The end of an era?

As you all probably have noticed, if you are a repeat reader of mine, my blogging schedule has been very spastic and spaced out recently. I feel like I bring this up in almost every post now, and you are probably very tired of reading it but I feel as though I need to change some things.

I started blogging because I was bored one Sunday morning, and didn't expect anyone to ever find one of my posts let alone get over 150 followers on twitter! And if you are one of those people or someone who keeps coming back to read my posts I want to say a gigantic THANK YOU! I never expected to fall in love with blogging or to enjoy doing it as much as I do.

That being said, now that I am working a pretty busy schedule I haven't had as much time as I would like to sit down, plan out and write posts so that they can be the absolute best they can be for you all.

So, even though it is early in my 'blogging career' I think it is time to revamp my blog. I like creating content for you way too much to quit, so I am going to work extra hard to put up 3-5 posts per month.

Right now I am still not sure if the name of my blog will change, or what the main focus of it will be, but I want to be proud of the content that I am putting up. I want it to be worth your time when you read one of my posts.

I will keep you posted on my plans for my blog, I promise!
And if you are a fellow blogger and have any advice on the subject of revamping or balancing blogging and full time jobs I would greatly appreciate it. 

Until next time everyone! 

Ashton           X

August Ipsy Bag!

So it is long over due, I have just been super busy with work finally opening! I have been working long hours and haven't really had the time I would like to have in order to sit down and really work super hard on a post for you all..... But I wanted to make sure that a little something was put up about my August Ipsy bag...

I was not a huge fan of this months bag, it smelled like those floaties you wear to the pool as a kid... 

It does not hold its shape at all and flattens easily, and this picture was taken with the products in it.

The first thing I pulled out of my bag was a duo blush sample from Coastal Scents. I was excited to try a new blush, but that excitement quickly faded when I actually tried these... They were super chalky and the colours did not look good on my skin. a full size of one of these is .35oz for $7.95 making this sample .08oz worth $1.81  

The second thing I got is the pores no more by Dr. Brandt. I had never tried this brand before, or even really heard about it, but I really like this product! A full size is 1oz for $45 and this sample was .25oz worth $11.25 which pays for your bag! 

Thirdly I got Urban Decays new Perversion mascara... I am NEVER using another mascara (at least for a while) again. I am so in love with this formula and brush! a full size that comes with the matching primer is .4oz for $22 and this sample was .1o worth $5.50!

The next product is the Lord&Berry Kajal Kohl-liner. I was super excited about this, but it is extremely prone to smudging and running, giving the appearance of raccoon eyes very easily. I will most likely be using this during the fall and winter months when it won't run easily. A full size of this pencil is .48oz for $19.35 at asos (the L&B site is currently down) and the sample is .02oz worth $8.06!

The last product I received is a sort-of full sized product. This product normally comes in a set of two, but only one was given out in the glam bags.....

 I got the Absolute New York 'You're the Balm' in Green Apple. After receiving my bag I do look at my Glam room and according to it I should have gotten the Grape one, but I am super happy I got this one instead! (not much of a fan of grape things) The set of these lip balms is 24g for $5.99 for just one in my tipsy bag is it 12g for $2.99!

All in all I was fairly happy with this months bag, with my favorite sample being the Urban Decay mascara. My tipsy bag this month was worth $29.61 and for a $10 subscription box is pretty good!

Want to join me on ipsy? and subscribe to the Glam Bag! You get 4-5 beauty products every month delivered to your door, for just $10. 

http://www.ipsy.com/r/cni2?sid=ipsypoints&cid=general  

Till next time!! 

Ashton  

                      x

Weekend Treasures

Happy Wednesday everyone!

If you happenedto beawake extrwamly early EST this past Saturday and you follow me on twitter, then you may know that I decided to wakeup at thecrack of dawn to go yard sale-ing (is that even the right thing to call it?)

I went with one ofmy friends, who is about to start their first year as a teacher, and she wanted to see if she could find anything she could use in her classroom. I wasn't expecting to find anything, but I am starting to look apartments and furniture to go in that apartment. Right now I am still living at home, and being that I just turned twenty a month ago I am still taking advantage of that. (Butiam also super ready to have myown place, even if its a small studio apartment with super high rent and it forces me to become really good at budget my money very quickly.)

Anyway I got a little off topic...

Even though I wasn't expecting to find anything I took fourty dollars with me just in case. I knew that some things like a dining set or sofa I wouldn't beable to get because whatever I found I have to store it in my small bedroom at home until I move.


The first thing that I found is a small cylinder shaped glass container. It bought it for ¢25. I was really happy when I found it because I have been looking for something like this to store my shampoo in ever since switched to using shampoo bars from LUSH instead of liquid shampoo.

The second, and last, thing that I found, and that I am extremely proud of, is a small round nightstand. It has a marble top with a metal designed rim around it and three legs. The second I saw it I fell in love and knew that I could use it even before I move out. It was being sold for $25 but I got the seller to sell it to me for $15.

