E.L.F. Beauty Book Swatches

Fortune Cookie Fortune of the Day: "May life throw you a pleasant curve."

So I went into my local Target the other day shopping for kitty litter and milk. Of course, I also planned to peruse the E.L.F. cosmetics section for one or two small items. ;-) Happy surprise!!!!!! Target has a new E.L.F. endcap display full of fun tools, brushes, and cosmetics, in addition to their regular E.L.F. display. Upon seeing this, I was so excited, I immediately whipped out my phone and took a picture to send to my friend, and fellow E.L.F. addict, Heather. No, I was not the least bit embarrassed to stand there taking pictures of the E.L.F. display, although the red-shirted employees were giving me strange looks indeed. I just couldn't contain myself when I saw that the Beauty Books were there! I've been dying to try the Sparkle Eye Edition Beauty Encyclopedia, but the Eye Brights Beauty Book is the next best thing...and here it was in my shopping cart (along with its little friend, the Neutral Eye Beauty Book)! The Beauty Book contains the same 12 eyeshadow colors and Eye Brightening Eyeliner as the Eye Edition Beauty Encyclopedia, minus the two cream shadows, but with the addition of a mirror. All of this for the bargain price of $5!!! http://www.target.com/s/ref=sr_related_4/189-1362516-6935434?ie=UTF8&keywords=elf%20cosmetics

First of all, let me say that the colors of both the Neutral and Eye Brights palettes are gorgeous...which you might have guessed already, since I'm so excited about them. However, the Eye Brights palette contains 10 Urban Decay dupes! Betcha' didn't know that!!! The Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette, released earlier this year, is in high demand for both Urban Decay devotees, as well as fans of Alice in Wonderland, and has sold out completely from the Urban Decay website. You can still find these palettes on ebay for around $200. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310225589185&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WKF%3F&GUID=e0f645101290a0aad3773d27ffa975f9&itemid=310225589185&ff4=263602_263622

Seven of the shades in the Alice in Wonderland palette are duplicated almost exactly in the E.L.F. Eye Brights Beauty Book...for $5! Looking at it another way, many of the Alice in Wonderland shades are just renamed shades from Urban Decay's Ammo Shadow Box, and ALL 10 shades in the Ammo Shadow Box are duplicated in the Eye Brights Beauty Book. The Ammo Shadow Box retails for $36, and contains much smaller pans of shadow than the E.L.F. Beauty Books offer. http://www.urbandecay.com/products/EyeshadowAmmo.cfm

Judging by the apple-printed price labels, I believe that Target is only offering the Beauty Books, as well as the rest of the items on the new display, for a limited time (i.e. "Back to School"). So get out there as soon as you can to take advantage of the new selection. Of course, you may order the Beauty Encyclopedias from http://www.eyeslipsface.com anytime, but if you just can't wait for shipping, and you don't mind losing the two cream shadows from the Beauty Encyclopedia editions...get out to Target today for the Beauty Books!

Here are the swatches from both palettes (I used the E.L.F. Eyelid Primer [or in this case, "Forearm Primer" ;-) ] from the $1 line under each swatch):

First, the Neutral Eyes Beauty Book:

The colors in the palette

Top Row (the line on the far right is the eyeliner swatch in "Coffee.")

Second Row

Third Row

And now, the Eye Brights Beauty Book:

The palette


A closer view of the colors

First Row with eyeliner swatch in "Black" on far right.
Urban Decay eyeshadow dupes from left to right (Ammo Shadow Box name listed first/Alice in Wonderland Palette name listed second): 1. Polyester Bride/White Rabbit , 2. Sin/Drink Me Eat Me, 3. Grifter/Curiouser, 4. Chopper/Chessur.


Second Row
UD dupes from L to R: 1. Maui Wowie/Wonderland, 2. Mildew (Ammo Shadow Box only),
3. Shattered (Ammo Shadow Box only), 4. Smog (Ammo Shadow Box only).


Third Row
The light silver and purple shades are not Urban Decay dupes, as far as I know. The last two are dupes of Last Call/Queen and Oil Slick/Jabberwock.

So there you have it! Beautiful colors, beautiful price! Thank you, as always, for stopping by my blog! It means so much to me!

Looking hot when it's HOT! Summer wedding edition...

"You like sunshine and fresh air." - Fortune Cookie Fortune of the Day

Not a fortune really...but it was inside my fortune cookie, nonetheless! And it's true; I do love sunshine and fresh air...who doesn't? However, too much sunshine and fresh air, particularly if that air is hot and humid, can cause major makeup meltdown! In this week's youtube video, I show you a look that is very subtle and hot weather-friendly, yet special enough to wear to an occasion such as an outdoor wedding.

And while you're here...here are a few key tips for hot weather makeup:

1. Don't overdo it with powder. It seems like mopping up sweat and oil from your face by reapplying powder throughout the day would be helpful. It is actually counterproductive as it tends to cake up on your face and look like a mask. It also settles into fine lines for those of you (us!) that have them. Not good! Use blotting papers instead.

