10 Trader Joe's Beauty Buys You MUST Try

It's been a slow week for me. The stickiness of summer has settled in. To ease the heat, I'm currently drinking some iced coffee as I write this. I only drink iced coffee in the summer, where I promptly become obsessed with it, like I've never had it before. Every year. Delish. Oh and it's sweet tea year 'round in this house.

Anyway...

Do y'all remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared my fave finds from Amazon? I'm back with another edition for all of you Trader Joe's fans out there--that would def be me. Y'all, their peonies for $6 for a bunch are worth the drive. But they have lots of hidden gems, like in the beauty department! After testing various beauty items over the years, I've got my first addition of 10 must-try Trader Joe's beauty products. These are cheap, effective, and the packaging isn't fancy. But they work! AND EVERYTHING IS $6 and under!

Coconut Body Butter

• $4.99--It's creamy, it's lightly scented and it's moisturizing (or you can DIY like I've shared on my blog). BONUS: Look for the seasonal body butters. They do a pumpkin one, pomegranate, and a trio of mini bb's.

Refresh Citrus Body Wash

• $2.99--Such an amazing deal and worth it for the scent alone!

Oatmeal Exfoliant Soap

• $2.99--My favorite natural exfoliating soap

Shave Cream in Mango

• $3.49--I've been getting into shave creams this year and have really been liking this one. It's half the price of a mango-scented one I used to get from Target

Lavender Salt Scrub

• $5.99--Another one of those products that I make but I understand not everyone has the time or desire to. This is one of the pricier items on this list at a whopping $6, but a little goes a long way.

Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion

• $3.99--If you're looking for a very light facial moisturizer with SPF15, give this one a try.

Nourish Antioxidant Facial Moisturizer

• $5.99--Full of natural oils and goodness, I like this for dry skin.

Spray Sunscreen SPF 50

• $5.99--This one doesn't leave a sticky residue and it smells like the beach. While I prefer traditional cream sunscreens, this one works well. BONUS: There's a new stick sunscreen that debuted this month. Really good.

Tea Tree Oil Shampoo

• $3.99--A classic TJ product. I use this for the tingling sensation and when I have buildup on my scalp

All-in-One Facial Cleanser

• $5.99--This is gentle as it cleans and lightly exofoliates

--All products are found in TJ stores or online at Amazon; however, they are usually doubled the price, which is why I didn't link them here.--

What are your favorite buys from Trader Joe's?

Dupe? Tarte Exposed Blush Vs. Milani Romantic Rose

Y'all--I feel like it's been AGES since we've talked. I missed this space so much! Always do. I've been busy and I've not been busy. First up, lots of interviews happened--should be hearing answers this week! Crossing my fingers for my top pick. I had a fabulous time at Skyline Park at Ponce City Market, here in Atlanta. It's like a mini old-school carnival games space on the roof. I snapped (ellesees) it over the weekend. Amazing views and lots of fun. How have you been?

Now that we've gotten reacquainted, let's get into another fave subject of mine: DUPES! This is one of my most popular, and longest, series. I'm into dispelling dupe myths and save you some money, if possible! Today I'm comparing two blushes: Tarte Exposed and Milani Romantic Rose.

Tarte in Exposed is one of those blushes that looks good on so many people. It's a great natural-looking every day blush. I have talked about it on here numerous times as a must-have. But at $29, it might turn into a must NOT have for some of us! I decided to check the collection and that's where the gorgeous Milani blush in Romantic Rose comes in. Isn't it gorgeous? And it's only $7!

Tarte $29         Ulta, Sephora, online  

                                       
Milani $7 drugstores, Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc, online

Swatch time! Milani is on top and Tarte is on the bottom. I had to really work for the Milani swatch, as it was a little chalkier and a bit patchy.

Tarte is on your left, Milani on your right. Tarte is more pigmented and lasted longer. I'm wearing a BB cream, blush, lip cream, and I'd just awakened from a nap. Naps on Sundays are the best, am I right?

The breakdown:

Appearance in containers: not a dupe (Tarte looks darker)
Ingredients: not a dupe (Milani has synthetic wax, carmine, et al)

Finger swatches: not a dupe (Tarte looks darker)

Quality: not a dupe (Milani is a little chalky/patchy)

Pigmentation: not a dupe

Staying power: not a dupe (Tarte wins this easily)

Arm swatch: really close

Face application: not a dupe application-wise, but color wise, a dupe!

