Ardell's Disney Villains Lash Set Fall 2013!

Hello Glams and Geeks! I’m super excited to share with you my product review for the new Disney Villains Lash Set by Ardell! As most of you may know, this is the second season that these villainous women join Walgreens for the Halloween season. Last year, E.L.F Cosmetics created 3 custom villain palettes consisting of Maleficent, Cruella De Ville, and The Evil Queen. This year, E.L.F Cosmetics, Ardell, Scunci, Kiss Nails, and SOHO teamed up to bring us an entire collection of these wicked women, now including the terrifying Ursula. The collection contains make-up palettes, hair-ties, lashes, cosmetic bags, and nail art kits. Each set retails at a different, but very affordable price. As for the lashes, they retail at $7.99 and are only available at select Walgreens locations, along with the rest of this collection.  What I think is super fun about this concept is that I, like many Disney fans, grew up watching the Disney fairytales. So to see the villains that we feared as young children, be the face of such awesome cosmetic products, makes being a fan so much more fun! Now, let’s take a look at these lashes!

Out of the four lash sets available, I chose the Ursula set. Each set contains three pairs of lashes, and an Ardell lash adhesive. Now, let me mention, although the packaging is limited edition, the pairs of lashes that each set comes with are from Ardell’s permanent line. For example, my set came with the pairs #204, #105, and #134. So if you could not get your hands on a set, no worries. You can always pick up the individual pairs wherever Ardell lashes are sold. All of the lashes are black, synthetic hair and need to be trimmed to size.

The 204’s are gorgeous, full-haired, vampy lashes. They are part of the Double-Up line from Ardell. I love that when applied, your eyes automatically look more mysterious, even sultry, which is why I call them my “vampy” lashes. I also like that they don’t feel heavy on the eyes, as some pairs of thick lashes do. They are perfect for the Halloween season, or to add a dramatic edge to a simple look. I personally love to pair these along with a dark lipstick for an edgy look.

 The 105’s are beautiful, natural-looking lashes that are great for adding some extra length to your real lashes. To me, the 105’s look like they could be a single layer from the double-up pair, 204. They fan out nicely around the eyes, giving somewhat of a cat-eye look. I love how sweet and flirty my eye’s look when they are on. I think these lashes are great for any look, both natural and dramatic, and could be your go-to pair for everyday lashes.

Last but not least, the 134’s! These super fun, dramatic lashes are great for the Halloween season! They are a mix between long and short hairs, and have a spider-like look to them because of their variation of lengths along the lash-line. For me, these are very much Halloween appropriate lashes and I probably wouldn’t use these any other time of the year, but for others, these may be just what you’re looking for to add some oomph to your look. As you can see, I paired these creepy-crawlies with a lilac lip for some added fun to my look!

*Quick Note on the adhesive: The Ardell adhesive that comes with this pack of lashes is the one I used to apply them. It was my first time using it, so I just wanted to give you guys my perspective on this product. I do like that upon applying it to the lash strip then placing it along my lash-line, it dried fairly quickly. I’d say under 20 seconds or so. I don’t like that when removing them, the lash glue may feel very sticky along the lid, making it a little difficult to remove. I recommend using a good liquid makeup remover and soaking a Q-tip in it to remove any excess glue. Other than that, it’s pretty good if you want to ensure that your lashes stay in place for as long as you’re wearing them.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed my review. Be sure to take a look at the new Disney Villains collection at a Walgreens near you. It is super fun and very cute and as I mentioned before, very affordable! If you pick anything up, please share your thoughts on the collection! 

Riri Hearts Mac Fall 2013 Collection Mini-Haul and Product Review

Hello Glams and Geeks! I cannot wait to share with you my very first product review post as it is for the highly anticipated Riri Hearts MAC Fall collection. You may or may not already know, but the collection launched in MAC stores only, on September 26, 2013. And no worries, you’ll be able to get your hands on those pieces you’ve been eyeing, as it is going to be released online today, September 30, 2013 at 12 p.m. EST, and in all MAC locations on October 3, 2013. Now before we begin, I just want to say that I, like everyone else, waited very anxiously for this collection. I had planned to buy most, if not all of the products, but after seeing it personally, I decided to get the ones that stood out to me.

First, I wanted to mention that out of all the MAC collections I have ever anticipated, this one definitely took the stage with its beautiful Rose-Gold packaging. I feel that this was a great touch to reflect Rihanna’s bold personality. Its super fun and appealing to look at. If you are a MAC collector like me, it will definitely stand out amongst the typical all black MAC packaging.

