Review: ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer

Hello, world.

I want to remind you to participate in the huge collaborative giveaway with BeautyNerdByNight.com. The giveaway grants you the chance to win one of two gigantic prize packs. For more information, please click here to be redirected to the post where you can enter the giveaway.

For this post, I will be writing a review on the ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer.

My usual face primer is the Porefessional by Benefit.

First Impressions

My very first thought when I dabbed a little of the product on my face was, "Oh, no!" Looking at the swatch above, you probably think that the reason for that is that the shade does not match my skin at all, but in actuality, it is because the product is super shimmery! The more I patted the product across the entirety of my face, the more I regretted buying this product in this shade. The shade that I bought is Radiant Glow which probably explains the shimmer. I shouldve bought it in Clear or Tone Adjusting Green because the powder finish of the product is great, but I cant get over the shimmer!

ELF vs Benefit

There actually isnt as big of a difference as youd think between these two products. They both apply easily, and adjust to a powder finish, but the shimmer in the Mineral Infused Primer is super off-putting! It is also greasier to the touch than the Porefessional, which does a great job of keeping your face looking matte for hours and hours. There is a part of me that wants to buy the Mineral Infused Primer in a different shade.

Final Verdict

♥♥♥♥♥

Sad face. Boo shimmer. Follow me to see if I do end up buying a different shade!

Have you tried the ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer?

What is your favorite face primer?

I want to hear your thoughts in the Comments section!

Read More

The Liebster Award

Hello, world.

I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award by Erica who is the blogger at DiaryOfATrendaholic.

Thank you, Erica! I appreciate the recognition, and I sincerely thank you for being such a faithful reader.

The Liebster Award is a word-of-mouth award given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. This helps newer bloggers be recognized in the blogosphere, and it is also a great way for everyone to discover blogs that they do not currently follow.

Being a newer blogger myself who reads newer blogs as well, I know that there are a bunch of unrecognized blogs out there that definitely should be recognized because they really are immensely interesting.

Rules

1. Answer the questions set for you;
2. Post 11 facts about yourself;
3. Choose 11 new bloggers to tag;
4. Add 11 new questions; and
5. Tell the bloggers theyve been nominated!

Answers

These questions were set for me by Erica, of course.

What is your dream vacation spot?
This isnt exactly a spot, but I would love to go country hopping in Europe! Its a dream of mine to experience all of the different cultures in Europe and to tour all of the landmarks.

What is your dream occupation?
I want to work with beauty and fashion magazines as a Beauty Editor or, if all of the luck in the world is with me, an Editor-in-Chief. Ive also recently looked into careers with Birchbox and HauteLook. By the way, this is all very real for me because I will be graduating in a year.

What is your favorite perfume?
My favorite perfume changes constantly because I love trying out new ones. Then, I usually end up falling madly and deeply in love with them. However, my current favorite is the Ambre Nue Cologne Absolue by Atelier Cologne.

What month were you born?
I was born in the month of September.

What is the one food you absolutely hate?
This is a tough one because I love food, but if I had to mention something, I would say wasabi. Why would anyone want to put themselves through that?!

What is your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve, as you probably know if you read my blog, is the apostrophe. Im very OCD when Im writing/typing, and apostrophes make everything super hideous.

What are your hobbies?
I want to say writing because that seems like the obvious answer, but to be honest, I really enjoy just cuddling under the blanket with my boyfriend, smoking some hookah, and watching Netflix. These my are top three hobbies, and theyre perfect together.

What is your favorite movie?
I dont have an all-time favorite because I love watching movies, but as of right now, its probably that new Star Trek movie.

What has been your favorite purchase for this year thus far?
It would have to be my Naked palette by Urban Decay. It cost me quite a bit more than I was prepared to pay for cosmetics, but Ive been loving the shit out of it because it is just so versatile.

What is your favorite season?
Fall, hands down. When you live in Iowa and the only other nice season (Spring) is pretty much nonexistent, Fall is pretty darn awesome. Fall is when everything looks gorgeous and the weather is perfect all the time.

What is your favorite novel?
This is a tough one because I used to read so much. I usually like to name an author simply because if one book is good, the others usually follow in its footsteps. Of all time, my favorite author is a tie between Matthew Reilly and Garth Nix. They write completely different genres so thats probably why its so difficult to pick just one.

Fun Facts

I will be listing these out off the top of my head.

1. I was born in Malaysia to Malaysian parents, but I am of Chinese ancestry.
2. I am a senior in English with an emphasis in Grammatical Analysis at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
3. I have been a blogger for nine years, but have only recently picked up beauty blogging.
4. I am very opinionated.
5. I am very committed. When I start something, I have to see it through to the end, and I always end up going down with the ship.
6. I am extremely brand loyal, which complements the above fun fact.
7. I love trying out new things, and this includes brands, products, and food.
8. Despite that, I am a person who enjoys a routine, a rut.
9. I still manage to adapt easily.
10. This is starting to sound like a resume, so I will switch gears and say that even though I love grammatical analysis, I am still a creative writer at heart.
11. I self-published a poetry book!

Nominees

I dont want to seem biased so I will list my nominees alphabetically by name.

1. Arisa; IrrevocablePassion
2. Emilie; AllThingsBeauty
3. Emma; MakeupLove
4. Illy; IllyAriffin
5. Jenna; WeArePinkPeople
6. Julia; JuliaKingsley
7. Maddy; ALittlePetite
8. Michelle; ALovelyAllure
9. Miss Dalisay; BeautyRehab
10. Natalie; NatalieLovesBeauty
11. Sammi; MaterialGurl88
12. Trislynn; BeautyGeekByGirls

New Questions

Since these nominees are beauty and/or fashion bloggers, these will be beauty questions!

