Beauty bargains - My top ten E.L.F. cosmetics part 2

Continuing on with my previous post (see part one here), here are the final five products in my top 10 E.L.F. list.  All product photos are once again taken from their website but are all products that I own. 

6)    Studio Blush $3.00

I have Tickled Pink and Candid Coral, both have great pigmentation so you don’t need much product to get a great result. Tickled pink is a nice flattering pink and close to what you’d imagine a color with this name to be.  Candid Coral is less coral than I thought & has quite a bit of pink in it but still lovely. Both have a slight shimmer but nothing overwhelming. The packaging of these blushes is so great, little window on top to see the color inside as well as a helpful little mirror inside.  Great little blushes. 

7)    Essentials Shimmering Facial Whip $1.00

I have Toasted – a brownish taupe color, Pink lemonade – a glossy pearly pink and Spotlight – a pearly white hue.  Comes in small easy to use tubes.  I use my fingers to blend these on the tops of my cheekbones or wherever you want a nice highlight. A little goes a long way so go easy.  I like to use the spotlight under my foundation for a nice glow.  Pink lemonade won a 2008 Allure best of beauty award but for my $1, Toasted is my favorite. 

8)    Essential Eye Shadow Brush $1.00

I can’t say enough great things about this eye shadow brush and how much I love to use it.  It is soft and just dense enough, packs on powder really well and I find myself reaching for it every day.  I need to get at least two more ‘just in case’ brushes.  You will love it, don’t hesitate to get it.

9)    Bath & Body body lotion in Vanilla Coconut $4.00

This lotion smells beyond amazing.  If you are into vanilla or coconut, or both, you must try this.  The lotion itself is quite thick but not so much that it doesn’t absorb well.  I love how my skin feels after I put it on and I love how I smell even more.  The smell doesn’t last forever but that just gives me a good excuse to re-apply.  I usually get tired of a lotion half way thru the bottle but not this one.  I’m almost done my first tube & have already bought a second.  If you want soft skin that smells great, try this.

10)    Studio Bronzers $3.00

What can I say, I love this bronzer.  I have the Golden, which is a shimmery blend of champagne, golden & bronze shades.  The shimmer is there but it’s not over the top, and happily it does not appear glittery on your face.  It is perfect to use as a highlight when swirled together or you can experiment with using each color on their own.  Fun to play with & gorgeous results. I plan on getting the other two color combinations & am really interested to try the cool bronzer, which is matte.  You can’t go wrong with this. 

  Given the prices it might be something you want to check out for Christmas gifts (yes it’s getting to be that time).  These would make great stocking stuffers or even a present for yourself.  For those new to their site, they always have some sort of sale or promotion ongoing, or you can google ELF coupon codes to find a deal. 

There are many other products I plan to try so you may not see your favorite E.L.F. product on this list.  The one downside with this company is their shipping.  They tend to be slow (at least 2 weeks to receive an order) and their shipping costs are high.  Just something to keep in mind when ordering, as you may want to combine an order with a friend to keep it more affordable. 

I’d be curious to hear what your top E.L.F. choices are, so please feel free to share.  

Beauty bargains - My top ten E.L.F. cosmetics part 1

For those of you who don't know about E.L.F. cosmetics, they offer some great inexpensive beauty products. Inexpensive but not cheap, important difference. I hadn’t even heard of this cosmetics company until this past spring (shock, gasp), but now I kind of feel like I’ve discovered something great.  

Most of their products range in price from $1 to $3, but don't be fooIed by that. I think a lot of people would discard the idea of buying such inexpensive make-up, assuming it couldn't be any good or it must be full of toxic cheap materials.  


All E.L.F. products are hypoallergenic and non-comodegenic; as well they do NOT test on animals or use any animal derived ingredients. Unlike some higher end brands, E.L.F. actually lists their product ingredients right on their website. They have also had several mentions in magazines including 'O', People, Seventeen, Redbook, Marie Claire & Allure, where some of their products have won Allure beauty awards.  


Their philosophy:

We at e.l.f. believe that innovative technology, quality ingredients and superb delivery systems should not be limited to prestige retailers. Every woman should have the opportunity to participate in innovation, without sacrificing her budget. We hope you agree and invite you to experience e.l.f.’s revolutionary, value-priced cosmetics and the proven results they offer.

This company is primarily sold online at eyeslipsface.com.  In Canada you can also find some of their products at Zellers & occasionally Homesense, but it is a very limited selection.  In the States I understand that Target carries some E.L.F. products, as well as the occasional dollar store.  


