My MUA Make Up Academy Wish List.. What should I buy?

Ahhh there is so much make up I want to try from MUA. I thought that the best way would be to narrow it down to a wish list and then maybe my readers could help me decide what to get?  

Some of the products I have read about on other blogs and would love to get my hands on like the eyeshadow palettes. The Heaven and Earth Palette I had in a Wishlist Here a week or so ago and I still haven't got it yet!! 

On a very happy note, while I was checking out the MUA website I realised they are having a 50% off sale... amazing! So I am deffinitely going to order some of the products. I can't wait... Whoop Whoop!

MUA Mosaic Bronzer Shade 2 Sunkissed Glow £1.50 | MUA Mosaic Blusher English Rose £1.50 | MUA Undress your Skin Highlighting Powder £2 | MUA Undress your Skin Flawless Skin Primer £3

MUA Brow Kit £3.50 | MUA Pro-Base Conceal and Lighten Porcelian Beige £3.50

MUA Lip Boom in Cheeky £1.50 | MUA Power Pout in Broken Hearted £3 | Love Heart Lip Balms Sweet Kiss £1

MUA 12 Shade Palette Heaven and Earth £4 | MUA Undress me Too Palette £3

MUA Fairy Dust Glitter Nails Purple Mist £1.25 | MUA Fairy Dust Glitter Nails Glitter Wings £1.25 | MUA Fairy Dust GLitter Nails Mermaid £1.25

So I need your help people... Decisions, Decisions!!! What do you think I should get??

Wishing you a Happy Easter with help from some friends

It is easter!!! The perfect excuse to eat lots of chocolate, cakes and look at pictures of cute fluffy animals.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

What are you doing this easter weekend?

The Stephanie Knight Charity Beauty Haul Update... Get involved!

I wanted to update you all on the progress of the beauty haul I am hosting for a lovely girl with terminal cancer. Please see the original post here for all the information.

So far I have received polishes from the following kind and generous ladies. Please be so kind as to visit their links and show them some support.

Kat Clark from http://www.talesofapaleface.com/
Twitter: @talesofpaleface
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalesofaPaleFace
Bloglovin': http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4135640
Instagram: http://instagram.com/talesofapaleface


Julie Carter from http://flabbyface.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @flabbyface
ShesaidBeauty: http://www.shesaidbeauty.com/flabbyface
Bloglovin': http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3851453 
Hello Cotton: http://www.hellocotton.com/mypage/flabbyface

Claire from http://www.makeroomforcupcake.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: @clarebelle_88
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Makeroomforcupcake/110402739043797

I am still looking for a lot more polishes. So if you have anything spare or you can pick something up it would be greatly appreciated.  I have now extended the date as I am hoping to receive a few more donations.

Originally I called out for only OPI polishes but I think that is rather resrictive so any brand is ok. Even if you have any nail glitter, beads, files. Anything suitable for a manicure.

Polishes received so far:
Modelsown Mystic Mauve
OPI My address is Hollywood
OPI Polka.com
Technic Carnival

How to be apart of #SKBH

How to be apart of #SKBH

Collect your manicure goodies

email: ashlyrae@hotmail.com for the postal address 

include your name, email, blog address, twitter/facebook

send polish before 10th April 2013

Lots of love

 

REVIEW - L'oreal ReVitalift Rejuvenating Make-Up Remover & Toner

I have been using these products on and off for quite a few years so I feel like I'm in a good position to give them an accurate review.

First of lets start with the L'oreal Vitalift Rejuvenating cleansing rich Make-Up removing milk £6

I really like the pearly texture and look of the bottle. The size and shape is also nice. The product is white and very rich with a silky texture. You don't need much at all. I put it on a cotton pad and it takes my make up off with ease, leaving no trace of the strongest black eyeliner.  

The only thing I am not too keen on with this product is the perfumey smell. However, because I like everything else about it I can put this aside. 

I have sensitive skin and while this product doesn't irritates my skin, I am slightly cautious of leaving on any residue due to the strong perfume smell. I always make sure that I use toner afterwards or I wash my face. 

The great thing about this product is that it leaves my skin feeling super soft. The next day my skin really feels like silk.  

I would say the product name is accurate, I can't emphasise the silkyness of my skin it is soo soft.


On to L'oreal Vitalift Rejuvenating cleansing smoothing toner £6

The first thing I want to note about this product is the strong perfumey smell, stronger than the milk. This is a total turn off for me. I prefer products that smell more natural. 

