E.L.F Personal Blend Mineral Foundation Review

This product was in my first Weekly Make Up Basket the other week and it quickly became my go to powder.  The Elf Personal Blend Mineral Foundation is great as a setting powder & as a light weight foundation.  While with my family over the Easter weekend I used this a foundation for the first time & loved it!  Here are my thoughts on this product:

From the Website

Loose mineral foundation in quad chamber packaging to create a perfect mix.  Blends seamlessly into the skin providing an SPF protection of 15.  Mineral based with no parabens, preservatives, or dyes.  Infused with Vitamin E to hydrate & replenish skin.  Dial allows you to control the amount of product.  Each pot containes .28 oz of product. All info taken from the Elf website here.

First Impressions & Application

I picked up the shade Light which has the four colors Porcelain, Fair, Light, & Beige in a little pot with 4 different chambers.  First off the packaging is horrible - but luckily it's easily modified.  In an ideal world, you would use a little bit of each shade to make your perfect blend.  While that's totally do able, it takes way too long.  Under the lid are two types of sifters.  The first one on the top is a dial with a scalloped shaped opening.  This you can turn between each opening of the bottom sifter to shake out just a bit of each color.  That does not work.  What I did was pop off that first sifter so I was just left with the 4 openings of each quadrant.  Luckily, all four shades together works pretty well for me.  One of the quadrants is a bit too dark & too yellow for me but the others blend it out.  So a down side would be that if your were rather fair the Light shade would probably be too dark for you.  If you were able to pop of the top sifter then block off a few of the sifters, you'll probably get the greatest shade for you.

First impression on application was amazing.  I was oil free for the longest time - pretty much a 6-8 hours (my whole work day) and my make up looked good even after leaving work.  I used this for the first time over my CoverGirl 3-in1 Stay Fabulous Foundation, which is a pretty full coverage foundation to begin with but the addition of the mineral foundation brought it up a notch.  I've also liked this over the Almay Blemish Heal Foundation, & I believe over my Lorac POREfection Foundation.  The coverage is great by itself & it does really step up the coverage of a liquid foundation.  It is finely milled & can blend in like you would expect any mineral foundation to do.

Wear Time

When I am testing out a foundation the key for me is that it wears all day.  I need it to look great from morning to evening.  I put my face on at 6am, get off work a 4pm, and do stuff after work - like film - and I don't like to redo my make up.  With this over foundations such as the 3-in-1 by CoverGirl, the Almay Blemish Heal, and the Lorac POREfessional I've noticed I stay oil free for longer.  My regular setting powders have never gotten me past lunch before.  I usually start to notice a break down as soon as I go to the bathroom around like 9am or 10am but with this as a setting powder I find that I'm pretty oil free all day.  When I touch my skin it feels dry...if you have oily skin I think you'll know what I'm talking about when you start to get scared you're gonna swirl your make up around on your face at some point during the day.  I also don't notice the mars around my glasses on my nose through the day.  This powder really makes your foundation stick.

As a foundation itself it also performs well.  I think I'm done with the BB Cream thing because with that I have to set & it's a liquid - this is one step with awesome coverage.  This gives me so. much. coverage!  Over the Easter weekend, I really didn't want to deal with my doing a crazy full face - I don't want to look like it's prom in photos where everyone looks natural.....you know?  I just wanted to even my skin tone & cover some blemishes.  Buffing this in with the Elf Powder Brush (pictured above) really gave me full coverage but it was so light!   The wear time of this by itself is pretty great too. I'd say a full 6-8 hours (+ even).  It covers redness & stays all day.  I found that I didn't get as oily either.  With this, since it's not liquid, you're not getting any weird separation or pooling on your face.

Overall Impressions & Recommendations

Overall, if you can get passed the horrible packaging & you (again.....) fall in the light, medium, & deep categories.......this powder is really good.  For me the pros out weight the cons & the biggest thing is the coverage and staying power by itself.  I would say that if you're looking to try out a mineral powder foundation this would be a great start.  Elf has a Mineral Foundation in different shades - more than the light, medium, dark - here.  The Personal Blend Foundation is $8 & the other Mineral Foundation is $5 (but catch it on a 50% off sale!).  But if it's something you're interested in trying, this is a really affordable option.

I am always being impressed by Eyes Lips Face and love trying things out from the brand because it's so affordable!  I know I do a lot of reviews of Elf on here but honestly it's because I'm so impressed all the time.

xoxo, Moe

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Make It Monday // Boho Crochet Summer Bag

I've finally picked up my crochet hook again!  Sometimes I am just so uninspired to create things that I don't even try.  Lately I've been looking up crochet bags on Pinterest & pinning a lot for inspiration.  I want to crochet more in the coming months & have challenged myself to make 7 bags before the end of the summer.  I don't know if I'll use them but they are fun & quick to make.  If you're a pretty fast/experienced crocheter you can make this bag in about 3-4 hours!  On Saturday I posted a picture on instagram that I finished the cream colored bag in this post - then on Sunday I got up around 7:30am and finished a second one by 11am.  The second one has bright, beachy colors that remind me of summer!  This bag is super easy - here's how I made it.

