Product review: E.L.F. Complexion Perfection

I just posted about this powder compact that I ordered from E.L.F. It finally arrived in the mail yesterday (and I have to say, I feel like I waited forever for it to get here!) and of course, I immediately busted into my bag of goodies to try them out. I actually ordered about 7 products (2 shadows, an eyebrow groomer, bronzer, the complexion perfection, a lipgloss and a concealer stick - all for only $17 inlcuding shipping!), but I want to focus this post on the complexion perfection. If you are like me, your skin is not perfect. I get really shiny during the day, not to mention that my skin tone is uneven and often gets a little blotchy - especially in warmer weather. The colors in this compact seem a little crazy at first and I read some reviews of this product where users complained that it made their complexion look washed out or greenish...but to all of that i saw PISHAW! I am in love with this powder! The trick is to apply it lightly, focus on areas where your skin may be a bit redder by going heavier on the green powder over that area, and blend like hell. Blending is super important in making your foundations, powders, concealers, etc., look NATURAL. Ever seen a girl who looked like she was wearing a mask because there was an obvious line where her makeup ended and her bare skin began? Right around the jawline? No offense, teens of America, but girls who are just starting to wear makeup for the first time are INFAMOUS for doing this. So, sure, this powder could make your face look gray, if you apply too much and don't blend it properly. But my hope is that you would never, ever do that. ;)

So. Do not be afraid of the blue, pink, yellow and green compact, it is your friend. Don't overdo it and you'll love it just as much as I do.

since no one is perfect...

i just ordered this great combination powder from e.l.f. (that's eyes lips face for those of you not in the know - the most affordable makeup money can buy) and can't wait to try it out. it's summer time and that means that while i'm stoked to be parading around in sundresses and sandals, the heat and humidty are wreaking havoc on my skin. thankfully, there's an app for that. ok, maybe not an app, but there is no shortage of products out there designed to help you fake a perfect complexion. if you're like me, and tend to break out more in the summer months (because who doesn't love being covered in sweat for the majority of your waking hours??), a compact like this will work wonders, because it does a couple jobs at once.

it may seem odd to be putting yellow and green powder on your face, but if you remember from an earlier posting, those colors work to neutralize redness and blotchy skin, so your skin tone will look even. and, if you were a huge buffoon last weekend and forgot to reapply your sunscreen while you were out at the pool (i just KNOW that you put it on at least 15 minutes before you went outside and then you just got so distracted by that cute boy who kept trying to show off on the diving board that you went and forgot to reapply and now you are paying because your nose is peeling like an onion!!), this compact will help tone down some of the red that comes along with sunburn. next time, though, DO NOT BE SO FOOLISH. boys come and go. your skin is the only skin you'll ever have and it will be with you through many more seasons to come, which is more than i can say for teenage boys. trust me. I KNOW.

anyway, it also helps absorb some of the excess oil that is also one of the joys of summer. no one wants a face that shines like a disco ball. unless you are dressing up as a disco ball for halloween, in which case i would recommend GLITTER, not sweat, to achieve that look.

bad gal lash...how do i love thee?

I've probably sung the praises of Bad Gal Lash by Benefit Cosmetics once or twice on this site, but I recently got a gift card to use at Amazon.com and since I usually can't afford Bad Gal (it's $19 a tube!!!), I indulged myself and got a tube of Bad Gal and I also picked up a Shu Uemura eyelash curler (also $19), lucky lucky me. Both of these products are on the higher end of what I'm willing to spend to not look like a gargoyle when I leave the house every day, but sometimes it's really worth the splurge. Bad Gal really is the BEST mascara I've ever found, and my $19 eyelash curler finds lashes that I didn't even know I had. So, even if you can't afford to go high-end all the time (and really, who the heck can??), consider picking up one or two crucial products (mascara, good foundation or cover up, or a really nice powder brush), because sometimes that $19 mascara REALLY DOES make all the difference in the world!

Shiny, Happy People (hmmm...this is a reference to an old REM song from the 90s that you maybe will not get cause you were like 4??)

