E.L.F. Haul!

So it's been awhile since I ordered from elf...maybe because I branched out a little bit and started ordering Coastal Scents.  But I realized that with all the mystery boxes I've been getting, I needed a place to put those individual Hot Pots into.  I immediately thought of elf's Custom Compacts that only cost $1 and hold 4 pans; so I started filling up my cart to get enough for free shipping haha.  I also needed to try some new concealers because the All-Over-Cover Sticks were creasing under my eyes.

As you can tell, I didn't actually get many new things, just things I was sort of interested in trying out.  

I got:

Cream Eyeliner in 'Black' ($3/ea) - the one I had before dried out beyond saving so I had to get a new one

Studio Blush in 'Blushing Rose' ($3/ea) - for my medium skin tone because lighter shades weren't showing up

Studio Lip Exfoliator ($3/ea) - backup

2 Custom Compacts ($1/ea) - for my Coastal Scents Hot Pots

Shine Eraser ($1/ea) - for my boyfriend who wanted to try it

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzer in 'St. Lucia' ($3/ea) - I was interested in the hype and I really needed a bronzer that would show up because Elf's Healthy Glow Bronzer in 'Matte Bronze' was NOT doing the trick

Nail Polish in 'Skinny Jeans' ($2/ea) 

Tone Correcting Concealer in 'Light Beige' ($1/ea)

Brightening Eye Color in 'Nouveau Neutrals' ($1/ea) - free sample

Clarifying Pressed Powder in 'Apricot Beige' ($1/ea) - the other ones I had gotten were too dark, so I went a shade lighter and this is perfect for me :)

Cover Everything Concealer in 'Light' ($2/ea) - yet another concealer I wanted to try in case the Tone Correcting one didn't work

2 Triple-Tipped Waterproof Eyeliner Pens in 'Black' ($2/ea) - I ordered a second one by mistake :(

I have tried and swatched almost everything the minute I opened the box.  Just so you know, Coastal Scents Hot Pots do NOT magnetize with Elf's Compacts, but at least it's a nice, safe way to store them.

I enjoyed the blush immensely; it actually gave me color on my cheeks.  The duo blush & bronzer actually impressed me a little bit because I didn't expect the bronzer to actually show up.  Many reviews will advise you to use a light hand with the bronzer because it is so pigmented, but I had no problem with it, probably because I'm a little more tan.

The two concealers I got worked well; I put one under each eye to kill two birds with one stone.  I didn't use any setting powder over them and they didn't crease at all throughout the day.

Don't worry, if this is a little too much to take in, I definitely plan on posting reviews of most of these products, so stay tuned!  (And as always, feel free to comment below if you have any questions or comments.)

- Jolie ♥

Smoky Eye with E.L.F Products

Hello all!  Since I've been getting so many new makeup recently, I decided to start playing with eyeshadow.  I used to stay away from them because I never got to experiment and feared I would look like I got punched in the face if I tried.  My only makeup look used to consist of a cat-eye and black liner on the water line; it was pretty basic.


Here is my version of a smoky eye:

The amazing thing is that, not only did I achieve this look with ONE quad, but that quad was also only one dollar!

Products used:

Brows: ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit - Dark ($3)

Eyes: ELF Brightening Eye Color - Drama ($1)

         ELF Liquid Eyeliner - Black ($1)

        ELF Studio Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon - Black ($3)
       ELF Studio 3-in-1 Mascara ($3)

Lips: ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine - Goddess ($1)

I got a bit lazy, so I didn't put on any face makeup.  I would normally use Elf's All Over Cover Stick to conceal my dark circles or blemishes, but overall my whole makeup routine was less than $15.

I mainly only used two colors on my lids, Drama comes with 4 colors (white, charcoal gray, black, silver).  

I dusted the charcoal gray all over my lids and then used a tiny bit of black on the outer V to deepen the color and intensify the look.  Then I just finished with a slight winged liquid liner on the top lash line and black crayon liner on my waterline.

The mascara I used here is the 3-in-1 mascara, which many people seem to love, but I don't particularly like it.  It tends to clump up on me, sticks my lashes together, and weighs them down.  I just bought a few new mascaras so I will have updates on those.

