e.l.f. haul!

The last time I visited the e.l.f. webpage, I saw they were doing a "Mystery Bag" promotion. Buy $20 of products and they'll throw in a mystey bag with $20 worth of extra goodies. The promotion was ending that day so I jumped on it, and on Saturday my package came! These are the products I purchased:

contour, small precision, and kabuki face brush

These brushes are from the e.l.f. studio line, which are more expensive than the professional, but are higher quality. These are super soft, and I haven't experienced any shedding so far. The kabuki face brush is extremely dense and soft, and the small precision is perfect for applying cream eyeliner

L to R: cream eyeliner gunmetal, mineral eyeshadow primer sheer,
and glossy gloss dragon fruit

The lipgloss was hands-down my favorite purchase out of the whole bunch. This is a really lovely gloss that feels cushion-y on the lips. It gives semi-sheer coverage and has a very pretty tint which is the perfect pink for my lips. Also, the cream eyeliner does not budge. This baby took ages to clean off.

Lastly I purchased 4 eyeshadows as a part of their custom essentials compact. These come in little metal pans that magnetize to the compact, but are easy to remove. Here are swatches of the shades I went for:

L to R: ivory, sage, navy, dusk

I had high hopes for these, but wasn't super thrilled with the quality. They look quite pigmented, but they seemed muddy on the eye. I have also learned that blue is not a shade I can wear, I looked like I had a black eye! Woops. Out of these 4, sage was my favorite.

On to the Mystery Bag! This was a random assortment of products, but I liked their choices! 

Romantics mineral eyeshadow, two shades with a blending brush

polish in Royal Purple

mineral powder brush

L to R: blush giddy gold, shimmering facial whip spotlight

The blush giddy gold is actually a highlighter and seems scary, but actually it's very lovely when you have a tan. The facial whip is also supposed to be used as a highlighter, but I can't seem to make it work, it's just too bright for my skin.

L to R: dual eyeshadow glow & eyeliner pearl, liquid lipstick ruby slipper,
 mineral eyeshadow sassy, sweet

I love the dual ended eyeshadow/eyeliner. I'll admit that I don't use the eyeshadow end for its intended purpose, but both work great for highlighting that inner corner of the eyelid. I add just a smidge in the inner corner and it lights up my face.

Thanks e.l.f.! As I'm a big fan of their products, and I'll be keeping my eye out for more good deals from them.

(These products were purchased by myself, except for the Mystery Bag which was included in the purchase)

my week in photos

1. my fridge

(my brother's grin makes me smile every time I look at his picture)

2. these books

(who doesn't love Tolkien?)

3. this sheet music

(I really want to learn this song, but its more difficult than I anticipated)


4. this mac 'n cheese

(because I refuse to grow up)

5. this bowl

(because it was the perfect gift from a beloved aunt, and I used it to
serve spaghetti and meatballs on Monday)

home sweet home

Halloo there!
We're now happy and settled in our new Austin home! We found a nice little 2nd-floor walk up and things went much more smoothly than I anticipated. Here are some photos of move in:

I had no idea moving could be so stressful. My father was military so we moved a lot during my childhood, but being responsible for an entire move was more than I could have imagined it to be. Now my house is normal and happy and I'm so glad to be done with it. We've already started discussing another move after our lease ends in this apartment, but I don't know if I can handle it!

Unfortunately we're still sleeping without a bed frame. We decided to stain it and then things started piling up, and the frame got put to the wayside. it's still tucked away in our storage unit on the patio! So floor it is.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our move!