Products Worth the Investment | elf HD Lifting Concealer | Review + Swatches

Hello there!

Today's Products Worth the Investment review is on the e.l.f. HD Lifting Concealers which are from their Studio Line collection and is one of e.l.f.'s best selling makeup products. If you've been around for a while, you probably know that I've been trying to finish these up through my pan project and it's not necessarily because they're bad, but because I've had them for so long. 

This concealer claims to be a high definition concealer that hides imperfections while it firms and regenerates the skin for added radiance. According to the product description on the elf website, this concealer also claims to minimize the appearance of fine lines while it evens the skin tone for a youthful look. This concealer is infused with key infredients such as Vitamine C, Green Tea, and Mulberry for lifting and soothing benefits. 

I have light to medium skin with yellow undertones and the shades I have are in 'Fair' and 'Light'. I bought the fair with the intention of using it as a cream highlight while I bought the shade 'Light' for actual concealing purposes. I find that on me, the 'Fair' runs a little white since it has a pink undertone, casting a dry/ashy effect on my skin while the 'Light' is a bit orange on me, but I take advantage of that and use it on my dark under-eye circles to slightly brighten them up.

This has a doe foot applicator, which in my opinion is the best applicator for concealers. I also find that this works best when you blend it in with your fingers with a patting motion. 

Swatches of the e.l.f. HD Lifting Concealers.
Right swatch: 'Light'   Left swatch: 'Fair'

Blended swatches of the e.l.f. HD Lifting Concealers.
Right swatch: 'Light'   Left swatch: 'Fair'
(You can see how the concealers have such great coverage by how the shade 'Light' covered my mole that was visible in the previous picture)

Retail Value: $3

Overall, I really like these concealers and although I have to mix the shades to match my skin tone, I would still recommend this product because although the shades did not work perfectly for me, it might work for you! I find that these concealers are very buildable without making you look cakey, besides I don't think you will even have to build up these concealers, they have such great coverage! The only downside to this product is that the color range runs pretty dark and like with their foundations, the difference between each shade is quite drastic so keep that in mind when purchasing these concealers!

I hope you found this quick review helpful!!

Thanks for reading!

-Mary

e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set Spray Review + Best Ways to Use

Hello!! 

One of the products I've been trying to use up is the e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set Spray, which is a great, affordable, and cruelty free dupe for MAC's FixPlus.

e.l.f. Makeup Mist & Set - with Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber, and Vitamins A, C& E
2.02 fl oz/60 ml

About a year ago, I purchased the e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set at their online site with the intention of using it to increase the longevity of my makeup. Now that I've been using it for quite some time, and will be purchasing my second bottle soon, I wanted to do a review and share some of the best ways I've come up with to use the e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set. 


Price Comparison:

• e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set $3 for 2.2fl.oz
• MAC FixPlus $33 for 1.7fl.oz.

Product Ingredients: (Which are very similar)

• e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set: Water (Aqua), AMP-acrylates/Allyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Ve), Retinyl Palmitate (Va) Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vc), Green Tea Extract,Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Aloe Arborescens Leaf Extract, Methylparaben，Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Phenoxyethanol
• MAC FixPlus: Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, Cucumis Sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf extract, tocopheryl acetatea, caffeine, panthenol, arginine, ethylhexylglycerin, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, Ppg-26-Buteth-26, fragrance, disodium Edta, dehydroacetic acid, phenoxyethanol, benzoic acid
  

Best Uses
My main use for this product is for giving my skin a natural, dewy, airbrushed finish especially after using powder foundation. Once all my makeup is applied, I mist this lightly all over my face, I find that doing this makes my mineral powder foundation melt into my skin, giving my skin a natural looking glow...if you have oily skin, I wouldn't recommend spraying this heavily as it may make your face look more oily throughout the day.

On those days where I accidentally put on too much powder foundation or during the winter where my dry skin seems to be highlighted by powder foundations, I just give my face a couple spritz all over to make my makeup look less heavy and cakey...just make sure to immediately fan down and dry any large drop so your foundation won't run down your face! I really like using this technique because I feel like it does such an amazing job at making especially powder products look skin-like. 

