Current e.l.f. Favorites, Small Drugstore Haul, and Happy Caturday Poll!!

  Happy Caturday, everyone!!  I've really been interested in e.l.f. products lately, not the makeup, though I love the matte lip colors, but the tools.  First off, I think it's great that there are now so many good quality drugstore bland makeup brushes available.  I admit that for a long time I did not wear certain makeup until I could afford a brush to properly apply it.  Something about applying eyeshadows, blushes, and powders with the spongey material they're so often packaged with really turned me off and I slowly built up a (very) small arsenal of brushes.  We all know that brushes allow for a much more natural look and I've always felt like we owe our faces the courtesy of treating them with a little more luxury than a two inch sponge tip applicator or foam square can provide.
  The good news is that we don't have to break the bank for high end brushes costing upwards of $20 a piece or settle for a rough synthetic bristled experience.  Technology has improved and this is one of those cases of HOW did drugstore makeup companies not figure this out earlier?  I wonder if it came with the advent of high-def and the realization that with all this new visual technology maximizing every pore and follicle, higher quality products to help all of us look our best became necessity.  Whatever it is, there are some fabulous synthetic brushes available at amazing prices now, and e.l.f. is amongst the most affordable and amongst the best, of what I've tried.  Most their Studio (black label) line retails for $3 per piece, and I have a new favorite blush brush.

  The Small Stipple Brush is a duofiber thing made with shorter, plush black bristles and then longer, thinned out white bristles.  So, rather than a one length or tapered brush that gives a lot of blush payoff and almost always requires additional blending, the Small Stipple brush delivers a light dusting of color in a perfectly contoured line.  The idea is that you do as the brush states, and stipple the color along your cheekbones, rather than brush and blend a stripe.  The white bristles allow for less color to be deposited and then the thick black bristles blend the minimized color without depositing more, if that makes any sense.  Blush should be applied with a light hand and this brush makes that concept SO easy to pull off.

  One thing I'm really, REALLY bad about is cleaning my brushes on a regular basis so when I saw this e.l.f Daily Brush Cleaner, I was all over it.  It's not meant to replace the necessary duty of a full brush cleaning.  It is a spray that removes the majority of the color from the brush you just used (wipe the brush onto a clean cloth to remove the color) and disinfects as it air dries, which is within hours, regardless of the size of the brush you're using (though I've only used this on synthetic brushes).  You can see in my photo that my stipple brush has a sight tint of the last blush I used.  This is after using the cleaner, but it really is minimal and not enough to alter the color when I decide on a different shade, and certainly not as much as if I'd have used nothing at all.  This cleaner has a soft, clean floral scent, making it pleasant to use.  The scent lingers after the product has dried, but it's just kind of mild, fresh, and pretty and will go away with a full routine cleaning.  I really like this stuff and again, it's $3 where e.l.f. products are sold (so far, Target is the only place I've seen).

  I feel like I've gone a little crazy drugstore makeup-wise lately, and I don't really "haul", regardless, but this week, I kind of did, lol.  I can attribute every makeup purchase within the last two weeks to either a blogger friend or the youtube guru type I recently started watching.

     Earlier in the week I reviewed my first Milani lipstick and told you how I've fallen in love with the formula and price point (full post HERE) and that I'd likely be getting more in the not too distant future.  My friend Candice (Mommy Does Her Nails)  has been hot on the trail of a vampy wine lippy and I caught that decidedly unspring-like fever and purchased the new for 2014 shade, Cabaret Blend.  I'm excited to break some makeup rules with this one.

  Garnier 5 Sec Blur-- I think I first read about this on Elle Sees as something she was excited to try. You know I've been on the lookout for a good, affordable primer to supplement the Too Faced Primed & Poreless I go through at warp speed and after using up the 5 Sec Blur sample in my new Allure mag, I went on ahead and bought the full sized.  I like this stuff and I'm really excited to do a full review on it.

  I'm HIGHLY wary of any undereye product but Maybelline Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer looks worth a shot, especially since it's a two-in-one thing and my circles want more than just concealing.  I learned about this through youtuber JAMbeauty89, whose makeup always looks impeccable (though she doesn't seem to have the undereye issues I do, she's a good sell.  Like, REALLY good).  Here's hoping I picked my correct shade!

  Maybelline Expert Wear Mocha Motion eyeshadow quad-- another JAMbeauty89 sell.  She expressed the exact same misgivings I have about the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette and how this quad fills in some of the blanks.  It actually reminds me of a more matte and cool toned WetnWild Walking On Eggshells (which I really like).  I'm SUPER excited to play with this because I foresee it becoming a favorite.

  Question time!!  Feel free to answer as many or as few as you'd like.

  Do you watch youtube beauty gurus?  If so, who's your favorite?  I just recently started getting into that but I only "regularly" watch one, the aforementioned JAMbeauty89.  I think I found her googling Wantable's February accessories box?  I don't remember.  Anyway, she's really personable, knowledgeable, cute, confident, and succinct.  I've watched 10 minute videos that feel like an utter drag but her 20 minute videos are entertaining from start to finish.  Dangerous for my wallet, though.

  Seasonal style and beauty rules-- keep or break them?  I like to think of them more as guidelines.  They can get tiresome if you're a slave to them and I'm not going to be one who hops on the "orange lipstick for spring" type trends any time soon, but I appreciate that certain colors and finishes just fit with certain seasons.  I am looking forward to playing with my new vampy lipstick with a smudged, darkly lined eye for late spring, though.  Do what you feel :)

  What's your lipstick of the day?  Nothing, yet!  I'm in my trusty Alba coconut creme lip balm.  

  Speaking of trends, do you have a favorite one this spring?  I seriously have no idea what the trends are.  Well, I'm pretty sure that orange lipstick thing is true, but maybe that was last year.

  Favorite Easter candy?  It's a tie between Whoppers Robin's Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs.  And usually, I have a massive weakness for candy this time if year bit so far, I haven't bought a thing!  One more week and I'm scott free.

  Thank you for reading and have a marvelous weekend!! ♥