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Elf

Make-up

elf Mineral Lipsticks Review

July 2, 2014

elf-mineral-lipsticks

I picked up three of the Mineral Lipsticks from the elf clearance recently, and one of the first things that struck me, was how sexy the packaging was! I am very keen on elf packaging as a whole, especially their Studio line which is often encased in beautifully curved black casings. These lipsticks were no exception and look absolutely stunning (and that’s before I’d even taken the lids off).

elf-lipsticks

I have a fair few elf lipsticks already but I’ve never tried the Mineral Lipsticks. If I’d have known how gorgeous they were, I would have invested in some long ago. No surprise however are the colours I picked, basking in red and pink hues I went for Cheerful Cherry, Ripe Rose and Cool Coral:

elf-mineral-lipstick-swatches

All three are delightfully pigmented and I tried “Ripe Rose” out a few days ago on a very warm day out. It’s longevity was actually brilliant, after I declined to coat this in lipcote, it actually stayed put for almost the entire day. The other thing I like about these is that they don’t leave your lips feeling dry or cracked which I’m guessing is down to the essential oils, waxes and vitamins crammed into them to make such a moisturising formula. Each lipstick cost me just £2.00 in the elf clearance sale and are usually £5.00 available directly from elf’s online store here. Although I’m really enthused by these at the moment, I would have liked to see some brighter colours in this range as many of the shades are the classic berry, neutral and various shades of pink/peach. Alas I’m happy with my purchased shades and they will be added to my “daytime collection” which is expanding at an appalling and worrying rate.

What are your thoughts on the elf Mineral Lipstick range?

Totally hellbent for lipsticks that I can wear all day, that keen my lips soft and supple

-Pants

Make-up

Elf Studio Cream Blush Review

June 10, 2014

cream-blush

I’ve really wanted to try the elf studio Cream Blush pots for ages, so when they were in their recent clearance sale I was overjoyed! I picked out “flirt” which is bright pink and “tease” which is more of a peach/russet colour. When I pulled these out of their boxes, the first thing I noticed was how big the pots were. They are literally the size of my palm and packed with a lot of product. The consistency was quite nice to touch once I’d opened the pots and it took a little bit of playing around with my fingers to get to grips with this.

elf-studioblush-swatch

The formula is a cream to powder, I was actually surprised by how pigmented this was and also how well it blended and applied to the skin. Both swatches above were applied with my fingers, the left side of the swatch is more heavily pigmented as I blended the product towards the right, which worked exceptionally well and was very easy to work with. I was a little worried at first that I would end up with way too much product and struggle to make these look anywhere near natural, but the Cream Blush is easily built up for full control and even easier to blend. I’m yet to try this with an actual make-up brush and I think I’ll definitely need to play with it for a lot longer before I start applying this to my face with a brush and as much as I love the pots in all of their enormity I am afraid these will often be left behind on gig days and festivals because I just wont have space in my makeup bag! With that being the only downfall, I’m definitely going to keep a look out for more cream blush’s in the future.

I picked these up for £3.25 each instead of the usual price of £6.50 so if you hurry, you may still be able to grab it in elf’s 50% off clearance here.

Have you tried any of the cream blush’s? If so, I’d love to know how you found them in the comments below.

Totally hellbent for half price and surprisingly creamy wonders

-Pants

 

Hauls, Make-up, Nails

Elf Clearance Haul Part 2

June 7, 2014

elf-haul-1
elf-haul-more

 

It happened again – well actually no, this happened pre “accidental shopping haul” which is why I felt so guilty about going shopping, knowing that I had already ordered a box of goodies from elf. For those that didn’t know, one of their latest deals was a free “Mystery Collection” (worth £15) when you spent £20 in the clearance section, as well as free p&p. What actually happened, is Gemma asked me whether or not she should go ahead with her elf order (you can check out her haul here), I asked her what she had put in her basket and instead of being the good friend and telling her she didn’t need any more blusher, before I could begin typing my supportive message to her over Skype, I had already filled my elf basket and purchased my order.

Bad Pants … very bad Pants. So what exactly did I order? How many of these did I need? (Absolutely none of them … at all!!!!)

