Saturday, December 17, 2011

HUGE Review on ELF Quads (Pic heavy)

I've been wanting to do this review, but never had much time.
One of the biggest misconceptions I've seen in the world of makeup is that you have to spend a lot of money and get the nicest brands (MAC, etc.) to get a quality product and look good. This is so UNTRUE! I've never used a MAC product. Actually, my uncle got some free MAC products after a fashion show back when I was in middle school and gave me some, but I just didn't like them that much.

I found ELF a little over a year ago, and I've been very pleased with the products (in general).
At first, I was a little skeptical about trying the shadows. I mean, $1 quad? How good can that be? I thought all the people who gave great reviews had to be liars... until the day I tried them for myself. And let me tell you how wrong I was. The day I tried out the ELF quads was such a turning point in my life.

In French, we would say "Je n'ai rien à dire", meaning I have nothing to say because it's just so good. When you try it, it basically speaks for itself.

So I'll try to describe these quads to the best of my ability.

This is what ELF has to say: "Luxuriously smooth, pigmented formula provides your eyes with a bright and beautiful sweep of rich color. The formula blends into skin for a long lasting, beautiful effect. Each quad is comprised of 4 coordinating shades that allow for both natural and dramatic looks. Built-in mirror and applicator included."

My response: I wouldn't say it's luxuriously smooth, but they are relatively smooth. Some colors more than others. Pigmented - EXTREMELY! Bright and beautiful: YES! Long lasting: they last long with primer. I haven't tried them without. But I've put my makeup on at 6am, gotten too lazy to take it off before going to bed, wake up, and my makeup is still perfect.
Natural and dramatic : yes.

The built-in mirror is too small to use to apply to eyeshadow. No big deal.
The applicator is just a sponge-tip applicator. I never use those... I just throw them away.

Pros:
  • Pigmentation is INSANE
  • Price (who could beat $1?!?!!)
  • They BLEND beautifully!
  • I always get compliments when I wear this eyeshadow
  • Long lasting with a primer (I just use the ELF primer - it's great)
  • Easy to take off, doesn't stain
  • You only need a little bit! (Meaning that the teeny tiny little eyeshadow pots last a lot longer than you think)
Cons:
  • Fallout - that's to be expected
    • They are powdery, there may be a little eyeshadow under your eyes when you get done, but for $1, who's to complain?!!?
  • Some people complain that the pans are too small to get brushes in. This has NOT been a problem for me at all!!! They're small triangles, but it doesn't bother me at all.
Now for swatches...

This is what they look like in the pan:

Drama

Butternut

Hazy Hazel

Silver Lining

Luxe

Day 2 Night

Brownstone


And SWATCHES (warning: major pigmentation ahead ;) )
First one is without flash, then with flash

Drama : Just fyi, these pictures do not do Drama any justice - this one is my absolute favorite


Butternut : the pigmentation is just incredible. I mean, just LOOK!!!





Day 2 Night - This one gets me a million compliments all the time!


Brownstone - Again, the pigmentation is just sensational


Hazy Hazel


Silver Lining


Luxe - This is my least favorite of them.



I'm sorry for the long post - I just get a little excited.

There WILL be a Part 2 to this... ;)

I hope you guys liked this! If you haven't tried these out, they're just amazing. My favorites are Drama, Butternut, and Day 2 Night. 


Celebratory LOTD and mini review

Like I said in my previous post, I said I would be blogging a lot more once winter break started and once I turned in everything.

So this is a LOTD I did last weekend. I know hot pink lips are in, so I wanted to try something out with that. Also, I keep forgetting I have this purple NYX liner. So I wanted to do something utilizing these two elements.

Here's what I came up with:





Here's what I used:
Face
Clinique Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup in Alabaster
Clinique Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in Pink Blush (I love this! It's just a classic pink blush that's so pretty and natural)

Eyes
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder
Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Chocolate Chip/French Vanilla
Bourjois Eyeshadow in Beige Rose
NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Plum Purple
Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara
Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Lips
NYX Round Lipstick in Shiva (such a gorgeous color! I love it!)
ELF blush in Flushed (I just pressed this on top to mattify the lips and make it even more hot pink)

Now on to the mini review...
I have a lot of things to say about the NYX liner.
No swatches, sorry, I think you can see in the pictures above.

I had a lot of hopes for this. I love NYX... not the biggest fan anymore. I don't know what it is. I'm just losing my love for it, and not just due to this product.

Pros:
  • beautiful color
  • price
Cons:
  • the brush: it's like a crappy kindergarten paintbrush. It's hard to control the line.
  • the formula: it's way too watery. The liquidity basically dilutes the pigmentation and you end up having to pack on color
  • Once it's dried, it's flaky and caky and takes away from the beauty of the color
  • Since it's hard to control the line, a lot of the product ends up in my lashes. Even after I wipe the lashes, once it's time to put on some mascara, it gets all clumpy and spidery and gross. I hope you understand what I mean.
I'm sure there's more to add, but that's it in a nutshell. I wanted to love this, but I absolutely hate it. I'll probably continue using it, trying to make sense of it. I hate wasting makeup, even if I didn't spend that much on it.

