Brows On Point: e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Sheer Tint Brow Gel

Brow game strong. Isn't that what we all want to hear? I was fortunate to resist the overplucking phase in my younger years, so I have naturally thick eyebrows, but my black brows always seem a bit ashy and shaggy after makeup application. Brows have been the "it" trend for several years now, but I've never found anything that could help my dark, bushy brows. Now I've finally found a product that not only matches my hair color, but tames and darkens them. Sheer Tint Brow Gel from e.l.f. has quickly become a necessary part of my daily makeup routine to finish off my look.

e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Sheer Tint Brow Gel comes in four colors: clear, light, medium, and dark. I love that it has a dark shade, as my eyebrows are black and it's rare to find a brow product that matches. Usually, the deepest color is still way too brown and makes me look like I have multicolored brows (not attractive!). I was a bit concerned at first that the dark would still not be dark enough, but for $5 I was happy to give it a shot. The clear option did not interest me because my experience with clear gels is that they usually end up looking too shiny.

This brow gel features a long, thin brush with fine bristles. It can sometimes be a little too long to get the outer edges of the brows with precision, but with a light hand it is manageable. It promises a "soft hold for perfect everyday wear," and in general it fulfills that promise. If you put too much on, it can feel a bit crunchy, but I love how easy it is to apply, and create a defined and natural look without much effort. The gel lasts all day and does not flake off (I'm a photographer, so a camera is against my face for most of the day and it has yet to wear off or transfer).

Most importantly, it does exactly what I've been searching for a brow product to do: darken my eyebrows after makeup application, and even them out without adding bulk to my already thick brows. Most brow products on the market are meant to add volume to thin brows or fill in sparse spots, but I definitely don't need that. After applying my foundation and powders, my eyebrows pick up a lot of product and they look ashy and gray. Spoolies don't really get the excess product off, and I don't want to use makeup remover because that may ruin the makeup around my eyebrows. Enter the Sheer Tint Brow Gel! A couple swipes through each brow and each guy looks fresh, clean, and defined. The gel dries quickly, keeps my dark hair dark, and tames these wild beasties of eyebrows.

For $5, e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Sheer Tint Brow Gel is worth its weight in gold. Nothing frames a face quite like well-done eyebrows, and this brow gel helps to finish off my makeup like the period to this sentence. What is your favorite brow product? Comment below!

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How To Be A Budget Beauty: Ten Ways to Save

Money may be tight sometimes, we've all been there. But if you're like me (aka obsessed with makeup), being broke doesn't mean you can't have a blast with beauty. It just takes some creativity, some cleverness, and some luck. Here are my top tricks and lessons learned on how to be a Budget Beauty.

Top 10 Gifts Under $10 (Beauty and Otherwise!)

With the holidays quickly approaching, and my bank account just as quickly shrinking, I love when I can find an affordable yet quality gift. My savvy shopper radar is always on the hunt for great gifts at fantastic prices. I want to use my powers for good and show you my Top 10 choices for great gifts under $10! Many of these are great to go along with larger gifts, or for those folks you're just not sure what to get (teachers, coworkers, neighbors, etc). All of the Top 10 are of my own opinion (and gift giving), I have not been sponsored to include anything. If you're friends with me in "real-life" stop reading, no spoilers!

My Concealer Routine

Hello, lovelies! Concealer is an incredibly important part of my makeup routine each morning. Not only do I suffer from acne, but I have dark circles under my eyes. What a wonderful combination! Foundation doesn't always do the trick, so that's where my hero, concealer, comes in to play.

New Favorite Foundation? Neutrogena SkinClearing Mineral Powder

Hello, loves! I'm a huge foundation addict, I have a ton already and I'm constantly buying more. There's a definite sense of excitement when I buy and try a new foundation: could THIS foundation be the perfect one? Is this the magic foundation that makes my skin look perfect? More often than not, the answers are no, continuing the vicious cycle where I keep buying new foundations. All makeup has its pros and cons, and different foundations will work for different people. Half the fun of makeup is trying new things and figuring out what's perfect for you, hence my huge collection! Did I find my new favorite foundation in the Neutrogena SkinClearing Mineral Powder? Keep reading.

Favorite Summer Blushes

It's getting so dang hot! Summer is definitely upon us once again, which means it's time to look at our makeup collections and switch things up! The heavier foundations are hibernating until winter, the deep berry lipstick will wait until November, and the just-in-from-the-snow look is traded for just-back-from-the-beach. The three blushes I've been reaching for as the weather heats up all remind me of the juicy strawberries, melons, raspberries, and apricots the season brings. Give me the fun, fruity colored blushes this summer, I'm eating them up! 

These three blushes are not only gorgeous, but are wonderfully pigmented and all from the drugstore so they're affordable! 

Winter Favorites 2016

Happy Spring, lovelies! We made it through winter in one piece, and while everyone is looking forward to the changing season and the spring makeup, I'd like to take a moment and reveal what were my favorite products this past winter. These beauty goodies kept me looking gorgeous this season, and come with the CKellyBlush stamp of approval.

The foundation I was reaching for during these cold months was the CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous. This is a fantastic foundation, providing great coverage at an affordable price.

I Love a Good Haul: Makeup Revolution

I gotta admit, lovelies, there's something super satisfying about reading haul posts and peeking into someone else's life to see what they bought (and adding things to my shopping list). I love sharing my own hauls with you all, too! 

