ELF Simmering Eyeliner

ELF Simmering Eyeliner

Left to right: Plum Passion, Boldly Bronzed, Grassy Green, Precious Pink, Funmetal, Twinkle Teal, Blissful Blush, Black Bandit

Left to right: Plum Passion, Boldly Bronzed, Grassy Green, Precious Pink, Funmetal, Twinkle Teal, Blissful Blush, Black Bandit

When i saw these i HAD to have them, so i bought all of them, with the exception of Iconic Ivory because it was out of stock at the time. These was one of the products i was looking forward to trying the most in my first ELF haul. Well let me tell you the excitement was short lived, after i tired them i was less than thrilled. While the colors are very pretty, they are more metallic than shimmery. Also these do fade after wearing them awhile so touchups are necessary. If you sweat or your eyes water these do travel and when they get in your eyes they sting like fire, they also irritated my eyes very badly. I do not recommend them unless you plan on using them for something other than eye makeup. If you do buy these just a heads up, since they have a sharpener in the caps watch out when putting the cap on because sometimes they can sharpen a bit when putting the cap on and cause a rough place that could hurt your eye.

ELF Studio Blush

ELF Studio Blush

ELF Studio Blush top left to right: Candid Coral, Tickled Pink, Blushing Rose, Gotta Glow, Peachykeen, Pink Passion, Berry Merry

These are one of the ELF products that i absolutely love and can't seem to get enough of. I really don't have anything bad to say about these blushes. They are a great size, plus i love the containers, they remind me a lot of NARS blushes in the way they are packaged. These come in several different colors as you can see (I'm missing mellow mauve, and fuchsia fusion which) all of which are great colors to have. The next time i buy ELF i will be buying mellow mauve and fuchsia fusion for sure.These blushes can be a little powdery but it's not enough of a problem to cause me to dislike these blushes any. These blushes are pretty pigmented, more pigmented than i imagined they would be the first time i tried them I've used every single one of these colors and they all wear well, with no side effects. I highly recommend buying at least one of these and odds are you will love it and end up wanting to buy more. The color i recommend trying first is Candid Coral, it reminds me of NARS Orgasm, which is just a little darker than Candid Coral. If you would like to purchase these they are $3.00 each and can be purchased from eyeslipsface.com or where ever ELF cosmetics are sold.

ELF Essentials Natural Radiance Blusher

ELF Essentials Natural Radiance Blusher - Glow

This blush was part of my very first elf haul, and while the blush is nothing special, just ok, the packaging is probably what i hate most along with the size of the product. First of all it takes a act of god to get the container open (i had to have my husband work with it to get it open, it was that bad) Second of all it is so tiny, i can't even use a regular blush brush with this because it's so tiny, if you only measure the actual blush it's self it is a inch or maybe a little less long, and even less than that wide. The  blush it's self is ok, as i said nothing special, not great, not horrible, just ok, however the color is pretty, glow is kind of like a bright peach. Overall it's ok, but something that if i ever use up, will more than likely never purchase again. I honestly don't recommend buying unless you are just curious, it is after all only a dollar.

Sinful Colors Purchases!

Sinful Colors Nail Polishes: Could 9, Purple Diamond

After hearing a lot of about Sinful Colors I wanted to make a small purchase to see how i might like these. While i was out the other day i spotted some of these and decided to pick two colors to try. I picked Cloud 9 which is a shimmery orange and purple diamond which is a shimmery purple. I'm so excited to be trying these, i painted my nails with purple diamond last night, so a review / swatch will be coming soon!

Random Beauty Tips

These are just random beauty tips I've learned over the years and thought I'd share, you may or may not already know a lot of this but i thought i would share anyway in hopes that it might be helpful to someone.

Purple eye shadow / eye liner brings out green eyes and makes them appear brighter

Eye shadows / liners in shimmery browns, as well as gold look great on green eyes and make them appear brighter

Have patches of dry skin on your face and want to get rid of it fast get some scotch tape and press down on the dry area and lift up until all the dry skin is removed

Out of chapstick / lip balm? Vaseline works like a charm

Have nail polish on the sides of your finger where you painted your nails? Take a qtip and dip in nail polish remover and carefully and lightly go over the unwanted polish on your skin until it's removed

Want to make plucking your eye brows a little less painful? Buy a tube or orajel (or like products), apply with a qtip to the area you want to remove hair from, wait a few minutes and pluck. It might not take ALL of the pain away but it sure makes it a little more bearable.

Want to make shaving your legs a little faster? get an electric shaver to use when you don't have a whole lot of time but need to shave your legs works well and is so much faster than shaving.