I am the first to admit that I am very, very guilty of what I call "raccoon syndrome" because I am instantly attracted to and mesmerized by anything shiny, sparkly, or glittery. (In case you are not picking up what I am laying down, raccoons are infamous for their attraction to shiny, reflective things, I'm not just picking stupid names here) That said, I LOVE glittery, shimmery makeup. I love it. I got a Milani lip gloss the other day that I think I might want to marry. It's called Lip Mixer, and it's available in multiple shades (today I'm wearing Lip Stir, kinda like Hipster but with less hip and more lip - and I am all about that!), and not only does it look like something I might want to eat, but it's also incredibly, beautifuly shimmery, it's not sticky, and it smells delicious. I highly recommend adding any shade to your makeup collection, and you can get Milani at pretty much any drugstore. That said, it's also very easy to go over board with the giltter, so a tip for keeping the shine in check is to only apply it in one place. If your shadow is super glimmery, use a matte lipstick or a gloss that doesn't have glitter. If your lips are rocking the glitter, use matte shadows and maybe highlight by your brow bone with a shimmer. You don't want to look like a disco ball, so try to balance out something shiny with something matte (by the way, matte means it's not reflective, but a flat color that doesn't have sparkly specks or metallic shimmers in it...sounds boring, I know, but the combination of the two is really very nice!) to get your look right!!

(Literally) Going Green

So I’m sure you’ve seen this in the store before: a little tube of green liquid that calls itself concealer or cover up, or the same thing in yellow. And you want me to put this where?? Seems a bit off to put something that shade on your face and not come out looking like a cast member of Cirque du Soleil, but these are actually products of genius. If you’ve ever taken an art class and had to learn about the color wheel, this might make a little more sense, but if not, no biggie because it’s a pretty simple concept. Red and green are complimentary colors, right? Meaning they are opposite one another on the color wheel. So, when you apply green goop to a red spot on your face, guess what happens? The green counteracts the red and it works to neutralize the fact that hey, you’re human and you have a blemish. The trick with this is to not go overboard. You don’t need a lot to cover a blemish or two (or even cover a splotchy area if you’re dealing with uneven skin), and the real key here is to blend like crazy. Because if you don’t…you’re left with a greenish tint to your face which will have people thinking you’re on the verge of vomiting all day. And good luck getting anyone to sit next to you when they think you’re going to lose your lunch at any second.

As for the yellow concealers…these work really well on eyelids, for two reasons. One, they provide a base for your eye shadows to cling to and can actually make them last longer – just beware that you’re not overloading your lids, cause that will lead to your shadows “creasing” which never looks good. Secondly, they work great if you have really thin skin on your lids (like I do) and the veins below your skin are visible. Regular concealer will cover that up as well, but what the yellow does is work to counteract darker tones, if the skin on your eyelids happens to be darker than on the rest of your face, or if you have dark circles under your eyes (really, turn off the computer and go to SLEEP!!), a bit of yellow concealer can help cover that. Yellow or green, just be sure you’re blending. And of course, you’ll want to go over that with your foundation or powder, to give your skin an even tone, all over.

The Eyes Have It

I am not going to lie: I do not always get my beauty sleep. I wish I could say I religiously get 8 hours of sleep every night, but I do have a life and that means sometimes I stay up past my bedtime. You may be able to lie to your parents about what time you actually got off Facebook last night and went to sleep, but your skin will give you away, every time. Your eyes have an amazing ability to point out the fact that you did not have them closed for a solid 8 hours while you were off in dreamland, but there are ways to fake a decent night's sleep. I do not recommend this as a substitute for actually getting the sleep you need, but I remember the time when I also thought sleep was highly overrated. Anyway, I found a great product by Yes to Cucumbers - and knowing that cucumbers have long since been a remedy for puffy, swollen eyes - I am really anxious to try it out. There was a time when I would put cold cucumber slices over my eyelids or chilled tea bags to reduce the swelling, but when they put it in gel form and wrap it up in a cute package, who am I to not try something new? The great thing about this is that it's available at Walgreens and Target, among other stores, and you won't pay a fortune for it. Another thing to remember when dealing with tired eyes is to not load up on concealer under the eyes...lightly apply a dab under each eye and blend using your ring finger (just because it's your weakest finger and you'll do less damage to your skin's elasticity that way). Layer that under a light foundation and your eyes will perk up a bit. Keep your shadow colors light in the inside corner of your eyes, especially near your tear ducts - that really opens up your eyes and can also make them look a little more wide awake. That said, I am not promising miracles here. You really should be getting your sleep. And, if you know you're shorting yourself and you fall into bed at 1am after a night of talking to your boyfriend on the phone, do yourself a favor and at least indulge yourself in a glass of water before bed. Getting up to pee at 5 am is a small price to pay for keeping your skin hydrated and healthy looking, believe me.

Check out the cucumber eye gel here: http://www.yestocarrots.com/?CategoryID=416 Your eyes will thank you for it in the morning.

