New Title!

As of Monday, May 17th, 2010, I am officially the Makeup Examiner for Anaheim, CA and the surrounding areas for Examiner.com! I'm so excited to start writing in a journalistic setting. While I absolutely adore my blog, and I will continue to post reviews and other budget-friendly tips here, I will also be posting articles on Examiner.com for a more widespread audience. My first article is up and it's titled "5 tips for getting the perfect bronze look for summer." It's a how-to on the bronzed beauty look that is so popular for summer. It features some of my favorite products from higher end (more expensive) companies and also includes a beauty on a budget section detailing drugstore brand products that can be used to achieve the same look. Check it out here: 5 tips for getting the perfect bronze look for summer. I'm so excited and I hope you all go and check it out. Hopefully I can get a tutorial type post up on this site using the Beauty on a Budget products. So please, PLEASE go check out my Examiner.com page, subscribe at the top of the page, and keep checking back here and there for all the updated makeup info you could ever need (well, maybe not ever!) Thank you SOOO much!

Love makeup,
Jamie

E.L.F. Haul/Review

After waiting two whole weeks after placing my order from eyeslipsface.com, it finally arrived and now I'm very excited to write my reviews about it! For anyone who doesn't know about E.L.F., this is a company made for makeup junkies on a budget (like me!). Their entire e.l.f. line--mascara, eyeshadow, lipstick, nail polish, makeup brushes, everything!--sells for only $1! Seriously, everything is a dollar. They also have a studio line, which is a little higher quality, that's products are only $3 each (except for a few things that are $6). They even have a mineral line, where everything is between $3 and $8. Basically everything is super affordable and they ALWAYS have multiple promotions going to save you even more money.

So on with the reviews! Some of the things I'm going to review I got online from their website, eyeslipsface.com, and some of them I picked up at my local Target (you can check their website to see where they're sold in stores near you). For me, ordering online was kind of a bittersweet experience. All of the products I ordered online were from their studio line and I had a coupon code for 50% off all studio items so that was awesome (unfortunately this expired already or else I would totally share it with you guys :( ). But like I mentioned earlier, it took two weeks from the day I ordered to get my products, which is much longer than I'm used to waiting for things I order online. Also, it came packaged in a padded envelope as opposed to a box so all of the boxes the items came in were a little bit crunched but none of the actual products were damaged, so that wasn't too bad. So here are all of the things I got from both Target and eyeslipsface.com:1) Studio Mineral Face Primer ($6): This is actually the first face primer I've tried so it was a new experience for me. Basically, face primer's are supposed to even out skin's texture so that foundation goes on more smoothly and gives your face that nice, soft, flat surface to hide any imperfections your face may have. Upon first application of this primer, you can immediately feel a nice, soft finish on your skin. You only need one pump to cover your whole face and neck area. It helps foundation go on more smoothly; it spreads easier and blends nicely. Because the foundation spreads more readily over the face, it makes the foundation's coverage a little more sheer than without the primer, which may be good for some people but for me, I have a lot of redness in my skin and a few blemishes that need covering so, it wasn't that great. Also, I had to stop using it because I was afraid it was making me break out. I'm not sure because my skin is still recovering from a new face wash that did break me out, so once my skin is better, I'm going to try it again.

Grade: B- I give it a B- because I do like the way it makes my skin soft but I don't like that it sheers out my foundation so much and I'm not a fan of it (possibly) breaking me out.

2) Studio High Definition Powder ($6): LOVE IT! This is seriously one of my absolute favorite translucent powders ever. It gives your skin that soft, almost airbrushed look. It does not settle into fine lines or pores so it really gives your face a flawless look. It's pretty amazing. I don't have a negative thing to say about it. I highly recommend it. Plus, for a limited time, you can get this amazing powder for free with any $15 order from eyeslipsface.com! Just enter: FBS2 at checkout.

Grade: A Obviously. Love it!

