China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish

I was told about a new nail polish that was for sale at Sally's Beauty Supply. It's by China Glaze and you simply paint your nails any color with any nail polish, let it dry, then paint the Crackle Glaze over that polish, let it dry for at least 5 minutes and it has the appearance of crackled paint, then you throw on a shiny top coat and voila!

The paint I used for the under tone was an older polish from my collection. It's a shimmery coral color called Sunset Prisms made by Maybelline.

The Crackle glaze I selected was called "Crushed Candy", which is a beautiful turquoise blue!

 

I really like this nail polish, it took me a few tries to get it to look right because I was putting on too thick of a layer but once I got the hang of it, it turned out pretty cool!

I hope you liked this post, be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! Follow me on twitter @ashNICOLEley for updates!! Happy Shopping XOXO!!

Dumb Blonde by BED HEAD - Not Just for Blondes...

If you have dry or damaged hair due to coloring, chemical treatments, or heat; you might want to pick up a bottle of BED HEAD's "Dumb Blonde" Shampoo and Reconstructor. Don't let the name mislead you, it's not JUST for blondes! The name comes from the idea that Blondes do A LOT of coloring to achieve and maintain that bombshell look, and probably have gotten some damage along with it! But the truth is, with our conical wands, straighteners, highlights, and etc. almost all of us can admit to having damaged hair - no matter the color!

These are my absolute favorite products in the shampoo/conditioner category. I use them almost every day! The reconstructor is an EXTREMELY thick conditioner that works best if you can leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing. I can always tell a HUGE difference in my hair when I use this product as opposed to when I do not. My hair is softer, shiner, and much more healthy looking! I have been using the conditioner for a year now and absolutely nothing comes close in comparison! 

The shampoo retails in salons for about $19.95 for a tall 750 mL bottle. However, JC Penny's Salon, TJ Maxx, and Walmart salons often have them on discount for about $13 bucks, or 2 for $20 so keep your eyes peeled for deals!

These bottles are quite large so they last a long time. If you can find them on discount it really is a deal!

The reconstructor retails at about $26.95 for a 750 mL pump bottle. Again, JC Penny's salon, TJ Maxx, and Walmart salons run sales and you can find them for about $15 bucks or 2 for $20.

I like to keep another set of shampoo and conditioner in the shower to use about once a week... just to mix it up and make sure there's not a lot of product building up in my hair as these products are quite thick.

I hope you found this post helpful! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can also follow me on twitter @ashNICOLEley for more updates! Happy Shopping!! XOXO

P.S. - Leave a comment! I want to hear your opinion on these products!

My Personal Fav - YBF Eyebrow Pencil!

YBF
(Your Best Friend)

I love this pencil because it is perfect. Really, no joke. If you press harder the color gets darker. If you use it lightly the color is lighter. It is great for any hair and skin color. It also doesn't need to be sharpened which is always a plus.

As you can see in the picture above it is dual ended. One side is the pencil and the other is a brush.

As I said before it doesn't need to be sharpened. I love this because sharpening cosmetic pencils is incredibly messy and just wastes product.

One of the best things about this pencil is the brush. After you fill in your brows you can go over them with the brush to shape them and it blends the pencil marks and makes it look even more natural.

Before:

In the picture above you can see some bald patches where my eyebrows are still growing in.

After:

The pencil perfectly filled in the bare spots and my eyebrows don't look drawn on!

My final look:

This is my current favorite of all my cosmetics!

You can find YBF cosmetics on HSN! Here's the link!

I hope you liked this post and love this eyebrow pencil as much as I do! Be sure to share this with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! Happy Shopping XOXO!

Hot Guess Sunglasses - Poor Customer Service

I have been a loyal customer of Guess for a while. Especially when it comes to their accessories. I am quite petite and have a hard time finding sunglasses that fit well. I can always find sunglasses at Guess that fit and look stylish. Last week I somehow managed to break my favorite Guess sunglasses so I immediately got on the web and ordered a new pair!

My poor broken sunglasses!