Now, let’s talk lipstick! I’d like to begin by reviewing the lipstick that lived up to its well-deserved excitement, Riri Woo. This gorgeous, vibrant, blue-based red is absolutely stunning. It is perfect on any skin tone and literally transforms an entire makeup look. It is easy to wear day or night, and is pigmented enough to last that long, too, no touch-ups required. What I love about this particular color and its formulation is that although it is a retro-matte finish, it isn’t super drying on the lips. It just stays in place all day long with minimal touch-ups required. It is my personal favorite from the collection and I plan on getting backups! This product retails at $16.50.

Next in line, I purchased Bad Girl Gone Good, the only powder-blush that is in the collection. At first, I thought the color would look super harsh on the cheeks, as it is a cinnamon-colored blush with light shimmer. Upon wearing it, I realized that it’s actually very wearable and quite flattering on me. It gives somewhat of a rosy-glow. I must say, this is a product that you definitely have to check out in person if you’re not sure what colors suit you best. I found that I prefer it best when layered over with a nice highlight on the cheek bones. My overall suggestion is, I think this color is very pretty, and should be tried on prior to purchase. This product retails at $23.

Last, but not least, the 35 lashes. I have been dying to get my hands on a pair of these! They are the most popular amongst the lashes sold by MAC, and have been released in a few collections since they were removed from the permanent line. Now, although I do love them, I was not crazy about the colors of the hairs on them. I noticed that the lashes are made up of a blend of medium brown and black lash hairs. This isn’t too much of a problem for me as it isn’t very noticeable, but I would have preferred them in all black. Other than that, I do find them very flattering for my eye shape and I think they give my lashes a voluminous, lush look. For those of you lash-lovers out there, definitely pick up a pair! This product retails at $17.50.

Finally, I wanted to mention, I did swatch the other products in the line, and while they were all beautiful colors, I picked the ones that didn’t resemble ones that I already own, and that were most appealing to me. I loved the lipsticks in the line, although Talk That Talk could have been more true to its tube color. When swatched, the color looks more of a red-wine rather than a deep-plum like it appears in its packaging. I also found that on the lips, it seems to feather on the edges and must be held in place with a good lip-primer or liner. As for Nude, it was very pretty on my skin, but rather too-dark on my lips. I feel that I own nudes that compliment my olive skin much better. Who’s That Chick could have been a great orange for the fall, but what turned me away from it, was its frosty-finish. This color may look great on lighter complexions but on me, it was totally unflattering and contained too much frost for my taste. The collection also had 2 eye shadow palettes, none of which I found necessary to own, as they are permanent eye shadows from MAC. The lip liners were great, very smooth application, but to me, I didn’t feel as if I needed them. The cream-color base was very pretty, but is also dupable. The beauty powder was a pass for me as I did not like the color selection. As for the rest, I am comfortable with my decision on passing them up

Thank you so much for reading my first product review. I hope you find this helpful to your decision-making regarding your purchase of this collection. It is available online today at MacCosmetics.com and at all MAC locations on October 3. Please feel free to personally check out the collection and let me know what you think about the products! Enjoy!

Welcome Everyone! :)

Hello Glams and Geeks! Welcome to The Glam Geek Confessional! For my first post, I’d like to introduce myself, as well as talk to you guys about the purpose of my blog, and what features I will be posting each week.

First off, my name is Ashley. I am 21 years-old and a full time college student. My love for cosmetics started when I was about 12 years old. I started off like any young girl, very simple makeup. My routine consisted of lip gloss, mascara, and a little eye liner. Today, my interest has lead me to research, practice, and learn anything I could about the thing I love most, leading me to this: My very first blog!

The purpose of my blog is to continue learning and sharing my knowledge on makeup, skin care, and other beauty tips. I encourage my readers to please share tips as well, as we can all learn something new from eachother. I also intend for my blog to inspire my readers, to help in deciding what products are worth adding to your collection, which products may or may not work for you, and much more!  

Each week, I will be posting different features on my blog. From product reviews, to Look-of-the-Day, to Homemade Beauty (DIY beauty regimens), I will be posting a little of everything to keep lots of variety on my blog. I encourage readers to please ask questions to ensure you get the best of my knowledge/opinion on a particular product, homemade skin or hair care recipe, or anything you wish to ask in regards to my post.

I’m so excited to start posting here for everyone and look forward to what’s to come! Thanks for reading and enjoy my blog! :)