Challenge + resolution: wear makeup more often

Since I went back to school I have neglected my makeup and started hoarding nail polishes.  Makeup is my original & true love, but because I don't have time to go out often like in the older days; painting my nails is a more practical way to pamper myself than doing my makeup to sit at home...studying.

Anyway my resolution is to have at least one makeup related post weekly and here is the latest; done with an Elf Studio 144-Piece Ultimate Eyeshadow Palette.  I did this inspired in a picture used for a challenge at BBPR  I'm rusty in the winged eyeliner department, it needs improvement.

In person the colors where much more intense. My eyebrows & dark circles didn't look so bad?....close up shots makes you see how bad things are.

Despite the eyebrow & dark circle massacre, I love how this combination looks on me.

Two cheap but good tools for nail polish enthusiasts

Hello lovelies!
Not that I have made a major discovery, but in case you haven't think about it or tried it:
I got two things from Elf that I think are good and inexpensive tools when doing your nails

The 1st one is their Nourishing Cuticle Pen

this pen really delivers and only for a buck! I've had mine for about 3 months and haven't dried up.  I got two thinking that it would dry out in matter of weeks; gladly I was wrong.  The oil in it is odorless & colorless.  Its rapidly absorbed, leaving skin and cuticles looking smooth & healthy. 

The next one is not intended for nails, its a concealer brush 

I got this brush for its main purpose, but I prefer to apply & blend concealer with my fingers.  Because not even a $1 can go to waist; it became the perfect tool for cleanup on the sides of my nails and cuticle; achieving the nice round shape between the cuticle and bottom of the nail.  I've been using it for 4 moths and apparently material is ok to use with acetone, mine is intact.

Have you tried the nourishing pen? 

Have you recycled a makeup tool to use on your nails?

image credits: all images where taken from www.eyeslipsface.com for illustration purpose only; because mine are all stained with polish, looking pretty bad in pictures :P

ELF neon trio nail polishes - Pop Candy

I found this kit at Burlington last month.  They had another trio with metallic shades but the colors didn't got my attention as the neon's did. It was only $2.99 - and surprises me the tag says they usually retail for $6?
Any who - to the pics and review!

The design in the box is really cute and I like that the bottles are not round :)
The box says the polishes are 3-free, fast dry. They dry fast but not as faster as the SpeedDry+ from Avon or the ones from Wet N' Wild.  It includes a neon yellow, pink and green. I won't enter in detail of shade descriptions because colors and names are self explanatory.

The brush is nice for medium nails. It spreads across, making it easier to cover wider nails.  The handle is short, which I' don't like and got me some tries to get used it.

The consistency in the green and yellow is watery.  In the other hand, consistency on the pink one is perfect.  I didn't felt any strong smell on them.  Most neon polishes dry matte, but this ones dried semi-matte.  In terms on coverage Green and Yellow are problematic -specially Yellow, needs 4 coats or a white base for better opacity-  Pink covered well with one coat and went perfect with two.  While testing, notice you need to put extra top coat around the edges of your nails because they can chip from that part in a matter of 2-3 days.

one coat

 two coats

 tree coats

Elf beauty eye manual: everyday eye edition

Has show in this post, I got this palette at Burlington for $4.49.  This kit might not be available on Elf's website anymore, I couldn't find it.

This kit comes with 12 eyeshadows, a dual end sponge tip applicator and a black mini eyeliner. It also as a diagram with numbers, pics and written instructions on how to achieve the day or night look.  On mine the picture of the final look is the same; maybe because of that error they end up on Burlington?

Eyeshadows are a mix of matte, satin & shimmer -most of them- and has one that is matte with glitter flecks.

The palette comes with a film that protect the shadows and also serves as a numbering system, since they don't have names.  This swatches were made without any base/primer using sponge tip applicators.  

I like the range of colors included.  There is no major bright shade included, but think that's why its called "everyday edition".  It make easier go from day to night.  

