E.L.F. Disney Villains Limited Edition Collection

For the past 2 years, ELF has released limited edition Disney Villains collections, one per year. These are only sold at Walgreens across the U.S. and are in very high demand. There are 4 look-books in total, one for the Evil Queen, Ursula, Maleficient, and Cruella de Vil. I didn't have the privilege of getting any of these last year so I picked up 2 of the set this year. The price of these is a very affordable $9.99/each as with all ELF makeup. There are also Ardell eyelash trios available for purchase, a 12-pack of nail-polish minis from ELF, matching cosmetic bags and hair ties from Goody.

Feast your eyes on the display!!

I absolutely love the packaging for all of these and I think they would make wonderful Christmas presents for any teenager that's getting into makeup, any makeup junkie you know, or anyone who is young at heart. If I didn't have to haul these across the country since I'm not home, I probably would have picked up a lot more.

I'll do an in-depth look at the 2 look-books I purchased, the Evil Queen and Ursula. I thought Ursula's colors were the most vibrant of them so that's why I was very drawn to it and I really loved the neutrals in the Evil Queen.

This is the outer packaging:

Here's a closer look, in each lookbook you will get a palette with 6 eyeshadows, mascara, lipgloss, eye primer, black liquid eyeliner, eyeshadow brush and a black pencil liner

I think the packaging really goes above and beyond in this set. Unlike the previous set, you can choose to keep the packaging or remove all of the components if you wish, they are not embedded into the look-book. Also, on the left inner flap, there are instructions for a day look and on the right inner flap, there are instructions for a night look to achieve dramatically different eyes. The flavor text on these descriptions is extremely colorful and villainous. Although these sets appear "evil" you can achieve some very conventionally beautiful looks with them, so don't be afraid to try it out!

If these aren't your cup of tea, then you can always head over to http://www.eyeslipsface.com and pick up a myriad of other products :)

Maybelline Baby Lips, Napoleon Perdis and Skincare

Recently I stopped in a few stores and picked up a few essentials for my trip, but I also came across some new products that I was really curious to try out. I'll do a quick rundown, photos and review of each if you're curious about whether or not you should spend your money on these products. I do recommend that if you are traveling, it's the perfect time to try out new moisturizers, facial cleansers, etc. since I doubt most of us want to carry around all those liquid/cream products. Don't mind the hair ties, a girl's always gotta have some knotted hair-ties that look as good in your hair as they do on your wrist (I keep these in all my purses, in my makeup bag, in the bathroom - you never know when you'll have an up-do emergency)! I'm also uber-obsessed with the Yes to Blueberries Facial Cleansing Cloths, I picked them up for $5.99 and I think the scent is absolutely delightful. I was hooked on these when I got them in my Birchbox for the month of September.

NP Set at Target

"NP" Napoleon Perdis Eyeshadow Palette in Dublin - this is a green eyeshadow trio (comes in other colors as well) with nice pigmentation and flecks of shimmer. There are no huge chunks of glitter, but the shades are definitely far from matte. The tones remind me of olive-khaki and would be perfect for the fall. The texture is smooth and creamy. You can find these at Target, they retail for $20, but I got mine on sale for $5.06 because apparently someone had opened it but it was not swatched when I purchased it.

My favorite color is the one in the center as it brings the brightest pop,
the flanking colors are much more muted and neutral

Swatches are smooth, silver to golden flecks of sparkle can be seen
Color on the left swatches as a lighter version to right-most color
Swatched in daylight by a window on overcast day

I don't think that the NP Set colors are so extremely unique that they should be purchased for $20, as I know that Urban Decay has many dupes of the flanking colors in their Naked palettes. I do think that the center color is unique in this Dublin palette and I'm definitely glad I picked it up discounted because it's a set that is nice to have and I will use it. I wish the packaging was a little more high end for the price-point of these sets. It really reminds me of the ELF essentials collection packaging. The applicator is also totally useless as the sponge would pick up the color from your palette but not deposit it onto your eyelid properly. Definitely use a brush you already own to do your eyeshadow with this palette as with any other. You can purchase your set here.


Maybelline Baby Lips - These lip balms have intrigued me for a long time because I've seen them on YouTube as many of the gurus have had them on their "must haves". I only got one in "Peach Kiss" so my review isn't going to be as exhaustive here. I was pretty let down by these because when you apply them they literally feel like vaseline, but I will say that they have a much more pleasant smell. In terms of pigmentation, it's extremely light and when I apply it to my lips, it doesn't even appear as though there's product on them. It's fine for an everyday lip balm, especially since the price is low, but it's definitely not more spectacular than any other lip balm for moisturizing. I find that the product sits atop of my lips and doesn't sink in to moisturize. I'm sure over time I might pick up a darker color just to see if the pigmentation improves, but for now, I found this swatch of the collection, keep in mind this person is lightly pigmented and these colors going over an already-present lip color will be a lot less noticeable.

This blog has a breakdown of the specifics of each color, check it out if you want more info

POND'S Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream and Clarant B3 Dark Spot Correcting Cream - 

First of all, I absolutely love the scent of POND'S products. My absolute favorite so far is the Clarant B3 scent (in the rose tub) because it reminds me of cherry blossoms. I bought these in the small size of 1.75oz in the "travel section" of Target. They're the perfect trial size as they were only around $1. They're filled up generously to the top and it's going to take me weeks to go through these. Both of these creams absorb very easily into the skin and leave your face feeling very moisturized and soft. I apply both creams, with a wait of about 10 minutes in between to let the first one sink into my skin morning and evening (this is especially important if you use makeup wipes which typically contain alcohol and will dry out your skin). You really can't go wrong with these, the formula reminds me a little bit of the Nivea Light Repairing Night Cream, which is my favorite night cream/moisturizer. 

