Elf Long Lasting Lustrous Shadow: Love it or Lose it?

I bought the shade toast, which is a warm yellow-gold color. I had hoped to use it on my lids as a center of the lid highlight to bring some shimmer and life to my eyes. But trying to use a brush with this product is impossible to get any color out of the pot, and even with your fingers the product is much more likely to stick to your fingers than it is to stick to anything else. I had absolutely no luck getting this color to give me any pay off on the lids. It reminds me of a poorly formulated version of the Loreal Infallible shadows, which I will likely replace this color with down the road. I will keep trying to see if I can get it to work because the color is beautiful, especially over my favorite eyeshadow Laura Mercier African Violet, which a review is coming soon on so stay tuned for that!

Back to Elf's Toast, its super soft and appears pigmented in the pot as well as on your finger when you go to swatch it, but it doesn't transfer to the lids over other shadow or on bare skin. I had a bit more luck smudging it onto the inner corner of the eye, but it has a ton of fallout and turned me into the glitter fairy for the entire day. I kept seeing little light reflections on my face when the glitter would fall out and it was all over my under eyes by the end of work. I feel like I have a more workable version of this shade in the elf 144 palette with all the rainbow colors in it. And, if I don't I can always pick up an Anistasia Beverly Hills single to match when I pick up Pink Champagne soon.

As creamy and gorgeous as this shadow appears at first, it seems very picky about how it applies and what it is applied over top of. I'll keep trying, but this has been a total flop so far.

Have fun in the sun, and Stay Beautiful!

BNB

Future me here! This is still something I'm struggling to use, but I have since had some luck in the past few months in figuring out how this product works and applies best. You have to pack it on your fingers by pressing kind of hard into the product because it is essentially a powder shadow with a creamy texture. I actually like it more now than I did, but it still turns me into a glitter fallout fairy mess by the end of the day. Probably not going to buy it again, but it's a fun little product when I use it here and there.

Completion of the Closet Declutter!

The results of my entire wardrobe declutter are actually quite amazing. In total, I've downsized my clothing and accessories by about one third of the original amount, being mindful of my size and shape as well as my age and what style of clothing I typically wear. This process forced me to be honest with myself about the things I own in regards to what I've worn and not worn, how often I've worn it, when the last time I remember wearing it, and whether I'll ever wear it again. Often pieces survived in the pile multiple times, only to be gotten rid of after more thought was put into the process; things like will I take it if I move, would I miss it if it was destroyed tomorrow, would I repurchase it if I lost it. This is pretty much how I did all of my belongings because if I don't have an attachment to it, and I won't miss it then I don't necessarily need it. The exceptions to this are things like art supplies and special occasion clothing. I also kept pretty much all of my previous housewares, assuming that when I move out again I will have nothing but those and it will save me from having to purchase a lot of things in order to function on my own.

I loosely based my decluttering on the KonMari methond, using the idea that if it doesn't bring me joy I don't need it, but if something served a purpose to me I had no need to get rid of things just to get rid of them. My biggest addition to this method was creating a pile of clothing that brought me joy and I would consider keeping if they still fit me properly, since I had gained a decent amount of weight in the last year or so. Under KonMari you are not supposed to try on anything but go on gut feelings alone, but for me I had to check a good bit of my gut feelings against my physical size to make sure I wasn't keeping things I couldn't wear.

I still go through my closet about once every two months just to make sure things are being taken out if I notice I haven't worn them or my preferences have changed regarding particular items. In the last 6 months about 3 more grocery bags of clothing I don't have any desire to keep has gone to donation!

Stay Beautiful and Keep Tidy, Ladies.

BNB

Hello Lashes!... Or not?

So let's start here, I have both long and thick lashes naturally so I don't need something capable of massive amounts of drama for a daily basis. Some mascaras give me too much length and can't hold a curl for any period of time, however others clump my lashes together to simulate volume and instead cause me to look spidery instead. But my biggest problem with a lot of mascaras? They feel tacky and my lashes stick together every time I blink. It drives me crazy to feel like I need to pull my lashes apart or separate my top and bottom lashes with my finger nails in order to be able to see. Not to mention the fact that messing with my lashes often makes them start to flake and crumble. I have a terrible time with mascara and I have so far found only two that I enjoy and cause me almost no headaches.

I wanted to love this mascara... but I'm so glad I bought the travel size first to try it before paying the price for the full size. This mascara's wand causes clumps like no other, and once the clumping starts the wand can't fix it no matter what angle you hold it at. Even the spikey ball tip on the end can't fix them. And even worse, the ball tip is completely useless for my lower lashes and the rest of the wand is basically the same. I get no real coverage on my lashes, especially on my thin lower lashes no matter how much I try, unless you count the chunks of dried mascara I seem to be getting out of the tube.

Either I got a massive dud, or this product is not at all what it's marketed to be. I haven't heard many people talk about this mascara, and maybe this is why.

If you've had good luck with this product leave me some advice on how to use it.

BNB