The dark shades are not super dark, so padding and not sweeping the brush is what I would recommend.  I found the shade #1 to powdery for my taste; but its usable; great for the classic pinup look.  My favorites are the ones with a satin finish, they are very very smooth.  

The surprise in this palette -at least to me- was the eyeliner.  As you can see in the swatch, its very pigmented, even tho the flash could have washed the color a bit.  In the edges of the lines I did with it you can appreciate how easy to blend it is.  

In general: for no more than $5 you get 12 eyeshadows with good quality, an soft mini eyeliner and in the case of beginners, a helpful guide to use them - in my book this palette is a yes  :)

Small random haul

Hi there!
Here again, with some things I hauled at Burlington a while ago.

I got a Elf neon nail polish trio $2.99 and the Beauty Eye Manual palette $4.49

Also got this black flowy top.  It has pewter sequins clusters in the front, and a zipper in the back $12.99

 

I needed a  bag to carry some books & stuff at college, so mom got me this one but I don't remember where? It was very cheap; like $5  :)

bold colors, cat eye liner

I did this last month to go out at night. My outfit was plain boring, which gave me opportunity to wear something more dramatic. I notice people where staring at me, specially other women and I started to feel very self-conscious.  Then a group of girls came to me and asked about my eye makeup, what products I used, etc. Having beauty chat with complete strangers feels kinda' cool  :)

To create this look I used the Wet n' Wild Feeling Retro trio and a bit of help with the pink from the Elf Punk Funk quad. For the eyeliner used Wet n' Wild shimmer pencil in blue and sealed it with the blue eyeshadow from the trio. To get the vibrant but at the same time soft pink look used a blending brush and brushed - instead of patting - the eyeshadow all over the lid and a bit pass the crease and blended the edges while applying the highlight shade. The wing was the trickiest part. I run an angled brush thru the eyeliner tip to trace the line and then filled it with the eyeliner, setting with eyeshadow.

You can check here another look I did with Feeling Retro

Swatches can be found here

Elf regular & waterproof mascara duo

I've had this mascara for a while now, got it mainly for the waterproof part to use occasionally. I hate how hard is to take waterproof mascara off, but sometimes weather is crazy or just one of those days that I need to cry for no reason at all (damn pms!) . It was only $1 at Kmart.

As you can see in the pictures, the wand in the waterproof side is wider and more dense than the one from the regular side. After using both I notice the waterproof one has a slightly more thick formula. This mascara comes in two shades: Noir (black, shown) and Brown. While checking it on the website I see that the packaging is different from the one I got, so now I wonder if there have been any changes to the formula or the brushes.

Pros:
- two products in one: regular and waterproof
- the waterproof wand adds a little more volume to lashes, maybe due to its density; while the regular formula wand is more slim which ads some length.
- price: again, two options for just $1
- availability: Elf products are available in a lot of stores now, not only online.
- it has a very good pigmentation, with Noir lashes looked very dark.
- with some waterproof mascaras I've had the problem that once they dry, lashes are stiff and start to flake as it wears off, but not with this one.

Cons:
- formula on both sides takes a long time to dry
- the waterproof wand takes out too much product which can lead to clumps and stained my lids.

Elf lip lock pencil

I got the Elf lip lock pencil last year on a massive order when they had 50% off sale on studio products. This is the only "lip lock" product I've tried so far, so I don't have anything to compare against.

Elf's description:
   Keep your lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner from feathering, traveling or budging with the smooth glide  Lip Lock Pencil. Your lip color stays locked in place for continuous wear. The colorless formula is perfect for any skin tone and fills in fine lines around the lip.

Directions: 
   Twist up pencil (no sharpening required) and trace the area outside your natural lip line prior to lip color application to create an invisible barrier for your lip products.


