Saturday, March 16, 2013

Riteaid Revlon Lippies Mini Haul


Last week Riteaid was having an amazing deal on  Revlon lip products. They were on sale for $4.99. I took this as the perfect opportunity to pick up some products in colors I didn't already own. Did I mention I LOVE Revlon lippies?
Yay mini haul!

I've kind of been obsessed with the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain for awhile now. I actually think I bought my first one last Spring when we came up to Portland before we moved here. Basically they are a moisturizing balm that stains your lips. Some colors have more staying power than others but I'll put up another post on them, and the ones I have soon.

The colors I got were 045 Romantic, a deeper orange-y red that leaves a nice tint on the lips, not exactly bright but not dark either . I also got 025 Sweetheart, a brighter bubble gum pink shade.
 Before I was obsessed with the lip balm stains I was obsessed with the Colorburst Lip Butters. They are super moisturizing, and glide on like butter. Some shades are super pigmented while    I own quiet a few already but don't own all of them so I grabbed the ones I had my eyes on for awhile.
The first was 060 Gumdrop, a pretty light purple shade perfect for spring. It's not the most pigmented but it's a pretty way to wear purple. The next shade was 065 Cremesicle, a creamy nude shade. It's not my favorite but it's a nice nude shade. The last shade 075 Lollipop is one I've been wanting to get but always seemed to forget about it when I was at the store. It's my favorite shade of pink to wear, deep but bright. It reminds be of the lip balm stain in the shade Smitten, which I wear all the time. It's the most pigmented of the group and like all lipbutter you can build it up to the desired intensity.

  Next I grabbed a couple of the Colorburst lipglosses. I only had one of these before but I liked the formula and heard good things. Both of the shades are super pigmented and not sticky at all. They do have tons of a fine shimmer but not in a bad way. The first shade 006 Strawberry is a pretty, wearable pinky-red with silver shimmers. The second shade is 008 Peony, a peachy pink shade with gold shimmer. Overall I really like them so far.

 Lastly I got some of the new ColorStay Ultimate Suede lipsticks. I already owned one but haven't really had a chance to wear it since my lips have been dry due to the weather. They are not drying but tend to show any cracks in your lips, being they are basically matte. I got the shades 045 Supermodel, a buildable wine shade, and 075 Cruise Collection, a brighter orange. The second shade is definately more suitable for spring.




So that's it, my first blog haul! 

Love, Elle

March Birchbox

It's that time of month again.  When the pink little box arrives in my mailbox with 4-5 goodies inside. 
If you aren't familiar with Birchbox, it's a monthly beauty subscription service. For $10 you receive 4-5 deluxe samples or full size items. You can than review the items on the site. Every item you review equals 10 points. 100 points = $10. $10 you can use to buy items on the birchbox website. Plus everything featured in the month's birchbox is free shipping. Did I mention every dollar you spend in the shop is worth 1 point. Plus you can earn points from referring people, or just signing up.
This months theme is "March Madness". Not really sure how these items fit the theme but I'll take them. Every month there are several different boxes that go out, the one you recieves depends on the initial survey you fill out. I kinda feel like the boxes are sent out at random. But honeslty I've had rather good luck with my boxes over the last year,  compared to others so maybe they do pay attention to the survey.
 
The first item I pulled out was Whish Shave Cream -
it's a  rich lotion full of organic and natural botanicals that soften skin.
  I got the scent blueberry which is super yummy but could easily get overwhelming. 
It reminds me of EOS shave cream. The pomegranate raspberry scent is the only shaving cream I use since I discovered it last year! You can find it at Target for around 3 dollars for 7 oz.
A full size is 5 oz and sells for $20
 It seems like a lot for some shaving cream if you ask me.
It's a good size sample 0.75 oz . I will easily get several uses out of it.
Sample Value = $2.94

a ultra-gentle shampoo formulated without sulfates to ensure it removes buildup without stripping color. It's full of lots of good things like white tea antioxidants, apple and lemon extracts.
It has a nice clean shampoo smell. No fruity or sugary sweet scents here.  It reminds me of soap but in a good way.
I'm happy they sent a nice size sample and not one of those foil packets. I need to wash my hair a couple times to see how well a shampoo works, and with the foil packets I barely get one use. I have a lot of hair.  
The sample is 2 oz which is good for a couple shampoos (shampooings?). 
A full size is 8 oz and goes for $22.  

Sample Value = $5.50

It's a super cute emery board. Nothing special except for the design. 
I love Madewell designs and this emery board is no different.  
It's a full size emery board that costs $5.
It's a bit pricey for an emery board but it is cute!

