E.L.F. Eyeshadow Compact - Natural

As my Plastic Wrap mani from Monday is still going strong, I refuse to remove it. It's just too pretty! So today I have an eyeshadow compact to show you!

This eyeshadow set is technically called the Essential Beauty School Eyeshadow Compact in Neutral. (My compact says Natural)

This is quite frustrating; e.l.f. changes the naming on their packaging so often it's hard to keep track of exactly what product you have in your hands. That, coupled with the poor color accuracy of their online photos, can make for some unexpected surprises when you get your package in the mail. 

However, I was quite pleased with this compact. It contains 3 matte shades and 3 shimmery shades. The two colors that don't appear to show up on my skin are relatively pigmented, but my skin-tone makes them disappear. The 2nd to last bronze shade is very soft and buttery, but I experienced a lot of fall-out on that particular one. It comes with an applicator that was surprisingly OK, but I probably won't end up using.

These shadows are perfect for a neutral eye that is appropriate for pretty much anywhere. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to eye makeup, I like to keep things simple and understated and this compact is perfect for that. In terms of size, the compact sits at 3" x 3" which is a great size to throw into a purse or travel bag. I will definitely take this on my trip to Ohio, which is coming up at the end of the month!

On a side note, my birthday is coming up this Sunday. :D I'm super excited! We don't have anything particular planned, but I did tell Craig that I wanted pizza for dinner. Can you believe that the last time I had pizza was in May?! I've been craving it ever since.

That's all for today, see you guys on Friday!



Disclaimer: This product was purchased by myself, and my opinions are (as always) my own. You can purchase the compact here but I believe they are also available in Target stores.

e.l.f. Royal Purple

In my last post I told you that e.l.f. had included a nail polish in their Mystery Bag, and here it is!  Royal Purple  is a fuchsia/ red-violet shade with silver and purple micro-shimmer, but you can see a flash of blue every now and then. The formula was quite fantastic, and went on smoothly with two coats. 

While purple and pink aren't normally the first colors I go for, I think this is a pretty great polish. I'm more eager to put this on my toes, so I think that'll be the next place I try this. 

Can you believe it's August already!? I'm in shock that the summer has flown by so quickly. Soon it will be fall and I'll be even more surprised. I'm curious to learn what autumns are like in Texas, and my assumption? probably hot. bah. 

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)