ELF essential jumbo eyeshadow sticks review and swatches

 These came out not too long, about one and a half month ago.  I was completely intrigued by these because they really reminded me of the NYX jumbo eyeshadow penicls.  I think everyone's first impression would be that these look like a dupe for the NYX ones. They do the same job but I think these are actually better! They come in nine different shades and I have all of them to do a review for you guys :D.

 ELF's description of the jumbo eyeshadow sticks:

"This creamy and pigment rich Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick is perfect for creating a natural or smoky eyeshadow look. Infused with nourishing Vitamin E to condition the delicate eye area. The twist up component and smooth glide formula is easy to use for on-the-go beauty. All colors, except Like A Boss, have a shimmer finish."

 Product Packaging:

These eyeshadow sticks first came in the simple flimsy cardboard and plastic, just like any of the other elf products from their essentials line.  Each stick has 0.11 oz/3 g of product which isn't a bad amount. They come in a crayon pencil tube with a twisty bottom which has a glossy finish to them. The tube itself is a matte white with "E.L.F Jumbo eyeshadow stick" printed in sliver on them. The bottoms correspond to the color of the product and has a sticker on the bottom with yet again ant printing.  I really wish that they would have a sticker with the font thats not -0.004. The lid is clear so you can see the color of stick, which is kinda of obvious but I felt the need to type it anyways.

Color Pigmentation/ Payoff:

Out of all nine of these shades, two of these aren't the best and really dissapointed me.  The two lightest shades were actually the biggest dissapointment.  When I was ordering these on the website, I thought that French lace and Little Miss thing would be matte and creamy but most of these are frosty finish. I'll divide these into categories by finish so you guys will get an idea of which you might want to purchase.

Frosty:French lace, Little miss thing, Rock out, Turkish Coffee, Bail Bound

Semi frosty/ a little more matte: Check me out, Feeling lucky
Matte: Like a boss, Midnight Rendez Vous

French lace: Light champange color with pinky peach shimmers
Little Miss thing: Light golden bronze color with gold shimmers
Rock out: Taupey brown color with bronze shimmer
Turkish coffee: Chocolate brown color with bronze brown shimmers
Feeling Lucky: Dark chocolate raspberry color (Just like the Raspberry truffle studio single eyeshadow color) with slight dark purple shimmers
Check me out: Dark purple amethyst color with slight purple shimmers
Bail Bound: Forest green with light green shimmers
Like a boss: Primary matte blue
Midnight rendezvous: Traditional matte black

Even though French lace isn't a matte skintone color that I hopped for, it actally is very close and similar to my make up forever waterproof eyeliner in Champagne color.  It is a really light true champagne color and on my MAC NC25 skintone shade, this looks super natural.  On the corners of my eyes, it just looks like I'm super naturally glowy  and healthy.  I could actually use this on my face and cupids bow too.As for the other colors, I would just use it as a base for my eyeshadows. 

Texture/ Lasting Power:
They are really pigmented and not too too creamy to the point where it would just slide off my eyes. This has just the perfect consistency.  You could wear these on its own but I wouldn't advise it since it will crease on the eyelids.  Use a primer underneath these for a longer lasting eye look but you woudln't actually have to. I would be happy to report that this product is worth buying and spending your time on.  These are even better then the studio cream eyeshadow that I love so much from them! I'm impressed.


Smell:
These have a really plasticy crayon smell.  If you know what wax crayon smells like, this would have the exact smell.  It isn't too strong where it is really annoying to use or you could still smell it once you have used it on your skin.

Price:
I don't know why, but elf has been raising their price from their essential line which I really hope they don't change everything from $1 to $2. But all of these jumbo eyeshadows are $2 each each is still cheap but it was more fun when things were only one buck.

Overall:
This is a really good product and It would be something that I would actually repurchase but I don't think that I would be able to finish one ever.  These do remind me of my Make up forever base but they just don't have the awesome bright colors Make up forever has.  The texture is almost the same but the ELF ones are a little more waxy but still is easy to blend.

