My little makeup helper...

Just wanted to post this picture real quick

my husband took it over the weekend when I was washing all my brushes




I had a helper.
She's so cute



Can I just say that I don't enjoy washing my brushes... I feel like I am going to ruin them or reshape them wrong...

Happy Wednesday

xoxo

Temptation....

So after posting my last e.l.f. haul I deleted www.eyeslipsface.com from my bookmarked sites and even unsubscribed from their emails. Things have been going well and I have gone a whole week without thinking about e.l.f.

Until I was on Facebook and saw this....

How could I forget to delete them from Facebook!?

Oh 50% sales... You're my favorite kind of sale.

And the mineral line... I love the mineral line.

The eye shadows... the brushes... the lipsticks

I feel my self control slipping away...

AHHHH! I must get off the computer and hide the credit cards!!

Okay it's not that bad... I have more self-control than that.

But I do have the overwhelming desire to cheat my e.l.f. diet and go order makeup from e.l.f.'s mineral line.

Someone go take advantage of this sale, I would hate to let 50% off go to waste.

xoxo

FOTD #2: Natural

Hey ladies,

I don't often feel the desire  to do an entire face of the day post but I was using all my new Too Faced products and really wanted to show you how the products looked (plus I was having a pretty good hair day too. I love when that whole natural wave/wannabe beachy thing works out!).

Hair:

Garnier Fructis Leave-In conditioning cream

Herbal Essences volumizing mousse

got2b fat-tastic root boosting spray

Face:

L'oreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting base

e.l.f. Studio Flawless Finish foundation in Porcelain

Maybelline Dream Mousse concealer in Fair light 0-1

Covergirl Fresh Complexion Pocket powder foundation in ivory (605)

Physician Formula Healthy Wear Bronzer in Light

Neutrogena Healthy Skin blends sheer highlighting blush in Fresh (20)

e.l.f. Studio Blush in Gotta Glow (highlight)

Brows:

Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Light Blonde

e.l.f. Wet Gloss Clear Brow mascara

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance eyelid primer

Too Faced eyeshadow duo in Cocoa Puff&Honey Pot

e.l.f. cream eyeliner in Coffee

Too Faced Lash Injection mascara

Lips:

Nivea Kiss of Smoothness chapstick

Jane Aguaceuticals lipstick in Oasis

e.l.f. Mineral lipgloss in Au Naturale 

If you want me to review any of these products, please let me know!

xoxo

What's for dinner?

I made lasagna a week ago and had no clue what to do with the left over ricotta cheese. The only other thing I could think of was stuffed pasta shells, so stuffed pasta shells I made.

While boiling the shells for 14 minutes, I made a mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, and egg. I drizzled a thin layer of Bertoli pasta sauce in the bottom of the cake pan and filled each shell with a spoonful of the mixture (about 1/8 cup). Once the stuffed shells were all arranged in the pan I drizzled more sauce over top and finished it off with mozzarella cheese.

I cooked them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

I served them with a simple cesaer salad.

Yum!

I had a lot of fun cooking these. They were quick and easy. But most of all, they were something new. I love trying out new recipes on my little guinea pig...

Happy eating

“Just think of me and I will be there”

His 'stop taking pictures of me' face
sorry honey, i can't help myself

Mister,

come home to me

this home is lonely without you

all my heart,

Missus

e.l.f. Haul #12

I, Brittany, do solemnly swear to go at least 56 days without an e.l.f. haul. Does this mean I won't buy makeup at all? Of course not! But I have spent way too much money on e.l.f. and it is definitely my makeup weakness.

4.27.2011 is 56 days from the day I made my last e.l.f. order and until then I think I am even going to have to delete eyeslipsface from my bookmarks... it's too much of a temptation.

It's a good thing I have this last e.l.f. haul to show you :)

This is the order I mentioned that I thought my HD powder was going to be left out and I was right, I didn't get it. I'm disappointed but it was a rather large order so I have plenty of other goodies to occupy my time.

Let's take a look...

Studio Pressed Powder in Porcelain

Lately I have been on such a face product kick. I just want to find my perfect foundation, concealer, and powder. I'm always impressed with my studio products and decided to try the face powder. It comes with a really large mirror so it will be great to keep in my purse for touch ups. The powder lifts up and there is a little cheapie pouf/sponge underneath. If I end up liking the color, texture, and finish I will put a nicer sponge in the compact for touch ups throughout the day.

