As a vintage enthusiast living in a modern society, I embrace new products that make a vintage aesthetic easier, as youknow. But I also am a late-thirties lady, and I find that wearing my favorite authentic red lipsticks can be a bit more tricky these days. The main cause of this is that naturally, over the course of time, the lips can start to develop tiny (mostly) undetectable lines that cause red lipstick to feather. My lips also tend to get very dry when I wear a normal matte formula for any length of time.

A cream lipstick is a more desireable option, and Nyx Snow White is my favorite red lipstick of this formula, but if your lips tend to chap, a cream lipstick is usually too slick to provide any kind of real hydration, and therefore wearing red lips in the winter can be especially difficult.

Revlon Lip Butters have, for the reasons above, become my lip color of choice for everyday use. Especially in cooler weather.

They have a great balmy quality but provide excellent color pay-off, for the most part, and the reds are just lovely. They make my lips feel plump and soft as they wear off so there's none of that drying effect of a highly pigmented lipstick, and the finish is very forgiving, which makes the product easy to apply. I always recommend it to maturing ladies, when they express concerns with feathering red lips in the day time.

One thing I've noticed: Although the Lip Butters are really easy to apply, they don't go on at full color after just one swipe. I usually put two coats on, to get my best color result.

Of the ones I've tried, my favorites so far are Red Velvet (a mulberry red), Cherry Tart (a true red), Candy Apple (a bluer red), and Juicy Papaya ( a pinky coral).

So although the jury was 'out' a very long time on these things, I'm definitely a fan now.

xoxo,
Ashley

Since I started my channel in 2008, there has been one recurring draw for ladies of all ages: The Classic Pin Up Girl. It seems that when ladies see those stunningly gorgeous art pieces by Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren and others, they just get all swoony and longy. :) I know I do. In spite of the fact that I will inevitably age and no longer be fresh and rosy as the 20-somethings that modeled for those pieces, I will continue to strive for that sort of coquettish charm on occasion.

In addition to those lovely old paintings and the famous photos of Betty Grable and others that still maintain the standard of 'Pin Up', there are also lots of modern glamour girls that are keeping the style and appeal of the classic pin up girl alive.


Betty Grable in the most famous 'Pin Up Photo' of all time, by Frank Powolny


Traditional style pin up photo of model Jolee Blon
by: Miss Missy Photography

Amazing photographers are everywhere mastering the art of editing and lighting so that anyone can become a perfect Pin Up by simply utilizing the skillsets of specialists in vintage style and wardrobe.


Classic Pin Up Style photography by Celeste Giuliano

In spite of the poor quality, my earliest videos in which I aspired to recreate hairstyles from some of my favorite Pin Up art pieces, still remain popular and are part of a playlist on Youtube:


I also revisited the series last week , by re-creating my first style in that series, inspired by Edward Runci:

Finally, today I uploaded a Pin Up Girl Makeup tutorial to my channel, that was highly requested based on the aforementioned video. All products are listed below the embedded link.


Foundation Primer: Laura Gellar Spackle, Under-Makeup Primer
Lip Balm: Carmex Cherry Lip Balm
Lip Primer: Senna Lip Primer
Foundation: Revlon Colorstay Whipped Cream Foundation in Buff
Sigma F80 Flat Topped Kabuki brush
Concealer: Cover FX and Maybelline Concealer Stick in White
Powder: True Match Pressed Palette
Brow Pencil: Besame' Dual Automatic Pencil (discontinued)
Brow Pen/Tint: Anastasia Long Wearing Brow Tint in Universal Light
Eyeshadow for Filling Brows: Senna Haute Nudes palette
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe
Pirouette brushes
Sigma 'Make Me' Brushes
Toofaced Soft N Sexy Naked Palette
Maybelline True Black Eye Studio Gel Liner
Silver Point angled brush from Art Supply Store
Mascara: Maybelline Illegal Lengths Mascara
Senna Voluptulash
Maybelline Color Tattoo Metals in Barely Branded
Ardell Eyelashes: 301's and 311's
Duo Dark Lash Adhesive
Stila Custom Color Blush in Pink
Lip Liner-Besame Red Lip Liner from the Luxurious Lip Color Kit
Lipstick-Besame' Red Velvet lipstick
Lip Gloss- Discontinued reddish gold glitter lip gloss by Senna