Have you guys tried out this product? Anything to add? Any similar experiences? Absolutely loved it?
Please let me know!

And let me know what you guys think about the look I created. I'm not that crazy about it... I just don't think hot pink lips are for me. And the eyeliner just pisses me off.

I'll be posting a lot more for you guys, so keep following, commenting, and everything! Thanks so much for your support!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Just a little update...

Hey guys! (I've seen I have some views from Magyarorszag, so sziasztok!!)

I'm so excited I've gotten over 1000 page views now and I'm in the double digits of followers! I'm so grateful for your support and viewing my blog.

I just wanted to update you on what's going on right now.
I'm a senior in high school, in the IB program. If you don't know what that is, it's an international curriculum, started in Switzerland. It's for all grade levels, but I started it when I entered middle school. It's designed to promote well-roundedness and an international perspective, as well as challenge the learner and prepare students for college and life beyond that. WOW, I sound like a nerd.
So for those familiar with IB, the last two years, called the Diploma Programme are really difficult, rigorous, challenging, etc. The average college student handles 4 college classes at a time. I'm handling 8.
I work so hard, and I have a 5.625 GPA. That's the reason I don't post as much as I should, and how much I honestly want to. I think about this blog all the time and all the things I want to post once I'm done with my IB exams.

But yeah, so I'm a super huge intellectual nerd outside my life of being a makeup geek.

I'm in the process of writing my Extended Essay, which is a requirement for the IB Diploma. It's an essay basically displaying our writing skills and critical thinking developed throughout the IB program, on a certain subject area. Mine is on the French existentialist philosophy displayed through the works of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. It's all in French. While I am fluent in French and can write pretty well, it's just tedious and annoying.

That's due Friday. I will do a celebratory post when it is done.

ALSO, I've been looking at my calendar. I actually have a full two weeks off for winter break this year. YAYYYY!

January we have midterm exams. This means half days and a couple days off, in addition to a few teacher workdays.

This means so many more posts, and I'm so excited to give you guys some more reading material!!! :)

(Not to mention I should get a little Dior crazy for Chanukah.. and treat myself to some special makeup things)

I hope you guys are doing well! If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to comment or follow me on Twitter! :)

And once again, thank you so much for your support. It means a lot.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Fall LOTD with ELF Caffeinated

Hey guys! I'm so happy I've gotten a lot of new followers lately, so thank you so much for following my blog!

And to all of my American followers, I hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving!

So I bought the ELF mineral eyeshadow in Caffeinated a long time ago, and I hadn't been able to really come up with a look for it. It's just sucha  unique color I didn't know what to pair with it. I finally had time to create something. It's a nice fall look with berry cheeks and berry lips.

I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think.

Here's a swatch of the Caffeinated. It's a gorgeous brown with a hint of golden/olive. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

Here's the complete look. Sorry for the wet hair, I just got out of the shower :)



Hahah my eyeliner job looks so much better in this picture than in real life



So there's my look, I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Here's the products I used:
Revlon Colorstay foundation
ELF HD powder
NYX Blush in Desert Rose
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder
ELF eye primer in Golden
Wet n Wild eyeshadow in Brulee
ELF mineral eyeshadow in Caffeinated and Wild
Dior Eyeshow in Undressed Beige
Dior Kohl Eyeliner in Deep brown
ELF cream eyeliner in Midnight
Revlon Grow Luscious mascaraa (I'm just trying to use this crap up...)
Clinique Different Lipstick in Raspberry Glace (one of my favorite berry lip colors!)



So please comment and let me know what you think. And you can follow me on Twitter @jessiefrancaise
Also, if you have look suggestions, please tell me! :)




Friday, November 11, 2011

LOTD: Sexy bombshell look

Hey guys!
Happy Veterans Day! (And 11/11/11!)

Today I had off of school, so my Theory of Knowledge class decided to get together and go to a local art gallery to view some art we had to do for an assignment. I wanted to do a simply beautiful look for this.
I've actually spent a lot of time conjuring up this look (simple as it may seem), because I've had a lot of inspiration--mainly from Russian girls I see in music videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0oHH2lGvsg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGDPCtchGI

I mean, who doesn't want to look like a sexy Russian girl?! (Or Hungarian... ;))
Even if you don't speak Russian, you should check the songs out, they're catchy and amazing, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to get any good pictures in the daylight with my camera before me and my friend had to leave for the art gallery. But the webcam shots I got (to tweet) weren't bad at all. So here they are:






Products used:
Revlon Colorstay Foundation
NYX Concealer in a Jar
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder
ELF Mineral eyeshadow primer
NYX Runway Collection Palette in Champagne & Caviar (I used the light shimmery pink on the lid, the darkest shimmery taupe color to blend, the matte black in my outer v, and the matte white as a highlight)
NYX Tango with Bronzer Powder
Clinique Blusher (in my favorite Sunset Glow)
ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Pop (throughout the day I was wearing Clinique lipstick in Rose Aglow with the ELF Super Glossy in Goddess which looked great too)
And... the best part! My ELF lashes.

