Drugstore Blush Review

Good morning my sweet peas! Hope everyone is doing well. Today I decided to round up my more recent drugstore blush purchases to just have a good old fashioned chat about them. For reference, I have fair-light cool-toned combination skin.

The first is a Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Blush in Keep it Peachy. It was purchased at clearance from Walmart for $0.25. The only other Color Icon blush I had was Blazen' Berry, which I really enjoyed until it broke in the pan- the shimmer formula was way too soft. While this seems to be of a stiffer, matte formula, there is a lot of kick-up in the pan, and it is quite powdery.

Keep it Peachy is a matte powder peach, definitely on the more yellow side. I do prefer peach/corals like this in the Spring and Summer, because the color seems to glow off my skin. The product is simple, and easy to use, and I don't regret bringing it into my collection.

The next one is very similar, color-wise. This was another one I got from clearance ($6.50). It is the L'Oreal Paradise Enchanted blush in the shade 191, Fantastical. The formulation is a lot less pigmented than the Wet 'n Wild one. Though this blush is also peach, it is pinker with a more satin finish. I've been reaching for this one a lot lately, due to ease of use. I don't feel like I can over-do it with this blush. As for the scent, in the pan it is noticeable, but the peach scent is really light. I am very sensitive to smells and easily get headaches from them, but this one doesn't bother me at all. Nor does it linger once you apply it to the face.

Now that the more neutral, every-day blushes have been discussed, let's talk about the more unique blushes.

First is the Nyx Sweet Cheeks Matte blush in the shade Silence is Golden ($7.50). Once I found out that Nyx was releasing a yellow matte blush, but only in select places, I was intrigued. I asked people what they thought about yellow blush, but was met with incredulity. I scoured the internet for pictures and articles about yellow blush, hoping to see if it could work for me. With the release of Its Likely Makeup's Clown face palette, a quad of bright blushes- including yellow- I thought I was surely on the pulse of the yellow blush revolution.

No such revolution really took off, but I bought the Nyx blush and have pulled it out a couple of times. My own personal preference is to use this yellow blush with others (especially the two up-top), for an ombre blush effect, similar to what one would do with eyeshadow. That in particular has really been fun, and when used in that way, I do not regret purchasing it at all.

Our last blush is another clearance item, this time from Marshall's. After I purchased the yellow blush, I wanted to see if I could curate my own version of the ItsLikely clown quad. While I wasn't interested in the purple tones, there is a red one I thought I would give a go. It came to me in the form of Elf primer-infused blush in the shade Always Fiery. ($2.50)

This is a pure scarlet matte-blush. It is easy enough to use, blendable, and looks pretty "natural" on the skin, but I have not been reaching for it. I think when I apply it, it feels too cool-toned. Which I know, doesn't make much sense. But I feel because I am cool-toned, certain blushes read strange on my skin, and I just don't want to use them (see also: purple blush). I will certainly keep trying with the elf one, but I am just not that impressed.

And, now, onto the swatches! From top to bottom, it is: L'Oreal Fantastical, Nyx Silence is Golden, Elf Always Fiery, and Wet 'n Wild Keep it Peachy.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! Thanks, as always, for reading.

Quick and Cheap Recommendations

I know, cheap is sort of a subjective term. But bear with me. All the products listed here can be found at Walmart or Target (some at Ulta), and are reasonably affordable for the amount of product you get and the quality of it, compared to other brands in the same product category.

Let's begin with the Elf Lip Lacquer in Clear. It costs $2.00 and contains 8 fl oz.  I picked this up because I thought the packing was nice and minimal, and the plastic looked thick and sturdy. I do quite like clear lip gloss, and this was kind of a careless purchase that I didn't really think much about. After applying it, I was happily surprised. For one, it doesn't have that typical mineral-oil flavor that comes with many cheaper lip glosses. Instead, it has a mild vanilla flavor that disappears. In a word, this lip gloss is comfortable. I have been reaching for it constantly, and have made a large dent in the tube.

Next is The Good Stuff intensive nourishment cream (leave-in conditioner), bought at Target for $8.00 for 7.7 fl oz. The story with this one is that all winter I was using the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. At first, it made my hair really nice, but over time and as the weather got warmer, I felt my hair getting oilier and oilier. So I stopped using conditioner all together, and my hair got very dull. So I was kind of hapless and frustrated when I stumbled across this product- surprised at first by its reasonable price point. Be aware, though, this isn't some salon/indie hair brand with a magically low price point- it's owned by Unilever.