I decided to go with the Daredevil sunglasses that I found on Guess.com. They were $85 which was about $30 more than my old ones but they came with a hard case so I figured they might last longer than my old ones, plus they looked cool and I knew they would fit great, so I went ahead and made the order. You can see the case below in a snapshot of the website as it appeared when I placed the order:

 

I received my sunglasses a few days later. Unfortunately the case they sent me was not the case shown on the website. In fact, the case does not fit the sunglasses at all. I called the customer service number given on my invoice expecting the issue to be resolved immediately and the right case to be sent out without a problem. I was wrong. I was asked to email photos of the case that I received to the customer service agent I was speaking to and she would fwd it to the warehouse. I took pictures of the case with the glasses inside so that it would show how they do not fit. I also sent the screen shot above so they could clearly see that the case I received was not the same. Here are the photos of the case I received and sent to the customer service rep:

After emailing her like I was told to do, I received no response. I waited a day and then called. She said she was still waiting to hear from the warehouse. That was on a Friday. Tuesday I emailed again when I still had not gotten any information. I told her I was very upset that I have not heard anything and that the issue had not been resolved. She informed me that she was still waiting to hear from the warehouse. I wait 2 more days and still hear absolutely nothing from anybody. It has now been a week since I first called and I decided to call the customer service number and ask to speak with a manager. Did I get to speak with a manager? No. The girl on the phone took my information, read that I had the wrong case and stated that she would email the warehouse. So here we go, in the same circle. I informed her that I will not be ordering from Guess again, and angrily stated how dissatisfied I am with this mess and their inability to simply send the product that I ordered and payed for. Her response was that she would email the warehouse and call me back today. I'll let you know if that actually happens. 

In conclusion, I have decided not to order from Guess.com in the future. When you have loyal customers, take care of them. When you offer a product and people buy it, don't send a cheaper version that doesn't work. I expected Guess to be a nicer brand and a company that would stand behind their products and customers and I have been shown that, well, that just isn't the case.

UPDATE:

The customer service representative that took my phone number and promised to call me back that day did not call back that day or the next. I will be calling again Monday.

I never got the chance to call Monday, it is now Tuesday and while I never heard back from them I am happy to report that I finally received my case today in the mail!

I hope you found this post helpful! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can follow me for updates on Twitter @ashNICOLEley! Happy Shopping XOXO!!

Long beautiful lashes! Easy!

While shopping at my local drug store I came across these Ardell DuraLash false eye lashes. I have never been a fan of false eyelashes because they are a mess to get on and irritate me. These were only about 4$ and they seemed interesting because they are little clumps instead of a whole eye piece so I decided to give them a shot.

You can see the packaging in the pictures above and below.

On the back you can see the instructions and it states that you use LashTite adhesive to apply them.

The adhesive was about 3$ and you use very little so it will last a long time. I felt like it was a pretty good deal so having to buy the glue separate from the lashes didn't upset me.

You can see the packaging for the adhesive above and below. The adhesive also shows instructions on the back of the box. I like that, you can see what you are getting into before you buy it.

Below, you can see my eye before I applied the lashes. My eyeshadow was already on. I recommend applying the lashes before you put on makeup if you plan to wear the lashes for more than one evening. Doing it before will cause the makeup to get in the glue and will still be visible after makeup removal.

Below, you can see how many I used. That is the amount I used for BOTH eyes so they give you plenty of lashes to work with!

I applied them exactly as the instructions told me. I put a drop of glue on a piece of aluminum foil. I then used tweezers to grab a clump of lashes and applied them to my own lash a little away from my lid.

Above is one eye after applying the false lashes but before applying mascara. In the two pictures below, you can see how the whole look, with mascara.

I have used this product twice and definitely plan on getting more. They are easy to apply and the second time I used them I was able to put them on more quickly and evenly, so it really is a piece of cake. They could probably last 3 or so days but, I get irritated with them and remove them. The first time I took them off the next day. The second time I used them, I left them on for two days before removing them. They seemed to be attached very well both times I removed them, so it's safe to say they last several days. I personally don't care to keep them on that long and they are cheap enough to use and replace so if your like me you will want to grab a bottle of remover and several packages of lashes.

I hope you like this post and enjoy these lashes as much as I did! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can follow me on twitter for more updates @ashNICOLEley!! 

Happy Shopping!! XOXO

YBF Perfect Prep Face Primer!

This is another great product from YBF, Your Best Friend! 

