Censorship, SOPA, & Why You Should Care

It happens all the time in the beauty community - companies see a bad review of their product, contact the blog owner, and ask to have the review removed. Or you check out a product on Sephora.com that you know doesn't work, and you see that it only has glowing, 5-star reviews. That's censorship, and it means that someone else is controlling what you can and can't see or do on the internet - and it's exactly what will happen if the United States passes the internet censorship bills SOPA and PIPA.

The internet is an amazing invention and truly defines my generation. Sure, I still use books for research and call my friends on the phone, but having an entire encyclopedia at my fingertips at any moment (thank you, Wikipedia!) or being able to send a friend a quick IM have become indispensable parts of my life. Let me put it this way: I've been awake for less then two hours, and I've already tried to get on Wikipedia four or five times, simply because using that website has become a habit for me.

Imagine not being able to read a Wikipedia article because someone in the government said you couldn't. Imagine certain searches not being allowed on Google. Imagine Facebook monitoring what you can and can't post to your friends' walls (or timelines, if you've switched over to that). Imagine bloggers who can only post reviews that are approved by the company that they're reviewing.

Basically, imagine an internet that's totally different from the internet we use today. The total freedom that I take for granted every single day will be gone, and instead we'll have information that's been filtered through the government. No, SOPA and PIPA won't hand over control of all of the internet to the government as soon as they're passed. These bills have more to do with pirating and copyright issues than with total control of information, and if passed, they might not even effect you at all.

The problem is this: if we pass SOPA and PIPA, then we open the doors for a harsher censorship bill next time. If we cross the line from "totally uncensored" to "just a tiny little bit censored," we've still crossed the line. And maybe, after these bills are passed, all of the things that you love on the internet will remain untouched.

But maybe not.

Today, January 18th, 2012, websites all across the internet are protesting these bills. If you want to join in or just learn more about SOPA and PIPA, please visit sopastrike.com and consider joining the strike, posting on Facebook or your blog, or tweeting about SOPA.

"Books won't stay banned.  They won't burn.  Ideas won't go to jail.  In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost.  The only weapon against bad ideas is better ideas."

-Alfred Whitney Griswold, New York Times, 24 February 1959

XOXO, ████████

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well, at least for those of you on the east coast, like me. =]

I hope you all had a wonderful 2011 and I wish you guys a fabulous 2012! Lots of love, and here's to another amazing year of blogging and beauty obsessions to us all!

XOXO, Ally

Zoya, MAC, and Sephora - Mini Haul

First off, hey loves! Sorry I haven't been posting much, I had midterms and then my spring break started, so I've been all over the place with work and packing and traveling and such. But I picked up a few things at the mall today, as well as m Zoya polishes coming in the mail, so I thought I was long overdue for a post on here!

I snagged the  Zoya Intimate collection back on Women's Day when it was $25 and free shipping, and these colors are just as gorgeous in real life as they were online. Caitlin is a light gray-ish indigo, Dove is just a straight-up light gray, and Marley is a shimmery pink with a touch of purple. Dannii is a darker purple with gold shimmer (it didn't show up too well in the photo, but trust me, the gold is there and it's crazy-sparkly), Gemma is a dark green with a beautiful blue/purple duochrome, and Jules is a sparkly, metallic gold that looks almost taupe-y from some angles (again, the sparkle doesn't show up too well in the picture but it's super shimmery in real life).

I also picked up Stars 'n' Rockets from MAC, because I had heard a lot of great things about this color - this shadow can be so many different shades of purple depending on the angle you look at it, it's insane! And since my bronzer brush from Bare Escentuals had fallen apart, I got a fairly inexpensive ($19) face brush from Sephora to replace it.

So that's all I've collected over spring break thus far, other than a few things from Victoria's Secret which I didn't feel like photographing with my 12 year old brother watching me! ;]

XOXO, Ally

NYX on HauteLook - Haul!

Waiting two hours for the campus post office to open so I could pick this up was agony. I've heard so many good things about NYX that I was pretty much dying with anticipation waiting to try all this stuff. I just managed to snag the package ten minutes before my class started so I couldn't do much except for drop it off in my room and then run to class - but now that I'm back and I've opened the package and squealed over everything you get to check it all out too!

