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Showing posts with label ELF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ELF. Show all posts
I used the Real Techniques brush set when I did this look and even though they're small (or maybe I just have a big face, lol) the more I use them, the more I like them. My review of them is here.

Face: Gurelain Parure Aqua
Mac Prep and Prime finishing powder
Calvin Klein concealer

Brows: Jemma Kidd Runway Palette (dark brown)

Eyes: Mac Sweet and Punchy es
Stila Charmed Palette (bronze es)
Ulta Bone es (highlight)
ELF cream eyeliner in black
Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Cheeks: Mac Sur blush

Lips: Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2
Mac Chestnut lip pencil
Face: Guerlain Parure Extreme
ELF concealer palette in "Dark"

Brows: Jemma Kidd Runway Palette (dark brown)
Anastasia of Beverly Hills brow gel

Eyes: Mac "If it Sparkles.." pigment
ELF cream eyeliner
Diorshow mascara (top and bottom)
Jemma Kidd Runway Palette dark brown shadow underneath bottom lashes

Cheeks: Revlon Golden Affair Blush in "Rose Rapture"

Lips: Mac "Rocker" lipstick
Mac Dazzleglass Cream in "Amour"
I'm not sure how I feel about this look. This was a combination I've never tried before and I think it came out kinda iffy.

Face: Rock and Republic Classic Tinted Primer
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in 5.0
ELF Complete Coverage Concealer
Mac Prep and Prime Finishing Powder

Eyes: ELF Cream Eyeliner in Black
Mac Henna es
Mac Modest Tone es
Ebay Thin False Lashes
Loreal HIP Gold Kohl (waterline)

Brows (which are already getting bushy again): 
Anastasia Clear Brow Gel
Sleek Storm Palette Brown es

Cheeks: Rock and Republic Call Me Blush

Lips: Iman Espresso Lip Liner
Lorac 3D lipgloss
So my latest celebrity makeup victim is Keri Hilson, lol. I really loved this look on her, and those long wispy lashes she has on. This look also didn't seem that hard to copy so I gave it a shot! I'm happy with the way it turned out, although I do wish I'd used a shinier clear gloss :(

Face:
Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer
Rock and Republic Classic Tinted Primer
Calvin Klein Concealer
Mac Prep and Prime Finishing Powder

Eyes:
Mac Tilt es
Mac Electra es
Sleek Original Palette Blue shadow
Guerlain Kohl (waterline)
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara

Ebay Lashes



Brows:
Revlon Matte Dark Brown es
Anastasia of Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel


Cheeks:
Mac Marine Life


Lips:
Revlon Beyond Natural Concealer
ELF Minty Lipgloss in Boston
 These Eye Encyclopedias are another ELF product I had been wanting to try out for a while now. I got all three encyclopedias during the 3 for $10 promotion a few weeks back.

Each Eye Encyclopedia contains 12 powder eyeshadows, 2 cream eyeshadows, an eyeliner pencil and a mini applicator brush.

Like most of ELF's product the shadows in these palettes are hit and miss. Some are highly pigmented and feel creamy to touch, while others are chalky, powdery and hard as a rock.

I guess for the price and the amount of shadows in each encyclopedia I really can't complain too much. And I do really like some of the colors.

The cream eyeshadows are very greasy feeling with little to no pigmentation and in some cases only a whole lot of glitter. I wouldn't even attempt to use these on my lids for fear of a  greasy, crease-y disaster on my eyes.

The eyeliner pencils are actually okay. They glide on fairly smoothly and are a rich black color. Even the mini brush applicator is pretty good. While I wouldn't use it to apply my makeup, I will be keeping it in my purse for emergency touchups when I'm out.

ELF Basic Eye Edition Encyclopedia. Click to enlarge.

ELF Sparkle Eye Edition Encyclopedia. Click to enlarge.

ELF Eye Edition Encyclopedia. Click to enlarge
 I've been wanting to try this concealer palette from ELF since it was first released. The only problem was I'd just placed a big order and I didn't want to pay full shipping for just one item. Anyway, you can always count on ELF to have new coupons and promotions every other week. So when they were offering the 3 Eye Encyclopedias for $10, I added this palette in Dark to my order. I wanted to try the Medium one as well, but it was sold out at the time.

Heres what I think of it:

The 4 colors offer a good selection and the undertones seem to be very flattering for women of color. The formulas are creamy and easy to blend. The cover is medium to heavy and good for acne scars and spots. The staying power of this leaves much to be desired though. I don't know if its being absorbed by my skin or what, but after about 6 hours, it seems to have faded away. Its also creases under my eyes. Now in all fairness, I've never met a concealer that didn't crease on me without a ton of setting powder to keep it from doing so. But even with lots of powder, the ELF concealer still creases.


Overall, for $3 this little palette is worth it. You can blend 2 or 3 shades together to get your ideal match, and its compact packaging with a mirror inside make it handy to keep in your purse. It also comes with a small concealer brush which I promptly lost soon after opening the compact, but I don't think it would have been of much use anyway since it was so tiny.  To see the swatches, click read more.
 Face:Calvin Klein Concealer
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light
ELF Studio Pressed Powder in Almond

Eyes:
Mac Quarry
Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette in Lust
Sleek Black Eyeshadow
Mac Petticoat MSF 
Tarte Lash Hugger Mascara

Brows:
Sleek Storm Palette black and brown mixed

Lips:
Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Hazelnut
Josie Maran Optimism Lipgloss

 This was my first time trying to copy a celeb's makeup and I have to say it was a lot of fun! Of course I look nothing like her, and I didn't get this makeup look completely right, but still I think this is something I may attempt to do on a regular basis.