Still, after washing my hair with Head and Shoulders (because I have a dry/itchy scalp), I applied this to my damp hair. I really like how it brought back sheen and softness to my hair, without making me feel greasy. It also has a really nice salon-shampoo scent that definitely lingers throughout the day.

FYI, my hair is medium-thick is naturally kind of inconsistently wavy. *shrug*.

The mascara that I am currently using and would definitely recommend is The Pret a Volume Smoky Mascara in Velvet Black from Catrice. I did not get the Waterproof one because I feel waterproof sticks to closely too my lashes and is too difficult to remove.

 It costs $.7.00 and you get .37 oz of product. Snooping around other mascaras from other ranges, this mascara is quite hefty and contains more product than the L'Oreal Lash Paradise (0.28 oz), and the Benefit Roller Lash (0.3 oz).

I have seen some mixed reviews of this mascara online. My own lashes are naturally curled and chaotic at times. I don't really want length out of a mascara, just volume and definition, which this mascara most certainly provides. The formula was a bit creamier and easier to work with when the mascara was newer. Some mascaras get better as they "age," but I felt this one was more potent in the beginning. Still, I am continuing to quite happily use this.

Next is Ponds Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream. I buy mine at Walmart in the mini, which contains 1.75 oz (50 g) and cost maybe $3.00. I can't find the mini online :(. I would buy it from the travel-friendly section. . It does come in two other sizes, the largest containing 14.1 oz (40 g), and currently on sale for $13.82. This is my second time using up a container of this, and I have definitely mentioned this product on the blog before.

Still, it bears repeating. As someone who uses Retinol 1-2 times a week, this is a great product for those days when I am not applying Retinol.  The cream has a strong fragrance, and I usually take a break after using it for a couple of days, to prevent breakouts. If you have sensitive skin or skin that is raw from exfoliation or something else- be aware. Even today because my nose was red and raw from allergies, getting the tiniest speck of this cream on my nose was a bit painful.

Other than that, I really enjoy this cream. It makes my skin feel plump and does minimize lines on the face.

The next one is a newer purchase, the Neutrogena healthy skin anti-aging perfector (whew looong name). Mine is in the shade ivory to fair (10). This one is the priciest item on my list, at $10.59 (Target), for 1 FL oz of product. I have been on the look out for a BB Cream with SPF that is light enough for me. When I saw this, and read that The Muse approved this, I snapped it up.

I was unsure how well it would match me, but I am happy to say that it does a great job of blending into my skin tone:

It don't wear it alone, though, I layer it on top of Australian Gold SPF 50.

Overall, I have found myself pretty open to trying things from Neutrogena, even though some of their offerings are weirdly expensive- like that $15.00 highlighting stick?? If they can scale back the cost of some of their products, I think they would be even in a better spot- because I do like what I have tried from them so far.

And last, we have a brush! The Elf Flawless Concealer brush has been so much more enjoyable to use than my Real Techniques concealer brush. The Elf one costs $3.00, and has a fluffy, outward shaped brush head that is also rounded. I find it to be the perfect shape to blend under my eyes, as well as on my face. The shape of the brush really makes it easy to buff out concealer, rather than patting it or brushing it, which is what I felt the somewhat flat head of the RT brush was doing. I picked mine up at CVS, I believe.

So those are all my recs! Would love to know what you think- have you tried any of these?

Thanks for reading.


*** Redacted Rec: Burt's Bees Intensive Overnight Lip Treatment. Oh hey, if you made it this far down the page, then congrats! I have some bonus content for you- a redacted recommendation. This means that I was going to recommend the Burt's Bees lip mask on the premise that it was cheap, but some simple math has proven me wrong!

I really need to thank one of my fave bloggers, Brutally Honest Beauty. On her instagram stories, she was posting price comparisons of comparable drugstore vs. high-end products according to price per gram or oz, and actually found that in some cases the higher end product was actually the more cost-effective option.

This is true of the BB Lip Mask, which costs $8.68 for .25 oz. This means it costs $34.75/oz.

Let's compare this with a higher end mask- Laniege, a company that is known for its lip masks. Well, theirs costs $20 for .7 oz, or $28.00 for 1 oz. So the Laniege one seems to be the more practical option, especially for a product that does get a lot of use.

In sum,  I redacted it because I don't think consumers are exactly getting the best deal. And now I have something to add to my wishlist- I saw that Laniege had a vanilla option!