Here is my whole look:

There you go, you finally get to see my face!

Again, excuse my blemishes as I only concentrated on the eyes.  The smoky eye shows up blue on camera because of the flash, but I assure you it actually comes out darker than it seems.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment!  Let me know if you like me posting up makeup looks; thanks guys!

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F Plumping Lip Glaze in Fire Coral

Elf's Plumping Lip Glaze is actually a repurchase, but I tried it SO long ago that I'd forgotten how effective it was.  These also retail for $1 each, so they're a good thing to try out.

I ended up buying the color in Fire Coral because it seemed to be one of the darker colors and may show up on my lips more.  It's a mix of coral and hot pink, but definitely wearable since it's a gloss.

It comes in one clear side (plumper) and the colored side.  There's a minty smell to both sides when you apply and both tingle (clear side more than colored).  

 

Fire Coral swatch

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Red Velvet

I decided to try out Elf's Red Velvet this week; it seems like more of a holiday color because of the color and shimmer, but I'm still on vacation so why not?

Red Velvet isn't sold on elf's website anymore, but it came in the 14-piece set that I purchased a few weeks before.  As I have mentioned, the nail polishes in the two sets I bought are not that great.  Elf may have a new and improve formula for the full-sized bottles, but I don't think they use the same formula for their sets.

The color is a very beautiful light shimmery red color, it almost has a pink hint to it.  It reminds me more of Dorothy's ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz than it does a red velvet cake.

 Red Velvet with flash (looks more rich red than it actually is)

Red Velvet without flash (captures the light red/pink color better)

The color itself was very beautiful, and I got many compliments on it.  However, the formula itself was a mess.  It applies quite thick and dries a little quicker than expected; if you try to put multiple coats before it dries, it turns extremely goopy.  The only good thing about the formula is that, even if it applies unevenly, it will even itself out on your nail.

Bottom line: Thick, goopy formula.  Beautiful color, but I recommend finding a dupe for the color.

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick Swatches and Reviews

This is a product I was pretty hesitant to try out even though blogs raved about it and it's on Elf's bestsellers list.  These Luscious Liquid Lipsticks are from their Essentials line so cost $1 each.  I had actually bought one years ago and the applicator broke on me, so I couldn't even put it on too much.

Nonetheless, I bought a few with my last hauls and decided to give them another shot.

Left to right: Ruby Slipper, Cherry Tart, Pink Lemonade, Brownie Points

Swatched: Ruby Slipper, Cherry Tart, Pink Lemonade, Brownie Points

E.L.F. Lipstick Swatches and Reviews!

I'm actually really excited to finally be doing this review.  I've put this off for quite some time but it's one of my absolute favorite products from elf.  Their lipstick is from their Essentials line, which makes it $1 each.  At such a cheap price, you'd expect them to give you a small tube similar to a sample size, but it's a full-sized lipstick!  I believe there are 12 shades out at the moment and I have 9 of them.  I decided not to get the other 3 because after looking at many swatches (thanks to other bloggers), I decided they didn't match me.

If you are interested, the shades omitted are Classy, Nostalgia, and Flirtatious.  All of those colors are lighter than the lightest shade I have right now, which is Charming, so that should give you a good indication of their colors.  I suggest looking up their swatches from other bloggers if you're really interested.

Anyway, these lipsticks are amazing, not just for their price, but overall.  They are creamy, pigmented, and moisturizing.  They don't have the waxy lipstick smell but instead smell pleasant, like berries.  Their scent is actually one of my favorite things about them.  Their reds are quite pigmented so I suggest using a lip-liner, but for all the others, just applying from the tube is fine.

Left to right: Fearless, Sociable, Posh, Voodoo, Gypsy, Fantasy, Captivating, Seductive, Charming

Without flash: Fearless, Sociable, Posh, Voodoo, Gypsy, Fantasy, Captivating, Seductive, Charming

With flash: Fearless, Sociable, Posh, Voodoo, Gypsy, Fantasy, Captivating, Seductive, Charming

E.L.F. Super Glossy Lip Shine Swatches and Reviews

This post will be all about elf's Super Glossy Lip Shines!  Bear in mind that I have 10 out of 12 (I believe) colors and I have swatched every single one of them so it will be a long post.  These little lip glosses retail for $1 each and it's a great deal.  They're the ideal size to throw in your purse and since they're so inexpensive, you can get all the colors without putting a dent in your wallet.

