Taupe Tuesdays! - ELF Moondust

Today's Taupe Tuesday feature is a bit of a controversy.

There has always been the age-old debate, do lower-priced cosmetics deliver less than desirable results? Does more money always equal the best product? Well, I believe that this product transcends that whole notion.

ELFs Moondust , in my opinion, is exceptional. It doesn't perform like a $1 eye shadow. It has great pigment, and it goes on smooth. I believe it is the $1 long lost twin to MACs famous Satin Taupe.

This is a brand-new pan...however...

...this is what my current in-use pan looks like ;)

The swatch is pretty true true to life.

I have a comparison to Satin Taupe (somewhere), but I need to take a new one. A really gorgeous brown-based taupe with just the right amount of shimmer.

The texture reminds me of Stila, very soft (almost to the point where it's dangerous to travel with, they have the potential to break really easily) and a tad on the "powdery" side. It's an absolute STEAL at $1 a pop. I use this on it's own, but I normally use it as part of my "office" makeup during the week for a subtle/neutral smoky eye.

To venture away from the taupeness, I just want to say thanks to the folks who commented on my WWYD post a few days ago, it was great advise! Though I do admit that things have changed in the wardrobe department...I went to Gottschalks over the weekend and, on a whim, tried on this dress. Well, I left home with it :D I decided to wear this dress to the rehearsal with this cardigan over (Again, not in the color shown but in the darker green/olive color that is in the dress), and then happened to find these shoes right after (Mind you, everything was ON SALE! The dress and cardigan were 50% off and the shoes 15%...it was truly my lucky day. No...no, it was fate. Everything was on sale for a reason).

And! I told myself I wasn't going to do it but I bit my lip and placed an order for the new She Space Limited Edition collection. The whole collection. Wait, let me rephrase that, I did order the whole collection, but I ordered sample sizes. I figured I might as well. The colors are gorgeous (Seriously, check out the message board for swatches- beautiful!!!!!) and, let's face it, I'm a sucker for the names.

Adventures in depotting: #1

I finally did it! I depotted my first shadows!

So for a while I've had these E.L.F. palettes in my makeup tower. Not really doing anything. Just hanging around. I even had some E.L.F. singles lying around, think I did anything with them? Nope. They sat in their respective plastic shell packaging getting lost in a sea of single shadows. This weekend for a little mini-project, I decided to finally pop these babies into a palette along with some Milani singles.

Milani Sheer Sand, E.L.F. Moondust

Milani Antique Gold, E.L.F. Dusk

Putting an E.L.F shadow in a palette is about as hard as opening a door (but....you never know), so that was a no brainer. Depotting Milani was just as easy. It took me all of 5 minutes and, as you can see from the picture, had no casualties.

I did the alcohol method, which was a breeze. I peeled off the label from the back of the single and took a small flathead screwdriver and dipped it in some rubbing alcohol and then dipped it over the little hole on the back of the single. I let it "marinate" for about 5 minutes and in the meantime looked for some magnets. I, for the life of me, can't find rolls of magnet tape (that isn't 10 inches thick) that people use for palettes. So, I used the next best thing: magnets from the fridge. I had these small magnets, the type to "build a sentence". These were free, so I didn't mind. Since they weren't self-stick I took some double-stick tape and cut it to size.

Back to the singles, I took a push pin and stuck it in the hole, it didn't take much force for the pan to pop right out! Alright!! I was a depotting virgin no more!! Then took my little magnets, stuck that on, then stuck a label with the name on it- then popped it in the palette! I admit, I guess it would stick a little better if I had some new magnets (the ones from the fridge are kind of old), but it still works and unless I'm on a trampoline, the shadows aren't going anywhere. It's not a bad looking palette, right? ;)

On an ending note, I think I'm in love with The She Space. I really am. Today I used Deafening Silence (or was it Distant Rumor?) on lid with Resisted Anxiety on outer lid and Moonlight Whimsey (I think, haha. I was in a rush this morning) to highlight. I instantly fell in love with the creamy consistency and the PIGMENT! Oh. My. God. The. Pigment. I'll take some in-depth pictures soon, but I beg of you GO TO THE SHE SPACE!!!! Look around and order some samples, I promise you won't be disappointed.