Elf Contour Palette Review and Swatches

Today I have a review and swatches of the Elf contour kit. The contour kit comes with 4 shades of powder in one convenient palette. The palette comes with a nice cooler toned powder that is the perfect contour shade for lighter skin tones. A medium toned bronzing shape. A cream colored powder that is nice for setting concealer or for a subtle highlight shade. And lastly a bright white shade that is a beautiful highlight shade. All four of these shades are matte, super finely milled and not super powdery. They all blend on into the skin beautifully for a very natural look. You can get a very dramatic contoured face with this product, without it looking caked on or stripey. I was very pleasantly surprised with how beautifully smooth te powders were and how easy they were to apply and blend.

The packaging is really nice as well. The palette is about palm sized with a huge mirror. The four powders can be popped in and out so that you can easily customize this palette. You can pop in a blush from the blush palette that elf has available in the same packaging, which I think is an awesome option for if you're on the go or traveling a lot.

Overall, I really like this product. Especially if you are a light to medium skin tone. If you have a darker skin tone you might have to really build these shades up to get them to work for you. This palette is available from elf's website for $6! I think it's a great value for the money and I highly recommend it!

March Nail Polish Picks

Hey guys! This is usually something that I do on my youtube channel (If you aren't subscribed there you should be. www.youtube.com/Jwhackers) but I decided, in an attempt to use my blog more, that I would bring this series over here! I am going to be sharing with you all of the nail polishes I wore this last month! These photos were all taken from my instagram, so if you are interested in seeing my manicures in real time, you should follow me over there (Jwhackers).

March was a pretty rough month on my hands. The winter was so long here (and still sticking around, apparently, as it's currently snowing -Argh!) and it really did a number on my hands. They have been so dry, and my cuticles and nails have been really damaged. Plus, I suffered a pretty bad break near the beginning of the month, so I didn't wear quite as much nail polish as I usually would. But I did manage to get a few manicures in that I really enjoyed, so let's go ahead and get into them,

Julep Lynn and Julep Natalia

Julep Marcy 

Sally Hansen Hard as nail Xtreme wear Ivy League
with Butter London Swinger on top

Probelle Into the blue with Sinful Colors
Petal Be the Day on top

Julep Lulu with Funky Fingers Teen Spirit on Top 

5 For Fall: Blushes

I wanted to share with you 5 blushes that I will be rocking this fall. 4 are drugstore options and 1 is higher end. They are all great shades for fall and are all individual blushes. Nothing in palettes! They are also all available, no limited editions here! So if you see something that strikes your fancy, you can get your hands on it!

E.L.F. Pressed Mineral Blush in Wanderlust ($5)- This is the only one of the pressed mineral blushes I own from Elf but it's amazing. It's soft and easily blend-able and quite pigmented. It's also completely matte, which I quite like in the fall! A little goes a long way with this one! It's a nice, neutral plummy rose-y blush shade that would look great on all skin tones!

E.L.F. Pressed Mineral Blush in Wanderlust

E.L.F. Studio Blush in Blushing Rose ($3)- Another E.L.F. Selection! What can I say? I love how high quality the Elf blushes are for the price. Blushing rose is a deeper rose shade with a hint of shimmer that is subtle but beautiful. This gives you that perfect, "just stepped in from the cold" flush to your cheeks. It can be swept on lightly for a subtle color or really packed on for a touch of glamour.

E.L.F. Studio Blush in Blushing Rose

Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush in Heather Silk- ($2.99) These Color Icon blushes from Wet n Wild are superb. They are so soft and blend-able. Totally high quality at a drugstore price. What's not to love? Heather silk is a brighter option for fall if you want something that's rosy toned, but not too dark. This one has quite a bit of pink to it, and would be fabulous of darker skin tones. This blush is PIGMENTED! A light hand will do!  I do a very subtle wash of this on my light skin and it's very pretty, This one is totally versatile and completely matte, so if you're in the market for a matte rosy toned blush with a bit of brightness to it, this one's for you!

Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush in Heather Silk

Nyx Mosaic Powder Blush in Peachy ($6.99)- When I am looking for a peach toned blush to go with a smokier eye, this is the one I am going to be grabbing for. I really like the nyx blushes, and it's a brand that I would like to discover more of in the future. This particular blush is great because it's got panels of different shades of peach and nude that can be swirled together to get a perfect neutral blush for that peaches and cream look. This has just a touch of shimmer in it so it's very versatile, and so neutral that it goes with everything! It's soft and easy to blend and pretty affordable!

Nyx Mosaic Powder Blush in Peachy

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in exposed ($26) - This is one of my all time favorite blushes. It's just so beautiful. When tarte says 12 hours, they mean it, this one stays put! It's a beautiful nude blush with just s hint of mauve that makes this a very wearable shade I like to wear this one on the back of my cheeks with a brighter blush on the apples and I think it gives such a classy look. The price tag on this one is steep, but it's worth it in my opinion. This blush just screams fall!

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Exposed

So that's it. 5 blushes I am totally going to rock this fall! What blushes are you planning on wearing this fall? Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for stopping by!

E.L.F. Brightening Eye Color Quads: Review and Swatches

Some products that I have had in my makeup collection for a really long time, but have never really talked to you guys about in too much detail before are the brightening eye color quads from eyes lips face. I thought I would go through each of them individually with you, tell you what I like about them and whether I would recommend them, as well as show you swatches. So hopefully you find this helpful!

So each of these quads comes with 4 triangle shaped eye shadows. The packaging is pretty basic. Just a plastic palette with a clear lid. One of the things I dislike about these quads is that the pans are quite small and shaped in such a way that it is difficult to get a brush in the pan, especially a big fluffy crease brush. Each quad comes with a tiny little mirror inside, which is pretty much useless, as well an eye shadow applicator that is a bit flimsy and again, is pretty much useless. These eye shadow palettes are available for purchase from eyeslipsface.com for just one dollar. Not all of these shades are still available, however. It seems they might be phasing these out, so if you are interested in trying them I would snatch them up asap!



Blue Moon

This quad contains a nice selection of colors that look great in the pan and overall perform decent on the skin. There's an extremely chalky and patchy beige shade that blends away to nothing, so it's pretty pointless.But the rest of the shades are okay.  There's a mid toned, cooler toned brown which is actually quite nice. And there's a navy blue which is very soft and decently pigmented. Overall I would recommend this one as it's one of the nicer quads in this collection.

Brownstone

Brownstone is a quad with cooler toned neutral shades. A good basic palette for someone just starting out with makeup. It contains a cream colored shade with silver shimmer, a light brown, a mid-toned brown and a deeper grey toned brown shade. The quality on these ;particular shades is pretty decent. The shadows have decent pigmentation and with the exception of the cream colored shade there's not a lot of fall out. The deep grey toned brown in particular is very nice and blend-able and the color is gorgeous. This one I would recommend.


Day to Night

This quad is one of the better ones in my opinion. I feel like the shades are all pretty cohesive and you can create a nice look with this one. There's a neutral cream shade that is actually quite nice quality. A plum shade with nice pigmentation. a slate grey that I wish was more pigmented but it's quite pretty over a creamy base. And the star of this quad is a bronze-y shade which is incredibly creamy, easy to blend and has a gorgeous metallic look to it. I would recommend this one!

Drama

Drama is a quad that would, conceivably make for a good smokey eye. It contains a matte white shade, a shimmery slate grey, a matte black and a shimmery silver. While these are great basic colors to have for a classic smokey eye, the pigmentation on the matte shades is lacking. They are a bit chalky and hard to blend. And the shimmery shades have quite a bit of fall out. These are also not quite as pigmented as I would like. This is a decent quality quad but overall not as nice as I would have hoped.

