Out with the old - we are #1

Yay! I finished my "don't buy anything till I finish 10 products" project. It was mostly an epic fail, because I did not stop shopping, however I learned some things about my shopping habits that I'll share later on. Somehow shitload of stuff got finished at the same time (for various reasons...) and I was happy to put it all in one garbage bag and take it outside.

Duane Reade Nail Polish Remover 

I can't find any information about it on their website, maybe they stopped making it, or maybe it's just such an insignificant product there's no reason to mention it. It's a generic, cheap and does what it's supposed to. I don't really notice any difference between different polish removers.

How much: Around $3
Buy again: maybe I guess it depends on what pharmacy I'll find myself in next.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment
I'm so sad to see this one goes. Plus it's mostly due to my own clumsiness, I somehow manage to break the lipstick and it all fall into the bottom of the cap, I've been scraping what's left from the bottom with a bobby pin for the past week, but now, even that's gone and I need to let it go.
As I mentioned before, I adore this product, it's wonderfully hydrating, yummy and feels amazing on the lips. I'de be ecstatic to get it as a gift, however, the price tag is too steep for me.

How Much: $22.5
Buy Again: Not unless I win the lottery

Ole Henrikson 3 little wonders mini set
As mentioned before, I got this at Sephora Black Friday Sale - a sample kit for $10. I've been using it for 2 weeks till all the products run out and I have to admit, it's excellent in every single way. My skin looked and felt just great. I've always believed that the main difference between low and high end skin products is the price tag, but this kit made me reconsider.

I especially adore the truth serum which is hydrating, softening, refreshing and smells beautiful, but I loved everything. The best thing about those products is that they are hydrating without being oily at all, so perfect for me dry but acne prone skin.

How Much: $70 for the whole kit, $101 if you buy each product separately, $48 for just the serum
Buy Again: The 10 products experiment made me reconsider the whole way I shop. If I manage to hold on to some changes, then yes.

Almay Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover 
I have no recollection of ever buying this, so either it was free with buying something else, or a makeup artist left it here, I don't know. The best thing I can say about this is that it, indeed remove eye and face make up. However, so does baby oil, which I suspect is what's in the bottle.
This is very oily, after using it I had to scrub my face to remove the access oil. There's still a little left in the bottle, but I'm so sick of this greasy product, it's time to get rid of it,

How Much: $6
Buy Again: NO!

Burt's Bees Coconut and Honey Foot Cream
Just wrote about this in my last post. It's sticky, smells like honey and really works. The little travel size tube had enough cream for about 7 uses.

How Much: $9
Buy again: It's great, but I'm not su crazy for the coconut smell, I think I'll try their peppermint foot cream next.

Operation Hobbit Feet

"their feet had tough leathery soles and were clad in a thick curling hair, much like the hair of their heads"

I don't know about curly, but my feet definitely took a turn for the hobbit in recent months. A combination of dryness, many hours in muddy dog run, wearing socks 24\7 and not showering as often in winter as I do in summer took their tole and my sole turned hard, flakey and itchy.

And so, it was time to do something about it, and so with the aid of a few new products, I manage to get them in vaguely presentable state.

Julep Foot Soak

I got this as a part of Julep New Years box, I was disappointed at first. This is not something I would ever buy for myself, my apartment doesn't have a bath and doing all kind of spa beauty treatments at home is not my style. 

However since I got it, I decided to give it a shot and I've been in love ever since. Yes, it soften the skin and feels real nice but what's utterly amazing about it is the salty orangey smell. I usually up a tea spoon   in a big bowl of water, soak for a bit, then use a little more to scrub the bottom of my feet.

After that, I spend about an hour with a foot file, I have one from Julep, but I'm not really all that impressed by it, and I think I might be in the market for something new soon. 

Burt's Bees Coconut foot cream 

One of the best buys I've made recently is Burt's Bees tips and toes set. For 13$ you get 5 travel size products and one full size (lip balm). I wanted the cuticle cream which I already know and love, and I knew the balm as well and it was a fun inexpensive way to try new things.

