New Makeup and a certain mascara you should NEVER buy!

Yesterday I posted my monthly August favorites and today I thought I'd elaborate on the makeup portion, which I recently purchased. I also bought a few more makeup items that I tested our, so I thought I'd share with you all what I bought and my thoughts. I will also give an update on some makeup products I mentioned in prior post. Plus, if you haven't already read yesterday's post, I mentioned a certain mascara that I will never ever buy. It went straight to the trash! Stay tuned for that memo. 

First up I'll talk about the past products I've talked about and how I feel about it them after having used them for an extended period of time. 

Earlier in the month of August, I talked about a well-known Beauty Blender dupe known as the Real Techniques sponge (you can see that post HERE). After using it for multiple different makeup looks AND with different types of foundations. My final verdict is this. I threw away my old Beauty Blender and I won't be purchasing them again. I'm not necessarily saying that the Real Techniques sponge is better, but I sort of am. I love the flat edge that it had for all over my face and I feel like this sponge is sturdier. The price is well worth it and I really feel like this dupe is my new love. 

I had also bought an E.L.F. Clear Eye Refresh "ointment" for under the eyes - you can see that post HERE. It's supposed to help with dark circles and reduce puffiness (which is awesome for right after waking up). While I don't think it's necessarily helped with my dark circles - although mine have been around my entire life - I do love how the cold roller ball feels on my under eyes, first thing in the morning. The formula is extremely refreshing and doesn't affect my concealer at all. I do think I will continue purchasing this, because I do actually notice my puffiness decreases faster in the morning with the E.L.F. Clear Eye Refresh. I enjoy using it even without makeup, so it will be a re-buy. 



The new items I purchased are the E.L.F. Blush Palette in the shade "Dark" ($6), a Maybelline lipstick in the shade 760 "Gone Griege" ($5), the NYC Smooth Skin Loose Translucent Powder ($3), and the L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Mascara in the shade "Carbon Black" ($5). I talked about the mascara and the powder in yesterday's post (see HERE), but I'll give you a quick run-down again. 

The NYC powder is a VERY close dupe to the Laura Mercier Translucent powder. It's extremely affordable and it lasts all day long. I love how smooth it truly feels on my skin, plus it helps my under eye concealer to not crease at all. I am absolutely in love with this product! 

The Voluminous mascara (black mascara tube in picture) is my absolute favorite mascara. The volume and length I get with this is amazing. I've used a few high end mascara's and truly feel like they aren't worth it. This is worth it and beats out many of the high end products I've tried in the past! It doesn't clump like crazy, I don't get flakes, it doesn't smudge on my eyelids after wearing it all day, and it makes my lashes look like I'm wearing false eyelashes! This also brings me to my warning about the Rimmel "Lift Me Up" mascara (green tube in picture). 

Yesterday I made the memo about how this is a dangerous mascara and why I won't ever purchase it in the future, but I feel like it's important to make it aware again! Now I'm not saying that this is thee worst mascara in the world and to never use Rimmel mascara, but I am saying that this particular one was dangerous for me. I feel it's necessary to share with you all, because I love you guys and don't want anyone to experience what I did. To make a long story short, I got this mascara for free from a Target makeup rep and after using it for a little while, I started noticing that whenever I would remove it - even when I was super gentle - mini clumps of my eyelashes would fall off! I'm not talking about one or two, I mean 4 or 5 at a time! It was horrible. I even got patches of area where my lashes are sparse now. I couldn't believe how badly it effected my lashes and I just have to warn you all about the potential risk.

The Maybelline lipstick is a brand new find that I've been super curious to try out. I absolutely love the color - it's a light brown with almost a greyish look. It's smooth, creamy, and has a matte look without the super dry feeling. I haven't tried out the color with a full face of makeup on - of course I will update once I actually do - but I absolutely can't wait to try it out! The feeling and color are going to be awesome for Fall!!!

My last item is the E.L.F. Blush Palette in the shade "Dark". I know that most people may say it's for darker skin tones - it is absolutely GORGEOUS on darker skin tones by the way - but even lighter skin tones can work with this! First off it's a great deal, because normally each E.L.F. blush is $3 a piece and for $6 you can get this palette which includes 4 blushes! The top two are excellent for lighter skin tones and the bottom can be lightly applied for a Fall look OR as beautiful eye shadows! You will need a VERY light hand though, because they are super pigmented. With such beautiful shades and excellent color - along with the fact that they literally last all day long - I think this palette is beyond worth it! I'm super excited for Fall to officially start, but to be honest I'm going to wear them now. 

So there you have it guys! The gorgeous new makeup - and not so awesome makeup - updates! I am so excited to play with all of this and for Fall! I have to say that Fall and Winter makeup looks are my absolute favorite looks to play with. The warm colors just make my soul light up. 

What are some of your favorite makeup looks? Talk to you lovelies tomorrow! Don't forget, tomorrow is Friday which means a new Friday Food Challenge!!!