I created this image tutorial for a contest on the e.l.f. Facebook fan page and thought it would be fun to share here. It was for a holiday look, but this could definitely be worn every day, although you might want to tone down the shimmer if you’re wearing to work or school. (Click on the photo to make it larger and to read the text.)
I was so super excited last month to finally find the Wet n Wild ColorIcon Pixe Palettes…so excited that I bought one of each of the limited edition holiday sets! As promised, I’ve been using them and wanted to share with you some of the looks I’ve come up with.
I’m really loving the Sugar Plum Fairy palette, which is a set of shimmery purples (all tones, from light lavender to deep plum, along with a sparkly brown that some people have compared to NARS Mekong eyeshadow).
To achieve this look, I used the lightest shade (top left) as an inner corner and brow highlight, then applied to one next to it (top right) as an all-over lid color. I darkened up the outer third of my lid with the pretty grape color (2nd row, right) and finished it off with the purpley brown in the outer corners.
These shadows are really easy to work with, and they are shimmery, so they really play up your eyes and bring lightness and brightness to them. On the rest of my face, I’m wearing NARS Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer (love that duo!), with the combo of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup in Natural Ivory and Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Liquid Makeup in Buff, set with e.l.f. Pressed Powder.
I’m still loving purple shades for my eyes, and this Wet n Wild holiday palette adds a festive touch to those colors with shimmer. This eye look definitely dressed up my outfit, which was just a grey sweater and jeans…when you wear mostly monochromatic outfits, you have to get a touch of color somehow!
This one’s a little belated, from about a week ago, but I’m wearing the same shirt and makeup today so consider it current! 
Here’s what I’m wearing..
I ran to Target today to get one thing, and surprise surprise — got a few more things!
Here’s what I went to get — the Large Contoured/Angled Blush Brush from Sonia Kashuk. I plan to use this for bronzer, not blush, though. I have a similar brush from Sonia Kashuk, the Angled Contour Blusher Brush, which I love. But, I washed it today and wanted another angled brush to apply blush as a backup. Here’s how they compare, side-by-side:
That’s my new brush on the left and the one I’ve been using on the right (sort of mid-dry, so the bristles look a little funny). They have a similar shape, but I think the new brush has synthetic bristles and the black handled one doesn’t. Plus, the one on the left is more inexpensive — $9.99 versus $17.99. So we’ll see how they compare in application when I have a chance to use the new one.
Of course, I also checked out the clearance while I was in the cosmetics section and found a few of the e.l.f. back-to-school limited edition products. They were inexpensive to begin with, so finding them on clearance (I think 30% off) was exciting!
I found the e.l.f. Smoky Eyeshadow & Brush, originally $3.00, for $2.70. So excited for the purple-y shades in this one — I mentioned in my August favorites post how much I’m loving purple shadows right now. I don’t think any of these are the same as the ones in my e.l.f. Beauty Book Neutral Edition.
Swatches of the top row of the palette, left to right, in natural light with no primer underneath. A bit disappointed by the white shadow…pretty chalky!
And the bottom row, swatched in natural light, no primer. That dark smoky shade is intense! Really like the glittery, lavender shade, even though it’s not really coming across in the photo.
I also found this e.l.f. Beauty SOS kit, also on clearance for $2.70. I don’t really need a new concealer, but the brush sort of excited me, and I have been needed a targeted acne medication (I have tons of cleansers and moisturizers that help to fight acne, but nothing that’s a spot treatment).
I didn’t really expect too much from the concealer (I love e.l.f. products but haven’t tried their concealer before), but I like the swatch! It’s supposed to be a tone corrector, and it applies really smoothly and thick. Blends out great, too!
That’s it for the haul, but while I was taking photos, I wanted to show you my newest nail polish (purchased a few weeks ago…I think at HEB, a local grocery store) that I just had a chance to test out.
Messy application on my part, but oh well! It’s from the OPI Swiss Collection and is called Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous. Really pretty, glittery gray-silver color…makes me wish it were colder outside!
Just like last month, I’m a tad behind on posting my blog about my favorite products and things from the month of August. Oh well, it’s still in the single digits of September, so I’m not that late, right?
