One Brand, One Look: e.l.f.

I had originally planned on doing a step-by-step makeup tutorial including Vine-esque videos for this post but halfway through I actually got called out to work (huge bummer).However, I still wanted to get something up today since I've been sticking to a pretty great schedule so far and that's how this little post came to be.

I was looking through my makeup collection (yes, there's so much of it I like to call it a "collection") and realized that I might actually be turning into an e.l.f collector. From the looks of it I had garnered enough e.l.f. products to use a single brand all over my face. 

Eureka! An idea was born. 

So here's a complete tutorial for this simple, summery, bronzed look that's perfect for a day out with friends or a summer night of adventure.
Since this was all a little rushed and e.l.f. products are generally extremely affordable and much talked about I've included little reviews of most of the products used.

I started with a clean, moisturized face and applied my favorite primer (which was not e.l.f. unfortunately but since I applied it right after my moisturizer I didn't really count it anyway).

Then comes foundation. I used the Flawless Finish Foundation with SPF 15 for this look and absolutely love it. First of all, I love the packing. Glass bottle with a pump? I'm all about that luxury especially at $6 a pop. 

The consistency of the product is exactly what I look for in a foundation and I would even go so far as to say that this foundation is definitely buildable to a full coverage product. I even used the e.l.f. Foundation Brush to perfect the coverage then blended with my finger tips.

Flawless Finish Foundation in Buff

I'm broken out in several spots on my face at the moment and have some serious undereye baggage so the concealer in this next step is key. I used the Stick Concealer in Ivory to cover my spots and dark circles then added the Under Eye Concealer before blending out with the Flawless Concealer Brush.

This brush is a recent purchase and has completely changed the way I apply concealer. I used to have to spend forever blending and covering my dark circles with my finger tips and mounds of concealer but this brush so makes things so much easier as it's the perfect size for under my eyes.

I finished things off under the eyes with a little bit of Glow from the duo end of the Under Eye Concealer in my inner corners and a bit of Translucent Mattifying Powder under my eyes to set everything. 

L to R: Blending, Eyeshadow, Foundation, Concealer

The next step was to fill in my brows a tad bit and I love how easy the Eyebrow Kit is from e.l.f. as it features a powder and a darker wax to set everything in place. I used the kit in Medium for this look and just filled in the sparse patches in the middle of my brows with the powder before going over them with the wax.

Using the Blending Eye Brush and the mini Eyeshadow Palette in Naturals, I started with a medium matte brown color (1) in the crease and blended out. Take your time with this step and make sure everything is blended out well so that you're creating a shadow in the crease for more definition. I then went in with a shimmery shade (2) on the Professional Eyeshadow Brush across the lid working out toward the outer crease and the shadow we just created. 

I made sure everything was blended well then realized that I really wanted to use the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Toast in this look because it was such a great color. So even though this shadow is a cream product I did apply over the powder shadow I had just used but sparingly.
 I just used my finger to tap the product around the center of my lid, blending more toward the inner corner. This gives a great lustrous effect to your eyes without messing with the set of your powder shadow.
I also added one of the lightest shades (3) from the palette to my inner corner before moving on. 

Now, we're to the point that I would normally apply eyeliner but this is actually the point when I realized that I didn't own any e.l.f. eyeliner so I decided to use Benefit's They're Real! Push-Up Eyeliner so that I could test it out for my review which you can keep you're eyes out for very soon. 

So, after you've applied your favorite eyeliner (I did a Cat-Eye Flick but you can line your eyes anyway you want for a little more definition) you can move on to mascara. 

I used the 3-in-1 Lengthen, Define, & Volumize Mascara which is actually my favorite mascara at the moment and runs for $3 which is a huge bargain in my book. It really does everything it says it does and leaves me with "Oh my gosh!" lashes. 

I topped off this look with blush and bronzer from the Contouring Blush & Bronzer kit in St. Lucia which I actually believe is a pretty good dupe for the NARS Laguna & Orgasm mini duo. I applied the blush from the kit just under the apples of my cheeks and lightly contoured with the bronzer around my temples and along my jawline. 

Now here's the final look!

SUPA CLOSE-UP

Let me know what you thing of this makeup look and tutorial in the comments below! 

until next time

xo

Merisa

What's in My Makeup Bag?