As it turned out, the rest of the products are just as excellent, especially the Almond Milk Hand Cream. The coconut foot cream looks really weird, it basically look, feels, smells and taste like honey with some coconut in it. So, it's rather sticky and does not absorb easy. It's a "put on under socks before you go to sleep" kind of cream. I'm not a huge fan of this method, but it really works and my feet are so much less dry now.

One of the hardest to six problems was grime, dead skin and other nasty stuff that get stuck between cuticle and nails. It's still not a 100% fixed, but a combination of a nail file and some Butter Lemon Cuticle Cream helped a lot.

I wanted this to be a "before and After" post, but I got too embarrassed with how my feet looked before, they are really not going to win any feet beauty pageants, if such a thing exist  and there's more work to be done, but at least I'm not embarrassed at taking pictures of them at the moment.  

Julep Hollywood Icons February Box

This box marks my 3 month Julep membership. I joined at their Christmas special (one free box for any subscription). I got to say, this was quite a ride and I had the best of times. It's everything I like about a beauty box - fun surprise in the mail, opportunity to try new things, fun anticipation and a vibrant community without all the things I don't like - disappointment, getting stuff I don't want or use, and difficulties in skipping \ canceling a box.

It was really fun to see what surprises each box will bring, even something small like hair ties or chocolate makes the whole experience feel so much more fun. There were a few things I used a lot and a few I didn't use at all (brown Marcara, I'm talking about you) but overall, I liked everything I got, I love the polish itself and ever since I signed up, I barely used any of my other polishes. 

The one thing that's slightly difficult for me is that between special price add-ons, a secret store for members that's open for 3 days to of the month, surprise boxes and other special sales, it's just too tempting to keep ordering more and more stuff fro them. I mean - I just got an add-on polish, even though I have at least 5 that I haven't tried yet. I don't think there was even one months out of the 3 in which I just paid for the $20 box and cut it at that.

The box came packed inside in black and gold and looked really festive and glamorous, it contained 2 nail polishes, Ingrid and Julianne, The new Oxygen nail treatment and the new Freedom top coat as well as 2 chocolate hearts and a cute little lash curler. Value for money, this is a pretty amazing deal. If I go by Julep prices on their site it's 44$ worth of product, not including the lash curler for $20. I'm not sure that I would buy an Oxygen treatment if it weren't in the box, but I like having it.

Will I sign up for Julep Maven Box again? I can't make up my mind. On one end, it's so much fun and I love the wait and the excitement and that little bit of histeria around new products and special sales. On the other end, after 3 months, I have so much polishes I haven't used yet or used only once, and I think I should use some of that before putting more money in new nail polish. 

I guess I'll have to wait and see what's in the March box to decide what's next.

Over all, this is one of the coolest services I've even encountered  it's so much fun and I recommend it to anybody who like painting their nails. 

How Much: $20 per month

Buy again: Probably yes

Hit & Miss

Since Jack Black has left the building, and my lips are still dry, I had to go through my stash and find a replacement. The first thing that I found was Korres lip butter in Pomegranate. A light tinted balm in a beautiful warm pink. I got it maybe a year ago, used it can couple of times and forgot about it. It's my first lip butter so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The texture is indeed more buttery and slightly thinner than a balm, which is very nice. It has a faint sugary scent that fade after application and no flavor to speak of, which is slightly disappointing, since the whole series is named after yummy fruits. I like the moisturizing but light feel like of this on the lips.

2 things I don't really like about it. The first visit that unlike Jack Black, I have to apply this a lot more often to keep my lips from drying, like every 2 hours. The second is that though I love the color of the butter in the box and if swatched on my arm. When I apply it to my lips, it disappear without a trace.

How much? $12

Will I buy again? Probably not, there are better and cheaper lip treatment out there. I think my favorite thing about this is the stylish package design, so probably not

Out With the Old

 

Boo, I hate being sick, and I feel like I've been sick forever, though really, it's only been a week. Some horrible flu that just won't go away and make me feel so listless and tried all the time I can't get anything done.

