Urban Decay Vice 2 palette review & swatches

Hey beauty lovers,

 So here’s my attempt at a review and honest opinion on the limited edition Vice 2 palette by Urban Decay.

Firstly I love the packaging! The pallets case is a strong plastic with a mixed purple marbled finish to it and it has a button you press which automatically opens it up! It has a very large mirror (spans the entire inner lid of the palette) which makes this pallet great to travel with because you could use that mirror easily to do your entire face of makeup.

palette without flash

palette with flash

The palette also comes with a dual ended brush, both ends are quite dense and firm but aren't very fluffy, the smaller end seems like it would work really well to pack on colour to the outer V and then blend but I don’t think I will use the other side of the brush as my Sigma E40 will do a much better job with blending.

Colors:

Contains 20 beautiful, highly pigmented shades. You receive 0.8 grams of each shadow which comes to 16g of eyeshadow all up.

My favourites: Shellshock, Strike, Damaged, Voodoo, Toxic, Ambush and Rewind

Explanation: I am a sucker for metallic bold shades! 

-Shellshock is the perfect all over lid colour for a silver smokey eye look. 

-Strike is my absolute favourite from this palette, I love metallic gold and this shade looks amazing as an all over lid colour for a party/smokey look!

-Damaged is a beautiful, easily blended jeweled tone forest green, perfect for a Christmassy look. 

-Voodoo for me is such a unique colour and the dusky purple will be the perfect addition to create a party smokey eye with a pop of colour. 

-Toxic is the perfect rose gold colour in my opinion and would look amazing as a crease colour! 

-Ambush is one of the most pigmented shades in the palette and is the perfect golden-brown shade when packed into the crease or outer V and turns into such a pretty rosy copper colour when blended out. 

-Finally Rewind is the only dark matte transition shade in the palette but it is a great one and for my skin one it works amazingly.

Least favourites: Lovesick and X-rated 

Explanation: I more so don’t love that there is 2 black shades that are so similar, would have loved to see a burgundy jeweled tone shade instead of Lovesick and as far as X-rated goes I’ve never really used a light pink when creating a look for my eyes, I don’t think the colour really suits me but I will try to use it in some way.

I’m not very experienced in blogging about shades and palettes so I am going to keep it simple and leave the rest up to you! If you would like a very in depth review on the Vice 2 palette visit temptalia.com

Here’s all of my swatches first with the flash and then without, enjoy!

Smokeout, Lovesick, Shellshock, Coax & X-Rated

 Prank, Madness, Strike, Stash & Poison

 Radar, Damaged, Voodoo, Betrayal & Derailed 

Dope, Toxic, Habit, Ambush & Rewind

Thanks so much for reading,

<3 AshleyLauraBeauty

Would love for you to follow me on Instagram: ASHLEYLAURABEAUTY

Sephora order through Tarazz.com

Hey beauty lovers,

 I recently made an order through Tarazz and I thought I would share my experience with you all. Tarazz is an Australian website which is an online store where you have access to buy products which are normally unavailable to us in Australia. I found out about them when I was looking for a way to ship Sephora items to Australia without using a mail forwarding company. I was really desperate to get my hands on a few limited edition palettes and items which are only available in America and this website seemed like a pretty safe way to do that.

So I ordered the Vice 2 palette from Urban Decay, the A Few Of My Favourite Things palette by Too Faced and the Sephora Favourites Lash Stash! The prices of the items alone seemed quite reasonable to me, maybe about an $8-10 increase for each product, and this included converting the prices from $US to $AUD. Then the shipping came to about $20, overall I was pretty happy with the price because I knew what I was getting was genuine and they are limited edition products so I didn’t mind paying a bit extra because I knew I wouldn’t ever come across them in the future.

The parcel took less than 3 weeks to arrive, I ordered on the 14^th of November and the parcel arrived on the 3^rd or 4^th of December! It wasn’t sealed which was a bit worrying at first, however everything was in the box and I think it was because customs had opened it up when it arrived in Australia. Overall super happy with the service and delivery speed of Tarazz and I will definitely be ordering from them again in the future! Let me know if you have ordered through Tarazz and how your experience was! 

Thanks so much for reading,

<3 AshleyLauraBeauty

Would love for you to follow me on Instagram: ASHLEYLAURABEAUTY 

Violet Box September 2013

Hey Guys!

So sorry I’ve been so bad with posting since I started! Hopefully trying to post a lot more frequently and come up with a schedule so I post at least two times a week!

