So I went shopping...

*cue the image of barbie walking and talking with her friends at the mall...when suddenly they saw...CLEARANCE.*

Ever have that moment in your life? Where you are walking along and see some cool things and you are like "meh, neh., ehh..." but then by happenstance, as you look up at the next isle, a big bright red and white sign in bold letters screams at you. Like HEY I'M CHEAP OVER HERE! And you are not sure how or why, but know you are drawn to it, because you feel the world move beneath you, you are so drawn to it, like moths to a flame. It burns so bright, so clear, you are consumed with this want, no---dare i say--- need to see what it is, that is, on clearance.

...no?

Just me? Alrighty then, no surprise I went shopping (had to get some things for the baby) and I hit my usual spot, Target and low and behold I got me 3 things.

ELF (I can hear the groans everywhere. More ELF? You just did THREE blogs worth of ELF, and you still go for more??? What is wrong with you? To my defense, I am a sucker for sales. :D)

I got their Holiday Flavored Glossy (tube) Set. And boy oh boy, if you like Coffee, go find it in your 50% off holiday stocking stuffers isle because their bronze gloss tastes just like it. Its called Hot Cocoa but, my sister and I both agree, it feeds the inner coffee consumers in us. :D The Red gloss is called Candy Cane, and it has the same taste as the minty glosses from their Studio Line. The White one I haven't tried yet, but I love the texture and taste of these glosses so I'm a verrrry happy camper. :)

And yes, half off of 3 dollars, makes me also happy too. lol

I also found the Sonia Kashuk Purse Essentials 5 Brush set.

You don't get a eyebrow comb or sponge applicatiors. You get 5 soft brushes. One is a wide but thin face/blush/bronzer/multi-purpose brush, the other 4 are a Crease Brush, Angled Brush, a Small Eyeshadow Brush and finally a Smudge Brush. It was orignally 10 dollars, that I got for 6.90. Now you are probably thinking, well are the brushes any good? Are they soft? Are they worth it?

I haven't tried them out but I can tell you they are soft, they are stiff for packing and working with eye shadows, they are small but I have small palms so they fit nicely in my hand. The only downside is the Angled Brush isn't as thin as the ELF Angled Brush, so we shall see how well it holds up when I use them. I also think if you are traveler, whose probably very tired of getting stuck with travel kits that come with too much stuff you sort of don't need and not enough of the things you do need, then I would recommend this Sonia Kashuk Purse Essentials. It also comes in a silver case that comes with a mirror and designated pockets for the brushes. So yeah, another really good investment at a really good price. :) Cha-ching!

Finally, my ultimate splurge was the Pixi by Petra Softly Smoky Eyes. Its not in the light green packaging, but in a navy blue. It comes with 12 shadows and the pigmentation is out of this world. One swatch and I just about wanted to wash my face and go play. lol :) I am so glad I found this palette. The only down side is the magnets aren't strong enough to keep the palette closed, so I have to put another palette on top of it to keep it from getting ruined. Also for Pixi by Petra cosmetics, it came as a real deal steal. 7 dollars. Most of her cosmetics (like on her site, Pixi Beauty or at Target sell for in the tens, twenties, even thirty dollar range.)

Note: Unfortunately, I had the flash on for these pictures, because it was night time by the time I got home and frankly, they would have looked weird if I had done some other camera setting. So take notice of how light these colors appear, but I assure you the flash has just washed them out a little. The black (at the first left) is a true matte black. The next is a silver with sparkle, the brown is a darker more rustic cool toned brown. The purple is more like Raspberry Truffle, or a burgundy brown for those that don't have ELF Studio single shadows. 

At the second left, The first is a warm mid-tone brown, the next is a red-copper, the third is a cool toned charcoal (it doesn't have blue in it, but its cooler compared to the Silver.) and the forth is a warm light brown.

At the 3rd left, these I would classify as your everyday neutrals. There is another brown shade, a neutral golden brown, a taupe and finally a creme colored shadow.

Alright that is it for now,

Take care

ChristinaReviews

Apologies and ELF

First off, I must apologize, I forget how many days ago I promised (to upload pictures the following day...) and that following day turned into many days.

