Current Concealers

I'm always on the hunt for great concealers, so I will often have several drugstore and high end concealers in the rotation. Today I'm sharing my thoughts on four high end concealers, the

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, Clarins Instant Concealer, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, and the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer. 

The first concealer that I really loved was the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer. I also have the correcotor. Although I did like the concealer, I definitely preferred the corrector, and the corrector became one of my holy grail products that I've already repurchased a few times. 

A lot of people rave about the Urban Decay concealer, but this is one of my least used. I usually love it when I first apply it, and I still love it a couple hours in, but over the last few months I have worked a few 10 and 12 hour days and I have found that it just doesn't hold up on those extra long days. By the end of a long day spent indoors with air conditioning my under eyes look so dry.Although I don't  use it often, I have found that it is a good weekend concealer when I am not battling the dry air conditioning.

The NARS and Clarins Concealers are tied for my favourite Concealers. The NARS concealer is thicker and is pretty high coverage, while the Clarins concealer has pretty good coverage but is just so light and comfortable. Depending on my undereye dark circles I will typically reach for one of these Concealers. 

What are your concealer recommendations?

Spring Time Braids

So it's been a little while since I wrote a blog post. The last couple months have been pretty hectic with my counselling psychology residency and on top of that I was in a pretty bad car accident in March. Thankfully I didn't have any serious injuries but I did have to get a new car. Anyway, now that I have that quick update out of the way, on to the outfit! 

I'm absolutely loving this sheer trench coat* from Romwe! It's been a great addition to my spring wardrobe for warmer days where I still want to cover up. It can easily be worn to dress up a casual outfit, but I have been wearing it most often to work! I've been loving it for adding another dimension to dresses, or in place of a blazer or cardigan. For this casual Sunday outfit I wore it place of my usual jacket and paired it with my coziest t-shirt from Aritzia and a pair of jeans from Joe Fresh. 

Outfit Details

Romwe trench coat*

Joe Fresh jeans*

Wilfred Free t-shirt

Alex and Ani bangles

Shoes - gift from Karolina from Karolina's Style 

Braided Ponytail

I have been a lot more inspired lately to try out creative and simple styles with my hair. Most of my current inspiration has come from The Beauty Department and Twist me Pretty. I find that I feel a lot more put together when I do a simple braid in my hair compared to just pulling it back into a ponytail or leaving it straight and un-styled. Sometimes I just don't have the time in the morning to curl and style my hair, but a braid takes hardly any time at all. I have also discovered the power of "pancaking" my braids, which gives the illusion that my hair is a lot thicker than it actually is. 

Where do you find your hair inspiration? 

xo Ashley

Pixi Skintreats

I have been lucky enough to receive several of products from the Pixi Skintreats skincare line, and today I am sharing my thoughts on the cleansing balm, the toner, a face oil and a brightening moisturizer. 

First I would like to say that I am pleasantly pleased with all of the products in this post. It's great to see budget friendly products with a high end feel. My two favourites are the Glow Tonic toner and the Rose Oil Blend face oil. All of the products smell wonderful too!

Nourishing Cleansing Balm

This cleansing balm is a balm to oil cleanser, and is made with sweet almond oil, vitamin E, coco butter, and shea butter. It's described as a gentle cleanser that is deep cleaning and nourishing. I think it is great for removing makeup at the end of the day and leaves my face feeling soothed and soft. 

Glow Tonic Exfoliating Toner

This is definitely my favourite from the line. It's described as brightening and gently exfoliates for even skin tone and a healthy glow. The two ingredients that the products boasts are aloe vera and ginseng. 

Rose Oil Blend Nourishing Face Oil

I love using the rose oil in the evening after cleansing and toning to relax and end my day. The oil is fast absorbing and is said to be packed with antioxidants. Ingredients included in this face oil are sweet almond, rosehip, jojoba, pomegranate seed, rose, and geranium. I really love the soothing scent. 

Glowtion Day Dew Brightening Lotion

I've been liking this lotion as more of a radiance primer applied before foundation than a typical moisturizer. It has a pretty illuminating sheen that isn't glittery and just adds a nice glow. Again with the previous products, I love the scent. Ingredients include lavender oil for calming, and mica for brightening. 

Have you tried any of the products from the Pixie Skintreats line? What are your must have budget friendly skincare products?

xo Ashley

Valentine's Day

Hello friends! Happy Valentine's Day! I unintentionally took a short break from blogging after the Christmas holidays and thought I should do a quick post today to say that I am still here and have a lot of posts waiting to be written. The last year and half has been quite busy for me with my counselling internship, graduating from my masters degree, and now doing my counselling residency. I feel like I am finally starting to get a bit more settled into my work schedule, and I am really excited to get back to blogging and sharing my love for beauty and personal style! 

For today's post I wanted to share some of the beauty products that I've been using over the last few days leading up to Valentine's Day. Of course the adorable Love Flush heart shaped blushes and the Love Palette from Too Faced were a must. Over Christmas I was loving red lips, so for Valentine's Day I decided to go for pink and nude pink lipsticks. Finally, I have been leaning towards products that add a glow to the complexion, so the YSL Touche Eclat and the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow seemed like the perfect products to add some illumination.

What makeup products were you loving for Valentine's Day?

xo Ashley

December Birchbox

I was recently offered the chance to try out a Birchbox subscription. I was really excited because I really enjoyed the Birchbox and Rifle Paper Co. collaboration that I tested out back in April. I'm late on posting the December Birchbox, but better late than never right? Anyway, I was thrilled with the December box! I have been wanting to try more products from Amika, and I've heard a lot about Sunday Riley, so I was really excited about these two products. I also Love Tati (Glam Life Guru) on YouTube, so I was pretty excited about her LOC lip colour too. Here is a short recap of the products:

Love of Colour (LOC) Matte Lipstick in Glam Life
This lipstick is in a lip pencil form, which I really love because it is so easy to apply. The matte formula is really nice and I love the colour! It's also paraben and cruelty free. The shade I received was Glam Life, which is a plum colour that reminds me of MAC Rebel. 

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
I have a hair spray by Amika and have been in search for the Amika texturizing spray, so I was pretty excited to try out the dry shampoo. I have been carrying this dry shampoo in my bag at work to give my hair a refresh during the day if it starts to feel flat. It also claims not to leave a residue behind which I agree with and love!

Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment
I have been testing this out in the mornings a s serum and I have fallen in love. It is meant to reduce fine lines and wrinkes, even skin tone, hydrate and firm. I'm not sure if it has reduced my fine lines, but so far my skin has felt hydrated and firm when I use this. 

Juara Coconut Illipe Hand and Nail Balm
This is a multi-task balm that can be used as a hand lotion or cuticles. I really enjoy the coconut scent. 

Kate Spade Live Colorfully fragrance
Finally, this scent by Kate Spade is described as having vibrant notes of Hawaiian flowers, Tahitian vanilla and mandarin. I think this scent would be perfect for spring and summer.

So there is a short recap of the December Birchbox. I also want to mention how adorable the packaging was for December! It reminded me of tinsel and snow. Do you have a beauty box subscription? Have you discovered a holy grail product from a beauty subscription? Let me know in the comments below!

xo Ashley