I know it’s like 2 months late but I wanted to post up this Violet Box from September and show you what was in it because this box is the reason I unsubscribed from them. I just wasn’t happy with the contents I was receiving and looking back on all of the items I got in their boxes I realized almost all of them hadn’t been touched yet, so that was an indication to me that I had to unsubscribe. Of course the next month they included at least 3 full sized makeup products in the box! My luck of course haha!

Here’s the card for some extra info if you are after it…

The Vintage Cosmetic Company floral Slanted Tweezers – full size RRP $14.95:
These looked cute but I already have about 5 pairs of tweezers and I have tried these out and they aren’t very good, the tip is definitely not precise enough.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company Emery Board – full size RRP $4.95:
The same as above…I have so many nail files as a beauty therapist, I keep this in my bag and have reached for it once but I found its nowhere near as good as my CND files, or any other file I have tried for that matter.

NS-5 Cuticle & Nail complex 15g – full size RRP $9.95:
I also have a lot of cuticle treatments I use on clients but I find I don’t really go to the effort to use any on myself, maybe I should keep this in my bag or something so I can use it and see what it’s like! Let me know if you have used this product at all, would love to hear from you all.

Sinful Colors Nail Polish – full size RRP $4.95:
I’ve got a couple of these polishes now and my review on them is that they are really opaque and you don’t need more than two coats (this is with the colours I have tried). It dries really quickly and is a great price for the quality of the polish. However I haven’t had the chance to keep it on because I can’t really wear polish for work so I don’t know how long it lasts. The downfall of this polish is that its sooo sooo runny! It was driving me crazy, I would wipe the excess polish off of the brush and go to paint my nails and then it would start to drip, I would have to wipe it 4-5 times while painting each nail so that it didn’t make a mess so just keep that in mind when purchasing.

I apologize for my short nails and bad painting skills guys

Eleven Australia’s Miracle Hair Treatment – 6ml sample size (full size – 125ml RRP $24.95):
I really love the smell of this product, it has a really yummy coconut summery scent. I tried this out and I think it did an okay job (you basically put a small amount through your damp hair and it is supposed to have 11 benefits for your hair) however I love my Moroccan oil so much more so I think I’ll stick to that.

Timeless Truth Q10 Caviar Nourishing mask – RRP $7.00:
I’m assuming this sachet is full size because it doesn’t say and $7 sounds about right for a fabric mask like this. I haven’t tried this yet but ill attempt to use it this week and add it into the ginormous empty post I am planning to do soon!

Okay so that’s everything! Violet Box just wasn’t for me unfortunately but I will continue to subscribe to Bellabox and Lust Have it so I think that’s more than enough. So let me know if you have used any of these products guys and what you thought of them, would love to hear from you! Thanks so much for reading my blog!

<3 AshleyLauraBeauty

i would love for you to follow me on Instagram: ASHLEYLAURABEAUTY

September Bellabox 2013

Hey guys, sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted, been caught up with work and also watching way too many beauty videos on YouTube! I bet we’re all guilty of that!

Well here’s my review and my first impressions on the September Bellabox…

So this month’s box was pretty damn amazing! Bellabox teamed up with Cleo magazine to bring us a Spring Party Essentials box, filled with goodies to prep you for the spring racing carnival events, 6 out of the 7 products are full size, which is something you definitely don’t see every month. However I will say that most of the products are supermarket brands that you can get from Kmart, Woolworths, Coles, etc, and everything except the eye pencil can be purchased at Priceline.

Bellabox also included the Cleo magazine as a bonus item so I was very happy with that!

Here’s the product info card just in case you want a closer look.

Montagne Jeunesse Blemish Mud Mask with Aloe Vera & Willow – sample sachet 5g:

So this is basically a one use mud mask, I do look forward to trying this mask out as I tried one of their peel off masks that came in a previous Bellabox and I didn’t really like it, when it peeled off it was so stuck to my skin it actually hurt to take off so I’m hoping that their regular mud masks are a bit better! The full size it 10g and its RRP is $3.99

Elegant Touch Envy Wraps – full size pack with 18 nail wraps:

I have so many of these nail wraps from beauty box subscriptions, I really need to try one of them out! I just always run out of time to do my nails before going out and I can’t really wear nail polish to work so I find it hard to use products like these, but I do quite like the design and I didn’t notice at first but they have a nice shimmer to them when the sunlight hits them. I’m assuming they put 18 wraps in the pack because people have different shaped fingernails so they have a large variation of sizes to suit everyone and if you have tiny fingernails like I do then you can probably cut one of them in half and use it for 2 nails! It will be interesting to know how long these last, if you’ve used them before please let me know, I’d love to hear how you went. RRP $8.99

