Giveaway: e.l.f. Products

In the interest of full disclosure, I received the below products to review for e.l.f. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

e.l.f. has again provided me with some of their brand new products and colors to try out, and one of you will get to try them, too!

This time, I received the Studio eyebrow kit in ash, the mineral lip stain in daring, the Studio blush in Gottta Glow, and the brightening eye color in rocker.

The eyebrow kit is a new type of product for me. I usually don't do anything with my eyebrows other than try to make sure they are going in the direction they're supposed to. The eyebrow kit is a neat idea - one that really allows me to highlight them without being obvious that I have makeup on my eyebrows. The ash isn't too dark, which was my original fear, and the compact has a tiny mirror in it so you can see what you're applying. Not bad for $3!

The mineral lip gloss wasn't my favorite product. The colors I chose this go around were more stark, and I was hoping to have a lip color that would be somewhat dramatic for nights on the town. While the color looks super bright in the swatch and the tube, it doesn't actually provide much color on. Then again - it's a lip gloss not lipstick. It's meant to be more subtle, and I will say that it gives me a great shine. I was expecting more color from the gloss, however.  In general, I'll probably stay away from this product going forward, but that's my style. It did stay on nicely for a long period of time, which is one of my critical tests!

I was also pleased with the rocker eye brightening shadows. This quartet of colors includes a white, a tan, a purple and a dark silver - see what I mean about being more dramatic? I've worn it a few nights when I've gone out with some of my girlfriends, and it's great. This is one of the $1 products, amazingly, and the shadows stayed on nicely without fading to invisibility or caking in my creases.

The blush in gotta glow is meant to be used in addition to the blush you normally wear and instead helps you to, well, glow (ummm thus its name?). This is another evening product for me, but it's a lot of fun, and I applied it not just to my cheeks but down to my collarbone, too. It was subtle so no one stares at you wondering what you just did, but it adds some nice fun, too! As part of the Studio collection, it is also $3.

Now the fun for you. One of you will also win the collection I received in the colors of your choice: a Studio blush, a Studio eyebrow kit, an eye brightening kit, and a Mineral lip stain. So what do you have to do?

First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Thursday July 15 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: What color lip stain or eye brightener would you choose from the e.l.f. site?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter and tweeting this contest (leave a link to your tweet as your comment).
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Follower.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.

Good luck!

Giveaway: e.l.f. Cosmetics

In the interest of full disclosure, I received three pieces of makeup from e.l.f., identical to those I am giving away so that I could review them and provide my thoughts. I received no other compensation, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Earlier this winter (I'm in Chicago and choose to still call this season winter, so this is allowed), I had the fun of doing an e.l.f. makeup party in my home where several of my friends and I tried out e.l.f. products just for the fun of it. And it was fun. Check it out here if you don't believe me!

I'd heard of e.l.f. before that, primarily through the emails that would go around first enticing people to buy the good quality but oh so cheap makeup before Nordstom hiked the prices, then the emails that inevitably followed saying it was all in error. I have lots of gullible friends who aren't familiar with Snopes, apparently.

That being said, I first tried out e.l.f. for myself at BlogHer last year, and I was amazed at the variety of products they carry. I had heard of the $1 line, and that set of products is pretty decent. In fact, I currently use several of their $1 products on a daily basis and have replaced my previous makeup with this. They also have a studio and a mineral line that are slightly more expensive (although really, $5 for a mineral face powder can't be called expensive!).

Having now used the e.l.f. products regularly for the past several months, I jumped at the opportunity to try out some of their brand new products. They are launching tons of new products from their Luscious Liquid Lipstick to their Brightening Eye Color to their Beauty Encyclopedia and more.

I was able to choose three products from here, and it took me only a few days to finally decide which to choose. I ended up with the Beauty Encyclopedia, the Ivy Eye Brightener, and the Mocha Ice Plumping Lip Glaze. Once I placed the order, I was happy to see that I received quick confirmation of my order and its shipment, along with tracking information once it had shipped. I love getting tracking information so I can see when and where my items will arrive. The package came quickly, and I actually didn't recognize it at first. Isn't the packaging pretty?