Since finding E.L.F., I’ve recommended it to many others and have already placed a few orders.  In fact I may be developing a problem. Anyway, I've seen a few of these best of blogs and videos & really enjoy them.  I've decided to share my top 10 E.L.F. picks, based on what I've tried so far. It was hard to narrow down my favorites to only 10, really hard, but I think I've finally decided on my list.  Given the amount of information, I’m going to break this up into two blog posts. 

So in no particular order, here are my first five favorite E.L.F. products (all pictures are taken from their website but are products I own):

1)    Studio Powder Brush $3.00

The hype on this brush is well deserved and all true.  It is a must have E.L.F. brush.  I use it primarily to buff and blend my liquid and powder foundations, but it is certainly not limited to that.  This brush is soft with a great density and I have had no issues with shedding.  Often sells out on their site, must must have.

2)    Essentials Brightening Eye Color $1.00

     I don’t hear as much hype about these eye quads as I think they deserve.  I have the quads in ethereal and brownstone.  The colors on the website are not particularly true to the actual product.  Website says they give your eyes an awakened brightness, which is very true.  Multi-functional, I use them on their own as well as under/over other shadows.   Packaging is a bit flimsy & the shadow size is fairly small...but hey it's $1.
 Try them!

3)    Essentials Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 $1.00

     Beautiful little lip glosses. Excellent color payoff, these are surprisingly quite opaque.  My favorite colors so far are Candlelight & Pink Kiss.  Website pictures give a pretty accurate depiction of the true colors.  Not too sticky, smell like candy & the SPF is a bonus.  Beautiful on their own or over lipstick.  Gotta get at least one! 

4)    Mineral Booster powder $5 small .18 oz or $8 large .63 oz

 This is another under rated product in my opinion.  I have both the sheer & tinted powders.  The tinted is a little dark on it’s own so I usually mix the two together for a natural healthy glow.  I use it as a finishing powder, sets my make-up beautifully and makes my face appear flawless…or less flawed anyway.  They suggest using a Kabuki brush to apply this but you can also use the Studio Powder Brush with great results.  Try the small first to see if it works as well for you.

5)    Essential Shine Eraser $1.00

These are amazing little…well, shine erasers.  Oil absorbing & mattifying, these work great.  They are a little larger than similar products I’ve tried and I feel like they not only blot any excess oil but that they do something great for my skin.  One of the bests.

Stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

The case against eye cream - Paula Begoun

Do you think you need an eye cream?  Do you believe that eye creams are specially formulated to work miracles around your eyes?  Do you think that you can get rid of those dark circles?

Yes?  You may want to read the following article about eye creams from Paula Begoun & the beauty bunch blog. 

Almost every cosmetics company you can think of sells at least one eye cream and many sell more than a dozen, yet no one needs a product specifically labeled as an eye cream! What that means is the cosmetics industry has done an outstanding job convincing women eye creams are essential to eliminate everything from wrinkles to sagging skin, dark circles, and puffiness around the eye.  I’m here to tell you (and Paula has been saying this for years) to call off the search, it is wasting your time and money!

Even the cosmetic companies don’t believe their own claims about what the eye creams they sell can do. If even one eliminated or reduced sagging skin, dark circles, wrinkles, or puffiness why would they need to launch new ones every year making the same promises? In the nearly 11 years that I have been part of The Cosmetics Cop Team, I have received thousands of emails and have yet to receive one from anyone who says the eye cream they are using has solved their concerns.

Here are the facts:

• There is no research proving that the skin around the eye area needs something different from skin elsewhere on the face.

• I hate telling you this, but there are no cosmetic ingredients that change dark circles under the eye or get rid of sagging, puffy eyes, or crow’s feet (these lines show up on the face and the eye area, which makes all the theories about eye creams even more foolish).

• What you get when you buy an eye cream is a small amount of product (often half the size of a face product) that is twice as expensive.

• Eye creams are often sold as being gentle and fragrance-free, so they’re “safe for the delicate eye area.” So, in essence, you are being told the eye area gets the good ingredients and the face gets the bad ones. The entire face needs to be treated gently and not exposed to irritating ingredients. More to the point, most eye creams DO contain fragrance AND coloring agents!

• You have probably heard that the eye cream needs to be lighter-weight because the skin there is thinner, but most eye creams are anything but lighter; they are usually thick creams, where the face product is almost always lighter in texture. Regardless, thick or thin, when skin is dry it needs emollients and skin-repairing ingredients to prevent moisture loss and restore a smooth, supple feel.

