Whats In My Travel Make Up Bag | City Break Edition

Trying to narrow my favorite makeup down to fit in one bag, that wont take up the whole weight of my luggage allowance when I travel, is a task that I massively struggle with. Between not knowing exactly what the climate is going to be like & deciding what looks go with what outfit results in me over packing and not using half the products I take. I have recently returned from a spending a week in Rome & because I have been before (I went for four days in November) I felt that I had a good idea of what I needed to take with me and what to leave at home. Here's what made the cut.

Estee Lauder Double Wear| 1N2 Ecru

A full coverage foundation that stays in place ALL day, perfect to go from day to night after a long day of walking and taking in the sights (shopping).

Nars Radient Creamy Concealer | Chantilly

Ideal for covering dark circles after late nights

MAC Shaping Powder | Emphasize

Perfect to set concealer & give a subtle highlight under the eyes.

The Balm Cindy-Lou Manizer

A beautiful highlighting powder that can be applied lightly to give a subtle highlight or can be built up for a more dramatic look. I love packing this powder all over the eyelid and adding a tiny bit of bronzer in the crease for a neutral eye look.

NARS Laser Cut Eye, Cheek & Lip Palette

This is so ideal for travelling because its so compact. With three eye shadows, a matte cream, shimmery gold and a matte deep khaki green, it can be used to create a simple neutral look for the day time that can be vamped up a little bit in the evening by adding some of the shimmery shadow to the lid or deepening the outer corner of the eye with the khaki shade. It also has a gorgeous peachy pink blush in the shade Day Dream and Laguna bronzer which creates a really subtle contour and can be used to bronze up the skin.

MAC Eye Shadows | Swiss Chocolate & Embark

I wasnt planning on taking these with me at first because the NARS palette has a couple of eye shadows in already, but there was room for them to fit in around my setting powder so I squished them in! I like swiss chocolate to warm up an eye look and embark is perfect for a more natural brow day.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

It probably seems excessive to take two bronzers, but Hoola is a bit more intense than Laguna so it is ideal for an evening look. 

MAC Prolong Wear Paint Pot | Painterly

Keeps eyeshadows in place all day and prevents them from creasing.

MAC Fluid Line | Dip Down

I use this to fill in my eyebrows and its great for a day time winged liner as its not as harsh as a black liner.

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner | Black

Ideal for adding a bit of drama in the evenings.

Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara & Benefit Roller Lash

I took two mascaras because i wasn't planning on wearing fake lashes and I find layering my mascaras helps me get the most out of my natural lashes. These two together are my current obsession they work together like a dream. I did end up picking up some really natural lashes from the airport though!

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker | Charm Offensive

This lipgloss is amazing for day & night. Its a natural pinky brown colour that really plumps the lips and lasts for a long time.

Kiko Smart Lip Pencil

Speaks for itself really, Im taking this to line my lips - duh.

MAC VIVA GLAM Miley Cyrus

I didnt know if I would even use this but I did want to take a bold lipstick just in case & as this is my newest one she came along for the ride.

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray 

A must have for keeping makeup locked in place all day!

What are your makeup must haves when you go on holiday?

Catch up soon

With Love ... A

♥

Face Of The Night - Rome Edition

Face

Primer: Benefit The Porfessional 

Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear | N2 Ecru

Concealer: Nars Radient Creamy | Chantilly 

Setting Powder: MAC Shaping Powder | Emphasize

Bronzer: Nars | Laguna

Contour Powder: Benefit Hoola

Blush: Nars | Angelic

Highlight: The Balm Mary-Lou manizer

Setting Spray: Urban Decay All Nighter

Eyes

Base: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot | Painterly

Lid Shadow: The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Transition Shadow: Nars | Laguna

Crease Shadow: MAC | Swiss Chocolate & Embark

Liner: Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner | Black

Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex | Black

Lashes: Revlon Beyond Natural | Intensifying 

Brows: MAC Fluid Line | Dip down

Lips

Liner: KIKO Smart Lip Pencil | Magenta

Lipstick: MAC | VIVA GLAM Miley Cyrus

Catch up soon.

