{Vanity on a Budget} Review: ELF Brightening Eye Color

Hiya ladies!

I am back with another Vanity on a Budget post, and today on the spotlight is the ELF Brightening Eye Color eyeshadow palette. These are just two of the things I got for my birthday goodies which I talked about in this post.

ELF Brightening Eye Color in Luxe (left) and Ocean Dreams (right); 129.75php

Without further ado, let's get on with the review, shall we? :)

**Warning: I am no professional beauty blogger nor photographer. I will try my best to give as much detail as I can, but if I lack the skills of doing reviews, please bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: Colors of the products in the photos may vary from the actual item. I suggest that you check them out personally at the counters and test them out if they have samples available. :) **

I got two of them, Luxe and Ocean Dreams. Luxe is more of a reddish golden palette, while Ocean Dreams (from the name itself) is of blue tones.

Product Description and Directions for Use

Price and Ingredients

Unopened

Ocean Dreams Palette

Back has palette name

Luxe

Back of Luxe palette

Okay, enough of the packaging photos. I'm pretty sure you are excited by now for the most important part of the review - SWATCHES!

Ocean Dreams Palette. Top-No base; Bottom-With base. Swatched with one swipe.

 The reason I got the Ocean Dreams Palette is because I do not have a navy eyeshadow color yet in my stash. So, I decided to pick this up. I went through a couple of brands before I landed with this (glad I saw this!). The other navy colors I swatched had too much glitter in them, and since I will be using the navy for the crease and outer edge, I wanted the least amount of shimmer I could find. I was going for a single eyeshadow (was eyeing for Essence), but when I found this, why not pick up a palette which has 4 colors total? Definitely a great steal!

Anyhooo. Let's get on with the swatches. I LOVE all the colors. Reminds me of the ocean, indeed, and I think would be a great palette to take along during the summer. But, it can be adapted to other seasons depending on how you pair each shadow.

I am no good with color descriptions, I will try my best to describe each color. First is very pale aquamarine color. Second color is somewhat Turquoise-ish. Third and fourth are two different shades of navy, the 4th color having a more purple undertone to it. First and second colors are quite shimmery, while the 3rd and 4th have very little amount of shimmer. I would say semi-matte.

As you can see, they go on better with a base. I know the bottom is a little blurry, but judging from the last two dark, navy colors, the color payoff wasn't great without the base. They faded out towards the end of each swatch. So, I definitely recommend you use a base such as primer or concealer prior to application for the best color payoff and to ensure your shadows last all day long!

Luxe Palette: Top-No Base; Bottom-With Base

Color Descriptions: Pale Gold, Burgundy-ish or Maroon, Antique Gold, Copper-y Bronze. All colors are shimmery, and more shimmery than the Ocean Dreams palette.

I got the Luxe palette mainly for the burgundy-ish color. It may be quite light, but it can be darkened a little more with black or dark brown. ;)

What I love:
♥ Very pigmented (except for the two navy colors)
♥ In my experience, ELF eyeshadows never creased on me (I always wear primer though)
♥ Very affordable! Just 129.75php for a pop!
♥ Easy to carry and lightweight
♥ Colors are very blendable and buildable
♥ 4 colors in one palette! You can use them individually and mix and match with your other eyeshadows.
♥ I love that the name of the palette can be found at the bottom/back of the palette. Although I don't do FOTD's and tutorials, sometimes people ask what palette it is and it's a bummer when you can't find the name anywhere on the product's packaging. ELF does have products that don't have the name on the packaging.

What I loathe:
♥ None, really, except for the two navy colors. I am just hoping I got a bad one. But, I can work with it anyway. :)

Will I repurchase? Absolutely! Although it may take a while before I get to use them all up, but I would definitely when I run out! :D

Please don't mind the automatic watermark Blogger/Google placed on my photos. It  would've been fine if it wasn't the other blog link it put on them (Thrifty Crafty Things is my craft blog). I still have this to figure out, so if anyone has any idea how I could change or remove them, it would be highly appreciated.

