E.l.f. Haul and Reviews

As much as I'd love to splurge on expensive makeup, it just realistically isn't practical for me. Although I've purchased from the extremely inexpensive makeup brand "E.l.f." before, I never really delved into the brand as much as I have this week. In fact, I purchased 7 products this week alone. I bought four brushes and three products: the Elf Makeup Mist & Set, Elf Baked Highlighter in 'Moonlight Pearls' and the Elf Eyebrow Kit in 'Dark'. All of them were part of the studio line and were $3...what a steal! 

E.l.f. Makeup Mist & Set Spray

I always wanted Mac Fixed Plus or Urban Decay's All Nighter setting spray, but I could never bring myself to spend so much money for a squirt bottle. I ended up trying out this spray as a cheaper alternative to those high-end products. Unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed by this product. My problem isn't necessarily with the product itself but with its packaging. As a setting spray, I expected the nozzle to spray an even fan of mist all over my face. Instead, I got a forceful squirt of a stream of liquid. The nozzle literally squirts like a water gun, in one streamlined motion. I couldn't even test whether it set my makeup or not, because I couldn't get the product over my face! I felt like I was just shooting my face in different points with a water gun. I was very disappointed and threw it out after just a couple of sprays.

Elf Eyebrow Kit (Dark)

Many beauty gurus have said great things about the Elf Eyebrow Kit. I never fill in my eyebrows because I am terrified by how different I look after each attempt. Yet, I decided to pick this product up on a whim. After all, it was only $3! I got the darkest shade, fittingly named 'Dark'. There is also a 'Medium' and 'Light'. The kit comes in a sleek compact, the usual packaging of many E.l.f. products, and includes a gel and a powder.

When I put this on, I think I heard angels singing. The color was a perfect match for my eyebrows because it wasn't too dark or light, a problem I've had with other brow products. My brows didn't have the stark contrast I always cringed at. I think the best thing about this product is that you don't pick up too much of the color, so your brows don't look ridiculously dark. Even the tiny dual-ended brush that comes with this kit works well, although I go for my angled Sonia Kashuk brush. I mainly use the powder but the gel works just as great. I usually end up using both! As a person who never filled in her brows, this product has changed my life. I can finally fill in my eyebrows with confidence and more importantly, I can finally say my eyebrows are on fleek (sorry...I had to).

Elf Baked Highlighter in 'Moonlight Pearls'

I've been dying to try this product since KathleenLights raved about the Elf Baked Highlighters on her channel. The reviews and swatches of this product seemed to corroborate her opinion, so I decided to purchase this. The baked highlighters weren't available at Target so I ended up purchasing this on Amazon.

I absolutely love highlighting. I have extremely dry skin, so any glow to my face is greatly appreciated. I have the Dior Shimmerstar in 'Amber Diamond' and I absolutely adore it (though I think it's been discontinued). I also own Benefit's High Beam, which works just as nicely. However, I wanted to see if there was a good drugstore highlighter and had high expectations for this one after all the rave reviews. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the poor color payoff. 

'Moonlight Pearls' is a nice shimmery highlighter but I was disappointed by the pigmentation, especially because online pictures and reviews made it seem like it was very pigmented. I found myself having to rub the product several times to get significant color payoff. I used the E.l.f. fan brush to apply this product to the top of my cheekbones and was delighted and surprised to see a nice glow. Perhaps this product isn't as 'swatch-able' but still functions well as a highlighter. Even so, I'm pretty ambivalent on how I feel about this product. I think I'll continue to use it but not repurchase it. My search for a drugstore highlighter continues. I'm thinking I'll try Physician's Formula's Shimmer Brick next. 

I guess I scored 1.5/3 with my purchases, but I fared a lot better with the brushes. Maybe I'll do an upcoming post featuring all my e.l.f. brushes...or just a makeup brush collection post in general. I'll see how I feel. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if there are any good e.l.f. products I should try.

Mini Haul: Bargain Shopping

I'd definitely consider myself a bargain shopper, always looking through the sales racks and feeling discouraged to purchase when an item's not on sale. I recently went shopping and purchased a few very affordable clothes. I decided to do a little mini haul since I've been neglecting my blog these past weeks.

I definitely love the crochet/knit-type designs and a majority of my tank tops have that design. I couldn't resist this cute shirt from F21 with a crochet-like backing. The color is also one of my favorites, a nice bright green, like a level below mint (?). If anybody knows what this type of green is called, please comment below! This retailed around $15 or so.

I think Old Navy has nice "plain" pieces, if that makes sense, that are affordable and timeless (by that I mean I'm pretty sure I could still wear this in 10-20 years without looking odd). This brown-green t-shirt was $5 and I frequently wear plain t-shirts and don't have one in this color so I decided to buy it. 

H&M is basically my go-to store (isn't it almost everyone's?!). I almost never come out empty-handed when I walk in there. Again, I really like the crochet-like design and I actually have something similar to this in a darker blue but I still couldn't help it because this was on sale for $7!

 My favorite purchase has to be this striped dress from H&M that was on sale for $17! I thought it was super cute and it fit nicely. I feel like this is something you could wear to any daytime outing that would look super cute with the right shoes and accessories.

I also bought some black jeans from American Eagle but I thought it'd be too boring to put in the post haha.

Well that's all I bought today. What are some of your favorite stores?

Etsy First Impression/Haul

So I recently came across the awesomeness of Etsy due to funsizebeauty, and I fell in love with their concept of homemade/vintage jewelry. I can't believe I've never purchased from this site before. I decided to buy jewelry (mainly earrings) from this site.

The biggest nuisance is having to order separately from different shops, which is understandable but it was annoying to pay for nearly four orders, each one with an expensive shipping price with it, so basically i spent 20 bucks on shipping which was sort of ridiculous. The ones that were made in the US arrived within a week, UK a week and a half, anywhere else between 2-3 weeks. Overall, I was happy with all the merchandise. 

These Mickey and Minnie earrings are my absolute favorite pair of earrings now. I adore them!

 These elephant earrings come in four different colors: lime green, bright sky blue, brown, or pink. I opted for the blue, which gives plain outfits a subtle pop of color.

 Yes. I'm a Star Wars fan.
I squealed when I saw these R2D2 earrings and received them as a birthday present. Thanks to my great friend Nicole! 

 Ah more nerdiness. Let's face it, I'm a major geek (though in my eyes I don't see how liking Star Wars or Harry Potter makes you a geek). I couldn't resist buying these HP Deathly Hallow earrings, gotta rep my Potter love.

 The epic nerdy streak continues.
I fell in love with this HP braclet online but I find it difficult to clasp since the claw itself has no chain attached to it which can make it a little difficult, especially since I have tiny wrists and really need to get close to the bracelet. It's still lovely though.