November Birchbox Review

Welcome to...

Birchbox November 2014 Edition!

Birchbox partnered with RED this month to raise awareness for AIDS. If you got a box this month please #shaRED on Twitter or Instagram with a photo of your box. Each tag donates $1 to RED.

Onto the samples!

Final October Makeup Challenge Update!

Well folks, October is finally over and I made it!

In case you didn't follow the series, I challenged myself to wear makeup every day of the month. I did make the exception that if I didn't go anywhere/no one was going to see me I didn't have to wear makeup, because that would just be a waste.

Admittedly I did slip up a couple days on the weekends, but I did manage to wear makeup every week day the whole month! Now, most of these days consisted of simple looks of BB Cream, mascara and a little blush but I totally counted that.

To celebrate the end of the month I decided to go ALL OUT for Halloween and did a Sugar Skull look.

This was a lot of fun to do and didn't involve many products I didn't already own. The only things I needed to purchase was the white base and the flowers for my hair. I was kind of crazy to be sitting in traffic on Friday trying to get to work and see people with their phones out taking pictures of me! I would definitely do something like this again.

I hope you all enjoyed going on this makeup journey with me and that maybe it'll inspire you to try something similar!

<3 Ashleigh

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Review

I hope you are all ready for this, because it's time for a joint product review!

We all know I have an Hourglass Cosmetics obsession, so when a new blush palette appeared on Sephora's website in September a screen capture found it's way to Ashleigh's inbox.

We both HAD to have it...there was no question about it. As with many hot products, Sephora gave a pre-release to VIBR members. The palette sold out so fast once it was released to VIBR members that we missed out. While waiting for the October 1st release we watched for product reviews and videos. 

We could not believe how mixed the reviews were! High pigment, no pigment, great for all skin tones, only good for very fair complexions...the list went on. I did some digging and found a video on Ambient Lighting Blushes from JoshCollierMUA who works for Hourglass. The product is a true 50/50 mix of high pigment blush and ambient powder. As a swirled and baked product there will be variations on your blush to powder ratio as you work through the pan.

With that in mind, the moment the palette was released on October 1st we ordered it. The fun part? We BOTH would be getting the palette delivered on the same day. I admit I was quite happy about that. If Ashleigh had gotten it first I'd cry!

Now that we've had two full weeks to use the palette here are our thoughts and swatches.

Cranberry Crush & October Makeup Challenge Update #3

Finally... I know I promised this post would be up on Tuesday, but time got away from me!

A couple of weekends ago, my Brother came home from college for the weekend and I went to my Mom's house to see the family. My Mom is one of those people that teases me for never wearing makeup, so I made sure to spend the time to do a full look that day and I was really happy with the way it turned out!

Let's take a look at how I did it!

October Birchbox Review

It's time for a

post!

I'm really excited for this month's subscription box reviews, and here's why.

The past few months, almost everything in my Ipsy subscription was a no go. I was allergic to 90% of the products I got. The few things that were okay were not worth the $10/month to me. After waiting for two more months to see if things would get better I ended up canceling my subscription.

Sad? Yes, but it meant I was able to sign up for a new box! Soon my first Julep Maven box will ship and I'll have a review for you all.

As always I love, love, love my Birchbox. If you're thinking about joining a subscription box it's the one both Ashleigh and I recommend first. You can join here.

Let's see what I got this month!

Urban Decay Master Class & October Makeup Challenge Update #2

Double post today! I forgot to do my October Makeup Challenge update yesterday, so look for it at the end of this post! For now though let's talk about the fun event I got to go to this morning! 

A couple of weeks ago on a shopping trip to my local Ulta, the cashier told me about an upcoming class at the store. A local Urban Decay make up artist was going to be coming in and teaching the Urban Decay Master Class before the store opened. She asked if I wanted  to sign up. Well of course! I haven't been able to attend one of the Sephora classes yet, so I thought this would be a fun thing to do and would give me a chance to learn hands on with a make up artist.

The class was today and let me tell you, it was definitely worth getting up early on a Saturday! The store opens at 10am so the class started at 9am, ours started a little late though. When I arrived they had little stations set up and the Ulta artists were going around color matching everyone to the UD Naked foundation. 