I hope I covered everything there is to say for a review. Please let me know in the comments below your thoughts about this! :) I would definitely love to hear from you guys for me to improve. I will be explaining on a separate post why I decided to make reviews and all that jazz. But for now, I bid you adieu.

Cheers!


DISCLAIMER: I wasn't paid to make this review. All products mentioned are purchased with my own money. ;) Add it to your boards!

{Vanity on a Budget} My Birthday Goodies - Drugstore Products!

Hiya all!

I'm back with a birthday post! Yay! I am so excited to share what I got myself for my birthday. :) I usually don't go out and shop "one-time-big-time" for makeup products, but I promised myself to go, for at least one (and very first!) time for some makeup shopping! I saved up for it until my birthday and shopped my heart out (well, still on a budget. Hihi).

I did not call it a haul because, it ain't really a haul. Besides, the real meaning of haul is some stuff obtained illegally or things you dragged. O.o Although I know it's a term in the "beauty world" and I am not against those who use the term as well, but I just couldn't find myself to call it a haul. So, I called it goodies instead. :)

So, here is a photo of all the things I got. A couple, though, I wasn't able to get a photo of. But, we'll get to that later. :)

Excuse the poor quality of the photo. This was taken with just my tablet camera and it's not the best. I was just too excited and grabbed the nearest camera that I have. LoL. Anyway, I will go more into detailed photos of some since I will be making a review on a couple.

From left to right: Sakura Bella Travel/Gift Pack from Watsons (Shower Gel, Body Scrub, Hand & Body Lotion/99.00php); Italia Deluxe 3D Stay-On Eyeshadow (149.00php); Fashion21 Aqualicious Lipstick in Deep Sea (~150.00php);  Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow in 09 For Fairies (209.00php); Pinkies Collection Single Eyeshadow in Skin(? I think/~70php); Shawill Makeup Brushes (Flat Eyeshadow Brush, Thin Eyeliner Brush, Lip/Small Eyeshadow Brush/99.00php); ELF Brightening Eye Color in Luxe and Ocean Dreams; FS Cosmetics Eyelash Curler (125.00php)

A couple of other things I got was some bandeaus from Genevieve, 4 for 100php, a tablet sleeve (180php) and universal gadget stand (60php), both from CD-R King.

All in all, I only spent 1,500php for everything. Not bad, right? I was pretty darn happy to actually go out at least for once to shop makeup! :)

A few notes:
♥ The travel pack, I bought because I wanted to try them out first if they were nice before buying the full sized product. This is a great tip for those who want to actually try something before getting the full-sized product. ;) Though, not all variants have this travel pack, at least here at SM Clark.
♥ My Essence Stay All Day Eyeshadow, I was quite disappointed with because it kinda dried up. You can't even check it in store because the price was in between the cover and jar itself. But, I still manage to make it work. I guess I just have to use it more often.
♥ I couldn't make a review of the Aqualicious lipstick because I gave it to my cousin as a gift. :D

As mentioned, I will be making a review for a couple of the items, so let me know what you think about it and if you do want to see the reviews. :)

Cheers!


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Thrift Finds At Marquee Mall

Who doesn't love sales? Well, I most certainly do, and I feel so happy and accomplished when I could get stuff I want for discount prices.

For those of you who do not know, Marquee mall is located here in Pampanga which is owned by Ayala, and can be found at the NLEX Angeles Exit. And, they always have sales (sometimes I feel they have sales every month) and, when they do go on sale, items are really marked down, even to as much as 75% or more! Unlike other malls who mark down just about 10%. Really?!

Well, anyway, I just want to sure a couple of my thrift finds, both sale items and non-sale. Either way, they still have really low prices compared to other shopping malls/department stores.


My little 'haul', as they say.