Another way I put this product to use is by spritzing a couple sprays directly on my brush just before using it with some eyeshadows, whether its a pressed eyeshadow, a glittery eyeshadow, or a loose pigment, doing this makes the eyeshadows look very vibrant and sometime look foiled.
Sometimes instead of spraying this directly on my brush, I spray a couple sprays in the cap and I dip my brush into the cap instead...it works just as great. I find that using this technique makes even the least vibrant eyeshadows more vibrant and reduces the fallout on even the chalkiest eyeshadows.

Another way I like to use this is to lightly mist it directly on any cream product (cream/gel eyeliner, cream blush, cream eyeshadow, etc) to moisten it and make it easier to work with. This makes a product that might be on the drier side (or a product that has gotten dry) creamier and easier to work with. 

You can also make your own custom eyeliner by spritzing a couple sprays on a palette, then dip your eyeliner brush into any eyeshadow and then mix the eyeshadow from the brush into the area where you sprayed the e.l.f. Mist & Set, and then use it to line your eyes with. 

Lastly, this product is absolutely great to use for spot cleaning your brushes. I just spray two or three sprays directly on a brush and swirl it around on a tissue or dry cloth. The Mist & Set Spray removes any excess product from your brushes while swirling it on a tissue or cloth dries the brush making it ready to use between different products.



Review
Overall, I really really like this product and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cruelty free dupe or alternative to the MAC FixPlus. The actual product is absolutely great and I will definitely be repurchasing. I've heard people comment about this product having a foul scent, but to me, it smells just like mineral makeup and I actually like its scent! It smells very natural and fresh and once it sets on your face, you really cant smell it. The only downside I have about this is the packaging...the sprayer shoots out product instead of lightly misting it and can sometimes leave whole beads of product on your face! Also, I find that I really have to leave this bottle standing upright, otherwise it will leak out from the top of the nozzle. 


I hope you found this review helpful!
Stay tuned for more!
-Mary 

Products Worth the Investment | Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen | Review + Swatches

Hello, hello there!

I hope you all are having a lovely day today!

I was actually debating on whether or not I should even bother doing a review on this product and decided that I should save any of you from possibly wasting your time and a couple bucks because every buck counts ya know? Well, today I'll share my experience and review of the Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen which I had quite high expectations for but I was equally disappointed with.

Don't get me wrong, I personally think Wet n Wild is one of the greatest, super affordable, cruelty free companies out there, but just like other companies they have products that are absolute fails and this is one of them.

A while back I was in search for an affordable black liquid eyeliner to use for quick touch ups on the go and for covering up any excess lash glue. The Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen was one of the top eyeliners recommended to me so I was really looking forward to checking it out.

The felt tip applicator is very user friendly and can be used to create both fine and bold lines.
My only complaint on the applicator is that the tip is not too precise...its not bad though, its perfectly usable.

Swatches of the Wet n Wild Black Liquid Eyeliner.

As they're swatched on my arm, the eyeliner is visibly seen slowly fading from an opaque black at the top to a streaky black at the bottom.

The very first time I used this eyeliner, I was really impressed with how opaque and richly pigmented the initial application was on my right eye, but when I did my left eye it started drying out and fading! It was like I used two different liners! I found that putting the cap back on and waiting for five or so minutes helps bring more moisture and product to the applicator, but seriously, I don't want to have to wait for five minutes to do my other eye every time I use this eyeliner!

Even if I store this upside down with the applicator down, the pen still dries out by the time I do my other eye. I gave this eyeliner about three tries and gave up on it. It just wasn't worth all the fuss.

So there you have it, a quick and straight forward review of the Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen. 

Got any requests? Leave them in the comments below!

-Mary

Project Pan | Second Update | May 2015

Hellowwww~~

I'm super excited because I surprisingly feel more accomplished this month compared to the first two months of this challenge. Its surprising to me because I've been sporting a bare face almost all month long and yet I manage to use up some products when I do wear some makeup!

If you're interested in reading my first post click here to see that. Almost a month ago I did my first update on my Pan Project click here if you're interested and here's my second update!

These aren't all the products in my original post, these are just the products that I've successfully made some progress on.

April Collective Haul

Hello there!

OK, so as you all probably know, I went on a no-buy March. Right?
But then on April, I bought a ton of makeup compared to the usual 3-5 products I buy in any given month. So I decided why not do a collective haul?

Some products I purchased because I needed some therapy shopping, others have been on my wishlist for the longest time, and some I just wanted to treat myself with.
So lets get on to it!