The second thing is that it is very sticky in texture and leaves my face feeling sticky. So much so that I have to wash off any residue. This is also a turn off for me. Sticky is icky! I once used this without removing residue, then applied makeup. My skin felt so gross! And it also gave me spots.. yuk, never again! 

Although these products are recommended to use together, I really don't use the toner unless I am desperate and even then I will dilute it with water. I just feel it is too strong for my skin. The times I have used it without watering it down or washing my face after use I have noticed some small spots. Not good. I really don't feel it did any of the jobs it is suppose to do.

Overall, I really like the make up remover, it definitely removes make up well and it leaves my skin so silky soft.  The toner... not a fan. Too sticky and perfumey for me. I prefer to use Garnier vitamin enriched toner which is also a lot cheaper at £2.50.

If you are looking for a great make up remover that will leave your skin silky the milk is for you. I would say the milk would suit normal to dry skin best. The toner I wouldn't really recommend for anyone.

I noticed while googling these products that L'oreal have recently renamed this 'Revitalift' rather than 'vitalift'. I believe you can still get the 'vitalift' in some places but from what I can tell they are just the same thing.

What do you think? Have you tried these products?

OPI OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL 100 FOLLOWER & 1ST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!

Ahhh it is finally here... my first giveaway. I am super excited.

I am over the moon to have reached 100 followers and had a fantastic journey over the last year of blogging, I can't wait to see what the next year brings!! Thank you all for your support!! Now on to the prize...

I wanted to choose something which I had been lusting after myself and for the past few months I have been dreaming about this release. As soon as I could I ordered it and have been waiting with anticipation until it was delivered!!!

So here it is the "OPI OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL LIMITED EDITION NAIL VARNISH SET"

The set features 4 mini polishes from the limited edition range and as you can see they are just gorgeous.

So if you want to be in with a chance of winning this just out, highly coveted and Limited Edition set simply enter via the rafflecopter below :-)

GOODLUCK BEAUTIES :-)

Please note this giveaway is open to UK, Europe, Australia and USA

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get to Know Me a Little Bit Better (with lots of pics)

I use instagram all the time (AshlyLondon) but I realised that not everyone does so thought I would post some of my pics from there that could maybe help you get to know me a bit better :-)

You will see a lot of food in this collage because well I love food. A few of my fave meals I have had recently are chicken korma with chips & cheese... odd I know but I think its yum! Also I had an amazing brunch of barbecued bacon with toasted bagels, honestly the best thing I have eaten. And then at the top 3rd from right you can see some more healthy food like quiche, sun dried tomatoes and a few other goodies.  I also love my doggy Poppi so had to include her of course. Also these floral socks on the left 2nd from bottom I got recently for £1.50 from Asda which I think is a bargain.

on the bottom row is my fave perfume Coer de Fleur by Miller Harris which I reviewed here and a puzzle I did recently of a mini car.

So thats it folks. I hope you like my pictures, I really enjoy taking them to document my life so that I can look back at them and see what I did each day (mainly because my memory sucks).

Do you have instagram? If so please leave your username and I will follow you :-)

10 Question Interview with another Blogger Tag

So guys and gals, I am starting a new tag to encourage us to get to know a fellow blogger a bit better!!

The rules

1.Tag a blogger who you want to get to know better

2.Answer the questions below in a post and send the link to who you have tagged.

3. They then post their answers to the questions along with your answers.

4. Then they tag another blogger who posts their own answers to the questions as well as the 'taggers' answers and the 'tagger befores' answers then tags somebody else....

5. That person answers the questions then posts their answers, their taggers answers, the tagger before that answers and the tagger before thats answers!!

You can see how this will keep going and we will end up with lots of bloggers answers all together.

So....

The Questions

1. What is your greatest achievement?

2. If you could take over another bloggers blog for a day whose would it be and why?

3. Did you study at university or college?

4. What do you do for a living?

5. Do you have any brothers, sisters or pets?

6. What is your favourite thing about yourself?

7. What is your favourite food?

8. Where is your favourite place you have visited?

9. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?

10. Can you tell me a secret about yourself that nobody else knows (yet)?

My Answers

1. What is your greatest achievement?

Probably walking on the runway at LA fashion week at one of the biggest shows.