Studio Translucent Matifying Powder

My first impressions of this powder are reminding me a lot of my HG powder foundation from CoverGirl. Now I realize a translucent powder and a powder foundation are like polar opposites but this powder is not translucent. It definitely has color and pigmentation to it. The sponge that comes in the compact is really nice quality and is actually the same sponge that comes with my CoverGirl powder. I haven't used it yet but am really excited to find an even cheaper alternative for my everyday powder (which is already only $8.00).

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Blushed/Bronzed

Do I need this blush and bronzer? No. I got it purely as a result of all the hype. A billion makeup obsessed gals like myself can't all be wrong so I added it to my cart as well!

They are gorgeous shimmery shades. Lots of glitter like my buddies at elf are known for and I can't get enough of. (What am I going to do when I have to grow up and stop wearing glitter on my face...?)

Studio Concealer Pencil & Brush in Fair

This is another one of those products I haven't heard a whole lot about and was hoping to find a little hidden gem. I think elf had a really great idea here

Unfortunately the only thing I like about this combo is the...

BRUSH!

Please excuse the nasty dried glue all over the plastic, epic fail elf!

The brush itself isn't captured 100% perfect here. It's not as flat as it appears here. To be honest, pick up a sharpie, look closely at the tip, and that is the EXACT shape of this brush. It's super densely packed and I'm so excited to use this when doing my makeup.

The actual concealer is a whole different story...

First off, dear lightest shade you are so dark and orange. It's also super ridiculously hard to blend. Maybe I should spend more time warming it up with my finger. Actually no, because it's 100 times the wrong color. I will save it for the brush and maybe give it another shot in the summer.

Studio Blush in Pink Passion

Genius me ordered two of this same blush. As least it's a super pretty pink and will be perfect for spring. I'm thinking I will save the blush for my first giveaway (my 10 subscribers giveaway haha)

Studio Blush in Gotta Glow

Obviously this is not a blush. But it is a super pretty cheek, inner corner, or brow bone highlight. I didn't swatch it because it's so light and has such fine shimmer that I couldn't capture it with my camera. It's slightly powdery but gives the perfect hint of shimmery gold that I'm willing to overlook the powdery texture.

Studio Mineral Face Primer

Oh boy... I haven't put this on my face yet but I have swatched it three times on the back of my hand (hoping for different results). I have watched my fair share of reviews on this product and while the weren't all rave reviews I don't feel like any of them considered this an absolute fail product... I do.

First off, the pump is horrible. It sticks and causes a ton of product to come out at once (not an immediate deal breaker, but def annoying). It has the texture and appearance of hand sanitizer (more of an observation than a good or bad thing). The biggest issues, smells overpoweringly of sunscreen and feels like olive oil. The smell I would get over it didn't feel like pure oil. It took what seemed like forever to sink into the skin on my hand and even then my fingers felt sooo oily. It was gross and messy and so off-putting. The stank and oiliness are enough to keep me from ever putting this on my face.

Studio Makeup Mist & Set

I really have not clue what to expect from this product so I don't have a lot to say yet but I did smell it and it was king of plastic-y. I might have just been smelling the bottle though... I will come back with more once I have tested it out.

Studio Conditioning Lip Balm in Romantic Rouge

I have a love affair with sheer red lip colors. This is no exception. It gives the most beautiful red tint to my lips and is quite long lasting for a lip gloss eater such as myself. The texture is extremely creamy and has a slight vanilla scent in my opinion.

Studio Kabuki Face and Studio Blush Brushes

Quite a while ago I ordered the kabuki body brush because it looked so cute but is rather impractical for actual use (what do you put on your body with a makeup brush?!) So I picked up the face brush with is much smaller and more compact. I love it! I can't wait to give this a shot. The blush brush is already one of my favorite brushes and I picked up another one so I don't have to keep using the same one for bronzer, blush, and highlighter each morning.

Studio Cream Eyeliner in Plum Purple

This is my favorite product from the whole purchase, please let me explain...

This is my fourth cream eyeliner from the studio line and I have been extremely unimpressed with the first three. They were all, well... NOT creamy. One of them (Bronze to be exact) actually comes out all in one piece if I tip the jar upside down. Nothing called cream should do this. The other two weren't quite as bad but I have a really difficult time getting enough, if any, product onto my brush. I'm a sucker for purple so I ordered another (despite not really loving the previous purchases) and can I just say I am so glad I ordered this one. It applies like a liquid!

