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First Impressions : The Falsies

2010-07-31T22:51:00.013-06:00

Ok guys, I know I said I was on a spending ban but I couldn't help myself when I found this at my local walmart - FINALLY in waterproof. Ever since this mascara came out I have been on the hunt for it in waterproof but it didn't exist in any stores around here.

This post is going to be about my first impression with this mascara.

I have only used it once but from that experience I feel totally ripped off. This mascara is so bad. Honestly wtf. For the longest time I used the Volum' Express in waterproof and I swore by it.
Then I tried the XXL Pro in waterproof and thought that was absolute crap.

So I went back to Volum' Express. About 2 months ago I wanted something that was not so clumpy so I tried 2 different AVON ones.... I don't know why I bothered.
So I went to the store to get my trusty mascara when I saw the Colossal. I have heard that it is a pretty good mascara so I thought I would give it a try since my current mascara did 3X the volume and clumped and colossal claimed to be 9X.
The Colossal impressed me a LOT!! I have been hooked since! However I saw a commercial for maybellines newest mascara - The Falsies - and thought it was kind of silly but when I saw it again I felt desprate to own it.
So to do a real comparisson and really have a good first impression I applied the falsies to one eye and the colossal to the other.
These are the results:
The Colossal (2 coats, no spreading out lashes)
The Falsies (2 coats, no spreading out lashes)
Do you see that clumping?!! The falsies claim: "The Falsies Mascara is designed to give the appearance of no gaps and spaces. In a wink, lashes you didn’t even know you had look visibly thickened!" I think not. This mascara is extremly wet as well and the "spoon" shape of the wand makes application harder because of the shape of my eyes. I just found that I got mascara all over my lid.

I am going to give this mascara a few more goes and will write a review later.

Let me know if you have tried this and what you think!

Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15

2010-07-28T20:47:00.005-06:00

*Clicking on the title will direct you to the page where you can purchase this product*

Ok So I purchased the product because of the great reviews that I read and heard.

I have to admit this is a very shiny lip gloss, and the staying power is pretty decent but I don't like it. I finally realized that I don't like lip gloss and am very much a chapstick girl. This gloss is VERY thick and I can't stand that feeling. Some girls love a nice thick gloss that can outlast eating and drinking and this product will do that!

Because I didn't like it I gave it to my friend. I am glad to report that she LOVES it!

So if you love lip gloss TRY this! I am sure you will love it!!
If you are a chapstick girl... take this bad boy out of your shopping cart.

Primer update

2010-07-28T20:38:00.003-06:00

Hey guys I just wanted to let you know that I finally found my camera and added pictures to my post about the elf primers.

Take care!
http://syvannah101.blogspot.com/2010/07/elf-eyelid-primer-mineral-eyeshadow.html

wahoo!!

2010-07-27T18:41:00.003-06:00

Hey guys just a quick message. Sorry I haven't made a post in a while. I have been quite busy with life and such but I was just showing my mom my blog and noticed that I had 1,111 page views since I added my flag counter.
Wow!!

Thanks guys!

Syvannah
xoxox

ELF Eyelid Primer & Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

2010-07-17T22:35:00.004-06:00

Clicking the title link will direct you to the page where you can purchase these products!

UGGGGHHHH!! I can't find my camera right now so I will have to post pictures later... sorry guys! I will post an update when I add pictures. If you want you can just skip this post for now. I just didn't want to try re-writing it later. :(

I haven't made a post in a few days because I have been trying to make this post. I keep forgetting to take pictures at the end of the day so I still don't have them now.

What I have done is apply the eyelid primer on my right eye and the mineral eyeshadow primer on my left eye, then applied my regular eyeshadow. Both primers apply the same, are about the same consistency and same color. The eyeshadow that I put on over top both primers looked the same. Guess what?!
They do the same thing!! AND... they even do the SAME thing as urban decay's potion primer! WOW! lol ok but seriously they all work the same for me. Maybe they don't work the same for others but in my opinion they are all the same thing.

My lids are fairly oily and products don't stay on all day long. With these primers they stay on longer but I still find that with all 3, a LONG day still makes for no eyeshadow left on my lids. By long day I mean 12+ hours. Usually the primers work for about 8 hours.

I find that they don't make the colors as vivid like other have claimed. They do a bit but not a great deal. I think that my problem is really that I have a medium complexion so colors don't show up on me the way I would hope anyways.

Would I buy these again?
I probably would just buy the eyelid primer because it is cheaper than the mineral one. I would definitely buy these over UDPP since I payed $22 for that O_o

Would I recommend them?
For sure! I think they work great and at such a low cost!

