e.l.f. Beauty Bundle - Back to Beauty School (September/Fall 2014)

Here is the description of my latest Beauty Bundle from Eyes Lips Face.  The theme of this box was Back to Beauty School! 

 

It was actually raining the day my beauty box arrived, and the box was soaking wet (pink tissue paper and all) when I got it.  It was the first time the pink tissue paper wasn't exciting!  I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised that my black beauty bundle bag was completely dry!  Not only is it fun but also functional!

 

 

The bag that you get in each bundle (which was perfectly dry and extra pleasing):

 

The stash inside the bag is all described below.  Since it's been a few days, I am also going to put what I have used so far.  I love getting into my beauty bundle and starting to use stuff right away - it makes it a lot more fun to see what I can use right away! 

 

The first thing I pulled out was the brush set.  It was 12 pieces and just a general set of a bunch of brushes bundled in a plastic bag.  Included were:  (1) Eyelash & Brow Brush, (2) Blending Eye Brush, (3) Lip Defining Brush, (4) Concealer Brush, (5) Brow Comb & Brush, (6) Defining Eye Brush, (7) Eyeshadow Brush, (8) Smudge Eye Sponge, (9)Eyeliner Brush, (10) Foundation Brush, (11) Bronzing Brush, and (12)  Total Face Brush.  They are all from the Essential Line (so they run $1 each to buy in stores).  I have already used the brow & comb brush so they order listed may not be exactly what was in the package, but it's close.

The next large item in the bundle bag was this face and lip palette.  I think palettes are fun for travel or work, but the lip stuff always irritates me because I feel like I get all of the powery make up in the lip stuff and then don't want to use it.  The palette is pretty big and mostly lip stuff so I now have it at my desk so I can apply fun lip colors while I work.  The mirror in the case is huge which is also awesome.  The value was stated as $8.  I don't think I would pay that for this palette, but it's definitely fun as part of the beauty bundle since I am getting $40 worth of product for $20 anyway.  It's something that I love because it's just so much fun and something I totally don't need.

The next items were the eyeliner set and the eye primer and liner sealer set.  I haven't used the primer/sealer yet, but it looks like fun and great for travel.  The eyeliner set has liquid brown & black and a shimmer liner.

 

Next up was some powder puffs and a smudge pot.  I have used the blue smudge pot before but wasn't feeling it.  I decided to go all out on this one and use it all over my eyes (after priming).  It looked great!  I didn't even add contracting color.  Lots of fun.  Now I want to get back into the blue with the liner brush and see what I can do.  The smudge pot is moist but not super wet. I don't have an immediate need for the powder puffs, but tools can store for a while.  

 

The next two items were the volume pumping mascara and the HD undereye setting powder.  I used the powder right away since I was going out and had a long day.  I have also been using the mascara.  I feel like it needs a few coats and it's not super long lasting, but it's definitely worth the $3 price tag!

 

And the lips.  I also pulled out a lipstick which I also immediately used.  The color is 'Barely Bitten' and I have another pic below.

A few more views...

I hadn't seen this packaging before so I decided to snap a couple of pics of the front and back:

And a better view of the lip color, barely bitten.  Sounds kind of fun for Halloween!  e.l.f. also has Halloween specific beauty books for certain looks which I think it pretty cool.

And the insert descriptions...

 

Overall Contents:  (in order of insert, not order I pulling things out as shown above)

• $3 Eye Primer & Liner Sealer
• $3 HD Undereye Setting Powder
• $3 Liquid + Pencil Eyeliner Set
• $3 Smudge Pot in Back to Basics
• $3 Volume Pumping Mascara in Black
• $5 Mineral Lipstick in Barely Bitten
• $8 13 Piece Face & Lip Palette
• $1 Powder Puffs Set of 4
• $12 Professional Complete Set of 12 Brushes

This is actually my first beauty bundle that totaled over $40 - we have $41 worth of stuff here.  I double checked the prices on the insert.  Very nice! I suppose they didn't have to add the powder puffs, but I am not complaining. Love it!