Top Two Tuesday - Setting Powder

Welcome to....

the setting powders edition!

If you're like me, you turn into an oil slick halfway through the day. That also means you know how important setting powders are. This step is also crucial for setting my under eye concealer.

Let's get started shall we?

Revised Skincare Routine

Hey everyone!

I'm sure you've all wondered where Frantic Fridays and other look posts from me have vanished to. Well, the answer is simple. My skin freaked out on me. My trusted skincare products that never failed? They were all failing! 

That's when I started to search for new products, and most of them just made it worse! Products targeted for combination skin like mine would take away too much moisture and products to rehydrate made my skin look like I'd just stepped out of a sauna. It was aggravation after aggravation.

After a long trail and error process I finally found a combination of products that made my skin feel and look better than I ever thought possible. I wanted to share them with you while my skin finishes recovering from the chaos.

We're on Instagram and Birchbloggers!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to let you (and Ashleigh, hehe) know that we are now on Instagram. You can find us @urbanarcadia

Today I also received confirmation that Birchbox has added us to the Birchblogger network. How cool is that?! It's like we're starting to become official or something crazy like that ; )

Keep your eyes out for our Twitter handle and *crosses fingers* the start of our YouTube channel.

~Amanda

October Makeup Challenge - Update #1!

So since October ends on a Friday this year I figured that it would be good to do my weekly updates on Fridays.

First things first, I have to address the obvious question. Did I wear makeup every day since Wednesday? Answer?

YES!

So HA! :-P 

It was surprisingly easy to get up early on Wednesday to start getting ready. I actually enjoyed doing my makeup that morning as I watched How I Met Your Mother. It was nice to use some newer/less used products and I was pretty pleased with the look. Some of the products I used were the Naked Basics 2 palette, and the Lorac Behind the Scenes Primer.

On Thursday it was a little harder to get up, but I was excited about a particular look I wanted to do. I had watched a tutorial for an Emily Thorne inspired look and was really looking forward to trying it out. It was really simple with a bright red lip and I love how it turned out. 

Today, Friday, I had a really hard time getting up. I just wanted to sleep forever so I snoozed for way too long. I got up in enough time to throw on BB cream, a blush tint, concealer, and mascara. It was makeup, it was on my face, it counted alright!

Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you. I did take pictures every morning to send to Amanda so she's my proof that I did in fact do the makeup, but I don't even know what "photogenic" means at 7 in the morning. Maybe I'll try to re-create one of the looks and do a tutorial post for you all.

Until then, look for Top Two Tuesday's Setting Powder post and the next update post next Friday!

<3 Ashleigh 

October Makeup Challenge!

"Why did you buy that? You never wear makeup anyway!"

This is a sentence I hear all the time, or some variation of it. Apparently some folks think that if you don't wear makeup everyday, that you shouldn't own any at all! Alright fine, I admit it. While I love makeup, I very rarely wear it. I do have a good excuse for this, at least good in my mind.

I'm lazy.

I like to get every possible minute of sleep I can in the mornings. I shower at night, I dry my hair before bed, and dresses are my friend. I've never been a morning person, and Amanda can confirm that. A good chunk of our friendship was formed somewhere between the hours of 10pm and 3am. 

So most of the time when I do my makeup it's late in the day, after work, and when most people I interact with on a daily basis won't see it. This works for me. I do my makeup when I want, and people can bite me. Admittedly this is not all that often, only when I actually have somewhere to be, which is less often lately.

Sadly they do have a point. So this month I'm going to challenge myself. The rules are as follows:

1. Wear makeup AT LEAST every weekday in October. If I go somewhere on the weekend, wear makeup then too. Lately my weekends involve my couch and Netflix so it seems silly to get all dolled up. I mean it's not like Jensen Ackles can see me through the screen.

2. Attempt to use as many products as possible. I'm really bad about rotating products in my collection and tend to stick to using my favorites.

3. Post weekly updates on my challenge status. Also, in the process, get back to that two posts a week goal I set for myself.

Wish me luck! If you want, join me on this challenge. Tomorrow is the first day so here's to hoping my first day includes more then just a hurried application of BB cream.... But that counts right?! ;-)

<3 Ashleigh

Blog Wars - Primer Edition

Welcome to our first blog wars post!

