What Happened to the Compacts?

I know that you all have been DYING to find out what I did with those cute little e.l.f. compacts that I snagged for $1 each! Right?!?!?!  Well, just in case you don't remember them, here's a pic to refresh your memory.

Now, as I said before, these compacts are made to be filled with e.l.f. custom refill pans which fit perfectly into the little circular openings.  However, I did not intend to do that. I had other plans for these babies!!!

My plan started with a problem: my out-of-control Mary Kay palette!!!  I mean seriously, take a look at this:

I think we can agree that this is officially a hot mess.  There are three magnetic sections at the top, which are filled with eye shadows, but I've got eye shadows, blushes, and a highlighter stuck in places where it's not even magnetic.  Not to mention that this palette is pretty huge.  In fact, I've not been using my Mary Kay makeup simply because I didn't have the time to pull everything out of my cabinet in order to get this big thing out.  Then I got an idea!  But Natalie, you say, you can't put these square eye shadows into the round holes of the amazing $1 compact!

But I can!!!!  One great feature about these compacts that I didn't mention earlier is the fact that the divider for the eye shadow refills can be popped out, leaving you with a nice metal place in the bottom of an otherwise open compact.  Do you see where I'm going here?

 

Now, this metal piece is normally held in place by the divider; however, a little superglue ensured that the metal plate is not going to be going anywhere any time soon.  After getting both of these compacts fixed up, I then went through my Mary Kay collection, sorting and arranging.  I picked out the colors I wanted to include in my new palettes, and then used superglue to attach magnets to each shadow. (For those of you who know me personally, I used the state of Kentucky magnets that you used to fling so lovingly at my whiteboard at school.)

I made my "blush" palette first, but I found out that I had room for some eye shadows as well.  This is the finished product:

 

Products in the palette are as follows: Sparkling Cider blush (top), Sunny Spice blush (bottom), Pink Porcelain highlighter (vertical), Sterling eye shadow, Midnight Star eye shadow, and Granite eye shadow.

Next, I filled the second compact with eye shadow only, and I was amazed that it would hold 12 Mary Kay shadows!!!!  I was beyond thrilled with the results.

Column #1 Colors: Crystalline, Moonstone, Gold Coast, and Silky Caramel

Column #2 Colors: Precious Pink, Amber Blaze, Copper Glow, and Chocolate Kiss

Column #3 Colors: Sienna, Emerald, Peacock Blue, and Sweet Plum

I cannot begin to tell you how great it is to be able to use all of these products again!  The compacts fit beautifully into my cabinet, they've reduced my clutter, and they blend beautifully with all the other palettes I have.  Overall, if you have a lot of loose eye shadow, these e.l.f. compacts could be a great investment for you!

Oh, there were also a few colors that didn't make it into my palettes.  Just in case you were wondering, here they are:

Colors: Spun Silk, Honey Spice, Hazelnut, Chocolate Kiss (duplicate in palette), and Ivy Garden.

These are great colors, but I tried to include only colors that I hadn't hit pan on in my new palettes.  But don't worry, because I'm still using these colors.  I would NEVER toss out good makeup! :)

So what do you think about my little DIY project?  Questions?  Comments?  Drop me a line below.  Until next time, peace & love! <3

e.l.f. Haul

One of my favorite makeup companies is e.l.f. cosmetics (the cute little acronym stands for eyes, lips, face).  So just what is so great about e.l.f?  The prices!!!!!  I'm talking $1 to $6 for most items.  I've researched other blogs and found that some of their products can be hit or miss.  However, everything that I have ordered from them so far has been a great value.  So, let's look at what I got in the mail TODAY! :)

                        Salem just loves it when I get packages! :)

The major reason for my e.l.f. order was that I needed some more of their High Definition Powder.  This stuff is just amazing!  It's a loose translucent powder that gives your skin a very soft look.  I use it to set my foundation every day.  It is super soft on your skin, and it just takes a little bit of the product.  Similar products from high end retailers (Smashbox, NARS, MUFE) can cost around $30, so at $6 each, this powder is a steal!

 I only ordered two more makeup products this time: the Studio Bronzer in Cool ($3) and the Essential Liquid Eyeliner in Silver ($1).  I wanted the eyeliner to do some fancy eye looks, but I'm not too sure how it will work.  It looks great in the bottle, but when I swatched it, it came off a little more transparent that I had hoped.  What do you think?

 I think the bronzer is going to be amazing.  The concept is that you have four matte cool colors that you can swirl together to get a great color to contour with.  The colors are very pigmented (although you can't really tell from my horrible pictures), and you could actually use these as eyeshadows as well!  Take a look; the swatches begin with the top right color and then continue counterclockwise:

The rest of my order consisted of tools.  I got a cute Essential Nail Block, a Studio Stipple Brush, and two Essential Custom Compacts, all for only $6!!!

These compacts have been my favorite item from this haul.  They are made to be filled with single eyeshadows from e.l.f. which fit right into the little round openings.  However, I have other plans for these cuties...but you have to wait until my next blog to find out just what I've done with them! ;)

One last thing.  I ordered an Angled Blush Brush, but e.l.f. was out of stock.  Instead of just refunding my credit card for the amount of the brush, they sent me a bottle of Studio Daily Brush Cleaner.  I love their brush cleaner, but I already had a bottle that I've just barely used.  I'm not crazy that they sent me another one, but I'll use it eventually.

I hope you've found this blog helpful.  If you're on a budget, give the e.l.f. website a try.  If you have any questions or comments, leave me a note below.  See you next time! Peace & love!!! <3

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to my new blog!

I want to use this blog as a way of sharing with you my love of all things makeup and beauty related.  I'm just getting everything together, but I can't wait to do product reviews for you all, as well as create some makeup tutorials!  I also plan to do nail art and nail polish reviews from time to time.  I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

Peace and love,

Natalie