With Love ... A x

♥

The Fall Tag

I have been tagged by the lovely Maddie to the the Fall tag she has done in collaboration with Cara.   

Favorite thing about fall? Getting cosy infront of the fire with a blanket and my boyfriend - how sickening!

Favorite fall colors? Oxblood.

Favorite fall songs? Obviously "I put a spell on you" from Hocus Pocus!

Candles or cuddles? Cuddles with candles! - Not actually cuddling the candle that would be dangerous and slightly odd!

Favorite Netflix show for fall? I dont have anyfavourite TV shows that are Autumn related, but my favourite Autumnal film is Hocus Pocus.

Favorite fall snack? Mr Kipling Fiendish Fancies. I know you can get french fancies any time of year but I like the Halloween ones. 

Which youtuber's vlogmas are you most excited about watching? Zoella, all day err day!

Favorite piece of fall clothing? Hats or boots.

Fluffy socks or beanies? Fluffy socks!

Favorite sweets for fall? Mr Kipling Fiendish Fancies.

Favorite fall lip? MAC - SIN

Best part about fall? Dark Nights.

Favorite youtuber to watch in fall? Zoella and I love Nicole Guerriero's Halloween tutorials.

Ugg boots - yay or nay? Yay and Nay. if its a lazy day then yeah but other than that im all about the chelsea boot life.

Favorite sweater you own? I dont really wear sweaters.

Tea, coffee or hot chocolate? Green Tea.

Favorite hairstyle for fall? Same as always. Loose curls.

Number one back to school tip? Im far to old for school - sob.

How does the perfect fall day look like to you? Pouring down with rain outside and im snug inside with a green tea, the fire on and a good book!

Will you be dressing up for halloween, if so, as what? If i am in work I will be but if im not then no. I wanted to recreate Shaaanxo's deer look but I have to be something scary for work - boooo.

I tag Aaron and anyone else who wants to do it!

Catch up soon

With Love A ... x
♥

BOOTEA 28 Day Teatox

BOOTEA 28 Day Teatox | £37.99 (currently on offer for £34.99)

Firstly, let me start off by apologizing for being MIA for the past few weeks. I have been busy with work, applying for uni and I'm not going to lie, I have had a hefty case of writers block. 

In the time I have been away, I have started on a quest to be more healthy and maybe shift a few pounds before my little trip to Rome next month. As well as watching my calories, I have joined a gym and have been doing some research into healthy ways to aid weight loss. I have seen different "Teatox" companies for a while now doing the rounds on Instagram and other social media platforms and decided to give it a whirl. I will just point out now that although a lot of the "results" do show weightloss as one of the benefits of doing a teatox, I suffer from a lot of tummy troubles which cause me severe pain and bloating and after doing plenty of research on herbal teatox's, I found that many people who suffer from the same problems as me, said their symptoms disappeared  just a few days into the teatox. That was me sold ..

As I said previously there are so many teatox's on the market that its quite overwhelming trying to pick the right one. I chose BOOTEA simply because unlike some of the other companies, the tea doesn't have to be drank 30 minutes before eating and is only 1 to 2 cups a day so fits more conveniently into my day to day life.  You have the option to do a 14 day teatox or a 28 day teatox, and not one to do things by half I opted for the 28 plan to get the best results for my holiday. 

The Science-y Stuff

In the 28 day kit you get 28 'Daytime Detox' teabags and 14 'Bedtime Cleanse' teabags. The daytime teabags are supposed to be drank every morning for the duration of the detox and work to kickstart and speed up the motabolism,  this helps your body convert food into energy to burn fat and calories whilst also supressing your appetite. As a result you should begin to notice that you have more energy and more motivation to exercise. The appetite suppressing ingredients will mean you find yourself feeling less hungry and make you less prone to snacking. 

The Bedtime cleanse teabags are to be drank before bed every other night starting on the first day of the detox and do exactly what it says on the tin, cleansing out the body and digestive system helping to prevent excess calories from being absorbed and stored as fat. These do have a laxative effect which occurs 6-8 hours after consumption, meaning you drink it before you go to sleep you wake up and do your business in the morning, delicious. 

