September Favorites and a fail!

I tried multiple times to film a video on my monthly favorites, and it just wasn't happening. The lighting was bad. My four year old kept interrupting, etc. So I am bringing you my September favorites the old fashioned way. You all don't mind, right?

Before I get started I want to say that I am still loving all of my monthy favorites from last month. So if you haven't checked out my August favorites, be sure to do so! I used all of those products over the course of September, too. So, the products I talk to you about today are really in addition to those.

 First, I will talk to you all about my favorite face products for the month of September. I have quite a few new products to rave about!

I have talked about the Elf mineral infused face primer before in my monthly favorites, but I wanted to talk about it again because it really is an amazing product. It's a silky clear gel that you apply before putting on your foundation. I love it because it makes my foundation glide on easily. It helps to even out my skin and it really helps to make my foundation last. I can't say enough good things about this product. The only thing that I don't like about this product is that the pump gets clogged. My pump quit working about a month after I had the product, so now I am forced to open the bottle to get the product out, which is not the most sanitary thing in the world. But, I am willing to overlook that because the product is so good. It's one of Elf's most expensive products. This will cost you $6.00 full price. But that's still an amazing price for this product, and there are always half off coupon codes for Eyeslipsface.com.

Next up is the Elf tone correcting concealer. You all just saw this in my most recent Elf haul. I didn't purchase this until the second half of the month, but I am putting it in here because I have used this concealer everyday since I bought it. It's a great concealer. I like to use it under my eyes. It blends so easily and smoothly, so it is not necessary for me to pull and tug at that sensitive area to get the concealer to get it blended. The color is the perfect shade for my skin tone. I got mine in light beige. I also love the smell of this product. It's got Elf's sugar orange smell to it, and I really enjoy that scent. I know it seems funny to talk about how good a concealer smells, but there ya go. haha. The best part about this product is the price. Just a dollar!

Another product that I got in my most recent Elf haul that I have been loving in the Elf maximum coverage concealer. I really like this concealer for spots and blemishes. It reminds me a lot of the Hard Candy glamoflauge concealer, except that I like this one better because it blends easier and doesn't cake up like the Hard Candy one can do. This concealer is new to Elf and it's one of the best face products I have used by the company. I highly recommend it! It's available from their studio line and cost just 3 dollars.

Lastly, I want to talk about the foundation that I have been loving this month. I also featured this in my last haul. Apparently I made good choices during my last shopping trip. This is the NYC smooth skin liquid makeup. I purchased the shade barely beige, which I worried would be too dark for me, but it's the perfect color for my skin. I talked about this foundation in my "i'm sick" makeup video and also featured it in my getting ready with me video. I love this foundation. It's very easy to blend, gives medium coverage and really lasts on me, especially when used in conjunction with the elf mineral infused face primer. I have heard this foundation compared to the infamous Revlon Color Sta. I haven't used that one, and I don't think I will ever need to buy it, because this is a quarter of the price (I got mine on sale for less than 2 dollars!) and works fantastic for me. My only negative is that this foundation does not come with a pump, and is very difficult to get out of the bottle. Other than that I give this foundation 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, let's talk about my favorite eye products of the month. I have recently been reaching a lot for my Urban Decay Rollergirl palette. This is an eyeshadow palette that contains four eyeshadows. 3 neutrals and one bright pink. I have been reaching for this because it's got great neutrals that I use practically everyday and it's small enough to just throw in my bag for touch ups. This palette contains Urban Decay eyeshadows in Woodstock, Verve, suspect and darkhorse. Most days this month I have been using suspect all over my lid, verve as a brow bone and inner corner highlight, and darkhorse in my crease. It makes for a super simple, but super pretty look.

And I want to give some love to the Elf essential line of brushes. The face brushes from that line are crap. The studio face brushes are far superior. But, the essential eye brushes are amazing! I feel like I haven't talked about them enough on this blog. I really like the eye brushes and I use them practically everyday. They are all very soft brushes that do not shed. I love that I can get all the eye brushes I need from Elf and still spend less than what it would cost to buy just one eye brush from coastal scents or sigma. I highly reccomend that you try out all the the essential line of eye brushes from Elf!

 

I have been loving trying out lots of different lipsticks this month. I've got three favorites to share with you today.

