Brand spotlight: elf

elf (http://eyeslipsface.com ) is a budget friendly make up line which has the infamous $1 makeup products and brushes. It has come a long way and has been constantly expanding its line. Now elf makeup can be as expensive (?) as $8 for the mineral foundation. The products are sold in Target but I tend to order directly from their website, as there aren't any Canadian retails that carry this line yet. The site always has some kind of promotion (either free extra products, shipping, or 40% - 50% off with a certain $ purchase). I almost always purchase the Studio line products when there was the 50% off sale.
Some of the products are surprisingly awesome, some are okay and a few are horrible.I have had better luck with their Studio products than the original $1 line (Essentials). I have used up most of the products so do not have actual photos of them. elf makeup is definitely for those who like to try new things or trends in makeup or those who are budget conscious about makeup. It definitely adds to the fun of being a makeup junkie :)

Essential Blush Brush ($1)
It was enticing to buy a makeup brush for $1; however, this is a poorly made and not very useful. The bristles are rough and started to shed right away. The brush is not dense enough to pick up the blush and gave a streaky look. 

Essential Liquid Eyeliner ($1)
Non waterproof eyeliner but yet gives a very black line and for $1, it is great. I prefer waterproof liners just because my eyelids are oily. Otherwise would be a good choice for those wanting a cheap liquid liner. 
I have done a review on this on my Eyeliner post here.

Essential Nail Polish ($1, now $2)  
Very surprised at the quality of this polish. It is a standard nail polish that has a good pay off. 

Studio Cream eyeliner ($3)
I bought the Espresso thinking I would want a dark brown liner to try. The color was too sheer and the gel dried out quickly. I would not repurchase.

Studio Eye primer and liner ($3)  
Unfortunately this did not work for me at all. The primer moved around and did not hold the shadows in place. The liner did not provide the budge - proofing I needed. I literally threw it out after using it only a couple of times :(


Studio contouring blush and bronzing powder ($3)
This is a dupe for Nars Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer. The blush has visible flecks of shimmer which is not that noticeable on skin. The bronzer is too shimmery for my liking. I have hit pan on the blush and still do use it once in a while.

contouring blush and bronzer powder 

Studio Blush ($3)
I purchased several shades of these blushes. Again they are somewhat of a dupe for Nars blushes. They are super powdery and the colors are not as intense as the Nars blushes. Even the available shades are reminiscent of the Nars line. The shimmery blushes have large shimmer particles that do not look so flattering on the skin. The ones I like are Tickled Pink and Mellow Mauve.

Studio High Definition Powder ($6)
This is the only powder from elf I have purchased twice. Supposedly this is a dupe for Make Up Forever HD powder. The powder is very finely milled and while white in the tub, translucent on the skin. It helps to minimize oil and sets the make up for the day.

Studio Bronzers ($3) in Warm and Golden
Each palette has 4 different shades of bronzers, which you can use separately or swirled together. Golden shade is the lighter of the two and the colors are not too intense. The bronzer like the blushes are really powdery. It stays on about 3 - 4 hours on my combination skin.

Warm Bronzer 

Studio undereye concealer and highlighter ($3)
Bought this on a whim and only used a couple of times before trashing it. The concealer is too thin to give proper coverage and the highlighter did not highlight but just blended into the skin.

Studio complete coverage concealer ($3)
The palette looks very promising with 4 different shades of concealers and a little brush. However, it does not give proper coverage and even with  multiple layers the concealer would not stay on the skin long. This made into misses of 2012.

Studio brush set ($45, on sale for $30) 
My favourite purchase of the elf products! I love all the brushes in this set. The 11 piece will give you all the makeup brush you need for your makeup wardrobe. They are made of synthetic nylon bristles and work very well as intended. I love the blush brush and the powder brush. They are soft and easy to work with.  There are 5 complexion related brushes and 6 eye related brushes. Some of the eyeshadow brushes are tad too small for my liking but overall this is a great buy.

Face brushes from the Studio Line Brush set 

Smaller (eye) brushes from the set 

Brand spotlight: Maybelline

This blog entry is a start of a series on different brands of makeup I have tried. Many of the brands will be from the drugstore and a few will be high end.

Maybelline is owned by L'oreal like many other brands but does not share much similarity with the sister drgustore brand L'oreal Paris. 

"Maybe it's Maybelline~"

Mascara: 

I think the most outstanding product for Maybelline is their mascaras. Surely all have heard of Great Lash (the pink and green tube), which unfortunately does not work for me. All of the mascaras I use are waterproof as non waterproof make the curled lashes droop. 

Volume Express Line includes Falsies, Rocket volume, Colossal, Mega Plush and One by One. They are all great at adding volume to my thin lashes.
Colossal volume express is similar to Covergirl Lash Blast. But the brushes have longer bristles which is better at separating the lashes.

Falsies is my absolute favorite Drugstore mascara because it adds volume and length. I have no complaint at all about this mascara. Currently there are a couple of back up tubes in my drawer, as would any make up junkie. 

Rocket Volume is the newest mascara in this line. Gives decent volume and length. 

Mega Plush has a very interesting brush head, that bends and is quite dense with plastic bristles. This mascara did not work for me as it gave me more of a natural look. 

One by one is great at adding length but not so with volume. 

Other mascaras

Lash stiletto - very similar to L'oreal Voluminous false lashes mascara. Adds quite a bit of length and a bit of volume. The con is that it can get clumpy quite quickly.

Full & soft - akin to L'oreal Voluminous original. Many people love this formula because the lashes do not become hard or brittle. 

Lash discovery - it has a very tiny brush that is perfect for smaller eyes and the bottom lashes. Sadly this is discontinued. 