Pros:
- price, only $3
- size & amount: its something that will easily fit in your purse or makeup baggie. the pencil is tick, so there is plenty of product to use.
- I have used it when wearing red or vibrant shades of pink and it does help to keep lipstick, gloss & lip liners in place.  
-when using it with vibrant or dark shades of lip products it makes your lip shape more defined and gives a crisp / sharpen look without looking harsh.
- formula is very resistant. I've had it for a long time and considering how hot & humid weather get in Puerto Rico it haven't melt or get hard
- its shape makes applying it almost dummy proof! LoL its like using a crayon.
- haven't notice any weird scent.
- no flakiness or dryness on my lips or the lip product I applied on top.


Cons:
- packaging resistance: sometimes the cap fells off and the pencil itself is loose on the tube.


other things to consider: when applying if you press it too hard, it might leave a white line on your lips. not visible on pictures but it does look weird in person. It has a waxy consistency so it will slide just fine with gentle pressure. If you did applied it heavily just blend it with your ring finger. Its supposed to be clear but I don't know if it would be noticeable on darker skin tones.

old files: electric?

I did this a year ago with the 120 palette and Elf punk funk quad. Don't worry, I didn't went in public like that LoL
I was just playing :p

eotd: Radiant Makeup inspired me - to look in old folders!

I absolutely love this look from Radiant Makeup! I was feeling inspired to give it a try but then I remember playing with something similar. I made this back in December so I'm not sure of the eyeshadows I used but the blue on my lids might be from Aromaleigh and the pink and purple from the Elf punk funk quad.

FOTD: 4.21.11

That night I was in the mood for a simple eye look and a bright lip. My intention was to go Pin-up but changing the eyeliner a little bit by going navy blue instead of black and pink lips instead of the classic red. I'm still struggling to cover recent acne scars courtesy of my last period :(

Eyes:
Benefit Stay don't stray
NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk
Wet n Wild vanity palette - matte cream, shimmery pale gold and tan shades
Wet n Wild shimmer pencil in blue

Wet n Wild blue had me at hello palette - shimmery navy blue
NYC white kohl eyeliner
NYX white eyeshadow
Rimmel glam'eyes day2night mascara (lengthening wand)
Mark make it big mascara

Face:
Nivea cream
Rimmel fix & perfect face primer
Benefit erase paste concealer
Revlon ColorStay foundation
Mark matte-nificent matte powder
E.l.f complexion perfection (yellow block )
Markwins pink blush

Lips:
E.l.f moisturizing lip balm
Avon glimmersticks lip liner in pink bouquet
Avon beyond color lipstick in uptown pink

Other Stuff:
necklace from Walmart
top from Marshalls

Mini-Hauls

Lately I've been into nail polishes like never before. Maybe because lack of space to store makeup or because in general, there is much more variety of affordable nail polishes than eyeshadows or brushes.
Here are a couple (mainly polishes) that I've gathered throughout the last weeks:

From my local drugstore, Nabi:

new blue glitter, new gold pearl, hot pink glitter

$1.99 each

From Sallys on their buy 2 get 1 free nailpolish offer, ended up paying around $9 including tax for all of them:

Nina Ultra Pro:  Blue Blaze, Punki Pink, Black

China Glaze: Emerald Sparkle and Silver Lining (both on sale)

Orly: Meet me under the mistletoe (on sale)

From Avon, I don't remember the price of each item but it was a total of $9.59:

Ultra Color Rich lipstick in rich ruby

Nailwear pro nailpolish in jade

Glimmersticks Diamonds eyeliners in twilight sparkle and emerald glow

From Walmart:

necklace and earring set for just $1.20!

Onyx Professional nail polish remover $3.49

From Walgreens: I don't know in the US, but this week in Puerto Rico they have Sinful Colors nail polishes on sale for $0.99! the display was almost empty and even tho I was looking to pick at least 2 bottles of Nirvana and Unicorn, still got some nice shades + a Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in Strawberry Fraise

From Kmart: first time I see E.l.f brushes there

but the display was pretty much empty, so I got the only ones left