Let me know what you think of these products!

*EDIT*
I found my camera and have been able to take another round of pictures that includes one of the application several hours later.

Eyelid primer

Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

Several hours later

Mineral Face Primer

2010-07-12T12:30:00.009-06:00

Clicking the title link will direct you to the page where you can purchase this product

Ok so many people (some not even followers) have asked me to review this product. I don't think that this is going to be the review some of you were hoping for.

ELF claims that this product will "Transform your face into a flawless and smooth canvas with the Mineral Infused Face Primer. Developed to combat against excess oil, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines. This clear multipurpose skin primer will prepare your skin so makeup goes on evenly for a long lasting satin finish."

On myself I think that this is far fetched. I have oily skin with large pores and really wanted this product to work for me but it doesn't seem to do it.

I have tried to use this primer on many occasions and the first 2 times I used it I thought it was decent so when I was making another order with elf I reordered it (taking advantage of a 50% off studio coupon).

I am thinking that the 2 times I thought it was ok is because I was only wearing my make up for a few hours sitting around the house. I then put it to the test for 10+ hours while going out with my kid. That was bad news. Not only did it not keep my make up on, it made it run off faster. That day I was like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico! Ok so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but honestly I was ridiculously oily. I thought maybe it is just this day. So I tried it again..... some thing.

So much for keeping oil at bay. As for filling enlarged pores and fine lines. I think not. This product didn't make a difference AT ALL with my pores.

The only thing I can say in favor of this product is that it applies nicely. If comes with a pump so getting the product out is easy... until the end (apparently). The reason I say it applies nicely is because when you put it on your skin it makes it feel really soft, almost like a powder finish. The silicone is what makes it feel like that.

Might I add though... I have read reviews and watched youtube reviews and like 75% of users really enjoy this product. EVEN girls with oily skin! So if you can get it using a 50% off coupon I say why not try it?

Would I buy this product again? (unfortunately I already did)

Would I recommend it to other? At the $3 I payed for it why not? It is far cheaper than most other face primers.

Thanks!! Check here to see what I can review of ELF products.

2010-07-08T20:28:00.010-06:00

Clicking the title link will bring you to the ELF website

Wow guys!! Thanks so much for the feedback. I am sorry to inform you but I don't have some of the items that you have requested and I am on a spending ban for what might be the rest of the year O_o. We'll see... lol

Anyhow I wanted to make a post about the ELF items I have so that you can see what kind of things I can review.

Brightening Eye Color:

-Butternut

-Pretty n' Pink

-Luxe

-Brownstone

-Punk Funk

-Hazy Hazel

-Matte Mauve
Duo Eye Shadow Cream - Butter Pecan

Shimmering Facial Whip - Golden Peach - Pink Lemonade - Spotlight

All Over Color Stick - Golden Peach

Single Eyeshadow - Raspberry Truffle - Butter Cream - Pebble

Eye Transformer

Brightening Eye Liner - Coffee

Waterproof Eyeliner Pen - Coffee - Black - Midnight - Plum

Cream Eyeliner - Ivory - Black - Coffee

Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara

Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara - Black

Eyelid Primer

Eyeshadow Primer

False Lashes:

-Dramatic Lash Kit-Black

-Natural Lash Kit-Black
-Individual Lash Kit-Black

-Hollywood Lash Kit

Mechanical Eyelash Tool

Mini Eyelash Curler

Slant Tweezer

Super Glossy Lip Shine Spf 15 - Honey Do

Plumping Lip Glaze - Oasis

Lip Stain - First Date

2 In 1 Conditioning Gloss - Supermodel

Luscious Liquid Lipstick - Perfect Pink

Mineral Lipstick - Nicely Nude

Lipliner & Blending Brush - Natural

Therapeutic Conditioning Lip Balm - Strawberry Creme

Tone Correcting Concealer - Rosy Beige - Light Beige

Corrective Concealer

Concealer Pencil & Brush - Light

Concealer - Honey

Clarifying Pressed Powder - Light Beige - Honey - Toffee

Mineral Booster

Complexion Perfection

Pressed Powder - Buff - Caramel - Almond

Natural Radiance Blusher - Glow

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

Blush - Peachy Keen

Shine Eraser

Tinted Moisturizer Spf 15 - Ivory - Light Beige - Rosy Beige - Honey

Mineral Face Primer

Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder - Sun Kissed - Luminance

Bronzers - Warm Bronzer

Elements Custom Compact

Custom Eyes - Golden Glow

Custom Face - Glow

Custom Lips - Earth Rose - Guava

E.l.f. Professional Travel Kit

Wristlet - Black

Eyebrow Stencil

Travel Mirror

Dual Pencil Sharpener

Blending Wedges

Eyeshadow Applicators

Powder Puffs

Ok so there is the list.