Makeup: Purples & lavendars (nails, lips and eyes)
I’m super excited to hear that purple is trendy for fall/winter makeup this year because I’ve found a way to make it work for me! You know I love a neutral eye look, so I was sort of intimidated to try colored shadow. But, there are some amazing purple shades in the e.l.f. Beauty Book – Neutral Edition that I bought earlier in the summer, and I wanted to make use of them.
I’ve started using the lighter, more shimmery purple (3rd column, 2nd row) as an all-over lid color and sweeping a more midtone brown (like the medium matte brown in the Wet n Wild Vanity palette) in the crease, and then deepening the outer corner with a combo of a darker plum (like the one here in the 4th column, 2nd row) and a darker brown (4th column, 3rd row).
After I dipped my toe into the purple shadow waters, I was hooked and wanted to try more, like the Maybelline Stylish Smokes quad in 06 Amethyst that I showed you in a recent CVS haul.
This is a great, inexpensive palette. Upon first swatch, all the colors seem really pigmented, but after blending out the lid color (top left) is the one that really keeps its color. But, they’re all good to blend and define into a pretty eye look.
I love the unexpected pop of purple! You could go all out and do a really bold colored eye look, but I’m sticking with soft and conservative! Here’s the lid close-up:
I’ve been topping off all of these purple eye looks with the Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Powerful Purple on my top lash line (but still using Bold Brown on the bottom lash line).
Purple has also found its way into my lip products!
I love doing a light eye with a pretty pinky peach blush and a bold lilac lip. I’ve found a couple good options at the drugstore for purple-y lip shades:
I definitely plan on expanding this list over the fall and winter! I’ve also found what is quite possibly my holy grail nail shade in a purple tone:
This is Lucky Lucky Lavendar, from the OPI Hong Kong collection, and I’m in love! I first got a manicure with this last month and have since bought my own bottle. It’s definitely got a pink undertone, but there’s also that subtle, sort of quirky hint of purple that I love. Even though this was a summer color for me, I plan on wearing it into the fall and winter. Won’t that be unexpected and really pretty, to have a light lavendar nail when I’m wearing darker, heavier clothing?
Shopping: Target clearance!
Target put a bunch of its more high end makeup brands (Sonia Kashuk, pixi, Jemma Kidd, Napoleon Perdis) on clearance in August to make room for new products from each line. And I scored!
This was just Round One…I went back to different Targets many times throughout the month and built up a little stockpile of clearanced goodies! I also got some cosmetics — NP Set Lipstick (favorite is in Minneapolis, a creamy pink). I’ve only used the big powder brush from Sonia Kashuk above, not the brush set, but I’m really loving that particular one to set my foundation using the e.l.f. High Definition powder.
I’ve seen a few stragglers from this big Target cosmetics clearance in the endcaps along the health/beauty aisles, so be sure to check those out and you might be able to score, too!
Reviewing: All-in-one products
In August, I was really fortunate to review a ton of great products, and the highlight were a couple that I consider “all-in-one” products. Whether they’re intended or marketed that way, these two items have helped me to consolidate at least two products/steps into one, and that’s definitely a favorite!
I just posted a full review of the pixi Lid & Line, and it’s definitely one of my favorite all-in-one products of August. It’s a pen that has a matching shadow and liner, plus a smudger to make it nice and smoky — what more can you ask for? I’m also loving pixi’s YouTube channel where makeup artist Amanda Bell has videos about priming your eye and creating the perfect smoky eye. Really useful videos!
I’ve also reviewed (and loved!) the RUSK Deepshine Oil this month. For me, this was totally an all-in-one product because it gives me the benefits of two different products that I used to use as a hair treatment — argan oil and CHI Silk Infusion. It’s an argan oil-based product, so that takes care of that, and it gives me the same (maybe even better) results as the CHI Silk Infusion that I used as a styling aid to tame the frizz and increase shine when I blowdry. Love this stuff!
Fashion: Business dress with a twist!
I wish I’d been able to photograph more OOTDs for you guys in August because I had to come up with a ton of looks that were appropriate for business meetings and events, but I was able to style them so I still felt cute and comfy.
One standout for me was this awesome grey dress from Express Last Hurrah (an outlet version of Express) topped with a black blazer with 3/4-length sleeves and two buttons at the waist. I got the blazer at ROSS and love adding it to a really simple dress, like this one, to add that final element to tie everything together. It’s also good to top a summery dress or skirt to make it more business/office appropriate.