Actual reviews will be up once I get a chance to test everything out, but until then I'll just give you a sneak peak of what I got!

 Yeah, ok, pictures of the box are not very exciting. But I love the little tissue paper that everything comes wrapped it! It's like getting a birthday present or something!

 Jumbo Eye Pencils in Lime, Gold, Baby Blue, Black Bean, Cottage Cheese, and Purple

 Studio Perfect Photo-Loving Primer in Green, HD Studio Photogenic Primer, HD Eye Shadow Base

 Eye Pencil in Dark Brown, 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Strike a Pose, Eyeshadow Base in White

(And I love that the cardboard box shows the colors on the side! If you bought more than one of these and didn't remember which colors were included in what - well, now you know!)

Glitter Gel in Silver Lake, Glitter on the Go in Sparks, Glitter Cream Palette in Paradise

So I'm pumped to actually try these out and review them for you! I haven't used anything yet but my first impressions have been pretty positive so far. I know you can't always judge the quality of a product by the packaging, but I do really like the NYX packaging. It's simple but cute - I'm not a fan of cheap packing that tries to look expensive and just ends up looking tacky. While nice packaging is a plus, the product is the most important thing in my opinion, so I have no problem with a company saving money on packaging - and NYX is a great example of packaging that's nothing unique or special, but still looks very sleek.

XOXO, Ally

Three Valentine's Day Lip Looks!

Whether you're saving a kiss for that special someone, spending time with your closest friends, or just flying solo, Valentine's day is the perfect time to express how much you love the people around you - or yourself! And on a holiday that's all about lip-locking, you can say more with your lips than words alone.

Look One: Bold & Bright

You're one of those girls who doesn't need a man or anyone else to tie you down. When you want to do something, you go get it done - you don't wait for someone to do it for you and you certainly don't need anyone's help. And while you wouldn't mind a nice card or a box of chocolates on Valentine's day, there's no way you're pining over a crush today, or any other day.

So go for the crazy and colorful and make sure all eyes are on you when you walk into the room. I applied e.l.f. Essentials lipstick in Gypsy all over my lips, and topped it off with a little bit of the original Too Faced Mood Swing lip gloss.

Look Two: Flirty and Fun

You're not going to waste your time moping around because you're single on Valentine's day - you'll take this opportunity to remind your friends just how special they are to you, single or not! Whether it's a girl's night out, a girl's night in, or just a whole bunch of friends hanging out in someone's room, your lips should echo your carefree spirit - and if a guy just happens to be entranced by them, then that's fine by you!

So if you want to go for something a little different, go for a cool lilac-toned lip color. I started by applying Revlon lipstick in Lilac to my lips, then covered that with Revlon lip gloss in Lilac Pastelle. To give it an added pop of purple sheen, I dabbed a few drops of Jesse's Girl Liquid Crystal lip gloss in Violet right in the center of my lips.

Look Three: Natural and Nude

You've been waiting for Valentine's day all year - and you have a special someone in mind for that big Valentine's day kiss. Maybe it's your boyfriend, or maybe it's someone you've been crushing on hard, but either way, it all comes down to one smooch. And no matter what, you want your lips to be perfect and as ready as you are.

So unless your man wants to wear your lip color too, stick with a natural, sheer wash of color. And while bold lip colors may alert everyone in a room to your entrance, nude colors give you an irresistible innocent appearance. I stuck with just gloss for this look, and swept Sally Hansen Lip Inflation in Sheer Mocha all over my lips. The color is a sheer light brown, and the plumping ingredients will make your lips eye-catching even when wearing only gloss.

If you were wondering about my eyes, I'm wearing Urban Decay's loose pigment in Shag on the lid, with Urban Decay's Gunmetal on the outer third and Too Faced's Boy Toy on the inner third, with Too Faced's Glamazon right in the inner corner. I used the darkest color from the wet N wild Lust palette (the black with the pink glitter) as a liner and CoverGirl's Lash Blast on my lashes.

Have a fantastic Valentine's day, loves!