The pin up craze will likely fade again but until then, let's all enjoy it. Feel free to send me any requests for tutorials inspired by art or photographs you like and I'll do my best to oblige.

Til Then,
xxoo
Ashley

Fall means you will need lots of new things to keep your vintage self inspired, right?

I know it's the case with me! So I'm thrilled do bring your attention again to my loyal sponsors to your right who continue to motivate me!

Whether it's a vintage setting pattern on the Vintage Hair blog, and their handy pin curling tool...or a classic piece of retro art from Kelly Grace (click the link to the right to access her facebook page)...or a stunning outfit from Queen of Heartz...all the companies you see are worth your attention.

Today, I also was able to create a little video for you, featuring some of the fall-friendly casual fashions from Queen of Heartz. Because I live in Tennessee, the shorts still carry me through to November, but if you live in a cooler climate, there are plenty of longer options. And hey, I'm a fan of tights so I can wear skirts and shorts all year.:)

Enjoy!

In an effort to get healthy, I've decided to try this detox cleanse that is circulating the internet and which was recommended by one of the members of my group on Facebook, The Viva Fit Club.

I feel it is necessary to start this by saying I am not on a mission to lose weight, although something like this will inevitably result in some weight loss as part of the detoxifying and cleansing process. I am also not a Dr Oz disciple, so to speak. I have seen him on all of maybe two talk shows in my life and thought he was mildly obnoxious. I feel that healthful lifestyles can, like anything else, go overboard and I personally have no intention of giving up Oreos or burgers entirely. That said, this cleanse seemed reachable and effective, per my research, and I decided to challenge myself by trying it.

Here is the picture page you can print out should you want to try it yourself:

The cleanse is touted as costing 16.00 a day...NOT TRUE. Assuming you don't already have the required supplements, green tea, berries, etc on hand, you can expect to pay almost 100.00 for the whole mess. So keep that in mind when making out your shopping list.

DAY ONE:

A.M.
I woke up this morning at my standard time of 6:30. I don't typically work out on Monday mornings since I go grocery shopping and so I have to look presentable and make out a list. I made the morning DETOX tea and drank it relatively quickly since I was on my way out the door.

The DETOX TEA was not an easy drink for me. I do not like Stevia, I've decided, and will probably skip it tomorrow. I also have an extreme aversion to lemon in liquid. I don't like it in my water, my tea, or especially anything hot. So I'm not gonna lie, by the time I got to the grocery store, I was ready to throw up. I got over the nausea though and got home by 10AM, which is when I mixed up my MORNING DRINK.

Having been drinking kale smoothies almost every day for a month or so (and loving them!-(another blog entry for another time), I thought this fruit and spinach concoction would be a breeze. Wrong. I could barely get it down, unfortunately. The culprit is the fact that it was not very cold and not very sweet. My raspberries were very tart, and one banana is just not sweet enough to overcome all the other ingredients. The almond butter and lemon also makes for a less drinkable smoothie than I've had before. But I did feel a bit of a 'buzz' after drinking it and I figure: 'Hey, you can do anything for just three days, right'?

At 11:30, I duly swallowed my 1/2 multivitamin and Probiotic with a 16 oz bottle of water. I am using my kids' multivitamin since it's easier to cut in half. My own One-A-Day is actually not as potent as theirs, which is a higher quality multivitamin from Whole Foods.