Review and Swatches: Elf Best Friend Eyeshadow Duos

Good morning! Today I have a review for a sort of new product by elf called the Best Friend

Eyeshadow Duo.

I picked these up at my local Target as they just put them out, but the duos have been available for online purchase since last summer. The reason I did not do this is because I don’t really like the idea of having to buy something online that is $3.00, and having to pay shipping for it.

On that note, let's go over the specs. The two duos I'm going to be reviewing today are the Peach Squad Duo, and the Tea for Two Duo.

As I mentioned before, each duo costs $3. They contain 3 g of product each. This means that each pan in the duo contains 1.5 g of product.

Peach Squad contains a warm toned gold, almost bronze, as well as a matte peach. Tea for Two is cooler-toned, and contains what appears to be a pink shimmer, as well as a cream colored matte.

Tea for Two (l), Peach Squad (r)

Tea for Two (top), Peach Squad (bottom)

After swatching and using both of these products, I do have to say that the mattes are the stronger performers. The shimmers give an almost glossy look, and are not your typical shimmer formula. They're not chunky. The shimmer in Tea for Two appears very pink in the pan, but once I swatched it with my finger, I noticed it was definitely on the warmer, slightly orange side.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the shimmer shadows. On the packaging, elf suggests that the lightest eyeshadow should be used as a base while the darker shimmer shadow should be used on the outer half of the eye lid, over the matte  shade. I tried this today,  over the Wet ‘n Wild eyeshadow primer, and I don't feel that the gold really showed up in my eye. After using that particular shimmer, I even noticed small bits of hard pan developing.

However, I will definitely be using the matte shades in the future. I am very much drawn to the peach matte, which is quite pigmented when swatched. However, blending it out in the crease is another story. While it did well on the lid, over primer, I felt it lost a alittle bit of color once it got into the crease. While it was not drastic, I think it will best be used as a more subtle transition, and a lid shade.

I also wanted to compare the matte peach in the peach Squad duo with a peach matte from the Wet ‘n Wild Not a Basic Peach palette. While I really like the peach shade in the Wet ‘n Wild palette, I have gone through a lot of it, because it takes quite a bit of building up to get any vibrancy and intensity on the eye.

elf (top), Wet 'n Wild (bottom)

While both are very similar, the elf took two swipes to build up, while the Wet 'n Wild one took three.  So, neither of them are my ideal matte peach, but I do prefer the elf one more.

So how should one use the Shadows? Primer is a must. I would use the shimmers directly on the primer. Elf even suggests to use them wet, but I'm concerned about how that might create hard pan. I feel as though you could create really pretty looks from this, especially if you're on the go.

These are only $3 so I don't feel as though I was ripped off. However I don't think I should have bought the Tea for Two Duo. It doesn't really add anything new to my collection.

All in all, I am not wowed by the Elf duos, but I do think they have the potential to be useful.

Thanks so much for reading!

EoTD: Green Matte Eyeshadow

Recent eyeshadow trends have made me a bit bolder, and for the longest time I have been after green matte eyeshadow.

After a lot of searching, I decided to buy a single from Ingot, matte number 331/

Let me show you the end product, and I'll talk about how I got there:

After I primed my eyes, I used the cream shade from the elf Jewel Pop palette to set my browbone and crease. Then, I took a shade from Coloured Raine (Heir from Queen of Hearts palette) and blended it upwards from the crease. 

I then took the Mustard shade from the Jewel Pop palette and blended it in the crease a bit, but not too much. 

After, I took the Milk crayon by Nyx and patted it on the lid. After that, I packed and blended the green matte on my lid, careful not to bring it to the inner corner. I am not sure why I did that, but I was not sure how it would look if it was just this intense green all over my lid. 

After that, I took the Mustard again and blended it through. 

Finally, using the Queen of Hearts palette again, I used the shade Royal Prerogative, to blend out the outercorner. 

On the inner corner, I patted the shade Otherworldly from the Milani highlighting beams palette. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this look and happy to see that color can be used in a pretty way.

Swatches of the color palette used can be found below! 

From top to bottom, Otherworldly, Royal Prerogative, Inglot Matte 331, Jewel Pop Mustard, Heir, Jewel Pop Cream

EoTD ft. Topaz by ABH

I was lucky enough to find a $4.00 Topaz at my local TJ Maxx, as well as the shade Brownie. But while Brownie was a bit of a disappointment, I was really pleasantly surprised by Topaz.

