Feb 22, 2012

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Cheap, Creamy, Conditioning AND Pigmented! Elf Studio Conditioning Lip Balms

I don’t know what I do without these lip balms! My lips have been so dry this winter, I’ve been trying chapsticks, balms, and lip butters and nothing has been helping. This weekend when I was going through my lipstick drawer I found these Elf lip balms and pulled them out and they have been working wonders on my lips. I loved these when I bought them but since the packaging is a little bulky they ended up at home most of the time but now that I’ve rediscovered them again these guys will be staying in my purse.

I have a lot of hits and misses with Elf products, some things are awesome others are useless but these are high quality.  Many balms I’ve tried can be super waxy but these are so creamy and hydrating that it makes up for the fact that they are in these bulky jars. I hate sticking my finger in products but since these are creamy you can use a lip brush if needed. These contain vitamin A and E as well as SPF 15. They haven’t made my lips peel at all or caused any irritation around my mouth.  Another great thing about these balms is the color payoff. The website says they provide sheer color but the red shade I have (romantic rouge) has amazing color payoff. If you are nervous to do a red lip I would definitely recommend purchasing that shade. I also have nice and natural which is a great nude shade. It hides my lips natural pigmentation without washing me out. The staying power of these is pretty decent as well. My lips don’t feel dry again for 2-3 hours which is much better than with the chapsticks I’ve been using. Best of all these are only 3 dollars. I purchased mine during one of the 50% off sales so I only paid $1.50.  You can’t do much better than that!

The top shade is Romantic Rouge and the bottom swatch is Nice and Natural.  I plan on purchasing Peaceful Pink and Mellow Melon.

Things To Know:

1. The packaging on these aren’t great but you get alot of product and because of the creamy texture of these you can use a lip brush

2. These are not sticky or too shiny

3. The staying power of this product is probably 2-3 hours

4. I highly recommend Romantic Rouge for a super easy to wear red lip

5. Elf products can be purchased at Target or online at this link http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/lips/lip_balm/studio_lip_balm  ( I sometimes have a hard time finding certain Elf things at Target)

 

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Feb 2, 2012

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Favorite Drugstore Liquid Eyeliners

Nothing looks more classically beautiful than black winged eyeliner. One of my favorite ways to get this look is liquid liner so I’m always trying new formulas. After testing out almost every product available at the drugstore I have found the liners below work  best for me. Keep in mind I prefer a felt tip because I think they are easy to use and allow me to create the most versatile eye shapes.

My first and absolute favorite Liquid liner of all time is L’oreal’s Carbon Black Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Liner. It’s super black, not too wet and stays all day. It also dries super quick. I find this has some of the darkest pigmentation of any drugstore liner I’ve tried. I’m obsessed with this and think it should be a staple product in everyone’s collection. It retails for about $8.99 and I usually try and get them when they are BOGO 50%

Another liner that works really well is the Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner. It also has a felt tip and is really easy to use. It dries fairly quickly and doesn’t smudge on me once it sets.  My only issue with this is the darkest shade blackest black has a slight brown undertone to me. This retails for 5.99 so it’s a little cheaper than the L’oreal formula. The handle on this liner is also a little shorter than the L’oreal liner and my personal preference is the longer handle.

L'oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense and Maybelline Line Stiletto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for even cheaper alternatives I have 2 recommendations; Wet N Wild’s Liquid Eyeliner and Elf’s Studio Liquid Eyeliners. Both of these products can be purchased for between 1 and 2 dollars and have amazing pigmentation. The Wet N Wild liner has a flexible brush tip that may be a little more difficult to use if you are new to liquid liners.  The Elf liners have a very hard stiff brush tip. I think these are great products but I do find the formulas for both are very wet and require some extra drying time if you don’t want a smudgey mess. I also find the wear time and staying power of these are slightly shorter but you can’t beat the price.

Elf Studio Liquid Liner and Wet N Wild Liquid Liner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I own all of these in various shades and I’ll continue to repurchase them. If you have a drugstore favorite be sure to let me know so I can try it out if I haven’t already :)

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Sep 20, 2011

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e.l.f. Studio Blushes

I picked up some new blushes in my e.l.f haul as well. I have tried the studio blushes before and liked them.  I was able to purchase 2 new colors with this order though.

First, Pink Passion

and twinkle pink

 

I’ve always liked the blendabilty and pigment in e.l.f. studio blushes. This applies to these most recent purchases as well. The colors are very pretty and they go on smoothly. Twinkle Pink does have some gold glitter in it but i feel like it mostly blends away when swatched or applied on the cheeks. Out of the 2 colors I like Pink Passion the most. My one complaint is how powdery they are.  They can be very messy when you use your brush to pick up color and I feel alot of product probably gets wasted as dust.

These are normally priced at $3.00 but I picked them both up for $1.50

I would most likely repurchase these again!

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Sep 20, 2011

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e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation

This is the first foundation I’ve purchased from e.l.f.  I’ll be honest, I  wasn’t expecting much from a $6.00 foundation but I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the product.  The foundation is described as oil-free, with SPF 15 and a semi-matte finish. I purchased this product for $3.00 during the 50% off sale.

First things first, I really liked the packaging. It has a pump applicator which I find to be much less messy and keeps me from wasting product.  The smell was a little off-putting for me, I hate alot of fragrance in my foundations, BUT it had excellent coverage while still feeling very light-weight.  The finish was a little dewy but i set it with a light sweep of powder and was very happy with the finished look.  I felt like it blended well and covered any spots I had on my face. My skin tends to be oily so I DID have to touch up with a powder once or twice, but I’ve yet to find a foundation that keeps me matte all day.  If I can get over the smell I will repurchase. I’m hoping after a day or two of wearing it I won’t notice it as much.

 

  

 

Update: Today is day 2, and I’m liking this foundation less and less. The smell is still bothering me and I feel like even with a primer my skin still ends up looking very shiny. All in all this foundation will probably not get used by me very often.

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Sep 17, 2011

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ELF Haul

E.L.F had a 50% off studio line sale last week so I picked up some things to stock up my collection for fall. I decided to purchase items I hadn’t bought from the E.L.F line before and see how they performed. I purchased 11 things that I’ll review and swatch in separate posts! For now I’ll list the items I purchased and links if you would like to check them out yourself!

My experience with ELF products has been a little hit and miss but I do usually like the Studio Line makeup alot. I’m excited to try all the products out and let you know what I think!

 

 

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