e.l.f. Mineral Haul! Swatches and Review!

Time for another haul post!!

I bought a BUNCH of e.l.f. products last month because of their 50% off promotion, and it has taken me soooo loooong to review because I got so many things! I never tried e.l.f. before so I wanted to take my time to test the products out before saying anything about them.

Mineral Eyeshadows



Top Row L-R: Elegant, Golden, Wild
Bottom Row L-R: Socialite, Celebrity



L-R: Elegant, Golden, Wild, Socialite, Celebrity

Elegant - peachy nude, frosty finish
Golden - bronzy gold
Wild - golden dark brown
Socialite - grayish plum
Celebrity - taupe light brown

Top Row L-R: Earthy, Outdoorsy
Bottom Row L-R: Dreamy, Beachy

L-R: Earthy, Outdoorsy, Dreamy, Beachy

Earthy - golden khaki
Outdoorsy - deep forest green
Dreamy - seafoam aqua blue
Beachy - ocean blue

Overall Thoughts:
These shadows transfer really well and blend incredibly well also. They all have a bit of shimmer in them which is really pretty, but they can be very messy because they are all loose minerals. The size of them arent bad considering the price, so I would definetly recommend these to try because they do have some really pretty colors =)

Mineral Booster and Blush



Top: Booster in Sheer
Bottom: Blushes in Joy and Coral



Joy, Coral and Sheer Booster

Sheer Booster - translucent nude
Joy Blush - mauvy pink
Coral Blush - orangy coral

Overall Thoughts:
A little disappointed with these because they go on soooo sheer! You really need to apply a lot of product to get the color it looks in the pot. However, they do blend really nicely and I feel work best over a cream colored blush to pull out the color more. The sheer booster is like a set powder. It does matify the face, but its a bit drying.

Mineral Lipsticks



L-R: Natural Nymph, Runway Pink, Cool Coral




L-R: Natural Nymph, Runway Pink, Cool Coral

Natural Nymph - pale light beige, matte finish
Runway Pink - light white pink, matte finish
Cool Coral - orangy bronze coral, shimmery finish

Overall Thoughts:
Again, I was a bit disappointed with these because Natural Nymph and Runway Pink are just waaaay to light for me, it completely wipes out my lips. Runway Pink looks great in the photo and swatched, but it goes on really white and light. Cool Coral is the only one out of the three that I would actually use. Its a really pretty coral with golden flecks in it. However, these lipsticks are a bit drying and dont go on very evenly. I would recommend filling in your lips with a creamy liner before wearing these.

Mineral Lipliner and Lipgloss



Lipiner in Coral? No Label on it..
Lipgloss in Trophy Wife, but label says Twilight for some reason...



Coral and Trophy Wife

 Coral Lipliner - orangy coral
Trophy Wife Lipgloss - clear with gold flecks

Overall Thoughts:
I bought the Coral lipliner because I thought it would match perfectly with the Cool Coral lipstick, and it does! Very pretty coral color and glides on pretty smoothly... nothing special, but it does its job. Trophy Wife I bought just because it reminded me of Nars Moon Fleet, which I loooove! It has a more golden tone to it and surprisingly, its not too sticky! Looks great over any lipcolor to add a bit of sparkle =)

Free Gift - Eyeshadow Quad in Drama

So this is the free gift I got with my purchase, and these colors are actually really pretty! Perfect to use for a silvery smokey eye, and the highlight color is matte, which I like, and the other colors are really really sparkly as you can tell in the photo. The swatches didnt come out very pigmented so to get a more opaque color, you would need to apply a few times and blend blend blend! But, as some of you know... Im am really picky about packaging, and I dont like the packaging at all, I feel it looks a bit cheapy.. idk.. Im wierd like that.. And I took out the sponge applicator it came with because I never use those =)

Have you tried any of their mineral products before? What did you think of them? Would you try these products?

My First Birchbox!! *Pic Heavy

If you haven't heard of Birchbox already... it is a program that you can join to receive samples every month from different beauty brands for $10/month. I was curious to see what kinds of products they sent and whether or not it was worth it, so I signed up last month and I finally got my first box today!! Yay!! So I wanted to share with you all what they sent me because I was soooo excited, I opened it right away!!



The box it came in



Neatly wrapped and packaged



The Goodies inside!
Top Row: Tiny Prints Card
Middle Row: Oribe Beautiful Color Shampoo and Conditioner (2 Packs), Archipelago Pomegranate Soap, Erno Laszlo Transphuse Night Serum, Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir
Bottom Row: Stila Eyeshadow Refill Black Cat



Stila Black Cat

Stila Black Cat Back of Box



Stila Black Cat Swatched

 Stila Eyeshadow Refill 'Black Cat' 0.09oz
Retail Price: $18
I was most excited about getting this because I never tried any Stila eyeshadows before! And Im pretty sure this is the full sized refill (Im just going to have to buy an empty palette and fill it up with more!) It goes on sheer to medium but it has a really nice sparkle to it, which you probably cant see in the photo. I would definetly recommend using this over an eye primer because when blended out, you get more sparkle than color. Very pretty and sparkly!!

Archipelago Pomegranate Soap and Erno Laszlo Transphuse Night Serum



Design on the Archipelago Soap

Archipelago Pomegranate Soap 6.8oz
Retail: $12.50
This soap contains white tea and pomegranate in it, which is great because the white tea fights off free radicals! It has a really clean smell to it which is nice, but when I first smelled it, it made me sneeze for some reason... The design on the soap is so pretty!

