Thursday 31 October 2013

How to Apply your Halo Hair Extensions



A couple of days a go I did a review on my Halo Hair Extension, which I love by the way.  Today I wanted to show you how easy and quick it is to put in.  It literally takes abut 3 minutes!

Place your halo on your head, gently pull in to place so that it sits a couple of inches from the front of your head and lower down at the back.  Use your 'Halo' comb (which comes with the extensions) or any tail comb, to begin pulling out the hair from under the Halo wire.  Once pulled on top of the Halo comb down the hair and ensure the Halo is fully covered.

And that is it! Your are ready to go!!


What do you think about 'The Halo' or flip in hair extenions? Have you or would you try them?


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Tuesday 29 October 2013

NOTD


Hello pumpkins!

I just got my nails done and I am so excited I wanted to show you all!  They are Gel extensions (not great for your nails I know) but they look so pretty and with Xmas coming up I want lovely long nails to wear glittering sparkly polishes. (Ring £2 BHS)

What do you think?


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Monday 28 October 2013

Review | Halo Hair Extensions The Halo 20 inch in Chestnut*


Hi all!! The weather is crisp and the winter sun is begining to shine.. so what about this storm? Think we missed it up in Scotland.  Today I am reviewing Halo Hair extensions 'The Halo'.  A pretty hyped product, so lets see if this little beauty lives up to it.

"Every girl deserves a Halo"

Before ordering my Halo I wasn't sure which colour to go for, there are 25 to choose from, so I emailed over a picture to the folks at Halo.  They were so helpful and picked the perfect colour for me.  In the end I went for 20" Halo in Chestnut.  A couple of months down the line I dip dyed my own hair pink and wanted my Halo to match, so they got the pink treatment to.  (Let me know if you would like me to do a post on how to dye your Halo hair extensions).  I have been using my Halo now for about 5 months so feel like I have a pretty good idea of what this little baby is about.  

When my Halo first arrived I was so excited, I filmed my first ever youtube video unboxing it here.  My initial views were that is felt super soft, thick and great quality.  I also did a blog post with lots of pictures of the lovely packaging and extras it comes with here.

The Halo is by the Halo Hair extensions brand who do all sorts of extensions like clip ins, but the Halo is something a bit different.  It doesn't come with clips and instead is one strip of hair attached to a thin clear nylon wire, which looks like the shape of a 'Halo'.  The wire is fully adjustable to fit any head shape and size.  Some people might know this type of extension as a 'flip in'.

Having worn clip in extensions for nearly 10 years I was very unsure about this little wire... I mean how could it stay in my hair all day? Won't it fall out?  I have to admit I was pretty scared when I first wore it and pictured myself looking like a badger was stuck to my shoulder if it fell out.

There really was no need for me to worry, once in, the Halo is very secure.  It does feel different to clip in extensions and may take some time to get used to.  I for one was use to the slightly sore feeling of the clips digging in to my head so when I didn't feel that I thought something was wrong! Ha ha but the truth is the Halo is just a lot more comfortable.

The most important thing for me when choosing hair extensions is the quality of the hair.  The halo is 100% Indian Remy Human hair and is very high quality.  It feels thick, soft, silky and luxurious.  It states on the website the Halo should last for about 4 months, but I have had my halo for 5 months now and the hair looks exactly the same as the day I got it, no fall out or breakage at all.  I have only washed my Halo once and that was due to dying it.  It really doesn't need much upkeep at all.

Another great thing about the Halo is, because it sits lower on your head you don't need to worry about any unsightly clips showing giving away your gorgeous hair secret! This also makes it easier to use your Halo for up do's.

The only thing I would say is that because I have exceptionally full hair to my shoulder and with the Halo adding quite a few more inches sometimes I feel like I want to add a row of clip in extensions to blend it.  Next time I will probably go for the shorter 16" Halo to combat this.

Overall I think the Halo is great quality and a genius product.  It literally takes 2 minutes to put in and I really love it.  I have had so many compliments when wearing it.

Get your Halo from www.halohairextensions.com

What are your favourite type of hair extensions?




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Sunday 27 October 2013

Pumpkin Carving Halloween Fun!!!