P.M.
My LUNCH DRINK was a little late because of the late breakfast. Thankfully it's a lot more along the lines of what I'm used to with my kale smoothies...a little chunky, but somehow refreshing. I hate celery and I had my misgivings but thankfully, the pineapple saved it. An automatic energy boost was the after effects of this drink and it was infinitely more drinkable than the breakfast concoction.

At 4pm, I went for a quick bike ride to buy some lavender extract for my nightly 'detox bath'. The ride was easy and I felt fully energized and normal. I noticed that this afternoon I was a little grumpy at my kids but this is a normal thing since I tend to feel very stressed as the day winds down and I have a lot of work left to do. Otherwise, all feelt the same. I have noticed that my urine is as clear as water. Interesting.

I was supposed to have a snack about this time, but since my lunch was late and I didn't feel hungry, I decided to skip that shake today. Maybe not recommended but I couldn't see force feeding myself one of these fiber filled smoothies at the time.

By 6:30, perhaps due to the missed 'snack' shake, I reached a low point of the day. Heavy eyelids (admittedly, partly due to the high pollen count in the air), fatigue, and an almost impenetrable haze that meant I needed to get up and move or succumb to exhaustion.

Making dinner for my family was hard; I'm not gonna lie. I didn't realize how much I 'nibble' when I'm preparing dinner, until I am sworn off of doing it. But once I made my shake and left the kitchen, it was not too bad. The DINNER DRINK is surprisingly tasty, although I worried about the avocado and cayenne idea. But it was fruity, refreshing, and the pepper gave it a great kick that was so invigorating at the end of this day of bland.

Interestingly, the 'buzz' that kale gives me during the day is replaced by a sort of 'clarity' at night. A restful clarity that made me feel sort of blissful and calm as I forced myself to relax with my family instead of run around doing the 20 million things I typically do in the evening.

The DETOX BATH was very relaxing as well,although the smell of lavender has never been a favorite of mine and it was a bit overpowering.

DAY TWO:
A.M.
I woke up at around 6:30 full of energy and fully prepared to do my 100's Workout before getting the kids off to school.

I drank a few swallows of my green tea with lemon (unsweetened this time),walked the kids to school, and guzzled the rest of it lukewarm when I got home.It was much easier since I hate hot lemony beverages; I think I'm going to try it cold tomorrow.

To improve my BREAKFAST DRINK, and make it more drinkable, I cheated a little and used 100% juice instead of water.I also froze the raspberries and ended up with a cold smoothie that was at least 80 percent better than yesterday's.Sometimes you just gotta break the rules a little.

P.M.

After taking my Probiotic and Multivitamin,I made my LUNCH DRINK and was saddened to find that it was much more celery tasting and chunky today. Pretty terrible actually...I could not finish it and so by mid afternoon, I was feeling depleted. The snack shake is probably very important but to someone who does not snack much, it was hard to make time for it.


The DINNER DRINK couldn't come soon enough. I made it while I made tacos for my family and it picked me right up. Definitely my favorite shake of the three.

The Epsom Salt DETOX BATH is the highlight of this whole thing. I turned the lights down low and watched ASMR videos while I soaked. Felt very calm and relaxed when I climbed into bed.

DAY THREE: THE HOME STRETCH

Today dawned with another pleasantly energized feeling. I walked my kids to school and drank the DETOX TEA cold, when I got home. So much easier that way. Yucky...lemon. Ugh.

Physically, I don't feel tired or headachey, which bodes well for me since I guess I wasn't as 'addicted' to my coffee and Coke Zero as I thought. I will continue my habit of one a day, for now, and am REALLY looking forward to a cup of coffee tomorrow morning! Emotionally, I feel more 'stable', more calm, more relaxed than usual. I don't feel hungry but I do want to chew something...it's hard to drink your meals every day. Today, I intend to stick to this entirely and NOT miss the snack shake. I mixed it up last night to eliminate having to make one at snack time...so there is have no excuse today.