 Mysterious Nail Polish Set – £2.25

Beach Party Nail Polish Set – £2.25

Studio Cream Blush in “Flirt” – £3.25

Studio Cream Blush in “Tease” – £3.25

Primer Eyeshadow in “Sexy Silver” – £2.50

Tinted Moisturiser in “Porcelain” – £2.25

Mineral Lipstick in “Ripe Rose” – £2.00

Mineral Lipstick in “Cool Coral” – £2.00

Mineral Lipstick in “Cheerful Cherry” – £2.00

 

elf-mysterygift

Mystery Collection in “Movie Star” – £15.00

Because I spent £20 in the clearance section, I could choose a “Mystery Collection” for free, worth £15. There were three to choose from; Movie Star, Diva and Night Owl, but after seeing a glimmer of red in the preview, I hoped for the best and bet on Movie Star. Boy am I pleased with my decision, these products all look absolutely perfect and luckily are all things that I usually wear.

Included in the “Movie Star Mystery Collection” were:

Flirty Lash Collection – This includes 2 eyelash sets, an adhesive glue and a pair of tweezers for easy application.

Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon in “Gunmetal”

Mineral Eye Brightener – ( I think in layman’s terms, this is pretty much just a highlight/eye-shadow base)

Studio Lip Gloss Stick in “Movie Star”

Look out for some full reviews of some of these products very soon. Despite me not needing anything I bought, I’m pretty excited at being able to play with some of these, especially in time for festival season. If you fancy a little elf streak, check out their website at www.eyeslipsface.co.uk and see what offers they have to lure you into a purchase!

Totally hellbent for free gifts that come in my colour

-Pants

Hauls

Elf Clearance Haul & Swatches

June 6, 2014
ELF Eyes Lips Face Clearance Haul

ELF Eyes Lips Face Clearance Haul

 

Yes I went shopping again, but as I did it in my pyjamas does it really count? My bank balance says so. However thankfully this massive haul came at a very purse friendly price of £20ish, ELF prices are low even at the full whack, but with a huge clearance sale and a free gift I definitely got more than my moneys worth!

Here are my swatches and first impressions of the haul, as well as the contents of the free gift.

 

ELF Baked Blush

Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky, Pinktastic, Passion Pink & Rich Rose [£1.98]

A girl can never have too many blushers, right? I hope not because this is a very blush heavy haul! These four are all absolutely lovely, though they have a fair bit of shimmer which I know some people like to avoid for cheek products. Rich Rose is looking like my favourite at the moment but I’m looking forwards to giving them all a good try out!

Elf Baked Bronzer in St Lucia

Baked Bronzer in Saint Lucia – [£1.98]

As a happily pale lady I  never use bronzer all over, but I’m always on the look out for great subtle contour products and I think this is one would be a perfect shade for me if it wasn’t quite so shimmery. I’ll probably use this as a light blush when I get a bit of colour to my skin over summer, but if you are pale but still like to bronze up I’d wager this is well worth trying out.

ELF Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 Porcelain

Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 – Porcelain [£2.25]

I don’t like wearing too much base in the hotter months, but I do like to layer up the SPF. This is very thin coverage, but feels very light on the skin, perfect for those no-make-up-make-up days.

ELF Cream Blush Vixen

Studio Cream Blush in Vixen – [£3.25]

I remember everyone going crazy for these when they first came out, and I somehow managed to overlook them at the time. I was surprised at how huge the pot it, definitely something to leave on the dressing table rather than squeeze into a make-up bag. The pigmentation is very bold but it does blend out very easily, just use cautiously if you are in a hurry!

Elf Nail Set Mysterious

E.L.F Essential 3-Piece Nail Polish Set in Mysterious – [£2.25]

I have a love/hate relationship with ELF polishes, and picked this up as I own the middle shade (Metal Madness)  but find the consistency too gunky, I was hoping it was just a problem with that bottle but unfortunately it seems the formula  must be to blame. The purple and Navy shades are lovely though and I do like the adorable mini-bottles.