Sample Value = $5

 The last items I got in my box were makeup so I was super stoked. 
 Both items were by the brand Make
It's a brand I never heard of but after researching they seem like and awesome company. They donate 1/3 of all their sales to a non-profit organization. They also do not test on animals which is always good to hear.

The first of the two things I got was an Satin Finish Eyeshadow. Yay eyeshadow! 
 It's this pretty slate gray color called Cement. 
I was extremely disappointed when I swatched the shadow.
Left- No primer, multiple layers    Right- On top of Urban Decay primer, multiple layers
It was buttery smooth but lacked pigmentation. 
I'm going to try it wet before I completely throw it out. 

It's a good size sample 0.03 oz and I love the packaging. 
 A full size shadow is 0.10 oz and retails for $18.

Sample Value = $5.45 

The final item was a  SPF Face Primer

It has an SPF of 30 so it's great for helping protect your skin from those nasty UV rays.
It's nearly scent free, it has a very, very faint sunblock smell. Nothing noticeable at all.  
Texturally it reminds me of a watery sunblock lotion. Not exactly thick or thin. It somewhere in between, and it's not as smooth feeling as I prefer my primers to be.
It's white in color and even when blended out it leaves your skin with a whitened tint, just like certain sunblock.
Like the other samples in the box, its a really good size at 0.18oz.
Full size is 1 oz and costs $30 

Sample Value = $5.40 

BOX TOTAL VALUE = $24.29 
All and all Birchbox has done it again and sent me a really good box. I'm easily use everything, except maybe the eyeshadow. I figure after I review the products which is worth $5, the box itself is only costs $5. 

So what did you get in this months birchbox?
 
Thanks for reading!

Love, Elle.  

     

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Love Me Some Revlon Lippies

I love me a good sale. But where I live we don't have CVS and the closet Walgreens isn't exactly close.  Luckily though I do have a Riteaid right down the street. Since I moved to Portland, I think I've only gone a couple times but I'm glad I decided to stop by last night. 

All Revlon lip products are on sale for $4.99
And I LOVE Revlon lip products. They are easily my favorite brand for lip products. Both high end and drugstore. Other brands have a good lipstick or a nice lip gloss but Revlon seems to do no wrong when it comes to lip products. I am little bit obsessed with their lip butters and maybe even more obsessed with their lip balm stains. Their lip glosses aren't sticky and their new suede lipsticks are a nice matte. So all and all I love Revlon lippies and right now is the perfect time to stock up or try  them out for yourself. I'm sure the sale ends today since most sales are Sunday -Saturday, so if you have time stop by your local right aid and pick some up. I may just head back later and pick up a couple more. I would of grabbed more last night but I wanted to be super I didn't grab duplicates.

Love, Elle



Random Bits and Bobs - I'm still figuring out what direction this blog is going to go. Should I just stick with makeup and beauty related stuff or should I include fashion and other random hauls. Maybe do daily blogs are different things. IDK just some ideas I'm working on. 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

2013 Color of the Year: Emerald

It's that time of year again when Pantone declares the color of the year. And this year's color is....(drum roll please)  EMERALD. I'm sure you could tell from the title or the giant swatch below.  Emerald is a beautiful color and I'm pretty happy that it was chosen. If you aren't exactly sure what emerald is, Pantone describes it as, "a lively, radiant, lush green". 
So who is Pantone, and what is color of the year? Well Pantone is basically the authority when it comes to color.Pantone identified over a thousand colors using a set of numbers, making it so people and companies can refer to the number and insure the color is the same. The color of the year is a way for us to know what is on trend. Everyone from interior designers to fashionistas will be using it as inspiration. So prepare to see emerald everywhere.
 Emerald is a pretty color but one can only have so many emerald shirts or scarfs.An easy way I find to stay in trend with the color of the year is with makeup.With makeup you can play with the color and go as intense or as minimal as you wish. Sephora+Pantone create a line with the color of the year, making it easy for us to stay on trend. Besides the Sephora+Pantone collection, emerald can be found in many other makeup lines.
 Here are a couple of my favorites:

Eyeshadows

                   Inglot                                 Make Up Forever                                  NARS                                       L'Oreal
               Eyeshadow                             Eyeshadow                               Duo Eyeshadow               Infallible Eyeshadow
                385 Matte                168  Iridescent Lagoon Green                            Misfit                                   Golden Emerald
                $6/0.08 OZ                                   $20/0.08 OZ                                        $34/0.14 OZ                                     $7.99/0.12 OZ
             Available here                        Available here                               Available here                             Available here