(sorry for the bad image, it was taken with my phone)

I knew that this table was awesome as it was when I bought it, but I also knew that it had more potential too. The same night I went to Lowes home improvement to look at paint chips and ended up buying a small sample size of Pantone paint in the color 'Radiant Orchid' and painted the legs of the table.

And on the top I keep products that I find myself using a lot at the moment along with my stock of shampoo and a weird little puzzle thing and some jewellery.

'Til next time!

Ashton                x

ipsy : July 2014

Hey there!

If you follow me on Twitter (@PhotoBeautyBlog) or on Instagram (photobeautyblog) then you know that around the beginning of June I signed up for ipsy.

If you haven't heard of ipsy it is a beauty subscription service that costs $10 a month and you get 4-5 deluxe sample or full sized products. Each month you will get a glam bag that represents that months theme, along with your products that have been individually picked for you. When you sign up, you take a short quiz so that tipsy will know your skin type, what sort of products you are interested in and things like that. 

If you are interested in learning more about ipsy 

or signing up you can use this link : http://www.ipsy.com/r/cni2  

If you are already subscribed to ipsy I would love to know what you got in your bag! let me know in the comments :)

My ipsy posts are not sponsored, I pay for them out of my pocket.

I have not yet tried any of these products (I am typing and looking up the products as I go through my bag for the first time) but if you would like to see a review on anything that I have gotten let me know in the comments, tweet me, or send me a message on the Frankly app (sarahash) :)

This months theme is Sensationally Sun Kissed and 

the bag is a super cute bright pink pleather-y material with scalloped edges.

 

The first thing that I pulled out of my bag is a sample of Bare Minerals 5 in 1 BB advanced performance cream eyeshadow SPF 15 in the color Devine wine. 

This cream eyeshadow is advertised as having 5 benefits; long-wear 12 hour color, works

 as a primer that won't smudge or crease, brightens eyelids to make eyes look younger and wide-awake, smooths eyelids by reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles,

 and last but not least protect from the UV rays of the sun with SPF 15. 

The sample size is .03 oz worth  $5.40 and a full size is .10 oz worth $18 

The next thing I got in my glam bag is a soy renewal beach spray by Sexy Hair. It is a beach look conditioning and texturing spray with argan oil. 

The sample is 1.7 oz worth $6.65 and a full size is 5.1 oz worth $19.95

With just these two samples the bag has already paid for itself!

My next sample is Hang Ten's Dark Tanning Oil Spray SPF 8. 

It is a natural tanning oil that is 40 minutes water resistant, non-nano, Oxybenzone free, Paraben free, Retinyl Palmate free, and Synthertic fragrance free. 

I don't usually use tanning oil or fake tan, so I am a little nervous to try this one out. 

The sample size is 1 oz worth $1.50 and the full size is 8 oz worth $11.99

The last sample I got is a pixi tinted brilliance balm in the shade pretty pink.

It is a glossy gel balm that protects and hydrates your lips. After it wears off it it supposed to leave a tint that is unique to each person because it is based on your ph level of your lips. 

this sample size is .06 oz worth $8.40 and a full size is .10 oz worth $14

This sample alone almost pays for your bag!

The last thing I received in my glam bag this month is a FULL SIZE sun kissed bronzer by pop beauty in the shade secret sunshine. 

At first glance it seems to be a little more shimmery than I prefer my bronzers to be, but I am excited to try it out. 

This product is worth $10  (so right away with this bronzer your bag is paid for!) 

Here are swatches of the Bare minerals eyeshadow (left), the pixi tinted balm (middle, not sure why it looks so metallic in the photo), and the pop beauty bronzer (right).  

I will get better at doing swatches I promise. haha!

All in all my +ipsy glam bag this month is worth $31.95!! (if I did my math right :)   ) 

In my opinion that is a pretty awesome deal for $10 and I am super happy with my first bag and cannot wait until next month! 

don't forget : if you would like to see a review on anything that I have gotten let me know in the comments, tweet me, or send me a message on the Frankly app (sarahash)

toodle-oo!

Ashton           

                     x

Empties! #1

Hello Beauties! (trying out new opening lines…)

I hope everyone has had a good week! I know that a lot of schools are starting to let out for the summer and finals are on a lot of minds right now, but lets not think about that for a few minutes! :)

This is going to be my FIRST empties post … I have been saving up some empties for some time, and decided that I am going to do three at a time so that these types of posts don't go on and on!

(I feel like my posts are super long sometimes, and that you all may not have the time to read that much! :)     )

Item number one is …..

simpleskincare.com - Simple® Skin Care‎

You all have heard me talk about these a few times now, and it is probably a given that I have run out. But these are by far my top pick for a cleansing / makeup removing wipe! They work really really well, and aren't rough on skin, just an amazing product! 

Bathandbodyworks.com

This next one I got a while back, but just recently ran out. I tend to go through shower gels quickly but also really slowly …. thats confusing let me explain. … I don't like to go through one bottle at a time, I like to switch it up every few days depending on the season or my mood the scent I use that day/week changes. This means that at any given time I could have 3-7 different shower gels in my cabinet. I am not sure if this scent is still available since it was part of the 2013 line, but it smelled so good! 