4) E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lemonade and Baby Lips ($1 each): These are like a mix of a lip gloss and a lipstick. The color payoff is fairly sheer, not as sheer as a lip gloss but definitely more sheer than lipstick. They aren't very sticky and the colors I got are really pretty. Baby Lips (right) is pretty much exactly my lip color so it evens out my lip color without adding any color. Great for everyday wear, it looks like I'm just wearing clear gloss but better. Pink Lemonade (left) is a really pretty pink with a little bit of a gold shimmer to it. It's a brighter pink than Baby Lips but it's sheer enough to not be TOO pink. It looks really great alone but I also like it with a little bit of Baby Lips on top.

Grade: A I love these for everyday wear and I'm really excited to try the other shades they have.

5) Studio Kabuki Face Brush ($5): This is a really good kabuki brush. It's nice and big, it's really soft, and it's very full. I use it to apply my High Definition Powder and I use it to soften up lines of blush and bronzer. I've had zero hair fall out and I'm going to get another one so obviously I like it.

Grade: A Love it!



6) Studio Eyeshadow "C" Brush ($3): Great eye shadow brush. It packs color on nicely and is also good for blending. It's size and shape make it great for all different eye shadow applications: highlighting, all over color, crease definition, and blending. I recommend getting multiples of this brush because you will be reaching for it over and over again.

Grade: A I really don't have anything negative to say about this brush. It really is a great brush.

7) Studio Fan Brush ($3): This brush is really not my favorite. The bristles are too soft and too loosely packed to do very much of anything. Its not very good for sweeping away fall out from under the eyes and it's not very good for applying blush or highlight to my skin. The one thing I do like to use it for, however, is for putting blush on my 7-year-old niece. She loves to play dress up and always wants me to do her makeup so I use this brush to give her an extremely sheer wash of color on her cheeks.

Grade: D Unless you have a 7-year-old that wants you to put makeup on them, this brush is not worth the $3.

8) E.L.F. Slant Tweezers ($1): These are actually a lot better than I expected them to be. They get in there and grip hairs nicely for a smooth removal. I still would recommend picking up a pair of Tweezerman Tweezers because they will last you forever (literally forever, since you can send them out and they'll sharpen them for free), but if your desperate for tweezers and don't have $20 to spend on Tweezerman's or if you need a stand in for when your Tweezerman's are being sharpened, then there is no greater value than these tweezers and I highly recommend them.

Grade: B Not the absolute best but still good and there really is no greater deal out there.

9) E.L.F. Mechanical Eyelash Curler ($1): This is one of the best eyelash curlers I have ever used and they're only a dollar. They squeeze tightly and give a great curl that really lasts. The only downside is that they're kind of bulky and the spring operation in them makes them store with the handles open and extended, unlike normal curlers that store closed so they take up less space. They come with a little plastic piece that fits over the handles to keep them semi closed so don't toss this when you get them, otherwise they'd be a pain to store.

Grade: A Great curl, inexpensive price tag.

10) E.L.F. Candy Shop Lip Tin in Melon Mayhem ($0.50): These sell for 50 cents but I actually got it for free with my online order for putting in the email addresses of 3 friends. Unfortunately, I don't really like it. It's very glittery, I don't like the way it smells at all, and it's not really that glossy.

Grade: F At least it was free!


Overall, I like most of the products I got from e.l.f. These products are definitely worth giving a try. If paying for shipping and waiting 2 weeks to get your makeup then definitely check out your local target to see if they have e.l.f. there. But of course there is always the online deals. Here are some of the coupon codes that are good right now:

Free High Definition Powder w/$15 order: FBS2
$1.98 Shipping w/$20 order (normally $6.95): EGSHIP198
$5 off any order: FREEFIVE
50% off orders over $15: WINNERELF
Find more at retailmenot.com

Also, for those of you new to the e.l.f. brand, they have a deal where, for $9.50, you can pick any 5 of their regular e.l.f. line products and they'll give you five more for free and that price includes the shipping. So your basically getting 50 cents off and free shipping. Use the code: TAKETHETEST .

Love beauty on a budget,
Jamie

L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara Review

To begin with, I was SUPER excited to try out this mascara. After seeing the commercials and hearing all the things they promise I was really hoping for great results.