Beauty Without Breaking the Bank

I recently went away on vacation and while I was gone, I indulged myself in some new cosmetics that I can't readily get at home. Normally I would hesitate to buy one eyeshadow pot that cost $13, but hey...I was on vacation. Now that it's back to reality for me, I thought I'd post something about how to look great without spending a fortune. I've found that mixing high-end department store brands like Chanel with drug store brands like Revlon and Wet'n'Wild is a great way to feel like a million bucks without spending your entire summer earnings. Some people scoff at Wet'n'Wild, but I will go down on the records and say that I wore W'n'W cosmetics at my wedding. Oh yes I did. They have a shadow pallete called Sand Castle that I would recommend to anyone. The colors are beautiful and they go on smoothly, don't crease on my lids, and they stay put all day. AND I don't have to put half the container on my face to get the colors to show up. I recently discovered another great line that is perfect on a tight budget - it's called Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.) and it's all A DOLLAR! Just one dollar will buy you brushes, shadows, liners, glitter pencils, mineral lip glosses...amazing. For the most part, I wouldn't skimp on things like foundation and a good eyeshadow brush. Things like that you want to pony up a few more dollars for and get yourself a really good, blendable foundation or some nicer brushes. That said, I've never used E.L.F. brushes OR foundations, so maybe I should try them out and put my money where my mouth is. Anyway, you can sometimes find it in stores, but it's also available online at http://www.eyeslipsface.com/. The Sugar Kiss line is really nice for young skin, and the colors are fun and bright without being overbearing. And they even sell shimmer eyeshadow cell phone charms. And who doesn't need one of those??? Don't think you have to spend a fortune to look good. True, some of the high-end products are more enviable, but if you can buy TWENTY eyeshadow colors or brushes for less than the cost of ONE shadow from one of those lines, it kind of seems like a no-brainer to me.

A Personal Favorite

I found myself in the makeup aisle at CVS today (although I swear I went in there for sunscreen and a birthday card) and couldn't help but pick myself up an angled blush brush. I'm going to be heading off on vacation soon and want to make sure I have all the tools I need to look my best while I'm away (that's a good enough excuse, right??). So that got me to thinking about blush in general and how one little swipe of color to the cheeks can really brighten or lighten up your whole face. One color that I love in particular is Dandelion by Benefit Cosmetics. It's a little on the pricey side at $28, but it comes with a cute little brush that's actually great for application, but it's a beautiful shimmery pink that is so feminine and gorgeous and works on just about everyone. Plus, I also use it to highlight my brow bones or even as a base eyeshadow when I'm feeling creative. It's enough color to be noticable but it's also soft enough to not shout, "LOOK AT ME, I'M WEARING BLUSH!!" which is not the kind of statement you want your blush to make. Anyway, I get nothing out of this, I just love the product and love telling other people about it. You can surely find a comprable and less expensive alternative, but then it wouldn't come in that adorable little package. ;)

http://www.benefitcosmetics.com/gp/product/B000FBK5IQ/sr=1-2/qid=1248295966/ref=sr_1_2/188-4711404-0340232?ie=UTF8&n=164983011&bcBrand=core

How Old is Too Old??

It is no secret that my favorite mascara is Bad Gal by Benefit (and surprisingly, they do not pay me to say that!). I've never tried Dior Show but I think they are very similar in terms of the effect - which is really flippin long lashes. HOWEVER. There's a recession going on and I can't indulge in $20 tubes of mascara (because that is pretty much a whole outfit from Forever 21 or some super cute shoes from gojane.com), which is just as well because, as a general rule, your mascara has about a 3 month shelf life after you open that tube. I posted earlier about some guidelines for sharing (or, I guess I should say, NOT sharing) your makeup, and the same stuff applies here. Basically, mascara is just one of those things that you shouldn't share and you shouldn't hang on to for more than 3 months. You should also steer clear of pumping the wand up and down into the tube to load up the wand when you start running low. This actually will push air into the tube, which will make your mascara clumpy and it won't go on as well. But, back to my Bad Gal obsession, there are some great drug store options out there now that will only set you back around $6 when it's time to toss your tube in 3 months - trust me, I was always very reluctant to throw my $20 mascara away. I'm on my third tube of Lash Stiletto by Maybeline, and I"m pretty happy about the results, I get a lot of length without looking clumpy. Mascara isn't the only thing you should toss on the regular, though - your makeup sponges should get tossed every week, pressed powder should be tossed when you start to notice oil spots (this is actually caused by putting your powder puff back into the compact face down, which leads to the powder absorbing the oils your face left on the puff - so to make your powder last longer, don't put the puff side down when you close it), and foundations and concealers should both be tossed if you can't use it all before around 6 months. Again, keep your application tools clean and your makeup will last longer and go a lot further!