I haven't been sick but I've been busy fending off germs from my sister by any means necessary. My mom didn't let me call hazardous waste management, so I was left with throwing bottles of medicine and water at her.
Well, not actually chucking bottles at her head, but more like reacting like she was a leaper.

Anyhow, the final bit of my review on ELF.

From their $1 dollar line, I've tried:
Eyes:

• Waterproof Eyeliner in Black
• Earth and Water Mascara in Black and Brown
• Wet Lash Gloss and Eyebrow Mascara (the clear mascara)
• Brightening Eyeliner in Black and Gilded
• Eye Brightening Eye Color in Nouveau Neutrals
• Eye Widener (the white eye pencil)
• Liquid Eyeshadow in Cream Dream, Sultry Satin, Sexy Silver and Mocha Madness

Lips:

• Super Glossy Lipshine in SPF 15 in Goddess, Pink Kiss, Juiced Berry and Candlelight

Face:

• Tone Correcting Concealer in Apricot Beige
• Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Apricot Beige
• Complete line of brushes

Tools:

• Eye makeup remover pads
• Nail polish remover pads
• Eyelash curler with black and pink grips
• Shine Erasers
• Dual Pencil Sharpener

(Some of you are thinking, that's a helluva a lot of stuff to have tried. The truth is, I'm a cheapie at heart. So when I hear about stuff that's dirt cheap compared to stuff you buy at the stores, I had to try. And to make me even more tragic, on all of this stuff I've used a discount. lol)

Review: 

Eye products:

Waterproof Eyeliner: A great price for what you want it to do. Its not the blackest black and its certainly not waterproof like it says it is. (If I make mistakes, like I often times do, it came off with a wet q-tip with no problem, wet, setting or dry.) It has been a few months since I've used their waterproof felt tip eyeliners so maybe they've added more staying power. I liked it for the size (it was about the size of Revlon's felt tip liner which I currently use.) however, it dried out fast. I even kept it upside down, and by three months I could do nothing to revive it.  Overall, I would recommend this product.

Earth and Water Mascara in Brown and Black: For 1 dollar getting two mascaras is a nice price. Its alright mascara. It did clump up on me and I had to break out that eyebrow comb and lash brush to separate it. I did like it because it was handy on the go. When I was dating (the man I'm now married) less was more for me. It wasn't amazing mascara but it did its job when I needed to spruce up. The black is your standard black mascara and the brown works great for fair skinned and light lashes. Sometimes black can be too harsh for pale lashes especially without eyeliner.

Their clear mascara: They should just change it to that. I use clear mascara to keep my eyebrows in place and for the price coming from ELF, I will be a lifetime buyer. I absolutely love this stuff! :D They have changed formulations (I just opened my second tube) so there is more of a gel effect if you sweep your brows hard. I did it the first time and about thirty minutes later, my eyebrows were as stiff as planks of wood. lol I would highly recommend this as something for others to try.

Eye Brightening Eyeliner in Black and Gilded: I am a little mad at ELF for this liner, but I get what I pay for. The wood surrounding the black pigment doesn't settle well, which means I get to feel the scraping wood as I line my eyes. However, the color payoff and the creamy texture of the liner is really good. I know this to be true because Gilded, a gold colored liner feels really nice for those hardly there makeup days. I don't really recommend you to tight line with these pencils. Go for kohl type pencils, which are made to be softer and more delicate for your inner eye. Other than that, I'd say buy them at your own risk.

Eye Brightening Eyeshadow in Nouveau Neutrals: I got this in a gift set, so instead of the shadows being divided up into triangles, its little rectangles. And it make just be me, but I have to really work their "C' shaped brush in that tiny little shadow quad. The color pay off is nice, but powdery. If your not careful you could unleash some serious powder flakes in the air. I really haven't used it much, but the green shade was pretty. It just didn't suit me the way I thought it would, so I am a little disappointed.

Eye Widener: Is a joke. I don't like it at all. When I went to draw on my inner eye, I got zero color pay off and again, the cheapness spoke volumes. It needs to be softer and creamier for this concept to work, ELF.

