Why Not Wednesday: e.l.f. Daily Hydration Moisturizer

elf has been a beloved drug store brand of mine for quite some time. I remember in middle/high school my aunt emailed me about this website where all the makeup was only $1.00. Over the years, elf has grown so much as a company and introduced some amazing products. The best part- they are very affordable options. I was SO EXCITED when they announced they were releasing a skincare line! Skincare items tend to be more expensive than other beauty items, so I knew elf would have affordable options. Plus, I'm a skincare junkie...

I contemplated ordering online for quite some time. It would sit in my cart for weeks as I went back on forth whether or not to buy. While strolling through WalMart, I noticed a bunch of little yellow "new" tags in the skincare aisle. There... on the top shelf of course... was the entire elf skincare line. Why not? At first I opted to only buy the cleanser and daily moisturizer. I have a ton of target specific items at home, but I use daily cleanser and moisturizer like they are going out of style. I am always looking for great, daily options. (This blog is strictly about the moisturizer, but I will eventually follow-up about the cleanser.)

The website states it is lightweight, lightly scented. It's infused with a couple different items- first listed purified water, jojoba oil, aloe, and a couple others. It also lists antioxidantes- shea butter, grape and orange. My favorite part all elf skincare products are paraben, sulfate, and phthalates free.

I. Hate. This. Moisturizer.

1. I don't consider it lightweight. It sat very, very heavy on my face and refused to dry or sink in! One day I timed it... 43 minutes. That is unacceptable.

2. When it does decide to dry, it is sticky. My face felt tacky afterwards. I actually rewashed my face and applied a different moisturizer.

3. I really like elf, so I decided to give it another shot and apply makeup. Terrible, terrible mistake. I made it through primer and 1/4 foundation application. Again, I washed my face immediately.

4. Maybe it's my sensitive nose, but the smell is overwhelming.

5. Upon purchase, I was excited to see they took the time to include a pump! I hate squeeze bottles or jars. The first couple of pumps no product came out. I thought... okay this is typical for new pumps.  Nope. The pump is useless. There's no tube connected to the pump, so you have to shake hold upside down, pump it a million times, and repeat.

I feel bad for writing this because I really like elf products, but I would not recommend this one. Spend a little more and purchase one you love.

Jojoba, Aloe, Vitamin E and Cucumber

This lightweight, lightly scented moisturizer helps hydrate and nourish for glowing, healthy looking skin. Infused with Purified Water and skin-nourishing Jojoba, Aloe, Vitamin E and Cucumber to help soothe and protect the delicate skin area. Rich in antioxidants such as Shea Butter, Grape and Orange.

This lightweight, lightly scented moisturizer helps hydrate and nourish for glowing, healthy looking skin. Infused with Purified Water and skin-nourishing Jojoba, Aloe, Vitamin E and Cucumber to help soothe and protect the delicate skin area. Rich in antioxidants such as Shea Butter, Grape and Orange.

Creative Crunch- View of the Backlog

It's Monday. M. O. N. D. A. Y.

This Monday was definitely a Monday. Rough start this morning, dealing with a sunburn (<--- perfect topic for Why Not? Wednesday), a STYE, construction, a ton of emails, backing up my old laptop, working with IT for my new laptop, and rain. I'm not complaining about the rain though because my poor, sickly yard needed it.

I come home, follow routine, and needed something out of my office. My office... is currently the catch-all of the house piled with totes, stuff I need to donate, and a backlog of crafts. I used to craft quite often, and then life just happened. I have piles and boxes of half finished crafts or never even start crafts. I couldn't even tell you the last thing I created... which is sad. I seriously have a backlog and  a list of crafts I need to complete.

My next idea... I need a crafting group. Once a month, affordable pinterest project, wine, chocolate, and the company of one another. Would you be interested? Even if you're not crafty, we can at least have a good time. Shoot. I'll make my craft and your's. I need a creative outlet. I mean, I have my blog, but I want to build, paint, sew, SOMETHING.

Needless to say I've been in somewhat of a creative crunch. My heart says yes, but my brain says no. Not so much my brain, but my body. I'm pooped by the end of the day, and the weekends are filled with errands and laundry. To keep me on track... I'm posting for the world to see my top priority crafts (so you can hold me accountable):

 

 

It's going to be cuteeeeee.

1. Adding frilly extenders and width to now-too-small shirts. First, don't judge me. Second, I LOVE these shirts and can't bring myself to get rid of them, so after some pinning I found a way to combine the two. I don't like the tutorials I found, so I am winging it. I have this almost metallic blue button up that needs a little extra room, but I also have this sheer, flowy top that just isn't my style anymore.

 2. This project has been on the back-burner for sometime. I inherited the bag for my birthday; well, it had a gift in it too. I fell in LOVE with the print. I want to frame the print. I want to old, decorative frames that I can paint to coordinate with the colors. If I could find some gorgeous wood frames I would settle for that as well. I HATE to buy the frames new, so I have been scouring local thrift stores in hopes of finding something. I would like two frames preferably bigger than an 8X10.






3. This. This is the best of the best. A friend bought this for my birthday, but it's not your average color by number... It's the adult version. I want to finish this, but I need to be in the right mindset. Haha. I also need both eyes to work properly (without a stye). Oh yeah... best thing about it, it's CATS.

Here's to my commitment to finish these, and then start on the 100s of others hanging out in my office.

Why Not Wednesday? LA Colors Dual Eye Pencil

If you've read my past posts, then you are well aware of my struggle breaking from a long time loyal brand. If you are also live close to me, you know we recently had a few new stores added to our vast shopping choices. We now have the stores of all stores- a DOLLAR TREE! I told you we were high class.

There's a few products I regularly buy at our dollar stores, but never have I ever ventured toward the makeup aisle. While browsing the store on an end cap, I noticed these dual eye pencils with a pencil sharpener included. So why not?

 I bought one thinking if I'm not crazy about it, its only $1.00, and I would pass it along to my sister who would surely enjoy it. Too bad for her though, I actually liked it. I would even recommend it to other beauty lovers!!

Look for these at your local store!

These little treasures offer one end eyeliner (matte black) and the other an eye shadow ( metallic various colors). However, I used the shadow end as liner and had no issues. They are a chubby pencil, so if you are looking for skinny this wouldn't be ideal. I found 6 color choices at my local store, but only bought 5. I chose not to buy Aquatic, which appeared to be a metallic blue/teal.

Swatch: 1. Black Liner 2. Coffee 3. Tantalize 4. Smokey 5. Bejeweled 6. Black Liner (again)

Questions I ask about eyeliner...

1. Length of wear? I wore it for 9 hours straight at work. At the end of the day, no smears, smudges, or color transfer. When washing my face, I had soak cotton rounds in eye makeup remover and swipe my eyelids multiple times, followed by a full face wash.

2. Application? It is a very, very smooth application. I was surprised  how easy it was to apply! My experience with pencil liners is it takes a little more force for the look I want to achieve.

3. Pigment? These are very pigmented and true to color. Beware: smokey, tantalizing, and bejeweled are very metallic, so go easy if you are not a sparkly person.

5. Price? Extremely affordable at $1.00 a piece, especially since they are dual ended. You're paying for $0.50 for each color?!

6. Recommend? I would recommend for someone who is a lover of eye liner. Plus at a low price, you can pick up the whole collection for less than $7.00!

This Why not Wednesday was successful! Wednesdays to come? Skin care, aroma bead candles, and whatever else sparks my interests. Until next time. :)

9 Hour work day, and eyeliner is still in place!