Playing Around with ELF

Hokay! So, I am off today, and it was raining, and I was bored, and I had some new make-up stuff to play with and then that morphed into kinda doing a whole face. Most of the products I used were ELF so i thought I'd show ya what I did. I won't go into in-depth review of this stuff because I plan to eventually do vids, but I thought I show ya in picture form. With the exception of my concealer/foundation and a lip gloss..everything I used is by ELF..mostly the studio line.

So, here be the whole look:

And a slightly closer look

Used products:

Concealer: Maybelline Dream Mousse (tryin to use it up as Maybelline does animal testing...kinda sad since I actually do like it..maybe it's good they discontinued it so I won't be tempted...)
"Foundation": Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc Free spf 16 Powder (what a mouthful!) in Buff Beige

Eyes:
ELF Studio eyeshadow-liner stick in green/moss ... $3
ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit ... $3

Lips:
ELF Essential Lipstick in Seductive ... $1!
Avon "Shine" Glazewear in Iced Pink (shh!) ... price varies depending on various sales..lets say avg $3

Face:
ELF Essentials all over color stick in Golden Peach ... $1
ELF Studio Blush and Bronzer Contouring duo ... $3

Lets break er down!
shadow-liner stick

Shadow side-very sheer coverage, might be a pretty base but otherwise provides the lightest wash of color and light shimmer..pretty but just sorta so-so
Liner Side- even more so-so, liner lacks precision once the initial point wears down, have to go over liner multiple times for it to be noticable
Bonus...it broke and I've only used it once! :-(

Verdict: save your money, there are much better options for a liner out there and, while I would like to try the shadow side as a base, it is also the side that broke so.... I couldn't even swatch it for you!

 Here is the liner swatch.... it comes out better on my had than my eye

Brow Kit
Not entirely sure why I felt the need to pick this up considering my brows are naturally pretty dark and I seldom fill them in. I think i saw it get a positive review on BeautyBroadcast and was all..I want to try that jut for the heck of it!  This product doesn't really "fill - in" so much as makes your existing brow hairs look thicker thus making your brows look fuller. The waxy/gel side acts like a brow gel and keeps the stubborn hairs in place while the taupe-y powder sets it.

Verdict: a nice product to have if your brow hairs tend to not hold their shape throughout the day, however I feel this would only really work if your brows are already naturally dark and need minimal fill-in..however I also don't have a set of 'fair' brows to test this theory...

Essentials Lipstick
pretty creamy, matte, quite pink. I find it a hair too pink for me to wear alone, but it does look lovely paired with a gloss..I think the Iced Pink worked well.

And just look at that swatch!

Verdict:A steal for the price Nice color pay-off in a matte formula that is not as dry as some lipsticks I have tried. Not particularly long-lasting, but I have used it for a show and reapplied at intermission. I'm not a huge fan of lipsticks, but I see no other real issues with this product other than sometimes in settles into fine lines or gets a little clumpy..but thats probably more of a matter of not quite hydrated-enough lips and to-thick of an application on my part rather than the formula itself because it doesn't happen all the time!
Usually I pair this with a gloss, it looks phenomenal with NYC Liquid Lip Shine in Dusty Rose!

Avon  Glazewear

What can I say? Avon Glazewear is like, my favorite lip gloss..even though they discontinued a shade I loved (boo!) Super shiney and pretty I find it the perfect consistency for me. While, being a gloss, it isn't that long lasting, it remains one of my fave lip products..most of the time I just throw on a glazewear on my lips. However, today I thought this color might be pretty with the lipstick

Verdict:..do you really have to ask?

All over Color Stick

I initially bought this for use as a blush color but i prefer to use it as an occasional highlight color. Theoretically you could use it on your eyes or lips as well as the face, but the formula (at least mine anyway!) is rather dry so I find it works best on my cheeks...plus I think using the same product on all parts of your face is kinds grody and unsanitary, If I were to want to use this elsewhere, I would probably get a separate one just to try and keep the spread of bacteria at a minimum...pretty color though

 Hmm...can't really see the swtch, but it is there, I promise!

Verdict: an okay product. I'm not gonna rave about it because it is dry and I find the concept behind the product unsanitary. However, for $1, I can put up with some dryness and sanitary-ness is more based on personal paractices rather than what the company says. Not sure if I'll repurchase, but it's not a definite 'no' either

 Studio Blush/Bronzer duo

 $3  gets you two sizable products that compliment each other as well as mist skin tones. If you look at the product in the pan, it does appear to be quite shimmery, However it is NOT shimmery on your skin. The bronzer is a nice, neutral contour shade and the blush offers a very light, barely perceptable flush..which suits my personal tastes just fine.

Verdict:  A nice product for the price, though the blush may be too light for many people's tastes. Also, this product probably wouldn't work so well with dark skin tones. The bronzer is doable for fairer skin tones so long as it is applied with a light hand. 


And Now for Some randoms!

1...my hair is getting quite long..I'm thinking of cutting it off because it is getting difficult to keep the ends from getting dry, I need at least a trim regardless...fine hair lines to be all splitty and breaky, especially when it is worn long

2. I cannot aim a timed release

3. I started an Adult Ballet class last night, so I dug out my old slippers....they're Capezio...hee!

Fact: I took dance lessons for 14 years before I went off to college and I kinda missed it.

What sort of fun make-up/activities have you been playing with?