January Haul.

Okay, now that we got the new NYX stuff out of the way, I can show you the rest of the goods I’ve grabbed over the past month. Here we go!

I got a three pack of these Essie polishes for $6 on clearance. There’s ‘Matte About You’ topcoat, ‘Minimalist’ (baby pink), and ‘Macks’ (blood red). The ULTA polishes were .97¢ each and are ‘Frosted’ (it looks like snow!) and ‘Envy’ (a gorgeous blue green metallic). Also grabbed two sets of nail decals for $1 each. All from ULTA.

I got the Revlon pedicure set for .97¢ on clearance- can’t beat it, this is a total pedi-egg wannabe. The Sally Hansen Pumice scrub was $1.97 and the L’Oreál Dry Hair Oil $1.33- both on clearance at work. I’m so excited to try the hair oil as it’s labeled for fine hair! Yay!

These NYX HD Primers are marked down from $16.99 to $4.25- I grabbed two. You can’t beat that price! The Eyelure LashFix ($5.00) is a new product and is black tinted lash glue. I like Eyelure- hopefully this glue won’t let me down. I finally tracked down the ELF Makeup Lock & Seal set ($3) and can’t wait to mix my own eyeliners! I also got the ELF Translucent Setting Powder ($3), another ELF Angled Liner Brush ($3), and this Flowery Black Brown Lengthening mascara ($2, clearance). The mascara is nothing to write home about and I found it pretty dry. I added some eyedrops and that helped a little, but it’s still not great. I got the ELF and Flowery from Walmart. (Ps, did you know Walmart carries ELF now?!).

I got the ELF Lip Exfoliator ($3) and the Lip Prep & Plumper ($3). Do not buy the lip prep and plumper-save your $3! I just generally don’t like it, I think they both move too much, and the plumping is nowhere to be found- it’s just cinnamon. These CoverGirl Lipsticks were $3.29 each on clearance at ULTA. Here are swatches:

The formula of these lipsticks is great- very moisturizing and I absolutely love the colors! Great buy!

The Hard Candy palettes are $6 each, full price. That’s a good amount of shadow for that price and I’ve had prior luck with their shadows. Let’s hope these are the same for me. The WNW Fergie Palette was $2 on clearance at Walmart and I bought it because the one shade looks identical to Urban Decay’s ‘Blackheart’ eyeshadow. After swatching- dupe alert! It’s identical.

These ULTA shadows were .97¢ on clearance and are very generous in size. Two of the colors are basics and one metallic sea green.

These ULTA gel liners were $1.49 each on clearance and the blushes $2.99 each, also on clearance. I actually really like the quality of the ULTA brand cosmetics and these items were no different. The matte mousse blushes are absolutely stunning.

I also got the Urban Decay Perversion Cream Liner ($22), the Perversion Angled Liner Brush ($16), and the Tweezerman Line Glider Brush ($3.50 on clearance, originally $14). The Salon Perfect Lashes were on clearance at Walmart for $2 a pair, and I grabbed literally the last three pairs of the NYX Wicked lashes from clearance at ULTA.

Hope you enjoyed this haul beauties!

xxx&o Meg

ELF Brush Shampoo Review.

I recently picked up a bottle of ELF’s Brush Shampoo. It said it was a new product and at only $3, I had to try it out. I’ve been dreading it, but my three gazillion makeup brushes desperately needed a cleaning! Here are my findings:

This brush shampoo had the consistency of liquid hand soap or baby shampoo. It’s pretty good at removing all the makeup from the brushes, but takes some swirling and effort to get them completely clean. They dried quickly and look great. I would recommend this product because it’s pretty cheap, a little goes a long way and it’s antibacterial unlike other cleansing methods. It’s also non scented. Have you tried it before? Let me know in the comments below!

xxx&o Meg

Eye Shadow Primer Showdown.

If you read my blog, then you know how obsessed I am with primers- especially ones for eye shadow. If you’re going to splurge on nice shadows, it only makes sense to do the same on the perfect primer! Here, I will go over six of my favorites, drugstore and high end, and show you why they’re so awesome. I swatched each primer using loose shadows to really emphasize the importance of priming and subjected each to a ‘rub test’. Please click images to view larger.

First up we have the ELF Eyelid Primer:

The ELF Eyelid Primer retails for $1 at Target! It’s definitely a steal at that price, but as you can see- it’s not the best of the bunch after the rub test. I swatched this using the ULTA Color Pure Eye Shadow Pigment in ‘Riviera’ ($8 at ULTA).

Next, we have Hard Candy Eye Shadow Primer:

The Hard Candy Eye Shadow Primer retails for $5 at Walmart. For this price and the amount of product you get, it’s uneatable. Even after the rub test, it still pulls through. I swatched this using the Napoleon Perdis Loose Eye Dust in ‘Pink Champagne’ ($25 on the website).

Next, Pur Minerals Cease Crease Eye Shadow Primer:

Pur Minerals Cease Crease Eye Shadow Primer retails for $18 at ULTA. This primer works fabulously and still looks great after the rub down. I swatched this using ULTA Color Pure Eye Shadow Pigment in ‘Sepia’ ($8 at ULTA).

Next, we have Too Faced Shadow Insurance:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance retails for $18 at ULTA. This primer is bulletproof! As you can see, there’s barely a difference post rub test. I swatched this using ULTA Color Pure Loose Eye Shadow in ‘Mesa’ ($8 at ULTA).

Next up, Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow Primer:

Lorac’s Behind the Scenes retails for $21 at ULTA. This is another great primer choice, it’s just a bit more pricey that the others. You will come home looking like you freshly applied your shadow, that’s for sure. I swatched this using ULTA Color Pure Loose Eye Shadow in ‘Henna’ ($8 at ULTA).

And finally, the holy grail, Urban Decay Original Primer Potion:

Urban Decay Primer Potion retails for $20 at ULTA. This primer is the one that made me see the light- as you can see, it’s completely unchanged by direct rubbing! Now that’s how to stay flawless. I’ve been using this since high school and won’t ever stop. It comes in four varieties including an anti-aging formula and lasts forever before you’ll run out. I swatched this using Napoleon Perdis Loose Eye Dust in ‘Star Light’ ($25 on the website).

The moral of the story here, is that you get what you pay for. It may seem crazy to spend twenty or more on a primer, but I promise it really is worth it. Most shadows won’t show their true potential without one! They also cut down on fallout, color transferring and smearing, and some even come with skin care benefits. That’s a win in my book.

If you like the ULTA shadows I swatched- they’re on sale until November 29th for $5 each, and they make fabulous stocking stuffers! They are nearly exact, in terms of quality, to the high end Napoleon ones- and you get a ton of product. Hope this helped lovelies! Stay tuned- I’m posting my Vice 3 looks tomorrow! 🙂

xxx&o Megan