I swiped the brush in the product once and was able to do the three swatches above! I'm so impressed with the product. I am loving this for my eyeliner everyday, it's totally changed my outlook on cream eyeliners.

This is an issue I have experienced with e.l.f. quite often. I can order the same product in different shades and the products will come with packaging that isn't the same, formulas that are different, completely different textures and overall quality really. It makes me a little frustrated with elf because I want to be able to count on them 100% to provide me with quality products but I never know if I will end up with an old formula they aren't making anymore but had laying around so they threw it in my order...

It makes me unsure of re-purchasing some items...

tisk tisk e.l.f.

And finally my freebie

It's a quad I already have so I gave it one of my sisters but it's actually one of the few Brightening Eye Colors I actually like so I felt okay giving it my sister (:

That's everything I got with this order. I love all the goodies I picked up and as always I am so excited to play with all of these and come back with reviews on the products of e.l.f.

love you all

xoxo

Too Faced Nude Attitude set

Hi Ladies!

If you follow me on Twitter (ThtsFrmTheMrs) you saw yesterday that both my e.l.f. and Too Faced packages arrived. What a fantastic Friday it was! This is the package I was most excited about. Too Faced has their Vintage Sale ending soon and because I can't resist a good sale or the thought of trying a new makeup brand (not that Too Faced is new but is new to me) I decided to make an order. They have some great deals going on with their makeup sets and as you can tell from the title, I got the Nude Attitude set. Oh and did I mention I got it for only $20.00!!

The order also came with a sample of the Shadow Insurance and a code good for 20% off your next purchase.

All the sets come in an adorable makeup clutch

I'm glad I wanted the products that came in this set because it comes with the cutest clutch.

Here's what I got...

Too Faced Lash Injection mascara

I have heard a lot about this mascara and I'm really excited to give it a go. The brush is huge and just packed with bristles.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance anti-crease eye shadow primer

I love my e.l.f. primer but with all the raves about this primer I couldn't help but try it. It doesn't come with a wand like my e.l.f. primer but the squeezy tube will do the job just fine I'm sure.

Too Faced Lip Injection extreme lip plumping treatment

I didn't realize this was a lip plumper but I'm still excited to try it. It has a brush applicator and a slightly fruity scent.

Too Faced Eye Shadow Duo in Honey Pot and Cocoa Puff

Aren't we all suckers for shimmery neutral eyeshadows? I sure am. These two are gorgeous. I wasn't expecting the colors to be so nice, but they are. I think I could use these two everyday and never get tired of them. Sorry I forgot to swatch them but the pics are very true to color.

Those are all the goodies I got with this little order. As much as I love all my drugstore and e.l.f. makeup, I'm very excited to add a little high end to my collection.

xoxo

Mini Walmart Haul

Once upon a time, I went grocery shopping at Walmart on my way home from work. Before going inside I was sorting through my coupons to make sure no good deals were missed and I came across a few makeup coupons I just had to use.

And that is how this haul was born.

Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick in Nostalgia $4.97-$1.00 OFF= $3.97

I'm a little obsessed with lipstick and I love Rimmel because they are good quality for low prices. This is a bright pink with a hint of coral which will be perfect for spring/summer.

Wet n Wild Fast Dry nail color in Buffy the Violet Slayer and Gray's Anatomy, $1.68 each

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear nail color in Mellow Yellow, $2.00

I didn't have coupons for any of these, I just wanted them.

Actually let me tell you the story of the WnW polishes...

I was on like the cereal aisle and discarded onto a shelf was one of the new WnW ColorIcon trios. I snatched it up and I'm pretty sure I gasped out loud, literally. I took off across the store to the makeup sections and there in all its glory were all of the new nail polishes, eyeshadow trios, and as I continued making my way up the display I saw the place for the 8-pan eyeshadows. Unfortunately they only had Blue Had Me At Hello which is of course the only one I didn't want. They had spots for Petal Pusher and Comfort Zone but instead of those palettes they had tons of the old WnW Ultimate Expressions palettes. I can't wait for them to put the new palettes on display, I will be snatching those up so quick!