Cyber Monday ELF 50% off haul

 Not only do I wait for the coastal scents 50% off everything sale, I also waited for ELF's 50% off which only happens one or twice a year (including their annual birthday one which usually is 60% off but it was only 50% off this year).  So when it happened on cyber monday, I jumped on it! I actually had to go to work really early that day and only had half an hour to pick the stuff out and pay for it!

 The first thing that was on my mind was the newest waterproof eyeliner crayon.  I could have just got the champagne color since I thought it would be beautiful on the waterline but even as a highlight would be good too. The four colors I got was pitch black, champagne, brown and purple.  What I like about these is that you don' t have to sharpen them, just twist them up :). They are crayons so they aren't skinny pencils so these would be great for all over the eyes, or if you are that awesome, use them as a liner but it would be a little bit messy to do. These are $3 each from the studio line but I got them for $1.50 each.

 I've been itching to get myself some lip liners so when I saw these again on the website, I had to get it! I got myself the colors natural and red.  Red would be perfect for the holiday or just for those that love to wear a red lip :). Can't want to try these and they have a brush on the other side of the pencil with a lid so this is convenient! $3 each ($1.50 from the sale)

 The long lasting lustrous eyeshadow was something I was debating on since I saw swatches of these but they were really shimmery and I usually don't wear shimmer on my eyes on a daily basis but I just broke down and got three out of the seven colors they offered.  I got toasted (warm golden brownish color), soiree (pinky purple shade), and confetti (white sliver shimmers).  My most favorite would be toasted since it is a shade that i could wear this everyday.  The consistency is really interesting, I don't think there is anything else like this on the market.  If any of you knows the consistency of the elf studio cream blush or the maybelline bouncy blush but a little bit more moist and much easier to apply! It does stay nicely on the skin but the shimmer does move a little so this isn't something that you would want to wear alone so make sure you use this with powder too!

 If you didn't know that the studio primer came out with three more shades to their line, then now you know.  They came out with three new shades to their already popular studio primer which would be radiant glow, tone adjusting (green) and lavender (purple shade for brightening).  I was really intrigued by this since I did like the original primer but because the bottle and the amount of product you get was very little, I didn't bother on continuing to repurchase.  I have to say that I like that changed the bottle.  The outside doesn't look any different but the inside, they used a different method to pump out the product.  Just like their HD blush, this bottle uses the suction so every time you pump it, the little lever thingy goes up and up so you wouldn't waste any product.  The problem with the old bottle is that it just pumps out with a straw and you don't even get to all of the product and you already run out.  $6 per bottle (got them for $3 each)

Also to their really popular contour blush and bronzing cream, they added two new shades and Turks & Caicos really caught my attention.  I saw a lot of other peoples haul videos and everyone said that this gives a nice flush of color but when I opened the compact, hell to the no can this be "natural!" There so much shimmer! Even in the bronze.  I really hope that this is an over spray because I can't do it.  I just can't.  I'm not a fan of shimmer on my face unless it is a fine fine shimmer that gives a nice glow.  We'll see about these. $3 from the studio line

The last product would be their essentials smudge brush.  I actually picked way more stuff then this haul but I ran out of money on paypal LOL so i had to delete a lot of stuff but I forgot about this so I was surprised that I got this.  I quite like it though and since it was only 50 cents so it wasn't a big mistake :).  These are surprisingly soft! And stiff enough so you use it as a smudger.  I do recommend these but one thing to keep in mind that the glue would wear off and the metal would sometimes come off of the wooden handle.

Overall I'm happy that I finally got my package and really wasn't expecting it to come anytime soon since the Hurricane sandy happened and their HQ is in New York and on their facebook they said that black friday orders would be shipped on December 7.  

What is your most favorite elf product? Which product are you dying to see me review?

Coastal scents black friday haul

Black Friday and cyber Monday is once a year kind of sale that I always wait for since I know my two most favorite make up sites online would have their 50% off sale on everything! Now this years black friday was awesome since stores actually had awesome deals just like the states, but still the states has better deals. So I really can count on online ordering :).

 A really nice surprise that they actually gave me a free hot pot! I absolutely love hot pots so this is a really nice surprise! The color I got is called "Jewel Green" which is a...well what the name sounds like. I remember a year ago, hot pots per pan was $5 but these are now $1.99 which is amazing and I would definitely get them even when they are not on sale.