Ivy

This is a very disappointing quad. I feel like I threw my dollar away on this one. The four shade look quite nice in the pan. There's a pale pistachio green. A deeper forest green, a beige and a light brown, but none of these shadows show up on my skin whatsoever. There is zero pigmentation. I have tried rubbing my brush through or scraping off the top layer of product and it's no use. There is no color to this one at all. It's very disappointing.

Luxe

Luxe is one of the better palettes in this collection of eye shadows. The colors in it are unique and perfect for fall and are of decent quality. There's a cream colored neutral shade that is ok, but nothing to write home about. There's a gorgeous sort of metallic looking pink-y red shade that totally makes this quad worthwhile in my opinion. It's a gorgeous shadow with quite nice pigmentation and is quite soft, but not terribly crumbly or anything. There's also a sort of taupe-y grey shade that is quite nice quality as well, and a bronze-y shade that is very pretty, soft and blend-able. I would recommend this quad to anyone. It's one of the better of the bunch!

Nouveau Neutrals

This is another neutral shadow palette, but this one pales in comparison to brownstone. The shades in this one are lighter and less pigmented in general. The shades in this one are a very pale almost minty green shade that just shows up white, and is incredibly patchy with lots of fall out. There is also an olive green which hardly shows up on the eye at all, a cream shade that has no pigmentation whatsoever and is very hard and a sort of light copper shade that, again, has zero pigment. I would not recommend this palette for anyone, not even the youngest of makeup enthusiasts.




Ocean Dreams

Ocean Dreams is a palette with 4 blue toned shades. There is a light sky blue shadow with shimmer, that is very patchy when applied to the eye. There is a brighter based mid-toned blue that is a bit dry but overall quite nice. There is a deep navy blue that is quite pigmented and nice and there is a sort of cornflower blue shade that isn't quite as pigmented, but still decent. If you are looking for blue eye shadows, but blues aren't something you wear often so you don't really want to invest big money into them, this quad might be an option for you. It's not the best quality in the world, but these shades, with the exception of the lightest in the palette, can all be worked with.

Pretty in Pink

As the name suggests this palette has pink toned shadows. There is your basic white, which is decently pigmented, but a little chalky and patchy. There's a mid-toned warmer pink that is nice and soft and decently pigmented. The star of this quad is the mauve-y toned pink that is the darkest shade in this quad. It's pretty pigmented and easily blend-able and a very unique color that I think makes it worth the dollar price tag for this shade alone. And lastly there's a mid-toned cooler pink that is just so so. Overall, I recommend this one for that mauve shade. It really is something special and the quality far exceeds a lot of the other shadows in these quads, especially if worn over a cream base!

Punk Funk

This is a fun little palette. It contains some pretty bright electric shades. First, there's a white shade which is, better quality than some of the whites in the other brightening eye color quads, but is still quite chalky. There's a bright electric blue, which is unlike any other shade I have in my collection, so i'd say it's pretty unique. It's not the best pigmentation or quality but it can be built up and usable over a base. There's a bright purple which rocked my socks in the pan and works quite well on the eye as well. It's decently pigmented. A little chalky, but usable! And lastly, there's a bright electric pink that is, again, not the most pigmented in the world, but still usable. I'd recommend this quad to anyone who wants to experiment with bright shades but are a little uneasy about it. It's a great stepping off point!

Rocker

Rocker is another disappointing quad for me. I really want to like this one because it's got shades that are right up my alley. There is a shimmery white which, as I am sure you have come to expect, is quite patchy with lots of fall out. There's a cream shade that is equally patchy. There's a stunning mid-toned purple which I so wanted to work for me, but there's very little pigmentation and it's dry. And lastly there's a slate grey that has some decent pigmentation but is difficult to blend and doesn't make up for the other sub par shadows in this quad. I wouldn't recommend this one, unless you really want to have to work with the shades. \

Silver Lining

Like Rocker, I had high hopes for this one. The shades are right up my alley. Lots of purple-y shades which are easily my favorite. But, like Rocker, this one is pretty disappointing. There's a pale lavendar purple that is hard and chalky and doesn't show up too well on my skin. There's a brighter mid-toned purple that has decent pigmentation but nothing to write home about. There's a lighter medium silvery grey color with shimmer that blends away to nothing so it really needs to be packed on to show up at all, and a light pale pinky purple that is quite nice and soft, but really shows up more like white on my skin. Overall, disappointing and I wouldn't recommend.