Liquid Eyeshadow in Cream Dream, Sultry Satin, Sexy Silver and Mocha Madness: I was really surprised, I like these a lot. I think I like the Creme (which is an ivory shimmer and sparkle) and the Satin (is more of a taupe white) more than the Silver and Mocha. The Silver is pretty dark too, but pretty. I've used them successfully as bases. (I did one eye at a time, and when it went from tacky to almost dry, I applied my eyeshadow.) I really like these and I want to buy more of them. :)

Lip Products:

Super Glossy Lipshines: I had about 6 of these but I a few to my mom and sister. My two ultimate favorites was Goddess, which was a pinky nude pearl gloss and Candlelight, which was a true nude based pearl gloss. Juiced Berry is a clear purple-pink gloss with glitter, where as Goddess and Candlelight, even Pink Kiss, were creamy and pearly. Pink Kiss is a true pink gloss without the Barbie attached to it. And gernerally I stray away from pinks, because if you have any yellow on your teeth (from coffee to just not brushing good enough) they will sort of show each other off. So eesh. I think these glosses taste amazing, smell good and you get a great amount for the price you pay. I've thought of buying more, but I've got enough glosses to get me to 2014, so for now I'll enjoy what I have and use use use and use some more. :)

Face Products:

Tone Correcting Concealer and Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Apricot Beige: Before ELF had come out with any lighter shades (like the ivory you can buy today) the lightest they had was Apricot Beige. Which was the equivalent of me wearing 4 shades darker foundation. And orange based too. Like I didn't even bother to blend. Esh, right? Well After that experience both the Concealer and Moisturizer went to people darker than myself and I've pretty much decided that I won't touch concealers or moisturizers without color swatching first.

Their 12 piece Brush Set: I'm going to be a concise as I can since going through 12 products could double this post just right here. So Brushes I would Recommend: Their Dome/Contour/Blending brush, "C" shaped eyeshadow brush, possibly their square eye liner brush and their angled defining eye brush. Everything else is a try at your own risk. Their Powder brushes, like their angled blush/bronzer/blending brush and their total face brush are very scratchy and not worth the money. Their foundation brush is synthetic and flimsy, so you have to go over your face with a little foundation triangle to even out the streakiness it can leave behind. I would personally invest in their Studio Line, because it is worth the chunk of change. I am a cheapie, but I also love quality too. And finding both at a reasonable range for modern day consumers is the real trick of the trade. Its called smart spending. So I would classify ELF's studio brushes as a very smart spend. :)

Tools: 

Their Eye make up remover pads didn't work out so well for me. Plus I can buy sensitive wipes that are able to remove all my make up for a better price than what ELF sells them for. And the same thing with the nail polish wipes, I don't like them because I had to go through so many that I gave up. My sister, however, loves them. So its a personal call that you'd have to make. I love their Eyelash curlers, especially the black one because its got a nice clamp feeling, where some feel like your going to just keep curling fo-eva. I also highly recommend their Shine Erasers because they do the job that they gotta do. And their eye pencil sharpener broke when it arrived in the mail, so that blew.

Summary:

All and all, I would highly recommend their Clear Mascara, I'd say try their liquid eyeshadows, definitely try their tube lip glosses, invest in some "C" shaped eyeshadow brushes as well as their curlers and shine erasers. But everything else is a personal choice and hopefully you'll find stuff you really love from ELF.

STUDIO Update:

I just wanted to give you a little more info about the Studio brushes.
That flat top brush is really good at stippling (like that white and black MAC stippling brush) your liquid foundation, just remember to blend! I didn't blend as much as I thought I should today and right now my neck and face are two shades apart. :( I would also try it with mineral make up too. Its not as packed as some mineral make up brushes I've used but it will do a nice job none the less.

I will have to post pictures later today BC baby is wanting attention!
Take care,
ChristinaReviews

EDIT: I looked over some of the pictures I took and I will retake them. Too untrue to the colors. :(

ELF Review Part 2 of 3

I won't be able to upload pictures tonight, but I will do so as soon as I can in the morning time. (Its midnight my time.) I just wanted to finish the Studio Review of ELF cosmetics and hopefully, later today, have the final review up with all the good picture swatch stuff. :D Here is a list of products I've tried:

Studio Line

• HD Powder
• Complexion Perfection
• Shimmer Palette
  
• Golden Bronzer
  
• Blush and Bronzer Compact
• Blushes in Peachy Keen and Tickled Pink
• Eyeshadow singles in Raspberry Truffle, Pebble, Sanddollar and Mystic Moss
• Eye Primer and Sealer
• Two Minty Lip glosses in Miami and New York City
• Complete line of brushes
• Brush Shampoo

Their HD Powder is a silica based product. Many of you might not like this because Silica can be bad for you and your precious lungs. However, I wanted to try a silica based face product for awhile now and since ELF jumped on the bandwagon of HD products, I tried theirs. For the past three days, I haven't noticed anything significant, other than if you tap too hard, too much product comes out. (You'd think I'd have learned from my mineral shadow experience by now.) I like its texture but overall, I don't see it doing anything spectacular to my skin. Has anyone else tried this? Have you seen improvements?

Their Complexion Perfection. I like. Its got a silky texture (perhaps more silica, tomorrow I'll check...) and a mattifying one too. But so far I haven't tried it out on bare primed skin to see what it does. I do use certain parts of the compact for some redness around my nose and chin, and the yellow is nice layer under mineral eye concealer. I think this was a good buy that I have learn how to use it well. lol

The Shimmer Palette. Oh lawdie, I love it so much! It contains 4 shimmers in a white, a taupe, a pink and a peach creme. All look amazing on my fair skin tone. All are incredibly easy to blend and work into the skin and I highly recommend this product simply because I believe it will work with just about anyone's skin tone. It is a creme base product, not a powder, so if you prefer one of there other, now you know about ELF's Shimmer Palette.

Their Bronzers. A love hate relationship. I almost fell for their Cool Bronzer because I am a cool skin neutral undertone gal. Pinks liven up my complexion, and browns work well with my hair and golden flecks in my eyes. However, I bought their blush and contour duo (ELF's knockoff to Orgasm blush) awhile back and learned the hard way, just because the product on the site looks one way doesn't mean it will work on me.

Case and point, the brown is dark enough to be a brow filler.When I first applied it, it was too dark to blend right and finally, I just had to remove it because it left brush streaks on my skin. As for the Orgasm knockoff, the pink is also too dark for me. Even with a light hand, I looked sun burnt. So I've given it to my mom whose more golden undertone and warmer complected than myself.  

Advice: 

when choosing a bronzer, 
especially for pale to light skinned folks, 
go 2-3 shades deeper than your foundation powder. 
Don't go off buying some all purpose summer bronzer 
that matches your oak cabinets in your bathroom. 

Work with yourself, not just the trend. :)

Their Golden Bronzer does exactly what I hoped it would, the browns are light to medium colors with shimmer but it doesn't look like I've sprayed myself with halloween all over hair and body glitter. Its very pretty when blended well. It gives the definintion a goil like me needs without looking gaunt, gawdy or gosh darn silly. I would suggest the Warm pallete for ladies who are light to medium skin toned, and the cool for darker skin tones. The Cool bronzer has that pink that would make your cheeks look flushed and pretty not like me, who was red the clown for a day.

Onto their Blushes and Eyeshadows! All I can say is there are amazing. I've never owned a true peachy color blush, and Peachy Keen works wonders on me. The pink is a pretty sheer color, so if you like your blush with oomph! you'll have to build Tickled Pink. Their eye shadows are much better than their dollar line. Raspberry Truffle is a dark brown cranberry. Its oh so sophisticated! :) Their Mystic moss is a charcoal gray meets emerald and made an enchanting baby. Its murky but elegant, its not your Irish Green you see screaming at St Patti's day Parades, its a hello, I'm green...with some major allure power going on. ;) Pebble, I got because it looked like a nice contour color for my light make up days, and turns out, I like it mixed with everything, even by itself! Its one of their safer colors but still fun to use. Finally Sanddollar. It was bought simply because I needed a good white for the inner corners of my eyes. Overall, if you had to drop money on ELF makeup start with the eyeshadows and blushes then experiment elsewhere. :)

The Eye Primer and Sealer failed me so bad. The Sealer is really a clear wand that you can mix your eyeshadows and create a liquid liner. But I got it for the primer, and the primer was too orangy for my skin tone, creased on a few occasions and after sanitizing the product, I gave it to my sister. She thinks it works well. I hope the two of them have a beautiful relationship for years to come. lol