So comment and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome.
If you have any suggestions of looks you'd like to see, let me know! Please subscribe and follow me on Twitter! :) :) :)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Lorac LOTD

So in my last post, I talked about my purchase of the Lorac Ooh La Lace palette. This was actually the first time I played around with it, so it's my first look.

I used the top three shadows: the shimmery white, matte gray, and true-matte black.
I know it seems like it would create just the ordinary classic smokey eye look, but I must say, this is the sexiest, most luxurious smokey I have ever created. I feel amazing in this look. I hope my boyfriend likes it when he comes over tonight ;)










Let me know what you think :) Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Thanks for checking my blog out--make sure you follow, comment, and follow me on Twitter @jessiefrancaise

Review for this palette and more looks to come :)


Recent Sephora Haul!

So I've been very very busy working hard and getting near perfect grades at school. I just finished up the first quarter of my senior year and have three out of four of my college applications submitted. For all of this, I decided I should treat myself. This is the first time I've actually bought myself from Sephora and it was a very exciting moment.I spent a little more than I should have, but I deserved it.

I had been eyeing some things from Lorac and Stila. I decided to get the Lorac Close Up: Real Life To Red Carpet Natural To Dramatic Face Tutorial, Lorac Ooh La La Lace Palette, and the Stila Travel Palette in Haute in the Hamptons. They just came in a few days ago. I've barely had the chance to use them, so once I have, I'll be writing some reviews. For right now, I just have some pictures and swatches.




In this palette you get a light off-white shade with a teeny-bit of shimmer called Sand, a shimmery gold shade called Linen, a dark gray-brown with shimmer called Route 27, and a shimmery true-blue shade called Blue Skies. There's also two blush shades. The bottom one is supposed to be a bronzer, I believe, but it's too pink to be a bronzer. The top one is just a hot pink called Hydrangea and the bottom is more of a coral, but still like a hot brightish pink with gold shimmer, called Montauk Highway. I'll do a review on this later.

The Lorac Ooh La Lace Palette :) This was the one I was most excited to get. It's got the sexiest packaging ever! I can't wait to review  this one.


Here are the shadows inside :) There's also a big mirror. Aren't these colors just so gorgeous!?!

This is the shadow trio inside the set that I got by Lorac. The color is called LORACStar.

These are just so pretty! It's the first time I'm trying out anything by Lorac and after swatching them and wearing them once, I can say they're simply amazing.

This is the blush that came in the set. It's in the color Soul. It looks kind of dull, but it's got just the right amount of sparkle and oomph to create the most beautiful glow.

Here it is again. I'm sorry for the poor picture quality :(

This is the mascara that came in the set. Lorac is really on target with their packaging. It's just so pretty!



This is the liquid liner the kit came with. I read the most amazing reviews before it came and I was so excited to try it. I'll leave the rest for my review ;)




The gloss from the kit. It's in the color Trendsetter. It's an absolutely gorgeous color.

The applicator is a brush rather than a sponge, which I LOVE.


Now time for the swatches...
The black line is the Lorac Front of the Line PRO liner. To the right of that are the colors from the Lorac shadow trio in LORACStar. And then right under the brown shadow is the Lorac blush in Soul.
This one is without flash.

Same swatches with flash

Here's the swatches from the Stila palette Haute in the Hamptons. The first two are the blushes. And then on the right side are  the four shadows.
This is with flash.

Same swatches without flash

And the lovely, sexy shadows from the Lorac Ooh La Lace palette. These are simply amazing. So smooth and pigmented. And of course these were meant to make a sexy bedroom eye look :)
This is without flash.

And with flash.


I also got samples, as is customary with any Sephora order. I got two perfume samples, some Clinique skincare samples. I got a free Buxom mascara sample with a code. And for reaching +100 Sephora points, I got a Laura Mercier mascara sample.

So here they are:



The brush looks amazing! I can't wait to try it out.

And the Laura Mercier. This is the Long Lash mascara.
I didn't read the best reviews on this, but I'll post my opinions when I try it out.

As I would expect with a lengthening mascara, the brush is very small and skinny.



So that's it from my Sephora haul. I'll be posting reviews soon.

My next post will be a look I do with the Ooh La Lace palette.

Feel free to post comments, any suggestions for looks to post, and follow me on Twitter @jessiefrancaise








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