The first time I used it, I didn't really like it at all. It was really clumpy, it took a long time to cover the white from step one and it didn't really come out as black as I would have liked it to; it still seemed kind of gray when it was wet. It didn't really make my lashes any longer and looked like a clumpier version of the mascara I had been using (Maybelline Define-a-Lash) and it makes my eyelashes feel hard, like really fake that I don't like at all. Also, taking it off was a pain. You have to take off your makeup, then take off your mascara, and then wash your face. Plus it was really messy coming off; little bits of the tubes ended up all over my face, in my eyes and all over my sink. The good things I did like about it the first time was that it really did last all day long, it didn't flake off, and it doesn't smudge at all. But that was about all I liked about it the first time.

After using it a few more times, I started to get the hang of it a little better. First of all, it still does look gray when you put the black side over the white, but as it dries it gets blacker, so don't get discouraged if it's still a little bit gray when you're putting it on. Another thing I noticed is that the more white you put on the longer it makes your lashes look, it really builds up on the ends. The white is definitely the key to length. I also figured out a way that works for me to take them off better. I run a cotton ball under HOT water, then squeeze some of the water out of the cotton ball so it cools off and doesn't drip down my face, I then hold the cotton ball on my eye for five to ten seconds, and finally, pinch my eyelashes between my forefinger and the cotton ball and gently pull away. They come off pretty well and don't make as much of a mess as just rubbing downward with the wet cotton ball. This is what it looks like coming off:
It's kind of gross and the first few times I was really scared that I was actually pulling my eyelashes out. Thankfully, it's just the tubes and all of my lashes are still intact.

Here's a side by side comparison of how they look against my lashes with nothing on. Beauty Tubes on the left, naked lashes on the right:This is without even curling them and there is a definite difference in length. All in all, I really like this mascara. I like the lengthening ability and the way my lashes look with it on but I really don't like the way it makes my lashes feel hard and crunchy and I don't like the extra step in taking them off so I probably wouldn't use it every day, but for special occasions or whenever I need a little more oomph without wearing falsies, I will be glad that this mascara is in my arsenal.

Love long lashes,
Jamie

Upcoming Posts

E.L.F. Haul/Review
Essence of Beauty Brow Kit and Brushes Review
L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Review

Super Inexpensive Makeup Brush Holder

Recently I've been on the look out for something to hold my makeup brushes that's really, really cute but also super inexpensive. So while I was making the rounds at my Walgreens today I came across the most perfect things ever...They're two little, I think, 4 inch round porcelain flower pots and I think they're adorable. They were in the garden aisle (I didn't even know that Walgreens had a garden aisle). These were the last two left in my Walgreens or else I probable would have gotten two that were the same. I'm glad I didn't though because I like how they're not exactly the same but still go together. Anyways, the main reason I got these was not because of how cute they are (although that helped), but it was how inexpensive they were. I got each of these for a whopping 86 cents. That's it. 86 cents each. It was amazing. I love great finds like this. They were originally priced at something like $1.29 and they were on sale for $0.86. I would have gotten them for the $1.29 too because that's still an amazing price. I'm also going to get some yummy smelling bath salts to put in them to make my brushes stand up better. So that was my deal of the day that I just had to share with everyone. Ooh! I also did cute paint splatter nails:Love fun nails!
-Jamie

A Review: Mark. Glowdacious and Mark. Keep It Going

Before I get into the reviews, I wanted to tell you all a little bit about mark., since it’s not actually a drugstore brand. Mark. is a sister company to Avon with a focus on a younger, trendier style. They use eco-friendly, customizable packaging and they never use any animal testing. They have good quality makeup at drugstore comparable prices. You can buy mark. products from any mark. representative or any Avon representative or online at www.mymarkstore.com/jgriesinger. Every four weeks mark. debuts a new magalog (mix of magazine and catalog) which contains new products in makeup, skincare, fashion, and accessories along with some of their brand staples. So today I got new makeup from the current magalog and a new item debuting in the upcoming magalog that goes live this Tuesday, April 27.