The Minty Lip Glosses. I bought a safe color, Miami and on impulse a bright pink-red, New York City. When I received the boxes of them both, one looked almost nude and the other one looked like wine. I thought oh how nice a wine color gloss, never had one of those. Yet when I opened NYC and saw it for what it was, I was like...wine? WTH was I thinking??... Its pink! Bright pink! Barbie Bright Pink! I tried it on and was sort of slighted by the taste and smell. It isn't a thick gloss, it won't drench your lips in uber pinkness, but after awhile my confidence grew as I got a compliment every now and then. The color is a richer more magenta pink than what I expected after applying it to my lips. There is some sparkle but what one must contend with is the taste and smell.

See, I have a thing for Bath and Body work's peppermint lip glosses. The double peppermint gloss. I think of it as the meeting of two great minds, pretty lips and nice breath. I use to be an avid mint consumer (but I got pregnant and no more mints for me, so i needed a fix. lol) and since then, every mint flavored gloss has come up to challenge B&B and has failed.

So as the day wore on, and I reapplied NYC a few times, the scent sort of faded and the taste became more comfortable for me. It was like a candy mint, but you could taste more of the sweetness than the burning coolness of the mint. Then I had a tick-tack and all came together. ELF's minty glosses are like Barbie meets itty bitty mints and makes a cheap knock off to B&B and for once, I am satisfied with all things minty, glossy and girly. lol

(I didn't intend for this to be so long! Almost through!)

Their Studio Brushes. ELF, you make amazing brushes. The black is so sleek, and if you can afford the whole 11 brushes for 30 dollars, you really wouldn't need to buy other brushes. Do the math with me: 30 goes into 11 about 2.8 (or 2.9 times). Where are you going to be able to find quality soft brushes at a price like that? MAC has met its match at the fraction of the cost. And each brush doesn't have to be used just the way it was made. Furthermore you could use the Dollar Line 'C brushes' too because both are equally as soft. ELF's brushes were the best investment I've made since finding the right shade of foundation for myself. They truly are all around good brushes. The kabuki isn't dense like a flat top brush but it does its job well. (I use to to blend in my face powder. I don't want super stiffness, I want a lighter application.)

As for the Brush Cleaner, Its cool but for the amount you get, just buy Target Baby shampoo. It works just as good and is very gentle to the bristles, wand and glue keeping everything together.

Summery:

I highly recommend the Shimmer Palette, the shadows, blushes and brush line. No matter if you buy 1 brush or them all, you won't be disappointed. Everything else is a bit of a gamble, but ELF isn't a high stake game. And if you play your cards right, and you have a super steep discount, it really is a win win situation. :) Cheap and pretty, what do you think of that?

Take care,
ChristinaReviews

Eyes Lips Face

-But you've never got them like this!
Okay, that was a little too much.

Onto the review! :)

I have been buying from them for about two years. Now they have been good with shipping and bad with shipping. (Recently with myself and from a general consensus.) They have been great with delivering everything I ordered. But the time it takes to process orders is a little long.

I have bought from their 1 dollar line, mineral and studio line. And if order to give you the best review possible, I'm going to break this up into two chunks instead of droning about ELF.

In the past, (more like 2006) they were a company without a tracking number, a telephone number or decent customer service reps. I've heard horror stories of ELF products taking a month, two months even three months to ship to its final destination. Sometimes with products missing. And because of this, many people filed complaints with the BBB. Better Business Bureau.

Since then, as you can tell, they've come up in the world. They're in Target for the holidays, they have their own Youtube channel, they even provide amazing discounts for their already wallet-friendly line of cosmetics. Their mineral line has been a great little adventure for myself. Especially their eyeshadows.

Upon my very first application I want to to give you a little heads up on the sifter. The sifter holes are diamond shaped, and relatively large. So in case you tap hard to get the product out, be very careful opening the lid. I almost lost Elegant to my own vigorous tapping. :o As for the colors and pigmentation they are really amazing dry, but I can only image wet. Most of the ELF mineral eyeshadows have sparkle, the ones that do not are: Temptress, Seductive and Partier.