 The glosses have a slanted tip for easy and precise application.  Each gloss also smells of something different, but they are all pleasant and fruity; not too overwhelming.  They glosses go on super pigmented and are super glossy, as the name suggests.  It's is more on the sticky side since it is thicker, but you can control the amount to put on.  Just make sure not to wear this on a windy day!

Left to right: Honey Do, Juiced Berry, Candlelight, Pink Pop, Goddess, Watermelon, Iced Latte, Party Peach, Strawberry

E.L.F. Mineral Lip Gloss in Trendsetter and Daring Swatches and Reviews

Hello all!  I'll be reviewing elf's Mineral Lip Glosses in 'Trendsetter' and 'Daring'.  I know they definitely have more colors on the site, but I only bought two because they had other cheaper glosses in the Essentials section which I will review later on.

These glosses retail for $3/ea and I normally wouldn't get them because I'm not a big fan of glosses.  However, I read good reviews and raves about the color Trendsetter and wanted to try it, but it was out of stock when I ordered so I got Daring instead, which seemed like a red on the website and seemed like the best bet for getting a good color payoff as I find glosses tend to be on the sheer side.

After a couple of hauls later, Trendsetter came back in stock and I took the chance to grab one!  They come in the standard doe-foot applicator and Trendsetter smells heavily of brown sugar.

 Trendsetter and Daring

Trendsetter and Daring

The swatch actually makes Trendsetter look more red than it actually is.  Trendsetter is actually more of a brownish mauve color that's perfect for a nude but glossy look.  As you can see, Daring was not red, but in fact a bright fuchsia in the tube and extremely sheer when applied.  Both of these are glitter glosses but you cannot feel the glitter on your lips.

E.L.F. Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick Swatches and Reviews!

Is it just me or are you guys as excited about the first in-depth product review as I am?  I know I've promised these for weeks now, ever since my elf hauls, but I wanted to wait until I finished buying so I can do reviews on complete sets.

This review is going to be on Elf's Jumbo Lip Gloss Sticks.  This is a relatively new product, and it's from the Essentials line but costs $2 each instead of the traditionally $1 for their other products.  They currently have 8 colors on their website and I own 6 of them.  The other two colors I skipped out on because one was nude and another I decided would not suit me after reading other blogs for swatches.

These come in twist-up tubes so you won't have to waste any product with sharpening. They also have a minty toothpaste-y smell to them, but doesn't bother me, so stay away if you can't stand that.

 

Left to Right: Pink Umbrellas, Sangria Starters, Coco Loco, Movie Star, Tiki Torches, Summer Nights

Swatched on my hand (left to right): Pink Umbrellas, Sangria Starters, Coco Loco, Movie Star, Tiki Torches, Summer Nights

If you are deciding on whether or not to get these, keep in mind that the last two colors (Tiki Torches and Summer Nights) are shimmery.  They have a LOT of tiny specks of glitter; you can't feel them on your lips but they're definitely noticeable if you wear them out.  It casts an almost frosty appearance because of them. 

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Garnet

Hello guys, it's time again for a nail polish review!  This week I tried out ELF's nail polish in Garnet.  It's a beautiful shimmery oxblood/burgundy/wine color that's perfect for the season!  It's one of my new favorite colors and I've been craving for all things burgundy colored so I'm glad I found this little gem.

Garnet with flash

As usual, with different lightings you get slightly different colors, such as their nail polish in Copper appearing both gold and rose gold depending on my lights.

Here is Garnet in my camera's 'vibrant' setting which tends to show off colors more intensely.

As with all full-sized elf polishes, this bottle was $2.  Garnet can come off as either a dark plum, or true oxblood/burgundy.  I absolutely love the way it looks on my nails.  However, for such a dark polish, I needed 2-3 coats for the color to achieve opacity.  The polish wasn't sheer by any means, but darker colors make bald spots more apparent, plus one coat was definitely not enough for this.