Mark. Keep It Going:

So the first thing I have to review is mark.’s Keep It Going long wear eye liner and shadow. These are gel-based duos that can be used as either eye liner or eye shadow. They are said to be smudge-proof and waterproof with buildable colors that last all day. They come in five different shades but I only got three of them. The first one I got is called “Entourage” which is a matte black and shimmery silver duo. Both colors are fairly sheer. The silver is practically invisible with only one layer, 2-3 layers are needed to get a definite silver. The black is good when used as eyeliner with a thin eyeliner brush. If you want to use the black as shadow and you really want a true black, you’ll need at least 2 layers. The next shade I got is called “Iconic” which is a shimmery green and gold duo. The colors are good. The gold is a shimmery yellow-gold. It’s pretty sheer like the silver in Entourage, but with a few layers, it’s a really pretty gold. The green is like an olive-ish green and it’s a little more opaque than the gold; you can get pretty good coverage with just one layer. It has a gold shimmer to it that makes it a perfect pair with the gold it comes with. The last shade I got “Exposure.” It’s a shimmery tan and matte chocolate brown duo. These colors are both opaque enough. Only one layer needed for these. The tan is nice and the chocolate is good as an eyeliner. This duo is great for a natural look.

All of the colors are really creamy and smooth going on. They work better when warmed up by the skin a little rather than straight out of the container so I would suggest applying them with your ring finger or if you prefer using a brush then take some product out of the container with a brush and rub it on the back of your hand to warm it up. It goes on smoother and doesn’t dry as fast when warmed up. If you use them with a brush straight out of the container, they dry incredibly fast making any kind of blending nearly impossible. As for their staying power, they really do last all day long without fading, creasing or smudging. These would also be good as an eye primer; the tan from Exposure or the gold from Iconic would be good any color eye shadow or you could use the green from Iconic, the purple from another shade Industria (which also comes with charcoal grey), or the blue from another shade Surreal (which also comes with bronze) as a base for eye shadow looks of those colors. These cost $10 each and again, you can get them through your mark. rep, Avon rep, or online.

Mark. Glowdacious:

The other item I got is the mark. Glowdacious illuminating powder. This item will debut when Magalog 5 goes live on April 27^th. It’s a compact that has three rings of colors that combine a bronzer and a highlighter. It’s a shimmery “illuminating powder” that brightens skin tone and enhances a tan. It is $12 and comes in three shades: Prettied Up, which is good for light skin tones; Shimmied Up which is best for medium skin tones; and Amped Up which is better for darker skin tones. I am super pale so, of course, I got prettied up. Let me just start by saying, this is the first bronzer I have ever used that hasn’t made me look dirty or orange. I swirled my brush through all three colors to use as a bronzer then I took a smaller brush in just the lightest shade to use for a highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones, right under my eyebrows and down the bridge of my nose. This one compact really worked great as both a bronzer and a highlighter and it really made my skin look glowing (in a good way). I also decided to try this compact out as eye shadow because I love makeup that multi-tasks (money savers!) and it looked really good. I used the medium shade as an all over lid shade, the darkest shade in the crease and the lightest shade as a highlight under the brow and in the inner corners of my eyes with just a thin, smudgy, black liner, the result: a gorgeous, beachy, summer eye look. I absolutely love it and (over my Victoria’s Secret Eye Primer) it has lasted 12 hours so far and still going strong. I can’t wait to wear this look out to the beach in the summertime.

Overall I am very impressed with both of these new mark. products and I highly suggest you check them out. If you don’t already have a mark. or Avon representative, you can order online at www.mymarkstore.com/jgriesinger.

Love and lipgloss,

Jamie

CVS Mini Haul

So I stopped by CVS today and had to pick up a few things from the beauty section to review for you guys. I only got a few things because I was kind of in a hurry so anywho, here it goes…

The first thing I picked up was the L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. This is something I’ve wanted to try for a super long time but for one reason or another I just haven’t gotten around to it so I’m pretty excited about trying that out. I got it in the shade blackest black and it was $10.99. For those of you who don’t know about this product, it’s a two step system that acts like eyelash extensions. The first step is a nourishing basecoat, kind of like eyelash moisturizer, it protects, nourishes and strengthens the lashes before you put on the “Ultra Lengthening Tube Top Coat.” The second step is the mascara part. The package says, “As the mascara sets, it envelopes your lashes in small tubes that act like lash-lengthening extensions.” It’s supposed to make your lashes look 80% longer without smudging, smearing, running or flaking. It’s also supposed to be clump-free (no spider-eyes) and long wearing. I haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet but I’m definitely looking forward to it.

