e.l.f. cosmetics Haul

I was running low on the e.l.f. hydrating water sheet masks, so I ordered a handful more, and then I was forced to order all this other fabulous stuff!

EDIT: I received these items a few weeks ago and was going to redo the swatches, but with moving and my Mac not working, I haven’t had an opportunity. 

Let’s get on with the haul! 

• Hydrating water sheet masks ($3.00ea)
• Volumizing & Defining mascara ($2.00)
• Lengthening & Defining mascara ($0.40!!- no longer available)
• Volumizing mascara ($2.00) <——- This is my favorite e.l.f. mascara
• Beautifully Bare Lash tint ($1.60!!- no longer available)
• Sunkissed Glow bronzer ($2.00)
• Lip Duo in Deep Brown ($6.00)
• Best Friend Eyeshadow duos in Bestie Brown, Soul Mate, Peach Squad, Tea for Two, & Pink Pal ($3.00ea)

The bronzer is actually very pretty.  It doesn’t have any shimmer, and it seemed to blend out nicely on my arm.  The lipstick and lipliner are a deep and dark brown.  The lipstick almost reminds me of the Mary Kay shade Toffee I used to wear wayyyyyyy back in the day! I don’t even wear lipstick but the beautiful brown color sucked me in. I included a photo with and without flash because it was really difficult to get a good swatch.

The eyeshadow duos are slightly disappointing. I didn’t expect much for $3, but I did expect more than chalky and patchy application. 

These shadows are meh at best.

The shimmers were OK in that the colors are pretty but they’re stiff to swatch.  I had to apply a lot of product to get a good swatch. There wasn’t much fall out for any of the shimmers, though.  The mattes, eesh, the mattes are a hot mess.  They are chalky and they just swatched awful. The only redeeming quality is that for being chalky is minimal fall out. Peach Squad swatched the best.  I’ll give the shadows a few more tries.

The beauty of e.l.f. cosmetics is the brand is affordable and an occasional miss doesn’t break the bank. 

Have you tried any of these products? 

❤

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May Favorites

Well, another month has come and gone which means it’s time for another Monthly Favorites post!  

My May favorites (All links open in a new window):

1) Ponds Cold Cream – I decided to go old school and try this way of makeup removal. I like it.  I think.  I’ve used it daily for over a month, and though it still feels strange to use a cream to remove my makeup, it really works!  My skin feels so soft and moisturized after using. I don’t always use it to remove my eye makeup though because I can’t get it completely off and then my eyes have this weird film that annoys the crap out of me.  For my mascara removal, I use a facial cleansing cloth.

2) It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara – I bought this on a recommendation from Bonnie (Queen of the Girl Geeks).  Read my First Impression on this product here.  I was hesitant to purchase this mascara because I had a bad experience with a similar mascara that rhymes with Poo Taced Smetter Ban Hex. I purchased the Superhero mascara, received it on May 1st, tried it for the first time on May 2nd, and have used it EVERY STINKIN’ DAY since without fail. I LOVE IT.  I will do a separate review on this mascara because it’s deserving of its own post.

3) IBY Beauty Blush in Peach Sheen – I received this blush in a Beautycon beauty box.  I tried it for the first time at the beginning of May and have used it every day since, thus giving my Too Faced Love Flush blush a break.  🙂 It’s a beautiful shimmery peach.  I didn’t use this right away when I received it because of the sheen, but I find that I actually like the shimmer it gives to my cheeks. 

4) Purpose Dual Treatment moisturizer – I have incredibly sensitive and sometimes dry skin.  I did an internet search for the best moisturizers, and Purpose was #6 out of 15 in an article by Elle posted in March 2017. Read the article here. I only use this moisturizer at night because it is a bit heavy and I don’t have much time in the morning to wait between moisturizing and makeup application. Purpose is incredibly hydrating. I sometimes get dry patches from setting sprays and hydrating mists (I know, ironic, right?), and I use this moisturizer to help heal the dry areas.  It works pretty much overnight.  Highly recommended by dermatologists, this moisturizer puts my dry skin in check. It’s affordable at less than $5.00. Keep it away from your eyes, though, because once you get it in, you can’t get it out.

5) Rimmel London Stay Glossy lipgloss (Dorchester Rose) – I am in love with this lipgloss. It isn’t a long wearing gloss, what gloss is? But I don’t mind reapplying becaust it’s a beautiful shimmery sheer nude with little glittery particles that make my lips look pretty.  I love it so much that I have at least 3 backups.  🙂  The formula isn’t drying or sticky. I have a few different shades in this line and they’re all pretty awesome, but Dorchester Rose is my fave.