Face Primer can be an important tool for people who suffer from acne and blackheads. Often times cosmetics, oil, skin cells, and dirt get down into the pores and cause inflammation and build up. It is good to use a primer to create a barrier between your face and your cosmetics to help reduce the flare ups.

I really like YBF's Perfect Prep Face Primer because it leaves a smooth, almost powder finish and has a light, fresh scent. Also, a little bit goes a long way so you can really stretch your dollar here!

This primer helps create a smooth, flawless look. It moisturizes and does not leave skin feeling sticky or oily! 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can follow me on Twitter for updates @ashNICOLEley! HAPPY SHOPPING XOXO!!

Creating Unique Jewelry!

Creating unique jewelry by selecting stones, settings, and pieces and assembling them into a personalized design is a great way to show off your creativity and to have something special that nobody else owns! 

 

I get all of mine done at a local Jewelers called "The Jewelry Vault".

I like going to a locally owned shop instead of a retail chain because it helps support the local economy, you have great service with people who remember you and get to know your personal style, and because you can really find some great pieces that aren't commercialized and bought by thousands of people.

This is a great simple piece. It is a stone that my mother brought back from over seas. We decided to go with a simple mounting so it wouldn't take away from the unique design of the stone. It is special to use things found in travels and given from loved ones but you can also find really great and unique stones at pawn shops, jewelry stores, antique stores, and you can even have the Jeweler special order things for you.

Below is my favorite piece. It was another stone that my parents brought to me from over seas. I wanted to do something really eye-grabbing so we flipped through some books until we found this spiral pendant.

We found a simple mounting for the stone and had it assembled into the curve at the bottom of the loop. It really fit well and made an awesome pendant.

This is going to make an excellent conversation piece!

You can get a better idea of the size in the picture below...

Choosing a chain can be difficult so I was very excited to find this piece below!

The size of the chain can be customized as the hook actually slides up and down the chain giving the option of wearing it long, choker style, or somewhere in between!

I also think it would look great with an open back dress as the chain would hang down in the back when worn more tightly around the neck!

Here are a few rings I had done a few years ago at the same location:

The middle stone in the ring above was brought home from overseas and given to me by my dad. The two side stones I picked out at the Jeweler's. We then selected mounts and a band!

I am excited about how well my ring matches my new pendant. The ring was also done at The Jewelry Vault. All three stones were selected in store and we found the mounts and band by flipping through books and ordering them.

I can't wait to show off my new unique jewelry!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can follow me for updates on Twitter @ashNICOLEley! Happy Shopping XOXO!

VS Lasting FX Eyeshadow Primer!

I was recently browsing in Victoria's Secret when I saw this product:

I have never used a primer before because I had never thought I needed it. I don't have a problem with my eyeshadow staying on through out the day, but I do hate when I buy a new eyeshadow and the color is much more sheer than it appeared in the package. I decided to buy this product to see if it would help.

It's about 8$ for a small tube but you use such a small amount that the price seemed very cheap. I can imagine this product will go a very long way! It helped make the eyeshadow color appear truer because more pigment stayed on my eyelid. Also it helped with blending and really made my eyeshadow last. Although I wasn't looking to make my eyeshadow stay on longer I was surprised to find that when I was too lazy to wash my face before bed, my eyeshadow still looked pretty fresh the next day so it would probably work really well for people whose eyeshadow doesn't last.

I definitely recommend this product. I use powder eyeshadow and I never liked to wet my brush before because using the eyeshadow moist made it move to my crease and look silly. With this product that problem has disappeared, and I have been having fun using water to darken my eye-shadows and create new looks. I no longer own cream or liquid eye-shadows because they always ended up in my crease and looked awful. I'm hesitant to buy more and try it because I have had such bad luck with them in the past, but I'd love to hear if anyone else has used this product with any cream or liquid shadows!

I hope you found this post helpful! Be sure to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter! You can follow me on Twitter for updates @ashNICOLEley. HAPPY SHOPPING!! XOXO

PS

You can check out a video review of this product! I applied the primer and then went about my usual eyeshadow routine. I was hoping to show the difference in pigmentation on my video but because the lighting was so bright it was hard to see! Oh well, guess you'll just have to take my word for it and try it for yourself!