Schick Hydro Silk Razor – full size…1 razor with 1 cartridge attached:
I’m actually really happy we got this in the box because I’m in love with the Venus Embrace razors but they are so so so expensive and rarely ever go on sale, anywhere! So this could be my alternative if it meets my expectations. It has a “hydrating water-activated moisturizing serum” basically a fancy name for soap that comes out of the razor as you use it, not too sure how long this will last for though, the soap on razors usually runs out after a couple uses. Bellabox also included a 25% off voucher for Schick’s Hydro Silk refill cartridges which might come in handy if I decide to continue to use this razor. RRP $9.99

Manicare Glam Kelly Lashes – full size 1 pair:
These are pretty, fairly simple looking, I guess they would look nice and natural if you were going out but didn’t want crazy party lashes. I have pretty decent eyelashes so I don’t really wear falsies unless It’s for a dance concert or something but I will try to make an effort to use these to give you guys some feedback on this brand. I usually buy all my falsies from EBay for a couple dollars each, I like the Red Cherry lashes and the Ardell ones (usually these don’t come with a glue so I just buy a whole 7-10g tube of glue off EBay and that lasts forever, Duo or Ardell are the best ones). If you want any info on the sellers I regularly buy from on EBay ask away and I’ll let you know. RRP $11.95

                             

Footcare Gel Ball of Foot Cushions – Full size, 2 pairs:
Pretty happy with these being in the box, I will definitely get use out of them and I’m even more excited that there’s 2 pairs in the one pack! I have a pair of heels that I love that are a bit too big and my feet keep sliding forward which makes it super painful for my toes so I’m interested to see if this fixes my problem. I’ll do a review on these once I’ve tested them out. RRP $8.99

Garnier Ambre Solaire Natural Bronzer Spray – Full size 150ml:
This is an exciting product they have put in their box, especially considering the sun hasn’t been out enough in Melbourne to get a decent tan and yet again another full size product which is amazing!! Apparently you don’t have to rub in this tan you just spray and go and It’s supposed to be streak-free so that’s pretty cool if it works well enough. They have given me the light shade so I think that will work for me, I’ll just have to test it out and see how it goes! RRP: $14.95

ASPA Pure Minerals Eye Pencil – Full size makeup item:
So I was pretty excited to see this eye pencil, I’ve never really tried products from ASAP before, however I found it to be quite dry and not creamy at all when I swatched it and it was more of a dark brown / charcoal colour than black. Don’t think I’ll get much use of this product. RRP $20.00

 with flash

Without flash

All in all Bellabox has done an amazing job putting together the September box, I will use almost everything in it and with all of those full size products it’s great value for money.

On Friday the 20^th of September it was Bright Pink Lipstick Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness for “women to be proactive and vigilant with their breast and ovarian health” the charity behind this day is Pink Hope. If you are after any further information on this charity click here.

On the 20^th I wore Countessa Flourescent by  Lime Crime, love this lipstick!! Super opaque and gorgeous colour!

Well I hope you all enjoyed this blog post and hopefully I have helped with your decision to subscribe to Bellabox or not if that why you were reading this post. Let me know what you think and if you will continue to read my beauty blog. Also if you have any suggestions about beauty products you want me to test out or blog posts you would like to see just let me know and I’ll see what I can do J

Thanks so much for getting this far and for reading my blog!

<3 AshleyLauraBeauty 

Please follow me on Instagram: ASHLEYLAURABEAUTY 

Lust Have It box August 2013

Hey guys, so this is my first ever blog post, I’m super nervous! But I've decided to do it on a beauty box subscription because I shouldn't be able to screw that up too much, well hopefully not :)!

This is my very first Lust Have it Box, I’m currently also subscribed to Bellabox (and have been since April this year) and also Violet box since they started up 3 months ago.

Lust Have it is a monthly beauty box subscription service that provides you with 5-6 deluxe samples for $19.95 a month and generally has $60 worth of value. Here's their website if you want to have a look...

http://www.lusthaveit.com.au

I saw some Instagram posts on this box and I knew I had to have it! Everything in all of the variations of the box looked so great so I couldn't really go wrong. I know this is a super late post for it being the August Lust Have It box but I only received it last week because this is my first month being a subscriber to this beauty box subscription. So here goes…

Here’s the main information card I received with this box if you would like some detailed info and prices on all of the products I received…

Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in 100 Bare light – full size 30ml: This product is one of the things that really caught my eye and persuaded me to sign up to Lust Have It, I was planning on buying it anyway and it retails for $29.95 for 30mls so it was much more affordable for me to get this beauty box! So this is basically a liquid illuminator which you can use on its own to highlight cheek bones/bridge of the nose or it can be mixed into your foundation to add a shimmery glow to your face. Here’s some swatches below that I have attempted to take (first ever blog swatches so I hope they are okay!)