6) OGX Orchid Oil Color Protect – This product also came in a Beautycon beauty box, but you can buy it at Ulta, Walmart, etc..  I just started using this the first week of May and I love it!  I color my hair black every 4-6 weeks, and this spray is supposed to slow premature fading.  I don’t know if it really helped with that, but it did make my hair feel incredibly soft and it smells… OMG the smell… it smells wonderful, and that wonderful scent lasted all day.

Have you used any of these products?  Share your May favorites with me in the comments!

❤️

 

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – UPDATE

In March, I purchased a deluxe sample size of the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara from Sephora. At the first use, I LOVED this product.  The mascara was unlike any other I’d ever used.  The wand is hourglass shaped and just enough product covered the wand to make for wonderful application.  My lashes looked UH-MAY-ZING. In fact, I was SO in LOVE that I wrote a blog post about it ——-> Read it here (link will open in a new window).

Not the best pics, but these are the pics I took after the first time using the mascara. I did not apply to my lower lashes because the wand is so bulky that I was afraid I’d poke out my eye.

The claims (Taken from Too Faced’s website):

What I love about the mascara:

My lashes had insane volume and looked longer. The product did not flake or look clumpy.  Each lash was coated perfectly.  Clean up was a cinch!  Excess mascara came off my skin so easily with the swipe of a brush or cotton swab. The mascara held up well during the day, again, with no flaking or transfer. I had never been so impressed with a mascara, so much so that I was going to spend $23 on a full sized tube.  Well, I didn’t have to purchase a full size because a friend saw my post on Facebook and bought me one.  I was elated! I used the travel size for a while longer and then finally cracked open the full size.

What I dislike about the mascara:

In 3 days, the tube was a clumpy mess.  Mascara bunched up on the wand and created a mess on my fingers and on my sink.  It was a mess to apply.  I was so disappointed! I called Sephora and they agreed to allow me to return it for a new one.

The photos don’t do the mess justice.  In fact, I had just wiped the tube just before I thought to take photos, so most of the mess was cleaned up.

I was hopeful that it was just a dud and that my new one wouldn’t behave badly. WRONG. The same happened with the replacement. I was not happy.  A $23 mascara should not do this! On April 3rd, I contacted Too Faced on Facebook on Facebook and messaged them with the photos. I still have not heard from them, and my message still shows as unread. *angry face*

 

Look, I know they’re busy, however, a large company such as Too Faced should have a department (and probably does) solely for social media and responding to messages. It’s discouraging.  I contacted e.l.f. cosmetics about a discontinued product and heard from them within 24 hours.  Jus’sayin’.

I really enjoyed the mascara and wanted to overlook these issues, though at $23, I just can’t let it go. It has such amazing potential. 

I do have to say that I didn’t have ANY issues with the travel size. The travel size actually had a narrow opening for catching excess product. I would gladly spend $12 on the travel size because it is THAT good. 

What are your thoughts on this mascara? What is your ride or die mascara? 

❤️

Makeup Collection Part 5 – Concealer

If you have mature skin, concealers can make or break you.

I sometimes use concealer to cover age spots, pimples, and redness. I do not put concealer under my eyes because no matter the product, my wrinkled under eyes are magnified and I look older than I am.  The reason I have so many concealers is because I wanted to try different products to see if I could use under my eyes.  All were a fail, so now I keep all products away from my under eye area.

Holy poo, I have a lot of concealers!

The plastic container is from my local Dollar Tree.

• NYX Color correcting palette (I only use the green)
• Bye Bye Under Eye (light/medium)
• Maybelline Master Conceal (light/medium)
• Hard Candy Glamoflauge (I bought this to cover a tattoo. It worked OK)
• e.l.f. Concealer palette
• e.l.f. Maximum Coverage concealer (Porcelain)
• NYX CC cream (Peach) I have NO idea why I purchased this.
• NYX HD studio concealer (Fair)
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind (Fair)
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind (Brightening  )
• e.l.f. HD concealer (light/green/purple) I think I bought these before I knew what they were for. Now that I know, they’re probably expired.
• Measurable Difference Concealer collection (from a beauty box)

The Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealers dry out my skin, so I use them sparingly, if at all anymore. The Maybelline Master Conceal is a pretty good dupe for the Bye Bye Under Eye, and half the cost.  I don’t think e.l.f. makes the green and purple HD concealers anymore.