However, a couple of shoot had to happened, a big bathroom organizing had to take place, and  few fashion show attended. I finished 2 products who helped me look more or less presentable this week.

The first is the legendary Jack Black Lip Balm I know I'm not the only person super excited about this product and I also know that I wrote about it before, but I'm still excited about it, which usually never happened by the time I'm done with a product. This has been the first year ever that I haven't had seriously chapped to the point of bleeding. I had a couple of cracks and the balm took care of them within one night.

For a balm, it's rather expensive, however, it did last exactly 3 months of intense use, so it's really not such a huge indulgent. 

How much: $7.5

Will I buy again: Though I have about a dozen unfinished balm, yes, yes, yes! and probably in a more adventurous flavor. 

The second product is a mini Sheer Transformation moisturizer, which I got at Sephora Black Friday Sale, with 2 other minis from Ole Henriksen. I'm going to write more about those products once I finish all 3, but lets just say, I found myself, digging in the tiny jar for the last drop like I do with a pint of ice cream after a really bad long day (don't judge).

It's a super light moisturizer that at first seemed like it just won't cut it, my face didn't feel that moisturized feeling after use, but then, it turned out, that though it doesn't hydrate, it does something else, some kind of magic that prevented my face from drying in the first place. 

Also, I guess because of it's non oily ingredients, my acne seem to be doing a little better then on an average month. 

How Much: $45 (ouch)

Will I buy again: This is really really out of my range for cosmetic, I usually don't go over $20 for anything. However - I might have to super splurge in the summer when my skin get oily and acne gets worse 

Out with the Old

It was a short love affair and now it’s over and I’m a bit heart broken.  It’s not that I expected this to last a lifetime, but I really did not see the end ramming into me that fast.

 So this is the story. About a month ago I got this wonderful product with 2 awesome nail polish colors from Julep maven box. It was love at first sight, and I adored everything about it - the smell, what it did to my cuticle, what it did to my hands, the smell… 

The only problem, this isn’t a cheap date, out of the julep box this costs $22, a lot more then my previous $7 cuticle product. I was trying to justify the price by the fact that the Burt’s Bee version lasted about 6 months or so, so it isn’t something that need replenishing every day.

Sadly, this is one month later and the product is all used up.

As I said, I’m sad to let it go, but I don’t think I can spend 22$ a month on cuticle cream and so unless it comes my way in a julep special sale or something, I’ll have to go back to Burt’s Bee.

La Vie La Mort

It’s very hard to write anything about perfume, I guess I’m used to describing the way things look, or I can always add a picture, but since there are now scratch and sniff screens just yet, I’ll just have to do my best.

One of the things I got very excited about last Black Friday was the Sephora$10 kits, and the only reason I ordered 3 of them and an eyeshadow brush I didn’t need was a 3 mini perfumes from Tokyo Milk Dark series.

I’m not really such a dark person or much of a femme fatale. But I don’t really like wearing perfume and somehow what i’ve seen and smelled from Margot Elena was very non perfume like. 

The kit has 5 little rollons in Bulletproof, Tainted Love and La Vie La Mort 

I like all 3, but the one that I’m finding myself going back to all the time is La Vie La Mort, it’s notes, according to Tokyo Milk site are: White Tuberose, Cardamom, Hibiscus Leaf, Jasmine And the scent is described, according to Sephora as: Mesmerizing. Inspirational. Dreamy.

I know what Jasmine and Cardamom smells like, and have no idea what the 2 other are, I do know that this perfume smells like flowers, but not sweet or romantic at all, and not really heavy. It manage to smell fresh without smelling citrusy or sour at all. I can smell the Jasmine when I apply it, with a hint of sweetness, but after about a minute,it changes and becomes this nice adult smell, which I guess I would expect to smell from fresh cut white simple flowers, rather then a heavy colorful bouquet.