XOXO, Ally

Baby, I Was Born This Way

So it was just a normal Saturday night and I decided to go out with strange black shapes all over my face.

 

Actually, it was for a Lady Gaga party (I'll bet none of you guessed that, right?) last night. The lines are kinda ... not straight at all, because even though I used tape to outline the shape it didn't stick very well. But it was dark anyway so I'm sure no one noticed. I don't have a good shot of the other eye but it was just a hot pink on the lid with lots of smokey black around the outside.

Oh, and look, I have weird friends. Who are wearing things that are not actually clothing as clothing. If they wore regular clothes I'm not sure I would like them as much. And in case any of you guys like to have that one quote that personifies the entire ocassion, I think last night's would probably be: "no, Lady Gaga doesn't just wear trash!"

XOXO, Ally 

Bath & Body Works Birthday Outlet Haul

Outlet shops and birthdays are basically two of the best things ever, so going outlet shopping with my friends for my birthday yesterday pretty much made it my favorite day (and if you're reading this, guys, which I know you're probably not - you rock!). We also got pedicures, but I figured I would spare you all a picture of my feet.

Now, to be fair, the outlet shops near my college aren't anything to rave about. There's an Old Navy which is always good for basics (or flip-flops), a rue21 if you're looking for cheap fashionable clothes that will fall apart soon after they go out of style or Justin Bieber shirts, and a Maurices which I had never heard of before yesterday - but the clothes were really cute and surprisingly reasonably priced (I'll probably do a separate post on the two things that I got from there as well as the one thing I picked up at rue21). And there's an Aeropostale and an American Eagle and a few other assorted stores, but nothing that makes me want to run out and buy everything in the store.

Except for Bath & Body Works.

Even when it comes to regular, full-priced items at Bath & Body Work, I want to buy everything - it's a combination of the sheer number of amazing scents and the adorably cute packaging that pulls me in every time. But when I'm in a Bath & Body Works with buckets of things for 75% off, I turn into an animal. I was walking around with armfuls - yes, LITERALLY armfuls - of lotions and body sprays that I hadn't even smelled yet. My shopping was driven by was pure primal instinct, nothing more. I didn't even waste time with one of those bags they give you to carry things around the store.

I ended up with two body butters, two anti-bacterial hand lotions, two of the pocket hand sanitizers (ok, those things are like $1.50 normally, and 75% off they're around $.35 - they could have the worst smell in the world and I would still buy them for that price!), and a big tube of body cream.

I'd just like to point out that one body butter is $15, and I got all of that for a little over $17. Just sayin'.

 Anyway, onto all my fabulous little purchases!

I'm definitely not in need of more of these body butters - I have like at least three or four that I haven't even opened, and they're huge containers, but the name and packaging sucked me in! It smells delicious and whenever I get sad I look at it and remember how at least my body butter loves me!

I've only ever used the anti-bacterial gel from Bath & Body Works, but apparently they have lotions, too - these both smell exactly like the name would suggest, and the apple one smells amazing - it's like fall in a little tube!

Yeesh, sorry these images are so long - I hate to make you guys scroll so much. Anyway, the flash doesn't show the colors on the packaging very well - the dark red color here is actually a light pink in real life, it's strange. But it smells really flowery and pretty, and I'm sending it to my mom as a birthday gift so I won't actually be able to smell it in the future.

I love citrus. Just gonna put that out there. So I snagged this one when I was being drawn in by the other body butter that was proclaiming its love for me - but this smells to crisp and refreshing, I love it! If I could eat a body butter, I would probably choose to eat this one.

 And finally - these guys. Seriously, the PocketBacs are the cutest and the holiday ones are always one sale for like $.35 after the holidays - I got two Halloween ones over winter break in Candy Corn and Spider's Web (which was licorice-scented) and I could not resist blood-colored hand sanitizer. The reindeer one is cute and smells super sweet, but the blood one is just so icky and repulsive that I love it. I want to make a mess just so I can use it!

So for around $17, I'd say I made out pretty well - a little birthday present to myself, if you will. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go slather my hands in plum-scented blood ...

XOXO, Ally

NYX on HauteLook!