First is the NYC Ultra moist lipwear in violet shine. I got this lipstick at the same time I picked up the NYC foundation I talked about above. All of the NYC products were 40 percent off, so I got this lipstick for just 59 cents! And what a steal that was because I have been getting a ton of wear out of this lipstick. Like the name implies it is a very moisturizing lipstick. The color is a purpl-y pink, with a nice shine. This lipstick does not have any taste and has a bit of that plastic cheap makeup smell, but it doesn't linger. I am not crazy about the packaging. The bullet does not go all the way down, so when you put the lid on you risk nicking the lipstick (which I have done a couple of times) but overall I really adore this lip color!

Another lipstick I have worn a lot this month is the Elf lipstick in Voo Doo. This is one of their essential lipsticks that costs just a dollar and this is one of my all time favorite lipsticks. It's a brick red shade with some brown in it so it makes it very wearable for me. I love this color and always break it out in the early days of fall, because I find it to be the perfect transition color to take me from summer into fall and winter.

The last lipstick is another one I got in my most recent Elf haul and it's the mineral lipstick in Party Pink. This lipstick will cost you 5 dollars, and it's worth every penny. This lipstick glides on so smooth and is incredibly moisturizing. The packaging for this lipstick is a a nice black square tube. It's really nice packaging, and holds up a lot better than their essential lipsticks. the color is a beautiful mid toned pink, that I think would be flattering on every skin tone. The color doesn't exactly scream Fall to me, but I still have been wearing it a ton because it's just a great quality lipstick. I really want to try more of the mineral line of lipsticks from Elf.

One random non beauty favorite that I want to talk about is a candle. I recently picked up a fall scented candle from walmart and I have been burning it like crazy since I purchased it. It's the Better Homes and Gardens limited edition Candle in Spiced Pumpkin Pie. I LOVE the smell of this. It's the epitome of fall in a candle if you ask me. I thought I would include it just in case anyone wanted to pick it up before it's no longer available for purchase! Plus, I like to throw in non-beauty related favorites sometimes just to mix it up a bit!

That's it for my favorites for the month of September, but I do want to tell you all about a product that did not work for me. It's the Elf eyebrow treat and tame. I picked this up in my last Elf haul because, as you all know if you have been reading my blog for a while, I really hate my eyebrows. They are sparse and light and wiry and I have a really hard time getting them to look right. I am lazy about filling them in, too, which makes it worse. So I thought that this product would be great for me. It's a brown gel that comes in a tube and is applied with a mascara type wand. It also has a clear gel on the other end that is supposed to help treat your eyebrows and help to grow them in. I thought that part would be perfect for my sparse brows!

Well, the tame side, the side with the brown gel, is just a mess to apply. The wand makes it impossible to apply the product neatly. It goes all over the place. And the gel smells terrible. It's got this burnt plastic smell that I cannot tolerate. The color of the gel is nice, and matches my eyebrows okay (I bought it in the shade dark) but, even that doesn't save this product because the gel flakes off after just a couple of hours of wear.  It also seems like this product has some false fibers in it, which I find incredibly weird, and they don't work anyway. This part of the product was a complete bust for me.

I don't know if the treat side works. I have only been using it a couple of weeks, and have not noticed any difference at all. I will continue to use the treat side of the product, and let you all know if I see any results. Maybe I will, and that will save this product from being a complete waste of money. WE shall see.

Okay, that's it for this month! I hope you all had an amazing September and have an equally amazing October! Thanks for stopping by!!

E.L.F. Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow review and swatches

I have quite a few reviews coming up on the blog soon. I asked on the Budget Beauty Facebook page which review you would like to see first, and someone said the review for pressed mineral eyeshadow. So here ya go!

Not too long ago, Elf was having a deal on their website. If you purchased 20 dollars worth of products, you could use a coupon code and get 20 dollars worth of products from their mineral line for free. I did not have any experience with Elf's mineral line of products (except for a couple of brushes that I have received in myster bags, or as free gifts) so I jumped at the chance. I was most intrigued by their newest product in the mineral line, the pressed mineral eyeshadows. I have always heard great things about their mineral eyeshadows, but had never jumped on the bandwagon because I am really not a fan of loose shadows. They are messy, and I tend to have a hard time working with them. So, when they released the pressed ones, I was eager to try them, and this deal seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I purchased 5 of the 10. I got Disco DJ, a light silvery grey. Lunch Break, a mid toned brown with a satin finish. Out all Night, a dark gunmetal grey. What's your name?, a taupe-y purple color. And lastly, Wine tour another taupe-y purple-y color with lots of Gold shimmer.

I was really excited to get these. The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was how small these seemed. The packaging is about as big around as a 50 cent piece, and not very tall at all. I don't know why, but I was expecting it to be bigger. So, I checked their website and they say there is actually 3 G worth of product, so that's a lot for a single eyeshadow, in my opinion. I guess it's just because the packaging isn't super bulky, so my eyes were deceived.