I got this classic pointed precision brush because this reminded me of those Sigmax brushes but didn't really want to buy the whole set, so i just picked this up. This one was regular priced at $4.97.  I thought it would be way more dense then it really was and I thought it would be great for concealer.  I got it and it isn't as dense as I thought but it still is good :), great for the under eye and just spot concealing too.

Since I accidentally dropped my 88 neutral palette so i was in the market for something new.  I didn't want to buy the same palette since I don't use all of the colors so I thought that the 28 neutral palette would be perfect. I've heard amazing reviews on this so I thought it was safe to buy.  I've swatched all of the colors and my first impression is already not worth the hype.  The colors are pretty yes but most of the eyeshadows isn't pigmented or just down right doesn't show up on the skin.  I'm quite dissapointed but I'm hoping that my first impression is wrong.

 The last item I bought was the concealer camo quad.  Its been the longest time since I have heard of this concealer but I never really was interested.  I didn't have anything else to buy but I was tempted since everything was 50% off so I thought I'd just give it a shot.  It was only $3.97 for four colors so it wasn't bad. The regular price would be $7.95 which I wouldn't usually pay.  When I buy things online, I would buy only the most cheapest things but after my first impression on these, I would :).  These are amazingly creamy, not greasy like the elf concealers and it doesn't make my skin look like it is dry which is a problem for me. I'd have to play around with this product more but as of right now, I really do like it.  This is actually a little bit too light even for my pale pale skin so I'm considering getting the medium color but this goes under my foundation anyways so I guess this would work :D.

What is one of your most favorite product from coastal scents? I have another coastal scents haul coming in with mica pigments, hot pots and another brush I believe LOL.  I can't remember since its been quite a while since I ordered it. 

Another random wal mart haul

For those of you that doesn't know, Bruno Mars on December 11 finally came out with his second album called the "Unorthodox jukebox." I was on a countdown, waiting for his CD to come out and since Wal mart is so close to my house, I finally stopped there yesterday to pick it up and some shampoo and conditioner. 

 I didn't expect that there would be a gorilla on the cover but LOL there it is with a jukebox :).  Now I really liked his singles "Locked out of Heaven" and "Young Girls" and I like Bruno mars as an artist.  He is one of those true artists that write and produces his own songs and I applaude him for that since that is really rare these days.  And if you have watched any of ihs live performances, he sounds exactly the same or even better the on the CD.  Amazing, I just love his voice and him :D.  Now let's be honest, I'm notthe type to usually buy CD's since everyone nowadays download songs and well...its free.  But Bruno Mars is worth the $14.98 since the CD is keepsake and I can play it over and over again.  If I just download it, I might loose the file and also, I like to play it in my car since I can blast it super loud and no one can hear me sing on the top of my lungs HEHE.

 Nakey girl? Well almost nakey girl.  Simple cd art, I like it :).

 I love that they used this 90's style theme throughout the album and the music video. 

I was quite surprised that there was only 10 songs since albums usually have 12-16 songs but eh, its okay :).

There was this really huge stand of movies for only $5. I was going to pick up wild things since I really wanted to watch it but my boyfriend didn't so I just put it back and might just watch it online.  I picked this one since it was two movies in one for only $5, dirt cheap! $2.50 for a movie.  I don't really know what Planet 51 is about but my boyfriend wanted to watch the Hoodwinked LOL.  Has anyone watched that? It doesn't really appeal to me but I love to make my boyfriend happy, so I don't mind watching this with him.

The other two items I bought was Aussie moisture shampoo and conditioner, the big bottle for only $4.44! Thats what I love about Aussie since its so cheap and its not a bad product either! I was going to try this other company called "Living Clean" but didn't really want to spend $6 on a small bottle so I just went back to the same thing :/.  It lasts me half a year for less then $10 for both so I'm good :D.

The last boring thing I got was cotton pads.  Yes cotton pads LOL.  Nothing much to say but the price said $1 but I got charged $2 :/.  Didn't notice until after I went home but its okay.  I usually get the bulk pack at costco but we ran out and didn't have time to buy it so I thought I'd just buy a stalk for now.

