23 August 2010

e.l.f Beauty Books

Hello! Welcome new followers and thanks to everyone who has entered the giveaway!!! I already have over 65 entries! I'm so excited!!! Whoo! :)

Today, I'm going nail polish free and bringing you a review on some e.l.f products! The Beauty Books are palettes that e.l.f has released for a limited time. They're kind of a back-to-school accessory. In fact, the packaging looks like little notebooks! And since tomorrow is back to school for me, I thought I'd share my favorite new school supply with all of you (all 115 of you! 115! Freakin' amazing! I hope you all enjoy my blog, because I already love you all! :P)!



There are three different palettes: Natural Eye, Smokey Eye, and Eye Brights. Each palette comes with 12 eyeshadows, a sponge applicator, and a black eyeliner pencil. Each palette has a guide on the inside cover, explaining how to get the "perfect" eye makeup. Not bad tips, but I like to get creative on my own. I guess I'm just a rebel.


When my friends and I spotted these at Target, we were skeptical. We had tried e.l.f eye shadow before and been unimpressed. We decided to sneak a quick swatch of some colors from each palette. Whoa. Pigmentation was extremely better than the single shadows purchased in the past. I grabbed one of each palette and hit the checkout lanes. (Note: I purchased these at a Super Target that already carried e.l.f products, the Target in my home town is not a super and does not carry e.l.f on a regular basis and did not have the back to school end cap filled with goodies. I'm guessing that only some Targets will end up having these palettes).

The Natural Eye palette has the exact colors you would think it would. Browns, taupes, creams, and some mauves and pinks.  It's the perfect palette for creating a beautiful natural look. Excellent pigmentation, silky smooth texture (except on colors with glitter in them), and great ability to blend.  This palette is wonderful for every day looks.
Close up of Natural Eye. 

Swatches in sunlight

No sun. No Flash.

The Smokey Eye palette is equipped with the best shades to make a black smokey eye or a brown smokey eye.  The have the same amount of pigmentation as the Natural eye and the same texture. I was hoping for more gun metals and greys in this palette but overall I like the fact that it's got a broader range of color. Here's the closeup:
Direct Sunlight

Sunlight. The one color matches my skin tone almost perfectly! 




Flash. Look at the glitter in these shadows! Holy cow! haha

Eye Brights has to be my favorite. The colors are gorgeous! It has the same color payoff as the other two palettes but it has more variety of colors. The greens are amazing. I love them! Here, look at them. I can't say anymore, just look!


Sun. The blue is actually a duochrome type color. It has a green flash to it. Stunning. 

Sun. None of my pictures do this palette justice. It's slightly depressing. Everything is gorgeous. And I think that may be the same skin tone-matching shadow as in the Smokey Eye palette. 

Flash. Beauty. Yummy. *drool*

There are some shades in each palette that do not give as mush color payoff as the rest but it's generally the lighter colors. However, you can build them up. There is a down side to these palettes. I cannot get the colors to last all day. I use an eye primer, which has never let me down before, and when I get home my eye makeup has faded. I've also used a finishing spray. That didn't help either. I need to experiment with these some more. There has to be a solution. I only noticed it a couple of times so maybe those were flukes? Hmm. 

Well, I'm going to go paint my nails for school tomorrow. Haha. I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week. I will see you later!

PS: If you haven't entered my giveaway, do it now! Okay, you have until September 5th, but I still think you should enter right now! :)

15 August 2010

Wanna win some nail polish? Giveaway Closed!

Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!

Hey, I'm back for real this time! And I'm starting off with a giveaway! I thought it would be the best way to apologize for being away for so long and I'm feeling generous.

There is only one prize this time around and it includes polishes from the China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection and the OPI Swiss collection! Here's some pictures to drool over:

OPI L-R: William Tell Me About OPI, Ski Teal We Drop, Diva of Geneva, and Yodel Me on My Cell
China Glaze L-R: Swing Baby, Jitterbug, Emerald Fitzgerald, Goin' My Way?, First Class Ticket, and Riveter Rouge

Here's how you enter the giveaway:

1. Be a follower and leave a comment on this post. Your email should be included for contact if you win!

2. Extra entries can be earned. 
  • One extra entry can be earned by blogging, tweeting, or by some other way of spreading the word. You may earn an extra entry for each of those if you chose to do more than one. You must give me a link or retweet me (@glamgeekchic).  
  • You can earn 5 extra entries by emailing me a picture of a manicure inspired by the Vintage Vixen or Swiss collection. You can even combine them and do a Vintage Swiss Vixen or something! :) Must be a new mani and only one entry can be submitted. I will post all the entries for fun! Email: glamgeekchic@gmail.com.
3. Giveaway ends September 5th, 2010. That's about three weeks to get in your entries! On that date I will draw a name using some random generator site and announce the winner on the 6th!

Good luck! I'm so excited to give these gorgeous polishes away! So pretty! *drool*