Make-up Monday - E.L.F. Haul Part 2

Mondays' Make-up Madness is way too long for me to keep saying and typing over and over again... So I'm proposing that we just call this Make-up Monday and be done with it.

Of course, you can object, but there's really not much you can do except that. Object, that is.

Well, I am the blog writer. So, tough.

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So, here's part 2 of my E.L.F. haul review...

Studio Brushes

You get what you pay for and a little more. To be honest, these brushes are not life changing. But for the price it is definitely worth it. You can't get brushes out here that are as soft as these for the price that they are selling it for.

This is just the perfect size to blend in your foundation or to apply a little blush. It is not rounded like a kabuki brush. It's a thicker version of a foundation brush.

Now, this brush definitely completes my set. The flat top allows me to really pile on my mineral foundation all at once while allowing me to blend it in with ease.

This, I love. Does what it's supposed to for liquid foundations. The angle is perfect for those tough to reach places. It can also be used for blush application when you really want that perfect contoured look.

This is what I bought this set for. Haha. Since mineral make-up application is definitely messy, this comes in handy for sweeping and cleaning the eyeshadow fall-offs. And it's also great for me as a blush applicator, because I get too red too easily, so just a little bit of blush goes a long way.

This is a funny little thing. I love it because it's thick enough and it really packs on the eyeshadow. It just looks funny. Sort of like someone took scissors to it and cut it off. LOL.

I do not know how I've lived this long without a concealer brush. I am definitely loving this.

Now, this is when you really want to pile on the eyeshadow... I mean really really really pile it on. Great stuff.

Well, it's definitely precise. I used this for my pretend crease and wow. It's like I used a ruler or a pattern or something. Definitely a must have if you're doing creative make-up as well.

This is the same full-size version of the brush that comes with E.L.F. Studio Eyebrow Kit.

This I haven't gotten around to using so much, yet. But I imagine that I will be... It doubles as a tiny blending brush for when you're using way too many colors on a tiny eye canvas. Love it.

So there you have E.L.F.'s Studio Brush line. If you don't still have one, get it. You won't regret this addition to your make-up kit.

While you're at it, get the make-up artist brush belt as well, so you'll have a place to put all those brushes in.

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Brightening Eye Color Quad & Duo Eyeshadow Cream
(...and my make-up disaster)

Now, I know that I can get pretty frivolous with my adjectives sometimes and coupled with my tendency to write with such eloquent, but careless flair, and judging from the last description, I also tend to be oxymoronic and often write and talk in run-on sentences; so all in all, whenever anyone listens or reads whatever I have to say or write, I am surprised that anyone actually understands me, let alone comprehend the graveness of the matter. I reckon that over time, people have managed to not take what I say and write seriously... Which is really how they are supposed to take it as I'm usually almost never serious... However, when I say disaster, I am requesting you all to actually believe me.

Yes, I had a make-up disaster. It's actually epic is what it is. It's even worse than the day that I forgot to bring my eyeshadow brush and had to apply my eyeshadow with my fingers. Or even worse than the time when I thought that I could pull off blue eyeshadow... Oh no, wait... Nothing could be more disastrous than me trying to pull off blue eyeshadow.

Anyway, last Thursday, I started applying my make up during my lunch break. As always. Started piling on the concealer, because heaven knows how much I need it. As always. I then reached for my kabuki brush as always... But was surprised to see that it was not there. I had forgotten that I lent the one in my make-up bag to my mom along with my bronzer for her to use for her office luau party (which she ended up not using by the way).

So there I was with my mineral concealer-ful face with nothing to blend my foundation with. Yes, I probably could have just washed off the concealer, but I figured, I've come this far, why stop.

So, I did what I had to. I used my Everyday Minerals EYE KABUKI BRUSH to apply my mineral foundation on. Yes. On my whole face. Blush, too.

Talk about effort.

So anyway, after the kabuki debacle... I went on to do my eyebrows... Did them wayyyy too dark, I'm sure. Then I went on to try E.L.F.'s Duo Eyeshadow Cream.


Glided on well. But since it's cream I was certain that it would crease so I used E.L.F.'s Brightening Eye Color quad in a similar color to dust on top of it and to use as a brow highlight.


The Duo Eyeshadow cream worked like a charm. It is definitely very pigmented as you would expect cream eyeshadows to be. Blending it needs a little work, because it's very pigmented and because it's cream. But otherwise it's great.

The Quad was not so great. For something that's not mineral, the fall-off was wayyyy too much. The color wouldn't even stick.

I ended up using EDM's Natural Blush as a brow highlight and ended up with this:

Not too shabby for a disaster, eh?

Of course, I wasn't just about to write off the Quads, just like that. So, I went off to try it again... this time with E.L.F.'s Studio Eye Primer.

Much better.

The verdict? They are worth a dollar...

Ano pa naman ba ang gusto mo pa?

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Yesterday, I went E.L.F. all the way. I tried the Shielding Hydrotint (Tone 2) and the All Over Cover Stick (Fair). As well as the Custom Eyeshadows.

Since going mineral this was going to be my first time to use something all over my face that wasn't mineral... So I was a little apprehensive.

The All Over Coverstick wasn't so bad. It was just a little sticky. LOL. I don't know... Maybe I'm just not used to having non-powder stuff on my face.

The shielding hydro-tint, I would actually love if it provided more coverage. See, people like me need a looottt of concealer and foundation... The tint has this orange-y kind of smell which is really nice.

The custom eyeshadows are ok. They're not good, but not bad. They're alright. I used Sage, Moondust, Pink Ice, and Ivory.

Not too great, but not all bad.

The verdict? If your skin doesn't need so much coverage, the Shielding Hydrotint and All-Over Coverstick is definitely for you. The Custom Eyes kit is a nice thing to have, but not a definite must-have.

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And now for the pièce de résistance...

E.L.F's Mineral Eyeshadows

...Can I just type I LOVE IT SUPER SOBRA GRABE!!! in all caps without looking like such a total spaz?

The best thing about these eyeshadows are that they do not have much fall-off if any at all. I mean, the shadows go from the container to your brush and from your brush to your eyes completely mess-free. How awesome is that?

Pretty darn awesome I'd say. I didn't get to take a lot of pictures of me using them, but rest assured, that you will probably tire of pictures of me using them, in the coming days.

One thing that some people may not like so much about it is that it is SHINING SHIMMERING SPLENDID. Oh and plus since there's not so much fall-off, blending it is not as easy as other eyeshadows. Because it just really sticks.

But those are just minor things for me, so, yeah...

E.L.F.'s Mineral Eyeshadows = A+++++++++++++

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If you still haven't purchased your E.L.F. haul, I suggest you go do so as soon as you can.

They've got a 50% off sale on their studio line - which means the brush set mentioned above is now priced at $15. Imagine that?

Where else are you gonna get ten brushes for a little over AED50?

Go get yourself some of those mineral eyeshadows too. I promise you won't regret it.

By the by, my cousin also mentioned that NYX Cosmetics is also on sale. So, you may want to check that out too.

Both sites don't ship directly to the United Arab Emirates, so you'll have to apply for Shop & Ship with Aramex. That or if you can wait, the girls and I are pooling our orders again, so if you want to get in on that, let me know so we can schedule a meet-up-make-up-shopping-thing.

Lovelovelovelove.

Happy Monday!