Do you own either of these blushes?

Do you think we have a dupe here?

10 Beauty Must-Buys From Amazon

Y'all, can we talk about what a yawn Amazon Prime Day was? I was expecting AMAZING deals, but nothing really lit my candle. Did you get anything? I had some things in my cart, and well, they are still there for the time being.

BUT! I do have some beauty must-buys from Amazon that are really, really, good, y'all. And I found most of these through Amazon, by browsing, reading reviews, and then trying them out. Check 'em out and let me know which ones you're interested in. Who knows? Maybe you'll find your next where-has-this-product-been-all-my-life? Now let's get ready to add some things to your cart (no affiliate links so shop away):



Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask--This is a super fun mask to try and for only $10! It bubbles up and I like it weekly.

Indian Healing Clay--Mix this clay with acv for deep pore cleansing. Recommended for oily skin.

Baebody Eye Gel--I saw this on Amazon and had my reservations, but it really works! It's great for puffy under eyes and softens lines.

LilyAna Naturals Face Cream--This is a fabulous lightweight moisturizer!



Thayers Witch Hazel--I'm pretty sure many of you have heard of this one!  I love it because it's alcohol-free. There's also an unscented version if rose petals aren't your thing.

Bella Jade Makeup Setting Spray--If you've been looking for a natural, 90% organic spray, try this. I do like it as a refresher too.

Karma Naturals Lavender Nail Polish Remover--If you're looking for an organic nail polish remover, give this one a try.

Fuschia Line Deluxe Eyelash Curler--I am not going to discuss the amount of eyelash curlers I have. But I will talk about this one, because it's one of the few that seems to work on everyone's eye shape!

Tinkle Eyebrow Razor--I use these to dermaplane my face. See my post on how to dermaplane here.

L.A. Girl Pro Conceal Correctors--You can find these in places like Dollar General, but since not everyone has those stores nearby, I thought I'd share that you can find them on Amazon. They have great concealers, too, but I love the correctors. I use the peach (this set of 3 comes with orange--great for darker skin) for under eye circles and the green for redness. You can also highlight with the lighter shade.

Those are some of my Amazon beauty must-buys...what are yours?

5 Drugstore Contour Powders for Light & Pale Skin (Plus Tips + Tricks)

Contouring the face is starting to get a bad rap. I think the way overdone "Instagram face" combined with the wrong products have contributed to that. Time an issue? It doesn't have to take a ton of time either to contour--just something to define the cheekbones works wonders for the face and brings depth and dimension. 

But most of the contour products are geared towards those with darker and warmer skin tones, which makes sense because of American population demographics. Regular contour products don't work for me--I have light skin, and when I apply bronzer or contour, most of the ones sold leave me looking muddy and dirty.

Since I do makeup on myself and others, I've figured out some tricks for those with lighter skin tones. Go for a color that is cooler, more of a grayish cast than a warm brown. Try using an eyeshadow or blush if you can't specifically find a contour shade that looks right on you.

Think contour products have to cost a lot of money? Nope! Luckily, I've got 5 options from the drugstore that work well for lighter skin tones.

PHYSICIANS FORMULA

Bronze Booster Highlight + Contour Palette

$14.99

Make sure you get the MATTE SCULPTING one

Use the middle shade for contouring

BONUS: you can use all three as eye shadows

CATRICE

Prime & Fine Professional Contouring Palette

$7.99

Try the shade Ashy Radiance (uh, forgive the name)

NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP

HD Blush in Taupe

$6.99

Don't let the word "blush" fool you--this works well on lighter skin

Jesses Girl

Highlight and Contour Kit

$12.99

plenty of options in this palette--try Rite Aid or online to buy

L'ORÉAL

Infallible Pro Contour Palette in light

$12.99

great compact option

BONUS:

not from the drugstore, but a drugstore price

Sephora Colorful Collection in Tranquil

$7 (on sale)

I can do a high end version of light contours if you're interested!

What's your favorite contour product/palette?

Extra Elle:

Hey y'all! I'm back from a mini vacation. I stayed home but took some time off from here and social media--always good to recharge the batteries, right? I also ended up getting out of jury duty, so I have an extra day off, yay! 