Speaking of packaging, these eyeshadows are packaged very nicely. It's a simple, round case, that is black, with a clear window so you can see the product inside. It's nice and sturdy, again, without being bulky. I like it!

Disco DJ, Lunch Break, Out all Night, What's your name? Wine Tour

Now let's get on to the actual products. I was so excited when I swatched these. They swatched beautifully. Quite pigmented, and really soft and easy to work with, with minimal fall out.

top: Disco DJ, Lunch Break, Out all Night bottom: What's your name?, Wine Tour (with Flash)

The same as above, no flash

But, when I started working with these eyeshadows, putting my brushes into them and applying them to my eye, I have to say, I was disappointed. Despite the promising swatches, these colors did not come off bright and pigmented on the eye. Instead, they came off quite sheer and needed to be built up a LOT to get them to show up on my eyes, even with a primer. Now, I can deal with that I am sued to having to work a little bit with products, especially when they are so inexpensive. But, then I started blending. They blended easily, don't get me wrong. They are quite soft. But these blended away to nothing. Whenever I tried to blend these eyeshadows they disappeared, causing me to have to add more and more product. And then, after all the trouble putting them on, and making them look nice, they faded away after just a few hours of wear. They didn't crease, or transfer. They just faded away. And when I tried to apply them wet. I am not sure if this is the type of product you can apply wet or not, but I figured It was worth a shot. That was a disaster. They applied patchy and uneven wet, and the water that I used to wet my brush changed the texture of the eyeshadow in the pan a bit too.

Like I said, I have no experience with mineral eyeshadows. Maybe the natural ingredients and dyes make them less pigmented and not as long lasting as a rule, and I am just expecting too much from these eyeshadows. I don't know. I love the colors. Especially "Wine Tour" and "Lunch Break", but these just aren't worth the trouble with application and the fading for me. I am glad I didn't pay for them. I know, they only cost #3.00. But, there are so many other great products from Elf with that same price point, and even less, that it seems a shame to spend even 3 dollars on a product that just doesn't work.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend these products. They are okay. And if mineral makeup is important to you, and you don't mind working a little harder to apply your makeup, then I would say go ahead and give these a try. Maybe you will have better luck than I did. But, otherwise, stick with some of the other eyeshadows from Elf! Maybe try the loose mineral eyeshadows. Like I said, I haven't tried those, but I have heard great things about them!

Revlon Just bitten Kissable Balm Stain Review

I asked on the budget beauty facebook page a while ago if anyone was interested in seeing a review on the Revlon Just Bitten kissable balm stains. There was interest, and these have been so hyped up on youtube and in the beauty community that I just had to see what all the fuss was about.

I picked up just one. I wanted to see if these lived up to the hype before investing a bunch of money into several different colors. I found mine at CVS, and I about fell over when I saw the price. I paid nearly 10 dollars for this one little lip stain. I am sure I could have found it cheaper elsewhere. Since I purchased mine I have seen them at walmart for around 7 dollars. But that's still way too much, in my opinion for this product.

Revlon boasts that these are a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain in an adorable chubby crayon. Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain gives softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of color that lasts hour after hour.

Let's start with the packaging. I really like the packaging on these. This is a large crayon type applicator, that is retractable to no sharpening is required. You simply twist the bottom and the product comes up. I like that much better than a pencil that you would have to sharpen, or the marker style of lip stain you normally would see.

The product itself smooths on nicely and has a faint peppermint smell. it does not tingle or burn. I don't find it to be the most moisturizing lip balm in the world. The color pay off is nice though. The one that I purchased, Cherish, is a bright bubble gum pink. I was disappointed with the wear time, however. This did NOT last hour after hour for me. In fact, the balm-y feeling was gone after a couple of hours, and the color had completely gone from my lips after about 4 hours. The color on this balm stain did transfer. It wasn't a true stain in that respect.

I think if this product was less expensive I would really like it. I love tinted lip balms, and this one definitely lasted longer than an average tinted balm. But I don't feel like this is a true stain, and for nearly 10 dollars, I would expect this to last a lot longer than it did. Products that I have in my collection in a very similar color that are better than this one, and cheaper, are the Maybelline baby lips in pink punch, and another Revlon product, the Revlon colorburst lip butter in strawberry shortcake. I feel like both of these products are far more moisturizing than the kissable balm stains, and the color is so close to the same, that I know I will find myself reaching for those over the balm stain. The revlon just bitten kissable lip stains are a miss for me!