Hello pumpkins! How are you all doing this week?
Who is excited that it is halloween? I have finally got around to carving my first pumpkin of the season.  I wanted to do something a little different, every year I tend to stick to pumpkin faces so I went with a design that wasn't a face for once.  I got my pumkin from Tesco for £1, most supermarkets do them pretty cheap.

I start by removing the top of the pumpkin with a small knife and begin removing the inside goop.  Once the goop is gone I work away at the fleshy parts using a spoon and upwards motions.  When it comes to carving your design, it is better if the flesh isn't too thick.

I picked out a witchy silhoutte from http://www.pumpkinpile.com/patterns_jacks.php and printed it out.  I had to print out a few at different sizes before I got the right fit.  Cutting out my silhoutte carefully I was getting very excited (what a child ha ha).  I like to pin my design on to the pumpkin, this holds it in place better for drawing around it using a biro.  Now I am ready to carve...

What I use to carve is a stanley knife because it is small and I get the most precise cut. Overall from start to finish this little beauty took me an hour and a half.  Well worth it I think!!



Wishing you a fun and spooky Halloween from the scary version of Ashly!! 


What do you think of my pumpkin lovelies and will you be carving one?

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Thursday 24 October 2013

REVIEW | Oriflame Volume Build Mascara*


Hi everyone, I hope you are having a fab week and looking forward to Halloween!! I have yet to pick out my pumpkin but I will do soon.  I love carving pumpkins, it is a bit of a tradition for me, I can't wait to show you my creation when it is finished.

Today I am reviewing the Oriflame Volume build Mascara (£8.45) in black, it also comes in prune.  I got this Mascara in my goody bag from the London Bloggers party and it sat in my drawer for a few months before I thought I would give it a test run.

The packaging is simple, much like your average drugstore mascara wand.  I quite like the colours they have used, nice and girly.  The only thing I would say is that the branding is not super clear, you have to look at it for a minute before you can work out which brand it is.

On to the wand, which I like. It is broader at the outer section becoming narrower at the tip, it comes out the packaging very easily and there is not too much product on the wand so no need to wipe off any excess.


The consistency of the mascara is just right, not gloopy or too thin.  I can't stand it when mascara smudges all over your eye area when applying, but no such problems with this one.  The product goes on to your lashes really easily and it does exactly what it says on the tin easily and efficiently.  You can build your lashes to your hearts content and quite frankly I am in love!
It is rare to find a buildable mascara with such a great consistency, it doesn't dry too quickly allowing for the layers of product to be build up but it isn't too problematic with drying time either. I don't know how they did it, but they have!

This is fast becoming my new favourite mascara and I can't believe it sat in my drawer un used for all those months!  I would recommend this to anybody, a great great product...  A dupe for Benefit's they're real mascara? Maybe even better!


What do you think lovelies? Have you tried this mascara or any Oriflame products?



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Monday 21 October 2013

Pure Spa Aberdeen Pre Christmas Blogger Event

Pure Spa Aberdeen invited some of us lucky bloggers down for a little treat to start the run up to Christmas. We were all to receieve a mystery spa treatment, I had no idea what mine would be and invisioned myself being hit with fern leaves to cleanse my body or a bout of colonic irrigation (they don't actually offer either of these treatments here btw).


In fairness, I wan't actually far wrong with the being hit with fern leaves scenario... The spa treatment I pulled out of the hat was a 'Thai Bundle'.  This involved a type of cleansing massage using hot bundles of herbs being pressed in to specific areas on your back promoting toxins being released from your body. I have to admit when the treatment started I did have a little giggle to myself but as it went on I actully found it very relaxing and didn't want it to end.  The very lovely therapist advised me to keep the oils on my back over night and true to her word this morning I was wishing I had the oils everywhere else too as the skin on my back is feeling super soft.

Perhaps not a treatment to have if you are looking for something to unwind but definitely suitable if you have had a long weekend of boozing or want to start off a healthy cleanse.

We also got treated to lots of lovely cupcakes and a beautiful manicure with Leighton Denny nail polish. Which I am totally in love with by the way.  I chose the 'diamond rose' polish which contains small particles of real diamonds... how could I turn that down?  I don't know how they did it but the manicure lasted 4 days with no chips, I was amazed.



