Pearls & Curls

Although it has been a rough semester, I made it through with a lot of good fortune sprinkling its way through my journey. I received good grades for all of my courses, I received my college class ring and I even met a cute guy who treats me like a princess ;).

Even though there have been good things that have came my way, I have truly missed blogging so I am working on being back and bringing some good content your way!

Thank you all for being patient with me. I love you all and I hope y’all are having a wondering holiday season!

Love and desserts,

Ashley

One thing summer has to offer that I just love is neon nails. I can finally pull out my bright and obnoxious nail polish and create bold looks with a simple pop of color on my nails.

To start the summer I currently have five neon nail polishes, but hopefully by the end my neon polishes will have expanded.

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by China Glaze is extreme highlighter yellow. Although I love how the color looks in the bottle, I’m not a big fan of the application process on the nails. Of course I know that neon polishes usually dry matte, but this one takes forever for the color to become completely opaque.

Pool Party by China Glaze is a bright hot pink. Perfect for tan skin!

Towel Boy Toy by China Glaze is nice bright neon blue with purple reflects in it. I love this color and I haven’t worn it in a while so I’m excited to wear this bad boy soon.

Dream On from Sinful Colors is bright red-based purple. I just bought this recently at Target. I was looking for a color close to Purple Panic by China Glaze, but this isn’t quite what I was looking for. It’s a bit darker than Purple Panic, but nonetheless I still like it a lot.

Last but not least is my favorite, 24/7 by Sinful Colors. GAWSH I love this color. It’s the perfect pink color for the summer. It’s more of a neon light pink. I have seen so many people rave about this color and with it only being 2 dollars how can you not love it?

I’m pullin’ out my neons for the summer!

What’s your favorite neon polishes?

Happy summer y'all! :)

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

As some of you may know, I attend The University of Texas at Austin. I’ve been a part of my sorority, Chi Beta Delta, since the spring semester of my freshman year.

Since being in Chi Beta, I had always dreamed of being Chief Membership Officer, which in a nutshell deals with recruitment and is over the pledge classes. She is also known as the “mommy”. As the end of the school year came to a close, we had officer nominations and elections and guess who got elected CMO? I did!!

Words cannot express how lucky and blessed I am to finally be able to be a leader in the organization that has grown so near and dear to my heart! I cannot wait to be able to give girls the feeling that I once had when I first joined. That “this is the best thing I have done since being in college” feeling.

The new officers have already started working on things for the upcoming year like rush and we are super excited. To share a piece of my life with you and the excitement I’m feeling for the upcoming year, I wanted to post our spring 2012 pictures that we took a couple of weeks back!

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

Her pieces can be seen in magazines and on celebrities including Hillary Duff, Michelle Trachtenberg, Rachel Ray, Eva Longoria, Katherine Heigel and Sofia Vergara. 

Austin girls are in love with Kendra Scott. I had my first encounter with her jewelry during Style Week here, hosted by Tribeza Magazine. Kendra Scott was one of the vendors who participated in an event that I was working and I was able to drool and swoon over her jewelry.

Her pieces are absolutely gorgeous. A lot of her pieces are quite simple, but they are elaborate and stunning all in the same breath. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself paying $90 for earrings while being a college student.

Some of Kendra Scott's pieces 

An alternative I have found is a little hidden gem on Facebook called Accessory Auction. They have tons of Kendra Scott inspired jewelry for a fraction of the Kendra Scott price.

Although it’s based in Austin, the jewelry can be sent to other parts of the country. Auctions go live every Monday at 8 p.m. The jewelry doesn’t stay on the website very long, so if you like something hurry and snag it! For more information on Accessory Auction look here.

 

If I can get the Kendra Scott look without breaking the bank, I am down for the cause! Better believe I'll be on Accessory Auction tomorrow trying to get some cute jewelry! ;)

Accessory Auction on the left, Kendra Scott on the right

Have you heard of Kendra Scott before? Are you a fan of her jewelry?

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

Although I have a pretty nice sized perfume collection, Daisy by Marc Jacobs is one of my favorite scents hands down. It’s so youthful, girly and fresh. It’s one of the few perfumes that I could literally wear everyday and never grow tired of it.

I can still remember my first time smelling this perfume. I was in my friend’s dorm room a little over a year ago and I was reading a Cosmopolitan magazine. I took a swift of the perfume and I've been obsessed ever since.

I would say it’s more on the floral side, which makes it perfect for the spring and summer time, but it’s not too floral. It also has a clean refreshing scent to it, which I really enjoy, and it isn’t overpowering or too strong.

You all already know I’m not the best at describing scents, so here are the notes below. Beware, the notes sound yummy! :)

Notes:
Strawberry, Violet Leaves, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Gardenia, Violet Petals, Jasmine Petals, Musk, Vanilla, White Woods.

I don’t think I’ve met too many people who don’t like Daisy by Marc Jacobs. It’s just one of those go-to perfumes that’s good for any and all occasions.

Do you love Daisy by Marc Jacobs? What is your go-to perfume?

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

I don’t know if it’s a southern thing or just a Texas thing, but here we love our cowboy boots. We are completely crazy about them! Unfortunately, although I was born and raised a Texas girl, I have never owned a legit pair of cowboy boots, which is a complete travesty!

One factor that has played a huge role in my wanting to get a nice pair of cowboy boots is the university that I attend. Here at UT during football season, it’s almost like a tradition for girls to wear their cowboy boots with their burnt orange attire.

Since I am a HUGE fan of the Longhorns, I feel that it is my duty to participate and buy a legit pair of boots. Ever since my freshman year, I have been drooling over a specific pair of cowboy boots.