Erno Laszlo Transphuse Night Serum 1oz
Retail: $190
The description says it is a "wrinkle-fighting wonder" and its also supposed to firm skin. I was a little disappointed at the size of this because if you use it on your entire face, you probably will only get one use out of this tiny sample. I dont have many wrinkles on my face YET so I wouldnt really be able to tell the difference if I used this. But, it doesnt hurt to start anti-aging now, at $190 full size, this thing better work! lol



Oribe Beautiful Color Sampoo and Conditioner

Oribe Beautiful Color Shampoo and Conditioner .23oz
Its described as 'ultra-gentle formulas have tons of nourishing ingredients to keep strands bright and shiny'. I need bright and shiny!! I think from the description though its probably made for color treated hair, which I dont have but if its nourishing, it wouldnt hurt to use =))




Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir

Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir 50ml
Retail: $80
This is Bulgari's newest fragrance which came out in March I believe, and there was a lot of hype about it so I was glad to see this in the box although its been a few months since it first launched. It has a sweet and musky smell to it at first and then turns more floral, and from the name, it has Jasmine infused in it as its base note. It has a more sophisticated smell, and Im more of a light and fresh kind of person so this fragrance was a bit too bold for me.

Description card

Description Card

Overall, I was pretty happy with the samples they sent. Is it worth $10? hmm.. probably not, but I think its more of the surprise and fun of opening the box every month =) I love surprises and I always get excited when I see a box laying at the front of my door, so I will be signing up again for next month!

Would you pay $10 every month for these samples? Have you tried Birchbox before?

Prom Special: Tips and Tricks!

Prom the Movie

It is supposed to be 'Wanted Wednesdays' here at MakeupbyJanalyn but I ended up making a bunch of unexpected purchases at MAC on Monday because I needed some things for a specific photoshoot I did yesterday and a couple of prom makeovers for this Saturday (I like to give my prom goers a lipgloss to take with them). So... instead of 'Wanted Wednesdays' I decided I wanted to give a few pointers on prom makeup since it is the middle of prom season!! Plus, some of my favorite prom scenes from movies of the past and present =))






Twilight


• Get your brows professionally done. If you havent gotten your eyebrows shaped by a professional before, this is definetly the perfect time to do so. Brows make a huge difference in pulling your look together. They shape your face and add definition to your eyes. But, be sure to do this a few days ahead of time so you can avoid any redness or irritation, and then pluck stray hairs the night before if necessary.

Never Been Kissed

• Prep your skin the day/night before. Exfoliate your face the night before (St. Ives Apricot Scrub is great) so your foundation will go on smoother. If you have really dry lips, apply a lipbalm at night and that morning to avoid any cracking or chapping.



Shes All That

• Its ok to use colors! Prom is supposed to be fun! Your still youthful so you can pull off wearing bright colors on your eyes. I know one of the number one rules for makeup is never to have your makeup too matchy-matchy with your outfit, but I feel like prom is an exception to the rule. If your accessories are neutral and your hair is out of your face, you can still look polished and classy. But always remember, if you go colorful on the eyes, tone it done on the lips, and vice versa.




10 Things I Hate About You


• Dont go heavy on the foundation. You want your skin to look as natural as possible. Its prom, not your wedding. If your foundation is too caked on, it will make you appear older, and I am sure your date wouldnt want to look like he went to prom with his mother. Keep it fresh and light. If you have problems with acne, dont worry, your makeup doesnt have to be heavy in order to conceal blemishes.




American Pie


• Bring a small touchup kit. If you know your going to be dancing the night away, or you have oily skin, take some blotting papers. They are compact and small enough to fit in a clutch. Also, bring some tinted lipgloss. If you are eating and drinking (non-alcoholic beverages of course) before picture taking time, you want to easily be able to slap on some color right before its time to snap that photo.




Grease


• Use waterproof mascara and eyeliner. You dont want to look back at your prom photos and see raccoon eyes! Your going to be wearing your makeup for a considerable amount of time while your dancing, laughing, chatting with friends and possible going to an after party, so using waterproof mascara (false lashes are best) and eyeliner is a must to keep your look pulled together.

Napolean Dynamite

Alright ladies!! That's all I got on tips to help you avoid any boo-boos during your prom!! Now go out and have funnnnn!!!

Any other tips you want to share? or stories from your own prom? Photos? I would love to hear about it =)

E.L.F. Mineral Makeup Promotion

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I've been gone this past month but I was so busy and just exhausted from work and everything!! But anyways, since I couldnt sleep, I was researching different makeup brands and I heard so many good reviews about E.L.F. (Eyes.Lips.Face.) recently as well as in the past and I never tried it for some reason.. so I went to their website and they have a promotion for their mineral makeup line!! Its 50% off with the coupon code 50MIN on purchases of $25 or more! I thought shipping to Hawaii would be really expensive as most are, but I think it was like $6 or something.. not bad! I bought so much stuff! And their products are soooo affordable! I got so many things, I just hope it wasnt the sleep deprivation that got to me =( When I try them out I will definetly post a review.

The promotion ends April 4th, so be sure to check them out before then if you want to take advantage of this awesome promotion =)

Oh! And, when you sign up (its free), you get a welcome offer of 10% off your next purchase, and if you do purchase something, you can refer 3 friends and get a free gift! Not sure what the gift is, or if its the same for everyone but I will let you know!

www.eyeslipsface.com