It was a fabulous evening which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you for having us Pure Spa!!

Will you be treating yourself to any spa treatments in the run up to Xmas?


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Thursday 17 October 2013

Next and Accessorize October Haul


Off I popped in to town looking to buy a couple of midi rings and came home with this lot, as you do.  I was really in the Christmas spirit for some reason so got a little excited at all the gorgeous candles in Next and at such great prices too.  I really recommend you pop down there and take a look, they smell yummy.

Strangely, Accessorize isn't somewhere I tend to go for 'accessories' but I am glad I ended up in there because they had so many lovely bits. I managed to hold myself back from buying quite a few other things too (pat on the back for me there).

So here is everything I bought (I have linked to all the items I can find online). I don't think I could choose a favourite item because I love all of my little Haul.

Double Ring | Accessorize | £4

What do you think of my little purchases? Have you got your festive candles out yet?



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Tuesday 15 October 2013

A day at the Vintage Wedding Show

This is a slightly different post for me today because I have never blogged about anything remotely wedding-ey... but I am really starting to enjoy all things wedding. And no I am not getting married, in fact I am single so if that day does ever come it is a looooooooong way off.

A few things have brought me in to the realm of weddings, one being that my gorgeous older sister is getting married in 2015 and we have been sharing a pinboard for a while creating some fab ideas for her day.  The second reason is that because I am now an Arbonne consultant (see my post with info on this here) I have decided that exhibiting at bridal fairs is a great way to promote my business, who doesn't want gorgeous skin for their wedding day?

With all this in mind at the very last minute (2 days before) I booked a stand at my first ever wedding exhibition, the Vintage Wedding show at the Cowdray Hall in Aberdeen.  I was so excited but very frantic running around trying to get everything organised at the very last minute but I think I managed to pull it together, just.


As it was a vintage wedding show I added some lovely shabby chic details to my stand like pearls, faux antique pink roses, silver tray and some fairly lights. I also borrowed a cake stand from my sister to put the makeup items on.  I was really pleased with how it looked, what do you think?


I had an absolute blast and really enjoyed doing makeovers on brides to be and talking to the other exhibitors who had amazing stands by the way. The shoes at Well Heeled Bridal Shoes were amazing and the little cake room cakes tastes yummy. Other exhibitors included; Jewellery at McCalls, Zoe Duthie Jewellery Design, Buttons 'n' Bluebelles Candy Carts, Encore dress & Vintage agency, SD Photography and Duke Wedding Photography.


I would love to know if you have been to any wedding fairs and which ones you recommend? Also let me know if you want to see more wedding based posts?



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Monday 14 October 2013

Festive Jumper Picks!!


1. Primark 2. White Fair isle Christmas jumper £35 River Island 3. Cream light up tree Christmas Jumper New Look £29.99 4. Cream Reindeer fluffy Christmas Jumper New Look £24.99 5. Sofie Reindeer knit jumper Boohoo.com £25 6.Burgundy Reindeer print jumper New look £17.99 7. Pale Blue polka dot Christmas pudding jumper New Look £27.99 8. Fun reindeer sweater Next £28 9. Chloe Reindeer soft knit jumper Boohoo.com £25

As the dark nights are creeping in I just want to be wrapped up all warm and cosy. What better way to do that than to pop on a festive jumper? I know it is only October but it is only 71 days until Christmas!!!  Here is a selection of festive jumpers I have found for under £40, they do tend to sell quickly so I will be buying mine soon!!  My favourite is number 7 because it has all the little white snow balls on it.

I would love to know which ones you like best??



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Saturday 12 October 2013

Breakouts | 3 easy steps to stop them in their tracks!

It happens to the best of us, we are toddling along thinking our skin is looking great then the next thing we know there is a big red spot in the middle of our cheek! When this happens the first thing I do is start questioning myself, did I change my skincare routine? Have I used a different product? who? what.. why??

There really can be a lot of reasons for breaking out and some are sadly out of our control, like our hormones.  However, here is a list of things that I have found stop break outs in their tracks fast!!

