(with flash)

Today's nail polish is PLUM from ELF. I don't know why  lately I am hooked to some dark red shade so I was digging my nail polish collection and painted my nails today before work. This is 3 coat because I want to emphasize on the deep red color. You can do 2 coat its fine.

 

(no flash with natural light)

 

With Flash or natural, I love the color. As usual I always use the Sally Hansen Dries Instantly, I've been using this since the Seche Vite is not working as when you first open it. With this I can use it until the last drop plus its cheaper, half the price. 

 

Do you like it?

I'm not into bronzing powder actually, I just have one from Prestige and I just used it couple of times. Makes my skin so dark rather I want a glow in my face. I love the packaging, it has big mirror in it. The packaging is similar to Nars only that Elf isn't rubbery.

This palette have a light gold shimmers in it. I have the whole studio powder blush of Elf but I couldn't get a dupe of this contouring blush. The bronzer is way too brown on my skin, I wiped it off after application. Looks like your putting a mud on your face, the color isn't appealing either. Nontheless, I like the color of the blush, its a light pink peachy color. The shimmers isn't to vivid, looks natural on your cheeks!

This is how exactly it appears on my skin, the color, look how the bronzer settles? Yay BUT I tried using the bronzer as a neutral look eye shadow and it works well!

I've been using the blush a lot lately not the bronzer though, I'm telling ya its an uber dark brown.........The picture above I took in natural light without a flash.

PRICE: $3

Weight: .14oz/4.0g

WHAT I LIKE:

* the blush has gold light shimmers and pigmented

* blush is buildable

*blush last long for several hours just like the other Elf's blushes but what I do is layer a cream blush makes it last longer

* the price is affordable

* the blush shows up well on my cheeks

I got this nail polish a week ago in my local store selling Elf"s cosmetics. They were on sale for 59 cents a piece. What a steal! Though I didn't own any of their nail polish before I was kinda hesitant to get it so I just decided to get 3 of them haha, what a freak! So I decided to try this color first. BURGUNDY! I'm telling you over and over again, I don't wear red at all, BUT the little golden undertone shimmers is pretty.

I did 3 coat of the picture above because I want to bring up more the golden light shimmers. You can do just 2 coat because its really opaque and creamy. I used a top coat of course to last for like until 5 days or so but I usually change my nail polish so often every 3 days just cause.....

I just wanna share to you some of my makeup brushes. Some are from Elf's and Eco tools obviously. I love the eco tools brushes, affordable and you can buy it anywhere. Some of them I bought in Walmart and in my local store. Elf's blending brush I got it for a buck and the studio brushes for $3 but I'm frugal so I bought it when Elf's was on 60% off on their Studio Line lol.

The only pricey among my brushes  is the Sonia Kashuk Highlighter brush which according to Youtube gurus are most like the dupe of MAC's #187 brush. I use it everyday for my blush or for highlighting. PRICE is $13 at Target.

I just used some of them. Pretty much everyday this is what I use, need to wash it after applying my makeup. My favorite among them is the POWDER BRUSH from Elf, I can use it for applying my foundation, blushes and as a highlighter, I have 3 of them. Now I don't feel guilty about spending, all of my beauty stuff are pretty much cheap that works well on me. Any cheaper alternatives out there? lol

And oh the one missing here is my Elf's kabuki brush, I'm still drying it.

I didnt read any reviews of this elf duo cream at all before buying it. I was just glad it cost me a buck each in the store. I grabbed 4 of the colors they have. I tried the Berry Mix the otherday and oh boy! it crease real fast! I tried redoing it and remove my Loreal Decrease primer but it did the same thing. I was kinda disappointed because it would work the same as their Brightening Eyecolor Eyeshadow.

                                     

For all the 4 I have I just open this Berry Mix and used as a base today for their Brightening Eye color eyeshadow without using a primer and I think it did the job. Oh well a buck for a base isn't bad at all right?

 A portable loose powder sunscreen that can be worn alone or over any makeup for key sun protection. Shields against harmful UVA/UVB rays to prevent premature skin aging and sun damage. The soft translucent powder is infused with healthy ingredients such as Aloe Vera Extract, Grape Seed Extract and Vitamins A,C & e to help nourish and soothe the skin.


PROS

• has SPF 45
• non comedogenic
• even coverage
• feels light
• no allergic reaction
• fine texture
• blends well
• handy - you can take it anywhere if you travel

CONS

• one shade available
• a lot darker than what's in the picture
• matte finish, no glow at all
• not good for fair skin toned
• puff applicator that comes with it isn't a good idea  to use

Price:  $6
Weight: 3.5 oz/10g

* I've been using this for a week now and no break outs. For a budget shopper this is definitely a good try. Considering it comes only with one shade, doesn't fit for all beauty fanatics. It does the job pretty well but if you are under the sun for a day you need to reapply to cover your skin from the sun. This isn't a waste of money to use just for summer season here.

* For reference I am NC 37 to NC 40 in the summer, but still look dark on my skin. I don't mind at all though especially if you use it under the sun. I will definitely buy this again if I run out of it!

Finally I made sure that I'm gonna go to the store that carries Elf products. It's about 35 minutes drive away from the town. I was totally surprised that they have more display compared to Big Kmart on my area. I got excited and grab some things I like. I finally got the blush in Blushing Rose  that's missing on my last order. The nail polish are also on clearance for $.59 a piece!!! I thought I'm gonna give it a try. Anyway here are some of my mini haul:

Dou Eyeshadow Cream :

                                       Olive

                                       Butter Pecan

                                       Berry Mix          $1

                                       Blue Berry

Nail Polish: Plum 

                  Medium Red       $.59

                  Burgundy

Brightening Eye Color Eyeshadow in Pretty Pink - $1

Regular and Waterproof Mascara Duo in Black - $1

Tone Correcting Concealer - $1

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - $3

Blush in Blushing Rose - $3

For all of the above I only spent $14.77 for 12 items. Not bad at all for a bargain hunter like me! I forgot to bring with me my camera so I took some photos to share on how they display it thru my Iphone. Here they are:

                                               The $1 side

                                        

                                          

                                                               The Studio Line

I wanna try their mineral make up line, can't wait to see them in store!

I love blushes! I tried accumulating all the ELF studio blushes but dang they missed to send the Blushing Rose to me on my last purchase! I dont know what to do. my favorite among them is PEACHY KEEN and Candid Coral.They last long on me because I use foundation everyday. They are buildable and most of all its cheap! I got this when studio line was on sale for 60%. what a steal! They sell it for $3 each but I got it for a dollar something after the %off