e.l.f. Warm Bronzer & Blush

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I'm going to cheat on my e.l.f. haul review, just a little bit. I ordered a big e.l.f. package last November and I've been, little by little, reviewing everything that I purchased. The cheat is that a few weeks ago I had an event to go and I left home with my makeup bag in preparation of doing my face before I got there. Problem was, I forgot blush. I was near a T.J. Maxx and ran in and picked up a blush! Smart!

First things first -- I purchased the e.l.f. Warm Bronzer in Warm ($3). There are 4 quadrants of color. I tried to swatch them for you but they all blend into my skin. You can't even see the colors. And, that was the problem. I got no color coverage, just sheen. It's a nice set but not for my skin tone.

That was the same thing with the e.l.f. Blush in Blushing Rose ($2.39). It looks like there would be a lot of rosy pink color but there isn't. It doesn't come off on me at all. Too bad because it is really pretty!

I think paler skin would benefit from both of these colors. Women of Color or anyone with a tan is not going to like these colors.

e.l.f. Flawless Finish foundation

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I've been playing with my e.l.f. Flawless Finish foundation for several weeks now. I don't wear foundation a lot so I don't buy a lot and I don't pay a lot for what I do buy. The e.l.f. Flawless Finish foundation fit the bill perfectly. It's only six bucks and if it didn't work or went bad, surely I'd get my $6 out of it. 

I researched online and decided to try the shade Caramel. I got lucky because it's a perfect match. Now, once I get some sun, I'll have to switch it up.

The bottle is so "high end". It's a square glass bottle with a sleek black cap. It has a pump top and for me, 1 pump is almost too much (I only wear a thin layer of foundation). It gives light to medium coverage, depending on how much you use. You can go medium coverage and not look cakey. Nice!

The staying power is great. I put this on at 6am and was still lookin' pretty good when I got home about 6pm. I used a primer so I didn't have any oily patches in my T-zone. Had I been going out for dinner or drinks after work, I might have blotted a bit with finishing powder.

Over all, this is great stuff. 

Semi-Annual e.l.f. Website Purchasing Frenzy Part One

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I'd like to start by talking about this crazy weather we've been having here in Atlanta. I know, you probably have been having crazy weather too. I just can't deal. Sunday I went to the grocery store and I had to wrap a scarf around my neck (I'm so delicate folks). It was 45˚. Today the high will be 81˚. Sighhhhh.

Back to the broadcast folks. I loaded up during my semi-annual e.l.f. website purchasing frenzy. I only buy from their site about twice a year because I can get most of the things I love from my local Target and Wal-Mart. But, when I got an email saying there was a lunch special for $20, I had to log in and see what they were talking about!

The lunch time special kit came with 9 items and I added a blush quad to my order. The whole kit and caboodle came up to $26 and I was very pleased with my little bad self. 10 e.l.f. items, shipped to my door, for twenty six bucks is pretty darn good in my book.

My main reason for ordering was the Blush Palette. I am a YouTube junkie and I saw so many good people reviewing the new blush palettes. There are two, a light one and a dark one. I got the dark one because Fall is here and I need a bit more color on my face during the Fall.

Just an FYI, I am sending out the wedding invitations later today because I want to marry this blush quad!! It is amazing! I do not remember the last time I spent a better $6. Seriously folks. This quad is highly pigmented (so a little goes a looong way) and it is perfect for dark skin. As a matter of fact, one of the blushes is almost TOO dark for me (I'm a MAC NC42 for reference). They are smooth and 3 of them are matte. The fourth one has a bit of shimmer but not much at all. They are so pretty, people -- not what you expect from a $6 blush quad. I really like these bad boys and I see this staying in rotation a lot!

Now, the lunch time special was a mineral kit. I wasn't jumping for joy when I read that, I really got excited when I saw that the e.l.f. Mineral Glow in Bronzed ($8) was in the kit. I have been waiting for Tar-jay and Wally World to get this in. I had heard that this was a great bronzer for women of color...

And it is. Oh my gosh! It is very pigmented and you only need the slightest amount to give you a "hell yeah, it's still Summer" glow. It's very finely milled with no scent. The container is what you are use to getting when you purchase Bare Minerals loose powders, plastic container with a sifter top. I learned my lesson from BM and kept my plastic top on half of the holes. I wouldn't travel with this bronzer. This one should stay home. But, when you use it at home -- KA-POW! You are going to be ready for the world. Use a light hand though. This color may not work for folks with a lighter complexion.