It's an incredibly soft formula. It is a golden brown, but on the slightly taupe side, with a less intense shimmer. I find it incredibly "grown-up," in a way. Not to say shimmer can't be worn by all ages. According to Temptalia, a dupe for this can be found in the Wet 'n Wild trio, Walking on Eggshells, which I just picked up!

In addition to Topaz, I used two shades from my elf Jewel Pop Palette: the cream shadow, which barely shows up on my skin, and the mushroom brown shade, in the crease and outer corner. I also used Cypress Umber from the MR palette, as well as Primavera in the inner corner.

For highlighter, I mixed the 3rd and 4th highlighter in the palette together, and quite like the effect.

Pictures!

From top to bottom, we have the highlighter, Cypress Umber, Topaz, and the two elf shadows. Though Cypress Umber and the elf shadow look very similar, the elf one blends out to a much lighter shade, which needed to be deepened, 

All in all, though this was a more subtle look, I really enjoy Topaz and am happy to have found it!

Battles of Gel Eyeliners: Paris Hilton vs. Elf Cosmetics

This post is inspired by the Candle Reviewer Rich Lux. One day he made a video about the secret line of Paris Hilton Cosmetics that is probably marketed to an overseas market, but has trickled into discount stores like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, etc.

Well, at Burlington the other day, I found an eyeliner set from PH, which included a gel eyeliner pot and brush, as well as a pencil eyeliner.

I am trying to get into gel eyeliner, actually, because I feel it will be easier to apply, but I haven't had great experiences yet. So, I bought the eyeliner hoping I would have found my holy grail.

I also wanted to compare this eyeliner with another one I own, the elf creme eyeliner.

The entire Paris Hilton set cost $3.99, while the elf gel cream eyeliner cost $3.00.

In terms of what my eyeliner preferences are- my eyelids are textured, and my eyes water frequently. Eyeliner tends to bleed on my very easily, especially toward the outer corner of my eyes.

First, I want to put swatches of the product.

On the left is the Paris Hilton eyeliner, and on the right is the elf. The Paris Hilton formula is a lot smoother and "gel-like," while the elf one was a lot stiffer and overall harder to apply. 

 But when it comes to setting, the elf eyeliner does not budge, as the company claims. The Paris Hilton one, however....well, see below.

In terns of staying power, both were pretty resilient. After wiping a couple of times with a makeup wipe, both stayed on my skin. The elf one was a lot darker, though. 

So, final thoughts? Though clearly elf wins in terms of durability, I hate applying it to my eyes. It is difficult for me to do so, and I find that it applies patchy. However, though the Paris Hilton one clearly is more prone to smudging, it goes on the eye a lot more successfully. I do have to touch up during the day, however, because it did leak a little bit on me, but not terribly.

Overall, neither wins completely. I will prefer to use the PH one, but neither are my holy grails.

Elf Jewel Pop Palette Swatches and Review

Hi everyone! Today I am going to show you swatches of the Mad for Matte Jewel Pop palette, which I ordered from the elf website when it was first released, for $10.00.  For me, someone who is not too adventurous or bold with eyeshadow colors, the shade range in this palette seemed perfect, as a way to incorporate dark colorful mattes into every day looks.

As I've shown before on this blog, this is the interior of the palette. It comes in the customary sleek rectangular black plastic compact, with a mirror.

Here are finger swatches, which look pretty good. The orange was a bit powdery and needed a second application, and the violet and blue were both very patchy.

I also have a picture of what my hand looked like after a vigorous rub of the makeup wipe:

You can see faint outlines of the warm toned shadows, but the blues disappeared quite quickly. The green and black, though, really stuck around.

Here is what the palette looks like, in indoor lighting and with flash:

I also have finger swatches compared to brush swatches:

In this section, the cream-colored shade that most closely matches my own skin tone is negligible. There is not indication of it on my skin. The mustard, though, is very creamy. As I noted before, the orange is very powdery, but blendable. 

I personally, love that brown taupe. I think it is going to add a very natural shadow to the eye.

Moving onto sloppy swatches of the rest of the palette:

The burgundy swatched pretty well, but that berry purple needs to be built up.

The purple and blue are very patchy, but I don't mind the green too much. I do, however, think I will not get much use out of the black matte.

