Wednesday, July 27

E.L.F. Haul Part 1: Eyes

Hiyas everyone!  I just returned from Rhode Island and was it a lovely, welcomed break.  Really glad I got to see and visit my little sister!  Thing is though, whenever we get together, somehow we always do damage shopping and since there's no tax on clothing in Rhode Island...we definitely enjoyed our time at the mall and nearby consignment shops (will have a future post on the trip itself ^_^).  We also ate a lot...

However, before I left on my trip, I had received some E.L.F. items I purchased, but since I like to take pics in natural light, I did not get a chance to put up a post before I left.  Now that I'm back, I have a lot of pics to share.  I did have to split the haul into three parts though since I did purchase a large number of items.

First part of the haul (as you can see in the title) is Eyes!

E.L.F. Custom Eyes Shadows (L to R): Sage, Golden Glow, Moondust & Dusk
I had been eyeing the Custom Compact and eye shadows for a while, but did not bring myself to actually purchase the compact until this haul.  The compact itself is very inexpensive.  I purchased it for only $1.00. Can you believe it?!  The shadows were also $1.00 each, so the entire palette came out to be $5.00.

It was really easy to pop the shadows into the palette once they were out of the original packaging and it doesn't seem as if you need to try hard to get them back out (if necessary).  The palette also comes with a nice mirror.  I'm not sure if the compact is made of the sturdiest material, but for $1.00, I'm definitely not expecting this to last forever.

 Of course, I had to include swatches of the colors I picked.  I chose all these colors based on how wearable they were.  The swatches were also all one swipe and I did not try to blend them out.

E.L.F. Custom Eyes Shadow Swatches (L to R): Dusk, Sage, Moondust & Golden Glow

Pros
-affordable
-creamy texture/easy to blend
-good color payoff
-can be incorporated into everyday makeup
Cons
-wish there was a little more variety in colors
-would like some matte colors as well
Next items...
 I also purchased two Brightening Eye Color mini palettes in my haul in Drama and Silver Lining.  However, I did pick up Butternut at Target a couple weeks ago and Nymph Dreams in an earlier haul, so I decided to include them all in the picture ^^.  The mini palettes were again, $1.00 each.

E.L.F. Brightening Eye Color mini palettes (L to R; Top to Bottom):
Butternut, Drama, Silver Lining & Nymph Dreams
Again, all the swatches below were made with one swipe!

Favorites
Butternut & Drama

Pros
-affordable
-wide variety of colors
-smooth application
-good color payoff
Cons
-packaging is not be the sturdiest
-some colors can be a bit chalky
And there's more...
 I also wanted to try some of E.L.F.'s Studio Cream Eye Shadows, so I picked up Bronzed, Natural Glow & Dawn.  The cream shadows were a little more expensive since they came from the studio line, but still very affordable $3.00.

E.L.F. Studio Line Cream Eye Shadows (L to R): Bronzed, Dawn & Natural Glow

I really like the formula for these shadows because they are creamy and easy to blend.  The texture almost feels like mousse ^__^.  My lids get pretty oily though, so primer really helps to keep the shadows in place.  The packaging is also nice and sturdy, but is a little bulky in size and swatches below are again, one swipe.

E.L.F. Studio Line Cream Eye Shadow Swatches (L to R): Bronzed, Dawn & Natural Glow
Lastly...
I wanted to try the Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara since I heard good reviews of the product on makeupalley.com.  I picked the product up in the color Crystal (as of right now, it only comes in Crystal and it was $1.00) and I also wanted to show you the two Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Sticks I bought a while back. I picked up the Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Sticks in Black/Smoke and Brown/Basic for $3.00 each.
E.L.F. Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Sticks (L to R): Smoke/Black & Basic/Brown

For the eyeliner/shadow duo sticks, I can definitely say the formula for the liners applies very smooth.  However, for the shadow end of the product, I felt I had to rub back and forth a little to get the product to show some color.  The smoke shadow color also came out flaky when I was swatching the product and after a couple weeks, the eye shadow sticks fell out of the product O.o.   
Overall, I think the Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Sticks would be the only items I would not repurchase and I was pretty happy with the rest of the items that I picked up.

I probably won't do another E.L.F. haul soon, but in case I do, do you all have any recommendations on eye products you have tried ^^?

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

Friday, July 22

Share the Love: One Lovely Blog Award

Hi everyone!  I am currently in Rhode Island visiting my little sister on vacation, but I could not wait until I got back home before putting up this post.  YK from ALL THINGS YK HEARTS...surprised me with a blog award a couple days ago!  Yay! So Happy!!! This really meant a lot to me since the main reason I put up this blog was so that I could display clearer swatches for people who are on the fence on makeup purchases.  Money is not always easy to come by and of course we want to get the most out of what we have ^^ and I know for me, I like to take a look at a bunch of pics before I make my makeup purchases.  Again, thank you thank you thank you YK for the award and definitely go check out her blog!  She has a lot of pretty nail tutorials and the pics are always quality!

So after my somewhat long shpeal, the award...


Of course, as indicated in the title, I can't help, but share the !

The rules are:
01. Thank the person that gave you the awards, and link back to them.
02. Post seven things about yourself.
03. Pass the love to 15 bloggers.
04. Let them know they receive an award.

Here are the seven things about me:
01. I appreciate quality makeup, but I do not use makeup on a daily basis.
02. My favorite animals are dragons! (who says I have to follow the norm)
03. I am going back to school this fall for my Master in Healthcare Administration degree.  It took a while for me to reach this decision since it is a lot of money to invest >.<, but I think it will be definitely worth it because it is a field I am passionate about!
04. I easily get addicted to computer games/console games. (League of Legends, Call of Duty, you name it, there's a possibility I have tried it...)
05. I am definitely a morning person.  At nighttime, I have dozed off with the laptop on my belly...and woken up with it still there in the morning.  Crazy, I know, but when my body wants sleep, it will make it happen.
06. I love food.  My mom has compared me to a garbage can because I like to eat and will give most things a try.  An exception would be bugs, no bugs for me plz.
07. Lastly, I am very protective of my friendsfamilyboyfriend (includes extended family, which is very big!)

Finally, I would like to pass on the award to the following lovely blogs (in no particular order):
Lotz of