My kit also came with a mineral lipstick in Nicely Nude ($5). It's a beautiful rosy, nude color. It's almost too nude for me but with a lip liner, it works. The packaging looks rather fancy and has a good feel. The only problem was that it was not very hydrating and I felt like I needed to keep adding lip balm. I put it on at 6:30 am and by 8:30 am I was adding more lip balm. Other than that, I liked it.

I also got a Mineral EyeLiner in black ($3). I don't use eyeliner much. I've mentioned my Blepharitis a few times, so instead of eyeliner (the twice a week I do line my eyes), I will go for wet eyeshadow. It allows my lash line breathe a bit better. But, I did want to try this eyeliner because it says it's mineral based. The eyeslipsface website says that it "provides gentle coverage for even the most sensitive eyes". That may be the case but it's hard as hell. It is certainly not the smoothest eyeliner I've used. It's not the hardest but it is probably third or fourth in line for the award. It's a shame thought because the black is a good black. I mean it's a really dark black that would stand out on my lids really well. But, it wouldn't stand out long. The other issue with this eyeliner was that it rubs off almost immediately. If you blink too hard, it's gone.

So that's the first half of my e.l.f. review. Had I paid full price for the items, I would have already spent $22. I still have 6 items to review. Pretty good huh? A few of the other items I already own or have tried and have an opinion. But there are still some things I am ready to try.

Doesn't a little retail therapy help in any weather? I agree.

e.l.f . Package Review - Eye Products

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About a month ago I got an eyeslipsface box of goodies. I ordered a few things that I had been eyeing online but couldn't find at my local Wal-mart or Target stores. I always take forever when I'm ordering things on line. I feel that I need to touch and really view the things I buy. I want to make sure the color is right or the size is enough. I had items in my e.l.f. shopping cart for months before I made this purchase.

I have to admit that the shipping was quick, my box was packed well and because I waited for a sale, the prices were right. I absolutely plan to make other purchases from e.l.f. Now that I know I can trust the shipping and handling, I'll trust the website descriptions.

The two eye products that I had my eye on (wow, how pun-ny was that? ok, not) were the Eye Refresh ($3) and the High Definition Undereye Setting Powder ($3). I wanted to try the High Definition Undereye Setting Powder because several bloggers and beauty gurus mentioned how great it was. I wanted to try the Eye Refresh because, well, it looked neato.

The Eye Refresh is a wet, cool roller ball that is supposed to alleviate under eye puffiness and dark circles. Honestly, I don't know if it really does that but man does it feel good under the eyes. The roller ball fluid is infused with pomegranate, rosemary, green tea, cucumber and grape (none of which I am allergic to- yay!). I know cucumbers are always laid over your eyes in spas so... Yes, I felt the product was worth the $3. Would I buy it again? I dunno, maybe. It wasn't bad or good..it just felt nice.

The High Definition Undereye Setting Powder comes in a little, tiny container with a little tiny brush. I don't know where that brush is. I actually use my e.l.f. blush brush to swipe a bit under my eye. The powder is light-diffusing so it refracts the light that comes to the eye...well, it does something and allegedly causes dark circles to vanish. I don't have dark circles (not really) but I use my BareMinerals Well Rested and I wanted to see if this product could replace it. Nope, it cannot. It's a thin, glittery powder that does almost nothing to hide dark circles. I did try placing it on top of my Well Rested and it works okay. It does reflect light and makes the area under my eyes look brighter. It was nice (when used with the Well Rested) but I don't think I'd purchase it again. I already have something that I use to do what it claims to do...and what I have works better.

So my review is one eye open and one eye closed (ha!). My magical roller ball is nice but my sparkly eye powder is mediocre. That doesn't take away from the other e.l.f. products though. It does keep my 50/50 ratio on tap. So far about half of my e.l.f. products work well. The other half should be in the trash.

I know what you're thinking. The blush brush should be the tie breaker. I use that blush brush every day. BUT, I don't use it for blush. I think it sucks as far as blush is concerned. I think it is good for under the eye.

So, we're still at 50/50. You know, until the next order comes in.