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional primers in Anti-Redness and Anti-Dull Skin

$9.47-$3.00 OFF=$6.47 each

So after getting home with these it occurred to me I had no clue how to use them or what in the world an Anti-Dull primer is. I went to the L'Oreal website and got the explanation above. I look forward to trying the Anti-Redness primer because I have major issues with red blotchy skin. After reading their description for the Anti-Dull primer I don't believe I need it. I guess these primers are more of an either/or kind of product. You either need to cancel out redness from your face or add some color to face.. I bought both. Fail. Oh well, I have wanted them for so long that when I found them for so cheap at walmart+the coupons I was able to get both of these for the price of 1.

Anti-Redness - not blended in so you can see the color and texture

Anti-Dullness- not blended in so you can see the color and texture

I admit these were all impulse purchases but I like to think of them as my husband's payment to me for not making him go grocery shopping! (Does he know he "pays" me? No. But a girl has got to have some secrets. Mine are just in the form of Walmart cosmetics!)

xoxo

Review: e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation in Porcelain ($6.00)

Oh boy did e.l.f. cause a stir when they released this foundation. I feel like everyone was talking about the chic glass bottle, pump, and matte black lid and the name reminding them of HD foundations. I too was excited for the foundation. I have been using this foundation on and off since the middle of December and I'm finally ready to give my thoughts on the product!

First up, the packaging....

Although unnecessary, I love the thick frosted glass. I like pretty packaging, what can I say!? The pump however, is completely necessary. I have a really hard time with foundations that don't have a pump and I don't understand why ever foundation doesn't come with one. I have seen other reviews that people have had issues with their pump sticking or not dispensing product properly but I have not experienced this at all.

Consistency...

Super creamy! I love the consistency of this foundation. But before you get a chance to obsess over the texture you will notice the smell...

Oh e.l.f. why do you do this to yourselves and us

It has the overwhelming strong scent of soap and/or febreeze. Luckily the smell fades quickly but it makes me wonder why they thought this was necessary. Like, what would this smell without their stinky soap...? Something to wonder about I guess. I don't have a hard time dealing with the smell because it goes away but I know that right there will be a deal breaker for some.

Coverage...

I have a hard time capturing foundation once it has been blended so I enlisted the help of a pen in my purse.

The foundation is only about half way blended here

And then blended out completely

Now obviously there isn't anything so contrasting on your face like bright blue ink but I'd say this is medium to full coverage, at least for the blemishes I'm concealing it does the job. Please also notice how dewy the finish of this foundation is. I always find it funny when I'm doing my makeup that I put this on and then completely matify it with my powder foundation and then highlight my face to bring back the dewy look...seems silly. Even though it's not completely full coverage, I find if I use too much product I don't get any more coverage just a rather heavy feeling to my skin all day. If you can't stand to feel like you're wearing makeup then this is not for you.

Then I put a little over the veins on the inside of my wrist just to show the coverage a bit more.

As you can see in the picture to the right, the foundation is a little cakey. I did not moisturize my skin before swatching the foundation and this can cake up if you haven't moisturized.

I can't speak for the other shades of this foundation but I got the lightest of the 6 shades they offer and this is super yellow....

Please see below

Bare skin on Left and foundation on Right

It turns out the best to find out how well a product is working for you is to take pictures for a review. Before I started swatching and taking pictures and really thinking a lot about how this product is working for me I actually really liked it. I was reaching for this foundation almost every single day. I love the creamy consistency and I was able to get decent coverage very quickly (which is a must for me because I am always running late for work!) with just a small amount of product. I think the reason I didn't realize how yellow this foundation is would be because I layered concealer, powder foundation, blush and bronzer on top... but I'm wondering if it's not a very good match for my face. I do have really red skin though... maybe that's why I was so drawn to this foundation every morning because it neutralizes the red in my skin! Ah hah! I'm not completely crazy!

Overall: I really felt like going into this review I would be raving... but I didn't have a whole lot of great things to say about this foundation. I think this is one of those things where it is going to be great for 1 person and horrible for the next. There are so many variables from person and shade to the next that it's hard to know if it will be grail or fail.

I think...

it's a bit on the heavy side,

potential to get cakey although it doesn't always,

medium coverage, 

temporary stinky soap smell, 

small shade selection,

blends easily,

beautiful dewy finish.

I do plan on finishing this bottle because I'm able to work out the cons with other products but I don't think I will be re-purchasing. Especially since summer is coming up and this foundation would be way too heavy in the warm summer temperatures. I've got two words for you: oil slick!

Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know in the comments what your thoughts are on this product. I'd love to hear your opinions!

xoxo