As we're at the beginning it's only fitting to start with primers. Primers can make or break your entire look, and there are quite a few out there. We'll be going over both face and eye primers in this post as they are both equally important.

At the end of each blog wars post we will tell you which product we love most.

Ready to find out which primers are worth the praise?

Quick Blast From the Past and Blog Wars Note

When I say makeup from the 90's what images pop into your head?

I instantly think of two major lip trends. 

First, the ever shimmery frosted lip. I confess to being one of the ones with blue and purple in my 90's lip collection. Though the bright frosted pink of Garden Botanica's Frangipani was my favorite.

Second, was the ever popular Black Honey by Clinique. Deep wine lips were seen everywhere in my school regardless of "school hierarchy"

Well I am glad to say...

THEY'RE BACK!

5 Fall Trends That Prove The 90's Are Here To Stay 

Black Honey Beauty 

Love to Shimmer? 

There are many other products out there I could link to, but I did say this would be quick!

As for blog wars, we are continuing to sample the many "holy grail" products that we wish to review. The first post is on primers, and one I sampled I was highly allergic to even though it came from an ingredient savvy brand. It delayed progress for a while. I had planned on having the post series started by now, so apologies!

~Amanda

Part 2 of 2 - There can be only one...

What can I say...

 Welcome to Part 2! Did Part 1 get you thinking about what your own choices would be?

I have to admit, Part 2 was MUCH more difficult to determine. How did I find a way to pick out just one mascara and lipstick? Keep going and you'll find out!

Top Two Tuesday - Highlighters

Sorry for the long hiatus... I've never pretended to be good at this blogging thing!

So welcome to the highlighter edition of....

Last time we went over their opposite, the bronzer. I always... ALWAYS use a light hand with highlighters. I get oily fast, so all that extra shimmer along with oil shine... yuck.

Let's get down to it!

Part 1 of 2 - There can be only one...

Please ignore my movie geek post title. I just couldn't help it! Apologies for being away from blogging for so long. We've had a series of storms and power was becoming a luxury!

I couldn't help doing this either...

As I was reorganizing my makeup area my spouse walked in and asked me a question.

"What would you do if you could only have one of each?"

That got me thinking. What WOULD I do if I could only have one of each product category? I thought about it and decided it would make a great blog post. Something like Ashleigh's Top Two Tuesdays, but different and from me.

Part 1 will cover skincare and foundation, while Part 2 will cover eyes, lips, and cheeks.

Without further delay, Part 1...

Haul-day - Long Time Coming

Hey y'all. I've been wanting to do a haul post for a while and I've been making some trips here and there and wanted to go ahead and share with you some stuff I've gotten over the past couple months. So without further ado....

Quick Note! The black lace bowl here in this picture is by xhilaration and I purchased five of them from Target. I use them to store skin care products, my foundations, and all of my lip products. You could also make some of your own which would be really fun and cool to do. Here are some links to show you how!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAoaahqKy6Q

http://blog.freepeople.com/2012/09/diy-lace-doily-bowl/

http://lulastic.co.uk/thrifty-2/diy-lace-bowl-in-10-minutes/

Coming Soon: Blog Wars!

Hey Everyone!

Just thought I would make a quick announcement about a new post series coming to our blog. 

The post series will be called Blog Wars. In this series of posts we'll be reviewing products that are considered cult products. What's a cult product? Chances are if it's a cult product you've heard about it somewhere. From YouTube videos, beauty blogs, celebrity favorites, and those products you just keep getting pushed towards, we'll cover them all.

Each product type will have it's own post in the series. We will try to cover each product type, but we can't make any promises. Remember, we are not endorsed or supported by any beauty product company or sent any samples. We buy our own products and review them with 100% honesty. It gets expensive, especially when it comes to cult products.

Keep your eyes open to see which cult products deserve the fame, and which ones don't make the cut!

~Amanda

Do you have a product you want to see featured in Blog Wars? Leave us a comment and we'll do our best to include it in the series.

Top Two Tuesday - Bronzers

Sorry I took a break last week guys, things were just a little crazy. But I'm back this week to discuss my top two bronzers. 