What I mostly like about it, is that it doesn’t smell at all like perfume and the scent is very delicate and no one but me smells it unless we are hugging. I hate those lingering potent smells some people wear, it feels like an assault to be forced to be surrounded by someone else’s smell. 

How much: Full size is $36, I got 3 minis for $10

Will I buy again: I’ve been using all 3 for over a month and barely made a dent. Does anybody ever finish a bottle of fragrance?! When I do finish it, I’m sure I’ll buy it again.

Also - Please Sephora, do this again with the other fragrances in this series, I would love to try the rest! 

Color on the go

I always adore those “in the bag” posts some people do on their blogs. Not so much for the makeup collection, but for the courage to face the content of one’s bag. Mine is usually a big mess of paper, pens and other random items that somehow found their way in there.

But last week, an opportunity arise that forced me to clear out all the mess. Not to put too fine a point on it, I managed to drop my bag into dog poop.

So, as I emptied it, this came out - 2 shadow pallets, 2 foundation (why they are even there?!), 2 pressed powder, 3 lip balms, 6 lipsticks, small makeup brushes kit, concealer pen, nail polish (again, why?), black Kohl, blush stick, a couple of nail polish remover disposable towelettes and a small perfume.

I migrated to a new bag, then a different bag, then back to the original bag and I decided to try to carry around less makeup then before, there’s just no reason for it.

And so, I left a press powder foundation, concealer and the nail polish remover. As for color, I’m trying to get by with a little natural palette from NYX, A blush stick from E.L.F, Revlon Siren and a mini Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Rose

Non of those is especially creative or wonderfully pigmented or even versatile. However, I can make myself presentable on the subway or a coffeeshop on the way to a meeting. 

I’m not quite sure how much time this will last, but it’s nice not to lug around all that stuff with me.

Out with the Old

I guess it’s the dry weather, because I’m finishing all my creams and moisturizers. #04 finished post is again, 2 products. They are very different in any way aside of the jars being the same color and both finished last night. 

The first is a ROC night cream, again a product I got through Klout Perks. I got in in the summer, used it for a couple of days, decided it was too rich and forgot about it, but then when the weather cooled off and I got all dried out, it turned out to be a wonderful product. It feels so nice on the face, I like the smell (somewhere between medical and floral), and not that it really matters, but I love the heavy milky glass jar, it’s just fun to use. 

I’m not sure what are the active ingredients, the packaging or the site doesn’t have anything about Retinol or hiloronic or vitamins, so I guess there’s no magic in it, it’s just a good night cream.

How Much: 25$ but I got it for free
Will I buy again? I have one more opened night cream, that I think will carry me through winter, I already got a new Serum because I liked this night cream so much, and I think I’ll try to find a less oily Roc night cream for summer. 

The second couldn’t be any more different, where Roc is a famous drugstore brand, nobody knows about Reviva Labs unless they are health fanatics or really into buying cosmetics online. Where Roc is Beautifully branded and packaged, Reviva Labs 5% Glycolic Acid cream comes in a generic cheap plastic jar with a really ugly label. And where Roc is mysterious, Reviva Labs is very open and in-your-face about what’s in the jar. 

This product came with a lot of warnings and was a little scary to start using, the 2 main points were to use it consistently, and to start gradually. It took me a couple of months, and I’m not quite sure if this is the cream, the change of weather or just being a bit more study with my beauty routines, but I am seeing a difference. Less pigmentation, skin feels softer and firmer, and I think my wrinkles are a little less noticeable, 

How Much: 18$ on iHerb or 14$ on VitaCost
Will I buy again? Already ordered the 10% version from VitaCost. 

Cheap Thrills - Jackpot!

Still reviewing products from my 5$ Duane Reade shopping binge and trying to decide if this was just craziness or if even in just picking stuff almost blindly and paying for them went better then I thought…

THe first experience was OK but not what I expected, the second was a total disaster, and on Friday I finally had a chance to check the 3rd. 

