2/28/11

FOTD 2/28

Today I went to Wal-Mart to get my hands on a new, cheap eyeliner and a face masque formula. I achieved, both (yay!) without spending tons of money.

I picked up the NYC Eyeliner Duet in 880 Mockingbird. The one side is black and the other is a creamy, almost shimmery white. I used it today and I think it suits me well. And guess what... the duo was only $2! Two eyeliners for two bucks. That's my frugal heart's dream!







As you can probably already tell, I feel the need to write a post just to tell you guys what I bought today with five dollars. To me, that's exciting because I am very frugal and any money spent is always very well thought-out.
I also got a peel-off masque formula from Freeman. I've never used any products from this brand so I'm pretty excited about trying it out. I've been needing a good deep cleaning mask for my unruly face... Grr. It seems like no matter what I use, the acne will never subside. Hopefully this will freshen up my skin.

After I've used this a few times, I'll tell you guys about it and what my review is. :)


Anyway, I was going to talk about my FOTD that I achieved using the new eyeliner that I got alongside the new MAC Lady Gaga 2 Viva Glam lipstick. Here's some semi-closeups:


As you can see, I used the black eyeliner to do the top part of my eyelid in a very thin line. I extended it a bit past the edge of my eye and winged it up just a bit.
I then used the creamy white side to put a little bit in the inner corner of my eyes as well as the inner third of my eye. It looks very nice and compliments the black really well. This duo is perfect for what look I wanted to achieve tonight.

I'm also using a little bit of the Viva Glam lipstick that just came out a couple weeks ago. You can't see it very well, maybe because of the lighting, or maybe just because I had a little bit of Carmex under the lipstick, so it kind of washed away the color a little bit.

But anyways, I'm off to try my new facial mask! :D

Good night everyone

2/26/11

E.L.F. review & other products

If you have watched my most recent video, you know that I just recently got a few ELF products in the mail. I got a couple different things because they were having a free shipping period. I was unfamiliar with ELF until this point, and boy do I have some opinions and reviews for you!

I also got some other products in the past couple of months that I'd love to share with you. I got a couple of lipsticks that I have accumulated in the past couple of months that include brands from Avon & MAC. Enjoy!

Lipsticks

I'll start out with my favorite thing that I purchased from ELF. I got a Mineral lipstick that was $5. The shade is in "Nicely Nude". It glides on smooth and is very moisturizing on your lips.

It goes on nicely and it lasts for a reasonable amount of time. Although it's supposed to be a nude, when it goes on it is actually more of a light pink. There's a shine to the application but it's very appropriate.

(Note: Unfortunately, not too long after I took this picture, the lipstick split in half after opening it. The lipstick is just such an awful mess now. I will probably not be purchasing their lipsticks again, frankly, because I've never seen such a mess with this lipstick!)


 


Next I will cover the Avon lipsticks that I was recently blessed with by my sister. They are not necessarily "new", but they are new to myself, so I still want to get my word out there about these lipsticks!

The first one is a beautiful bright pink with a slight sparkle to it. I have found that Avon lipsticks are very easy to apply and very moisturizing. However, because they are so much like a lipgloss in the sense that they are more on the liquid side when applying, they don't last very long on your lips.

This one is called "Charged Cherry". The photo doesn't do much justice, but you can see how beautiful it is on my lips.


 

The next shade is called "Brilliant Berry". It is more on the darker side, but when applied on your lips, it looks pretty similar to Charged Cherry. It's application is, again, very moisturizing almost liquidy when applied.

As you can see from the photos, it's similar but you can definitely see the darker edge that Brilliant Berry has.




Lastly, I obtained another lipstick from MAC. It is a brilliant coral by the name of "Ravishing". This is one of those lipsticks that you'd probably only use it on special occasions. It's very vibrant and of course, it looks great.

Although these photos below don't look very coral, I assure you that they don't do justice. For some reason, my camera isn't properly capturing the coral in the lipsticks. I might try to do re-takes on these photos so you can REALLY see what it looks like, but oh well.




Complete swatches of all lipsticks
Nicely Nude, Brilliant Berry, Charged Cherry, Ravishing


Other ELF products

As some of you know, I was very excited to get the 32 eyeshadow palette that was only $5! When it came in the mail, I was impressed with the packing pictured below, but there are definitely some mixed reviews on this palette.



As you can see, the top 2 rows are consisted mostly of neutrals, with the exception of a few pinks and reds. Very nice colors. The third row is all of your brighter colors: pinks, purples, greens, and blues. The last row is your darker colors, blacks and greys, that you would use for a more smokey, darker look.

These are all very beautiful colors, but don't be fooled. Some of these colors are not very pigmented AT ALL. For example, the second color on the second row - the one that looks sort of coppery-sparkly, has absolutely no pigmentation. It literally goes on your eyes as just a sparkly mess. Sure, that looks pretty and all, but there is absolutely no color yet. I have yet to try a lot of these colors, but for the most part it seems that the pigmentation is 50/50 in this palette. Either you get what you want or you don't.

All in all, it seems that this palette is more for makeup beginners that are just barely experimenting. Although I have my complaints, it was only five dollars, so I guess I didn't waste too much money.

Next, I got a blush from ELF. It is called "Peechy Keen". It's a very light and subtle blush with a bit of a sparkle undertone.


As you can see, it's more of a neutral-ish, almost tan tone, but when applied you can see a bit of a pink undertone. Here below is some of it on my arm.


It's almost a bit hard to see it, but you can definitely see the pinkish effect that it gives off. I think it's pretty  nice, and I could wear this everyday.

Lastly I got their tinted moisturizer with SPF 20. 


First of all, before I even opened the bottle, I could see that it did not match my skin tone. This is disappointing because it looked a lot lighter online. I guess my skin is just a bit too pale! But when I opened up the bottle, I was surprised to find that the product started to squeeze out on its own -  probably due to air pressure during shipment. I suppose I'm okay with this, but I think I sort of also blame ELF. It's kind of sticky and not extremely moisturizing, but it's okay all in all.


Final thoughts on ELF:
Their products are definitely more on the kiddish side - not very professional and good quality. Although the products are cheap, I expected a little bit more than what I got. The mineral lipstick was only $5, and I think I could find one that's better for that price at the drugstore. I probably won't be purchasing again from ELF, but I'm glad that I learned my lesson and know that it's not the best makeup out there!

If you have any questions about any of these products, please let me know! <3

G'night :)

2/25/11

Lady Gaga Viva Glam 2 lipstick arrived!

Soo.. just got my new Viva Glam lipstick! Naturally, I am very impressed, possibly even more impressed than the first Viva Glam lipstick that came out last year. The soft pink is beautiful, but this lipstick seems to be even better. It glides on very smoothly and it looks great as a neutral and light tone.

For those of you who don't know about these MAC Viva Glam products, it's a charity for the MAC Aids Fund, where 100% of the profits go towards this fund. Obviously, you're not going to get that kind of charity anywhere else, and this lipstick is a great, great product. It is $14.50 for the lipstick, and they also have a lipglass. I myself am more into lipsticks so I purchased the lipstick. Hurry and go make your donation to the charity and receive a beautiful lipstick in return!






Happy Friday everyone!

Go get free pancakes on March 1 at IHOP!