2. If you could take over another bloggers blog for a day whose would it be and why?

Maybe mashable.com I would write about really girly things and maybe do a recipe for strawberry sprinkle cupcakes ha ha!

3. Did you study at university or college?

I studied dance in Edinburgh

4. What do you do for a living?

At the moment I am talking some time out to recuperate and decide what to do next.

5. Do you have any brothers, sisters or pets?

Yipper I have an older sis and I have my pet chihuahua Poppi

6. What is your favourite thing about yourself?

Probably that I can learn how to do things really quickly. (apart from cooking) 

7. What is your favourite food?

My fave food changes all the time at the moment it is chicken Korma or a Sunday roast with lots of gravy and horseradish.

8. Where is your favourite place you have visited?

I love LA. The weather is gorgeous and most people are pretty positive. There is also an abundance of great restaurants and your not too far from the beach.

9. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?

My dad trying to remember the name of the nappies he use to use on me and my sis to prove to us that he did in fact change our nappies at some point when we were babies. Pompidoose he said?!

10. Can you tell me a secret about yourself that nobody else knows?

A secret about me is that I am really insecure and don't have much confidence at all.

I tag India-Robyn from 

http://thejewelbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy 1st Blogday to Me!

Well I can't quite believe my little blog is 1 year old today! I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I started most of the time I still don't but I do know I am having fun doing it.

It is helping me through a difficult time and I never had any idea the amount of friends I could make in this magnificent blogging community... thank you all so much!

It is exciting to think about what the next year will bring for me and my blog... who knows.

I am also super excited that my 100th follower has coincided with this special day :-)

But for now it is Happy 1st Birthday AshlyLondon!

Wishing love and happiness to you all,

Exercise is a Ball...

Yes that little old thing called exercise is slowly creeping back upon me. I haven't done any in a long time and it is suppose to make you happy so I thought I'd better get back in to it.

My history with exercise is a somewhat chequered past. When I was younger I loved athletics and was a competitive ice skater as well as attending every dance class I could get my hands on.  Soon after I left school at 17 I didn't do much at all.  After sometime with literally no exercise in my life I started going to the gym in London which I did a couple times a week for a year or so. The gym in London always seemed like a bit of a chore because I had to get on the tube to get there. While I really liked the Gym itself (Reebok @ Canary Wharf) it was super expensive. I only had weekend membership and that was still about £60 a month, add that to the train fair and I was paying near £100 a month for 8 visits to the gym per month. Not sensible. Then when I lived in LA I was in the best shape of my life I went to the gym at least 3 times a week and I loved it. I had my own little routine that I did squats, arms, running machine. There was somehing about the energy there everyone was very positive that made it really fun for me.  Jump forward to being back in London and no exercise again... booo! Last year I started ballet classes again and joined a yoga class both of which I loved and then I moved house and again no exercise.  Only my new house had a gym in the complex which I booked an induction for and the instructor never turned up (fail). So now a couple months later I NEED exercise again in my life.  Where I am at right now in my life it is just not possible to attend a gym so I have sourced a pink ball (courtesy of my sister) and that is all I will be using to hone my way back to a super toned bod oh and happiness (I hope).

So why not join me on my journey and see what happens :-)

With love and hope for happiness,

 

What has Poppi Been up to this Week?

After looking at my instagram 'AshlyLondon' I realised just how many pictures of my dog Poppi I put on there. She seems to always be doing something cute or funny. So I decided to try this new 'Poppi's Weekly Round up' post where basically every week I will be posting a diary of what she has been up to. I love taking pictures of her so it is a good excuse to take more!!

Over to you Poppi... 

Monday

 Mum painted her nails to match my collar as you can see above. I think you will agree it is a pretty good match.  I love this collar mum got it in Harrods for me.  Then I went for a lovely walk. You can see more pics of that here. It was snowing and I had a great time chasing snow balls.

Wednesday

 

On Wednesday I sat in the back of the car and kept mum's nephew company while he was in his car seat. I like laying down in the back next to him, he is one of my best friends.  I also did some cuddling, This is my favourite blanket, you will probably see a lot of pictures of it in my diary.

Friday 

I have had a long week so I had a lovely sleep in my blanket. Here I look like I could play Mary in a school nativity play, don't you think?
  
 Sunday

Mum was helping looking after her nephew this weekend so I slept a lot on my tod. But I know I will get lots of cuddles to make up for it!