Brown / tan colored lipstick / gloss makes your teeth look yellow

Want to make your teeth look less yellow, wear pink lipgloss / lipstick

Out or eyeliner and want a quick fix? Dip a eyeliner brush in water and use with a desired eyeshadow color and line your eyes.

Out of lipstick and want a colored gloss, if you have a lip liner apply lip liner all over your lips than a clear gloss, or Vaseline..works in a pinch.

Have a hard time removing glitter nail polish? Soak your nails in acetone nail polish remover a few minutes before starting to remove the nail polish

Want to brighten your skin? LIGHTLY dust a peach color blush over your entire face for a brighter look

Dry feet or hands? put Vaseline on your hands or feet before bed than put on a pair of socks or mittens, go to bed, and wake up the next morning to softer hands/feet.

Dry skin on your body, out of lotion or Vaseline? Tanning oil works just as good, when applied lightly.

Eye shadow to light for your taste? dip a eyeshadow brush in water, than in your desired eyeshadow sade than apply. It not only makes the color brighter, it makes the color last longer.

ELF Mineral Booster Shimmer

ELF Mineral Booster Shimmer

I decided to try this product on a whim and for 5.00 which for ELF is on the expensive side, you don't get much. I expected a containers about the side of the HD Powder instead the mineral booster is just a little bigger than the size of a mineral eyeshadow, which was disappointing. However other than the disappointing size i really don't have any bad things to say about this product. The color is very pretty, which you can't tell from these photos but the mineral booster in shimmer has a very pretty purple pink sheen to it, which on my pale winter skin looked nice. This booster gave me a little sheen with a touch of color, it's a nice illuminating powder, and a little goes a long way. It seems to wear well and I didn't have any bad effects from this product. I fully recommend trying if you are interested in a shimmer powder.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Eyeshadow colors: gunmetal, sidecar, half baked, sin, smog, toasted, darkhorse, hustle, virgin, buck, naked, and creep

This is my all time favorite makeup item that i have ever bought. After hearing a lot of good reviews about this palette i decided to pick this up around Christmas time. Being that it was in such high demand i didn't expect to find it. When i went to my local Sephora i asked if they would happen to have any and to my surprise she went and pulled the last one off the shelf. I honestly can not ever remember being so excited to get any makeup product as i was than. I took it from her and told her thank you and hung on to that palette like it was gold until i finished shopping. I have absolutely no bad things to say about this product. As someone who loves neutral eyeshadow this palette is perfect. There are 12 shadows, ranging from matte to shimmery, dark to light, you can create hundreds of looks just from this one palette. Not only are the shadows excellent quality, they are such beautiful neutral colors, there isn't one color in the palette that i don't love. The packaging is a velvety felty material so i do keep it in it's original packaging to keep it from getting dusty and dirty. Along with getting a 12 great shadows you also get a mini version of urban decays eyeshadow primer potion, as well as a double ended 24/7 liner. The liner colors are zero (black) and Whisky (brown) and i have to say that the 24/7 liners are excellent, my favorite liners ever. The shadows wear very well, and they are easily bendable. If you are interested in purchasing this palette it may take you awhile to be able to find it in stock. However at the moment Ulta currently has them in stock on their website for $48.00. However the one that Ulta currently has comes with a eyeshadow brush instead of the liners. I highly recommend buying especially if you love neutral eyeshadows, it will be something you will never regret buying.

Benefit Bella Bamba

Benefit Bella Bamba

Bella Bamba has been one of those makeup items that i have been obsessing about since it came out, i had been wanting to order it for awhile, so when i made my first Ulta purchases i decided to buy it than. I have to say that i absolutely LOVE this blush. The packaging is beautiful, and the blush it's self is a stunning shimmery pink. I think this product would look best on tan skin, being that I'm pretty pale from the winter it did look a bit harsh on my winter skin so i had to blend it to be a bit softer and while it looked pretty i think it would look prettier on sunkissed skin. However that being said i do highly recommend this. It isn't powdery like most blushes, goes on easily and wears very well. This is the first Benefit blush i have ever bought but I'm sure it will be the first of many i buy. If you would like to purchase this blush you can find this at Ulta or Sephora for $28.00.