The formula itself was pretty standard; not too thick and not too watery.  It was just right, but the brush itself is a little too big for my nails so it created quite a mess around the edges.  Nothing nail polish remover couldn't fix!

The lasting power of this was normal for elf polishes: very good.  I usually change polishes every week and only notice minor, if any, chips.  I would say elf's polishes are consistent on their staying power and they never disappoint.  Bear in mind that I do use at least one coat of top coat with each new polish application.

Final verdict:  Beautiful color, long-lasting, would definitely recommend.

Thanks for listening and be sure to comment or follow for more updates and reviews!

- Jolie ♥

Another E.L.F. Haul? No Way!

Yes, you read the title correctly.  ANOTHER elf haul.  I really do have a problem haha, but they had a promo code that was $5 off your order with NO MINIMUM.  Which, in elf language, is pretty much never.  But with the $7 standard shipping, you end up paying $2 for shipping after the discount which is still not too shabby.

I guess I would consider this a mini-haul, and boy was I tracking this package for days.  Finally received it tonight and was so, so happy.  Without further ado, here goes!

Top:  Essential Tinted Moisturizer ($1/ea) in 'Apricot Beige' and 'Honey'

Middle:  Shimmering Facial Whips ($1/ea) in 'Pink Lemonade', 'Persimmon', 'Lilac Petal', 'Toasted', and 'Golden Peach'

Brightening Eye Color ($1/ea) in 'Nouveau Neutrals

Essentials Lipstick ($1/ea) in 'Captivating'

Bottom: Essentials Feather Proof Moisturizing Lip Liners ($1/ea) in 'Bark' and 'Natural Blush'

Essentials Shimmer Lip Gloss ($2/ea) in 'Dream'

Studio Eyebrow Lifter & Filler ($3/ea) in 'Ivory/Dark'

Studio Angled Blush Brush ($3/ea)

Studio Small Stipple Brush ($3/ea)

Eyelash Curler Pads ($1/ea)

Mineral Lip Gloss ($3/ea) in 'Trendsetter'

Hope the organization didn't confuse you too much this time!  I really tried to separate them into 3 groups.  This is my first time buying the facial whips and I originally bought them because you can use them on your face, lips, and eyes.  I intend to try to use some as bronzers and some as blushes (which is also why I bought the blush brush and stipple haha).  Plus the whips were only a dollar each, a little goes a long way, and other beauty blogs have given great reviews on them.

I will definitely try to review them all separately!  I've tried a few of these things, mainly the lip products, but since I have more colors in the same collection, I'm going to do in-depth reviews on each collection.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Glamour Girl and Cherry Bomb

I recently received some nail brushes I had just purchased online and decided to try and "spice up" my nails this week.  I know a french manicure isn't exactly anything special but it was my first time doing an actual complete look.  I'd tried once before with disastrous results, so I decided to use a nail brush for the tips.

Elf's Glamour Girl with Cherry Bomb tips (Flash)

Glamour Girl with Cherry Bomb tips (Natural lighting)

 The second picture shows Glamour Girl's true color.  It's a very beautiful dusty gold color with tiny gold sparkles/glitter.  Even though the color itself was extremely gorgeous, the formula was so terrible and thick.  It applied EXTREMELY gritty and looked like sand on my nails after a couple of coats.  You need more than one coat for maximum opacity, except more coats = more sand.  It was just a really horrible formula to work with.

Cherry Bomb was a lot easier to work with (since I had a nail brush).  The color was quite good, but needed a few coats also.  I did not expect a red to be that sheer, but that didn't affect the application.

Bottom line:  Glamour Girl is a great color, but terrible and gritty formula.  Would not recommend.

Cherry Bomb is a nice color, needs more testing for a full review.

Hope this helps you guys!

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Copper

Here's another nail polish review!  Like always, their polishes are inexpensive and these retail for $2 each.  This time I used elf's Copper, which is a brilliant gold shade.

I used two coats and a top coat, but I think one coat may be enough for some people.  The formula is very watery but easy to work with.  I didn't realize this at first because a watery formula coupled with a large, flat brush definitely caused some mistakes.