• Most eye creams are packaged in jars and that is a problem because as soon as you open the jar, the beneficial ingredients (assuming there are some in the formula) begin to deteriorate due to light and air exposure. It’s also unsanitary to dip your fingers into a jar every day!

• No one in the cosmetics industry (ingredient manufacturers, salespeople, or cosmetic chemists) has ever explained exactly what ingredients the eye area needs that the face doesn’t when it comes to dry skin, wrinkles, puffy eyes, or sagging skin—and we’ve asked hundreds of people over the years!

• If a “face” product is well formulated for dry skin and fighting wrinkles, you can use it anywhere on the face and beyond.

There are many myths about why you need eye creams, but that is just what they are, myths. Day after day, week after week, year after year we are constantly told “I’ve tried everything to get rid of [insert eye-area concern here],” and yet the problem persists. Of course it persists; these products cannot work as claimed, and you’re being mislead and wasting your money, time and time again. I’m not saying you don’t need a brilliantly formulated moisturizer for around the eye area; it just doesn’t need to be labeled an eye cream with a higher price tag than the accompanying face product.

We suspect many of you won’t believe us and will continue using an eye cream just in case, but before you do, stop and compare the ingredient list for the eye cream you’re considering (or are currently using) with its counterpart facial moisturizer. You will be shocked at how similar they really are, which further stresses our point that eye creams are not necessary. They’re a whim of the cosmetics industry designed to play on consumer’s fears of the one area where signs of aging are the most pronounced.

So what are your thoughts?  Do you use an eye cream...and will you keep using one?

Top five favorite things – Shower edition

The following are five of my 'must have' things to use in the shower.  Hope you like choices & it gives you some ideas for your next trip to the drugstore.


                  Schick Intuition Plus Shaver

This is one of those shavers with the built in shave cream bar, and requires no extra shave gel.  Love that!  No fuss, no muss and this works great.  Clean, close shave with ease.

Soap
Kind of a given right?  I use both liquid & bar soap in the shower.  I prefer liquid soap that doesn't dry out my skin & smells great.  Not too much to ask. Right now I'm loving St. Ives liquid soaps and my current favorite scent is the Oatmeal & Shea Butter.  So creamy & smells amazing!

I love the Body Shop bar soaps. My favorite scent is Satsuma! I buy these soaps in multiples and take the wrapper off when I get them home.  I then leave them in my lingerie drawer until I’m ready to use them.  This not only makes the soap last longer, but will leave your clothes with a beautiful scent.

 Foot file

This is a must have in your shower.  Make sure to use when your feet are soft & damp.  I use this near the end of my shower.  It gets rid of any rough skin and keeps your heels soft.

Body Scrub
Body scrubs are essential for sloughing off dead skin & leaving your skin softer & smoother.  There are a lot of great ones out there & you can even make your own if you're feeling ambitious.  I am currently using St. Ives Apricot Scrub, which I originally bought to use on my face.  I found it a little too harsh for a face scrub but perfect for a body scrub.  Gorgeous, soft scent as well!

Body Pouf

As I like to use liquid soap, these are a must have.  Not only do they lather up nicely, which extends the life of your soap, but they also help exfoliate the skin.  The synthetic mesh fabric helps keep bacteria from growing on your pouf but make sure to change them out about every two months. 

Other than the Body Shop soaps, you can get any of these products at your local drugstore.  If you don’t have a Body Shop nearby you can use any glycerin type soap in the same way. 

Happy showers!

Free gift with purchase - Clinique Bonus time at Sears

For those who may have missed it last month at the Bay, it’s Clinique bonus time again at Sears.  All you have to do is spend $26.50 or more to receive this great gift worth $70. Apparently this offer is valid both online at Sears.ca or in stores.  Offer is valid from Saturday October 30 until Friday November 5th, while quantities last.  This would make a great Christmas gift for yourself or someone else!  Check it out.   

Gift includes: 

• Pop-Up Brush with Mirror

• High Lengths Mascara in Black - 4 mL

• 2-in-1 Lipstick & Gloss Duo, in Different Raspberry Glacé 1.3 g & Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Fireberry 4.5 mL

• Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent - 60 mL

• Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser - 30 mL

• Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion - 30 mL

• Cosmetics Bag

Beauty love – Shout out

I wrote the following a few weeks ago & was waiting to post it, after seeing a few similar blog posts recently.  I decided to post it now after my 1st shout-out was nominated for a new Youtube feature called 'On the Rise'.  Please have a look at my post and then go & vote here!


