Elf Cosmetics Rediscovery/Haul

Hey Everybody!

Do you ever rediscover a brand that you use to love and then slightly go crazy with their products? Well that’s what seemed to happen for me. When I first started getting more serious about makeup, I discovered EyesLipsFace or better known as elf cosmetics. Once I was able to afford higher end products, I put their products to the side and forgot about them. Now that I'm trying to make more sensible purchases, I wanted to get into their products again.

To start, if you aren't familiar with the brand, ELF cosmetics is a drugstore brand priced from $1-$6 and even recently introduced a skincare line ranging from $8-$12. The brand was created back in 2004 for a more affordable option and the products are cruelty-free. They rely on word of mouth advertising to keep their product costs down. Currently you can find their products at Target, Walmart, K-Mart, and Walgreens, But of course their website (eyeslipsface.com) will have much more products and more colors than you can find in stores. Another bonus to their website is they generally have amazing sales where you can get their already amazing prices for 40-70% off.

My "rediscovery" product for this brand was their Studio Blush Palette in Light which is actually a newer product. It has matte and shimmery blushes and I'm utterly obsessed with the lightest pink blush in the palette. Even with this product though it wasn't until I stumbled across a youtuber that made me go slightly insane.

 

At Target, I managed to pick up three products in my one trip. The first product is their Studio Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose. I've actually been waiting for this product to come back in stock for awhile. I noticed the name on the shelf label and that allow made me constantly check whenever I stopped in the store. This color is an amazing Vintage Rose color with slight purple hues in it. It has lovely staying power and isn't overly drying. It's only $3, which to be honest I have some $10 lipsticks that don't compare to Tea Rose. The second product I pick up in store is the Studio Makeup Remover Pen. I've always looked this product over, but then heard it was really great for fixing eyeliner or mascara mistakes. That had me sold. I'm constantly hitting my freshly mascara'd lashes to my eyelids and generally messing up my eyeshadow. Again at $3 it's practically a no brainer and now a staple. If you do purchase this, make sure you wipe the tip off with a tissue or towel! It makes all the difference between removing and transferring. The last in store product I picked up was their Essential Acne Fighting Spot Gel with Aloe for $2. I use to have this product back in high school and I loved it until it stopped working for me. Noticing they renamed and seemed to add Aloe in the product, I wanted to try this out again. It's only 1% Salicylic Acid which is nothing compared to many spot treatments, but it also has tea tree oil and witch hazel. What I like about this product is that it's a roller ball so there's no need to worry about cleaning your hands before applying (Don't forget great for the purse!) and that because it's only 1% that means it isn't incredibly drying for the skin which is what I'm in major need of!

 

I even placed an order on ELF’s website since I wasn’t going crazy enough. Thankfully there was a 70% off sale and free shipping with $25+ orders. My original reason for going online was because I wanted to order their Daily Moisture stick for $6. I thought this would be great to through in my purse and help any dry spots on my skin. Testing it out I think it’s going to be great for that purpose. Next thing I specifically wanted to grab was their new illuminating eye cream for $10. I was running out of eye cream and I heard it felt god on the eyes. So I’m super excited to try that out because I’m curious about their serum! Plus it’s $10! All eye creams I look into are around $20 and that makes me a bit sad.  Now onto everything else that just so happened to get placed into my cart.

I purchased their eye brightener in Buff on sale for $1.99. I’m about to run out of Bare Minerals Well-Rested and instead of paying $18 dollars for that product, I heard this is basically the same thing! I tested it out right when I received it and I think it lives up to his name! I also purchased a dual pencil sharpener for $1 simply because I misplaced mine and thought, why not?

 

One thing I was really interesting since I’ve never tried them are ELF Mascaras. I always use mascaras way longer than I should because I’m always put off by spending $8 on a mascara. I picked up two mascaras on sale for $1.49. The first one is the Exact Lash Mascara. It’s a teeny tiny wand meant to grab lashes that normal wand may skip. I absolutely love this for the lower lashes. Normally my bottom lashes clump like crazy, but this gave me such a natural effect while still bumping up the lashes. The second one is their Eye Enhancing Mascara in Black Citrine. Once I ordered it I was afraid that maybe I got the wrong color for blue eyes (once receiving the package I noticed it did say for hazel eyes), but I wasn’t even able to try the mascara out since it came to me almost dried out. I bummed, but still it was only half price so I’m thinking I’ll pick up a different mascara for them next time I’m at Target.