As for the scale of the product, hopefully this will give you a better idea of how big the container is and about how much product you might receive. Everyday Minerals (another future review) container is more densely pact with product versus ELF mineral. There is a pocket of air in each product but don't think your not getting your money's worth. .03 oz of mineral eyeshadow will last you months, if not years depending on how you use it. I still have pigments from NYC and I'm no where near empty yet and those are much smaller than both Everyday Minerals and ELF Mineral Eyeshadows. Onto the lips!

I only ordered lip glosses. I'm not a huge lipstick gal. Only because the way colors look on my lips makes the shape of my mouth weird. Lip glosses on the other hand, are easier to change throughout the day and give the conditioning my lips need. So as for a scale of the Elf Mineral Lip Glosses, versus one of their tube lip glosses from their 1 dollar line, versus even a Covergirl lip gloss, you can clearly see, size versus amount is pretty jipped. If you were paying 3 dollars for this, and you paid 1 dollar for their regular tube gloss, wouldn't you buy more of the 1 dollar product?

I am glad I got to try the glosses out, but I probably won't buy any more. They don't taste nice (i.e. waxy) and the dollar tube glosses do taste nice. All in all, try the mineral line with a coupon, see what you think of them. Tell me if you agree or disagree about the flavor or the amount.

I'd like to add that the mineral lip glosses do have nice pigmentation just by themselves and with lipstick they look equally as nice. (I may not be a lipstick fan, but I do own a few. lol)

Last but not least, I also got their Mineral Eye primer. I've used it for two days now, with elf mineral eye products and without. It holds up pretty well. Its light colored, so i'm not sure how well it could work with mid to dark skin tones, but for me (being as pale as copy paper) I liked it.

Summary:

The ELF mineral eyeshadow is a must try. If your unsure as to what colors to try first, my fair/light skinned readers I'd recommend:

• Sweet (a shimmery pink)

• Natural (a low grade golden color, not as vibrant as a gold brick but not as flesh toned as my fair skin. And I'm the fairest of the fair, the Ivory that makes Revlon, the Pale/Ivory that makes NYX foundation...you get the idea.)

• or Mysterious (a pale gray-purple. Which looks amazing with dark blue eyes.)

My medium/olive/tan readers I'd recommend:

• Sassy (which is a mid grade brown gold.)

• or Glamorous, (which is a warmer dark pink/rose color than Sweet.)

For my darker skin toned readers, I'd try:

• Wild (a deep brown with vibrant shimmer)

• or Royal (which is a dark purple)

As for their lip glosses, there are similar colors. So if you like dark colors go for Night Owl and Sorority Girl, because they are very much the same. If you like more natural colors Au Naturale would be a great wearable look for you. If your looking for an inexpensive eye primer, try it. Again, tell me what you think.

---So the next blog I'll be covering their studio and their 1 dollar line,
until then take care!
ChristinaReviews

Meet and Greet

This is Christina.

A picture to a blog. A blog made by myself.

I want to spend a little time to introduce myself properly. I am currently a multitasking person. I am going to school, raising a child, with big plans for the future...but I have zero hobbies.

I miss the days of being able to take an hour to get ready in the morning. But I realize now that wasn't the best time I ever spent. Today I get the best kick out of my days by being able to take care of a little one instead of shipping them off to daycare. Its been hair raising, and messy, but I won't have it any other way. So when I get down time (and I don't have to battle laundry and search for the missing sock) I like to return to my roots.

Somewhat.

I want to be able to experiment once again, but not in the way that you think. Everyone knows about Estee Lauder and MAC. Everyone has heard of Smashbox, Stila, and even Too Faced.

I want to show you that there are "dupes" for the expensive brands, and they can a modern persons best way to achieve the 'look like a million bucks without dropping a million bucks'. I also want you to show you that there are skills to be learned in applying make up, buying perfume, looking for appropriate clothing colors for your skin tone and body type, even finding your actual skin tone. (Whether you are warm, neutral or cool! Even finding the most startling shades to bring out your eyes.)

I'm no youtube guru. I want to stay just behind those people. I want to be your advocate, your friend but I also want to show you a whole under layer of the cosmetic world. There is upscale, and there is drugstore but there is also you and me. We're no models, were people who like pretty things and if we have to spend moolah it should be a lovable purchase for years to come, don't you agree?

Cheers and best regards,
ChristinaReviews