1. What skin type do you have?
2. What is your favorite facial wash?
3. What is your favorite moisturizer?
4. What is your favorite foundation?
5. What are your thoughts on false eyelashes?
6. What is your favorite mascara?
7. What are your thoughts on drugstore makeup?
8. Did you ever consider taking makeup classes?
9. Do you like bright or neutral colors?
10. Which celebrity always has great makeup?
11. If you can only leave the house with one makeup item on, what would it be and why?

So, there you go, guys!

I want to thank Erica again for this wonderful opportunity. I got the chance to discover so many new blogs, and I also gained a number of followers through this award.

Thanks for reading, guys!

Read More

Review: Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Sunscreen Makeup

Hello, world.

I want to begin with a reminder to participate in the huge collaborative giveaway with BeautyNerdByNight.com. The giveaway grants you the chance to win one of two gigantic prize packs. For more information, please click here to be redirected to the post where you can enter the giveaway.

For this post, I will be writing a review on the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Sunscreen Makeup.

My usual foundation is the Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation by CoverGirl.

First Impressions

As the swatch probably suggests, my first impression is that this foundation is too orange for me. However, once I blend it in with my True Match Powder in Light Ivory by Loreal, it matches my skin tone perfectly. The consistency of the foundation is more runny than any other liquid foundation which I kind of like because it makes it easier to buff into the skin.

Benefit vs CoverGirl

This is going to be a difficult comparison because I love both brands. They both have really great products that I adore, but I do have to say that I would pick the Benefit one over the CoverGirl one. Ive already bought the full-size of it, in Ivory this time. Well, the deluxe sample that Im actually reviewing is in Petal, and I got it when I bought some stuff from Benefit. Since I really like it, as this post suggests, I went to buy the full size from Ulta and the representative suggested Ivory so we'll see how that goes. If you follow me on Instagram, youll probably get the chance to look at the comparison swatch.

Final Verdict

♥♥♥♥♥

This product gets five stars because I honestly cant find anything to complain about
except that perhaps the name is too long.

Have you tried the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Sunscreen Makeup?

What is your favorite liquid foundation?

I want to hear your thoughts in the Comments section!

Read More

Giveaway: ExtraExtravagant Grand Opening (Closed)

Hello, world.

I have great news!

At ExtraExtravagant, I have finally covered all of the bases that need to be covered so I can now have a sort of grand opening. In lieu of this celebration, I will be hosting a huge giveaway in collaboration with my sister who is the blogger at BeautyNerdByNight.com.

We have two prize packs up for grabs!

Prize Pack One

The first prize pack includes ten items.

You will have the chance to win a Pearl Powder Mask by My Beauty Diary, a blush in Angel by NYX, a Souffle Touch Blush in Frozen Strawberry by Essence, and a liquid eyeliner in Black by ELF.

You will have the chance to win a Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder in Antigua by ELF, an Eyebrow Kit in Medium by ELF, a 1714 Dramatic Lash Kit by ELF, and a pair of falsies by Voce Moda.

You will have the chance to win a Freedom System pan by Inglot and a Freedom System Rainbow 127 Eyeshadow by Inglot.

Prize Pack Two

The second prize pack also includes ten items.

You will have the chance to win a Pearl Powder Mask by My Beauty Diary, a liquid concealer in Deep Nature by GeoGirl, a Souffle Touch Blush in Cold Wildberry by Essence, and a blush in Mauve by NYX.

You will have the chance to win an Eyebrow Kit in Medium by ELF, a Translucent Matifying Powder by ELF, a pair of F1 falsies by Voce Moda, and a pair of 335 falsies by Voce Moda.

You will have the chance to win a Freedom System pan by Inglot and a Freedom System Rainbow 112 Eyeshadow by Inglot.

My sister and I have been planning this giveaway for quite some time now, and we have finally found the ideal time to host one. This is why this is such a huge giveaway. She wants to thank her subscribers and to welcome me into the beauty blogosphere.

These items were purchased by us with our own hard earned cash so we really do hope that you appreciate it.

This giveaway is open internationally.

Huge Collaborative Giveaway

Read More

Review: Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On

Hello, world.

I will be writing a review on the Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On.

My usual eye cream is the Soothing Eye Balm by Simple.

First Impressions

I am always excited to try out products by Simple. This particular product came in my Birchbox from last month. I was taken aback when I looked at the tube that this eye roll-on came in. Usually, eye roll-ons come in a plastic pen-like tube. After using it, I understand the reason. Unlike other eye roll-ons, the cream in the tube is more viscous, and the squeeze-y tube makes it possible for you to dispense the cream onto the rollerball.

Simple vs Simple

This will be a product comparison instead of a brand comparison. I prefer the Revitalizing Eye Roll-on to the Soothing Eye Balm simply because of the rollerball. I feel like the creams have the same effect, but the cooling rollerball soothes my eyes, and it feels good especially after vigorously scrubbing the makeup off my eyes. The rollerball also minimizes you having to use your fingers on the sensitive eye area.

Final Verdict

♥♥♥♥♥

It may be just me, but I dont really see effects from eye creams. The only reason I use them at all is to soothe my eyes, so this product is perfect for me.

Have you tried the Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On?

What is your favorite eye cream?

I want to hear your thoughts in the Comments section!

Read More