I think trying to imitate something and get it just right will help improve my makeup skills and hopefully I'll learn some new techniques in the process!

Face:
Revlon Colorstay Foundation
Revlon Colorstay Concealer

Revlon Beyond Natural Concealer
Calvin Klein Concealer in Brown Sugar ( yes I used 3 diff concealers and my skin still looked wretched)
ELF Pressed Powder in Almond
Mac Prep and Prime finishing powder
YSL Faucils mascara
ELF Hollywood false lashes
*Hardest lashes I've ever used. The spine is thick and didn't want to bend to fit my eye shape, plus they feel very heavy on the lids. To get them to stay put, I wound up applying lash glue to my skin and then holding these suckers at both ends with some tweezers and my fingers until the glue dried. Won't be using these again anytime soon :(
Eyes:
Loreal HIP Cream Color Crayon ( the green one)
Lorac Money Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Graffiti Loose pigment
Black Radiance Gingersnap Bronzer (blended up to brow bone)


Brows:
Sleek Storm Palette
ELF Brow kit in Dark (wax side)

Cheeks:
Graffiti Cosmetics Blushon Spain


Lips:
Revlon Superlustrous Lipgloss in Nude Lustre (75% off at CVS!)

What celebs would you guys suggest I try next?

I love Maniac lipstick from Chanel, but its such a strong color I never really use it because I feel like it overpowers everything else on my face. My solution today was to keep my eyes super simple so the lipstick could shine on its own.

Face:
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in 5.0
Calvin Klein Concealer
Mac Prep and Prime finishing powder

Eyes:
Mac Amber Lights
Mac Modest Tone
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Brows:
ELF Brow Kit in Dark

Cheeks:
Milani Mai Tai

Lips:
Chanel Rouge Allure #147 Maniac
A gift from my big sis!
Why do these companies do this to me when I'm trying not to spend more money?!?

*shakes fist angrily* curse you ELF !!
Was having some fun with 2 of my favorite shades - Purple and Pink! I would never wear something this bold and colorful out, but I love playing in my makeup from time to time!

* I also decided to stick with my new liner technique of starting from the middle of my upper lid, instead of the inner corner. So far I think it works well with my eye shape.

Face:
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in 5.0
Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Concealer

Brows:
Sleek Storm Palette Dark Brown mixed with Black


Eyes:
Urban Decay Loose Pigment in Asphyxia
Mac Later Pigment
Ulta Bone Eyeshadow
ELF Cream Liner in Black
YSL Faucils Mascara 
 Guerlain Terracotta Kohl Kajal on waterline

Cheeks:
Mac Pink Glow
Lips:
Mac Violetta
Shu Uemura PR 050
I don't about anyone else, but I hate washing my makeup brushes. I usually wait about a week until they're all dirty before I set out cleaning them. With that in mind, I was excited to try this daily brush cleaner from ELF in the hopes I could just spray my brushes down after I use them and they'd be clean.

To my disappointment it didn't work out that way. I tested the cleaner on 2 of my brushes, gave them a few spritz each and vigorously rubbed them against a cotton wash cloth. I have to admit that it didn't take them nearly as long to dry as they do with soap and water. I think thats because the ELF cleaner is something like 90% alcohol ( I also wonder if this will negatively affect the fibers of my brushes with extended use).

After the brushes were dry, they looked only slightly less caked with product than they did when I first started.

On the upside, the bottle of cleaner was much larger than I expected it to be, and so will probably last a long time. I read a bunch of reviews that complained about the smell of this product, but to me it wasn't that big of a deal and didn't offend my nose at all.

Since this is a "Daily" brush cleaner, I'm going to give it another try with brushes that only have one days worth of makeup on them as opposed to about 7 and see if that makes a diff in the way this stuff performs. Like most of ELF's products, this is super cheap. Its in the studio line and costs $3.00.

This look started out as something completely bland and wearable, but I was bored by it so I added a ton of black to the outer corners, some dramatic falsies and really packed the gold on my lid.

After all that, I kinda hated the way the lips looked with the more dramatic eyes. But since I used a OCC liptar, my lips were stained a pinkish color for hours even though I tried to wipe it off and go with a more nude lippie. Oh well, here are the final results.

Face
Keyvn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer
Rock and Republic Classic Tinted Primer
MAC Prep and Prime Powder

Eyes
Urban Decay Loose Pigment in Baked
Sleek Black eyeshadow
Sonia Kashuk Lashes
ELF Black Eyeliner
YSL Mascara

Brows
Sleek Storm Palette

Cheeks
Lorac Soul

Lips
OCC Liptar in Demure
Bobbi Brown Black Garnet Lipstick
Armani Pink Lipgloss (can't remember the name)


Just got these brushes in the mail today. These are fairly new on ELF's site and even though I don't really need new makeup brushes, I couldn't resist. I already own brushes from the ELF Studio line and the regular line that I love, so I was fairly confident the quality of these would be up to par.

According to ELF, these brushes are anti-bacterial with synthetic taklon fibers, bamboo handles and aluminum ferrules. They're recommended for mineral makeup and can be used with wet or dry products.

From first impressions I think these are going to be great; they have the same super soft, dense hairs like the studio line brushes except these are more densely packed. I haven't used them on my face yet since they are still wet from their first washing and will probably need a second washing to get rid of the chemical smell all ELF brushes are famous for (is that why they're so cheap?). Even without using them, I can already tell I'll be getting backups of the allover eyeshadow brush, the blending eyeshadow brush and the contoured blush brush since I can tell I'll be getting a lot of use out of them.

These are normally $5.00 each, but when I brought them there was a %50 off coupon available, so I only paid $2.50 a piece!

Will post a more detailed review and close up pics soon.