Project Pan: March 2013

Hey All!
   I hope everyone is having a great entrance into Spring! Over here it's been a bit slow to start, a few last minute snow falls but overall I really can't complain.  Today I wanted to bring an update of my products that I'm working on using up currently, let me know if you would like to see these continue!

 

I obviously have added in a product, and made a big dent in others.  Starting from the top left:

 

The Color Workshop 15 Pan Palette: This palette is still going strong, although I have finished another pan of it, bringing my total to 3 pans out of the 15.  I hope to have this finished out by the year, but at my rate, it feels like it'll take two years. 

 

L.A. Colors Pressed Powder: This has seen a pretty drastic improvement from even last month.  I hope to say adios to this product by next month.  It still hasn't grown on me, and I'll be happy to have it gone soon enough. 

 

Wet'N' Wild Nutty Eyeshadow: I've been slowly working my way through this shadow, but sadly in transport, it started to crack so I need to be more careful with this.  I hope to have it done before I go to study abroad for 9 weeks because I'd hate to deal with the mess. 

 

ELF Studio Blush in Berry Merry: I did not expect at all this blush to develop such a dent in it.  I don't think it'll be finished this year because it looks best during the winter/fall/early spring months.  So once we hit the warmer weather, I think I'll switch this out for a peachy or pink blush again.  But I will pull it back out in September.  This is a really pretty berry toned blush, and totally under hyped.

 

Jordana Easyliner in Eggplant: I haven't really used this as much as I thought I would.  This shade especially gets smudgy and created raccoon eyes so easily, and while I experienced this with the brown shade, it wasn't as bad.  I will probably focus on getting this out of my collection even faster now. 

 

Overall there is progress, but I'm itching to have anther makeup product finished! What about you? Have you been finishing makeup?

xoxo,

Emi

ELF Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter in Glow/Fair

So I haven't seen really any reviews in the youtube world about this particular product.  I'm not really sure why, I guess out of all the products ELF offers, it just hasn't risen to the top, which is not to say that it is nessessarily a bad product. I got the shade Glow/ Fair, and from the ELF website it seems that the highlighter (Glow) is the same in each tube, and just the concealer changes.  The concealer only goes up to medium, so for the darker skinned ladies out there, this would not be the concealer for you.

"Correct under eye problematic areas such as dark circles and bags easily and effectively! Contains vitamins A & E, chamomile, caffeine and green tea to moisturize, soothe, and tighten the skin around the delicate eye area. Blends in easily and evenly to provide a smooth and natural finish."

These claims are actually pretty true.  I've been using this concealer for several months already and have found that it easily covers my dark circles and reduces the puffiness.  It does not crease under my eyes and stays put (when set with powder) for a good length of time.  It is not long wearing, but I get several hours wear before a light touchup.  

As you notice this is a dual ended product, and there is a white colored highlighter.  This is something I do not like at all because it has shimmers.  I tried using this as a cheek highlighter and patted in with my fingers left a white line across my face, but rubbing it in caused it to disappear and a line of obvious glitter left on my cheek. Either way it didn't look good nor was it flattering.  

I would repurchase this product simply because the concealer was so good.  I'd rather have a full tube of the concealer than the actual duo. But at 3.00 I would repurchase it again... if I even get through this tube in my lifetime!

Have you tried this product?   

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?

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Applelicious Pink

Hey everyone!

   So NYC (New York Color) has been cranking out some new products recently, and I picked up one of their newer lip products, which you've probably seen around.  It's their new Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm.  There were several option to chose from but I grabbed a color that I knew I would like, so at least if the gimmick or actual product sucked, at least I had a pretty color. 

So let's just get a glimpse at what the NYC website says about this product: 

"Only NYC New York Color could find the city’s soft spot with their new deliciously ‘feel good’ APPLELICIOUS lip balm that will deliver color, shine and moisture in one single swipe! Just like the Big Apple itself it’s juicy, shiny and colorfully loud but also reveals a softer and more caring side. Color is fun and fruity and with a hidden apple core of care it’s also delightfully moist. This ‘oh so cute!’ apple-shaped core reinforces the moisturizing properties of the rest of the balm and gives your lips a healthier look! The apple on the cake? A fruity apple scent that will make your lips irresistibly kissable!"

So in essence, this is really just a light balm product with a core of lip moisturizer.  It is definitely cute looking with the apple in the center (which continues through the entirety of the product, and the smell is a sweetened apple/ berry.  

This is definitely build-able in color, so one swipe can leave a light stain of gloss and color, while future layers lead to a nice bold, yet sheer lip.  It doesn't erase your lips, just leaves a glossy stain appearance.  The color I chose was in Applelicious Pink, and is a magenta-pink toned color.  It doesn't have really long staying power, but it does stain the lips a little (but be warned...the stain does dry the lips)

On the moisturizing level I find my qualms.  This wasn't nearly as moisturizing as a Burt's Bees tinted balm, and would dry out my lips, causing me to keep applying the lip balm and continuously leading to dryer lips.  I find that a lot of the glossy-tinted-lip-balm-staining products, once the gloss wears off, are drying to the lips.  