I got some ideas from the previous comments so I will try to start on those tonight... possibly tomorrow.

Thanks again guys!

Syvannah

xoxox

HELLO!! I need your opinions!!

2010-07-08T10:07:00.004-06:00

First off I just want to say thanks to all my new followers!!
Secondly if you were following me from before you may be wondering why I haven't been making any posts recently....

It started with my allergies. I am allergic to quite a few things, pollen, dust, animals etc. So this year where I live the pollen has been ridiculous and I haven't really been too interested in doing anything but blowing my nose and keeping my eyes closed.

The other problem with my allergies is that my best friend now has 9 cats... yes she just might be a crazy cat lady! It started with 2 cats and then a stray showed up on the doorstep so they took her in. Lucky for them they soon realized that this cat was pregnant! So about 3 months ago that cat had kittens... well maybe like 1 week later one of their original cats got out and well... she just had kittens. I was getting used to the 3 of them so I wasn't really having allergy problems there but now there are 6 more and it is not the greatest for my health!

Anyhow! The reason I tell you about my allergies is because when I have allergy problems I also get sinus infections. So the point I am getting at here is that I haven't been around much because I have been SICK! ewwwwww

The main reason for this post is that I want to know what you guys think.
I have a lot of ELF items that I want to review but I just don't even know where to start. So I was thinking maybe I can take a picture of my collection and then you guys can let me know what you want to read about first. I don't want people to think I am trying to show off my stuff so If you guys think that it is tacky to post a picture and have you guys comment please let me know!!

Eagerly waiting your advise!
Syvannah
xoxox

EOS Smooth Sphere

2010-06-22T19:50:00.012-06:00

Clicking on the title will bring you to the page where you can buy this product

Hey guys and welcome to my new followers!
So this is going to be a review of the EOS (evolution of smooth) smooth sphere which is a lip balm that claims to be made of 100% natural ingredients and 95% of those are organic. You can find these at http://www.evolutionofsmooth.com or if you live in the states : Walgreens, Rite-aid etc. Unfortunately I live in Canada so I don't have access to those stores. The EOS website charges flat rate shipping of $15 USD to Canada. As you can imagine I found that to be totally outrageous for a $4 USD lip balm, so I turned to Ebay. I was able to find one that cost $8 USD including shipping. The flavor I purchased is called summer fruits.

Summer fruits has been described to smell similar to a whole arrangement of fruits from strawberries to peaches to grapefruit. I guess everyone has their own idea of what it smells like but what I think it smells like is ......... Fuzzy peaches!!

I find that this product works best when it is slightly warm.
The pros:
* natural/organic ingredients
* cute packaging
* great scent
* tastes good
* staying power is good while sleeping

The Cons:
* comes off easily while eating and drinking
* need to swipe across your lips several times to feel a decent amount of product
* runs out fast

Now, I will admit I have probably been using this balm more than most people would. I have been applying only this product to my lips since it has arrived on June 14th. So maybe that is like 10-15 times a day but for the amount that is gone you would think that I have had it for more than 8 days!

I do really like this product but I think it has been very over-rated. The first time I puckered up to apply this bad boy I found myself saying ... out loud... "Don't believe the hype".

If I could find this product in a store where it was maybe only $5 or so I would probably buy it again but having to track it down on ebay, pay for the shipping and wait 2 weeks is a bit much.

Well, I think I am just rambling now, if you have any questions or comments leave them below!!

<3
Syvannah

All over cover stick

2010-06-03T20:58:00.029-06:00

Clicking the title will bring you directly to the ELF page where you can purchase this product.
************************************************************************************

So lets talk about the all over cover stick. I have lined them up in the order they appear on the website. **************************************************************************************

I'll start by stating the obvious - this product is not suitable for all colors of skin. If you happen to be a match to one of these colors it is a FANTASTIC product! ***********************************************************************************

Pros:
- Great coverage - Easy to use
- Good pigmentation
- Smooth
- Creamy
- Versatile
- Long lasting

Cons:
- Not all are created equally
- Not a great range of colors
- Settles in fine lines if not applied correctly
- Cakes if put on a blemish that is peeling already

What I mean by them not all being created equally is just that. I own 6 out of the 7 that are available and they aren't all the same consistency. I also have a duplicate that is not the same consistency as it's match. I guess it just depends on the batch and on the temperature of the product. I find that these work the best when they are slightly warm.