I thought a friend had sent something cool to me - although perhaps that is the case? Inside, I found my goodies:

Now, I have to admit that I've held off on doing this review and giveaway for a little over a week in the hopes that my hair will cooperate and allow me to show you what I look like with ome of this makeup on. It hasn't, and I don't want to delay any further.

The first item I played with the was the $5 Beauty Encyclopedia.

Inside, there are twelve different eyeshadows ranging from pale blue to grey to brown and everything in between. I've had a lot of fun mixing and matching, and no one has complained yet. There is an eyeshadow brush also included to assist in application, meaning all I need to take with me when traveling is this slim case. The cool thing about the case is that it closes magnetically with a plastic sheet over it so that your makeup doesn't get nasty between uses. Kudos to whoever came up with that idea.

On the left side of the open encyclopedia is a written and pictoral editorial on how to apply eye makeup to its best effect. I love having this there to review whenever I'm feeling uncoordinated. It's similar to the instructions I've been given verbally over the years by the department store people, but having a reminder handy - that isn't just on paper and won't be wrinkled or destroyed - is awfully nice.

My two favorite products in the case, however, are the two cream eye shadows and the eyeliner. I hadn't used cream eyeshadow before, but I am absolutely loving it. It goes on so easily and really blends well. I had been a bit nervous that it would crease and come off easily, but that hasn't been the case. These are my new daily eye shadows! The eyeliner has also grown into daily use. I did learn to actually follow the instructions on the encyclopedia and use the eyeliner before the shadows and then again gently afterwards. Just putting it on after the shadows - like I usually do - wasn't effective with the cream shadows.

And speaking of shadows, the eye brightening kit in Ivy was the next product that I'd selected.

When I had my e.l.f. party, I accidentally discovered that I look good in green shadow. Who would have guessed? The dual greens here along with the browns that I had been more familiar and comfortable with are great in this $1 pack - seriously, $1 for four shades of eye shadow and enough that this is going to last me well into that third month when I need to replace all my eye makeup! I love the different shades and being able to play them up or down depending on whether I'm going to a PTO meeting or out for a girls' night. They are great shades, and they stay in place even when I'm too lazy to use my primer.

My other new favorite is the lip plumping gloss. I'd originally hesitated to choose this one, as I am a lipstick junkie. I have more tubes of lipstick than I do shoes and socks combined. And that's after I went through and got rid of the shades I no longer liked. The concept sounded interesting, however, so I decided to go ahead with the lip plumper.

I will admit that choosing a lip color online is somewhat intimidating. They give you a good view of what the color swatch will be, but until it's on your lips, you never know. I chose Mocha Ice and was mildly concerned that it would be too dark. Nope, not at all. It's actually a really great natural looking lip gloss.

I had trouble with it the first time I used it since I couldn't figure out how to unscrew it, but that was a me issue. The wands are in the middle section, with both ends unscrewing for the colored gloss and the clear lip plumper.

One cool thing about this? It's mint flavored. Or at least scented since I did my best not to lick my lips and eat my lipstick. I haven't had a flavored lip product since I was in high school and we had the fruity ones. I loved having the scent there, and it went nicely with the gentle tingling I felt from the lip plumper part.

Did I actually see a noticeable size difference in my lips as they plumped? Eh, not really. But I'm fine with that. I liked the feeling of it, the smell of it, and the color was great. For $1, I'm not asking for much more. However, I did get more in that this lip gloss lasted. I was able to eat and still have it on afterwards. I tried putting it on after dinner one night, and I could actually still feel it the next morning when I woke up. Now that's staying power, and I loved it! This lip gloss is currently the only one that's living in my itty bitty spring purse.

Enough on what I thought of the products. What do you get out of it? e.l.f. has generously agreed to give one reader a duplicate set of what I received - an Every Day Eye Edition Beauty Encyclopedia, a set of Eye Brightening Eye Color, and a tube of the Lip Plumping Glaze. The winner is able to choose the color of the shadow and gloss so that it best suits her style. Yay!

So what do you need to do?

First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Tuesday April 20 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what color Plumping Lip Glaze you would choose from the e.l.f. website. If you don't do this one, no entries will count.