Very happy with this Beauty Bundle. 

e.l.f. Beauty Bundle: Pre-Summer Survival Kit (May 2014)

I received my new elf beauty bundle!  This box's theme is Your Pre-Summer Survival Kit!

The box arrived in the usual black box with pink tissue paper, and all but one of the contents (a pink signature bag) was in the e.l.f. beauty bundle drawstring bag.

Here is what the Pre-Summer Survival Kit contained:

• 28-Piece Beach Beauty Palette in Night, $6
• Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara in Black, $3
• Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls, $3
• Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black, $2
• Mineral Moisturizing Lip Tint in Guava, $3
• High Definition Powder in Shimmer, $6
• Makeup Mist & Set, $3
• SPF 45 Sunscreen UVA/UVB Protection, $6
• Signature Bag in Pink, $8

As advertised and expected, the items total up to $40 in value.

Here is what the inside of the Beauty Book looks like:

 

These last three remain unopened.  I have some mist & set already that I don't use too often but probably should more.  I also have lots of mascara and eyeliner options.  Both of these are waterproof so they will wait until a time when I need some water-resistant makeup.

 

As I was unboxing this kit, I was also packing for a trip to Miami.  What a great place to try it out!  I packed the Suncreen powder and Beauty Book in the Signature Bag with the lip tint and highlighter.  The bag as a section for brushes so I packed some in there and also my eye primer.

The signature bag is much better than I expected.  I had seen it on the website before, but wasn't very interested.  I loved taking it on my trip to Miami - perfect for storing everything you need.  I ended up adding mascara, eyeliner, tweezers, and other odds & ends to this travel set.  I used the SPF powder every day in addition to the beauty book.  I wore neutral colors during the day and put on some of the more fun ones at night.  I also added some of the highlighter although I haven't quite figured out how the baked highlighters will best work for me yet.  I used the lip tint, too, for some added color.

I also tried the shimmer powder (but didn't take it on my trip) and like it a lot!  It is smoothing with the slightest hint of shimmer. 

Overall, a great beauty bundle.  No regrets on this one!

Here are the inside & back of the description paper that came with it to see more details on what everything in the kit is.

e.l.f. Beauty Bundle - Naturally Beautiful! (March 2014)

The latest Beauty Bundle has arrived!  This box's theme is "Naturally Beautiful!"   I subscribed to the e.l.f. (eyeslipsface) beauty bundle for 1 year (they let you prepay), and I was curious if I had timed it right so that I would get the next bundle and not the previous one.  Even the day I ordered it I saw people with new youtube videos of the previous bundle.  But I went for it and hoped I would be one of the first with the new bundle so I would be surprised when I dug into my little black drawstring bag.  I posted about all of that here.  Anyway, I timed it will and I got the latest beauty bundle yesterday!  :)  Time for my $40 worth of full sized beauty products!!

It came in the beauty bundle box with their beauty bundle bag wrapped in hot pink tissue paper (the bag is under the products here):

Very exciting!  Here is what the bundle contained:

• 6-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette ($3)
• Eyeshadwo Primer in Sheer ($3)
• Mineral Eye Liner in Ash ($3)
• Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara ($1)
• Natural Volumizing Mascara ($5)
• Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph ($5)
• Mineral Infused Face Primer ($6)
• 22-Piece Mini On the Go Palette ($10)
• Eye Shadow Brush ($1)
• Lotion Wipes ($3)

If you add the total up, it comes out to exactly $40, just as advertised!

Additional Pictures of the Beauty Bundle as it came:

This image has the Naturally Beautiful card in it, too.  Each Beauty Bundle comes with a card describing the theme and each of the items and their value.

The mineral lipstick, eyeshadow primer, volumizing mascara, and eye liner in their boxes:

I am really looking forward to trying more of the items from the mineral line.  I typically buy the essential items when I am traveling and need something quick because I forgot it or it I am bored and want to entertain myself by trying something new (in the hotel where I can immediately wash it off if it looks bad).