It's an absolutely gorgeous color though, and after I realized how thin the formula was, I was more wary of wiping off excess.

Also, one of my favorite things about it is that it's a true gold color, but in some lighting, it tends to look rose gold, which is also beautiful.

Overall, great color payoff and good formula; I would definitely recommend.

- Jolie ♥

More E.L.F. Hauls

I know, I know.  I definitely have an elf addiction as I've done a few haul posts already within the month, but who can blame a girl when they ALWAYS have promotions and their prices are so cheap?  Anyway, instead of writing two short pointless posts, I'm just going to combine two of my elf hauls in one.

This is only going to show the products I've bought, individual reviews will definitely comes soon.

Top: Hypershine Lip Gloss in 'Flirt' (Free Gift, retails $1/ea)

False Eyelash in 'Dramatic' (top): retails $1/ea

False Eyelash in 'Natural' (bottom): retails $1/ea (One looks shorter because I trimmed it)

Studio High-Definition Powder in 'Sheer' ($6/ea)

3 Luscious Liquid Lipsticks in 'Brownie Points', 'Cherry Tart', 'Ruby Slipper' ($1/ea)

Super Glossy Lip Shine in 'Strawberry' ($1/ea)

Studio Lip Exfoliator ($3/ea)

2 Shimmer Lip Glosses in 'Love' (top) and 'Hope' (bottom): $2/ea

Studio Lip Lock Pencil ($3/ea)

Studio Precision Liquid Eyeliner ($3/ea)

Zit Zapper ($1/ea)

2 Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils in 'Grassy Green' (top) and 'Boldly Bronzed' (bottom): $1/ea

I'm sorry for it being so unorganized; I had only put them together for the picture, but hopefully the descriptions make it easier...

Now for the second haul:

 From Left to Right: Studio Mascara & Shadow Shield ($3/ea),

2 Zit Zappers ($1/ea), 2 Feather Proof Moisturizing Lip Liners & Sharpeners in 'Bitter' and 'Mauve Luxe' ($1/ea)

Studio Mascara Primer ($3/ea), (Free Gift) Brightening Eye Color in 'Nouveau Neutrals' ($1/ea)

6 Essential Lipsticks in 'Sociable', 'Seductive', 'Charming', 'Posh', 'Gypsy', 'Fearless', 'Fantasy' ($1/ea)

More in depth reviews to come!

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Lilac and Fairy Dust

Short review today about another elf polish.  This time I went with Lilac, which is a pastel purple and a layer of Fairy Dust which is a flakie top coat.  Fairy Dust was actually a repurchase since I really liked it when I tried the sample size of it that came with the 15-piece Nail Set.

Left: Fairy Dust; Right: Lilac

This is taken with flash but it's true to color.  Fairy Dust has iridescent flakes that appear orange or green depending on your lighting.  It's a mattifying top coat so I had to put another clear top coat for the shine.

Lilac had an okay formula, not as easy to work with as Coral.  I only used one coat, but I would recommend two, as bald spots become apparently when it dries.  This overall look had 4 coats (base, lilac, fairy dust, top) and lasted over a week with very very minor chips, as do all elf polishes.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Fairy Dust; Lilac is alright but nothing special.  Great lasting power for both though.

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Haul

Hello again!  Posting so soon because I've been so backed up because of school and haven't been able to post any of the hauls I've gotten recently.  This won't really be a review because most of them I'm going to have to make a separate review post for.  I bought all of these using the Cyber Monday coupon code which was 50% off sitewide and made everything even cheaper, but I'll post the retail price anyway.

The whole haul!  I'll post each individual thing with the names and prices :)

E.L.F. Nail Polish in Dark Red

Okay I recently had several elf hauls but I'll post those up later.  First off, I have to write a review about their Dark Red nail polish.  It's not the one that comes in the full-sized bottle; it's the Dark Red from their Essential Holiday 15-Piece Nail Polish Set.  The reason I have to make that distinction is because I feel like the formula is different from their regular sized polish.

Any-who, here is a picture:

Okay, so the picture actually makes the color look a lot nicer than it actually is.  This is the color I wanted and was expecting to show, but instead it went on like a red-brown.  More-so brown than red and I did NOT like it at all.