After seeing how many concealers I have and don’t use, I think it’s time for a more brutal decluttering!

What concealers do you love?

❤️

Life.

My Macbook is dead. I can’t get to the Apple store until next Thursday.  😞

I am moving house. 😁 I get the keys next Friday. So, I am packing my current house. 

My posts may be limited. I will do my best to keep up using my phone and ipad.

Life happens. 

Hope y’all are having a great week! 

❤️

Cherilyn

Makeup Collection Part 4 – Primer

Primers.  They’re kind of a boring product, right?  I don’t have a large collection because I decluttered a crap load not long ago, and to be honest, I always forget about ’em because I don’t always use a primer.  I find when my skin is free of texture and red spots, I go without.

The plastic container is from my local Dollar Tree.

My current tiny collection of primers:

• e.l.f. Aqua Primer mist
• Maybelline Master Prime (My current favorite)
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind
• Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser
• e.l.f. hydrating under eye primer
• Smashbox Photo Finish
• benefit The POREfessional (Maybelline Master Prime is probably a good dupe for this product at half the price)

All of these primers are OK, though my preferred primer is the Maybelline Master Prime. It has a nice moisturizer feel, and I prefer that to the slippery silicone feel that I get with the Age Rewind, POREfessional, Baby Skin, and Smashbox primers.

Before I realized I’m allergic to coconut oil/water, my favorite primer was Too Faced Hangover RX.  I didn’t use it daily, which is why it took a while to realize I was allergic to the ingredients.  😦

I haven’t tried any of the illuminating/highlighting primers, though I’d love to!  I have heard great things about the Catrice brand, as well as the Maybelline Blur + Illuminate primer.

Do you always use a primer? What is your ride or die primer?  Let’s see your collection!

❤ 

 

Boxycharm – May Unboxing

If you’ve not heard of this box, Boxycharm is a monthly beauty subscription service. For $21/month, you receive 4-5 full sized beauty products in a cute little black box.  Each box is always worth $100+!

This month’s theme is Makeup is Art (All links will open in a new window):

• Convertible Brow – The BrowGal in Brown Fair ($35USD)
• Brow Brush – The BrowGal ($14USD)
• Round Contour Brush – Crown Pro ($24.99USD)
• Liquid Glow – Temptu ($24USD) Boxycharm card lists this product at $29.50, but Temptu’s website has it for $24.
• Highlight & Contour Palette – IBY Beauty ($40USD)

Total box value: $143.49  WOW!

I have the Convertible Brow in 01 Dark Hair.  I received it in a beauty box, and I LOVE it! I’m not all that good in the brow department and this product makes me look as if I am.  I just dust on a light coating of the dark powder, spoolie it through, add some brow gel and my brows look amazing.  I use it every day with The BrowGal brow brush.  They’re both great products.

That brush!  I have wanted a paddle brush since I first saw Tati use one in a tutorial! I am excited to use this brush!  I tossed the lid because I won’t use it and it annoyed me trying to put it back on.  I’m far too impatient for lids. I’ll be using the brush tomorrow and reviewing it soon!

I am diggin’ the highlight/contour palette (the colors looks gorgeous!), as well as the liquid highlight!  I don’t contour often, but I highlight err’day.

Overall, I am happy with this month’s box!  Boxycharm hasn’t had any misses for me since I’ve subscribed over 6 months ago.

If you want to check out Boxycharm for yourself, click my referral link here!  If you want to check out Boxycharm and subscribe without clicking the referral link, clicky clicky right here!

❤

Shills Black Purifying Peel-Off Mask – A Review

I decided I’d try this popular (and painful to remove!) pore deep cleansing mask for myself. I picked it up on Groupon for about $7USD.

I also decided to film it.

This is my FIRST video of ME.  It’s a little sloppy, a bit low in volume, and with horrible bathroom lighting, but I did it.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed with this mask.  I didn’t see anything on the peeled off pieces.  The pain was minimal; it hurt more on the cheek area and around my nose.  It wasn’t too terrible.  If you’re waiting for your popcorn to pop, or your nails to dry, or you have to poop, give my video a watch.  It’s only 4 minutes.  🙂

I am going to work on doing more videos; if you’re so inclined, please subscribe to my YouTube channel.  🙂

If you watched the entire 4 minutes, Thank You.  ❤

My Makeup Bag

I have a little black zippered bag from e.l.f. cosmetics that holds all my makeup goodies! This bag is soft imitation leather with nice zippers and plenty of room for whatever I can stuff in it!