 
Creme Eyeshadows & Eyeshadow Bases
                                  Urban Decay                     NYX                         Maybelline NY             Make Up Forever
                 24/7 Glide-O   Jumbo Eye Pencil             Color Tattoo                   Aqua Cream
               Shadow Pencil                   624A                           Edgy Emerald                22  Emerald Green
                       Clinic              Rocky Mountain Green       $6.99/0.14 OZ                          $23/0.21 OZ
                   $20/0.1 OZ                       $4.49/0.18 OZ                Available here                  Available here
 
Eyeliners
                                    Yve Saint Laurant                            Buxom                                Bobbi Brown
                                Liquid Eyeliner Moire                Insider Eyeliner              Long Wear Eye Pencil
                                  9 Emerald Reflection                         Emerald                                    Hunter
                                             $34/0.1 OZ                                      $14/0.01 OZ                    $24/0.04 OZ
                                         Available here                          Available here                      Available here

Mascara

Make Up Forever
Smokey Lash
4 Green
$23/0.23 OZ
Available here 

Lips

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Lip Tar
Power Plant
$18/0.33 OZ 
Available here

Nail Polish

                                                                            Illamasqua                            Essie
                                                                            Nail Varnish                      Nail Polish
                                                                                  Elope                              Pretty Edgy
                                                                                $14/0.5 OZ                             $8/0.46 OZ
                                                                          Available here                   Available here

 Inglot   Eyeshadow-385 Matte 
         The perfect matte emerald shadow! It's a creamy powder formula that packs a punch of pigment.  Definetly check out their freedom system if you haven't.                         
Make Up Forever -168  Iridescent Lagoon Green
         A super soft powder, that blends out effortlessly. A lighter emerald almost blue/green shade with tons of tiny gold shimmer.                                                     
NARS Duo Eyeshadow Eyeshadow - Misfit    
         Probably my favorite shadow of the group, for color and formula. It is a rich emerald shade with a light golden shimmer. It's paired with beige shade, so it makes wearing emerald shadow a bit easier.                     
L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow- Golden Emerald
          A super velvety formula makes this shadow last all day. It's more of an almost mossy green with tons of small golden shimmer. A much more wearable alternative.
Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil- Clinic
          This creme pencil allows you to get a kick of color on the go. Easily blendable and super pigmented, with amazing staying power. It's a true emerald shade with silver sparkle.             
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil- 624A Rocky Mountain Green
          A pretty emerald shade with a sheen. As super cremy and pigmented eye pencil that works wonders as a base. Intesifies any shade you place on top of it with little to no creasing. I do recommend a primer for those with oily lids.    
Maybelline NY Color Tattoo- Edgy Emerald
          My favorite creme shadow/shadow base of all time. Both high end and drug store. Creamy at first, it dries pigmented and doesn't budge. It's a lighter, paler emerald shade.
Make Up Forever Aqua Cream- 22 Emerald Green
           A brighter emerald green, with a metallic finish a a strong yellow undertone. It's a creamy formula that stays put for hours and blends easily. It's a great base for eyeshadows.
 YSL Liquid Eyeline Moire- 9 Emerald Reflection
          Great liquid liner! Super long lasting with a small applicator perfect for creating a thin line. It's a pretty emerald shade with shimmery reflections.
Buxon Insider Eyeliner- Emerald
          A creamy formula that glides on eyelids and inner rims of eyes easily without any tugging. A deeper emerald shade that flatters many eye colors.
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil- Hunter
         A long-wearing gel fomula now in pencil form. It's a super pigmented deep emerald green. I would not reccomend it for the inner eye rims though.
Make Up Forever Smokey Lash- 4 Green
         One of my favorite mascaras ever! It gives your lashes curl, length and volume without being clumpy. The emrald shade is uber pigmented and offers a cool pop of color.
O.C.C. Lip Tar- Power Plant
         If you haven't tried lip tars, I highly recommend them. They are long lasting and insanely pigmented.  A very very little bit goes a long way. It's a pretty emerald green shade, for those who like to play with color in unexpected ways.
 Illamasqua Nail Varnish- Elope
        A super vibrant, emerald green for your nails. Long wearing with a great shine.
Essie Nail Polish- Pretty Edgy
        You can't go wrong with an Essie nail polish. Long lasting and chip resistant in a nice vivid palmetto green.



I'm looking forward to playing with emerald this year!
Thanks for reading

Love, Elle