Now on to what I had originally planned to say....
A few of you may not be aware of some of the negativity that exists in cyperspace.  I have been quietly watching youtube beauty videos and reading beauty blogs, for about a year now.  What has surprised me the most is some of the rude and hateful comments coming from a few people.   It is shocking to me that someone would take the time, effort and energy to try and hurt someone, let alone someone they don’t even know.  My mother always taught me that if you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.  I guess these people weren’t as fortunate to have someone teach them that life lesson.

I have a read & watched a few responses to these ‘haters’, that were thoughtful and well done.  I’ve decided that instead of giving any more attention to the negativity, I’m going to come at it a bit differently. 

I thought I would periodically post some blogger love.  This is basically going to be shout-outs to other bloggers or youtube beauty gurus or both, that I enjoy reading or watching.  I have seen a lot of people in this beauty community support each other and I think if more of us did that, we’d eventually drown out the negativity.  So on that note….

 One of the very first beauty videos I watched was by my first shout-out.  I was searching for a youtube video on using rollers in my hair and found her by accident.  I immediately loved her enthusiasm and energy and thought she seemed genuinely interested in passing along her knowledge to others. I ended up spending a lot of time watching as many of her videos as I could.  She is a professional tv broadcaster, which is apparent when you watch her.  She has a way of giving you a lot of information, always in a friendly and informative way, never condescending. Because of her I discovered some new things that I now love, and a whole new appreciation for drugstore products.  The idea of my blog is that you don’t always have to have the most expensive products to get the best results and she is all about that, which is so refreshing.  She is encouraging and supportive to others who are doing their own blogs or videos, and has a facebook page where she allows people to share their ideas and support each other.  She is truly now one of my favorites and I look forward to watching her every chance I get. 

Beauty shout-out goes to ………  

Emilynoel83 aka Emily Eddington

Emily with her new kitten Cupcake

Thanks Emily for being such a true beauty.  You are a great example to follow & I appreciate all the time and effort you put into your videos. 

I have posted the link to the original video I watched here (Velcro roller tutorial) but please go to her channel, subscribe and have a look through all her work. Trust me you'll want to grab a coffee because you’ll be there awhile! 

Where to find Emily

Youtube:                         http://www.youtube.com/emilynoel83

Blog:                               http://www.beautybroadcast.net

Facebook page(s):            http://www.facebook.com/beautybroadcast

Twitter:                           http://twitter.com/emilynoel83

Email:                             beautybroadcast@hotmail.com

Formspring:                    http://www.formspring.me/emilynoel83

Dailybooth:                     http://dailybooth.com/emilynoel83

My new favorite thing – Hard Candy bronzer in Tiki

Well I have to say, my latest favorite thing is also a fairly new thing for me.  I bought this about two months ago and since then have been LOVING it.  

This product is the perfect combination between a bronzer and highlighter.  Sometimes highlighters can make your face look quite shimmery, especially if you really go to town.  This doesn’t do that. 

My new favorite thing is Hard Candy’s bronzer in Tiki.  It’s a baked bronzer that is described as giving your face a beautiful dewy yet matte finish and that perfect sun kissed look. 

The description doesn’t lie, in my opinion it gives my skin a beautiful glowing finish without the shimmer.  The description of ‘bronzer’ isn’t really that accurate to me.  I find if you use only one application, it’s more of a highlight.  

Almost impossible to capture but I hope this gives you a bit of an idea, can you see the glow??

If you go over your skin a second time you will get more of a bronze color but it is still fairly light. 

I use this brush (Avon's blush brush) to apply it, pushing it down in to the product and swirling it around a little.  

I tap off the excess and then buff it into the apples of my cheeks and along my cheekbone.  The more you buff it the better it seems to get. 

I love it more than my MAC mineralized skin finish in By Candlelight, because I feel I can use it a bit more liberally without making a mistake.  MAC's mineralized skin finish is truly meant to be a highlighter and can be easily over done if you’re not careful.  I also feel that the MAC skin finishes are more of a nighttime product, meant for a nice finish for your night out look. 

The Hard Candy bronzer is a much more ‘day’ friendly product and just gives you more of an overall glow.  And I’m all about the glow.

Hard Candy used to be sold at Sephora but it’s now owned by a different company, who have a partnership with Wal-Mart, & that is where you can now find it.  Hard Candy re-designed their line in 2009 and they have introduced a number of new products, along with some of the original line.  