My BREAKFAST DRINK down, I settled down to work and tough out the rest of the day. Perhaps because the finish line is so close, food is looking especially good today. My husband's coffee spoke to me, I swear. I thought I'd grab Ruby's string cheese right out of her hand. It's not that I'm hungry...I'm really not. I'm just craving different tastes and textures, I think.

The LUNCH DRINK was infinitely better today. I blended it an extra long time and used a little less celery. Finished it pretty quickly this time.

The afternoon dragged along and I tried to distract myself with reruns of Friends and plenty of water. Water isn't on the print out but is integral to flushing out the toxins. So I tried to drink a lot, although it was hard since my food had to be swallowed in the form of a 'drink' as well. This time I didn't skip the SNACK drink, and duly downed the leftover concoction from last night along with my last cleansing dose of OMEGA 3.

I discovered when I drank it as a snack, that the DINNER DRINK actually went down easier the next day since the ingredients seemed to break down and blend together better. This was further confirmed when I mixed up my DINNER DRINK again for the last time (sans the avocado, which I seemed to be out of) and found it comparatively chunky. Still my favorite of the three drinks though.

The DETOX BATH was especially rewarding that night since it was a way of bidding adieu to this whole process.

All in all, I'd say it was a great experience and I feel like the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences involved. Here on this fourth morning, as I'm about to enjoy my coffee (and I mean ENJOY my coffee), I feel energized, alert, and motivated to continue incorporating healthier foods in my diet. My skin is brighter, clearer and I've lost 5 lbs (that wasnt the prime goal but was inevitable and hey, my clothes fit better). I would absolutely do it again and actually intend to, maybe prior to Viva in the spring. Seems a great way to prepare the body for the onslaught of sleepless nights, off-schedule meals, and Frankie's Tiki drinks.

So til then, 3-Day Detox, cheerio! I've got some chewing to do...


xoxo
Ashley

Since I now live in a spritely neighborhood that is growing by leaps and bounds, (Midtown Memphis, The Cooper Young District), I feel the need to leap and bound along with it. Unfortunately, my shoe choices are slim when it comes to comfort AND fashion. This area is known for its vast choices of community events; almost every weekend boasts something new and exciting to see within walking distance of my centrally located house.
While my Remix Wedges are still my FAVORITE shoes for walking or dancing, they were expensive and I am not in a hurry to wear them out.

And sadly, my espadrille sandals won't be seasonally appropriate much longer. So I made it my mission to find something that works for my active new lifestyle but also my vintage inspired wardrobe. Let's go browsing, shall we?

First on our shopping trip:

As much as I love vintage style, I also love when shoes have a little bit of a modern whisper to them. These, by Blowfish, are right up my alley. I love an ankle strap and these are casual but chic. I would wear them with an A-line skirt and vintage top or with a casual shirtdress and cardigan.


Priced at 39.00 at zappos.

For a stylish walking shoe,anything under 100.00 is a steal! These metallic ballet-style flats by Earthies stood out to me. Metallics are my choice for neutral shoes because they look classic and interesting simultaneously, especially for those of us who are not interested in a lot of jewelry. These would go with a variety of things, from jeans to dresses.

Priced around 80.00 at The Walking Company.

Pin Up Girl Clothing has a bunch of comfortable and affordable options, currently. These patent ankle strap flats are perfect for cigarette pants and pencil skirts:

Priced at 44.00

For print dresses and skirts, a solid colorful shoe is one of my favorite things! Don't worry about exact match with the outfit you're wearing; the point is to find a statement hue that complements your ensemble. This green is a good color for summer and fall!

Move over Crocs! Mel by Melissa is a stylish 'synthetic' shoe that satisfies my 80's 'Jelly-Shoe' passion but also complements my vintage tastes. They have a reputation for being affordable (most pairs under 50.00) and comfortable too. Since some of them have a vented texture, they may not be ideal for very cold climates, unless you wear them with a pair of tights.

both pairs, 45.00 on Zappos

For sportier gals, I have always been a fan of VANS. I had a ballet style sneaker from them that lasted for eons and looked cute with all my activewear. These are my current favorites. I want to wear them with a pleated skirt and tee shirt!