Flash

Natural Light

The product swatches are in the order that I listed in the second picture from the top.
As you can see the jump from the second last color and the last color is big. I can appreciate that not everyone has my skin tone, so to give a better judge of what the colors look like I have done some swatches on white paper. I know that people aren't the color of white paper but it will give you a clearer idea of what the colors are.

Flash

Natural Light

Ok so How do I use this product?

I use it to conceal my blemishes, under eye circles and to contour my nose, cheeks and jaw. That's right I use the toffee color to contour and it works great! You just have to make sure to blend it out well otherwise it can appear to be dirty and orange. Also you want to make sure to follow it with a bronzer or something to set it.

When I apply it under my eyes I like to just put some on my ring finger and then dab and blend that way. I find that using a brush puts it on thicker and it just settles in my fine lines.

I use a concealer brush to apply it to my blemishes and any hyper-pigmentation that I have.

Oh!
One more thing... this product does have the same citrus type of smell that some of the other ELF products have.

I definitely recommend this product to anyone and everyone!!

Take care guys!

ELF Cream Eyeliners

2010-06-03T14:35:00.002-06:00

Click the title to go to the ELF site where you can purchase these

The above picture is taken without flash

Ok so in this post I am going to talk about the 3 eyeliners that I own from ELF.
I own the colors coffee, black and ivory. Of the 3 that I own, I love the colors coffee and black. Ivory - not so much. Lets talk about why I don't like ivory.

When I purchased it all the other colors were out of stock but I wanted to try the consistency of the product. I thought that this would be a matte white color... honestly I don't really know why I wanted a matte white right now but at the time it is what I expected. I received it in the mail and ripped it opened only to find out that white was more of a pearly silver color.

UGH!!
I was so mad because on the website you can not tell the color the product. So I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I tried it as a highlight, it was not bad.

The black is very dark and rich. When I think of coffee I think of a really dark brown - the coffee color is not very dark but it is such a great color!!
These eyeliners are really great.

I have tried a variety of eye liners - liquid and kohl pencils. I have a big problem with smudging, so finding the perfect liner has been a big challenge for me. ELF cream liners claim to be: "Smudge-proof, budge-proof and water-resistant coverage for all day wear to combat against, sweat, tears and rain". I would say that this holds true. They hold up all day too!

I really don't have anything bad to say about these except that ivory is not a matte white. I really want to get the midnight color to complete my collection!!

Taken with Flash

taken without flash in natural light

I defiantly recommend these to anyone and everyone!!
For only $3 give them a try!

My ELF Brushes

2010-06-02T21:43:00.001-06:00

Click the title to be directed to the ELF website where you can purchase these brushes.

So this is going to be a review of my ELF brushes, including pictures of the ones I own and what I use them for. After every description I will have a picture of the brush from the side or the top so you can see how thick or wide the brush is. So first I am going to talk about the brushes from the professional line. These brushes only cost $1 USD.

So the top 3 brushes are actually from the sugarkiss line that has been discontinued but they are the same quality as the professional line.
The eyeshadow brush is really good. It is dense enough that it can pack on color and fluffy enough to blend shadows. I own about 8 eyeshadow brushes so I don't use this one very often.

Next is the sugarkiss smudge brush - they call it a brush but it is just kind of like a hard sponge. I use this to smudge my eyeshadows or eyeliners.

The sugarkiss set includes a sponge tip applicator. I don't use these so I don't have much to say. Before I used a smudge "brush" I used to use these to smudge my shadow/liner.

Ok So now onto the professional line starting from the left is the eyelash & brow wand. Which I refer to as a spoolie. I love these things I own 4 of them. Mostly I use them when I am removing my eye make up. I really like to make sure that my lashes are clean and separated when I am going to bed. I also use them to comb my eyebrows.

Next is the smudge brush - which is the same tip as the sugarkiss line.

The third brush is the lip defining brush. It is quite small. I don't use this brush on my lips at all. I use this brush for small detail work on my eyes.

The eyeshadow brush is the same as the sugarkiss line just with a longer handle.

The blending brush is amazing. I use this for blending my colors together and softening any harsh lines I might have. I also use it to apply color and it picks the color up pretty good.

I am not a fan of the foundation brush. I have never tried any brand other than elf so I have nothing to compare it to. What I do know is that of all the times I have tried to use it, it just leaves me streaky and is not really worth using for the amount of time I have to spend blending out the lines.