Perhaps I just got one of the colors that just isn't as good. I have heard so many people say that these kissable balm stains last forever and are so great, and I just didn't get that from this one. Will I purchase more? If i find them on sale for quite a bit less than I paid I might pick up one of the darker colors, just to test it out and see if it's better than this one. Other than that, I will stick to the lip products I already own!



The REvlon kissable balm stain in Cherish



The swatch:

The color on my lips:

As compared to some other lip products I own:

Top: Revlon colorburst lip butter in strawberry shortcake
middle: Maybelline baby lips in pink punch
Bottom:Revlon just bitten kissable lip stain in Cherish

Face of the Day: Shopping my Stash

Since I haven't been purchasing a ton of new make up lately, I have had a chance to shop my collection of make up a little bit, and I unearthed some makeup that I have not worn in quite a while. So I challenged myself to use the products again, see how I liked them (some of this stuff I haven't used in months!) and try to incorporate some of the good stuff back into my daily rotation. So here's the stuff I pulled from the backs and bottoms of my make up drawers. Some of this stuff I have used recently but some of it hasn't seen the light of day in quite a while!





And here's the look I created. I am not in love with it, It's certainly not the best look I've ever done, but it's okay considering I hadn't used some of these products in a while, and since the only place I am going to is a Church picnic later on today. (It's hot hot hot outside, and I haven't washed my hair, which explains the super slicked back, not so pretty hair)





Products used, as well as a mini review on a lot of them:

Face:
Elf tinted moisturizer in porcelain (I use this all the time, but I use all my foundations all the time)
Elf mineral foundation - spf 15 in warm (I haven't given this much use since I got it, and I wanted a little extra coverage. I like this, the coverage is nice, and the spf is a bonus!)
NYC Cover Stick in light (I used to use this all the time, but when I got other concealers this made it's way to the back of the drawer. It's because the others are superior, this isn't very blendable. It does have good coverage, but it's also super light. It's rare that I say something is too light for my skin but this is, at least now in the summer. I used it under my eyes and it brightened the area so it's good for that, but I wish this was creamier.)
NYC liquid concealer in light (I use this one often enough, but I included it because I needed something for the few spots and pimples I have. This one works okay. very easy to pat in, and the coverage is good. It's not the best concealer in the world, but it's not the worst either)
Elf healthy glow bronzing powder in Matte Bronze(I use this a lot, but haven't given you all my thoughts on this yet, that I can remember. I love it. It's matte, and a nice dark shade that doesn't turn orange. When used with a light hand it's the perfect contour shade for me. Today I used just the tiniest hint of his to accent my cheek bones. It's hardly noticeable in the photo, but a little more so in the day light IRL)
Elf shimmering facial whip in lilac petal (I have said before that I don't really like this product- I just prefer the all over color sticks, but used sparingly, this is a really pretty highlight, which is what I used it for today. Very subtle- I used the tiniest of dots of this product)
L.A. Colors blush in Peach Rose (I like this color a lot. It's a pretty peachy rose with silver shimmer. It doesn't blend well, and is a pretty chalky, but what can one expect from a $1 blush?)
(Wow it seems like I Use SO MANY PRODUCTS on my face when I list them out like this. I assure you, it looks quite natural!)

Eyes
elf duo eyeshadow cream in coffee and cream (I used the cream side. It's a nice little base. The color is very sheer and would never work as as an eyeshadow alone. But this made a nice base for the other eyeshadows. There's a bit of shimmer in it, which is nice)
Covergirl eye enhancers eyeshadow quad in Ice princess (this was at the bottom of the drawer for a reason. Not a fan of this particular quad. Covergirl eyeshadows as a rule are nice, but I just don't love this one. Purples are my favorite, ut these shadows are not very easy to blend, and the color is patchy, and I felt like I had to pack the colors on to get them to show up at all. The final result was pretty, but I just think think that there are better eyeshadows out there for a cheaper price.)
Bonnebell eye style precise liner in basic black (this was my holy grail eyeliner for a long time. It's nice and smooth going on, nice and creamy, retractable and super inexpensive. I've since found liners that I like better, but this is still a great one! It's not the blackest black, but it's great for smoky looks because it's very easy to smudge out and looks gorgeous. It doesn't stay in my water line which is a bummer, but for the price, I really like this one)
Elf lengthening and volumizing mascara in black (I once raved about this mascara. Now that I have tried a few more mascaras this one is not at all a favorite. Still it defines the lashes and lengthens them, and doesn't flake off. So it's a nice day time mascara. Not one of my more reached for mascaras but I do especially like it for the bottom lashes)


Lips
Eos lip balm in lemon drop (I've already raved about this a zillion times, I use it everyday and I don't think I will ever find a balm I like as well as this one)
Rimmel London Lasting Finish lipstick in Asia (I have talked about this before. I loe this mauve-y color and I am sad that i'm almost done with this lipstick. It's the first time I have worn it in a while and it reminded me how much I love it. I need to see if they still have this color available since this tube is sooo old)
Neutrogena Moisturshine gloss in Vita Plum (I forgot I had this gloss. I love it, and I am so glad I did this so I can use this gloss again. It's one of my all time favorites!)

