Product Review: elf Pout Perfecter

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!!! As I wax poetic on the wonders of elf’s Pout Perfecter, I ponder where this lip gloss was when I was in sixth grade and just learning about the joys of makeup, specifically lip gloss! Back then my gloss of choice was Bonne Belle’s Lip Smackers in raspberry and root beer. Another favorite was a sticky, Juicy Fruit gum smelling and tasting gloss in a roller ball applicator. Ahhhh…those were great times!!!





As a twelve year old, it was all about the shine and the more shine the better! That meant lip gloss all over the lips (and, unfortunately, sometimes above them). Today, as a a mature woman (cough), I recognize the need for restraint and good taste, thus my personal rule that most glosses should function as an enhancement to a more subdued texture and placed in the middle of one's lips. At our age, I think it behooves us to go a bit lighter on the gloss so our lips (and the inevitable lines around them) don’t act as a beacon. My own preference is to put a gloss on over the top of an opaque lip color, first dabbing it on the middle of the bottom lip and then lightly rubbing my lips together to transfer the gloss to the middle of my top lip.





elf’s Pout Perfector is one gloss that benefits greatly from that technique. This stuff really packs a glittery punch with large particles of glitter easily seen in the formula. Normally, that wouldn’t be ideal for me but it really works in this product. As I mentioned in my post Rose Gold and a Tan, this is a great formula for setting off warmer skin tones!





The gloss itself is thick and slightly sticky, but that helps with its staying power, which was about three hours for me, even drinking water during the work day. The packaging is nice and functional although the brush is pretty cheap. But what can you expect for a lip gloss that costs $3.00! I purchased mine at my local Target but you can also get it at elf Cosmetics online. 

elf Pout Perfecter over Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien

Pout Perfecter is a definite win for me and a great value!! Have you used this gloss? What do you think?

Ages of Beauty rating: ****

Rose Gold and a Tan

Not too long ago, I came across a video by one of my favorite YouTube makeup gurus, Emily Noel. In this video, Emily showed some rose gold colored cosmetics (you can see the video here) that I just had to try!


I’m doing something this summer that I have never really successfully done---self tanner! The St. Tropez self tanning mousse that I reviewed a few weeks ago (here) is working so well and, let me tell you, rose gold colored makeup looks GREAT with a tan!




For this look, I’m using several products that Emily mentions in her video. They are as follows:

• The Balm’s Hot Mama Blush ($20.00 at The Balm)
• Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien ($25.00 at Sephora)
• elf Pout Perfecter ($3.00 at elf)
• Sonia Kashuk Monochrome eye Quad in Textured Rose ($13.69 at Target)
• L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush ($6.99 at Target)

I’ll be reviewing these products over the next couple of days so check back. Here are a few more pictures to give you an idea of what you can do with this color.

L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush on inner lid and tear duct area

Sonia Kashuk Monochrome Color Quad in Textured Rose. I used the lower left hand corner shadow on the outer lids and in the crease

Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien all over lip; elf Pout Perfecter on middle of bottom and top lips

I have a couple of other rose gold products that I’ll review as well. Have you been wearing this color? What are you using?

High End Makeup of the Day

I’ve been playing around a lot with some items I’ve had in my collection for awhile. Some are things that I’ve received as part of various subscription boxes (so i didn’t pay separately for them) and some I purchased at a retailer. Since I’ve also been using the St. Tropez self tanner on the rest of my body, I thought I’d do something summery on my face. All of these products are so called “high end” products.





First things first---foundation. Becca’s Luminous Skin Colour Ultra Sheer Foundation is a new product for me. I have been wanting to try this product for awhile so I finally purchased it at Sephora (here). Retailing for $42, it comes in a fairly large 1.7 oz bottle. I got it in Olive, which is about two shades darker than my complexion.. This worked perfectly against my chest since I have been using the self tanner. It’s also really sheer so even if it’s darker than two shades, it’s pretty hard to mess up. At some point I’ll do a full review of this foundation as I think it’s great for summer.





Since the foundation is so sheer, I not only used concealer under my eyes but on a few darker areas of my face. For this, I used Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Concealer in R1. This is another new product that, again, I purchased at Sephora (here). This particular shade works well for my “tanned” look, but that’s sad because there’s only one color lighter than this one so that says a lot about my level of paleness! It’s a good product and at $20, I think it’s a good price point for a high end concealer. I’ll also review this one in the future.





Over that I applied the Nars Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder (reviewed here), which I already had in my collection. Next up was Bobbi Brown’s Matte Bronzer in Medium 2, which was also from my collection. I like this bronzer because it’s matte and it’s also more red based than orange/brown based like a lot of bronzers. The red undertones are important because when I tan, my skin has a red undertone rather than yellow. That means that this color of bronzer tends to look more natural on me. You can check out this bronzer on Bobbi’s website here. It retails for $38 but you get a lot of bronzer which will last a long time. I used the bronzer to contour my cheeks, along the edges of my jaw and at the top of my forehead and down the middle of my nose.

As for blush, I had received a full size Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks as part of one of my subscription boxes. Since I had never even heard of the brand, I was anxious to try it. This is a really nice blush and I’m looking forward to trying more of their products. Sweet Cheeks retails for $16 and you can see more here.





Now on to the eyes. I used Mac’s Blanc Type powder shadow (from my collection) from the last line to the eyebrow. In the crease, I used Nars Cosmetics’s Ondine shadow, a plummy browny yummy color. Both of these colors are great for everyday wear and look good with all eye colors.








For mascara, I used The Balm’s What’s Your Type? Body Builder mascara (here for $19) and I also used The Balm’s Schwing black liquid eyeliner (here for $17).






Last but not least, I used a Paula Dorf eye pencil in Baby Eyes Enhancer on my lower rims. I received this in a subscription box but this retails for $20 (I also like this product).

Finally, to finish things up, I used Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Rouge in 20 Baby Pink. I love this product and must review it soon!









That’s my latest summer “high end” face. What do you think? Have you used any of these products? Are there any you want to try?

Face of the Day: Spring is Here!!!

Spring is here and I've been testing out all kinds of products! After spending two weeks in Florida, I thought it was time to break out my Spring clothing, even though the weather here in Virginia hasn't been exactly Spring-like. As part of that, it seemed like a good time to try on a lighter, brighter makeup.

Some of these products have been reviewed but most haven't and I'll be posting reviews of them over the next few days. Here's a list of what I'm wearing:

• Almay Smart Shade Mousse Makeup in Light
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye in Light
• CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume (the orange tube) Mascara
• Wet & Wild Eyeshadow in Petal Pusher
• Cailyn Line-Fixx Gel Eyeliner in Black
• Manna Kador Blush in High Five
• Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder
• Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink Freeze (805)

What makeup looks are you wearing this Spring?

Product Review: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

As my obsession with foundation grows and grows, it was only a matter of time before I tried Nars Sheer Glow Foundation! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!!!

Face of the Day: A Luminous, Lifted Look

Lately, I've been interested in makeup looks that revitalize, tired, dry skin. Since it's winter, my skin is dryer than ever and it just feels "blah." That's really the best way to describe it. A couple of months ago, I started trying new products that add luminosity to the skin. At the same time, I had the opportunity to view a new video from my favorite make up artist, Lisa Eldridge here.  Click below to see my variation of her look!