Elf Primer Eyeshadow Sexy Silver

Primer Eyeshadow in Sexy Silver [£1.25]

I adore my Elf Eye Primer and use it almost every day, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to try a darker shade that doubles up as a colour it it’s own right.  It’s very metallic and shimmery but could only really be used with similar or darker shades.

Elf Baked Eyeshadow Dusk

Baked Eyeshadow in Dusk [£1.98]

I love wearing smoky silver eye looks on stage and seem to have built quite a collection of silver shades (Three alone in this haul! Eek!) Dusk is very pigmented and works well over the top of the Sexy Silver primer. The pan is huge, the same size as the blushers so I imagine it will go off long before I can manage to use it all!

Diva collection

Diva Mystery Collection – Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Pink Umbrellas [£2.95], HD Blush in Diva [£4.50], Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon in Pitch Black [£3.95] & Long Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Celebration [£3.95]

I was pleasantly surprised by the “Diva collection” free gift, and all four are things I will definitely get wear out of. I already have a few of the Jumbo Gloss Sticks and they’re great for throwing on a quick wash of colour. The Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon is going right in my festival make-up bag as the thought of rain resistant black eye-liner that can be blended into waterproof black eye-shadow excites me quite a lot. The HD Blush in Diva is going to take some getting used to, I managed to get it all over my hands whilst trying to do a swatch and it is extremely bright, pigmented and easy to get absolutely everywhere! Finally last but not least another silver eye-shadow to add to the collection!

Did you pick any bargains up in the Elf clearance sale?

Totally hellbent for thinking three silver eye-shadows and seven blushers in one haul is completely acceptable.

– Gem

Make-up

Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

December 4, 2013

elf eyeliner pen

As mentioned in my HD Blush post here, I found a few treats hidden away that I had completely forgotten about. The Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in black was one of them.

I think I bought this before I discovered Eyeko, so when I found it still packaged I was sceptical after using such a great product already, but I dived straight in there and applied this a few days ago.

elf-eyeliner

It’s very black unlike some pen’s I’ve tried where the colour has been more of a grey, and the precision is pretty good. It stayed put all day when I was out and about, until I came to take my makeup off in the evening, so again brownie points given.

I do wonder however, whether this will last or dry up quite quickly, but I guess only time will tell. Overall I’m pretty impressed with this and depending on how it fares, may even consider buying a few more for such dark and dingy places as festivals, where I really don’t want to lose any expensive makeup.

The Elf Waterproof eyeliner is only £2.50 and can be found here on their website.

Totally hellbent for festival substitutes

-Pants

Make-up

Elf HD Blush

November 29, 2013

elf hd blush

You know you have a serious makeup addiction, when you forget about unopened products for months.

I have a little box, that I keep packaging in, for reviewing purposes obviously. Alas, I had a nose in there and to my absolute delight I found two unopened elf products!

One of them was the Elf HD Blush in “Headliner”. I’d wanted this for ages and had completely forgotten that I had bought it on an earlier haul. I hadn’t even opened it to swatch! Anyway, I immediately rescued this from the depths of the box and had a play.

elfhdblushblob

Despite this being a “liquid” blush, it’s actually quite versatile. I only used a small amount when I tried it out and it blended in well with a nice fluffy brush. As you can see from the swatches below, even when more is used, it’s not so overpowering that you can’t work with it and blend it in.

hd-swatch(Left: Concentrated swatch, unblended Right: Small swatch, blended)

The colour is beautiful, there’s a slight shimmer to it and tied in with a good highlighter, I think is is going to look fabulous for the festive season and maybe even on stage.

I’m really pleased with how this looks and feels, since I remember thinking it could go either way after previously trying out “liquid” style blushes.

You can pick up a 10ml bottle of Elf’s HD Blush here for only £3.75. (It’s so large, I think this is going to last me forever!)

Totally hellbent for finding lost treasure

-Pants

Festivals, Metal, Music, Skincare

Pants’ top 5 festival life savers for Summer 2013

September 15, 2013

top 5 festival

 

Well festival season is officially over. Dakesis played Sunkfest and The New Disorder Festival, which were great when it comes to prolonging the post festival blues. Unfortunately, it’s now miserable outside and we are almost half way through September!

