Lipstick Swatchout Series

Hi All!

   So after falling off the face of the Earth for a while, I'm back! Kinda… I'm trying here! If you follow my youtube channel, I've been trying to work my way through my makeup and really bring it down to a level where I don't feel panicked about it. One of the most difficult parts of having a makeup collection in a dresser drawer is that you don't really know what colors you get/ have so the old "out of sight, out of mind" saying rings true.  In a time where my living area/ conditions only stretch as far as 10 months, I know I don't want to try to lug boxes of makeup on a plane (or lotions, or body scrubs, or or or or) so working my way through to the real basics and loving what I have seems to be the answer.

   I've also noticed, as I've been going through my makeup, it has spread to other parts of my life where I want to get rid of the "junky" stuff and really keep a simpler living style. (except for shoes…you never have enough shoes, or handbags)

   To help organize I've opted to go through my lipstick and lip gloss collection and swatch ALL of them, to help myself remember which colors I have (and why I really shouldn't have bought those colors). Hence the new series, I thought about doing a 30in30, but with many of my lip colors, they are a tad too bold or none seasonally appropriate (or frankly even a very conservative work/ school appropriate) or let's face it… I look dead in a few shades.

  I hope this next series helps others out when it comes to figuring out colors, pigments and swatches vs. on the lips! Please let me know what you think! :)
 

November Ipsy Bag

Hi All!

So of course, with each and every subscription service, we want to make sure that we are getting our monies worth.  On my youtube channel I did an unboxing and here I wanted to delve deeper into the actual products, swatches and the actual worth of the products.  

I have to commend IPSY in their bag this month because it pulled together many key parts to a "glam look". Many times with Birchbox I found that the products were just thrown together haphazardly. 

Treseme Tres Two Level Four Hold: $1.59

Nailtini in Champagne: $14

be a bombshell lip crayon in hot damn: $14

.em by Michelle Phan pillow plush in strawberry: $15

Pixi bronzer in Subtly Suntouched: $18 but includes kabuki

Starlooks Eyeliner in Topaz: $14

Let's do a quick rundown:

Starlooks: 14

Pixi: 18

.em: 15

be a bombshell: 14

Nailtini: 14

Treseme: 1.59

So the total of product in this bag is: 76.59!!

But now for some swatches!

1. Starlooks Eyeliner in Topaz  2. be a bombshell in Hot Damn 3. Pixi Subtly Suntouched
4. .em cosmetics pillow plush in strawberry 5. Nailtini in Champagne 1 coat 6. Nailtini in Champagne 2 coats 

Did you sign up for IPSY? What did you think of your bag this time? What about the Birchbox followers? Comment below and let me know how your subscriptions are going!

xoxo,

Emi

Big ELF Haul Swatches

Hi All!

   Over on my youtube channel I posted a video with a large ELF haul but I figured a few extra swatches wouldn't hurt to show the true colors of the products.  The ELF website doesn't show the best swatches, and often the products aren't the colors they are shown on the site, so to help ya'll out here are a few from my purchase!

ELF Cream Blush in Heartbreaker

                                      

This feels like a mousse in constancy and seems to be pigmented but without being too much. 

ELF Studio Blushes in Candid Coral (L) and Peachy Keen (R) 

Both shades have a sheen/ shimmer to them which does leave a pretty highlight on the skin. I've never used a peachy blush so this could be interesting.  

ELF Eye Primer & Liner Sealer

It'll be interesting to see how this primer holds up to the other very popular ELF eyelid primers.  This is much thicker, like a concealer stick, but still smooth.  The liner sealer just seems like a good idea to have instead of tons of different color liners.  I've never actually tried a liner sealer, so this will be a real trial. 

ELF Baked Eyeshadow in Toasted

The shadow really looks sheer without a primer, but I could actually see this used as a bronzy cheek highlight.  With a primer (left side swatches) shows much better pigmentation. 

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzer in St. Lucia

So the bronzer looks like it can be pretty dark, but the blush looks a lot like Benefit's Dandelion box blush.  I don't know about anyone else, but there seems to be a sheen/ very light shimmer int he bronzer pan, but it does not seem to show up in the swatch.  

ELF Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky

This is sooo light in my swatch and very shimmery.  This is very much a cheek shimmer or highlight, but it almost feels too shimmery.  I'll have to see how I can play with this little baby.  

ELF Studio Eyeshadows

Swatches L-R: Amethyst, Saddle, Wild Wheat, Buttercream

I really haven't heard people talking about these eyeshadows so I was inclined to try them out.  Without a primer (swatches on left) the light shades like Wild Wheat and Buttercream don't show up well, and the darker shadows don't show up as impressive as they seem in the pan.  But with some primer, the shadows seems to brighten up.  The only shadow I am a little bummed out on is the Amethyst because I thought it would be more purple rather than dark brown.  

ELF Studio HD Blush in Diva

So I'm sure with this swatch you see a line where I first started to blend this blush.  Not even 30 seconds later I went to blend this color more, and I saw the original swipe.  This is truly an over pigmented blush and already seems like it'll be more work than I want to put into for a quick swipe. 

ELF 3 in 1 Mascara Lengthen, Define & Volumize

I've never used an ELF mascara so it'll be interesting to test out if it is truly a lengthen, define, and volumize. 

ELF Studio Palettes Spotted & Sporty (Front) and Day on the Beach (Behind)

Spotted and Sporty is the more colorful of the pair, but some of the color swatches come out very pale and muted.  The blush on the palette is quite pretty, but I'm not a huge fan of the lipsticks being with the palette because the powder products can get in.  The spots in the eyeshadows do add some depth to shadows and even make them a little more wearable.  The Day at the Beach palette is more pigmented shadows and had a nice range of matte and shimmer shadows.  I don't see any doubles in the shadows too, which is a good option.  The big dud is actually the blush which was SO chalky and SO unpigmented that it was just a waste of time.  

32 Warm Palette

This palette was a great purchase especially to expand neutrals because it puts to perspective what ARE neutral shadows.  There are some dud shades like the dark black, matte shade that actually ends up looking like a dark grey.  The shade in the top right corner is extremely flaky and chunky, but most shades are worthwhile.  

Have you tried any of these products? What was your experience with them?

If you would like to see my entire haul here a link to my video!

Link to my Youtube ELF Haul Video

xoxo

EMI

ELF Studio Blush in Berry Merry

So this is a blush from the ELF Studio Line that I don't hear people mention, really at all.  I've noticed that ELF seems to have attracted the attention of many beauty lovers more for the pinky-peachy tones, and rarely the deeper shades.

After checking the ELF website, I basically understood why no one really talks about this blush...it doesn't look pretty online, in fact it looks muddy and brown and super sparkly.  This is how ELF shows that swatch on the website! Not pretty looking...but in reality it is rather pretty! (and a true berry blush!)

This is what it really looks like in flash and in natural light, with a swatch.  See how much prettier it is, and it is pretty pigmented too!

I love using this blush during the winter/fall time because it creates a very lovely wash of color.  I use a delicate hand and the shimmers that are in the product actually come together to create a nice highlight. It is a smooth and nicely milled blush, and the packaging is sleek and slim, so it's not wasting space in a makeup bag.

I would suggest giving this blush a go if your in the market for a berry colored blush, and at 3.00 it is a steel.  (You can often find it for 1.50 on the ELF website when they have the 50% off sales).

What do you think about it?