The NEW Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette!

The New Urban Decay Naked Basics

Hello, my lovelies! If you were wondering, I've been out for a while with a strange illness (with the oddest symptoms), and I've been spending all week trying to catch up on school work. But I simply HAD to tell you all about the newest Naked Edition in Urban Decay!

The Naked Palette by Urban Decay was released in the summer of 2010 and has become one of the most legendary modern concepts in the makeup world. The nude colors with a POP changed the industry, and since then a Naked 2 Palette was released, and now the new Naked Basics!

This new palette features 6 naturally nude matte nude colors including four never before seen shades (from left to right); Venus, Foxy, W.O.S., Naked 2, Faint, and Crave. This new Naked Palette is $27.00, and you can find it on Urban Decay's website and at my favorite store, Sephora!

Click: Urban Decay to check out the palette and buy Urban Decay's products!

Stay beautiful!

Quiz: What's Your Holiday Style?

Hello, my lovelies! I was thinking about how routine Aisles of Beauty seems lately, and I wanted to mix things up a little bit, you know? How about November Surprise #3? I created a cute little quiz for you lovelies to try out, and you can find out what your Holiday Style is! Just answer the questions, and before you hit submit, write down a, b, c, or d for each question on a sticky note. Then hit submit and scroll below to see where your answers match!  Now remember, this is my first try at a quiz, so bare with me!

Mostly A's

Mostly A's - Your holiday style is chill. You prefer to relax at home then be a part of all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Festive winter sweaters paired with comfy jeans are a perfect look for you! You can rock a soft eye, perhaps pastel eyeshadow, flushed cheeks, and peach or pink lip. There will be a lot of pinks and peaches in your makeup. If you want to spice up the look, contour with a bronzer for a stronger face with the soft features.

Mostly B's

Mostly B's - Your holiday style is carefree. You know how to make any occasion a fun time! Loud, unique colors and prints are perfect for you! Tuck a plain top into a funky skirt, and accessorize with some chunky fun jewelry! A little cat liner on the eyes and tinted gloss on the lips, and you're set! Want to spice it up even more? Colored mascara is perfect for you, swipe a few coats to match your funky skirt, and you're ready to go!

Mostly C's

Mostly C's - Your holiday style is adventurous. You like to create gifts with your imagination and try new things and travel to destinations unknown. You need a look just as imaginative and creative as you are. Winter lace is bold, but elegant, and you can rock it easily. Give your hair a windswept style and wear a bold, red lip. This look is simple, yet exciting, and you can personalize it in more ways than one! Pair faux leather with your lace or add a glittering purse for more adventure.

Mostly D's

Mostly D's - Your holiday style is glamourous. You love the shopping and hustle and bustle of the holidays, and this is your time to shine. The first four letters in glamourous spell glam, and that's a great way to show your holiday spirit! Wear a glitzy, glam dress, and you can keep the rest of your look minimal. Simple black heels, a nude clutch, and a smokey eye are perfect complements to the dress. Create a smokey eye, swipe on a bit of mascara, and you're set for the night!


You don't have to be adventurous to rock a red lip, or chill to wear your favorite sweater. Match up these ideas with your personality, and what you think is fun, and look great for the holidays, which are just around the corner!

Stay beautiful!

How to Conceal a Zit

Yikes! That's a big one!

Hello, my lovelies! Because of Hurricane Sandy, my parade was rained inside all day, but I got a lot of work done, thankfully. Of that work includes this photo tutorial on how to conceal an unsightly blemish. Every teenager gets zits, pimples, blemishes, whatever you want to call them. How to conceal them is a lifelong skill you'll want to know forever.  ;)

Because I have an HD Camera, you can only see the difference slightly, but in person, there's a dramatic difference. Try it out, and you'll see!

You'll Need: Concealer, Foundation, Foundation Brush, Concealer Brush (optional)

I used: Too Faced Flexible Coverage Concealer (but only because it was the only one at my disposal at the time), Sephora Mattifying Foundation, BareMinerals makeup brushes.

Stay beautiful! 

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream Sample

Hello, my lovelies! Last week, at about 4pm, an idea struck me. I'm well into my Sephora Mattifying Foundation, but because winter aka the season of dry skin is coming up, I've been thinking about switching to a more moisturizing foundation. Then I thought: BB Cream. If you haven't heard of this widespread phenomenon, then you must live under a rock on planet Jupiter, because BB Cream is HUGE. Originating from Asia, BB Cream stands for Beauty Balm, and combines skincare with makeup to create the ultimate 1 step beautifying solution.

Every major makeup brand has its own BB Cream, but I tried Maybelline Dream Fresh, because their marketing team consists of geniuses. In the latest issue of Seventeen Magazine, inside a Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream ad was a packet with a free sample of it's light/medium shade and a coupon for $1 off until the end of the year! As a subscriber, I get every issue a month early, but when I first saw the sample I didn't think I'd like it, so I didn't even bother.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream is an 8-in-1 Skin Perfector. It claims to:

• Blur imperfections
• Brighten your complexion
• Even skin tone
• Smooth
• Hydrate
• Enhance
• Protect with SPF 30
• and it has 0% oils and heavy ingredients!

So, I tried it. Nothing to lose, right? I washed my face with a gentle cleanser (that's the before shot) and didn't apply any moisturizer or anything. My face was completely naked (besides some lip balm). Then I applied the BB Cream.

*** Disregard the fact that my face is several shades lighter in the after picture; the light/medium tint was too light for my skin color, and SPF in foundation washes faces out in photographs. If I bought the product I'd get the next shade or two up.