That’s it for August favorites. Thanks so much to everyone for sharing this month with me and reading my blog. I’ve been having so much fun posting about my favorite products and beauty finds. Stick with me in September. I’ve got tons of great posts planned, along with a giveaway or two!
Sorry for the sporadic posts this week. I’ve been cuh-razy busy at work! But, I wanted to give a quick overview of a 5 minute (or less) eye look I’ve been going to just about every morning this week because it’s easy, fast and flattering.
As you can see, it’s pretty much my signature eye look…brightening and defining but not too dark or smoky. Call it boring (even though it’s not!) but it’s something that is appropriate for work that takes almost no time to pull together.
I start off with a double dose of eye primer. First, e.l.f. Mineral Eye Shadow Primer.
For $3 (either at the e.l.f. website or Target, if your store carries the line), this is hands down one of my favorite primers. It works just like Urban Decay Primer Potion and helps my eye makeup to stay put all day.
Once my lids are primed, I like to even out my skin tone with an eye base. I make sure to use light layers of both primer and base so it’s not too heavy. For this look, I go to MAC‘s Paint Pot in Painterly.
Next, I reach for my Wet n Wild Color Icon palette in Vanity.
You get 6 shadows in this palette — 3 matte and 3 shimmer (each finish comes with a light color, a medium brown/gold and a deeper brown). I start by highlighting the inner corners of my eyes with the lightest matte shade (sort of a peachy skin tone color) using an e.l.f. Defining Eye Brush, which is a small eye brush with slanted bristles, perfect for placing shadow in a really specific area.
Next, I use the lightest shimmery shade, more of a white than a peach, to pack on my lids, using an e.l.f. Eye Shadow Brush — just your average flat shader brush.
After that, I use the e.l.f. Blending Brush to sweep the medium matte brown across my crease, to add a bit of definition and depth.
Then, I grab my flat shader brush again and take the shimmery gold (the medium shade) and sweep on the center of my lid, blending to the outer corner. I keep the inner part of my lid really light. Then, I grab a clean e.l.f. Defining Eye Brush and take the dark, deep brown and form an outer v on the outer corners of my lids. I blend it all out with the Blending Brush to make sure there are no harsh lines.
To finish, I line my bottom waterline with Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal eye pencil in pure white and add Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Bold Brown to my upper and lower lash line. Then, I curl my lashes and top it all off with CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion on my lashes!
I’d definitely recommend this as a quick work or school look. If you need an eye look in a hurry but don’t want to look like you sped through it, this is going to be great for you! And, I’m giving away one of the Wet n Wild palettes and Prestige liners in my August giveaway, so check that out and enter!
FTC: Even though I’m mentioning a lot of e.l.f. products, I purchased them all myself and was not provided any of the products mentioned by any company…I use them because they’re inexpensive and good quality!
BEHOLD! One of the most coveted items in the beauty-sphere! It’s one of e.l.f.’s back-to-school Beauty Books (Neutral Eye Edition). I love this product and have written about it a lot on this blog (full review here and list of Top 15 Drugstore Beauty Products here).
Unfortunately, it’s only sold in Target stores that carry e.l.f. products, and it’s sold out in many already. But, lucky lucky you! You have the chance to get one for free, along with 14 other awesome products I featured in my Top 15 Drugstore Beauty Products list. All you have to do is check out my giveaway post and enter! There are several ways to enter, and you can enter multiple times. Giveaway ends Aug. 31, so you still have time (but not much)!
I made 2 trips to 2 different CVS stores after work today. The first one still had items from the 50-75% off beauty sale — score, I thought! This sale started back in the spring, and I’ve found some leftovers! I got a Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick in Born With It, and a Sally Hanson Natural Makeup Inspired by Carmindy lipstick in Lilac, both on clearance (and a $1 off coupon for the Maybelline lipstick!).
That’s the Born With It on the left and Lilac on the right. Born With It is a really pretty, sort of nude pink-y shade that I think will work nicely on my pale skin. Lilac is quite a bit more dramatic, with deep purple undertones. Still super pretty, though, and since I’m a fan of the Sally Hansen Natural Makeup lipsticks, I immediately tried it on…
I also got two CoverGirl Eye Enhancers shadows — one in Golden Sunrise and another in Brown Smolder — because I had two coupons for $2 off any CG product (and CVS was having a buy one, get one 50% off with CG).
