★★★★★

Scent: This actually doesn’t smell very…intriguing. However, consider what it’s formulated without: parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, and a whole bunch of other things you should avoid putting onto your skin every day. Those important points considered, I can’t complain about them leaving the scent as it is!

Application: The application of this cleanser is what makes me a fan. This stuff works like magic and not only cleans dirt and oil off of your face, but takes off even the most stubborn makeup. I’ve been able to stop buying my makeup remover wipes and keep this in the shower, allowing me to wash my face in one step instead of two and saving my trash can from overflowing with makeup remover wipes. I’ve been looking for a product to help me do this for weeks! I’m a huge Origins fan, but not even their cleansers were removing my mascara. Sorry Origins, I’m sticking with this cleanser.

Price: It’s pricey… I had to take off a star for it. If it were slightly cheaper it would be perfect, but paying $18 for a little tube is kind of steep. On the positive side I only need a tiny amount to wash everything off of my face (see the second picture!) so this will last a while. One final recommendation, check eBay before picking this up at Sephora to save a few bucks!

Final Thoughts

Most of my skin care is from Origins because I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my skin since switching. However, their cleansers weren’t cutting it for my nighttime face wash routine.

I stumbled across the FAB cleanser after borrowing it from my sister this Christmas and was shocked at how perfectly it cleansed my face and that the ingredients were marked for sensitive skin. Figuring out it was only available from Sephora and for $18 was disappointing… But unless there is a cheaper alternative this is the new staple in my routine. I highly recommend it for those with sensitive skin, or anyone who wants to skin the makeup remover in their routine!

I wasn’t sure where to purchase ELF products here, as I’m new to the LA area. After a bit of searching using their shop locator, I finally found a place that had them in stock! I suppose I could have ordered them online, but I don’t recommend it unless you don’t’ have any suppliers in your area — shipping is almost $7! For such dirt cheap products, I feel they charge a bit much for their fixed shipping price.

In this case I only needed three items. I was pretty impressed with this mini haul of ELF products. ELF usually tends to be a hit and miss with me, as I described in my ELF haul from this past May.

ELF Tinted Moisturizer

★★★★★ 

Pros: I like the packaging because it’s sleek and you can see how much you have left, as well as the actual color of the product. Glides on smoothly.
Cons: I only saw three shades available. It seems a bit watery, so I’d say coverage is light. The biggest fault — not much is in the bottle!
Overall: I needed a cheap alternative to my favorite tinted moisturizer by Tarte. At $3 compared to the usual $36 I pay for Tarte…This was a steal. Don’t get me wrong, because it doesn’t even compare to Tarte’s formula! However, I do like the light coverage because my skin is in good shape and Tarte’s was a bit too heavy for me. It’s an average product at a great price, but that’s good enough for me because I don’t need much. I’ll likely continue to use this one!

ELF Brow Shader and Highlighter

★★★★★ 

Pros: Very soft product, unlike many other pencil brow shaders you have to be careful with your pressure. Blends beautifully!
Cons: I like the style of the packaging but this is another one of ELF’s “looks good but works badly” designs. Each end has a cap, and both of my caps are loose and fall off easily.
Overall: Natural color, blends well. Aside from the caps constantly falling off, I like it. I would purchase this again.

ELF Tinted Lip Balm

★★★★★ 

Pros: Lovely color, smooth application, classy design.
Cons: Fades.
Overall: My only apprehension with this product is that it doesn’t stay as long as I’d like it to, but I can’t take off for that because it’s not a lipstick — it’s a tinted balm that’s bound to fade. The color is wonderful and it moisturizes well. I may see if they have a similar shade in a lipstick, but my area doesn’t carry ELF lipsticks… Which is ironic because they’re my favorite product option from ELF!

★★★★★

Scent: The first thing I noticed about my first Essie polish purchase — the smell was much stronger than OPI. I can stand OPI quite well but this I actually had to take a breather from. It actually smelled worse than my nail polish remover, which I thought always smelled worse than actual polish!