What are you random things I'd get at your drugstores? I absoultely love buying really cheap movies and they had good movies too :D.  Mr and Mrs smith, Wild things, Dear John... Just some that I can remember on the top of my head. Also, does anyone have any shampoo and conditioner from the drugstore they would recommend? I'd love to try something new!

*All pictures are mine*

Another sephora haul with $15 coupon

 On my post for the haul I got at sephora on the Korres butter kit, I used my V.I.B coupon for $20 off $50.  I was surprised that they sent me another one where it was $15 off $50. Everyone got this one but I don't know if V.I.B's get both or was this just a mistake.  Hehe I wanted to try my luck to see if I could use the $20 off $50 again but I didn't want to be too bad but I'm still curious since they say that it was a one time use only but when I went to the other sephora to buy stuff with the $15 coupon, the girl didn't say anything.

  I didn't really have much to buy anyways but i really needed the Korres pomegranate cream gel after I found out that they actually sold it in a jar! I found out about this product when I bought the Korres pomegranate skincare kit at Winners for only $16.99 (regular price $34-$40) and you get a nice sized tube of each product and you'd really get a feel about the product and I was really feeling that moisturizer! I felt that I really would be sad when I ran out of this product and I couldn't find it on sephora at the time too so I thought all hope was gone.  But when I went to metrotown to get the Korres butter set, I saw it! I didn't want to spend $100+ then and there and I made the right choice :).

It comes in a nice glass jar, just simple packaging but what I love is that this cream was designed for combo skin.  I'm not oily but I do have combination dry skin and this works for me :). This was $41 CAD.

 The moisturizer was really the only thing that I wanted but the total was only $41 so I was in sephora trying to find something I wanted and not make up to bring the subtotal to $50 so I could use the coupon. At first I found these sponge scrubbies that were $8 which I needed anyways since I thought I could use those for my underarms to exfoliate to make my underarms less dark.

I also got myself this little sample sized Benefit Dr. feel good since I heard that this was like a primer product to smooth your lines and what not so I thought I would give it a shot and it was so cute! Little tiny tin can with this retro sticker. :3

This product came with a little sponge and a translucent paper to protect it but it was a pain in the butt to get rid of because the little part where you have to lift it was stuck under the tin LOL.  And the sponge wouldn't lift either! Ugh but Anyways I can't wait to try this product!

What was your most recent favorite make up purchase recently? Mine was the korres butter kit for sure :).

Hello kitty update and forever 21 accessories haul

As you might know, a few posts back I went ot forever 21 in search of their hello kitty forever collection since thye had a lot of the other sanrio characters.  I don't like hello kitty but I really wanted their madtz maru punching sweater but obviously they didn' thave it since I found out about the collection way to late and all the good stuff was gone. The collection was super cute and to my surprise affordable! I thought they would jack up the prices since it was sanrio but the prices were $15-$27, not bad!

The chococat flowy peter pan color top was one of the better quality tops.  They had t-shirts and really adult office friendly tops and bottoms but not all of them were good quality.  I tried on a brown chococat top with black bow tie and little chococats all over the top but the material was so stiff and the cut was so boxy so I just passed on that and got myself this top. This one was $23.80.

Last week when I went out early to find my boyfriend before work, he unexpectedly wanted to go to the mall, but not to shop but to use the camera I bought him for his birthday and take pictures of the festivity. I was like gosh darn it! I don't want to buy anything but your luring me to ! We had an hour and a half to kill and we were sitting right in front of forever 21, just chilling and sitting on the coach, watching some T.V. and playing with our phones.  I just couldn't help but have hope that there might be some more hello kitty items! There was only about four clothing items but somehow i scored this sweater cardigan.  I'm super happy about this since its an alternative to the hello kitty and i like chococat :D but not really fond of the color.  Not too shabby though and the material was pretty good, nice and thick :).

 So cute! Kitty!!

 I don't really understand this price.  In store this was $27.80 but Canadian forever 21 was $33. Maybe someone bought this from the states website and then returned it.  Either way, I'm not complaining I paid less for this hehe!