I don't purchase a lot of things from HauteLook (I'm a free shipping gal, so any website where I actually have to pay for shipping turns me off just a tiny bit), but every so often a sale comes around that I just cannot resist - and usually it's in the beauty department. Yesterday, a whole bunch of NYX cosmetics went on sale, and I snagged a few things that I cannot wait to get my hands on!

For the curious, I picked up:

The $10.80 Glitter Set that contains
- Glitter Cream Palette in Paradise
- Body Glitter Gel in Silver Lake
- Glitter on the Go in Sparks

The $12.30 10 Color Shadow Set that contains
- 10 Color Eye Shadow Palette in Strike a Pose
- Eye Shadow Base in White
- Slim Eye Pencil in Dark Brown

The $16.20 Jumbo Eye Pencil Set that contains the colors
- Black Bean
- Cottage Cheese
- Gold
- Baby Blue
- Purple
- Lime

The $19.80 Start Flawless Primer Set in green that contains
- HD Eyeshadow Base
- HD Studio Photogenic Primer
- Studio Perfect Primer (in green for anti-redness)

Join HauteLook and check out the sale here!

XOXO, Ally

Haircut!

My hair was full of some seriously obvious split ends, so even though I've been growing it out, it was definitely time for a trim. Plus, I had to wait until I was home from college so I could get it cut by my regular hairdresser...

(I'm wearing Jesse's Girl Liquid Crystal Lip Gloss in Violet in the pictures; it gives the craziest purpley-pink glow to my lips.)

I just got a few inches off to get rid of all the dead bits, then got some layers around the face and fixed up my bangs a bit - they're not too short, but still give that cute little swooping effect.

Also, I got an email today that the Urban Decay stuff I had ordered from Haute Look has been shipped - I'm super excited to get it in the mail, but then again, when would I not be excited about new makeup?

XOXO, Ally

HAPPY NEW YEARS, EAST COASTERS!

Well it is officially 2011 where I live - I hope everyone had a wonderful 2010 and will have an even better 2011!

XOXO, Ally

Take a stroll down the alleyway...

Hey guys! I just thought I'd do a little intro post before we got into the fun stuff. I'm Ally (and yes, The Alleyway is a play on my name) and I absolutely love makeup and beauty. That's not to say that I don't lounge around in yoga pants and a t-shirt half the time, because I do - but just because I'm having a comfy day, it doesn't mean I don't like to look pulled together. In fact, I think there's a special satisfaction that comes from finishing off an outfit that took you two seconds with a fantastic makeup look.

Now, I know I can't measure up to most of the makeup gurus out there right now. I practically live in the Howto & Style section of Youtube, so I know that there's some amazing talent out there right now. But what I can offer are tips, reviews, and tutorials that are useful for anyone, but specifically geared towards college students. Why? Obviously it's because I am a college student, and it's not always practical for me to cough up $50 for another shade of blush when I could be using that money for toothpaste or tissues ... or food. And we should all just admit it right now - college life is nothing like real life. If I didn't have class at 9 AM every day next semester, I would see nothing wrong with staying up until 2 or 3 AM and not waking up until 11 the next morning. Heck, sometimes I'm up until 2 AM anyway - and that's where my blog comes into play. How do you do your makeup when you're running on three hours of sleep and have class in ten minutes, what quick fixes do you use when you're seeing your parents on Sunday morning after a late Saturday night, and where are you going to find outfits that are both cute and warm for that trek across campus in the winter to get to the next party? I'm no expert, but I know what works for me - and there's a chance that it'll work for you.

That's not to say that The Alleyway is only for college students - instead, I'd say that it's simply a blog written from the perspective of a college student, one who thinks that you shouldn't have to chose between makeup that works and makeup that's cheap, and that it is possible to look flawless in under five minutes. And besides, college is all about finding yourself - and everyone can appreciate that.

So I hope you enjoy my blog, and get some use out of the things I'll be posting; I have plenty of reviews and swatches coming up, and I would love to start filming some tutorials if I ever find a decent camera setup that works for me. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a picture of my makeup look from today:



XOXO, Ally