Anyway, I'm quite the makeup junkie, and I would say the bane of my existence are eyeshadows. I love love love eyeshadows. I can never seem to get enough of them. I usually go for MAC eyeshadows or Urban Decay eyeshadows simply because of their great pigments. Generally don't go for drugstore brands eyeshadow since I feel that they're usuallynot silky enough or not pigmented enough. About a year ago, I justified my purchase of Coastal Scents eyeshadow palettes because of their great reviews on youtube and because I thought it would make me stop buying eyeshadows (with 88 colors..why would you need anymore?!) and for about a year....I didn't buy any new shadows but I'm kinda tired of my CS palette and decided to try out ELF's Mineral Eyeshadows. I've heard they are comparable to Bare Minerals Eyeshadow. I do own one BE mineral eyeshadow and do like it a lot (silky texture, nice shimmer, good color). Since ELF's eyeshadow are definitely afforadable...$3 each I got a couple of them (those that other bloggers swatched and looked nice..). I would say that the pictures on the elf website aren't the best representation of what you get so here's my best effort in reproducing the true product pictures. Note: on pictures of the product in the case..they do appear darker than what they are but on the actual swatches on the arm, they are pretty true to color. Pictures taken w/ afternoon sunlight and no flash
ELF Mineral Eyeshadows
Pros- Affordable, fine powders, good pigment, lasting (with primer), easily blendable, nice shimmer (might be a con if you prefer matte)
Cons- Can be a bit messy (wholes on sifter too big), some shimmers may get all over your face
Comments:...they're generally very wearable colors, nothing too extreme. I do prefer shimmery eyeshadows so these were great for that. however, after a few hours, if i were to look in the mirror, I would notice that some of the shimmer got onto my cheeks... I do stress the importance of an eyeshadow primer...I use Urban Decay's champagne colored primer. W/ a primer, these shadows last just as long as Bare Minerals/MAC/Urban Decay. If you don't wear a primer....say bye bye to your shadow within a few hours.
Individual shade comments
*Earthy-nice mossy green, a wearable light army green color, shimmers are more like glitter pieces in this one...so it's one of those that will get on your face...
*Socialite-absolutely my favorite. It's a pewter color with a mauvy undertone
*Celebrity-champagne shimmer..probably too dark to where as a highlight over your browbone, but useful to open your eyes up for normal everyday wear
*Elegant-light champagane, would be great for highlighting
*Mysterious-MATTE, lavendar grey color...not sure if I would be wearing this much..unless I was a bridesmaid wearing a periwinkle colored dress ^^
*Confident-dk. brown, more matte w/ a little shimmer
*Temptress-MATTE a rose pink with mauve undertones....not sure if I would wear it as an eyeshadow color since I don't really wear pinks or peaches as eyeshadow...i have a feeling it would look pretty decent as a blush or converted to a lipgloss....
*Royal-Dark purple/plum with subtle shimmer
*Caffeinated-bronzey brown, along with socialite, it is a go to shade if I am too lazy to pick out an eyeshadow
*Glamourous-maroon shade, more matte-ish w/ a little shimmer...not sure when I will wear this color...may be good if you convert it into a lipshade w/ some vaseline?
*Trendy-pinkish champagne, along with celebrity and elegant, they're good for those 2 tone eyeshadow looks (light inner color, dark outer corner looks)...too dark for highlighting on brow bone
*Wild- dk. brown, w/ shimmer, compared to confident...this one has less reddish/mahogany undertones nad more shimmer. probably another go to on lazy days shade
*Partier- MATTE gray with blue undertones
ELF High Definition Powder
I've been hearing a whole lot about high def silicon powders and decided to give it a try since it wasn't gonna break my wallet if I don't agree with it...
Pros-Affordable, powder is finely milled, smooths out complexion, oil controlling
Cons- Could probably be silkier, gets messy once you open the cap and try to dispense product
Comments- It's probably in my mind that you get what you pay for and if you pay for something cheaper...you get lesser quality. When i rub some between my fingers...it almost feels like I'm rubbing my acrylic nail powders (for fake nails) between my fingers LoL. But if you were to smooth it out on ur skin...it does feel pretty smooth. Definitely NOT ask smooth as MUFE's high def powder or Urban Decay's Ultra Definition Finishing Powder (tried those 2 out yesterday @ Sephora). Anyway, ELF's HD Powder isn't bad for what you're paying for though. I did use a primer on my face, some light liquid foundation and then set my foundation w/ the HD Powder. I would say that in the bathroom and from a arms distance your skin will look great like a photofinish. But if you were to hold a mirror right up to your face, pores are still there! I applied with a powder brush (not the puff that came w/ it) and i DID NOT get a whitish cast on my face and it didn't discolor my makeup in anyway. like all face makeup though...you do need to let this sit on your face a bit before appreciating the full effect it does...looks better and smoother after an hour =) I'm not sure how MUFE's and UD's powder would compare on the face (since I only put int on my arm)...but those two's texture does feel superior, especially Urban Decay's, but you are also talking about them being 5x more $$ ($30 each).
FRESH Tinted Lip Treatment in Sugar
I came across this fancy lipbalm simply because I was looking for something to buy on Sephora...I was debating between this one and the Dior Lip Balm (apparently is clear but changes to your own shade of pink on your lips). I settled on this one because of the review and honestly didn't know what horrendous shade of pink would appear on my lips w/ Dior (luckily I didn't get Dior because I actually went to Sephora yesterday and it was a HOT HOT pink that popped up on my lips...very much like Smashbox's OGlow...not worth your $30)
Pros-smells delicious...it's like a lemony cake smell, very smooth and feels moisturizing and nourishing, SPF 15, nice tint
Cons-probably a bit $$ for a lip balm
Comments- Why not just stick with Chapstick brand chapstick? cuz it feels like i'm putting wax on my lips and I feel like it's not penetrating anyway. Why not Softlips? Some of the softlips limited XMAS edition scents (like sugar cookie) smells great and it's definitely a lot easier to apply than normal Chapstick..but lately I've been feeling like it just sits on my lip and feels soft when I smack my lips but it doesn't really nourish my lips.. I still get dry flaky lips when I'm not wearing it. With Fresh' lip treatment..it feels kinda nourishing...conditioning. We'll see after some time if it's worth the price