Now, I've only really started getting into bronzers in the last year or so, they scared me a little. Those images in my head of overly bronzed girls who look like they've rubbed dirt on their faces kept me from trying it. I got over it a little by watching lots of YouTube videos and slowly working them into my routine. 

Birchbox and Ipsy July 2014

It's time!

This month I was NOT patient at all waiting for my boxes to arrive. That's why I've completely taken over this month's post on subscription boxes. Why the loss of patience? This month I cheated and took an early look at what was headed my way.

Haul Day - Sephora

I think the title speaks for itself.

I do have a legitimate excuse for this one. For some reason my foundation wasn't looking right. Well not right is quite an understatement, it looked horrible! I even tried multiple brands, formulas, and application methods when my go-to didn't work.

The solution? A trip to Sephora to check my Color IQ ID number.

Top Two Tuesday - Powder Blushes

Time for another edition of.....

with powder blushes! This category was VERY hard for me. I thought about splitting it into matte and shimmer but decided against it. I was able to number my favorites down to three. Yeah I know... "But Ashleigh! This is Top TWO Tuesday!" Well...my blog, my rules.

NOTE! These are not in any particular order because I cannot, and will not, rank them!

Friday Finds - Face Edition

This week it's another

This time we're focusing on face products, be it skincare or makeup. I have quite a few of them to share with you in addition to the BEST makeup remover EVER so let's not waste any time!

My Favorite Makeup Books

I love makeup books. They're such a great way to learn. Things like new techniques, product types you've never used, makeup looks, and even how to build your makeup collection. I have a bunch of books, but here are a couple of my favorites!

 

Monday Myths - Undertones

Welcome back to another

This time we're going to talk about undertones. Skin undertones have a HUGE impact on what choices you make while shopping for beauty products. Not only do they determine your ideal foundation shade, but also what colors you can "pull off", be it in your makeup or wardrobe.

I was inspired to write this post based on my own undertone challenges, so let's take a look at how important and confusing undertones are!

Friday Finds Volume 2

Finally, I was starting to worry Friday would never come back. Friday is not the end of my work week like it is for some, but Ashleigh's enthusiasm is enough to make me love Friday.

With that in mind welcome to volume 2 of Friday finds! This week I have 3 more products to share with you, so let's get to it.

Top Two Tuesday - Cream Blushes

Welcome to.... 

Cream Blush Edition!

I've only recently started adding cream blushes to my collection. This was due to not having a lot of experience with them at the time. Recently it seems more brands are putting out cream blushes, which is nice to see.

Let's get to it!

Throwback Thursday - Hair Care

Welcome back to...

Thanks go to Ashleigh for stepping up with the posts and keeping things moving while I was away. Best friends and co-bloggers are awesome like that.

Approximately 6 months ago I changed my entire hair care routine from one I had been using for 10 years. It was not an easy choice to make. After all, 10 years is a long time. 

Why change? Well, let's find out!

Top Two Tuesday - Concealers

Time for

Concealer Edition! 

Concealer is one of those things that is so hit or miss depending on the person so first let me describe what I need from a concealer. First, my under eyes are VERY dry so I always make sure to properly moisturize before applying makeup to try to counteract that but sometimes it doesn't matter what I do, concealer just looks dry. Second, I do not have the worst dark circles in the world but they are definitely there. Last, I crease like no one's business. 

My Favorite Makeup Brushes/Tools

Makeup brushes & tools are a crucial part of every girl (or guys!) makeup collection. Sometimes the right tool can make all the difference. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you paid for the makeup, if you're using the right (or wrong) tool it can make or break the look you're trying to achieve. My favorite makeup brushes range in price from $3 all the way up to $53 so believe me when I say that a quality brush does not have to cost you an arm and a leg!

Top Two Tuesday - BB Creams

Finally! Welcome to 

The BB Cream version!

I know it's taken forever to me to post this and I'm sorry! So let's not waste time!

Monday Myths - Retinol

It looks like we finally found a reason to post on Mondays. Mind you, it wasn't intentional. I do a TON of research on skincare products before I'll even sample them, and Ashleigh researches nearly everything.

So, have a seat with your favorite beverage and read on to find out what myths are true or flat out lies regarding a very widely used product, Retinol.

BUT, before we get started....