This detox is never going to work if you go out and eat your body weight in cakes everyday, so BOOTEA also provide a free eating plan designed to achieve the best results from the detox. I am going to use a few meals from this but will mainly be sticking to my normal healthy eating routine. The plan is to update you every 2 weeks to let you know how my teatox is going and whether it really works. At the minute I am reluctant to put any before/progress pictures up but who knows, if I look like Daphne Joy when this is all over I may put some up. 

See you on the other side

With Love A ... x

♥

Night Out Makeup

For this makeup I didn't want anything to dark on the eyes or the lips so decided to make fluttery lashes the focus. 

Face

Long lasting makeup is vital for any night out, nobody wants there makeup to be worn off after a few vigorous dance moves do they? In order to keep my foundation from going to oily and completely wearing away, I primed my skin using MAC Prep & Prime Skin Base Visage. As I Like a full coverage foundation, I opted for Estee Lauder Double Wear in the shade #1N2 Ecru, not only does this provide a full coverage, but the staying power is second to none. In fact I didn't take my makeup off before I fell asleep last night and my makeup was near on perfect when I woke up this morning - naughty Ashlie. Sticking to the long lasting makeup theme, I used MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in the shade NC15 to highlight under my eyes, down my nose, the centre of my forehead, my cupids bow and chin. To set these highlighted areas in place I used MAC Pro Shaping Powder in the shade Emphasize and set the rest of my face with MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in the shade light. Before contouring I bronzed up my skin using another MSF Natural, this time in the shade medium deep and to contour I used MAC Pro Sculpting Powder in bone beige. I find that bronzing adds a nice transition colour so that the contour doesn't look to harsh. I love mixing blushers to achieve the perfect shade, this time I combined MAC Powder Blushes in the shades pink swoon and immortal flower, to create a beautiful peach shade. Finally to highlight my cheek bones, down my nose and cupids bow I used MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in soft & gentle and set everything in place with a quick spritz of MAC Fix+.

Eyes

First off I primed my eyes using the sin Urban Decay Primer Potion. I then blended MAC Pro Sculpting Powder in bone beige throughout the crease of my as a transition colour, using a smaller blending brush I blended a small amount of Urban Decay eye shadow in the shade twice baked to add a bit more depth to the crease. Next, I dampened a shader brush with MAC Fix+ and packed on Urban Decay eye shadow in the shade midnight cowboy rides again. Applying this eye shadow damp made it a lot more vibrant and pigmented. After lining my upper lash line, water line and tight line with Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in the shade intense black I further deepened the crease by added a tiny bit of MAC embark eye shadow to the very outer corners I also blended this across my lower lash line and filled in my brows with this shade. I Highlighted my inner corners and brown bone with MAC brule eyeshadow. Over all this was quite a natural eye shadow look, so to make my eyes the focal point of this look I added long wispy strip lashes to my upper lashes and also added some short individual lashes to my lower lashes. This is the first time I have ever used false lashes on my lower lashes and i absolutely love it! Its such a good way of making the eyes look dramatic with out doing a heavy smokey eye. 

Lips

I first lined my lips using Barry M lip liner in the shade 5 and topped it off with my cherished Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick in the shade #1 nude beige. I instantly feel more special when I'm wearing a posh lippy!

                                               Catch up soon

With Love ... A x

♥

FOTD 09|09|14

Face

Foundation - Estee Lauder Double Wear | 1N2 Ecru

Concealer - MAC Pro Longwear | NC15

Setting Powder (concealer) - MAC Pro Shaping Powder | Emphasize

Setting Powder (Foundation) - MAC MSF Natural | Light

Contour - MAC Pro Sculpting Powder | Bone Beige

Blush - MAC Powder Blush | Immortal Flower

Highlight - MAC MSF | Soft & Gentle

Eyes

Primer - MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot | Painterly

Lid & Brow Bone - MAC Eye shadow | Brule

Crease - MAC Pro Sculpting Powder | Bone Beige

Mascara - Maybelline The Falsies | Blackest Black & MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash

Brows - Maybelline Brow Drama | Dark Brown

Lips

Lipstick - Bobbi Brown Lipstick | 7 Orange 

Catch up soon.