Vans Era sneakers-55.00 on Zappos

Finally, I can't post a 'flats' blog entry without mentioning Easy Spirit, often equated with older ladies and overlooked by the younger crowd. I own a cute pair of leopard print suede ballet flats and have walked MILES in them, with no ill effects. I really like this bejeweled pewter pair, great for a flirty black dress and a less predictable option than a basic black shoe. You can walk to the opera in these:

Giota flats available for 79.00 at Easy Spirit's website. But I'll bet you can find them cheaper.


Feel free to share your favorite footwear sites in the comments! Remember that dance shoes are also usually a good option for walking, as long as the sole isn't too slick. So don't overlook dance supply shops either, when considering flat footwear purchases. Til next time, happy hoofing!

XoXo
Ashley

In the years I've been hosting my Youtube channel, I have always expressed my admiration for certain icons of beauty, most significantly-Grace Kelly. Her presence on film notwithstanding, she was also an offscreen ispiration. She conveyed style and poise, even in the most casual of circumstances.



Having been a redhead for many years now, I have been toying with the idea of going blonde again for some time. It's a huge step, because as a platinum blonde, the monthly root touch ups can be very expensive. I have always enjoyed emulating the casual glamour of Grace Kelly's waves, so with my 'blonde ambition' in mind, I decided to take subtle steps toward my goal instead of attempting one crazy move from red to blonde.

Grace's hair color seems to change a bit from famous photo to photo. I think many times this was due to a specific role she was playing, but there is no doubt that our natural hair color is similar...a darker blonde. I've always found my natural hair color boring, but since my 'Journey to Grace' is to be a slow one, it made sense to me to start off easy and make 'phase one' of this adventure a return to my dark blonde. The following photo was my reference point and I made it my mission to fid a stylist locally that was up to the challenge.



Going from red to blonde is no easy task, especially if you have been red for a while. Layers of color build up over time and must be stripped before the lifting and lightening can commence, especially if you are going for a beige blonde.

The stylist I chose is Robin Tucker, famed for her work on stage and screen, as well as her photography. She travels worldwide to work her magic but is proud to call Memphis home. Because she maintains a busy schedule, booking an appointment with her required a little bit of a wait, but it was well worth it. See her astonishing resume' and inspiring photographs here:
http://www.robintuckerstudio.com/

Her studio is in her home, and it's a lovely airy space that doesn't try to be edgy or industrial, like so many upscale salons, but also doesn't feel like a home based business. Her photographs make a bold statement against the clean white walls and an impressively stocked jukebox rocks you through even the most tedious of appointments. Which, this was, I'm not going to lie.

Robin doesn't take short cuts. I mean, she can certainly create a phenomenal short CUT, but as to taking an easy way out of a process...no. So I was prepared for what was in store for me, getting this red out of my hair.

First we stripped the hair, which was a process of about three different applications and dryer sessions. The last step sealed the hair and prepared it for lightening. None of these applications burned the scalp or smelled strong, but they had to be watched carefully. The next step was the lightening. Robin used a 10 volume bleach; she doesn't like to use a stronger one, opting instead to do several applications if necessary. We only processed once, since my desired hair color was a darker blonde.

The bleach was ROUGH. Even the 10 Volume burned me badly, rendering my scalp so sensitive that we had to apply the color at a later time. For a few days, I boasted brassy long hair and pale yellow roots. Not a pretty look. But I did have fun with my Ann Margret styles:

Two days later, I was back in Robin's comfy chair, applying color. It felt nice and conditioning and cool...not painful at all. Thank goodness!!

