November 2012 Favorites

It's time for favorites again, and I have a few things to show you have I have been really happy with this month. I hope you enjoy! 

Alba Botanica Even Advanced Day and Night Cream

I believe I have found the skin care items I am going to be sticking to. I still use the Yes to Cucumbers Gentle Milk Cleanser, but I have needed some extreme moisture in my skin. I also was very interested in these items, because they are supposed to even out your skin tone. I can honestly say that since I have started using these items (I have the toner as well, but I de-potted it into a different container) I have noticed a huge difference in the amount of redness in my skin. They have a pleasant scent, provide the moisture I need, and they have improved the appearance of my skin. I am very impressed.

Pumpkin and Poppy cream eye shadows in Lockbearer and My Precious; Pumpkin and Poppy pigment eye shadows in Archer and Shire

I have been pretty much using these colors non-stop this month. They are BEAUTIFUL, and they're perfect for fall. All of these colors really bring out the blue in my eyes, and I have just really been enjoying putting looks together with them.You can view swatches of these colors in my Pumpkin and Poppy One Ring Collection Overview.

ELF Mineral Powder Brush, ELF Flawless Concealer Brush, and Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush

I use the mineral powder brush for my foundation. It blends it out beautifully, and doesn't cause my skin to flake up. The flawless concealer brush applies my OCC Skin Conceal really well underneath my eyes as well as on any redness I have. It makes it really easy to blend, and I also use it to set my concealer with powder. I have never had any problems with any of my ELF brushes shedding, and I wash my brushes after every use. The base shadow brush is just so versatile. I have used to for my crease color, lid color, and to sweep a shadow all over my lid. It's fantastic. I have washed it several times, and it has not shed at all. 

Pumpkin and Poppy Lady of Light Cream Highlighter and Debutante Cream Blush/Highlighter

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I just adore these products. They formula is fantastic, the colors are fantastic, and they just work really well for me. For my skin tone, Debutante is a very natural blush color. Lady of light is the perfect highlighter for me. You can view swatches of these products in my Pumpkin and Poppy One Ring Collection Overview and my Pumpkin and Poppy Color Face Products Collection.

Wet N' Wild Color Icon blush in Pearlescent Pink

I have been getting a lot of use out of this lately. It's very affordable, it's a lovely color, and it doesn't bring out the redness in my face like a lot of blushes can tend to do. 

Wet N' Wild Matte Lipstick in 907C

This is just a beautiful color. It's bold without being extremely bold, and it's a good color for fall. The formula of this lipstick in phenomenal, and it leaves a lovely stain as it fades. 

Left to Right: Wet N' Wild matte lipstick on 907C, Wet N' Wild Color Icon Blush in Pearlescent Pink swatched heavily, Wet N' Wild Color Icon Blush in Pearlescent Pink blended out

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday and that you all have a wonderful weekend! I would love for you to leave your favorites in the comments or send me a link to your blog post of YouTube video. 

Purple People FOTD

Today, I'm going to the mall with a friend and our kids. I didn't feel like doing a complicated eye look, because I feel like I've been wearing nothing but dark, complicated eye looks. I just want a change of pace for today so, I'm keeping it simple. I have been itching to wear Purple People, and today is a great opportunity to do that. 

Also, as I'm sure most of you have heard, Urban Decay has been purchased by L'Oreal. I will not be purchasing anymore of their products, but some of them may appear in FOTD posts since I will using up what I have.

I hope you enjoy!

Eyes:

Elf Mineral Eye Primer

Urban Decay eyeshadow in Sin (all over lid) **NOT cruelty free**

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio for Blue Eyes (I used the brown liner on the upper and lower lash line) 

Face:

 Bodyography Foundation Primer in Clear 

100% Pure Healthy Skin Foundation with super fruits in Creme

OCC Skin Conceal in Y0

Pumpkin and Poppy contouring powder in Oak Bark

Pumpkin and Poppy cream blush in Debutante

Pumpkin and Poppy beauty powder in Cave of Wonders

Pumpkin and Poppy Oil Absorbing Mineral Veil 

Lips:

Pumpkin and Poppy lip pencil in Purple People

Update on Nyx and Project Get it Out

I have been iffy on Nyx's cruelty free status for a while now because of the mixed feed back some of my fellow cruelty free consumers were getting from their customer service. However, they have recently made it very clear that they will not be selling in China. This means that I will be taking the Nyx products that I own out of my Project Get it Out box, and I will be listing any products I use from them in FOTD posts and whatnot. 

Nyx Article

Pumpkin and Poppy Funny Lip Shape: Purple People and Never Was a Cornflake Girl Swatches

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families! 