Four words for you: I love BB Cream. I could rave about it for hours, but just look at everything I listed. It did everything it said it would, and you couldn't even tell anything was on my face! Well, besides that it made me look lighter than normal.  =)

There was enough in the sample for 2-3 days, a little goes a long way, so I tried using both with and without my Sephora Mattifying Foundation over it. Because the BB has such sheer coverage, my mattifying foundation helped me get medium to full coverage overall. But I'm sure you could layer it and get enough coverage. A great duo, though!

Overall, I'd score this beauty balm 9.5 out of 10 stars, only because it's so good, it's not fair. My ladies with dark skin can't jump on the Dream Fresh bandwagon, because the color choices are so limiting. Only 5 fresh tones!

This BB cream sells for either $7.44 or $8.99 in the US depending where you buy (I recommend Walmart or Target for the cheaper buy), which I'd say is reasonable for all the benefits it gives you!

That's all for now folks!

Stay beautiful!

Foundation Sticks?!

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick

Hello, my lovelies! I was browsing the pages of my beauty idol Michelle Phan's beauty blog, and came across a recent post about makeup for teens. Being a teenager, and writing a blog for teenagers, I immediately was drawn to the post, and discovered a phenomenon I had never heard of before: Foundation Sticks.

Michelle Phan specifically recommended the Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, and so I checked Bobbi Brown's website to see what Foundation Sticks are all about. Foundation Sticks are "designed for portability and adjustable coverage," and are great for all skin types, except very oily (but some reviewers with oily skin said it worked just fine). You just smear some product onto your face and you can easily blend its creamy solution onto your face for a natural, even appearance. It gives sheer to full coverage depending on how much you want. According to reviewers, it's the best with combination skin. (Don't know your skin type? Find out here.)

Have you heard of Foundation Sticks? Because right now, I feel like I've been living under a rock. Do any readers use a foundation stick, or any other Bobbi Brown products? I'm seriously considering ditching my Sephora Mattifying Foundation and buying this for $42... Pricy? Well, it says a little goes a long way.

What do you think, dearest readers?

Stay beautiful!

Ask Autumn: Ways to Make Your Look Last

Hello, my lovelies! Ask Autumn is a feature on Aisles of Beauty I use to answer any beauty related questions you email me. I thought this was a good one.

Today's Question: I apply makeup before school, foundation, concealer, eyeliner, etc. But at the end of the day, my makeup has disappeared, and I almost look washed out. What can I do to fix this?

-- Joy

My Answer: Makeup fades throughout the day as you're moving around, touching your face, and doing your daily activities. Two great ways to make your makeup last is by using primer or setting powder or spray. 

Primer comes in all shapes and sizes, but the concept is simple. Before your regular makeup routine, massage a pea size amount of primer onto your face, and it kind of acts like glue to keep the makeup on your face. Depending on what product you use, it can extend your look's life by several hours!

Setting powder is a bit different. In fact, you can read all about it in my previous Ask Autumn... Ask Autumn: What is Setting Powder? The basic idea is at the end of your makeup routine, rather than the beginning, you apply some setting powder to hold your makeup in place, and keep it from sweating off. Setting spray works in the same way, but rather than powder, it's–well, spray.

By combining primer and setting powder/spray, your makeup will definitely last all day. 

Got beauty questions you want answered? Email me: aislesofbeauty@gmail.com, I might answer it on the blog!

Stay beautiful!

Being Photogenic

I used the app "Fotorus" to make this look so awesome!

Hello, my lovelies! OK, so rather than hopelessly wait until my Writer's Block disappears, I'm forcing myself to sit down and write.

So what's on my mind today, you ask? Photography. Being photogenic, in particular. Some of my friends are extremely photogenic. If you sneak up on them and take a picture, you'd think they knew it was coming, because they always look so perfect!

Me, on the other hand... I'm not so photogenic. And I hate getting my picture taken, because I can't see how to turn my head or how my hair looks or how big my smile is... So School Picture Day always gets on my nerves.

When I take pictures myself, it takes about 3 dozen tries before I take one I actually like... And then I put it on Instagram (hehe). I'd like to know if being photogenic is something you're born with, or if you can develop it... Sort of like a talent. Hmmmm... 

What do you think, dearest readers? Quite thought provoking, if you ask me.

Stay beautiful!

What's the Deal with Extreme Blush?

Extreme Blush

Hello, my lovelies! After a hectic school day and auditions for the fall drama (nailed it!), and ridiculous problems with my algebra homework... 6 phone calls later and a slice of pizza for dinner... I'm finally sitting down to ask you guys a question.

What's the deal with extreme blush?

This trend has done a good job of lasting a long time. I saw it last year in an issue of Seventeen Magazine, it's been on runways this year and all types of editorials and tutorials and magazines... And now I saw it yet again when I received the October issue of Seventeen Magazine this afternoon.

The concept is applying a ridiculous amount of blush to your cheekbones, creating an absurd effect on your face. Last time I check blush was to add a "healthy glow" to the face... But I can't say it looks bad, just... Weird.

More Extreme Blush

How many of you have jumped on the bandwagon for this bold trend? I don't apply much blush because my skin tone doesn't really call for it. Sometimes I'll apply this cute little peachy color I have in a palette and it looks very pretty with a multitude of looks.

My younger sister (who is several shades darker than me), has used hot pink blush on her cheekbones and it looks surprisingly good. It obviously wasn't for a healthy glow, but she was experimenting with color and it turned out fairly decent. 

So what do you think about Extreme Blush? It's pretty intense, don't you think? I think I might try it tomorrow... Just to see how it turns out. Keep emailing me (aislesofbeauty@gmail.com) with your thoughts!

Stay beautiful!