Teal Dream

This quad has some nice, light mermaid-y shades, but I wish the over all pigmentation was better. There's patchy cream shade. A decently pigmented sort of oatmeal shade. a lighter blue which is quite nice and soft but blends away to nothing, so you really have to pile it on to get it to work. And lastly here's a pretty teal shade that is soft but again blends away easily so you really have to work with it. This quad is nothing special and you could easily skip this one.

So that's all of my quads. Overall, I really wouldn't recommend these eye shadows as a whole. The pigmentation and quality on these little palettes are very hit or miss. In general, they are a bit dry and chalky and have quite a bit of fall out, especially in the shimmery shades. Some of the shades are more buttery and blend-able, and are worth picking up, but in general, these are not great quality. If you already have a ton of eye shadows in your collection, you could definitely skip these altogether. However, if you're just starting out, or looking for a product to purchase as a gift for a young girl just getting into makeup, some of these quads would be nice for that.

Hopefully you guys found this helpful! Leave me a comment down below and let me know if you have a different opinion of these shadows, or if you have a specific product you would like me to review next. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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My favorite Orange Nail Polishes

I already shared with you my favorite Red nail polishes so next up I am moving on to my favorite oranges! Here they are in no particular order. 

1. China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy- this one is really more of a coral shade. It's got a lot of pink it in, but I figured I would share it with the oranges, since I am bound to have a ton of pinks to share with you when I get around to that post. Flip Flop Fantasy is the epitome of summer. It's a great neon coral that dries super fast (as most neons do) It dries matte, so if you want that super shiny finish you'll need a top coat. But, I love this polish! It makes my skin look super sad in contrast to the bright pop of neon coral fun! It's perfect for the toes in the summer. Guess that's why they named it flip flop fantasy! 

2. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed- This is a great basic cream polish. It's a great crayola crayon orange that applies like a dream. Not much else to say about it! 

3. Wet n Wild Megalast in Club Havana- This one is a near exact dupe for the one above, so if you like the color but you love the formula and the brush on the megalast polishes as much as I do, go for this one. This is opaque in two coats, dries relatively quickly and is just a great orange! 

4. Elf Party Peach- This is another great, super affordable bright orange polish. This one has gold shimmer running through it which adds a little something extra. It's super opaque as well. Just one coat is all you need! 

5. Maybelline Color Show Classic Camel- This is one of the polishes from the vintage leather collection. I was not much of a fan of the line of polishes, but for some reason I really like classic camel. It's a sort of rust brown-y orange, so it's completely different than any of the other oranges I am sharing with you today. Very fall appropriate. These polishes dry to a matte type finish, but this one is beautiful with a top coat to make it shiny. I just find it so unique that I had to include it. 

no top coat

with a top coat

6. Wet n Wild Fast Dry 9.0.2.1.orange- honestly, I think what I like the most about this polish is the name. So fun and I love that show! But I also adore the polish. The fast dry polishes are pretty watery, so be careful not to flood your cuticles! But they dry quickly and this one is a gorgeous sheer jelly orange base with a TON of gold shimmer running through it. It's a beautiful unique polish that can be worn on it's own in 3-4 coats, but I love it most when used as a topped for other orange polishes! 

7. Julep Kyla- I hate the formula on this polish. It's super goopy. BUT, it's stunningly beautiful. It's a sheer orange base with iridescent orange and pink glitters. This is beautiful on top of any other orange polish. It's not the type of polish you can wear on its own, but it's so pretty. 

top two nails are julep kyla on top of Elf party peach
bottom two are wet n wild 9021orange on top of Elf party peach

8. Julep Mariska- This is another goopy formula from Julep. I swear, their formula is really hit or miss. But Mariska is this gorgeous neon sort of orange that is just something else. It dries matte, so you do need a top coat if you want that shiny finish. But, if you're in the market for a neon orange and you can stand the formula on this one I highly recommend it! 