I finally got around to ordering a couple of the newer lip pencils I wanted from the Funny Lip Shape line. I wanted Datura, but it was out of stock so, I got Purple People and Never Was a Cornflake Girl. I am thrilled with both of these colors and the formula of Pumpkin and Poppy Lip Pencils. They're very pigmented and moisturizing, and they have great lasting power. I hope you enjoy!

Left: Never Was a Cornflake Girl; Right: Purple People

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Project Get it Out!

I am lucky enough to have learned about animal testing early on when my interest in makeup started, but I still have some things in my collection that I do not consider to be cruelty free. As a cruelty free consumer, my goal is to only have cruelty free items in my collection, but this can be difficult as companies change their policies often. I am now more careful about where I choose to spend my money. I try to invest in companies that I am more certain won't sell in China or change any other policy that means that their products will be tested on animals.

I have gone through my collection and given away the items that are not cruelty free (and some that are) that I know I just won't be able to use up. I am a very impatient person, and I know that I won't be able to use up items that I just don't like. However, I would feel bad throwing them in the trash and wasting them so, I feel better giving them to someone who will use them. The products that I will be mentioning today are products that I think I can use up. 

You will see that these products are mostly lip products. I am one that tends to neglect lip products. I often will just use a lip balm. This is not to say that I don't have items in other categories that are not cruelty free. I have some eyeliners, a blush, and a couple of eye shadows that I have been working on using up, but I have been making progress on those. The point of this project is for me to put these products where I will have to look at them every time I open the drawer in my desk where I keep all my most used items.

You'll see that I have some Loreal, Revlon, and Nyx products. Hopefully by putting them in this drawer, I will be reminded to use them and make some progress. I am not allowing myself to give these away, because this is punishment! I need to learn to think more about what I decide to add to my collection. I am a person that hates clutter, and I want my collection contain only things that are cruelty free. 

I hope that you enjoyed! Do you have any items you want to use up?

FOTD: Two Year Anniversary

I'm really not sure what we're going to do this evening, but I wanted to continue to play with my new products from Pumpkin and Poppy. Her products are a staple in my collection. I use at least a few things from her line every single time I do my makeup, and I do find that I neglect my other eyeshadows, because I love hers so much. She has released her new Ice Dance collection so, expect a review and swatches of that coming up hopefully in the near future. 

Eyes:

Elf Mineral Eye Shadow Primer

Pumpkin and Poppy cream shadow in My Precious (all over lid and into crease)

Pumpkin and Poppy eye shadow in Three Wishes (lightly dusted onto lid, inner portion of lower lash line)

Pumpkin and Poppy eye shadow in Shire (crease, outer portion of lower lash line)

Too Faced eye shadow in Bouquet Toss (inner corner, brow bone)

I used a matte black shadow to line the upper lash line

Urban Decay Super Curl Mascara

Face:

Elf Mineral Infused Primer

100% Pure Healthy Skin Foundation with super fruits in Creme

Pumpkin and Poppy Oil Absorbing Mineral Veil

Pumpkin and Poppy contouring powder in Oak Bark

Wet N' Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink

Lips:

Lip balm

I hope you enjoyed and that you are having a wonderful day.

 

ELF Haul and First Impressions

ELF was having a free shipping on orders 15 dollars and up so, I decided to take advantage since I needed another mineral powder brush. I hope you enjoy!

Elf Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick in Rock

The consistency of this is very creamy. It's goes on very easily and is nicely pigmented. I haven't worn it on my eyes yet so, I'll have to let you know how that goes. I love the color.

Elf  Eyebrow Kit in Ash

The brow powder is really soft and silky, and the wax has a nice consistency, too. I've never been interested in eyebrow things, but I figured I'd give this a shot. I hear many good things about it. 

Elf Eyebrow Lifter and Filler in Ash and Ivory

Since I'm exploring my eyebrow options, I wanted to try a pencil, too. I thought this would be a good one to get since it's cheap and also comes with a lifter side. The filler side is a very good color for my eyebrows, but the lifter is too dark for me to use as a highlighter. I will be using that side on my waterline instead to brighten that up. Both sides are pretty soft and creamy.

I decided to pick up three brushes: the mineral powder brush (which is my holy grail foundation brush, thanks to Veggie Beauty), the flawless concealer brush, and the lash and brow comb. I really enjoy the studio brushes, and I think they are amazing quality. I wash all my brushes after each use, and I have never had a problem with shedding or anything like that. 

I hope you enjoyed my haul! Let me know what your favorite ELF products are.