LA Splash Tropical Storm Nail Polish

LA Splash Tropical Storm Nail Polish

I decided to try out one of my new LA Splash nail polishes today that i got in my Ulta Haul. Being that I had never bought any LA Splash nail polish before i wasn't sure what to expect out of this. As you can see the color is a pretty grassy apple green which i loved. The color applied well, and dried in average time. However it did not last long at all. I applied two coats, and a basecoat as well as a top coat. I applied this in the afternoon and by 5pm it was already chipping off. I shouldn't say chipping, more like coming off in what i would call a sheet. Seems like if the least little thing hit my nail the polish would lift up off my nail in one big piece. I'm actually pretty surprised by this, maybe my base or top coat didn't interact well with the polish, or maybe i just got a bad bottle, I'm not sure. I can't speak for all LA Splash nail polishes since this is the first I've tried of four i bought but i can say my bottle of tropical storm does not wear well at all, which is disappointing. I'm hoping maybe my other LA Splash polishes that i bought will wear better. Next time i try this I'm going to wear it without a base and top coat and see how it wears. If i get a different result I'll post a new review.

Orly Lollipop Nail Lacquer

Orly Lollipop shown here with two coats and no base or top coat

I bought this nail polish recently as part of my first Ulta haul and it's one of the first Orly nail lacquers I've ever bought. I had been looking for a beautiful shade of lilac and i happened to find this lacquer and decided to try it. Lollipop is part of the Sweet 2010 Orly line that came out last spring. I have to say this is a simply stunning shade of lilac and to say i love it is a understatement. One of my favorite things about this nail lacquer is that it is so opaque, i could have gotten away with one coat (but decided to apply two anyway). I also love the consistency of this polish and how smoothly and evenly it applies. It's not only a beautiful shade it wears wonderfully. So far this is my favorite nail lacquer, I'm even thinking about getting a second bottle to have as a backup. If you want to purchase this product you can currently find it at Ulta for $7.00.

My First Ever Ulta Haul

Until the other day i had never bought anything from Ulta. After hearing so much about Ulta from other makeup addicts i decided to place a order and i must say i went a little crazy. not only did i decide to try out a new store but i also decided to try out a bunch of new brands i have never bought or used before... Orly, Ulta brand, China Glaze, Essie, Benefit, Lorac, LA Splash and NYX. I'm very happy with Ulta they shipped fast, and nothing was broken. The only complaint i have is that they left out my 3 free samples that i selected that you are supposed to get when you place a order, but i can overlook that. With my order they also included a catalog which i'm happy about as well as two paper perfume samples that you might find inside of a magazine which i liked as well. Overall i'm very pleased with Ulta and plan to make more purchases from there in the future.

My box arrived early this afternoon

So excited  just opened the box

the contents before unwrapping

the contents after unwrapping

Haul Contains:

Benefit Bella Bamba

Orly Nail Lacquer Pixie Stix

China Glaze Nail Lacquer Shocking Pink

Lorac Mini Tantalizer Baked Bronzer

China Glaze Nail Lacquer Admire

L'Oreal Hip Chrome Eyeliner Violet Volt

China Glaze Nail Lacquer Emotion

Stila It Girl Trio Eyeshadow Palette

Physicans Formula Happy Booster Glow/Blush Natural

Ulta Cheek Color Afterglow

LA Splash Nail Polish Sprak Lavender

Ulta Shimmer Finish Nail Lacquer Not From Concentrate

Ulta Super Shiny Lipgloss Bellini

Ulta Fabulous Face Illuminating Foundation Soft Buff

Ulta Eyeshadow Bloom

LA Splash Nail Polish Golden Seahorse

Ulta Super Shiny Lipgloss Flirtini

Rimmel Glam Eye Mono Eyeshadow Backstage

Mabelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad Lavander Smokes

Orly Nail Lacquer Lollipop

Ulta Eyeshadow Sunburst

Ulta Eyeshadow Seashell

Ulta Eyeshadow Zephyer

NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow Lilac

NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow Fanta

LA Splash Nail Polish Spark Gold

Cover Girl eyeshadow Lime Alive

Essie Nail Polish Haute As Hello

Ulta Lip Crayon Prom Night

LA Splash Nail Polish Tropical Storm

Free Gifts

Benefit Shower Cap

Lorac Delux couture Shine Lipgloss Trendsetter

Benefit Stay Don't Stray Sample

Nail Of The Day #1 ELF Coral

elf coral with elf twinkle top coat

For my first swatch on my blog i decided to do Coral by ELF. I was actually very surprised at how much i loved this polish. I love what a beautiful color it is, a pinky golden color which looks gorgeous on it's own but i added a glitter topcoat of ELF Twinkle over it. I added 3 coats of Coral and 1 coat of Twinkle and i wore the polish for a little over a week without any chips at all. I ended up removing it at a little over a week due to just wanting a change of color, and right up until i removed the polish it still had no chips, which really shocked me. I figured it would be a polish that i could wear for one or two days than it would be chipped but i was very wrong. At $1 you really can't beat the price plus for the wear i got out of it i would say it's well worth it's dollar. I highly reccomend trying ELF nailpolishes, especially the coral.