E.L.F.ish fun

Went to Target and spent too much money...but found some delightfully inexpensive beauty products by e.l.f.. I got an eyelash curler for a dollar...a DOLLAR! I didn't love the feel of it, but the pad of it fit in my Tarte eyelash curler...so basically I got two replacement pads - still a win.  

Also snagged a Flawless Foundation in Buff for $6.00 and some brush cleaner for $3.00.  The foundation was such a score because I was looking at both Sand and Buff...took a chance on Buff and it's a great match. I've been using it with a faux beauty blender sponge that I picked up at ULTA one day.  I hear great things about the real thing, but since the cheapie knock off has been working so well I haven't worried about it.  

Totally on board to pick up some more e.l.f. next time I visit Target.  Check out the e.l.f. product line here (and check out their "Beauty Bundle" subscription plan...$19.99 every 8 weeks!)

Super affordable, available at Target, and cruelty free to boot!  

Cheers all!

why didn't I think of that?

Two tips I got this week from The Beauty Department and Buzzfeed:

1.  Instead of fixing eyeliner smudges with a q-tip and makeup remover...try a q-tip and eye treatment (i.e. eye cream). I like following The Beauty Department on FB...but whatever floats your boat. For eye cream, I like Derma E, it's has a very light consistency so it would be especially good for day/makeup corrections (about $15.00, ULTA, Puritan's Pride, and other places).

Borrowed from The Beauty Department
thebeautydepartment.com 

2. Spray bobby pins with hair spray to help them stick (before you put them in).  Link to the full "29 Hairstyling Hacks Every Girl Should Know" here. They appear to have borrowed this particular tip from PrettyGossip.com. Pretty Gossip, has reviews and tutorials.  For hair spray, right now I'm using Jason's Thin to Thick Extra Volume Hair Spray. (Around $8.00).  I don't think it's very sticky, but it may be enough to give the bobbys a little help.

Hard Candy

Whilst waiting for my prescription to be filled I sometimes wander the beauty aisle (other times I snag a tabloid from the magazine section and get comfy on a bench).  My wandering brought me to Hard Candy.  I associate this brand with my teenage years (I checked they began back in 1995).  Hard Candy was unattainable to me then (it was beyond my Bonne Bell budget and non-pink nail polish was frowned upon by my mom at the time).

I walked away with their Just Face It (their "featherweight" foundation).  My shade turned out to be 777, how lucky am I?  Pros: For guessing on my shade, it turned out right.  A little goes a long way with this as well and it blends nicely too.  Cons: The pump quit pumping within a week...bummer, but whatev I'm not above unscrewing the lid.

I also picked up their 1,000 lashes mascara in Divine Purple.  Oh yeah, I did it...purple mascara (my inner 15 year old was stoked!).  It's really subtle, just a little hint in the right light.  Pros: Subtle enough for everyday, not at all clumpy. Cons: None that I've found.

Good news for animals...and people who love them

I am aware that not all of my beauty products are cruelty free.  I'm not proud of it, but at this point in time it is what it is and I all I can do is be a more aware buyer in the future.  Good news is that things are getting better for the animals of the world...which may lead to more "leaping bunnies" on our products.  Even China  appears to be getting on board with stopping animal testing! 

While on the look out for the Leaping Bunny I've checked out these sites and hope you'll consider checking them out too:

http://gocrueltyfree.org

White Rabbit Beauty 

Cheers to you, and a lovely weekend too!

~~Tam

fake up 'til you wake up (updated 3/25/13)

There are a couple of mornings a week that I have to wake up earlier than I'd like...and no matter how much sleep I've gotten the night before all I can see in the mirror are the dark circles under my eyes.  I stare bleary eyed at them, willing them to go away.  Then I go through this routine: Apply foundation...still there.  Apply concealer...still there. Wonder if perhaps I have the wrong shade of concealer, too late now must go to work, worry about it later. I've done this for a couple of weeks now, and today I chose to do something about it!

I wandered around trying swatches on my inner wrist,  but was unsuccessful as most were super light or dark...I wanted to check out Benefit's new "fake up" concealers and I was in luck because the girl at Benefit said "Can I help you?"  Yes, please.  So basically this concealer comes in one of the lipstick like tubes with concealer in the inner circle and a hydrating outer circle of Vitamin E and Apple Seed Extract...(in the list of ingredients the E is about the 11th down and the Apple is maybe 5 below that).  Anyways, it's supposed to control creases and diffuse fine lines (here's hoping).  I tried it on in the medium shade and liked it.  **Tried it this morning, over my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation in Sand...quick and east coverage! It's a win.**

I also remembered my ULTA coupon (yay me) and since Benefit is excluded from the savings, I picked up a new gloss (Rimmel's Endless Summer) and Maybelline's Baby Lips (in Quench) just to try them out.  I'm really liking the Maybelline so far, it's got SPF 20 and a nice feel to it.

Endless Summer and Fake Up in Medium, next shot with the Fake Up blended

Tough to see I know, I apologize for the poor lighting...but hey, I'm trying to get more pics in!