 

 Thank you Chelsea for using our link to subscribe to Birchbox. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Friday Finds Volume 1

With that in mind I thought it would be a great day to start a new topic.

Friday finds will be things that we have found while browsing, either online or in-store, and want to share with you because we fell in love. This could cover any product relating to beauty, and who knows...I might even sneak a recipe or two in. Just don't tell Ashleigh ; )

Throwback Thursday - Five Mid/High End Products I Regret Buying

This Throwback Thursday features products I LITERALLY wish I could throwback to wherever I got them from.

It's not very often that I buy a product that I absolutely regret buying. I try to always do my research on products. I do this by reading blogs and watching youtube videos from people I trust to give real reviews, and not reviews based on the money flowing into their pockets.

In the case of the following five products, I did not do my research. Most of these were impulse buys, things I saw on Pinterest, items I thought I would love based on previous experience with the brand, or items that I thought were similar to other products that I may have seen in a review.

Keep in mind that this is just my opinion. You may absolutely love these products and you are more than welcome to your opinion as well.

Tag Tuesday - Four or More Tag!

Yes, I know. Amanda and I suck at this whole blog thing. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit and it doesn't appear that we can go 30 days posting consistently. Maybe if we could we wouldn't take nearly two month long breaks!

We both apologize that we let this blog go and we promise to be better about posting!

With that.... WELCOME TO

This week I'll be doing the four or more tag!

Basically this tag is to show the products you really love because, well... you wouldn't have four or more of them if you didn't love them right? Items that you purchased as a kit do not count!

Let's start shall we?

Birchbox June 2014 - Our Thoughts

Well today is going to be our first joint post and it'll be about our individual Birchbox for the month of June 2014. We're going to try to do this every month since this is one we both subscribe to. As for our other subscription boxes we'll try to do separate posts on those so you can get the idea of what those boxes have to offer.

I think it's safe to say that this is both our favorite monthly box.

Checkout Birchbox here!

Let's start!

It's Friday!

Hey everyone!

Normally I'd be up to post today, but I'm about to jump in the car and head out of state for a few days. Once I get back I'll post how I put my travel face on!

Till then....

~Amanda

April Ipsy Monthly Review

 It's time for another monthly review. This time it's my glam bag from Ipsy!

This month Ipsy's theme was far different than Birchbox's. I found it interesting as usually they are on the same lines or the themes are complimentary. No idea if it's done on purpose or not. With that in mind let's check out what I got.

Top Two Tuesdays - BB Creams POSTPONED!

Sorry folks but this Top Two Tuesday is delayed until I can come to a decision. Sadly right now I'm having difficulty settling on my favorites but I promise I'll have it figured out by next week!

<3 Ashleigh

April Birchbox Monthly Review

 Good morning everyone, or is it afternoon? With a bottle lamb on the farm I'm having trouble keeping track of the time and the days. With that as my inspiration let's switch things up!

I'll start with this month's Birchbox and after Ashleigh posts give you my Ipsy review as well. So let's go!

Top Two Tuesday - Foundations

Welcome back to....

Non-matte foundations!

As said in my last post this will be my favorite foundations that are not matte. I know there are several different foundation finishes besides matte, but I don't have enough favorites to validate individual posts.

So here we go!

Frantic Friday - Take 2 of the 10 Minute Face

Talk about a crazy week! Between family visiting, lambs being born, and work at the dance studio I'm not sure frantic is a strong enough word. Regardless, welcome back to

As promised this is another version of the 10 minute face. This version is for when you want more coverage and for those who just can't say no to eyeliner. I admit when I'm short on time, this is the version of the 10 minute face I go for.

Shall we get started?

Frantic What Day?

Hey Everyone!

My Uncle is here from across the country. Due to our schedule of activities that were put together for him I haven't been in front of my computer. This is the first time since Wednesday and I have about five minutes before we're leaving again!

I just thought I would make a quick note that no I have not forgotten about all of you and I will have my next 10 minute face look posted as soon as my Uncle heads out of town.

Have to love family right? ;)

~Amanda

Top Two Tuesday - Matte Foundations

Well it's that time again!

Sorry I was MIA last week. I was fighting some health issues as was my boyfriend, we had some car troubles and it was just a bad week. I'm here now though!