And I finished the whole face off with the elf make up mist and set spray, which I just got recently but quickly has become a holy grail product for me. I love this! I spray this on in the morning and mt make up lasts all day! Even in the summer when my make up is normally melting off by noon! Also, I've got super dry skin, so a quick spray of this refreshes my make up after a long day!

SO that's it! I definitely found some old favorites in the mix that I will be incorporating, and I found a couple of flops too. I am glad I did this little experiment and look forward to shopping my stash more in the future!

Elf Misses

I talk a lot about elf products on my blog. I love a lot of things about elf. They have a wide variety of products at a super low price point. They are easily available. They do not test on animals. And some of my all time favorite products come from this line of cosmetics. But not all of Elf products are amazing. And while I can't say that I regret purchasing any of the items (because let's face it, it's only a couple of dollars wasted) there are a few products that I will not be repurchasing. I thought I would go over those today with you.

1. Elf essential regular & waterproof mascara duo- I really thought when I purchased this that this would be an invaluable addition to my make up collection. Waterproof mascara on one side and regular on the other, I thought it would be perfect to toss in my bag for touch ups. But this mascara clumped like crazy on my lashes. If I managed to apply it in a way that was actually to my liking it flaked off after a few hours and worst of all it dried up in a matter of weeks. Definitely not on my list of products to repurchase. Save yourself a dollar. Elf has a ton of other much better mascaras from their studio line!

2. Elf shimmering facial whip in lilac petal- This is actually probably a great product, if you like this sort of thing. It's a liquid highlighter, and it definitely adds shimmer to anyplace you apply it. Problem is, the consistency is so liquidy that 9 times out of 10 way too much product comes out of the tube, and I end up looking like a shimmery mess when I apply it. Plus, the name is very misleading. I was expecting a lilac color, but this is actually quite pink. I may try a different color in the future, to see if it's more manageable, but I won't be repurchasing lilac petal. It's not a bad product, it's just not for me. I much prefer the all over color sticks. they are the same price, come in the same variety of colors, but are (obviously) less shimmery and easier to work with.

3. Elf essential blushing bronzing blending brush- This brush is completely worthless to me. It is not nearly dense enough to be useable. It's quite floppy and sheds a ton. I do manage to use it occassionally, when I am using a very pigmented bronzer and I need a VERY light application. But I have a ton of brushes that I reach for before I reach for this one. Honestly the elf essential powder brush is a good alternative to this brush. It's got a small head on it that works well for contouring, but it's much denser. It's also the same price, so go for this one instead!

4. Elf essential foundation brush- this is another brush that I find useless. It's, again, very floppy. Leaves my foundation looking incredibly streaky. I am not a fan of foundation brushes anyway, but this one in particular is just bad. I have managed to find uses for it- It's not bad for applying foundation primer, or cream masks. Still, If you really want a foundation brush, the angled foundation brush from the studio line is a good one. Even better? Just use your hands!

5. Elf Studio glitter gloss- I have two shades of glitter gloss. Fuchsia Fireworks and Golden Glitz and I am not a fan of either. It's not that it's a bad gloss. It's actually quite a nice gloss, I am just not a fan of chunky glitter on the lips, and both of these glosses have it. I'll stick with the glossy gloss. It's the same application and gloss, just without the glitter-y mess.

6. Elf Studio conditioning lip balm spf 15- I have this is mellow melon. It's just not my favorite. I am not a huge fan of the color. It's awesome that it has spf 15, and I think in a different color I would really love this lip balm. So while I won't be repurchasing mellow melon in the future, I may try out some of the other shades.

That pretty much wraps it up. There are other products that I have not been especially thrilled with as well, but I have always managed to make them work with a little creativity. It's always a bummer when you purchase something and you just don't like it or can't make it work. The truly great thing about elf products is, if you find something that you just don't use, at least you haven't wasted a ton of money. What are some products that you have purchased recently that you've disliked?