It has two zippered pouches- a large one for cosmetics and a smaller one with sleeves to hold brushes/beauty tools.

In my cosmetics side:

• e.l.f. clay eyeshadow palette in Necessary Nudes
• e.l.f. blush/bronzer duo in Fiji
• e.l.f. baked blush/highlight duo in Rose Gold
• theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlight
• Maybelline Baby Lips SPF 20 lip balm
• e.l.f. hypershine gloss in Fairy
• benefit the POREfessional primer
• pur~lisse SPF 30 BB cream
• it Cosmetics Superhero mascara
• PÜR Cosmetics blending sponge
• e.l.f. hd powder
• e.l.f. compact mirror
• Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day setting spray in Ginger

Whoooo that’s a lot o’ stuff! More often my travels take me to Jeep events and a full face of makeup isn’t ideal for playing in the mud, but I bring a small cosmetics bag because I do wear makeup when I go out at night.

In the brushes side:

• Eyelash curler
• Tweezers
• Cotton swabs
• Hair tie
• All kinds’a brushes
• Jo Malone perfume samples

I travel with just the minimum necessities to achieve a lovely look.  🙂

What’s in your bag?

❤

Ipsy – May Unbagging

I came home yesterday to my May Ipsy bag!  I love coming home to packages containing my favorite things: makeup/beauty products!

If you’re not familiar, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service for $10/month.  You receive 5 beauty products; some deluxe sample sizes, with the occasional full size product. Everything arrives in a cute zippered makeup bag.

This month’s bag, again, is the cutest!  It’s a water resistant clear plastic bag decorated with the coolest treat ever – ice cream! I love how the zipper pull always has the Ipsy logo.  ❤

This month’s theme is Summer!  There are 93 days, 15 hours, and 47 minutes of summer!

The pur~lisse BB cream is the top swatch with the Urban Decay highlight to the left of the Mellow matte lipstick in Nude. The highlight is pretty, the lipstick is creamy and the BB cream looks to be in the perfect shade for my fair skin tone. I don’t think I can use the leave-in conditioner because it has coconut oil (I’m allergic), but I may try to just spritz it on the ends without getting it on my skin.

Let’s get to the goodies! (All links will open in a new window):

• Mellow Cosmetics Creamy Matte lipstick (Nude) – $13USD (Ipster for 10% off orders of $40+)
• pur~lisse BB Tinted Moist Cream SPF30 (Light) – $35USD (bbglam30 for 30% off)
• Urban Decay Afterglow 8-hour Powder Highlighter (Sin) – $26USD (No promo code)
• It Cosmetics Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing mascara (Black) – $12USD for deluxe sample/$24USD for full size (No promo code)
• Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-in Conditioning spray – $20USD (ipsy20 for 20% off)

I am pretty happy with this month’s Ipsy bag and products.  I needed a new mascara for my travel cosmetic bag and the little Superhero mascara will fit perfectly! I’ll probably toss in the BB cream, also.  🙂

If you’re interested in trying out the Ipsy subscription service, click my referral link here. If you’d rather check out Ipsy without my referral link, clicky clicky here!

Thank you for reading! ❤

 

Morphe Brush Box – May Unboxing

I received my Morphe brushes today!  I LOVE this subscription service!  One can never have too many makeup brushes!

If you aren’t familiar, MorpheMe is a subscription service through Liveglam that offers $30 worth of Morphe brushes for $19.99/month!  The brushes come in a bubblewrap envelope with a cute little accordion card that has brief descriptions of each brush.  This month’s theme is Voyage to Glam.

This month I received 5 brushes from their Gun Metal collection!

The May brushes (All links will open in new window):

• G1 – Small Buffer ($9.99)
• G19 – Round Liner Contour ($2.99)
• G38 – Mini Contour ($5.99)
• G40 – Pro Detail Powder ($5.99)
• G41 – Mini Contour ($5.99)

Total box worth: $30.95

If you’re interested in signing up, click HERE (this link will get us both a free brush!), or click HERE if you don’t want a free brush. 😉  It’s $19.99/month.

Thank you for reading! ❤

Makeup Collection Part 3 – Foundation

I have a love/hate relationship with foundations.  Color matching is probably the hardest thing for me. I know I’m not alone in that department. Uggh, it’s such a pain!