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for Tweeting this contest (leave a link to your tweet as your comment).
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly!

Good luck!

Review: e.l.f. Cosmetics

Disclosure: e.l.f. Cosmetics and SheSpeaks sent me 289 pieces of makeup for my makeup party with my friends that also included goodie bags with brushes and the like for those in attendance. The makeup was split amongst those of us attending the party. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are my own.

I've heard about e.l.f. cosmetics for awhile, and I'm sure you've seen the emails floating around with false rumors that the $1 makeup line is about to be bought by Nordstrom and the prices then will go sky-high. I've tried e.l.f. a few times before I had the opportunity for this party. The first experience I had with them was ordering online, and I liked it but not so much that I needed to seek it out when I ran low. The local stores had what I was used to using, and that was just easier. While at BlogHer's conference this year, I attended a suite party hosted by e.l.f., which is where I learned how much things have changed.

e.l.f. doesn't just have their $1 line anymore. They now offer a studio line and a mineral line, both of which compare favorably to brands you're more familiar with at much lower prices. Better yet, e.l.f. is now carried in all Target stores, although my local Target only has the $1 line. When you order online, you have every product they offer, and there's always a special going on.

Needless to say, it didn't take much to talk me into having a party with some friends to try out the makeup. I didn't really get how much makeup 289 pieces is until I actally received the box with the makeup and started setting it all out.

With that much makeup, we had a lot of fun testing it out. Everyone started out sans makeup so we could have a clean palette to work with. Fortunately, I had plenty of beverages so that the embarrassment of being seen without our makeup was soon mitigated.

I was surprised that I found quite a few things that I liked from the selection. Before we started, there was a video we watched to ensure we (sort of) knew what we were doing, and we all learned some new tips and tricks.

I now wear undereye concealer, and the one I discovered is a pencil with a built in sharpener that has a brush on the other end of the concealer. It's so nifty! For $3, you can bet you won't see me walking around with circles under my eyes again.

Their shadow sticks were also some of my favorites (also $3!), although I struggle sometimes to get even application of the shadow. I have the same issue with liquid eyeliner. We tried their liners, and for the most part we liked them, although we discovered that we really need to shake them well before using or they were dry and somewhat flaky. Shaking made a big difference though.

Many of the ladies found that they really liked the all-over cover sticks, which they used in place of foundation. This was part of the $1 line, and they seemed to work well. Others used the mineral foundation. For $5, I'll definitely be using this one instead of the one I currently buy on sale for five times that amount. I was the lucky person to keep the kabuki brush that came with the makeup, and I have to say that I love it. It works well and isn't shedding bristles at all.

I had a hard time finding a blush that I liked, as did one of my friends. We both have a skin tone that tends to turn makeup orange on our faces, which was a struggle. I finally realized that one of the bronzers was perfect, and I've been using this as my blush since. A few of the women used the studio line of bronzers ($3) and are new converts to using a bronzer on a regular basis.

There were a few products that we didn't love as much as others though. The mascaras were a bit dry, and they seemed to clump somewhat. I went back to using my old mascara after the party. We also received some products that we weren't quite sure how to use, and the packages didn't give us much help, such as the shimmering facial whip. We finally figured out that it is a gel like version of shimmer powder, but we all prefer the traditional powder.

My only other complaint about the makeup is that the labeling of the products could be improved. Many of them don't list the color on them (e.g., the concealers, several shadow sticks), which makes it difficult to purchase the correct color on a return trip, unless your memory is better than mine. That's something that is easily fixed, though.

All in all, there are definitely some new converts to the e.l.f. line, myself included. I'm looking forward to my makeup running out and having to buy more -- and that's unusual for me.
Check out some of our before and after photos:

Several of the colors we ended up wearing were ones we would never have dreamed of trying if we were going to the store and buying more expensive makeup. We had lots to play with though, and we were surprised by what really worked well for us. And for $1 or $3 or $5, it's worth a try to see what you like that perhaps you haven't used before.

You can receive free shipping on any order over $25 from e.l.f. by using the code "MUAH" when checking out.  Enjoy!