The University of Texas at Austin Co-op and UT Student Government has a boot that is exclusively designed by Lucchese. They are made of smooth quill ostrich and 100% of profits from the sale of the boot go to the University Co-op Student Government Scholarship Fund.

Real cowboy boots are expensive on their own, but when you put Longhorn affiliated symbols on boots, the pricing is over the top! At first I couldn’t imagine paying $350 dollars for a pair of boots, but over time I have justified pulling out the big money for them.

Although I may only have one year left of college, I know these will be put into good use. I would wear them to all the home football games, whenever I decide to go dancing at a two-stepping venue with my sorority sisters, and I can use them for graduation pictures. Even after I graduate college, I have no shame in putting on my boots and wearing them whenever there's an appropriate occasion, like during rodeo season.

Beyond all of those things, these boots will serve as an important memorabilia piece for me. College hasn't been the easiest. It’s been filled with lots of blood, sweat and tears. From pulling all-nighters to declaring my major, it has been a rough road and I’m still not done. These boots will remind me of my college experience and that I actually made it!

When I walk pass the Tower when going to and from classes, especially during times of stress, I remember this quote. "Sometimes you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and where you want to be."

I know I’m here at The University of Texas at Austin for a reason and purpose. These boots will always remind of that purpose.

Are there any expensive memorabilia items that you have on your shopping wishlist?

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

This palette specifically comes with shades of purples and pinks that any girl can adore during the spring season. As most of you may know, all of Too Faced eye kits are set up in three sections: Day, Fashion and Classic. Although you can mix and match the colors to your own personal preference, I never draw outside the lines with my creativity and usually just stick with the looks they provide.

The Day look includes Soulmates, a cream colored highlight and all-over-the-lid color that's packed with shimmer. It's absolutely gorgeous. What I didn’t realize is that this color has a slight duo-chrome of pink! LOVE.  I Do is a matte taupe/gray color that I love to put in my crease, but it’s not the greatest in pigmentation due to my skin tone. The last color is called Un-veil, which is a darker gray/brown matte color that I love to put in my outer “v-corner” of my eye.

The Classic look consists of the pinks and purples. Kiss the Bride is a soft baby pink matte. Cut the Cake is a frosty lavender color that looks gorgeous in the crease. Lastly is First Dance, which is a deep and dark purple that I put in my outer corner. This color doesn’t have the same creamy texture as the rest of them, but nonetheless its extremely pigmented.

The Fashion look is my favorite section hands down. Bouquet Toss is a true cream matte color that goes on your lids like butter! Honeymoon is an olive color that is full of shimmer. I love putting on my lids for a dramatic look. Last but not least is Ever After, which is a shimmery dark cocoa brown that I enjoy putting in my crease for added depth.

This palette is the epitome of love, hence all the names of the shadows. Every time I wear them, I think my eyes will draw the man of my dreams in! (I know, wishful thinking!) Whether you’re a single girl like me or deeply in love, this palette is gorgeous. It’s looks good on the simple college girl or a future bride-to-be.

Do you have any Too Faced eye kits?

Love and desserts,

Ashley

The collection consists of four colors, which are all in the color scheme of pinks and reds.

If You Moust You Moust is one of those true Barbie pink colors. It’s not too dark and it’s not too light. It’s right in the middle. Surprisingly I don’t have a color like this in my collection since I decided to pass up Pink Friday that came out in the Nicki Minaj Collection, so I might have to pick this one up.

I'm All Ears is a hot pink jelly color with sparkles. From the swatches I have looked at, the color looks absolutely gorgeous, but I’m not sure if I’m a fan of jellies. I know I don’t have anything in my collection like this either, so I might end up giving this a try.

The Color of Minnie is a pinky-red, which I also like a lot. This one reminds me the most of Minnie, not just because of the name, but the color looks like the color of Minnie’s dress.

Lastly is Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It. This is a light pink glittery topcoat that contains hearts in it. With me, glitter polishes can go either way. Sometimes I love them, other times I hate them. I love the look this one gives on top of the other colors in the collection, but the hassle I know it will take for it to come off bothers me. 

I hate to say that I love the whole collection, but I really do. As far as the color that I think is the most unique, I think I’m All Ears is the one that takes the cake!

Do you love Minnie Mouse? Are you going to buy any from the collection? And if so, which one?

Love and desserts,

Ashley 

The rules of accepting this award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person that awarded you

2. Write 7 random things about yourself

3. Spread the love to 15 more bloggers

My 7 Facts

1. I am absolutely obsessed with Aubrey Drake Graham. He is the love of my life and I WILL marry him. He just doesn’t know that yet. :)

2. The best decision I have made in college (besides academic choices) is pledging my sorority, Chi Beta Delta, back in spring 2010 as a freshman. My sisters have literally made college meaningful for me and they have been there for me through extremely rough times. I have become such a different and better person and it’s because of XBΔ.

3. I am an only child.

4. One of my idols is Lauren Conrad. I have loved her since Laguna Beach. She has come into her own and to me she is the epitome of classy. Her fashion is impeccable and her drive is inspiring. I hope to be successful like her one day.

5. I would love to do public relations for a beauty brand that I love. Combining my two passions into a dream job would be amazing. I would also love to do public relations for Drake, but I don’t know how realistic that is! If either of those things wouldn’t work out, I would love to be an event planner.

6. I want to marry a good southern boy.

7. I am living out my dreams of attending The University of Texas at Austin. I love my school so much and I am so blessed to be here! HOOK ‘EM! \m/