The last product is one that I absolutely love and not only did I run out of this one, but my stash is almost gone too!

eyeslipsface.com

It is the e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen! This eyeliner is amazing! I love to use it in the warmer months because even though its hot outside, it doesn't run or smear all over my face! One pen usually lasts me around 6-9 months of use which is pretty darn awesome for the price! (I even get one of every color when I stock up on this jewel!)

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you want to see more like it, and if I should do more than three at a time! 

Also let me know if there are any products you want to see reviews on, a tag that you would like to see me do, or anything else you can think of down in the comments! I love to get your feedback and ideas!

Toodles!

Ashton        x

LUSH Haul #2 : stocking up and trying new things!

Hello everyone!

     So it is time for a promised LUSH haul! If you saw my last post you know that I recently got a job at LUSH Cosmetics, so I decided that while I was in the mountains this weekend I would take a day trip to Georgia to (for the first time ever) go into a LUSH shop. 

I also hadn't made an order in a while and was running low on shampoo… 

and also wanted to pick up a few things I got to try while training.

If you want an in-depth look into a product let me know in the comments! But for now I am just briefly going to introduce each item.

I suppose I will start with the shampoos that I bought first since I already mentioned them. 

 This is the Seanik shampoo bar, and you may recognize it from my last LUSH  haul/review. 

I really liked this bar because it added volume and shine to may hair, and made it feel super soft!

Karma Komba shampoo bar is another repurchase from my last Lush post. Karma is the name of Lush's signature fragrance, and I cannot get enough of it! My hair smells amazing after I use this shampoo, and there are essential oils in this that help detangle hair which is an added bonus for me!

This is NEW! shampoo bar. I haven't used this one before… but I fell in love with the cinnamon smell the first time I got a whiff! 

This last shampoo bar is Ultimate Shine. I bought it because it has a similar kind of spicy smell like NEW! has, and because who doesn't want shiny hair?!? 

All of these shampoo bars are $11.95 and these four bars should last me around 6-8 months! 

Sticking to the subject of hair products the next thing I picked up was a conditioner.

My hair fell in love with Veganese the first time I tried it! So of course I had to get some, it smells amazing and makes my hair super soft! I got the biggest one that is 16.9 oz for $32.95

The last product for hair that I picked up is Sea Spray Hair Mist . It may sound kind of weird, but I use this instead of hairspray now.

 I have naturally curly/wavy hair so this makes my hair look super curly and be achy.  $12.95

 Moving away from hair care the next thing I got is a facial cleanser.

  I decided to go with Herbalism instead of sticking with Angles on Bare Skin. When I made my first purchase at LUSH I got a lot of mixed messages when picking out a face cleanser, some people recommended Herbalism some Angles on Bare Skin.

 So I decided, that since I was about to run out of my other cleanser, I would try out Herbalism.  $21.42

Now, I know what you are thinking… yes, I did do a post where I did a DIY lip scrub but Mint Julips  just works way better than the one I made. This lip scrub has essential oils and is made from castor sugar which is a total 180 from the one I made ….  $9.95

Then I headed over to the emotional brilliance and got some confidence (see what I did there? hehe) , I tried confident out in training and didn't expect to like it, but my coworkers kept telling me that it looked awesome on me so I decided to get one.  $18.95 

I wasn't planning on getting soap when I walked in because I wasn't running low, but as soon as I saw that they still had Demon in the Dark I had to get some! I got a quarter of a pound, but after I left I wish I had gotten more … oh well maybe if enough people miss it LUSH will bring it back!  $9.40

The last thing I got while I was there was Karma solid perfume. I love this scent and the solid perfumes are awesome to take on the go! $10.95

I hope you all enjoyed this haul!

 If you want to know about any of these products in more detail let me know in the comments! 

Or if there are any products from LUSH that you want a review on let me know!

Until next post,

Ashton

                x

My New Job!

Hi everyone!

It has been a long time since I have had time to sit and plan out/put together posts for you all! I have felt sort of weird the past couple of weeks because I haven't been blogging … but if you have seen my last post then you know I have also been super busy.

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you have probably seen a picture that I posted about where my new job that I told you all about is at ….

Yup, I work at LUSH Cosmetics now! It is so exciting!! A couple of weeks after I put up my first ever LUSH review I found out that a shop was opening 45 minutes away from where I live. Needless to say I applied very quickly after they announced that they were hiring … 

Our shop has not opened yet, but I did complete training last week 

(it was super fun! and I learned a TON of stuff). 

I hope you all are looking forward to a haul soon! If there are any questions or anything you may have about a product or the company I would be super happy to answer them for you in the comments, or you can email me or tweet me, you could even Instagram a picture of a product and tag me in it, you can also add me on Facebook and send me a message! I will reply as soon as I can! :) 

I will be putting up 'regular' posts on a more routine basis soon!!

Ashton

                 x