With so many memories from this year already what better way to reflect, than to think of all the scrummy products I got to try out whilst in a tent with significantly less access to things that make me look clean.

After much pondering on this, I have come up with my top 5 festival life savers for this year. It took some thought, but these are the 5 products that I absolutely couldn’t have lived without!

  1. Suncream – I absolutely couldn’t have lived without my Simple factor 50 suncream as well as the Coola slightly tinted SPF 20 screen. Gem and I were very silly and had managed to get ourselves burnt to a crisp whilst on our ferry to Holland, but the Coola tinted moisturiser matched my self inflicted shade of orange perfectly, meaning I didn’t need to try make foundation work over my sore, sunburnt, orange and peeling skin
  2. Facial Wipes – This are a must have, decent facial wipes to take off makeup, suncream and dirt. So long as I have these, it’s OK if I run out of toner and cleanser or don’t have access to showering facilities.
  3. Eyebrow Kit – This ranks higher than any other makeup product, with my eyebrows filled out I at least resemble a human being!
  4. Jelly Pong Pong Mascara – When the going get’s hot and sweaty, I am loathed to put makeup on knowing it will run and make me clammy. I love this mascara so much that I didn’t need any eyeliner or eyeshadow to glam up. An application of this left me looking refreshed and glamourous despite having spent 4 days in a field.
  5. Facial Spritz – This was a life saver. It was so hot, that Gem and I were teasing each other by asking ourselves to imagine what it would be like if we were wrapped up in fleece blankets, whilst wearing onsies, with a hot water bottle and a heater on. It may not sound much, but the thought of this was nauseating! In this unbearable heat we took it in turns to spray each other (and our partners) with our recently acquired Glossybox spoil. This facial spritz feels like the most refreshing thing in all of the land when it’s 30 degress, with zero cloud cover, a multitude of black clothing and no shade. This is coming with me to every place that is in danger of reaching 21 degress upwards!

Totally hellbent for looking fab with minimum effort

-Pants

 

Make-up

September most wanted!

September 11, 2013

Shut-up-and-take-my-money

 

The changing of the season always brings with is a whole bunch of new releases, and for some reason this time a lot of them are things that want to empty my bank account!

 

First up Rockateur from Benefit.


Er hello Benefit. Please stop making things that I want as my purse is very empty and I attribute most of that to your shiny pretty things!

I’ll admit the rose gold shimmer of Rockateur is not exactly the most rock and roll of blushes but the swatches of this look gorgeous and the packaging and marketing have sent it straight to the top of my wish-list!

Rocateur is £23.50 and available here.

 

Urban Decay Heavy Metal glitter liners

Urban decay have relaunched their Heavy Metal glitter eyeliners (which in my opinion are the best glitter liners EVER) in seven colours, L-R Glamrock, Distortion, ACDC, Spandex, Amp, Junkshow and Midnight Cowboy.

I own three liners from the last time around – Glam Rock, which is identical to Glamrock (except..you know…without the extra space in the name), Air guitar which is very similar to Amp, and Stavedive which doesn’t seem to have a dupe in the re-launch. I’ve already got my eye on Distortion and Spandex, but I think I’ll wait and see if they do them in a set at a discount before I rush to buy them individually.

As far as I can see these liners are currently only available on the US website for $19 each.

 

 

Lime Crime lipstick in Glamour101

 

This is by no means a new release, but something that has hidden on my wishlist for a long time. Glamour101 is described as a retro/blood red and even if it wasn’t for that gorgeous rich deep colour I would want this just for the purple glittery unicorn packaging!

It’s also well worth checking out their more extreme lip colours, one day I will be brave enough for the bubblegum blue of No She Didn’t!

Available for $15.99 from the Lime Crime website or £11.50 from Cocktail Cosmetics.

 

ELF HD Blush in Headliner

 

Again, not a new release but this has been out of stock since forever! The ELF HD blush comes in five shades, and Headliner is the lightest. Though I love a strong blush, the colours are very intense on the skin so I figure starting with the fairest shade and working up to the most intense might be a good plan!