 

Now to what I went slightly crazy with, but it was such a good deal! I picked up 7 of their single eyeshadow pans, which on normally $1, but I got them on sale for 39 cents! Starting at with the top row, I picked up Ivory, Taupe, Pink Ice, and Moondust. The bottom row starts with Driftwood, Golden Glow, then last is Wheat. Taupe is slightly chipped away, but other than that the shadows were in great condition and incredibly smooth. I have a palette from them from 6 years ago and these single shadows have nothing on that palette. Just from swatching I know I’m going to be using Taupe and Wheat a ton. The colors are gorgeous for the crease. Ivory and Pink Ice are great highlight colors or just to swipe over the lid for color. The other three are just fantastic neutrals for a collection and perfect to through in a compact instead of taking a whole Naked palette with you on a trip. The only down side is that none of their shades are matte, but they pare perfect with the matte shades from my Naked palettes. The last thing I picked up was their custom compact with mirror. Since they were on sale for 49 cents I just picked up two so I could hold my shadows. They aren’t the greatest compacts, but they do their job well. They each hold 4 shadows and come with those sponge applicators that almost nobody uses anymore. I hope they come out with custom compacts in their studio line because I love that packaging.

That has been everything I got within the last month from them! While it seems like a ton of stuff (which it total is but who cares), In reality I only spent $39 on all that stuff. It’s still quite a bit of money, however if you think about the amount of money you’d spend on higher end products for the same amount of product, it’s practically a steal. I even have a list of products saved on their site for the next time I placed an order for them! More excitingly ELF cosmetics Instagram posted a picture sneak peek that they’ll be releasing a contour palette soon! It’s the same packaging as their blush palette that I picked up, so I can only assume it will be priced at $6 as well. I’m definitely hoping that palette hits Target stores that way I don’t “accidently” order $25 worth of product!  This post seemed like it was going to be a lot shorter! I hope you enjoyed my rediscovery of ELF cosmetics and I’d love to hear if you have any recommendations for any more of their products!

May2015 Birchbox

Hey everybody!

I resubscribed my Birchbox because of a promotion they were having about getting a beautyblender and the solid cleanser for free when subscribing. The cleanser is what drew me into getting birchbox again because I really need to properly clean my beautyblender. While I haven’t received those products yet, I did just receive my May box! So onto the unboxing!

The first thing I pulled from the box is Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer. At first glance I’m like ugh another body lotion, but it’s actually for your face! That makes it so much better in my opinion. The insert says this product is made with avocado and olive oils and is 98% natural. While all that sounds amazing, the smell alone is fantastic.

Next product I grabbed was Dr Jart+ Day tint. I’ve loved the previous dr jart+ products I’ve received through birchbox and was actually considering purchasing the full size dis-a-pore bb cream. This day tint is said to provide sheer coverage and has spf 15. Testing it out on my hand I can tell I’ll love this on the days in the summer while I’m on the boat or camping.

I see the lovely product colors of living proof! I’ve always been curious on this brand but could never bring myself to purchase any of their products. I got samples of the restore shampoo and conditioner. Also the restore instant repair. Incredibly excited to receive that since the ends of my hair have become less than liked. 

 

There’s a perfume sample that I’m less than thrilled to receive. It’s Raw Spirit’s citadelle. It has a ton of notes and comes off confusing to smell. I’ll give it a try, but I can’t see myself liking this fragrance.

 

The last product is from Chosungah 22. I’ve literally never heard of them but this is their flavorful Lipstick in Jello Orange. It looks like a full size product and the swatches on the hand give great promise for the lip product for the summer. It glides on smoothly and gives hints of color. 

 

This box is highly exciting for me. It’s rare that I love so many products in the box. I hope that you enjoyed what came in my box and if you’re subscribed through them then please share what you’ve received!