So, nice kind of boring haul, right? I stopped by a different CVS just to see what they had, and as soon as I walked in, I saw a table with a sign that said “90% off” and wouldn’t you know…there were a few makeup products just begging to be bought.
And how much did it cost?
That’s right, just over $5 for 3 shadows and 2 blushes!
I’ve never tried Almay shadow before. I have a cream blush and a bronzer from them, which I like…nothing that’s holy grail, but they work for good everyday products. I got these shadows in the shades (l-r) Apricot, Ivory and Petal. You’d think this could create a nice neutral eye look, right? Maybe the Ivory all over the lid, with Apricot in the crease and Petal as a highlight. But when I got home and swatched them (and the CoverGirl shadows from my first CVS stop), I was a teeny bit disappointed (or as disappointed as you can get from not loving 80 cent eyeshadows).
The photo quality isn’t the best, but the Almay shadows really were not all that pigmented and were kind of chalky. But, I think I can work with them, and if I use an eye primer (like Urban Decay Primer Potion or e.l.f. Mineral Eye Primer) with a base (good ole MAC Paint Pot in Painterly), they might be OK. Left to right, that’s Almay Apricot (kind of a peachy bronze), Almay Ivory (the most pigmented of the 3…a shimmery off white), CoverGirl Golden Sunrise (I like this one…very bronze-y with a touch of gold), CoverGirl Brown Smolder (a rich, deep brown that I’ll use for defining the outer V of my eye), and Almay Petal (super sheer and frosty).
The mineral blushes I got will be fun to test out. I have a ton of blushes in my collection but rarely reach for anything other than NYC Blushable Creme Sticks topped with NARS Orgasm.
Maybelline Mineral Power blush in Gentle Pink. Got it for 95 cents!
The sticker says 50% off, but it rang up 90% off! Just like rock beats scissors, register beats sticker!
24.7 Minerals Anti-Aging Mineral Blush in Champagne. Not sure I love this as a blush, but it’ll probably be a pretty highlight color. I don’t know much about this brand, other than I first saw it in CVS maybe late last year, and soon enough, they had just about everything from the line 50% off (and now the leftovers at 90% off).
Don’t you love impromptu shopping trips that turn into major reasons to brag on how much you saved?
Do you like free stuff?
Do you like makeup/skincare/hair treatment products?
Great! Then you’re going to LOVE this giveaway! That’s right, What’s On My Face? just completed our first giveaway, and we’re rolling out the second. This one is for not one…not two…but FIFTEEN items! By entering, you’re competing to win one of every item from my Top 15 Drugstore (aka “Won’t Break the Bank”!) Beauty Products!
If you need a refresher, here’s a quick bulleted list of the Top 15:
Check out the Top 15 post to see what I think of all these products.
The only rules I have are:
So, what do you have to do to enter? You have a few options…
The rest of the info…
GOOD LUCK!
The fine print: I purchased the products for this giveaway with my own money and was not provided with products by any company.
I woke up this morning (actually, slept all night, too) with a migraine, so I stayed home from work. I wasn’t even planning on doing my makeup or leaving the house, but I need to get to the postoffice, and I’m watching YT beauty videos, so I figured why not?
This FOTD is inspired by my Top 15 Drugstore (aka “Won’t Break the Bank”!) Beauty Products that I posted last night.
Foundation is Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse (if you want details on my concealer/primer, it’s the same as in the FOTD in this post), and I also used my Milani HD Advanced Concealer to brighten my undereye area and the e.l.f. Studio High Definition Powder to set it all. Blush is an NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink, which could have been on my Top 15 list…let’s call it #16! I set that with a sweep of NARS Orgasm Blush on both cheeks.
The eyes have it! That’s a combo of 3 things on my Top 15 list — Wet n Wild Coloricon palette (this one in Vanity), Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Bold Brown, and CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion mascara.
I wanted a pinky coral pop of color on my lips since my eyes are neutral. So, I paired Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy lipstick (not the Baby Pink that was on my Top 15 list…I used Perfect Pink instead) topped with Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lipglaze in Continuous Coral. Got this at Target the other day with a coupon, and I love it! It’s really opaque and pigmented.
So, that’s what’s on my face today! Don’t forget that my Holy Grail Hair Treatment Giveaway ends TOMORROW at midnight, so get those last minute comment entries in!