A cool digital bag watch. Regular price (RP): ~150php; Sale price (SP): 79php

Zipper purses/pencil cases (given by my Aunt). RP: 59php; SP: 10php

Oh My Golly (OMG) Crystal Sand Nail Polish in Emerald and Indian Red - 18php each, Not on Sale

2 sets of Sassy elastic headbands. 49php per bundle/set, Not on Sale

Bath headband. ~30php, Not on Sale

Fanny Serrano Eyelash Curler. ~130php, Not on Sale

Fanny Serrano Eyelash Curler Refills. ~45php, Not on Sale

Shoelaces which I will use for a DIY project that is long overdue. ~30php/pair
There ya go. Just a couple of items that I don't usually see at SM Clark. Marquee mall is quite far, so I only get to go there very rarely.

How about you? Do you love thrift finds. Share them in the comments below. Add it to your boards!

{Vanity and Me} ELF Eyebrow Stencil Kit + Official ELF Online Shop Review

Hello everybody! So, I am starting another new blog series - Vanity and Me. I was actually planning on making a separate blog for it, but come to think of it, I am really not in the "professional world" or make up blogging. I mean, I don't really go out to buy products I don't need just to make a review of it. So, I decided to just add another section to my blog since this will be more of an occasional thing, though I love makeup so much. :D

Anyhoooo...

For the first post on this series, I will be reviewing the ELF Eyebrow Stencils and the website itself. If you are just like me who find shaping their brows consuming half of your make-up time just like me, then this post must be for you. LoL.

** I would like to warn you that I am no professional makeup product reviewer, so please spare me to rude comments. I am all in with constructive criticism, but if you are here to bash me with rude comments, just leave. :D Plus, this is my first time. Hopefully, I will get better in time. **

Shipped with tissue paper (inside the LBC packaging of course. LoL) The ELF sticker is actually just a cheap looking sticker that you could get done on an internet cafe. O.o Even I could make my own, even better.

It came wrapped in bubble wrap with this little thank you card from the ELF Team.
From top to bottom: Soft Arch, Structured Arch, Curved Arch, and Full Arch.

Product description found on the back of the packaging:

Achieve perfectly shaped brows to accentuate your face. The reusable stencils is easy to use and with 4 stencils: Curved Arch, Soft Arch, Structured Arch and Full Arch to choose from, it makes these brow stencils suitable for all brow shapes. Now your brows can look picture perfect everyday!

The stencils are made of  plastic they call PVC, I think? You know those gradeschoolers use as plastic envelopes? These are the same material, only a bit thicker in my opinion.

To use, you basically choose the stencil that works best for your brow shape, and simply line it up with the start, arch and tail of your brow, and simply fill in with brow powder or pencil.

Pros:

• Very affordable, only Php129.75
• They are indeed reusable and quite sturdy for the price and material.
• Putting on my eyebrows is such a breeze! (Though it takes a couple of practices to get used to)

Cons:

• I only found mine on the online store/website of ELF Philippines. Not sure if this is available at the stalls at some branches, but here at SM Clark, they are not.
• ELF Team took a loooooong time to deliver my item (will go into detail on this below)
• The stencils are not labeled according to the type of brow it is, so you have to match it with the photo on the front of the packaging (which is not easy, I tell ya!)
• Poor packaging. I was expecting it to be like those from the Original ELF products

Overall, despite more Cons than Pros, I still like my stencils. Putting on my brows definitely takes a lot faster now. :) Plus, it's by far the cheapest stencil I found. Though I don't own any other or seen other brands, they do say that some stencils cost more than 1k! I am not willing to shed out that much for just a couple of stencils. O.o 

Now, for a short review of the website. As mentioned, I got mine from ELF Philippines website. It took a while for them to arrive. In fact, I ordered from them first a day before I ordered some products from another company (online, as well). And, guess how long I waited ---- 3 LONG WEEKS! For just some stencils, I think it wasn't worth the wait and trouble. Being a consumer, of course, it scares us when we don't receive our package in time, thinking the sellers ran off with our hard-earned money. And, I love ELF and all their products, but then, I am not really impress

Cheers!
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