If you loved Hard Candy before or even if you didn’t, you should definitely check it out.  I pretty much want to own every one of their bronzers & I also have my eye on some of the baked blushes & the Sheer Envy primer. 

Have you tried any Hard Candy?  If so, let me know your favorites.  

Beauty bargain alert - Bath & Body Works

Check out this gift bag from Bath & Body Works.  This would be make a great Christmas gift for someone, or present for yourself.  

I love gift bags like these because they're great for all those gift exchange type gifts.  You also get the chance to try products without having to buy their full size version.  I've seen some great reviews of Patricia Wexler's products & have been wanting to try them.  Her 3 in 1 eye cream even made the Good Housekeeping's best anti-aging product list.  See my Good Housekeeping post here

Gift bag contains 9 products valued at $112, which you can purchase for only $25 if you spend $30 or more.  Enter code GETGORGEOUS at checkout.  

This Limited Edition set features award-winning beauty products from Patricia Wexler, MD – MMPi.20 Skin Regenerating Serum (0.5 oz.) and Instant De-Puff Eye Gel (0.5 oz.), plus a makeup pallette with the season’s hottest colors – six gorgeous eye colors and two cheek colors, three Liplicious Lip Colors (0.47 each) in Frozen Daquiri, Black Cherry and Whipped Vanilla, and samples packettes of Supersmile Whitening Toothpaste and Fekkai Glossing Duo.Over $100 value!

This is available online only and you can only purchase one per order.  Click here if you want to get yours!  

Sensitive Skin Care - Paula Begoun

Oh Paula, I heart you.  Paula Begoun, author of  'Don't go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me', is one of my favorite beauty experts.  I have her book 'The Original Beauty Bible' and it's taught me a lot about skin care and ingredients.  I've started to become much more aware of ingredients that were irritating my skin & so far, my skin is thanking me for it.  

What irritates some people's skin, won't irritate others.  But what she does give you is an idea as to what to look for in your products if you do have a skin reaction.  


Have a look at her suggestions for the care of sensitive skin:


Be Gentle!

For the overall health of your skin, anything you can do to treat it gently is a very good thing. Treating skin gently encourages normal collagen production, maintains a smooth and radiant surface, helps skin protect itself from environmental damage, reduces oil production, and makes pores smaller.

Avoid The Following...

• Overly abrasive scrubs (such as those that contain aluminum oxide crystals, walnut shells, or pumice)
• Astringents containing irritating ingredients (alcohol and menthol being the prime offenders)
• Toners containing irritating ingredients (alcohol and menthol being the prime offenders)
• Scrub mitts (think Buf-Puf)
• Cold or hot water
• Steaming or icing the skin
• Facial masks containing irritating ingredients (watch out for fragrant essential oils and polyvinyl alcohol)
• Loofahs
• Bar soaps and bar cleansers

Common Irritating Ingredients to Avoid

(These are of greatest concern when they appear in the beginning of an ingredient list.) 

SD Alcohol (also known as denatured alcohol) Ammonia Arnica Balm mint Balsam Benzalkonium chloride Benzyl alcohol Bergamot Camphor Cinnamon Citrus juices and oils Clove Clover blossom Coriander Essential oils Ethanol Eucalyptus Eugenol Fennel Fennel oil Fir needle Fragrance Geranium Grapefruit Horsetail

Isoeugenol Lavender Lemon Lemongrass Lime Linalool Marjoram Melissa (lemon balm) Menthol Menthoxypropanediol Menthyl Acetate Mint Oak bark Orange Papaya Peppermint Phenol Sandalwood oil Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfate Sodium lauryl sulfate TEA-lauryl sulfate Thyme Wintergreen Witch hazel Ylang-ylang

Beauty bargain shoppers - Deal alert

Hello!
Couple of quick deals to pass along, to both my Canadian & U.S. readers.

For us Canadian girls,

Rexall drugs has mascara on sale for 50% off from Oct 21-28

          *excludes Elizabeth Arden and L'Oreal Million Lashes

            This would be a great time to stock up on those mascaras you've wanted to try!

My suggestions:

         L'Oreal Voluminous, Maybelline Falsies, Covergirl Lashblast (any variety)

            Covergirl Exact Eyelights, Rimmel Lash Flirt

For ladies in the States, I found a great beauty blog that lists weekly deals at all the stores you 

have access to and we don't.  And at much better prices I might add....lucky girls.  

Check out nouveaucheap's blog for some great beauty bargains!

Happy shopping everyone, have a great day!