I have fair skin, sometimes dry skin, and wrinkly mature skin, which makes setting my foundation a pain because powder accentuates fine lines. I love a good matte foundation, but I’ve yet to find one I like.  Recommendations are always welcome!

The plastic container is from my local Dollar Tree.

Here is my current foundation collection:

• e.l.f. flawless foundation (Porcelain)
• e.l.f. acne fighting foundation (Porcelain)
• e.l.f. HD Mattifying cream foundation (Porcelain)
• L’Oreal Infallible Total Cover (302 Creamy Natural)
• Rimmel London Stay Matte (103 True Ivory)
• Smashbox Camera Ready BB cream deluxe sample (Light/Medium)
• Too Faced Born This Way sample (Porcelain)

My go-to foundation is the e.l.f. Flawless Finish. I’ve used this foundation for years and I’ve yet to find another that provides the same coverage, that looks as amazing on my skin, is the perfect shade, and is affordable.  High end foundations are harsh on my sensitive skin.  I haven’t had any issues with the e.l.f. foundation so I gladly stick with it. I highly recommend this foundation for $6 USD.

I really like the Too Faced Born This Way, but $39 is out of my budget.  I may just continue to run to Sephora for samples from time to time.  Shhh….  🙂  I did not like the Rimmel Stay Matte, and I’m not sure why I still have it.  I find it difficult to declutter my makeup collection.  I always think I may need a certain product in the future, though it never works out that way!  🙂  Does anyone else have that same problem?

The e.l.f. Mattifying cream foundation isn’t really mattifying that I remember, though it’s been a while since I’ve used it last.  I liked the L’Oreal Infallible, but I think I picked it up in a shade that is too dark.  It has a grey tone, and it just looks muddy on my skin.  I use the e.l.f. Acne Fighting foundation when I have breakouts.  It’s a great foundation with lovely buildable coverage.  The Smashbox BB cream sample came in a beauty box.  I really like it, but it is $39 for a full size, and it isn’t a product I’d use every day.  I’m sure I can find a BB cream that is more affordable.  Recommendations?

I tried the Wet ‘n Wild Photo Focus, but it was the wrong shade, and OMG the smell!  It smelled so strongly of paint.  Only because so many swear by this stuff, I may try this foundation again.  I also tried, and decluttered, the L’Oreal Pro-Matte because I picked it up in a shade that was too light. I wore it anyway, but didn’t like the way it looked on my skin.

I’m curious about the brand The Ordinary!  However, as difficult as I find it to color match in store, I can’t even think about ordering foundation online! I may just bite the bullet and order a few shades and hope I hit the bullseye!  It’s an affordable product at $6.90 USD.  We’ll see!

What foundations/BB/CC creams do you have in your collection?  What are your recommendations for drugstore and high end?

Thank you for reading! ❤

 

Happy Star Wars Day!

SMAUL HAUL (see what I did there?)/First Impression – It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara

Based on an awesome review from Bonnie (Queen of the Girl Geeks), and my had-it-up-to-here’dness with mascara (yes, I completely just made up that word here’dness), I ordered the It Cosmetics Superhero mascara.  I also ordered a sample of the Hello Lashes.  The It Cosmetics Superhero mascara retails for $24 USD. You can buy it here.

I received my goodies yesterday.

I used the Superhero mascara this morning…

Now, this is ONLY my first impression.  I’m not gonna jump to a quick review because I did that with a mascara that shall not be named (it rhymes with Poo Taced Smetter Ban Hex), but I gotta say, I LIKEY.  Let me remind you, I SUCK at taking selfies.  I wanted to concentrate on my phenomenal looking lashes which is why my forehead is cut off.  Also, my forehead is HUGE, so I had to cut most of it out to fit my face into the frame.

Ok, so back to the first impression of the It Cosmetics Superhero mascara.  I get it.  I get why it’s everyone’s favorite. The wand is simple, and just enough product comes out of the tube.  Usually I have to use a different mascara for my lower lashes, but because this wand is pretty danged nice, I didn’t have to reach for another mascara.  I love how my lashes look!  The mascara doesn’t appear to be flakey, and it certainly isn’t clumpy.  AHEM, POO TACED, this is how it’s done.

I am going to use this mascara daily throughout the month of May and then provide an update on its wear.  Let’s hope this one lives up to it’s Superhero name and makes it in my May Favorites post.

Thank you for reading and have an amazing day! ❤