2. Keep all of your makeup (eyes, cheeks, lips) in the same color family and keep everything fairly neutral and natural. You want to make the effects of sweating much less noticeable, as opposed to wearing heavy, dark makeup and having it melt off in an obvious way. You don't want to leave an event looking completely different from when you arrived there!

3. Think shimmer and not sparkle. Keep glitter to a minimum, but if all of your makeup has a slight shimmer to it, it will all blend nicely together should a meltdown happen.

Check out Part 2 of the youtube tutorial for additional tips!

E.L.F. Makeup at TARGET!

"You were born with a 'silver spoon in your mouth.'" - fortune cookie of the day

This is one of those fortunes I had to save because it made me laugh out loud! When the fortune cookie writers get it wrong, they REALLY get it wrong! I was definitely not born with a "silver spoon in my mouth." Odds are, neither were you. For us, and also for women with loads of money who still love a great deal, there is E.L.F. makeup. E.L.F. is an acronym for "Eyes, Lips, Face," and E.L.F. has beautiful, inexpensive makeup shades to complement each of those parts of your body!

This is not your average, cheap makeup. In my opinion, E.L.F. is affordable, luxury makeup. Richly pigmented, the formulations are also very skin-friendly, and many products have been compared by respected makeup gurus to products from MAC and Nars (Studio brushes and Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder, anyone?). Some products, like Complexion Perfection, are all E.L.F.'s own, and give every high-dollar cosmetic company a run for its money! E.L.F. is against animal testing, as well, which is always an important consideration for me.

While I do enjoy getting a big box of fun E.L.F. stuff on my doorstep, and there is nothing more exciting than opening said box and seeing all of those little tubes, compacts, and implements tucked inside the big, clear drawstring E.L.F. bag, I am so jazzed that my local Target now has part of its cosmetics aisle dedicated to E.L.F. products (yes, STUDIO products, too!). I treat myself to a new E.L.F. product each time I visit Target. At $1 or $3, depending on whether the product is from their regular, professional line or from their Studio line, even with my "stay-at-home-mom" budget, I can afford that!

Yes, I realize that E.L.F. constantly has sales codes for their online store that can net you freebies like a professional brush set (with a $20 purchase, use code "EGBST" at the checkout through May 25, 2010) or discounts of up to 50% off Studio line products or even free/reduced shipping offers. These are all great deals, and I've certainly taken advantage of them in the past, and will surely take advantage of them again in the future! However, for various reasons, buying online may be inconvenient or impossible for some of E.L.F.'s customers, and I think it is great that they now have an option for those customers. Plus, for me, it is easier to come up with $1-$3 at a time, as opposed to an online order of $30-$40 at once...which is what I have spent in the past (hey, you gotta make paying that shipping and handling worth it!).

With all of this in mind, I decided to create a makeup look using only products that one can purchase at Target! The products I used were all available at my local Target. Your Target may have a little different selection, but I hope that you will be inspired to create your own look from the E.LF. products you find there. Obviously, you may purchase all of the colors I used at http://www.eyeslipsface.com/, as well. But for those of you without credit/debit cards, teenagers, people who would rather not purchase online, or if you just happen to be in Target and see E.L.F. products and ABSOLUTELY must purchase some (like me!), then this look is for you!

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

"You are contemplating some action which will bring credit upon you." - wisdom from a fortune cookie.

While I'm not necessarily looking for "credit," I have been contemplating an action for quite some time, namely adding videos on makeup, sewing, etc. to my youtube channel. I asked for, and received, a new Zoom video camera for Christmas (thanks to my awesome husband, Bart!). More recently, I've been contemplating starting a blog.

However, up until now, I haven't actually made any youtube videos or written any blogposts. Lame, I know. Isn't it strange how the fear of failure is so strong that many times it stops us from trying...therefore, we fail before we even begin? Sometimes it is hard to push through that insecurity and step out...

Well, this is the week! Though conceived much later, the blog is starting earlier (you're reading it now, by the way... ;-) ). AND... my first youtube video will be up within the week! I'll keep you all posted on that, of course!

My purpose here is multi-layered. Primarily, I'm in need/want of a creative outlet. Writing being one of my first passions, blogging seems like a natural venue for this. Secondly, I hope to pass along some tips, tutorials, and info regarding some of my other passions: makeup, sewing/clothing deconstruction/reconstruction, hairstyling, etc. I'll probably also include a LOT of random stuff about my life: anecdotes about life with small children, music I love, poetry, food, quotes, etc.

Without resorting to "Successories," (those awful, pseudo-inspirational sayings most often found on executive gifts and large, framed portraits of eagles soaring above snow-capped mountain peaks) I also hope to encourage you all, make you smile sometimes, and in some small way, inspire you to find your own creative outlet, be it words, music, art, etc. Do whatever makes you feel as if you've contributed to LIFE today!

I'm planning on adding a bit of "wisdom" from my "fortune cookie fortune collection" (yes, I have one!) to each blog. I have dozens of fortunes I've saved over the years. I keep them in a cute bowl in my kitchen. Each one made me smile, made me think, or simply motivated me. Today I'm going to include an extra one, in addition to the one above:

"Joy comes from adventure today. Time to shake the world."

Shake the world today, everybody!!!! (Even if it is just your own tiny world at home with your two little children. ;-) )