Makeup Revolution is relatively new to the States, appearing first on Ulta's website and select stores. However, it seems like they've expanded their presence by installing beautiful new displays in most of Ulta's brick-and-mortar stores. I'm so excited, and I hope Ulta brings over even more products from the line. My first purchase when the brand became available was the Mermaids Forever palette, which I love (more details in my Favorite Fall Makeup 2015 post). Now that it's in my local store, I went a bit nuts and got quite the haul!

One Palette Look: Wet n Wild "Coming In Latte" Tutorial

Hello, my beauties! One thing I get really excited about is getting a new eyeshadow palette. All the beautiful colors and finishes gathered and poured into one little spot makes me so happy. Sometimes just the look of a palette is too good to spoil by actually using the eyeshadows (but I always manage to get past that!). I'd like to start a series on my blog exploring the potential of some of these eyeshadow palettes, with each tutorial creating a look using shadows coming from only one palette. I'm by no means a professional nor an expert, merely an enthusiast who enjoys playing with makeup! I also find taking photos of my own eye incredibly difficult, so forgive me as I continue to figure out the best methods! We'll learn together.

Impulse Buy Monday: Lil' Scrubbies Facial Cleaning Pad

I have a deep love/hate relationship with Walmart. I love the wide cosmetics selection and exclusive brands like Hard Candy, but I hate the crowds. I will only go to Walmart if I can get there by 9:30 on a weekday morning, hoping to miss the inevitable hordes. Needless to say, I don't go very often, and when I do, I stock up. In my most recent trip, I noticed a hanging display with Lil' Scrubbies for $2.99 and I thought they might do well as a silicone mat type of brush cleaner. For $2.99, I figured might as well try it.

Massive 2015 Holiday Beauty Haul

Happy New Year everyone!! As you may know, the holidays are the absolute best time of year to buy makeup. Not only are there holiday gift sets galore, which are usually the best bang for your buck, but also companies are releasing new products and putting the old products on clearance. If you play your cards right, you can get so much makeup for very little investment. As I've taken advantage (quite a bit) of the deals this holiday season, I've gathered some of the standouts from my haul to share with you.

Top Five Repurchased Beauty Products

It's rare that I actually empty out a product, whether it's makeup or skincare. I get super bored and I tend to mix things up after a while. I'll buy a beautiful new blush, for example, use it for a week straight and then not touch it again for a month before I go back to it. There are a few items in my arsenal, however, that I cannot live without, that work for me so well, and that I will always repurchase. I've narrowed it down to my top five for you!

Influenster VoxBox: Curel Itch Defense

Hello lovlies! I got my second Influenster VoxBox recently (freebies, woo!), and I received a complimentary bottle of Curel's new Itch Defense Instant Soothing Moisturizing Spray, as well as a sample of the matching body wash to try for review. I was so excited to get this box because I've always been curious about the spray lotions but have never tried one before.

Update! Austerity August No-Buy- The Results

Well, folks, I did it. I survived the month of August without buying any new makeup. I resisted in the drugstore, I avoided Ulta, and I deleted the tempting sale emails from all my favorite brands (and there were some good sales). And as I emerge victorious in September, I wanted to tell you all how it went.

First off, it was tough! I admit I may have a slight addiction to buying makeup, as well as a major addiction to Diet Coke, but who doesn't have their vices? My retail therapy doesn't hurt anyone, and I only buy what I plan to use and try to get the best deals possible at all times. If I do buy frivolously, I also do it frugally and keep it to drugstore brands with coupons. When life gets a little rough, thinking about buying makeup gives me something to look forward to.

Spring 2015 Haul Part 3: Lippies

Hey, I know it's not spring anymore, but I just had to finish my ginormous spring haul series with the final chapter: lip products! This is probably my favorite category, as I just can't get enough lipsticks, lip glosses, and lip balms. My collection is extensive, alarming, and ever-growing, and this spring was no exception as six beautiful lippies joined my makeup family.

I'm already a huge fan of the NYX Butter Gloss, but recently they've come out with Intense Butter Gloss featuring "extreme color." 

Impulse Buy Monday: Chapstick Dual-Ended Hydration Lock

Happy Monday, lovelies! Welcome to another installment of Impulse Buy Monday, where I hope to make your Monday a little less painful with my latest purchase that I just couldn't resist. Today's beauty buy is Chapstick's Dual-Ended Hydration Lock. I purchased the Day & Night version.

I had a really bad case of dry lips last week. I thought dry, chapped lips were most prevalent in the winter, but things were getting painful and my usual lip balms were just not cutting it. Am I the only person who finds medicated lip balms irritating if they're used too much? I love the Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue medicated lip balm, but if I use it too frequently I feel like it does more harm than good. I was definitely in the market for something new.

Spring 2015 Haul Part 2: Eye Products

Get ready for the second installment of my huge Spring 2015 haul, featuring eye products! The spring months are the busiest time for me at work, to the point where there is barely a moment when I am not living and breathing work. In order to keep my sanity, I frequently turned to retail therapy in the past few months, causing me to amass quite a haul of beauty items. Here's all my new eye makeup goodies!

I love eye makeup. I have so much eyeshadow and so many different eyeliners it's borderline hoarding. The irony is that in my everyday routine I usually only have time to slap some mascara on my lashes! But that doesn't stop me from buying and dreaming of the weekends where I have more time.