The blushing, bronzing and blending brush does what it says. The name is ridiculously long but it is true. I use this brush mostly for contouring my face. The hollows of my cheeks, along my jawline etc. The only thing about this brush is it has red hairs that make it kind of scratchy. It is really hardly noticeable compared to the brush I am going to talk about next.

The next brush I am going to talk about is a total let down. I mean for $1 it is not a huge loss but I really wanted this to be a good brush. The brush has those red hairs I was talking about. On this brush those red hairs feel like you are trying to apply makeup with a green scrubby from your kitchen. It also doesn't pick up product as well as I thought it would.

Ok.... on to the studio line. These brushes are $3 except for the kabuki's they are a few dollars more. The studio line may be a bit more money than the professional line but it is well worth the money. They are all VERY soft!

Kabuki Face brush - I LOVE LOVE LOVE this brush. It is so soft and blends product so well. I use this to apply finishing powders or even to blend out my blush and bronzer.

Powder brush - I don't know if I love this brush more or the same as the kabuki. This brush is so great!! It is really soft and dense and it picks up product so well. The only down side is when you are washing it you have to spend extra time rinsing it out because it is so dense. I use this brush to stipple on liquid foundation, stipple/buff pressed powder, apply blush/bronzer and blend out and harsh lines.

Angled Foundation brush - I don't like this at all. Maybe I don't know how to use foundation brushes but I just find it to leave me very streaky.

Complexion Brush - This brush is like the way better version of the total face brush. It picks up product really well and is easy to use for blending. I use it only if I use the complexion perfection powder from ELF.

Blush brush - This brush picks up product fairly well. I try to use this brush but I don't wear a lot of blush so I don't have a very good idea of the quality.

Concealer brush - This brush works really well. It is fairly dense and holds product nicely. I use this brush every day to apply my concealer.

Fan brush - This brush is your typical fan brush. It is quite flimsy but it works well for brushing away eyeshadow fallout. This picture shows it being quite a bit thicker than it really is.

Lastly is the Small angled brush - It is a fairly thick brush compared to other angled brushes. I really like it for my cream liners, lining the waterline.
'

Well that is all of my brushes, you can find any of them at eyeslipsface.com I hope that some of this info has helped you. Leave me any questions or comments!
Take care
Syvannah

"My beauty addiction" Mineral eyeshadow samples

2010-05-05T15:09:00.002-06:00

So a couple weeks ago I found a store on etsy called my beauty addiction http://www.mybeautyaddiction.esty.com/ She sells a whole bunch of different beauty products. I ordered a deal she has : 10 sample shadows for $5. She has over 100 eyeshadow colors to choose from. The sample come in small ziplock type of bags. I would say that the samples are about a teaspoon. The ingredients that she uses in her shadows are:

mica, titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, may contain iron oxides, zinc oxide, ultramarines, carmine, ferric ferrocyanide. Only a few of her shadows include carmine and ferric ferrocyanide.

After Swatching the samples I received my initial thoughts are that they are decent shadows. They are fairly pigmented and true to color. I did 3 types of swatches, Dry application, with eyeshadow primer and wet application. I would not recommend using these shadows just dry without a primer. I accidentally brushed my arm against my sweater and the dry application swatches were almost gone. The wet application swatches had the best pigmentation and staying power. The shadows do have a bit of fallout when you are applying. They apply easily but do not blend as well as I had hoped. The application also wasn't that even so I suggest that you really swirl your brush in the color and then tap, making sure that the bristles are evenly coated for an even application.
The colors shown from left to right:
Electric blue, electric pink, electric coral, electric orange, electric yellow, sugarplum, radioactive, warm bronze, topaz and swiss chocolate.

All in all these shadows were pretty decent. They are not the best shadows I have used... BUT certainly not the worst!!

First blog

2010-04-14T13:09:00.002-06:00

This is my first blog ever.
My name is Syvannah, I'm almost 24, a mother to a 2 year old and a wife to an amazing man.
In the past few months I have fallen in love with makeup. Like it has become a serious addiction.

It all started while watching youtube videos. I discovered the 88 palettes by http://www.coastalscents.com and made my first order with them with money I got for christmas. Then as I continued to watch youtube I learned of another company that sells very inexpensive makeup that is really great quality. What is this company you ask? E.L.F!! http://www.eyeslipsface.com AMAZING!

Anyways, I want this blog to be about my new addiction - makeup. I will start with reviews and hauls maybe I'll even get into tutorials. Oh and maybe even a few giveaways here and there!