E.L.F. Haul Part 2: Face

Hiyas everyone!  Sorry for the late post!  It has been crazy this past week because I just finished up my last week at work and am currently preparing to head back to school for this fall.  School starts in two weeks.  Eek!  So excited, but scared too because I am not sure how difficult my classes will be!

Yay! So this will be the second part of my e.l.f. (eyeslipsface.com) haul.  I warn you now though because some of the items are new and some of the items are products I purchased a while back.  I figured if you were interested in purchasing some of these items, might as well put everything together and review all the products I have.

Here's a pic of all the products together ^^.  

 e.l.f. products from (L to R) top to bottom:

Studio Bronzer - Warm Bronze ($3.00)

Studio Tone Correcting Powder ($3.00)

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder ($3.00)

Studio Translucent Matifying Powder ($3.00)

I purchased these products a while back.  Ignore the dirty makeup sponge please...

Studio Bronzer: I think the studio bronzer works pretty well, but since I am pretty pale, I definitely have to use a subtle hand when applying this product.  I do not normally use bronzers often, but the texture of this one is pretty good especially for the price and if you need to, you can always pick from which color block you want.

 Note: First color in this set of swatches are all the colors combined and then it is just swatched L to R

Studio Tone Correcting Powder:  I think this product actually used to be referred to as Complexion Perfection Powder.  I originally purchased this item to help cover up hyper pigmentation because I used to have pretty bad acne.  I think the product is okay for use in covering up/neutralizing light redness.  However, if you are looking to cover up acne or looking for medium to heavy coverage, it probably is not the best choice.

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder:  I think the blush/bronzer duo works well and the combination makes it easy to take on trips/for travel.  I think since again, my skin is pretty fair, this product needs to be applied with a light hand.  The blush is a pretty shade of coral and gives a nice pop of color for the summertime!  I think if you are looking to save some money, this is definitely a product to look into.

Studio Translucent Matifying Powder:  I think out of all the products mentioned above, I used this product the most.  My skin gets pretty oily and this definitely helps to reduce the shininess.  It comes with a makeup sponge, but I usually apply this with a brush.  It also goes on translucent (as mentioned in product name) and did not leave a ghostly hue to my skin, but sometimes did make me break out.  For the price, the product is good for people without uber sensitive skin like mine.

In this last haul, I decided to pick up some blushes since I had never used e.l.f. blushes before!

 e.l.f. studio blushes from (L to R) top to bottom ($3.00):

pink passion

tickled pink

peachy keen

gotta glow

I love these blushes!  Yes, the colors are pretty subtle, but all are very wearable without producing a clown effect ^__^.  I think my favorite out of all the colors would be 'pink passion'.  I feel that 'pink passion' had the best color payoff compared to the other blush colors.  'Gotta glow', I would definitely consider using as a highlight though (eyebrow more so than cheek).  Some people say this is a dupe to NARS Albatross, but since I have never tried NARS blushes, I can't justify this claim.  Overall quality of these blushes are pretty good and packaging is nice and sleek.

I also picked up this e.l.f. studio line pressed powder in Porcelain (I have NW15-20 skin) for $3.00.  I think this pressed powder works well.  Thankfully, it does not break me out!  It pretty much serves the purpose of matifying and does a good job in doing so.  The product also applies well and does not go on chalky, which is a definite plus!

Along with the pressed powder, I also picked up the e.l.f. studio line Flawless Finish Foundation in Porcelain ($6.00).  I actually like this more than my MAC Studio Fix Fluid because that thing broke me out with each application.  I do not think this product provides heavy coverage, but closer to light to medium coverage.  For the price, you get a good amount of product as well!

Lastly, I repurchased a new studio line kabuki face brush ($5.00).  I think the bristles of the brush feel very soft.  For as long as I have been using it, I have not experienced much bristle fall out.  This is a definite product I would recommend if you like to apply makeup via kabuki!