With Love ... A x
♥

MAC Haul

Its the start of a new month which can only mean one thing, I spent more than I should on the MAC website. I initially went online to snap up some beauties from their new collections, but as per I was too late all the lovely things I wanted had sold out. So to cheer myself up, I went a bit cray ...

Large Duo Pro Palette - £14 | Pro Palette Blush Insert - £2.50 | Pro Palette Eyeshadow Insert - £2.50 | Matte Lipstick | Sin - £15.50 | Lip Pencil | Nightmoth - £12.50 | Pro Longwear Concealer | NC15 - £17 | Eyeshadow | Brule - £10 | Eyeshadow | Coppering - £10 | Shaping Powder | Emphasize - £16.50 | Sculpting Powder | Bone Beige - £16.50 | Sheertone Shimmer Blush | Plum Foolery - £15 | Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara £14.50

Large Duo Pro Palette | Pro Palette Blush Insert | Pro Palette Eyeshadow Insert

Its pretty self explanatory why I bought these. It makes more sense to buy the palettes, and the eye shadow and blush refills than having them all in their individual packaging. Not only does this work out cheaper in the long run, it also saves a hell of a lot of space in my makeup storage. I already had a single pro palette that I used for my blushes, but I decided to turn that into an eye shadow palette, and buy the duo palette for my blush and contour palette (say palette one more time!)

Matte Lipstick | Sin

If you read my Burgundy Wishlist, you will know that I have been wanting to treat myself to this lippy. Its a beautiful cranberry shade, perfect for Autumn and Winter. The colour looks a lot darker in the photo but as you can see in the swatch it is  a shade that can easily be worn in the day time, or darkened with a lip liner for a super vampy look.

Lip Pencil | Nightmoth

And this is the perfect lip liner to darken Sin. The MAC site describes it as a blackened plum and it is just that. Its so beautiful and could even be worn with a red lipstick to create an ombre lip.

Pro Longwear Concealer | NC15

This is my all time favourite concealer. Its perfect for highlighting under the eyes as its very full coverage and doesn't crease. I ran out a month or two ago so its about time I finally repurchased it!

Eyeshadow | Brule

Although this colour doesn't look very exciting, its a staple in any palette. Its a matte off white/bone colour that works perfect as a matte highlight on the brow bone, or all over the lid. I always feel disappointed having to buy colours that seem boring, but they are vital for most everyday makeup looks.

Eyeshadow | Coppering

You could never call this eye shadow boring could you? Its a beautiful bright copper shade with a satin finish. I bought this as I have blue eyes and copper shades really make them pop. I think it will be such a versatile shade to have throughout Autumn and Winter and I cant wait to get creative with it!

Shaping Powder | Emphasize | Sculpting Powder | Bone Beige

I have wanted to try these contour and highlighting powders for so long but the website never seems to have Emphasize in stock, so when I saw that it was available I snapped it up. Its an off white shade with a pearl finish so it sets and brightens under eye concealer beautifully. Bone Beige is described as a soft warm brown powder with a matte finish. It creates such a natural contour that even looks good on my pale skin tone. The powders are really soft and buttery and lovely to apply.

Sheertone Shimmer Blush | Plum Foolery

You have probably noticed a theme with this haul, Autumnal tones. I am so ready for the colder weather! One thing my collection lacked was a deep purplish blush and out of the vast array of purples MAC has to offer, this is the one i opted for. I love the formula of sheertone blushes and the added shimmer is a bonus for me as I love glowy skin. It isn't as purple as I thought it would be, but the colour is beautiful and goes perfectly with the Coppering eye shadow.

Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara

I am yet to try a mascara from MAC but I have heard so many good reviews about this one that I decided to pick it up whilst I was on my little spending spree. I am definitely a drug store mascara kinda gal so I am intrigued to see whether this is any better than my trusty Maybelline The Falsies. I'll be sure to let you know when I have tried it out!

If you would like reviews on any of these products then just let me know in the comments or on my social media! 

Catch up soon.

With Love ... A x
♥