Is it s a cute product? Yes.  Is it a must have from the shelves, not really.  I wasn't extremely impressed by it, but I will continue to use it at a time where my lips won't look like raisins. They retail at the reasonable price of $2.99  

Have you tried these?
xoxo, 
Emi

Project Pan: February 2013

Hey all!
  Hope you had a LOVEly month (bad joke I know), anyways it's time for the next installment of my project pan.  This month was pretty interesting, although I swear, my shadows must be growing back during the night because I feel like I'm right at the cusp of hitting another small pan, and yet nada (grrrr!)  Anyways let's start from top left corner.

L.A. Colors Face Pressed Powder: This thing won't die! It just keeps living on, although I feel like it has made a slight improvement. (wishful thinking I believe)

Wet'n'Wild Eyeshadow in Nutty: Again doesn't look like much has been used, but I've used this every single darn day.  Let's face it, even using a single shadow daily...it might take about 4 more months to get through it (talk about  perspective...my whole collection might take more than 5 years!!)

Color Workshop Palette: The lower right corner shadow is the one I've been focusing on this month. It shows a dent, but won't hit pan (cruel joke!)

Jordana Easyliner: whoa hey, did this really grow back? Nope! I finished my Lavish Brown shade in the middle of the month, so I've started onto the other Jordana Liner in Eggplant.  It's a nice shade switch!

 

How are ya'll doing on your project pans?

xoxo,

Emi

Incoco Nail Strips Review

Now I feel like everyone and their mother has tried theSally Hansen version of the nail strips. I haven’t yet tried them so I can’t compare them to Incoco, but as someone who had noprevious experience with these strips, I found it to be very straight forwardand simple to use.  There is a slightnail polish scent, but not as strong as straight from the bottle polish. 

Packet I Got

Most of these strips fit on my nails just fine, and the tinyparts that stuck out I could very easily file down.  I topped the strips with 2 coats of clear topcoat to just seal everything in and was good to go! The instructions werestraight forward and really simple.

These lasted me over a week, before they started to lift andmy nails started to grow out.  I’m aperson who once she sees a chip or lifting, I start picking at it, so theystarts to look bad after that first week.

Taking them off: I didn’t realize that these strips were actually glitter (don’t ask why…I thought they were just printed) so trying to remove those things were a pain BUT not as bad as regular glitter polish. 

Incoco Nail Strips retail between 8.99 – 10.99 for the full nail sheets with designs on them.  I was surprised because I always assumed these were more than the Sally Hansen versions, but hey they  aren’t. 

Who would I recommend them for?

-         People who like nail designs and don’t pick at polish

-         Special occasions: (ie Christmas, Birthday,Wedding) Because hey, it’s cheaper than getting a manicurist to try to do the same design!

Have you tried these?

Xoxo, Emi

Project Pan Update

Hey all!
   Ever wonder how long it really takes to make a dent in makeup? I've been tracking via photos each month how much of a product I end up using, which had led to some interesting findings, and something I'd like to continue doing for the rest of the year.

So the first month I started taking photos was November where I went back to my makeup drawer and really went through what I wanted to use up.  The top left photo is the Wet'n'Wild ColorIcon single eye shadow in Nutty.  I was expecting this shade to be more taupe toned, but instead comes out more grey-silver.  It's still very pretty, just not 100% what I had hoped it to be.  The next product, on the top right is what I have been using as a setting powder, the LA Colors Pressed Powder in Nude.  It's not my favorite and does get cakey looking if you use too much, but it'll do.  This is just one of those products I want out.   Finally the bottom image is from a Color Workshop 15 pan "Little Black Book" palette.  It is all shimmery shades, and a neutrals set.  Not all are the same texture, but again they do the job.

November: I've only been using these colors this month for my makeup looks, and they turn out rather pretty.  I used a different moisturizer during this month, and it left my face so shiny, so I'd keep powdering my face.

December: The dent in the Nutty eye shadow is definitely getting bigger. The eyeshadow from Color Workshop does take a while to get through too.  It took two months to get through en entire small plan of shadow (highlight and blending) and hit pan on the next one.  The face powder had another month of heavy use, still not a favorite, it really makes me miss my last face powder, the ELF Complexion Perfection powder.

January: This month has really seen a good amount of usage and I even threw in another product that I've been working through but just never thought to take a photo of it.  The Wet'N' Wild shadow is getting along slowly, but it does have a nice sized dent too it.  The face powder still hasn't grown on me, and I don't think it will.  The Color Workshop palette saw little change, but now there are 2 empty pans.  I plan on using this until its 100% empty--so I have a while to go on it.   The newest addition (which is something I've been using for about half a year) is my Jordana Easyliner in Lavish Brown.  It's a creamy liner, with a nice amount of color/ pigment...it's just not long wearing at all and smudges easily.

Shall I continue with this series? Does this help anyone who is interested in planning out a "project pan" project?  

xoxo,
Emi