Overall, I am very happy with the items I purchased.  For the price, I would definitely shop at e.l.f. again and they always have online coupon codes so that you can get their products for even cheaper.  Gotta love a bargain!

Random thought, but I noticed HauteLook.com has NYX cosmetics on sale Friday, 8/12.  If you are not familiar with Hautelook.com, it is a website that sells name brand/designer items for discounted prices.  NYX cosmetics are usually pretty cheap already, but just figured I would throw it out there if anyone was interested in purchasing.

My personal referral link to HauteLook is: 

http://www.hautelook.com/invite/JJin437

However, if you were interested in visiting the site without using the referral link you can do so as well at:

http://www.hautelook.com  

Happy Thursday everyone!

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

Oh the Places We Will Go...

Hi everyone!  In my last post, I mentioned I was going to visit my little sister in Rhode Island.  Well, I just recently returned from the trip and wanted to share some of the things I saw, purchased and ate!

Lucky for me, that weekend was a record breaker temperature-wise.  I think at its peak, it was 105+ degrees, toasty...  I was pretty tired out from the flight, so we just grabbed a bite to eat, relaxed and visited some consignment shops my first day there.  I didn't find anything, but my sister found a cute dress and blazer all for under $15 total!

Second day, we visited the nearby mall in Providence.  There's no sales tax on clothing, so of course we picked up some cute items!

I picked up this cute top from Forever21.  The top is very comfy and light to wear.  I like the fact that I can easily pair it with a pair of black tights, since it runs a little long on me and also liked that the waist area cinches in.

Along with the top, I purchased these cute crane earrings.  Although I have trouble wearing non-gold/non-white gold/non-platinum earrings due to sensitivity to other metals, I'm still going to find a way to make these work.  Thankfully, gold plated earring hooks sometimes work too ^^, so I might just switch the hooks out of these.

I'm more of a ring person though when it comes to jewelry.  When I saw this cute bow ring at Charlotte Russe, I had the hardest time choosing between black or white.  In the end I went with the black since I felt it was a bit more wearable than the white, but I was really tempted to get it in both colors.  At the time I picked this ring up, their jewelry was on sale for 2 for $8.00 or 1 ring for $5.00.

On the third day I was there, the weather was still pretty hot and a little muggy, so we decided to hit the mall again since we did not cover the second floor the day before.  My sister and I found some really cute shoes at Payless Shoes store ^___^.  Although I'm not sure when/how I'm going to wear these yet, they were a total steal for $8.00 per pair and surprisingly comfortable.  Very excited to wear them soon!

Yay! Onto the things we ate! On my last full day in Rhode Island, we went to visit Newport. I really love the New England feel of the area. Yes, I did come across a cupcake shop called Cupcake Charlie's...so of course I had to go in and take a peek.

 

My little sister and I came out with Chocolate Mint Madness and Samoa cupcakes.  Samoa was the flavor of the day!  Soooo yummy.

The Samoa flavor consisted of chocolate cake with fluffy frosting and a little pockets of caramel inside topped with a drizzle of chocolate, a drizzle of caramel and coconut flakes.  Delish!

Chocolate Mint Madness is made of chocolate cake with mint butter cream frosting topped with chocolate drizzle, Andes chocolate candy piece and sprinkles.  My kryptonite x.x.

Seemingly, Newport is known for their lobster rolls because it appeared on a lot menus we saw.  I can't pass up the opportunity to try new foods, so my little sister and I decided to split a lobster roll and a fish sandwich at Salas' Down Under restaurant.  We also upgraded to sweet potato fries!  All were very tasty.

Lastly, Newport is also known for its old mansions, so we visited as many as possible.  Here are a couple pics I took:

Marble House (built between 1888-1892)

random older architectural building

Isaac Bell House (1883)

Funny thing is a lot of the houses in the area are really big, so we kept mistaking some of the regular houses for mansions/historical buildings.

Overall, I think it was a great trip! Soooo happy I had the chance to see my little sister again before school starts.  I know it definitely won't be my last visit to Rhode Island!

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.