So that's it, those are the favorite oranges from my collection! I hope you enjoyed this and found it helpful. Be sure to stay tuned for the next post in this series where I will share with you my favorite yellow polishes! Take care 

June 2014 Julep Maven Box: Boho Glam

This month's Julep Maven Collection was called The Three wishes collection. I was absolutely in love with most of the polishes, and I almost bought the entire selection. Then I wised up and realized I couldn't afford to do that and instead went with the boho glam box.

Even though I am technically an It girl, I find myself purchasing the boho glam box a lot recently. The colors that were part of this box are Julep's Harlow and Natalia.

Julep classifies Harlow as a Golden Dragonfly iridescent chrome. It is truly a unique polish. It's sort of a gold/green duochrome that is gorgeous on the nails. The formula on this is a little bit tough to work with, but I think it's just stunning. You can see it featured on my nails here:

Julep classifies Natalia as a refined copper metallic. This one to me leans more towards a metallic pink than a copper. When I think of copper I think of a more orange-y brown shade. It's absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite Julep polishes that I have tried to date. You can see it featured here on my middle finger and thumb in this mani.

The product this month was something that I sorely needed. A base coat! The Oxygen smoothing base coat. I actually really like this base coat. It goes on and smoothes the nail as well as matifies it, and I think it makes for a great base, so I am very pleased.

Overall  Ireally enjoyed this month's Maven box. If you are interested in signing up for Julep, you can do so for just 24.99 a month. It's an awesome deal and so much fun! If you want to sign up, feel free to use my referral link: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/158571/

My favorite Red Nail Polishes

I have been meaning to do a series of my favorite nail polishes for a really long time. I will go through each of the colors of the rainbow (and then some) and share with you my favorite polishes from my collection in each color. I thought I would start out with Red. I just happened to have 10 favorite red polishes. I didn't plan it that way. For some colors there will be more, for others there will be less. But, for now, we'll start with my favorite reds!

1. New York Color Broadway Burgundy Frost- This is a deep burgundy red with a bit of a frosty finish. It's opaque in 2 coats, dries relatively quickly and is super affordable at under a dollar a bottle. 

2. China Glaze Poinsettia- This is a bright, tomato red that applies like a dream. So beautiful. Opaque in two coats and one of my favorite reds to use around Christmas time! China Glaze polishes are pretty affordable. I can get them for 5 dollars or less at Sally Beauty Supply.

 3. China Glaze Ruby Pumps- Another classic from China Glaze. Ruby Pumps is a favorite among beauty bloggers, and for good reason. It's a beautiful red with shimmer running through it. Just like Dorothy's ruby slippers! This polish is opaque in two to three coats and can be worn on it's own, without undies!

4. Wet n Wild Megalast in I Red a Good Book- This is another classic tomato red shade. Sort of primary crayon red. This can be worn with just one thick coat, but I tend to do two thin coats when I wear it. I love the brush on the megalast polishes. It's a nice wide brush that is super easy to use. The finish on this polish is a gorgeous cream. It's super affordable- under two dollars a bottle. It's probably my favorite red of the bunch and if you can only pick up one, I recommend that this be it! 

5. Ulta Eye Popping Poppy- This is different from all of the other reds I have to share with you. It's a bright poppy color. Sort of an orange-y red that is perfect for spring and summertime. This can be opaque in one coat, but again, I always do two coats. Ulta polishes are 6 dollars a bottle, but I got mine on sale for 2 dollars! What a deal! 

6. Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar- This is another super affordable polish. You can get sinful Colors polishes for $1.99 from most drugstores and can often find them on sale for $.99! Sugar Sugar is a deep metallic red that is absolutely beautiful. It's my other favorite red of the bunch. This practically glows on the nails, is opaque in two coats and is the perfect Christmas Red 

7. Sinful Colors Hot Chili- This is a deep chili red base with red and gold glitter pieces in it and it's stunning. The formula on this one is a bit thick, so it's not the easiest to work with, but it's a great color, and I would be remiss if I didn't include it. It's opaque in two coats and does not need anything underneath. It's a great polish! 

8. Elf Cranberry- This is another one coater polish that is super affordable. Elf polishes are just two dollars, and this one is stunning. It's a beautiful cranberry red that dries super fast and looks great on the nails. There's not much else to say about this one. It's fantastic. 

9. Revlon Parfumerie Bordeaux- This is a deep wine red with a cream finish that is the perfect fall red in my opinion. The parfumerie polishes are not only packaged in possibly the cutest way ever, but they run just 6 dollars, and they have the bonus of smelling amazing. Bordeaux smells like red wine and it's so pleasant to use. It applies smoothly and the color it just gorgeous, and dries to a high shine finish. No top coat required!  

10. Zoya Blaze- Zoya is one of my favorite brands as of late. It's not the most affordably brand. The polishes run 9-10 dollars a piece. But the quality of these polishes are amazing. The brush is great, the formula is awesome. And this polish, Blaze, is STUNNING! It's a gorgeous sort of berry red shade with holographic glitter running through it. This is truly something to see, and this picture does not do this polish justice at all. This finish from zoya is one of my favorites, and I sort of want to get one in every color! 

So those are my favorite Reds! I hope you enjoyed and I hope you'll stick around for my next entry in this series which will be on my favorite orange polishes. And if you want more info on these reds, check out my corresponding video! 

Elf Lip Balm Tints Review and Swatches!

It's been quite a while since I did a review on my blog, and I really want to get back into it. And I thought this would be the perfect product to start out with! The Lip Balm Tints from Elf have been out for a little while, and when I finally made an order from their website I had to include a couple of them because I have heard really good things about them. I am super glad that I did!

Here are the details on this product, straight from Elf's website, eyeslipsface.com

The lip balm tints are available from Elf's essential line and cost just 2 dollars each. Each lip balm tint contains 4 grams of product and comes in a clear tub with a white lid. They are available in  4 shades. Nude, Peach, Grapefruit and Berry. When I placed my order only two of the shades were available. The others were out of stock. So today I have a review of the lip balm tints in Peach and Grapefruit.

I found the lip balms to feel very nice on the lips. They are very moisturizing and made my lips feel very soft. They do not seem to have much of a smell, but they do taste a bit sweet when you lick your lips. I did not find them to be sticky at all, and while the color is not super long lasting, it's what I would expect from a tinted lip balm. I am generally not a fan of the style of lip balm that comes in a pot that you have to stick your finger in to apply, but at this affordable price, I don't mind, and you can easily use a lip brush.

The color is not incredibly pigmented, but again, from a tinted lip balm you don't expect it to be. "Grapefruit" is the more pigmented of the two. It's a lovely sheer pink shade that I find quite flattering. It's also a lovely glossy shade that is incredibly easy to wear!

"Peach" is slightly more sheer than "grapefruit" and a good option if you are more concerned with moisturizing your lips and less so about the color. It's a lovely super sheer peach shade that appears pretty much translucent on my lips except for the glossy finish.

Top: Grapefruit Bottom: Peach, with flash

Top: grapefruit, Bottom: Peach, no flash

Overall I am very pleased with these lip balm tints! I like the color payoff, the moisturizing quality and I even like the simply packaging. For the price, I think these are definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for a product like this! These are available for purchase from eyeslipsface.com and while I haven't seen them pop up in my local target yet, I did notice them in my local walgreens, so you might have luck there! I hope you found this post helpful! And I will be back again soon with more reviews of the products I have picked up recently from Elf, so if you are interested, make sure to check back soon!