The two $1 items from the essential line:

I have never tried the clear mascara and brow mascara, but it will be fun to play with.  I typically like dark mascara though although playing with makeup is always fun so who knows what i will do with this one - translation:  I will probably try it!  I have a bunch of elf brushes.  I have one of these essential eyeshadow brushes that I use when I travel because I like the sleeve they come in and I won't mind messing it up or losing it although at home I use brushes from the studio line.

I have geometric eyeshadow palettes from elf and one is actually in my regular rotation for eyeshadow.  I will probably make this one a travel one though since it's smaller.  I tried the lotion wipes and they actually did a pretty decent job of moisturizing.  I might take these to work and use them if I feel dry at the office.  I have a lot of lotion at home so I feel like i wouldn't use them if I kept them there.

Since I travel a lot, I previously purchased one of these palettes because I thought it would be fun to play with when I travel.  It has 10 eyeshadow shades, 5 lip colors, and 3 blushes.  There is also a tiny mascara.  I used it this past week when I was out of town and used the pink eyeshadows and the blush.  I used the lip colors in the airport and ended up mixing them to get a custom color.  I didn't really like the tiny brush, but it worked and was conventient in the palette.  I have not tried the mascara, but I can imagine that it would be good on the go.  Now that I have two of these, I might take the new one to work.

And a couple of shots of the overall set:

e.l.f. beauty bundle...on the way!

I have a lot of products from eyeslipsface.com (e.l.f. cosmetics, or elf for short), and I find that the brand is a good mix of quality and low price that you can try new things without a huge financial commitment.  As someone who does her makeup for fun rather than vanity, the value or low priced fun things to try is accentuated.  Needless to say, I like to make purchases from elf.

When you are on their website or just scouring the internet (youtube, in particular), you can see that elf cosmetics has started a subscription service called the beauty bundle.  It gets high reviews because it includes full sized products, and I love the option to pre-pay a one year (6 box) or six month (3 box) subscription (which I ended up doing because I hate people just taking money from me when I might not expect it...and I think it's in the nature of being a transactor instead of a revolver).  You can look at reviews on youtube to see what previous boxes have offered.  It looks fun.  Sure, there are things that you wouldn't typically buy, but the fun of the surprise is one of the appeals to a subscription box.  Plus, it might get you to try something new!

The thing is, I wanted to know when the boxes came out.  I know they come out every 8 weeks, but do they send all of the boxes at once?  Do they keep rolling subscriptions over an 8 week period until the next one and send out a new box?  I wanted to know what the timing of the boxes was - when is a new box released.  In particular, if I subscribe now (March 13), will I be getting a box that I have seen two months of youtube reviews on or will I get something new?

Even today I saw a youtube video POSTED TODAY of the New Year New You box from January.  I actually like the box, but the surplus of videos I have seen on the box means that there would be no surprise if I received it in the mail.  I want to time it so that I am one of the first to get a new box!  Especially if me signing up later in an 8 week cycle means that I will have seen tons of reviews showing me exactly what is in my box before i ever get mine.

Here is an image of the New Year New You bundle (although recent reviews show a couple of substitutions):

So, I took the chance and placed the order today for a new one year elf beauty bundle subscription.  I tried to look at youtube videos and see when people changed from posting about the holiday bundle and started posting about the new year new you bundle.  Shipping is supposed to take 10 days so we will see 10 days from now what I end up getting.  I really hope I timed it will and will get the next box in the line-up.  Based on the website where they show previous bundles, the New Year New You bundle is one of the previous ones.  Wish me luck!!  I will post which one I got when it arrives!



UPDATE:  on my elf account it shows that my current edition is "Naturally Beautiful Beauty" so I think the next edition is Naturally Beautiful, and that's what I am getting!  It doesn't show any shipping information, but all signs point to me getting the next edition!  So excited!!  I will post pics no matter what!

UPDATE 2:  IT ARRIVED!  Click here to see what I got!!  :)