Trying to finish or even make a dent in 1 foundation, 2 BB creams, mineral powder foundation and a CC cream, there seem to be no reason to buy any new foundation for quite sometime, however, I seem to be getting more and more pale as the winter progresses and now the CC cream makes me look like I’m sunburnt, BB cream looks like a tanning salon accident and the foundation makes me look like an alien. 

And so, one of the things I picked was Maybelline Fit me Foundation in Buff Beige. An impulsive spree is probably the worst way to pick up foundation, especially drugstore foundation which can’t be swatched in store. However I think I did a good job, I don’t think the shade is too dark for me, which makes this a win! 

This is a classic liquid foundation, the bottle does not have a pump, which is a serious draw as far as I’m concerned, both for hygiene and color oxidizing, and because I always pour too much and make a mess.

It’s not one of those natural looking skin base, but a full coverage foundation. It covered a lot of the pigmentation and acne scars I usually have to use concealer for, and made my face that are in a horrible state right now, look almost presentable. 

I used a stippling brush and powder over it or setting, before going out, at about 7:00PM, went to 3 art opening, one of which was incredibly crowded, over heated and sweaty, got hom at about 11:00, and the make up look just about the same as it did when applied.

Overall, I’m very happy to have foundation that offer more coverage and doesn’t make me look like a burn victim. 

How Much? $8, but I paid $1

Will I buy again? It’s excellent, but I have 2 unopened foundations aside of all the open containers, so probably, not anytime soon.

Out with the old

Yay! I finished 2 products I had for a really long time in one day! and they are both going to be greatly missed.

The first is Arnold Blandi Dry Shampoo. This is the first dry shampoo I ever tired, and though the package said that this was for light hair, it worked perfectly for me. I really don’t like washing my hair too often cause it makes it dull and flat, so dry shampoo is a really great product for me.

I got this as a part of last summer’s Allure Beauty Box which was one of the best shopping choices I made ever. I payed $40+shipping and got a million product, some of which I’m still using. It got me to adopt a few new favorite that I repurchased again. 

This spray retails at $22, so that alone was half the price of the box. 

Will I buy again? The summer beauty box had 2 dry shampoos in it, the other’s by Redken so I’m going to use that for now, also I got the holiday Beauty box which had, guess what?! another dry shampoo, so I think I’m set for at least a year.  

The second product is Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair Serum. I got this fromKlout Perks at spring, start using it but had to give up for the summer, when breakouts worried me more then wrinkles. I did get back to it in the winter.

 Again, this is my first and only experience so far with a serum. I can’t say that it erased all my wrinkles over night, but this with a few other products I’ve been using seem to help my skin look a little less aged, especially in small improvement with sagging and pigmentation. 

It feels very nice on a parched winter skin, absorbe in skin in 1-2 minutes, which is especially important in the mornings, smells a little medical, but not in a bad way. 

I want to investigate serums a bit more before I commit to buying another one, but I think Neutrogena is a very solid choice and I would love to use it again.  

This is priced at $21, but I got it for free! Yay!

So, 2 excellant products I’m a little sad to say goodbye to, which I got for about $2 (if you split the price of Beauty box in the number of products. I couldn’t be happier with both.

Cheap Thrills - You win Some, you lose some

The second thing I wanted to try in my $5 shopping spree was Nutra Nail UV-Free Nail Color. I’ve never heard about this before, and never tired Gel Manicure either, so I was eager to see what this was about.

A couple of disclaimers
I followed the instructions that came with the box, but later, checking their website, the instructions were different, so many there are ways of getting better results with this. Also, I’m not super good with nail polish at the best of times, I guess at the hand of someone’s more Professional this would work better.  

The package contains 3 tiny bottles, an Activator,Get color and brush cleaner. the process is a coat of activator followed by quick 2 coats of color, then clean the brush and do the other hand.

Opening the bottles (all 3 as instructed I noticed a really funky smell. It was familiar but it took me a couple of minutes and a strange dry-tacky feeling on my fingertips to realize it’s the smell of crazy glue. The feel on the fingers was also like crazy glue. I’m 95% sure the the activator is crazy glue.