Eye shadow:

For drugstore eye shadows, I like the Maybelline quads. Relatively inexpensive but the color range is great. The shadows are all very wearable and the quality is pretty good. 

Expert Wear Shadow Quads

There are 14 quads available; all are pretty neutral and easy to wear alone or together. 

The quad is divided into base, crease, accent and highlight color. 

Currently loving Emerald Smokes:

Color Tatoo eyeshadow

I have yet to try this long wearing cream eye shadow. I own a couple of L'oreal infalliable shadows and MAC paint pot which are similar to the Color Tatoo. Having tried it out at the drugstore, Color Tatoo feel a little drier and harder to work with than L'oreal or MAC.

Eyebrow pencil, eyeliners:

Define a brow eyebrow pencil is very slim. The consistency of the pencil allows for drawing on realistic looking brow hairs. The other end of the pencil has a plastic comb that would be handy to comb longer brow hairs. 

Eye studio master drama 

This automatic pencil is soft and easy to use. But because it is not waterproof, it tends to smudge on my lids. What I like is how dark the black is - truly giving a dramatic look. 

Eye studio gel liner

For a drugstore gel liner, this one is one of the better ones. What I love is the little brush it comes with. The gel itself does dry out faster than some but the color is very nice. It is a bit sheer with only one stroke. Currently using the Plum color which has a fleck of sparkle (but not obnoxious). 

Foundation:

I have tried a couple of their liquid foundation which I was not that thrilled with and not worth mentioning here.

The one I like the most is not a liquid but a creme foundation called Dream Smooth Mousse. 

This is different from Dream Matte Mousse in that it is a bit more solid. Quick to apply with the sponge provided and the best part is that it goes on smooth like the name suggests. 

I have tried applying this with a foundation brush but the sponge is a much better applicator. 

Note: I have tried the Dream Matte and Dream Liquid foundation but found them too heavy for my oily combination skin. 

Do you like Maybelline? Any other brands you want me to feature?

Eyeliners swatches

Thought it would be helpful to show the color of each eyeliner mentioned in my previous post.
First photo is of all the pencil liners. 

From L to R
Milani liqu'fy, Dollywink, Rimmel exaggerate,  Prestige in Suede, Clio waterproof in brown. 

They go on smoothly but as can be seen Dollywink and Rimmel liners smudge whereas the other ones do not. 

L to R: Prestige, Dollywink, Rimmel, the Faceshop, Milani, CLIO

I have a fewer number of liquid liners. 

From L to R
Urban decay 24/7 liquid eyeliner,  E. L. F. Liquid liner, Dollywink brush liner. 

Urban decay liner is the darkest and does not smudge. However it does flake off at the end of the day.
As can be seen the smudging is minimal. The last swatch is the Mac black track gel liner. Perhaps I didn't let it set long enough but the smudging is pretty bad in this swatch. 

I do prefer the felt tip over a brush tip because it is easier to control. The advantage of a brush tip is though being able to create a much finer and sharper line. 

Eyeliners

Eyeliner is an essential item that is used daily. For me, I don't just use black eyeliner but use dark brown and purple/navy liners as well. I think purple and navy compliment the brown eyes well. I prefer pencil over pen or gel liner because of its ease of use.
Like my mascaras, I tend to buy waterproof ones to minimize the smudging.

For my oily eye lids, I need to use an eyeshadow base to ensure that the liner does not smudge. I almost never line the bottom of my eyes because I think heavy lining at the bottom of your lashes make the eyes look smaller than bigger. I also never line the waterline on the bottom for the same reason, in addition to the fact the liner can smear into your actual eyeballs.

Prestige waterproof eyeliner: cheap, easy to use kohl pencil liner with good color payoff. These are available at London Drugs or Shoppers for under $8. The consistency is smooth and does not smudge much. I always have one in my make up stash.

Clio waterproof eyeliner (brown & black): truly waterproof, budge-proof eyeliners that does not need a pencil sharpener. I have gone through 3 - 4 of these in the last couple of years. The pencil is on the harder side so it may tug the eyelids a bit. If I ever want to line tightline (the white part right below the lashes) I tend to use these ones as they do not smudge at all.
About 8,000 won (~$8).

Dollywink eyeliner: super famous Japanese brand. I bought this because the packaging was too darn cute. The black liner is truly black and it is easy to apply. A little harder than Prestige but softer than CLIO. The downfall is that it smudges.

Rimmel eyeliner (automatic): one of the truest purple eyeliners I have enjoyed over the last 10 years or so. Like the Prestige liner, this one is a permanent part of my make up collection. Very cheap (around $5), readily available and simple to use. It used to have sharpener attached at the back of the pencil but now has a smudger.

The Faceshop Make me star gel pencil liners: another clear winner of non-smudging waterproof pencils. All of them have a fleck of glitter which makes them so pretty. I tend to use the bronze and the navy as a shadow stick.

MAC gel liner (blacktrack): the infamous gel liner that rivals Bobbi Brown gel liner. I don't use this much because this definitely smudges on me. I actually find gel liners not that easy to use. The gel is very soft and smooth but in my opinion, not as easy to control.

E.L.F. felt tip liquid liner: this is $1!!!!!! yes for $1, you get a decent product. Not waterproof, but have not had any issues with smudging or fading. Love this one.

Milani liquify pencil liner: I don't know how they do it but this pencil gives a look of a real gel liners. Super black and super soft. My complaint is that it is too soft and I can never get it to sharpen to a fine point so the lines tend to be thicker than I want. This is also waterproof but has not been completely smudge proof on me.