Revlon Nearly Naked Makeup samples card: I think this is really smart of Revlon to include foundation samples in more than one shade, it gives people more of a chance to find their shade rather than knowing just the one that they are definitely not. I also received one if these sample cards in the September issue of Cosmopolitan (which I am also subscribed to). Looking forward to trying the sample out to see if I like the consistency and if I can find my shade from this card.

KMS California Free Shape Conditioner – sample sachet 12ml: I’m always up for trying a new shampoo/conditioner and I have used KMS in the past and it is a great brand, the only problem is I have super long and very thick hair so this sample won’t even be enough for one wash for me. This range is supposed to “increase manageability and pliability in preparation for heat styling.” To be honest I doubt I’d buy a range just based on the claim that it will make it easier to straighten/curl my hair, I don’t use heat on my hair that often anyway and I’d rather invest in something that will help strengthen and tame my crazy hair.

KMS California Add Volume Volumizing Spray – 30ml sample size: The info card says that I could have received the Hot Flex Spray instead, that probably would have suited me better because I have very wavy hair with a lot of volume already, but hey I’ll give it a try, it might come in handy when I straighten my hair to add a bit more “umph” at the roots. This sample is worth about $5.00.

Sinful Colors Nail Enamel in Ruby Ruby - full size 15ml RRP $4.95: So this polish proposes to be “a long wearing, chip resistant professional formula.” To be honest I’m a bit over getting reds in beauty boxes but meh it’s a full size product none the less. Also I apologize in advance if I never get excited over nail polishes in beauty boxes and stuff, I’m a beauty therapist obsessed with OPI’s, I have well over 100 of them that I’ve collected from various expos and wholesalers so I’m not someone who really needs any more nail polish. Maybe that means I’ll save them up for possible future giveaways instead! This swatch was a bit messy to paint, It’s quite a runny formula but amazingly opaque, only needed one coat! There is also one coat of OPI top coat over this swatch.

Lush Gorgeous Cream – sample tub 10g: Oh My Gosh!! This cream retails at $74.95 for 45g!! So that makes this sample worth like $15 that’s crazy! However I love Lush! I’ve never tried one of their moisturizers so I can’t wait to try this one, this was the most expensive out of the three you could have received. “It’s a protective vitamin filled, softening moisturizer, formulated with the best ingredients to create this light bright cream.” I think this is the appropriate one for my skin because I have combination skin so the Shangri La cream would have been too rich and I don’t really get many blemishes or spots so I wouldn’t need the Vanishing cream. Can’t wait to test this baby out!

La Roche Posay Thermal Spring Water – sample spray 50g: I’m so excited by this product, I love thermal water sprays! They are the best to keep in your bag or take to the beach/on holidays to refresh your face and re-set your makeup. “This Thermal Spring Water soothes sensitive skin irritated by outside factors (sun, dermatological treatments, etc.) and helps prevent skin aging, it is also a natural anti-oxidant.” Below is a really informative card that Lust Have It included which shows you the many ways you can use this product. This sample is worth about $3.50.

La Roche Posay LIPIKAR Balm – sample tube 15ml: “This is a lipid replenishing body balm that offers a 24hr anti scratching efficacy.” Basically it’s a moisturizer to stop you itching itchy spots and to help heal the skin. I have one small patch of eczema on only one of my inner elbows (I know…weird!) so ill test this out there when it flares up. This sample is worth about $2.40.

So in total the value of this box comes to just over $60. I’m really happy with this box, I’ll use almost everything in it and expect to see some reviews on a few of these products in the coming months or else I’m sure they will pop up in my empties!

Wow! That actually took a really long time to do the one blog post, I have a new appreciation for bloggers that post so much so regularly now! Well I hope it was enjoyable and wasn’t too long of a read. Let me know what you think and if you will continue to read my beauty blog. Also if you have any suggestions about beauty products you want me to test out or blogs you would like to see just let me know and I’ll see what I can do :)

Thanks so much for getting this far and for reading my first beauty blog!

<3 AshleyLauraBeauty