Application: The formula is watery, which actually has many benefits but caught me off guard. It took me three coats to get an average opacity on the white and I didn’t want to do more because I was afraid it would be too heavy. I should’ve gone for four or even five coats. I’m used to OPI, which has a thick consistency and therefore dries slower and tends to absorb imprints easily. This goes on thinly, dries fast, and allows itself to build up. It also makes for easy cleaning around the nail after painting, because the coats were so thin there were no big globs on my cuticles. Now that I know how to use it right, I can get a more opaque effect next time!

Color: This is the perfect white, just as I thought. It’s not in your face, white-out color like my White Tip by Sally Hansen but it still makes a statement without pink undertones. Unlike most whites I’ve tried it’s not thick and hard to paint on — it’s watery. The white is more of a natural finish that you could use for a more realistic french tip. With a top coat it looks classy.

Price: At around $8, I was kind of put off by the price. I usually invest in OPI for the same price, which isn’t sold in drug stores. I always thought Essie a drug store brand, so when I saw it was the same price as OPI I kind of cringed. While I ended up loving it and can justify the price in my mind, I still think they should knock a dollar or two off. By the way, I was able to purchase this on eBay for a price I felt better about. I’d check out eBay before buying in-store!

Final Thoughts

Aside from the strong smell and price tag, I’m loving Marshmallow by Essie. It’s the perfect shade for a french manicure and a white statement nail. It goes on thin, which makes for easy cleaning, drying, and building of its opacity. Definitely a staple in my collection!

About a month ago, I decided to lighten my hair from black-brown to light-brown, and wanted to buy some fun colored contact lenses to match my new look just for fun. I decided to order from HoneyColor, because I had read a positive review on them from a blog in the past and I like that they have frequent sales.

I ordered the Neo 4 Tone Clover lens in green. You can see them online here. I thought they looked fairly natural online and didn’t enlarge the eye too much, two factors I was looking for in a lens.

The contacts arrived with a free contact lens case. I believe the one you get is random. I received pigs. Aren’t they cute? I had to buy a contact lens solution separately. The lenses themselves ship in a glass container and are safely cushioned in the box you see photographed.

Here are some pictures of me before and after the contact lenses. Excuse the over-exposure — my desk is in front of a window. My natural eye color is light brown.

Detailed Review

Color/Enhancement: This is a very natural green, because the lenses have different shades of green and brown within the colored area mimicking real eye colors. None of that solid, dead color with these lenses! They come in three more colors. On my light brown eyes, they look extremely realistic. As with all colored lenses I’ve tried, you will have your natural color peek through the middle of the iris. If you already have green or blue eyes, the color of these lenses will look much brighter on you. For darker eyes, these will give you a natural green.

Comfort: This is where I admit that I hate contact lenses. I’ve tried them in the past, and never ended up wearing them. I guess my eyes are overly sensitive, because after trying about six or seven different contact brands I could always feel them in my eye. The same goes with these! I’ve read reviews that they’re so comfortable, you won’t feel them. I couldn’t disagree more… I always know they’re there. It’s almost like I feel every inch of them on my eye, and I even feel them when I blink. (And yes, they’re on the right way.) When I look up and down, the lens moves and my vision gets a little blurry. Everyone is different, but these are uncomfortable for my overly sensitive eyes.

Durability: They shipped well and last up to one year before you need to replace them. For under $30, you can’t complain! I still have trouble putting these babies in and taking them out, but so far they haven’t torn and they are easy to reshape if you bend them by accident. Awesome durability and great for beginners.

Service: I was angry with HoneyColor at first, because they forgot to ship a week after I ordered! I emailed them, and when they shipped them expedited for no extra cost I forgave them. I’ve had this problem with other companies and HoneyColor is the first to not only humbly apologize to me, but to quickly ship them out at no extra cost.

Overall Rating: HoneyColor is a reliable store for lenses, and I will use them again if I decide to buy more. I also highly recommend them. As for the lenses, they are uncomfortable but so much fun to wear. I’ve been using them for two to three hours at a time, only when I’m going out and want to have fun with my look. I would not use these for all day wear. I’m extremely impressed with the realistic color and I love that they look natural on me, because I’m not the kind of person who would wear funky lenses or even lenses that enlarge eyes. If you want to try out natural colored lenses just for an outfit every once in a while, I’d recommend this brand!

★★★★★