That's it folks see you next week

My Most Wanted This Week

I have been looking through so many new blogs this week and found some real hidden gems. On every blog I have come across lots of gorgeous things that I really want. As is the way with beauty blogging you always think you need all these gorgeous things when in fact you might not but it doesn't stop me wanting them ha ha!

1. First thing is Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base. I love this product. It smells divine, is rich and creamy and smooths on like a dream. It also moisturises my skin well and doesn't cause any break outs. Unfortunately I have run out of this as it doesn't seem to last too long for £36. But I do love it.

2. Is this gorgeous Muubaa Monteria Leather biker jacket in black for £379. I am desperate for a plain black leather jacket. I seem to have every other colour apart from black. I have had a few different black Muubaa jackets but I always end up selling them on ebay for some strange reason, it is a habit of mine.

3. How gorgeous is this Bobbi Brown Oyster and Caviar palette? To me it looks divine. At £59 I will probably go for the MUA palette and see how I get on with that first but I love the pearly colours and its Bobbi B... say no more!

4. Real Technique stippling brush. This is something I have seen on a lot of blogs and I really would like. I need a short haired stipling brush and this one seems perfect. Not too expensive at £10.99.

5. Ahhh the MUA pro palette in heaven and earth. Every blogger and their dog has been raving about this... am I the only one who doesn't have it? Surely it will be the best £4 I have ever spent.  The colours seem exactly what I like. Mostly I wear frosty shades of brown and taupe.

6. I am in the market for a new reasonably priced moisturiser. I have been using La Roche Posay Effaclair duo but now I think I should only be using that when I get irritated skin rather than using it as a moisturiser twice a day. So I think La Roche-Posay Hydreane Rich Moisturizing Cream for Sensitive Skin seems like a perfect fit. I think it is only about £7 which is a steal.

7. Freeze Frame instant lash extensions is one of those wonder products that everyone is talking about so I would love to try it to see if it works. At £27.99 it seems like an expensive mascara but if it does what it is suppose to do then I would save on false eyelashes!!

8. And last but definitely not least is the OPI Oz the great and powerful collection. I am obsessed with nail varnish a little more than usual at the moment and this looks like a beautiful set. It is actually made up of mini polishes but for £12.95 I think it is a good deal.

Have you been lusting over any of these products too? What do you think I should buy first? 

 

What I miss about Modelling and My Inspirations to Start Again

When I younger a lot of people use to tell me I should be a model. I suppose because I was rather skinny and tall. (Both aspects of myself that I hated during that time) So to be told I could use these things to an advantage sounded like a fantastic idea.

I started trawling the internet spending hours and hours looking for ways to get in to it. The first photoshoot I did I was so nervous. I had no idea what to do, it was for a modelling agency in Aberdeen. A couple of weeks after the shoot they sent me a letter rejecting me from their agency. I still have this letter. I was so upset but I wasn't ready to give up. It was hard work and lots of travelling back and forth from Scotland to London. For a long time I worked 2 jobs and modelled so I could afford the train fairs to get to London. I had to tell agents and photographers that I lived in London or they wouldn't book me. So when I got a call about a job often I had to jump on the train the next day to make the 7hr journey to get to London.

Eventually I moved to London when I was about 19.  I travelled, spent a lot of time in LA and New York. Worked for Victoria Beckham who told me she saw my pictures in OK magazine and thought they were amazing.

The reasons I stopped modelling I don't want to get in to as it is pretty upsetting for me but I feel like I have unresolved matters with modelling that I am not quite finished with it. That I want to end it on my own terms and give it one more go.

In 2012 I started doing a little bit of modelling again, a few photoshoots. The first one was awful, my confidence was so low. I hated every minute of it, I was uncomfortable, nervous, self concious and afterwards felt like I had totally forgotten how to do it all.  Then came the 2nd which went a bit better and the 3rd was ok although I still felt totally 'out of the loop'.

This time I want to take it slowly and not do things I am uncomfortable with. This time I know it isn't life or death and will do it to be proud of myself.  This time I will do it for myself and NOBODY else.  This time I will do it my way.

I am not quite ready to get back in to the industry as I still feel I am very fragile. Hopefully sooner rather than later I think it is worth a try. If I don't I think I may regret it.

I would like to do more commercial modelling like catalogues and online retailers like misguided.co.uk or boohoo.com I feel like these would be far safer options to start with and see how I go.

Maybe doing some proper shoots for my blog is a good idea too... what do you think?