The back of the sweater says chococat which isn't that great of a print quality.  Its kind of already rubby off :/.  Its okay I guess.

 I also went to forever 21 a few occasions after that to find a headband.  I saw one that was super pretty with small little pearls and rhinestones, it didn't look cheap at all but I really didn't want to pay $17 for a headband that I might wear.So when I saw the other styles and saw this one.  They had this really pretty "rhinestone" one which is right up my alley! The quality isn't that good but I like that the plastic rhinestone has a mixture of matte and shiny stones. Each rhinestone is glued on so make sure you pick the nice ones, where you can't see the glue.  $7.80

I also found these retro 1960's style teardrop earrings that are really sparkly and I love that there is the touch of teal, so pretty! Ever since I saw these pair of crystal statement retro looking earrings on Hautelook that were $180, I let them go but I really regret it but I know I did the right thing.  I just hope something like them will appear again! These were $6.80 which is a little bit more then I would pay for at forever 21 but I love these too much to let them go!

I also found these pearl earrings since I don't have any pearl earrings.  I find these so elegant when you just wear simple pearl studs but I can't afford real ones so these were perfect.  They were only $3.80 and came with 9 pairs.  I found that a little bit excessive to have nine pairs of the same thing but I'm not complain LOL.  I'll just get the other six pairs away.

What were your most favorite finds in forever 21 this year?

Another VIB coupon! $20 off $50

For those that had the privilege to have 20% off at sephora, now its everyone's turn to get an awesome discount too! Just yesterday I received a $20 off $50 which was a miracle for me since I didn't really go crazy with the 20% off sale but I really wanted to get more of the Korres lip butters because my lips are always chapped :(.  I saw this awesome set on sephora's website which was three lip butters and four body butters for $34 USD but I told myself that I could never find that set in Canada since its always the states that always get the awesome stuff.  Long and behold when I went to Metrotown today, TADAAA~

 Since the coupon was $50 off $20 for V.I.B only ($15 off for everyone else), I had to get $50 or above.  Funny thing is this set for Canadians is $49 which is a little bit more expensive then for the Americans across the border but it still is a good deal :). 3 lip butters is already $48 before tax so this is an awesome deal.  I love love love Christmas times since the value sets is always unbeatable.  I was talking to one of the girls that was there and she helped me think of finding something that was only $1 HAHA.  That was hard since everything is $10+.  She's like Oh! You can always get one of these $1 soap pods LOL.  I wasn't going to since I found the Korres Pomegrante cream gel but I didn't want to pay another $50 :/.  I had to let it go but I know I'm going to regret it since that moisturizer sells out fast!

 This set comes with three lip butters: Guava (a clear color), Jasmine (light peachy beige color) and Quince (Rose pink color).  I really can't wait to use these! I absolutely love my mango one but I wanted more variety! Orange on my lips in the winter isn't the best thing, especially when I it always gets to the corner of my mouth and I look like I didn't wipe my mouth after eating a popsicle, not a good look.

 The four body butters that came with this set was Jasmine, Guava, Basil lemon and apple blossom.  I haven't smelt most of them but I did smell a few in the store and I like the clean and crisp nature of these.  They are really moisturizing without being too oily which I love! It reminds me of the Au lait body cream I got from Winners that I have used up already so I've been desperate find some more for ma bodyyyyy! Happy happy happy :)

 I originally was going to get this set since i didn't see the big one I wanted but I knew I wasn't going to be happy with it since this set was $34 and I would have to find something else that i didn't need. I was also crazy enough that I was going to get this, the big kit and the pomegranate cream gel moisturizer.  That would have been $150! Thank god I stopped myself but I remember thinking to myself to just get it so I can get the V.I.B and lock it for next year too :D.  LOL

This was a small haul but it was a big deal to me because I set out just to get these things and the hello kitty collection items  :D. I just got another coupon too for the $15 off $50 so I'm guessing the VIB's get two coupons? Do they want me broke? Holy cows!

What was your most favorite value sets? Did you buy it or are you still waiting for the right moment?