About the formula, it was extremely thick and hard to apply.  The brush itself was also big and made it harder to apply such a heavy formula.  It did not go on my nails well and was streaky.  The Mod Mauve color in another one of my posts was the same, but I assumed I was just applying badly. 

So I say definitely skip out on the 15-piece nail set, unless you want to do a lot of corrections and put on a lot of coats.

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Nail Polish Review!

Hi again all!  I'm happy to be blogging again so soon, mainly because my Mod Mauve nail polish finally chipped a little so I had an excuse to take it off :)  It lasted a week exactly, and that was with lots of vigorous dish-washing too.  I was dying to use a new nail polish and one of the snowman glitter ones too.  I decided to use the E.L.F. nail polish in Coral.

On the website, Coral actually looks like a really light pink/orange shimmer polish, but in reality it's not.  It actually looks like a true coral color in person and I'm glad I still really like it.  Here's a picture of it:

Left: with flash; Right: natural light

The picture taken with flash is actually not accurate at all, it looks like a pretty bright/hot pink there but in reality the color is actually close to the picture on the right.  As you can see on the left picture, there are hints of gold in which makes it really gorgeous.  They don't necessarily show up on the nail too much, but the coral color is still pretty.

The formula was amazing!  I only needed ONE coat of polish to achieve the color on the bottle.  It also went on so easily, not too watery and not too thick.  The formula isn't streaky at all and after the application, it leveled out really evenly and pretty much coated my whole nail.  The polish also dried so quickly; I would finish one hand, start on the other, and by the time I was done with the second, my first hand polish was already dry! I cannot recommend this enough; amazing polish.

I could have stopped there, but I really wanted to try one of the snowman nail polishes that I bought.  I chose the Christmas glitter one (green and red).

  Left: with flash; Right: natural light

Here's the turn-out!  I didn't know if the Christmas glitters and coral would go together but they do!  I got so many compliments ^_^  The glitter formula wasn't too good though.  As expected, there was an uneven amount of glitter distribution for each nail so I'd have to go back on some nails to put more coats.  The glitter would also get stuck to the opening of the bottle after awhile. 

It was my first time using glitter polish so that probably is what happens, and it didn't bother me too much.  I like the outcome a lot.  After a top coat, my nails were good to go!  Also, as you can tell from the pictures, glitter polishes are a little messy to put on; I got so much loose glitter on my fingers haha.

They have a pretty good staying power; I painted my nails on Monday night, which is about 4 days ago and there's no sign of chipping at all.

Here's a little something extra I wanted to share.  My boyfriend got me giant Reese's Butter cups because I love them as a candy and apparently stores are now selling giant candies as novelty items or presents.  They retail around $10 (a little steep, but it's once a year, plus it's pretty big).

Reese's cup next to a computer mouse for comparison

There's two of these bad boys in each pack which puts each at around $5.  It's almost as wide as a CD and very deep.  Wish I took a picture of it bitten into because it's a huge layer of peanut butter in the middle.  Delicious!

Hope I helped anyone who was wondering about elf polishes!  Or maybe someone who has a massive sweet tooth haha.  Thank you for reading; don't hesitate to leave me comments!

- Jolie ♥

E.L.F. Haul and Reviews!

Hello everyone!

As you can see, I'm definitely trying to do my best updating this blog. I recently got a haul from the previously mentioned E.L.F. store online and I've been putting off writing this review since I had a terrible camera and my pictures came out pretty blurry. However, I JUST got a new camera (gift from my amazing boyfriend), and now I'm not ashamed to upload pictures anymore! Bear in mind that some of the pictures are still taken with the old camera so the quality will be 50/50. Also, this is my first review ever, so please be gentle :)

Here's a picture of my elf haul:

I got the 144 Eyeshadow Palette in Neutral ($15), five Essential Liquid Eyeliners ($1/each in colors: black, silver, plum, coffee, and forest green), Essentials Eye Crease brush ($1), Essentials Smudge Brush ($1), a Studio Eye Primer and Liner Sealer ($3), and got a free Hypershine Gloss (retail $1 in the color 'Flirt') for referring 3 friends.