at describing scents, but to me it feels feminine and warm. When I wear something like Daisy the scent feels fresh, carefree, and airy, while Decadence feels more sophisticated and mature. Even though Decadence is a deeper, heavier scent it still has some sweetness to it. I think it's an appropriate scent for fall and winter. I also think the bottle is really fun too. It's like a miniaturized handbag. 

Have you had a chance to check out Marc Jacobs Decadence? What do you think? What's your go to perfume? 

xo Ashley