Also, the brushes were made from pretty thick plastic hairs, not easy to use without messing up.

So I started with activator and 2 coats, either I applied the gel to thickly or not fast enough, but it just wouldn’t dry. after 10 minutes I went back to the instructions and tried another coat of activator and another coat of gel.

Switched to the second hand, same thing happened, and also, on 2 fingers I managed to glue the inside of the nail to the finger skin, and were only able to pray it loose with a nail file. 

The finish wasn’t very pretty but not ugly either, it looked like nail polish with a shiny top coat on, but I didn’t noticed any “Patent leather Shine” as the package said.

And now for the interesting part

Did it last for 2 weeks?
 Well, no it didn’t. I did however had a few really demanding days with a lot of running, working, moving stuff around and so on, and there were quite a few moments that I know ordinary polish would chip, and this one didn’t. After 3 days however, it started to crack a bit - fine black lines appeared in the polish. after 4 days it started to chip, strangely enough, from the bottom of the nail, and on the 5th day, it started to chip in ernest. 

Taking it off
 The scariest part, of what I heard, of gel manicure. So, I messed up, I thought I had Acetone at home, it turned out, I haven’t used it in years and it evaporated. But it was chipping and it had to come off. So a lot of time and mess with the brush cleaner, polish remover, nail files, craft knife and in some cases, teeth, and eventually it all come off.

The aftermath
 I didn’t notice any damage to the nails after the gel went off, however, my cuticles, which I have worked hard over the past few weeks to make presentable, got dry and ugly. I put on a nice coat of blue regular polish and was happy to be back on familiar ground.

However, this was not the end, I guess not all the activator was removed from my left hand and the next day, my blue polish just pealed off in whole, it was creepy. I took the rest off and tried again, and so far, it seem to be OK only the Cuticle area doesn’t look good and somehow the edges of the polish, I guess where there’s some residue left did not paint evenly.

Overall, this was a lot of work, stick and frustration for 2 more days of keeping polish intact.

How much: $12 but I got it for $1 from the bargin bin

Will I buy again? I think probably it’s going to the trash, so no, I won’t buy again. 

Cheap Thrills - Revlon Siren

Remember my Post from the other day about 4 things I got for $1 each? So I decided to review each to see if they were worth the spontaneous waste of a little money and the not-so-attentive thrill of the moment.

The first thing I tried was Revlon Siren, a lipstick that, in the tube looks like a saturated almost neon dark orange. I thought this might be one of those perfect Orange-Red.

Applying the lipstick, I was a little disappointed, because it’s not as opaque as I thought, However, a couple of minutes later, I grew to like it a lot! on my lips it a great everyday coral, a nice, not-over-the-top pop of color.

The formula is wonderful, it’s hydrating and feels just like applying a balm. The downside of this is that after 4 hours and 2 cups of coffee, I had to reapply, and the lipstick did not fade in a very graceful manner.

Overall, it’s really really nice. I’m pretty sure I’m going to use it a lot, mostly in days when I can’t b bothered with lip liner and blotting. I would have paid full price for it, so I’m happy!

How much: Full price is $8 but I got it for $1!

Will I buy again? Don’t think I ever got the same lipstick twice, but I love the texture, so I want to try other Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks.  

Out with the Old

Redken Forceful 23 Super Strength Finishing Spray is excellent. It’s inexpensive, hold really well without making the hair heavy or sticky, and smells really good.

I’ve had this Travel Size spray bottle for over 2 years now, and the reason it lasted so long is that I forget to use it! I fix my hair, get all happy and making it look reasonably tame and then by the time I get to where I’m going, It’s looks like a bird’s nest again.

I swear to do better with the next bottle.

How Much: $5.5

Will I buy Again? I got a bottle of Joico Power Spray in Allure Beauty Box. so I’ll use that first, if it’s not as good, I’m going back to Redken.