1. Wash your make up brushes
This is so important to do consistently.  The amount of people I talk to who have never cleaned their brushes is shocking! A study done by Debenhams showed 72% of participants never wash their makeup brushes at all! If you want to be precise wash them with anti bacterial liquid and spray them with alcohol if you don't have sensitive skin, this will make sure they are super clean.
If you are using your brushes everyday you should be really cleaning them at least once a week and some say they should be cleaned after every use.

Think of all the dirt and old makeup that can build up in the bristles of your brushes and then you are putting that on your face. Yuk.


2. Throw out old makeup
Would you believe it if I told that some women keep makeup for up to 15 years past it's sell by date! eeep... would you do that with food? noway. Think about it... your skin is your biggest organ. things put on your skin get absorbed quicker than eating them! Surely you wouldn't eat a 15 year old pear... or would you?


3. Change your bedsheets
Pillow cases are a huge cause for spots if not changed regularly. Think of all the sweat, makeup and dirt that gets left on there after every night. A build up of sweat and oils on sheets can lead to bacteria growth which can easily cause breakouts.

I hope you found these tips helpful, to hear more check out my latest youtube video below. I would love to hear what your tips are for preventing breakouts or what you do when you get one.








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Sunday 6 October 2013

REVIEW | Arbonne Intelligence Genius Nightly Resurfacing Wipes



For the past 3 years or so I have had an on and off relationship with clear skin.  It seems to be worse when I am stressed and the side of my face can get pretty red and blotchy (see above).  It seemed to have left me with some discolouration and marks which I really wasn't happy with. I tried the REN Aha resurfacing concentrate which I had a great success with and really like.

But after I read the claims that with these Arbonne Genius Nightly resurfacing wipes 100% of people in a clinical study showed improvement to their skin moisture/hydration and skin firmness/elasticity in 2 weeks.  To be honest I thought yeah right.  But I had never heard a brand claim that 100% of people saw results, well, needless to say I was intrigued enough to buy them.  



Arbonne Says
Isn't it time to outsmart your skin? Arbonne Intelligence brings next-generation innovation to the forefront with a multitasking, revolutionary formula. Genius is a brilliant delivery system designed to unveil your most radiant, healthy-looking skin. Nightly Resurfacing Pads are paired with a fresh-pour solution containing our dynamic proprietary PBR+ complex, with Phytinol™, botanicals and retinoid.


The resurfacing pads work with our proprietary science and botanical retinoid solution to reduce the look of dark spots and fine lines for skin that looks smooth, even-toned and beautiful. It addresses multiple skincare concerns and was developed for all skin types, ages 12–60+ . You will see vast improvement in the appearance of skin texture to reveal overall healthy-looking skin. Pure Genius.

So are these genius pads really that genius?

Arbonne intelligence Genius Wipes come in two parts, a tub with 60 pads and a glass bottle containing resurfacing solution. When you are ready to use it you pour the solution in to the tub and wait 1 minute before using one of the pads.  I quite liked the fact it came like this, it just seemed like a bit of a novelty to be honest and something different.  After pouring the solution my first impression was that it smelt quite strong, you definitely couldn't get your nose too close to the tub without coughing.  I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.  So I decided to start with one pad the first night and see how it went.

They do state that if you have hyper sensitive skin to have every second night off, my skin it very sensitive so I did think this would be an option for me and quite frankly expected my face to turn a crimson shade of red after using the product.



After wiping the pad on my face I felt a very faint tingling sensation for a few minutes. Nothing uncomfortable or horrible, then I followed the instructions and applied my nightly serum and moisturiser. No sign of any irritation.

The next morning my face felt a bit smoother. You could compare it to how it would feel after a good exfoliation. That night I repeated the process and again no redness.  The morning of day 2 I could see a difference in my skin, very faint but it was there. Less redness was the thing I was most pleased about.  I kept on with the process and now I am about to do my 7th night.

I am over the moon with the difference to the colour and tone of my face already.  There really is a difference as you can probably see above. Another great point is that I had a pesky red and inflamed spot appearing on my jawline, this is a spot that comes from a deformed pore so it 'pops' up to say hello every few months and can get quite angry. Well I made sure last night to wipe over it and this morning it was no longer red or sore and is practically gone. Result!