This week has been, as Danielle would say, absolute crazy bread! Ugh! I'm tired of doing papers one right after the other. So, to step away from that a bit I decided to do something fun with a look at
What's in My Everyday Makeup Bag! Woo!
I say Everyday Makeup Bag because if you're a product junkie like me you'll understand that this is where I keep makeup that I use on a regular basis when getting ready for class and just a usual day while I have other makeup bags that have the more fun stuff in it, which I would be super glad to show y'all if you like this post!

I'm kind of obsessed with my makeup bag, for a lot of reasons too! I got it back in the summer from RueLaLa (which is amazing! Click this link for your own invite!) when they gave me a $25 credit in an email, which is proof that you really can find treasures when cleaning out your inbox.
To be perfectly honest, my credit was about to expire and I didn't really know what to get so I picked up the make up bag for like 20 bucks and thought it might make a pretty good gift. Well, I obviously nixed the gift idea and ended up keeping the bag. I mean, really though, who could pass up a Vera Bradley makeup bag?!

I love how versitiale the bag is and how easy it is for me to fit my favorite products inside.

I'm not too big on the pattern, I'm just not that into florals really, I love that the bag has 3 different see-through compartments and can roll up. Very handy for travel or just toting the bag around my dorm. I also love just how much can fit in the bag, it doesn't look like much in the picture but that really is a ton of products!
In the first compartment I have my Real Techniques brushes, which are seriously the best makeup brushes I have ever used! I have the Travel Essentials Kit (which I talked about in my June 2013 Favorites!) and I'm actually planning on getting a few more kits before the holidays because Ulta actually has several of the brushes on their Buy One Get One 50% Off Sale! Also in that compartment I have a few of my most used eye liners.
The middle compartment is the biggest and keeps all of my face products and mascaras. I started an obsession with Rimmel products this summer and as you can see it has continued. I use Rimmel's Fix & Perfect Pro Primer on my face everyday and it's a perfectly smooth, perfecting primer. Rimmel's BB Cream is my go to foundation but I'll explain more about that later on. I top everything off with Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, which is the best powder I have ever used and I highly doubt I will ever use any other drugstore powder, like ever. I also have my mini mascara collection in the middle which you can read more about in this Mascara Monday post. The last compartment has a few eye shadow trios, blush, highlighters, and bronzers, but now I want to take a look at 4 of my absolute favorite products because they deserve some serious attention!

I picked up the Rimmel BB Cream this summer when I was looking for a lightweight foundation that wouldn't sweat off before I even made it to work and fell in love with the amazing ability of the cream to provide lightweight yet full coverage. This stuff seriously keeps it's 9-in-1 promise and even has an SPF of 25! That's just ridiculous. I've probably only went through 3 tubes of this stuff since earlier may so it's long lasting too and only takes a little bit to cover my whole face. I love this foundation!
Next up is the Buxom Sculpted Lash Mascara which I have been raving about for what seems like forever! I got this deluxe sample as a part of a Sephora Beauty Insiders promotion and went absolutely gaga for it! So much so that I just recently picked up the full size version of the product on my last trip to Sephora. The brush's unique "S" shaped design leads to insane coverage and gets every little lash, I just love love love this mascara!
My next two products represent two ends of the spectrum with a serious drugstore bargain in the Wet 'n' Wild Eyeshadow Trio and the high-end splurge of NARS Blush and Bronzer duo.

The eyeshadow trio is called Walking on Eggshells and according to this pin from my Beauty Box: Makeup board on Pinterest, these shades are actually dupes for MAC's Shroom, Mulch, and Naked Lunch! These shades are very versatile, easy to blend, easy to apply, and just all around great everyday shades. The NARS duo includes two of their most popular shades and came in my Sephora Superstars Kit (which I promise I will do a review on ASAP), the blush is the beauty blogger fave Orgasm and the bronzer is Laguna. Orgasm is a very corally pink with light gold sparkle while Laguna is a matte medium bronzer that works well for a lot of skin tones. I love both shades but I think Orgasm might be too warm for my skin, or I might just need to use a smaller brush, we'll see.
I hope you liked that look into my everyday makeup bag! Comment below and let me know if you would like to sneak a peek at my fun special occasion products! 
til next time, lovelies
xo
aFm