$20 Makeup Challenge

The buzz around the beauty community on YouTube is all about the $20 makeup challenge tag. It's a hypothetical experience that involves the airline losing your luggage, specifically the bag that contained your makeup. You only have a $20 budget to get a full face of makeup and any tools necessary. I've watched several of my favorite gurus do their version and was impressed with what they came up with. So I decided to take the challenge on myself... only I don't use a lot of drugstore makeup. Needless to say, this was definitely going to be a challenge for me!!

I headed out to Walgreens to look for a couple of Milani products that I had been wanting and decided that was the day to start the challenge. I was disappointed with Walgreens because they didn't carry Milani at that location or any of the locations in my county... so to Walmart I went. The first Walmart was beyond picked over and crazy busy. We (my youngest son & I) traipsed down a few more miles to another Walmart only to be disappointed again by the Milani display. We probably spent a good 20 minutes or so trying to come up with the right combination of products. This was the batch we ended up walking out with:

- e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (Black)
           $1.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Powder (702A Naturally Beige)
           $2.74
- wet'n'wild Shadow Trio (335 Silent Treatment)
           $2.93
- NYC City Duet 2in1 Lip Color (422 The Cherry Blossoms)
           $2.74
- Hard Candy Flat to Fab Mascara (Blackest Black)
           $7.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Liquid Makeup (677 Nude)
          $2.74

My total with tax was $20.65... so sue me I'm over a little.



I was pretty impressed with how far $20 would actually stretch... however I was a little nervous about how each of these products would work for me. I'm not one to back down from a challenge though!!

After we got home I hopped on YouTube to refresh my memory of some of the other looks people came up with. That's when I started to doubt some of the purchases I had made... someone else had already used the wet'n'wild trio that I had picked up, I wasn't crazy about a lipstick that had 1 color on each side, and the powder puff in the compact was not so great... So I rifled through my collection and found a few substitute products. Here's what the final combination ended up being:

- e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (Black)
           $1.00
- e.l.f. Hypershine Lipgloss (Berry Cherry)
          $1.00
- Hard Candy Flat to Fab Mascara (Blackest Black)
          $7.00
- NYC Smooth Skin Liquid Makeup (677 Nude)

          $2.74

- e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer (Light Beige)

          $1.00

- NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear (316 Blossom)

          $0.97

- wet'n'wild Shadow Trio (330B Walking on Eggshells)

          $2.93

My total with tax ends up being $19.36. 

I could deal with that! So I went to work filming and editing the video (I'm post it at the end of this blog).  It has now been 10 hours since I applied said products and I think that's enough time to give a fair assessment.

Completed look immediately after application

                             10 hours later...

So, as you can see my skin is seriously shiny... but wait until you see this:

 

 

Clearly this isn't working for me... 

The shadows creased like crazy.

My lashes feel crunchy.

My skin is itchy and oily.

 I'm not counting each of these products out yet, but some I know for sure I won't be using again! I know for sure I won't be using that foundation ever again... I couldn't even get it out of the bottle without using a q-tip, even after shaking it and pounding it on my hand a dozen times. My skin feels just flat gross. Keep in mind that I have oily skin to begin with, so it may work for you. The concealer didn't really do it's job either, not as a concealer or a primer. The powder I may give another shot or two, it's supposed to be clarifying which typically helps with oil. Oh mascara... if you know me at all, you know that I typically wear false lashes. I don't like crispy lashes, bottom line. Lipstick/lip gloss, I'm pretty easy on them. I have 4 or 5 in my purse, I change my mind too often to really give a fair assessment of any lip product. Shadows... I'm anxious to actually try them with a good primer. I'll let you know how that goes. Now let me tell you about this little eyeliner marker business. I was not happy with this guy at all! The product didn't come out as dark or as fluid as I had hoped. I had to reapply it several times to get the darkness I wanted. I'm a liquid or gel liner kind of girl, so I like dark and fast... this however didn't do either.

I did enjoy trying to stretch that $20, maybe I'll try other combinations and see how they work out.

I do have to admit that it did look pretty darn good at first (except for the brows!).

Well enough will all this jibber-jabber, go enjoy the video!!

Love & Lashes

XO

Friday Favorites

Friday is finally here! Yay!

This week has been full of firsts for me, including this very first Friday Favorites! Every Friday I will post a few of my favorite things from this week, it could be anything! Here's what I'm loving this week:

Favorite #1

"All Together Dead" by Charlaine Harris
-book 7 in the Sookie Stackhouse series

I'm a huge fan of the HBO show "True Blood," that's how I came to know about these novels. The books are similar, but not exactly the same as the show. I love that I have something to keep up my insatiable appetite for Bon Temps during the show's off season... I'M OBSESSED!

Favorite #2

"Nightmare Before Christmas" Scarf


I bought this adorable scarf at Downtown Disney outside Disneyland in Anaheim, California when I was there in September. I'm a huge fan of the film and had to have this. I wear this scarf all the time, regardless of how girly my outfit for that day is. I guess I also feel a bit entitled because my birthday is on Halloween. I always get tons of compliments on it!

Favorite #3

Schwarzkopf Dust It Mattifying Powder

This has got to be one of the most legit products on the market for thin/fine hair. I have to admit that I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first, only because I was a do-do bird and didn't cover some of the holes... if you shake it out without covering at least half the holes you get WAY too much product (I had to reshampoo my hair). I put a piece of tape over half the holes and have been in love with what it does for my do. I shake it into my hair at the base/scalp near the crown (or anywhere else I want major volume), rub it in a bit, tease just a touch at the base, and voila! I've got amazing volume! Not to mention that the mattifying properties help keep the grease from invading.

Favorite #4

e.l.f. Blush in the color fushia fusion

I love this blush for several reasons... the most obvious is the price ($3)! I was a bit skeptical when I originally purchased this blush because of the price, but the pigment is so pretty! It's got sparkle and it's pink! Like an almost bubble gum pink (this picture doesn't do it justice). I've been wearing this with a really natural eye and lip. You can pick this up at Target or on the e.l.f. website (www.eyeslipsface.com).

Favorite #5

Cameo Skull Earrings from Evil Pawn Jewelry

I've been in love with these since the night I bought them, which happened to be a charity event for Evil Pawn. The designer, Faith Evangeline, happens to be this super sweet gal I met at a trade show this past summer. She's making big waves in the fashion world! I have a few other pieces from EPJ and intend to purchase many more! Check out the website www.evilpawnjewelry.com

Favorite #6

Necklace from Charming Charlie

This picture so doesn't do this necklace justice... it's different shades of pink. I picked this up on the clearance rack for like $7... I like bling, I like pink, and I like the price. I just bought this, but I've put it on every morning trying to get it to match whatever I have on... hasn't happened yet. I will find an outfit to pull this necklace off!!!








Well, that's it for this weeks' Friday Favorites! Let me know what your favorites are!!!