Overall, there are some real gems in this palette, and I do think it is a great supplementary palette to have. Primer is an absolute necessity, and I would not use more than two shades from the palette at a time, as I feel the powders just blend into each other.

Out of five, I give it a 3.5 stars.

What I Did Buy: Elf Jewel Pop Palette

[edit 12/124] I have reviewed the palette! Click here for the review and swatches.

Unlike the TMO, the What Did I Buy feature is me giving a spotlight to a feature product that I did purchase. It is not a review, but rather a rationale of why I purchased it.

For starters, this palette cost $10, and is part of elf's popular "Mad for Matte" line. This is the newest one in the line, and released yesterday.

The line is quite popular, due to being an entire palette of mattes that are of decent quality. I myself have never tried a palette from this line.

Let's go shade by shade.
1-The pink-toned off white/cream shade. I do feel I have something like this in my EyesCream palette, which I hit pan on. We'll see how they compare.
2- This shade reminds me a lot of Golden Ocher from the Modern Renaissance palette, just darker. Usually I am wary of these colors because I don't feel they perform well in the crease, but lately I've just been learning to appreciate using mattes on the lid.
3- An orange matte- I am not at a loss for those at all. I've got one in the Modern Renaissance palette, as well as one in the Queen of Hearts palette. However, because I love orange so much, I am really not mad at having another one.
4- A burgundy matte. Another color I quite like, and I don't feel I have this one.
5-Another color that is super interesting to me. I only have a couple of berry-tones in my collection, so we'll see how they compare.
6-A blue-toned violet. I don't see myself wearing this.
7-A vibrant blue. Also something I will not wear.
8- pretty much my main reason for wanting this- to see how I can use green eyeshadow.
9-a matte black, which also I don't mind.

I mainly was also interested in this as a potential alternative for the Viseart Dark Mattes palette, which I am also very interested in, but don't want to shell out EIGHTY DOLLARS.

So, be on the look out for a review from me regarding this elf palette! Very excited.

June Favorites and Regrets

As June is nearing its last week, I thought I would share my favorites and regrets for this month. 

Favorites:

1.) Milani Strobelight in Afterglow. I purchased this having read Temptalia's glowing review of this highlighter, and the fact that it is a dupe for the Makeup Forever Profusion highlighter....at $30 less. It is a gorgeous product, with a very intense cool-toned reflect. 

2.) Flower Beauty Blush in Sweat Pea. For me, this is a really easy to use, low maintenance blush. One swipe gives just enough color. 

3.) Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzer in 1 Light. I bought this from Amazon at $10, partly because my Butter Bronzer from Physician's Formula shattered in my bag. It is a little more red-toned than the butter bronzer, and long lasting. 

From top to bottom: Proton, Shi. Bronzer, Milani Strobelight, and Flower Blush.

4.) Life's Entropy cream contour stick in Proton. Speaking of easy, this product also gives me a nice and subtle contour with minimal effort, perfect for my morning routine. It's a nice grey-toned taupe. I wish it was a tad bit darker, but perhaps this will be even better for the winter. 

5.) Elf blending eyebrush. Blending eye brushes are important, but many times they are too large. I was really happy to find this brush because it is smaller, and I can be more precise and have more control over blending. 

6.) June Sephora gift, Caudalie duo. I chose this over the Tarte gift, which included the lip paint, which I am not a fan of. This is a nice skin care duo, and yes the smell of the product is rather earthy (actually reminds me of Demeter's Thunderstorm), I don't mind it. I would never buy full size of either product, but I don't mind them.

Regrets:

1.) Holika Holika Gudetama makeup sponge. This was not a total fail, but it was a disappointment. As soon as I opened the packaging, I could smell a sweet fragrance coming from the sponge. I was eager to try it out, so- just as I do with every sponge- I dampened it by running it under the sink. Immediately it soaked up the water, foamed up, I squeezed out whatever was making the bubbles, and then the scent was gone. Not entirely sure what happened. Not only that, but the sponge itself is very dense, and not as pleasant to use as my ecotools ones. Still, because I love Gudetama, I still keep it to look at! 

 2. Just the Basics Facial Towelettes. I used to buy the Simple Miscellar Water wipes, but those are very expensive. Instead, I purchased these and soak them in miscellar water before using. Still, I really hate the fragrance of these wipes and wish they were even more basic and simply unscented.

3. L'Oreal Infallible pro-matte foundation. Dries waaaay too quickly. Color is slightly too pink for me, but now I just use this is a spot concealer.