The other things I wanted to check out at CVS were some makeup brushes. I’ve heard good things about the brushes from CVS’s beauty brand Essence of Beauty so I wanted to pick some up (specifically eye brushes) to give them a try. So one of the brushes that I picked up is called… well… it says on the package Dual Use Eye shadow Brush but it says on the brush Smokey-Wide, so it’s the Smokey-Wide Dual Use Eye shadow Brush, but we’ll just call him Smokey. So Smokey is a two-sided brush: one side is a pencil-shaped brush similar to the MAC 219 but with shorter bristles, it’s pretty densely packed and comes to a nice point, good for the crease or doing a smudgey-smokey look on the lash line; the other side is a big, fluffy, paddle-shaped brush, it’s really soft and it seems like it would be good for putting on a highlight or one color all over the eyelid but I have to say that this side of the brush smells absolutely horrible. I know it’s natural hair and everything but seriously it’s gross, even after deep cleaning it still smells. Even though the smell of the brush won’t affect its ability to do its job, I just have this thing where I feel like the smell is going to transfer from the brush to my eye shadow or to my face so I don’t want to use it. The pencil side doesn’t smell so I’ll still use that part, but if I can’t get the smell out of the paddle side, I’ll probably never use it. Oh, and that brush was $6.99.

The last thing I got was their brow/lid kit. It was also $6.99 but it has a bunch of stuff in it. It came with 3 different shaped brow stencils, which I’ll never use; a 2-sided brow pencil, black on one side, dark brown on the other; a little compact with 2 colors of brow powder, a taupe-ish color and a darker brown, it also came with a sponge applicator in it, which is kind of ridiculous to use on brows, but I guess you could use them on your eyes; it came with 2 brushes, an angled brow brush that’s fairly stiff, which is good for brows, and a two-sided eye brush, an angled shading brush on one side and a small smudger brush on the other side; and lastly, it came with an eye shadow trio, with really pretty neutral tones in it, a medium grey-brown and a deeper grey-brown and a really good highlighter that also works pretty well on the tops of the cheekbones to give that nice glow.

I haven’t gotten to really play with any of this stuff yet but when I do, I’ll be back to do some reviews on those things. Oh! I almost forgot. I also got the Essence of Beauty Brush Cleaner. It comes in a spray bottle and is just meant for like spot cleaning, but we’ll see how that works out too. So be on the lookout for reviews of these things and also I ordered a couple things from mark. and from e.l.f. so be on the lookout for reviews on those things too!

Love,
Jamie

My New Love!

So recently on Facebook, I became a fan of Caboodles. I have a couple of their train cases to hold my makeup for theater and some of my mark. makeup samples and whatnot. Anyways, like a couple hours after I became a fan they put up this contest on their page and 10 people would win something from Caboodles. So I entered, wasn't really expecting to win, I've never won anything like that before, but they announced the winners later that night and I totally won! I was so excited! This was about a week ago and they weren't really clear on what we would actually get so I had no idea what it would be. Today as my sister and I were testing foundations, we hear this knock on the door. I run down and sure enough, its my gift from Caboodles. I open the box and in it is this HUGE train case. It's called the Goddess and its amazing! I was so stoked! I have two of their train cases already, a bigger one and a smaller one and I thought my big one was big. No, this one is bigger! It's about an inch taller and like 3 inches wider than my big one. Here's a picture of my new baby next to my big one... well not my big one anymore. I seriously cannot stop talking about it. I'm so excited to start filling it up with everything I'm going to be reviewing here and just anything. I really am so excited (if you couldn't tell). If you have a facebook page, go on the Caboodles fan page and become a fan because this could be your excitement the next time they have a giveaway contest. Thank you SOOO much Caboodles!

Love,
Jamie