Supplies: worsted weight yarn (like Red Heart), size J hook, granny square pattern of your choice.  This project is great to do with scrap yarn - the cream one I used a 1 lb skein that they sell at Joanne's (but you might be able to use one regular Red Heart skein) and the more colorful one was a bunch of scrap yarn I had on hand.  It doesn't take too much yarn to make.

Firs I made up a granny square pattern as I went but you can use a pattern you might love or one you want to try out.  Pinterest has loads of patterns & you probably have a granny square pattern book lying around.  You don't want the pattern too have too many open parts but it should have an interesting enough pattern to look fun in a solid color.  After I crocheted my granny square I added 4 rounds of single crochet to the outer edge making sure I still made crisp corners by doing a sc-ch1-sc combo once I reached the corners.  This will give the bag more solid parts as well as make it sturdy & hold it's shape.  If there are too many holes not only with your stuff fall through but you may end up making a floppy bag.

Next, fold your granny squares in half to make three triangles like in the photo above.  Sew the triangles together.  It might help to lay out your work as your sewing to make sure you're sewing the right pieces together.  The shape of this bag can make it confusing.  I also made sure to put all my tails at the back of the bag so the stitches in the front would match up better & you wouldn't see where each round was joined.

For the cream bag, I braided 30 strands of yarn together to make a thicker strap with some fluffy tassels.  When it came to the strap for the multi color bag, I crocheted a chain with two strands of my yarn held together.  You want to make a sturdy/thick chain because it will stretch once the bag is filled with stuff.  I always try to use a little less than I think I need so it doesn't stretch too much, making the bag unwearable.  For these, I made them cross body bags but you could make a shorter strap.

I left mine unlined because I plan on using these for beach outings or little trips...not as my everyday purse!  But you could hand sew a lining into this purse if you want.

I looovvveee the multi colored one!  So fun for summer!  To me it's a little patriotic looking - so perfect for the 4th of July I guess.  But both of these would be great for any little warm weather outing your planning.  These stretch as well so if you were going to a farmer's market or outdoor fair you can stuff these full of fun goodies.

xoxo, Moe

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Learn Something New // Great Apps for Learning

Ever since leaving school formally, it's been weird not having assignments or things to be completed.  Blogging sort of gives me something to complete - thinking up and writing out posts - but for the most part I'm not learning anything new.  Zach & I will go to museums & sometimes little workshop/class type of things but nothing that requires studying or developing something.  And sometimes it's a discouraging not having someone to teach you - have you ever tried to teach yourself something?  It's hard if you don't have someone passionate about it teaching you!  However, I've got a great resource for learning (and I'm sure you do to!) it's an iPad/iPhone! I know others of you may have Android devices so I will try to link to these if they are available on your device in this post as well.  Here are some great apps for learning something new or just brushing up on something old:

Duolingo

This is one of my current favorite apps!  I've only been using it for a short time but I've been loving the game style of learning a new language.    I took French in high school & college but it's a little rusty and I want to get better.  Chose from French, Spanish, German, Italian, and a few more.  Learn at your own pace by setting a goal & learning with fun and easy activities.  I like it because it's easy to pick up quick and get a short session in.  Oh, this app is totally free....forever.  Learn more & download it for Apple & Android here.  Don't have a fancy smart phone or tablet?  Use Duolingo online as well!

goREACT

This is the app that started the idea for this post!  We went to the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago and there we played with a little interactive period table.  You can create different compounds and chemical reactions by dragging elements from the periodic table into the Reaction Area.  There you'll create & learn about different reactions, chemical compounds, etc.  Learn how the periodic table is set up & about each of the 118 elements!  Download for Apple here and for Android here.  This app is also free.

Star Walk

This is one of the first learning apps I ever downloaded but I haven't played with in a long while.  You can look up at the night sky from the comfort of your bedroom, making an fun bedtime routine.  You can also reveal the amazing heavens as you lay on your back in your yard or while camping.  Learn about constellations above you and how they look from all over the world by pointing the device towards the ground to see a point of view from the other hemisphere.  Use the scale on the screen called Time Machine to see how the sky looked yesterday or thousands of years in the past.  Download Star Walk for Apple here ($2.99) and for Android here ($3.17).

MathBoard

Intended for students this quiz based problem solving app gives you math questions at your fingertips.  I'm horrible with multiplication tables so this app is a great way to quiz myself & brush up.  Great for any kids in the household too as they can start from as low as kindergarten level & work up.  Don't worry, no calculus in this app (if thats what you're wanting to learn, I found this for Android & this for iPhone - but a better search my lead to more).  Download from Apple here ($4.99) and for Android here ($4.99). 

Art

If you want to brush up on your Art History or never knew the difference between Van Gough & Toulouse Lautrec - this app will show you who's who.  Read artist biographies, see examples of their work, and save & email images.  Options to go to online sites to learn more will give you Art History at your finger tips.  If you're interested in learning about artists, their work, and different periods in Art History the subject is at your finger tips.  An easy going way to learn a new subject.  Download for $0.99 from Apple here.  Alternative is Art Academy from Android for free here.

I know it's coming on that time for school breaks & I just feel like summer is a time where you sort of put off learning because you're too busy catching some rays.  All of these apps will help you learn something new in a few minutes a day.  Keep your brain fresh guys!

xoxo, Moe

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