Welcome to Top Two Tuesday, the matte foundation edition. 

I don't know about you but sometimes I just don't want shine/sparkle/luminosity of any kind in my look, and that starts with my foundation. I find that matte foundations have more coverage and last longer on my skin since it takes longer for my natural oils to break down the formula.

Let's get started!

Throwback Thursday - UAB Style

Some of you are probably wondering what on earth happened. Posts were being made regularly and then POOF! The blog has been silent for a few days, and here's why. We try not to have the same person post back to back. That way you hear from both of us regularly. Sadly I am recovering from having my stomach pumped due to a severe case of food poisoning. Talk about a miserable experience!

Managing Scalp Psoriasis

Recently one of my friends who reads this blog requested a post about my hair care routine. I promptly told her that my hair care routine revolves completely around my scalp psoriasis and that no one wants to read that! She made me see that if I can explain to one person how I handle mine it might help someone else, and really Amanda and I wanted this blog to help people learn about makeup and beauty products, so I caved. 

Before we go any further let me explain what scalp psoriasis is for anyone who doesn't know. From WebMD:

Scalp psoriasis is a common skin disorder that produces raised, reddish and often scaly patches. It can appear as one of multiple patches on the scalp, affect the entire scalp, and spread beyond the scalp to the forehead, back of the neck, or behind the ears. It is not contagious and just like other forms of psoriasis the exact cause is unknown.

Personally, I find that my psoriasis flares up the worst when there are sudden changes in the temperature. For example, right now in Nashville the temperature has been fluctuating like crazy. One day it was 60-something and the next, we had an ice storm. Yeah, that happened. In these instances my scalp goes INSANE. It gets god awful itchy, scaly, scabby and honestly I look like I have the worst case of dandruff ever. When it gets to it's worst the left side of my head, conveniently where I part my hair, turns red and the "rash" of sorts travels into my forehead. These are the days when I spend all of my extra time trying not to look like a snow globe. Basically, my scalp can go from perfectly normal to horrible in no time, and has many varying stages.

So here is my hair care/psoriasis routine.

Frantic Friday - One Take on the 10 Minute Face

It's so hard to believe that it's already here, but as the calendar doesn't lie welcome back to

Let's start with a note of nothing but pure honesty before we get to the fun stuff.

Top Two Tuesday - Primers

Welcome to...

Primer Edition!

After two delays, I'm finally ready to name my top two primers, so let's get it started!

Spiked Out - Hair Product Reviews

Last year my hair looked like this....

It was so long that I tucked the length of my ponytail into my hood. As a ballet dancer I have had long hair my whole life, that is until April 2013. Wind, hay bail twine, and bad luck led to this photo being taken at my local salon.

GASP! You get to see my face sans makeup!

I went from extra long to extra short in 40 minutes. Now how on earth was I going to adjust?

First Impressions - Divergent Multi-Piece Collector's Kit

Hey everyone! Earlier this week I ordered the Divergent Multi-Piece Collector's kit, and it arrived today!

 

This is a limited edition collection and is currently available for VIB members only at Sephora.com for $59.50. At first I was a little hesitant about the price, but with three eyeshadow palletes, one blush palette, four lip glosses, and a brush, you are getting a lot for your money. The front of the box has a picture of a ferris wheel on it. Anyone who has read the book will know that the ferris wheel is from a scene where the main character grows and strengthens.

Inside, the four palettes form the same image of the ferris wheel when sitting side by side. 

Let's explore the kit!

Frantic Friday - Polar Vortex

I know, I've been bad. I haven't been posting regularly like Ashleigh, but we have had some extreme weather in my part of the country for the past few weeks. Now that power has been restored welcome back to...

Inspired by the bad weather I thought I would share a quick way to look good while protecting your skin from the bitter cold. Father winter can be a huge hindrance when it comes to the health of your skin. Cold air dries your face out, your face produces excess oil to compensate, and it never ends well.

I always start with my trio of face products. As to not repeat myself you can see what I use to wash, tone, and moisturize my face in my last post Frantic Friday - The Ballerina.

Moisture is so important for your face during the winter. That is why instead of using foundation or a BB/CC cream I use a tinted sunscreen.