I am getting ready for my 20th high school reunion in a few weeks! I can’t believe I am that old…but it’s true!

To prepare of course, I ordered a bunch of new make-up – which I rarely wear. I got my hair trimmed up and my eyebrows waxed. TMI??    And the other day I invited a good friend over to help me with my new make-up. Since I don’t wear it very often, I thought it might be fun to invite someone over who actually has a clue!  We had a great time watching make-up tutorials, messing around with make-up and hair, and talking outfits. I don’t take time for myself very  often so all of this attention on little ole me was quite fun and refreshing for a change.

A few weeks ago I ordered a bunch of elf cosmetics at eyeslipsface.com. I first heard of elf everyday cosmetics several years ago on money saving blogs because of their very inexpensive line of make-up – with many items priced at only $1 – their products are quite affordable for the bargain shopper. Well, I’ve used a lot of their $1 makeup in the past, but I recently found out they also carry a more natural mineral line!

I was excited because since learning about all of the toxic hazards we expose ourselves to, I have been trying hard to clean my home and life and make-up is one area I haven’t really changed. Elf’s Mineral Makeup is 100% mineral-based with no parabens, no preservatives, and no chemical dyes. Best of all, it is inexpensive – anywhere from $3-8 per item. It’s nice to find greener make-up products that don’t break the bank. Additionally, elf does not test their products on animals {they feature PETA’s seal on their website} and their products contain no animal derived products.

Since I live in the middle of the boonies {and it’s not that relaxing to cart 4 kiddos to Target}  I decided to order my make-up on line. Have you ever done that? It was pretty intimidating, I’m not going to lie to you. I was worried about picking the right color and products. I like to touch and feel things to know what I’m getting, but that’s pretty impossible when ordering online. I was also concerned about color distortion on my computer screen. It took me two days to place my order!

I read through so many reviews like the one pictured above – I couldn’t believe the helpful reviews on elf’s website. There were literally hundreds! After obsessing for two days, I finally placed my order and just hoped that I picked well. You can walk through my ordering process at my Google + album.

This is my make-up haul!! I was thrilled when my products arrived! My order consisted mainly of eye products, but I also got new blush and lipstick, new mascara, eye shadow, eye shadow primer, eyebrow filler & tamer, an eyebrow kit. I mostly ordered from elf’s mineral line, but they didn’t have mineral eyebrow products. Since they were very important to me, I ordered the regular line for those items.

Because I ordered over $20 worth of product, I was able to get an enormous kit called their Fall Collection for free. It included all of the brushes shown above and I am in love! Elf always runs specials and each one seems a bit better than the last.

I also got these really fun lip sticks. I love the color. I love the way they feel on my lips. I love that they are long lasting. In fact, I was really impressed with everything I bought! I enjoyed most of the colors I ended up with. My girlfriend, Melanie, however, thinks I should have ordered bright red lipstick {but red really makes me shudder}. I just don’t think it’s right for my complexion. I’m happier with browns and lighter shades.

And now I am showing you something I never show anyone – me with NO MASCARA! You can see that my eyebrows blend right into my forehead. They are my most challenging feature and I was excited to try a few of elf’s eyebrow products. I’m serious when I tell you the only makeup product in my bathroom until I got this order was mascara. I massively purged my makeup about a year ago and never got around to replacing it.

A closer look at some of my favorite new eye products! I especially love the eye shadow primer. It feels luxurious and does a good job at keeping eye shadow in place all day long.

My old daily routine consisted of mascara. It took about a minute and the result was reflective of my effort. I’ve added a few more items since my elf purchase: eyebrow primer, a bit of eyeshadow, the eyebrow kit, blush, and lipstick. It now takes me about 5 minutes to put on my makeup {totally doable, I think}, and I’m worth the effort!

After Melanie and I were pleased with our appearances, we went outside for a quick photo shoot! I love my new look. I think I still need to do a bit of work on my eyebrows, but overall I am very pleased with my elf makeup haul!

Thanks, Melanie for teaching me about makeup! And thank you elf and CBias for making this makeover possible.

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