Jergen's Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer - This is a thicker formula moisturizer that is more saturated with oils because it takes my skin a much longer time to absorb. However, I would recommend this over the POND'S formula for dry to very dry skin and I apply it if I'm having a particularly dry skin day (this is for use on your body, it does not specify that it should be used on the face). It can feel a little greasy and the scent is not as pleasant. Again, if you want to try this out, pick it up at the travel section of a store near you and then commit to the larger size if you are pleased.

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Collection

Hi all,

I don't know if I've been living under a rock but Target has some really cool stuff... I guess I never really paid attention to how fashionable some of their items are because I assumed they were just like their counterpart (Wal-Mart) and didn't obtain anything young or hip.

I was pleasantly introduced to the Phillp Lim 3.1 limited-edition collection by my sister-in-law, and serendipitously my husband informed us at 3:30AM on the collection release date (Sept 15th/2013) that the items were up online. I guess we got lucky that he was up watching some UFC match that ran late otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten our hands on these bags. So of course we went into crazy panic mode and bought 2 of the large bags, 5 of the smaller bags, 2 overnighter Cheetah print bags, and I got a weird-looking sweater-dress. We also went into the store and battled the masses, but we only walked away with one small black bag.

When they arrived, I absolutely loved these bags (with yellow being my favorite) and they even have side zippers so you can configure them as shown in the taupe (appears grayish) purse, the pricepoint was $34.99/each:

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset  (Yellow)

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Taupe)

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Black)

I was even more thrilled a few days later that my overnight bag (only sold online) arrived just as my husband and I booked our plane tickets for a flight to Portland, OR scheduled for the very next day for a freelance booking. The bag pulls up about to double its size (shown in second photo). Now the only real problem with this bag is that it is really intended only for traveling, you can't walk around with it too much, if you pack it too full you will barely be able to get it over your arm, and it'll feel very uncomfortable. That being said, it's a terrifically made bag for its pricepoint ($49.99) and it is quite large, I was able to fit 3 large sweaters, 2 jackets, a scarf, my enormous makeup case and misc. other items.

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Canvas Tote

My sister-in-law, also named Alex, purchased the large bag for herself as well. It's super cute and roomy, I personally love the taupe version of this bag, but she prefers the black so it'll match everything she wears. This bag did seem very large, you could pretty easily fit a laptop in there and I think it's probably an amazing bag for work. They also offered an online-only color of this bag in a deep purple.

 




I have yet to see the sweater-dress, so I will update you guys later on that one, as it arrived after we had already left NYC for Portland. For those of you that are not from the US, you can purchase these items all over eBay, it's pretty flooded with the collection. But buyer beware, I really thought that the majority of the clothes were very poorly made and definitely did not warrant the high price-point (at least in comparison to other Target clothes).

Let me know if you purchased anything from the Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 collection and what you think about it in the comments section below!

DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Hip Cinched Blouse

This is a fabulous DIY t-shirt idea that can be translated into all sorts of different pieces - you can use this technique on the bottoms of shirts, skirts, pant legs, etc. It's really an idea you can take anywhere your creativity guides you!

All you'll need for this project is:

A shirt

1 piece of fabric

1 ribbon

Sewing machine (or your meticulous little fingers and a needle with some color-coordinated thread)

1. Find a shirt and turn it inside out.

2. Lay your ribbon down and cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover your ribbon and pin the piece down

3. Sew on the fabric, making 3 large stitches, between the ribbon and on each side.

4. Cinch and tie and you've completed your project!

DIY Color-Blocking Clutch by Lauren Conrad

Hello to all of my wonderful and loyal fans. I've been away on hiatus for very long now because I started a new job and I wanted to give it everything I had and, frankly, I was way too tired to do any blogging.

Now that I've settled in, I wanted to welcome you all back by showing you this Color-blocking DIY Clutch video by Lauren Conrad's Crafty Creations. To my surprise, I found this browsing the web and it spurred a revival in my interest in arts & crafts once more!!

I'm so thankful that many of you have stuck around and this blog has gotten infinitely more popular than when I left it 3 months ago. I'm going to be picking up with the posts again and hope you will stay tuned for more wonderful beauty, craft and lifestyle ideas from yours truly.

- Alex

Soulfire Artisan Bead Giveaway

Hi everyone,

This is just a quick update to let you know that Soulfire Artisan (a bead and jewelry supply website) is having a giveaway!! They're giving away the following items: 

#1 A full 16" strand of 2mm multi gemstone round beads.

#2 A full 16" strand of 2mm strawberry quartz round gemstone beads 

#3 A 16" strand of 2mm clear quartz round gemstone beads 

#4 A full 16" strand of 2mm dyed lemon quartz round gemstone beads 

#5 A full 16" strand of 2mm Blue quartz round gemstone beads. 

If you're interested then check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/soulfireartisan and their website is http://www.soulfireartisan.com !!

To be eligible to be party of the giveaway all you  have to do is 'Like' their page on facebook and sign up for their newsletter here: http://www.soulfireartisan.com/newsletter/

For more information on the giveaway visit their facebook page and you may earn more entries!!! =) Exciting! Good luck to everyone!

Here's a look at what the winner gets!

Gladiator Get-Up

Gladiator Get-Up by lethalglam featuring green tote bags

Seafolly white tote bag
$136 - my-wardrobe.com

Kelsi Dagger silver sandals
$70 - dsw.com

Green tote bag
$59 - etsy.com

Feather jewelry
maurices.com

Gold jewelry
$12 - bakersshoes.com