Makeup

Worth it? elf Wow Brow Gel

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elf wow browelf wow brow gel, $4

I was browsing through Target’s beauty aisles – as a basic white girl is wont to do – seeking NYX Milk pencils. En route, I happened to spot elf Wow Brow gel. The name is reminiscent of a Benefit product, but this does not phase me. For $4 per 0.12 oz pop, I decide to try this fiber-containing formula even though I’m not currently in the market for brow products (currently using Anastasia Dipbrow Gel ($9-18) that is SO NICE and yes I still need to write about it).

Packaging

Like all elf products, elf Wow Brow packaging is unassuming in a black cylinder. Some people want to be seduced with packaging – and don’t get me wrong; I swoon over Hourglass like the rest of ’em – but I’m comfortable with simple and practical. The spoolie housed inside does not beat benefit’s in Gimme Brow and Gimme Brow+ but for the price difference, I’ll live. (Hell, I may be able to clean a Gimme Brow+ spoolie and use it if I must).

Color Selection

Examining the five shade selection, I couldn’t decide what I needed; I grabbed two. As it turns out, elf’s interpretation of Taupe differs both from my understanding of the shade as well as most other brow product manufacturers, so I grabbed it and what they deem Neutral Brown. Neutral Brown seems closer to what I expect from a Taupe shade.

Here they are in real life.

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Becca Backlight Priming Filter

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Becca Backlight Priming filterBecca Backlight Priming Filter, $40

Megawatt highlighting isn’t for me. I do like, however, boasting a little glow without going full disco ball chic. Usually, I strategically cocktail luminizing and highlighting products with my BB Cream. Lately, though, my current go-to method with Becca Backlight Priming Filter is, I’ve come to believe, better.

The product normally retails for around $40 for an ounce. I found it at Costco for around $18 at one point – so I bought it to try. An ounce doesn’t sound like much, but a little goes a very long way and lasts forever-and-a-day.

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April 2019 Favorites

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April 2019 FavoritesApril 2019 Favorites
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, $22 / L’Oreal Blow Dry It Thermal Smoother Cream, $6 /
Clarins Glow Booster, $32 / Benefit Gimme Brow+, $24

I’m so, so happy that it is consistently not-cold. My windows have been open. I have been outside. I’m eschewing jackets. It is wonderful! April was a fairly minimal beauty month for me, but details on my April 2019 Favorites are after the jump.

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MAC Lover Loyalty Program

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MAC Lover

Back in 2016, I shared MAC’s then-new loyalty program, MAC Select. I went to their site to order a birthday gift last week and found that I was unable to access the MAC Select detail. Upon login, I was informed that I was enrolled into MAC Lover – their new-new loyalty program.

Well, I missed that memo. I blame my extended no/low-buy.

The 411 on MAC Lover

Really, MAC Lover seems to be mighty similar to MAC Select. The new program has some cutesier marketing, but there are a ton of similarities. Let’s jump into the tiers:

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Chatter: My Makeup Uniform – Winter 2019

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Chatter

For a long while, I was just throwing concealer on my eyelids, mascara on my lashes, and calling it a day most days. Then, I decided I wanted to try to Project Pan the contents of my Z-Palette. Amusingly, I am not making a ton of progress wearing the contents down. In the process, though, I inadvertently discovered what I like to do on auto-pilot for my eyes. Since my eyes tend to be the longest part of painting my face, this was a game-changer. So now, most weekdays, this is what I do to my face.

Base

I have a complicated relationship with base makeup. I haven’t worn, “real,” foundation in literal years now. In the fair weather months, I don’t bother with it. Between heavier usage of Clarins Glow Booster and my sunscreen-covered skin being incorrigible and taking color anyway, my skin generally looks good. I don’t want to cover up my skin when it is looking good; plus, it saves me steps and product which equal time and money.

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Benefit Roller Lash

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benefit Roller LashBenefit Roller Lash

This legacy post has been given a facelift. Content has been edited for clarity and flow, but the essence is the same. Enjoy!

Benefit Roller Lash may as well be old news, now, but I got a deluxe sample in the Paint it Pink set.

I was prepared to not be impressed. So far, most prestige mascaras I’ve tried haven’t done much for me except my favorite, bareMinerals Flawless Definition. I like they’re Real! from Benefit but not enough to spend $24 on it. By-and-large, the price-per-use of prestige products at their retail prices are rough. When you consider that mascara must be replaced every 3-6 months for performance and sanitary reasons, dropping $20+ on a tube just doesn’t jive with me.

Performance-wise, I was pleasantly surprised.

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