After the color, Robin worked her magic with my cut. I had it cut a little above shoulder length and will progressively go shorter with it, the lighter it gets. The final outcome was fun and shiny and healthy feeling! Even all over with no red...exactly what I hoped for!

I have to say, I'm thrilled with Robin, thrilled with the result, and increasingly more thrilled with my move to this great old town of Memphis, Tennessee! Can't wait to go on to the next phase...
Until Then,
So Long, Dearies!

XoXo
Ashley

Ah, the making of a video tutorial...sometimes we have a successful sitting and sometimes things just, well, fail miserably. This week, my hair being in limbo as I wait patiently for my appointment with a local (very in-demand) stylist, I decided to film a comparison video between curling irons and my new curling wand. Unfortunately, when I went back to edit this video , I found that my external mic had not been working and no audio was present. Sad sad stuff. But such is the lay of the land when you are a dingaling who forgets to film a simple test video before digging in for a meaty hour-long filming session.

So I thought I'd mention a few things here that might get my points across in lieu of these missing videos and maybe re-attempt similar ones later down the road. As any of you in YouTube land know, stuff like this happens and we either give up or press on. Press press press...

So first off, Curling Irons Vs Curling Wands:

As most of you know, my hair is very fine and stick straight. Therefore, a heated set has never been a favorite of mine. I find that heated sets last about as long on these humid Memphis summer days as a plate of cupcakes would in my household. Lovely friends Cherry Dollface and Ashley Marie have wonderful success with a heated pin curl set and indeed most of my favorite vintage stylists seem to prefer hard setting the hair in this manner. But for straight haired little ol' me, I get 15 minutes of lovely waves and that's about it. A cold or wet set of pin curls, perming rods, or foam rollers is always my setting of choice. That said, I received an offer recently to review one of those conical curling wands, so having experience with curling irons but having never used one of the clipless varieties, I decided to accept the offer and film a comparison review. As you know, the review didnt pan out but here are my thoughts. I apologize for the lack of visual aids but I didnt anticipate falling back on photos.

THE PROS OF A CURLING IRON:
Curling irons produce tight uniform curls when properly used. The clip keeps the end of the hair neatly position against the barrel so a smooth bouncy curl is the result, as opposed to a spiral wave. This is much the same result I get from my Remington Tight Curls and a little looser than the curl I get from Hot Sticks, which I actually prefer in spite of their flaws. To prevent damaging the hair with the hot curling iron, the best way to spin the hair is to start at the root and steadily turn the hair, feeding it through the loosened clip until you reach the end. Holding the hair just a few more seconds should result in a bouncy smooth curl without having to hold the delicate ends of the strand against the hot iron for very long. To allow the curl to cool and assist in longevity, simply release the hot curl into your hand and spin it back into a pin curl, clipping it to your head to cool so that it looks like a little standing loop. You can use bobby pins to do this but a pronged alligator clip is usually the better option.

Once the curls are completely cooled, spray with a flexible hold hairspray, release the curls, and style. These curls tend to have more longevity than a traditional hot roller set and the biggest pro is that, if you are styling someone else for an event, no matter how thick their hair, if you've got clips; you've got curls. In other words, you won't have to worry about running out of rollers.

A curling iron can also be used like a curling wand by simply ignoring the clip, although sometimes hair can tangle on the clip. You can also remove the clip temporarily to try out the 'wand' idea for yourself and see whether you prefer it.

THE CONS OF A CURLING IRON:

It can be tricky to get the 'feeding the hair through' technique down so that a lot of ladies have damaged their hair by overusing a traditional curling iron. If it doesn't get HOT, a curling iron is pointless, so even with heat protectant spray there is the danger of damaging hair irreparably by using them too much. Most people have been taught to use the iron in the standard way: clip the end of the strand of hair against the iron, roll in, hold, release. The trouble with this is that the ends of the hair, the most damage prone parts, are resting for the longest time against the heated barrel. This is obviously not ideal and in addition to that, most clips will leave a bit of crimp at the end of the hair as well. So learning to use a curling iron properly is important and I for one am too impatient to use this method of setting my hair very often.