Elf HD blush is £3.70 from here, though only 4/5 of the shades are back in stock.

 

Illamasqua Reflection Palette

Do I need more eye-shadows? Er yes! Illamasqua make the most beautiful silky colours that have real staying power and their newest palette is definitely up my street! I love the fact you could make everything from the most subtle to the most outrages looks with just these four colours. Also hello fabulous packaging. /shallow.

Available for £34 from the Illamasqua website.

 

So there you have it, all the shiny things I want the most this month, is there anything new or back in stock that you are dreaming longingly about?

Totally hellbent for things I don’t really need but really really really want!

– Gem

Make-up

Elf haul part 1 – Pants

July 22, 2013

IMG_1184

Following Gemma’s haul, I thought it only fair to show off my half of our glorious “accidental” but perfectly justified retail therapy purchases.

I jumped at the chance of slinging the mineral primer into the basket, as with the Kabuki (I’ve been lusting after these for so long now). The others I had absolutely no need for (except maybe the brush Shampoo) I just simply wanted them, and will be looking forward to trying them all out!

I am especially looking forward to the lipsticks and blusher which are complete newbies to me from Elf!

Totally hellbent for new shinies – always –

-Pants

 

 

Make-up, Nails

Elf haul part 1 – Gemma

July 17, 2013

Elf haul 1

 

I accidentally talked Amie into ordering a massive Elf haul with me on one of their frequent 50% off days recently and here’s what I chose!

 

Elf haul - primer

 

Mineral Infused Face Primer – Clear

This has been on my wishlist for a very long time! I love a good primer and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this one! I’m also tempted by the green toned one at some point to deal with my awful red cheeks.

 

Elf clarifying pressed powder

 

Clarifying Pressed Powder – Ivory

Can’t ever have too many pressed powders, right? This photographed quite dark, but at first look it should be okay for summer. Definitely not Ivory enough for my pasty winter skin though!

 

Elf haul - concealer stick

 

All over cover stick – Ivory

Despite having a long term love affair with the much hyped Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer I figured I could use something with a little more coverage for stage wear.

 

Elf haul eye primers

 

Eyelid Primer – Sheer & Pearl

I’ve been a huge fan of the sheer eyelid primer for a long time, in fact I think this is my third or fourth repurchase, so I figured I’d give the pearl finish a try too.

 

Elf haul - lip crayon

 

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick – Movie Star

Lip crayons have been big news for absolutely ages and I can’t believe this is the first one in my make-up collection! When I try out a new lip product I absolutely always for a bright red because it’s my most worn colour.

 

Elf haul - lip stain

 

Lip Stain – Crimson Crush

This has been out of stock for every ELF order I’ve placed since they released the line about a year ago, so I’m very pleased to finally get my hands on it! I love lipstains for day wear as they are so long lasting. Note also bright red!

 

Elf haul lipstick

 

Lipstick – Fearless & Nostalgic

Last time I bought Fearless I managed to fall in love with it and swiftly break it in half a few hours later, again this has been out of stock for a while so I grabbed one whilst I could. I love the ELF lipstick formulas so I could have gone mad and happily ordered all the ones I don’t own if Mr. credit card hadn’t frowned at me so sternly.

Nostalgic looks a lot more cream than nude and I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t give me “concealer lips”…

 

Elf haul - brushes

 

Bamboo flat brush & smudge brush

Like discount eco tools – bamboo handles and synthetic soft bristles. I already have a few brushes from this line and they are lovely.

 

elf haul - nails

 

Nail Polish – Metal Madness, Glitter Glam, Chocolate, Fire Coral, Smokey Brown & Innocent. 

I have such terrible issues with my nail varnish collection that I didn’t even realise till the order arrived that I already own two of these…oops! Elf nail polishes aren’t my favourite, but are far from terrible and were only 50p each…I just couldn’t help myself!

Also I have a feeling that I will be very good friends with Metal Madness for a very long time!

 

So there you have it, now do excuse me whilst I go dive into my big box of make up! Swatches and reviews coming soon as well as Amie’s ELF spoils!

All products can be found at http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/

Totally hellbent for another ELF bargain haul!

– Gem