E.l.f. Cosmetics Eyelid Primer

For those of you who believe primer isn’t important, look at it this way. You’ve purchased a pigmented shadow before, yes? Yes! Now imagine if you took that pigmented shadow and amped it up a bit. Imagine how much nicer it would look, and how much longer it would last. Not convinced as yet? What if all you needed was $1? The first time I tried this eye primer by E.l.f. Cosmetics was in 2012 — I was a non-believer, until I saw the difference that primer makes. It was one of the things I made sure to pick up on my U.S.A. Mini Haul, because I can’t find it here. This primer isn’t sticky, and it works to enhance both matte and shimmer shadows. I also place a little under my eye to keep my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer from creasing. So at this point you’re probably thinking, “Get to the point! Why should I spend $1 on this?”. Try this primer simply because it is far from breaking the bank, and it actually does prolong the wear of your shadow, keep concealer from creasing, and glides on smoothly.

Fall Beauty Essentials

Happy Wednesday! Initially I wasn’t going to post this, as there’s something of a small planet on my forehead (but really, who cares?). Fall began this week, so today’s post is on the products I’ve been loving recently. I’ve been moisturizing with Kiehl’s Facial Cream then priming with Lancome La Base PRO. To even out my skin tone I use True Match with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush or Spa Resources stipple brush. Eyebrows are everything, so those are filled in with Dipbrow and set with Milani’s Brow Gel. I add a pop of colour to my cheeks with MAC’s Love Joy using the E.l.f. Cosmetics Total Face Brush. With the lips being so bold, for my eyes I take MAC’s Mulch eye shadow in the crease on the Bdellium Tools 785 and Expensive Pink on the lid. To finish off, I set this all with Bare Minerals Mineral Veil in Illuminating.

E.l.f. Cosmetics Total Face Brush

Happy Wednesday! Before I get on to the review, let’s make a slight correction regarding something I had written previously. In any of my posts that speak on affordable makeup brushes, I referred to this as E.l.f’s Powder Brush. It is not their powder brush — though I own that as well. It is their Total Face Brush. When I purchased this in January, I had intended to use it with my powders — and that’s exactly what I did. Recently though, I’ve been using it for blush — it has been working so well! The perfect amount of colour is placed on the apples of the cheeks. Especially with MAC’s Mineralize Blush in Love Joy and NYX’s Powder Blush in Desert Rose. Because of how fluffy it is, when you dust the remaining product on your temples it delivers a very natural finish.  E.l.f. Cosmetics does make a blush brush — that one is tapered and goes for about $3. Whenever you see this, go ahead and give it a chance. For $1, it’s pretty impressive — finishing powder, powder foundation and powder blushes; definitely a Dollar Wonder!

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Affordable Makeup Brushes

Hi there! This post has been highly requested because many readers are under the impression that brushes have to either be poor quality and cheap, or straight from the MAC store. I’ve decided to give you an idea of some affordable brushes that I found have worked for me.

How to: Clean Your Makeup Brushes

I have no idea where to start with regards to stressing the importance of clean beauty tools. All I can say is, for those of you who didn’t know — makeup brushes are to be cleaned, just like hair brushes. All you need is warm water and shampoo (you can use regular shampoo or baby shampoo).  Run the brush’s bristles under a little warm water, and swirl it into the shampoo that you would’ve already squirted into your palm. Do this until the water runs clean, and place the brushes to lay flat on a paper towel. Do not squeeze the bristles. Do this once a week, and for tweezers, be sure to sanitize before and after each use. Brushes with product buildup do not apply your makeup properly, and unclean tools lead to breakouts; no one wants that!