___________________

THE PROS OF A CURLING WAND:
A curling wand comes in several shapes, unlike the curling iron which is fairly standard other than the size of the barrell. There are spiral curling wands, conically shaped ones, standard ones, and some that are shaped like an inverted cone. Since the tool itself is modern, the curls they create are 'modern' as well. Beachy Waves are more popular than retro curls for everyday wear, so many of these wands are marketed for that blowsy, breezy look. For those of us who love a vintage aesthetic however, they can still serve a useful purpose. The Karmin Professional wand I received had a swivel cord that won't tangle and a feature that allows you to set the temperature according to preference (my cheap curling iron only has a 'low' and a 'hi' setting). The conical shape of the one I received allowed me to control the size of the curl by concentrating my hair towards the end or the base of the wand, thus creating graduating sizes of curls. Wrapping the hair around the iron and allowing it to twist as you do so, will result in a spiral shaped wave as opposed to a bouncy curl and when these are clipped to the head and brushed out together, the result is a beautiful wide wave, . Wrapping the hair flatly around the wand is a bit trickier but it can be done. And the curl will look more like those made with a standard iron. It is also much easier and less time consuming to spin the hair around the wand and a cinch to slide the curl off the iron and pin to the head. Little or no 're-rolling' should be necessary.

THE CONS OF A CURLING WAND:
I've seen lots of girls use a curling wand w/out the protection of a thermal glove and I salute them. I couldnt do it. Burned myself BADLY. Once I obtained a glove, it was easy though and I enjoyed using the wand and the curls it gave (while they lasted). You do have to be careful because I see no way that the end of the hair can be made to curl without touching the iron itself and uncurled ends just don't say 'retro style' to me. The curls do not seem to last as long as those made with a traditional curling iron, although this may be due to my inexperience with the tool and not the tool itself.

All in all, I prefer the curling iron. The wand is handy for touch ups but really, I'm just too clumsy for one and think it's a little dangerous for a beginner.

The curls produced by a hard set of curling iron produced dry pin curls is definitely preferable to me over a traditional hot roller set. But when it comes to a heated set, I prefer Hot Sticks over all and get a much better result from them, assuming I'm in a climate where humidity isn't a factor.

This week I also did a product review for a couple of the Pop Art Collection eyeshadow palettes from Wet n Wild Cosmetics. The two I tried were:
'Three's a Party'-(matte black, matte white, and a satin finished currant red color).
and
'To Muse and Carouse'-(a matte robin's egg blue, a satin coffee shade, and a peach toned matte highlight)

In the former palette, the black is definitely the star. It's got incredible pigmentation and pay off, produces little fall out, and blends pretty easily. It also did not crease at all when placed over a primer. The white shadow is easy to layer but needs building up to be truly opaque. It's also a little chalky in texture. The red applies somewhat patchy but blends and builds well. The color is muted and wearable, unlike some truer reds, and has a 'merlot' quality when blended in with the black. Wet N Wild is my pick for the best colorful drugstore shadow brand, hands down, especially considering the price.

The latter palette is more wearable and contains three colors that are STAPLES for me in the summer. I love a 50's blue eyelid with a subtle earth tone in the crease. Unfortunately, unless placed over a white base, the blue shade in the 'Muse' collection is very sheer and needs lots of building up. It's also the chalky one of the bunch. The peach and brown shades both have very nice color pay-off however and I've been wearing them a lot. The brown is a particularly good choice for the crease when applied with a blending brush. It pairs beautifully with the peach tone that initially seemed too dark for the brow bone but actually works really well for that.

On a drugstore scale of 1-10, I give 'Three's a Party' a solid 8, and 'Muse and Carouse' a 7.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!'
Thanks for bearing with me in all my trials and tribulations. See you soon!

xoxo,
Ashley