I was so impressed with this product and others, like the Primer and lipstick I have tried


What do you think lovelies? Will you be giving these wipes a go?




Ashly xx

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MAC 217 Brush vs Dupe


One of the most important tools for creating beautiful eye makeup is a good blending brush.  For years I have used the trusty Mac 217 brush (£18) recommended by youtubers and beauty bloggers alike, but it isn't cheap. Especially if you want to have 2 or 3 on hand.  With this in mind I ventured in to the world of ebay makeup tools and wow what a world it is, from faux beauty blenders to all sorts of wonderful and not so wonderful devices.  Then I came across the Emily Makeup brush 217 (£2.48) for that price I thought, why not give it a go? The worst that could happen would be that I was out the price of a magazine.



I waited in anticipation for my new brush to arrive. It did take a couple of weeks as it was coming all the way from China.  When it finally arrived I ripped open the package and was pleasantly surprised first of all at how soft the bristles were.  I did realise straight away that it was overall a good bit bigger than my Mac 217 brush.  But, off I went to compare them over the next month or so.


I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed using my dupe 217 brush. It could be something to do with the massive bargain it was being £15.52 cheaper than the Mac version.  But I feel that the bristles are of a very similar quality, yes the dupe ones are more splayed and less precise than the bristles on the Mac brush but for blending out there really is not much difference to the result.

Another noticable difference is the size of the handle.  The mac one being a good bit slimmer and daintier than the dupe.  This is not a huge problem for me, but for some I think it would cause a bit of annoyance as you can't be as precise as you may like.

I have had my dupe 217 brush for 2 months now, it has had plenty of washes and I haven't noticed any shedding yet.  That being said this particular Mac brush I have pictured here is over 3 years old and it is still in impecable condition and shape.  Only time will tell if my little dupe is still in the same shape 3 years from today. 

So what do I prefer?  I actually really like them both and I am happy using them both.  Overall the Mac brush is better for more precise work but at the end of the day for £2.48 I am very happy with this dupe brush and I will definitely be buying a few more.


I would love to hear if you have any dupe brushes or would consider buying any?  Or do you think people shouldn't be buying dupes or copies?



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Thursday 3 October 2013

Recent Blogging Events Roundup

We have been really lucky up here in Aberdeen recently with some fab blogger events!  I am really grateful for all the fun activities and treats I get to experience as a blogger and always have a ball.  Over the past month I have attended quite a few events but didn't want to bore you all with lots of posts so I have condensed a few in to one, I hope you don't mind :-)

Student Lock in Bon Accord Shopping Centre Aberdeen

My good friend Laura kindly invited me to attend this event with her (yes I know I am not a student anymore, a mature student of life maybe.. ha!).  With up to 30% off at shops like Topshop, River Island and New Look it was a great time to indulge in some retail therapy.

I also got to meet Lydia Bright from The only Way is Essex, she was there with a pop up shop for her store Bella Sorella. A lovely lass she was too.

picture courtesy of Liparazzi :-)

Autumn Fashion Fix Union Square Aberdeen

I was invited down to Union Square for a fun day of activities celebrating their Autumn Fashion fix event. We arrived early in the morning and were treated to a lovely breakfast smoothie from Juice Master. I chose a raspberry flavoured one and it was delish!


Next it was on to our styling challenge.  We were put in to pairs and I was with Rachel from twentysomethingbeauty. There were rails of clothes from shops including Zara and H&M and we had to select autumn outfits for each other. Luckily Rach and myself really liked how we were styled. In fact I might have to pop to Zara and pick up the skirt and shirt I was wearing!


Then we were off to watch hair and makeup tutorials on stage presented by the lovely Nadine Hawkins (No1 Magazine Editor), followed by a fashion show.  At this point I had to dash because I was attending my grans 90th birthday party, but the rest of the bloggers were treated to lunch, makeovers and massages at Pure Spa.


Overall it was a fab day and I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed the styling part best as I did this in my old job and loved it so much.

What do you think of our outfits? had to have some tartan!


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