Cheap Thrills - the end of a shopping binge

Cheap Thrills - the end of a shopping binge

So, as said, a decision to not buy any new makeup till I finish 10 products disolved into the abyss of Trade shows, DR. appointments and sending invoices to clients - all horrible activities that makes me want to either burry myself in ice cream or go shopping.

And so, last week I got new foundation and 2 lipsticks. Then after another bad day, I found myself at Duane Reade Just wondering around and looking for something non-chocolatey to cheer myself up with, without spending too much money.

My feet led me to the $1 basket, which is a big pile of the dregs of leftover of make up - banged packaging, strange colors, stuff that was probably returned and since the collections just changed, a few last samples from previous collections.

The wonderful surprise was that I found not one, not two but 4 worthwhile buys!

And this is what I got:

Fit Me Maybelline foundation in 210 - Sandy Beige, the only color left and by chance my shade
Rimmel Eye shadow Quad in Urban FlowerRevlon Lipstick in Siren 
And a slightly odd set of what’s supposed to be “The first, the original and the only” UV free gel-color from Nutra Nail.

I haven’t really used any of those yet, so reviews will follow, but it was very nice to go into a store and come out with a bunch of new stuff for less then $5.

E.L.F - the good, the bad & the Ugly

I’ve mentioned before how much I love E.L.F, there are 2 main reasons. The first is no animal testing and no connection to some mother company that does animal testing (I should be more aware of that, and I’m not, but it’s nice o know that some of what I buy is Cruelty free).

The second is the prices. It’s all just so cheap and on top of that, they always have some crazy sale on something. It feels really awesome to wonder around a site, buying EVERYTHING you want and somehow it comes down to the price of a not-so-fancy product from Sephora. 

I’ve read in other blogs that some stuff from E.L.F was great and some not even worth the $1-$5 they costs. So far I’ve done 2 ordes from E.L.F, and got over 10 products in each, and as said the quality vary from “Totally Awesome!” to “What is this?”

Here are a couple of extreme examples:

The Good: E.L.F Mineral Eye Shadow

I got two of those when E.L.F had their 50% all mineral make up, which means I paid $1.5 each. those are some of the best loose shadow I’ve used. I have Bronzed, which is glittery and rich, and Partier, Which is a beautifully sultry grayish blue. Both shadow do have some fallout, but that happens with any loose shadow. The pigent is super vivid and over primer or cream shadow, they do last all day without creasing. 

The Bad: Studio Eyebrows Kit

This was bought in my first E.L.F order, when they had 50% the studio line. So I paid $1.5 for this very cute tiny kit of wax brow shadow light setting powder. The colors looked perfect in the pan, but sadly, do absolutely nothing… Don’t know if it’s lack of pigment, wax that’s too hard or whatever, but I tried with different brushes and nothing happened. 

The Ugly: Loquacious Liquid Lipstick

This is not a bad product, it’s very hydrating and easy to apply, I’m choosing to believe this was a mislabeled sample or just a strange mistake, because what was called Ruby Slippers and was swatched as a lovely bright red, turned out to be a strange brownish pink with a massive amount of golden shimmer. A color that for sure would make some 90 year old lady happy, but really isn’t “me”. I sometime wear it on top of lipstick to ad gloss when my lips are very dry, but I think I’m hanging on to it in some strange hope it’ll turned out to be the right color.

Out with the Old

Wet N Wild CoverAll concealer in Light

One of those products that are all but perfect for a small flaw. Sadly, the small flaw makes it practically useless.

This canceler has perfect texture, easily blended and very affordable. There are only 4 shades, but the Light was pretty perfect for me.

What’s the problem than? It comes in a bottle that’s oblong, meaning wider and not round. Why is this a problem? because the applicator can’t really get to all, or even most of the product. I’v tried shaking it, I tried adding a couple of drops of eye drops, I tried holding it upside down but nothing helps.
I really hate throwing out a probably more then half full bottle, just because I can’t get the concealer out of the bottle.

Even if I only used half of the product it’s still a worthwhile deal though. 

How much: $3