10 Classic Drugstore Makeup Buys You Need to Try

Hey y'all! I was strolling down the aisles of the drugstore recently (this happens more often than I'd like to admit) and instead of being drawn to all of the NEW stuff, I decided revist some classics. You know, those makeup products you always hear about or maybe even forgot about. I thought I'd share 10 of my tried-and-true classic drugstore makeup buys you need to try:

FOUNDATIONS

For foundations, I chose two from L'Oreal. First up is a dry skin fave, L'Oreal True Match Lumi. It's a gorgeous luminous makeup that is very similar to the $64 Armani one. I even tested it for a dupe here.

For combo and slightly oily skin, I always recommend L'Oreal True Match. The shade range is really impressive--I love that it comes in neutral undertones (me) as well.

MASCARA

If I'm ever in a mascara rut and can't find one to wear (#beautybloggerprobs) I always go back to L'Oreal Voluminous. Pictured is a waterproof, Carbon Black version, but the original is my fave. It gives nice volume and is easy to wear.

For my friends who don't really wear makeup or mascara, or those who want something a little more natural looking, I recommend to them Maybelline Full N' Soft. It really is a classic mascara and can be hard to find sometimes, but it's stuck around for a reason--nice, fluffy lashes with no clumps.

Note: I didn't mention Maybelline Great Lash--the pink and green tube--it was the first mascara I ever used, and so many tubes are sold every minute, but I've never liked it. Do you?

EYELINER

Wet N Wild Megaliner is a classic opaque liner that removes easily with water. It's $3.99 and it's great for winged liner.

If you just can't figure out eyeliner, gel liner in a pot, like Maybelline Gel Liner. It's easy to use. Beauty Tip: I store mine upside down so it won't dry out.

WIPES + DRY SHAMPOO

There are cheaper options available, but when it doubt, I've been a long time fan of the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes. They've never aggrivated my skin and remove makeup very well.

I've tried just about every dry shampoo under the sun (seriously, check posts here and here) and Batiste Dry Shampoo will always be under my counter. Beauty Tip: Love dry shampoo but hate the white cast it can leave? Try this tip! It works (Batiste has brunette versions btw).

REVIEW: OUAI FOAM DRY SHAMPOO

BLUSH + POLISH

For that one blush you need to own, that looks good on just about everyone, Milani Luminoso is at the top of the list. It's peachy-pink shade has the slightest kiss of a glow. It's so pretty on skin. 

There's a reason you'll always see Essie Ballet Slippers on every "best of" list: it's a neutral polish that just works.

We're just scratching the surface here!

Which classic drugstore products are must-haves for you?

Extra Elle:

Random fact, but I love the movie Donnie Darko--never saw it in theatres, so when a local one was showing it for the 15 anniversary, I had to! It was worth it.

Went on a mask-buying spree at Urban Oufitters! I've been trying them out here and there.

Check out these drugstore-exclusive brands--lots of goodies for less than their name brand counterparts.

NEW Wet N Wild HAUL

First off, I want to thank everyone, truly everyone, who took the time to comment on my post yesterday. Your support is so touching to me. I can't even go into the right words for it. It was nothing but good news. Speaking of good news, let's talk beauty!

Actually, let's talk about what this post was supposed to be. So this was supposed to be a video. I filmed it but didn't like how it turned out, so it's a post instead. It was supposed to be a haul/review, but I was sick so I didn't get a chance to review a lot of these. Instead of calling this a fail, I'm calling it a haul. Sometimes things don't go as planned, and that's how we ended up here.

Thanks to a discount code from Hannah, I did a little haul last month or so from Wet N Wild. I love this affordable (and really good) drugstore brand, but I've never ordered from them online and I've never done a haul just of their stuff. That changes now. If you haven't checked them out since you were in high school, I highly recommend you do so. Don't knock it 'til you try it! Here's what I got:

First up are the cushion highlight and bronzer--Hannah sent me these, but I thought I'd share them here. I like them, but the bronzer is too warm for me.

My order begins with a stick blush, stick highlight, and stick bronzer. I wasn't really impressed with these. I couldn't tell how warm and dark the bronzer was online, so those were disappointments.

Speaking of highlight, I caved and got a powder one, my weakness. It's really good.

Next is WNW's version of micellar water. It's not bad, but has a little oily residue after.

The Gel Lip Balm reminds me of Babylips and I really like it. Unscented and a kiss of color.

The Cushion is not my fave formula, but it wasn't bad.

Skinny Eyeliner and Skinny Mascara--the eyeliner is really good but the mascara was dried out.

And I got a couple of nail items, like this 10 in 1 The Saving Base--I like it. Not really enough color to be worn alone, although I have. And the Hard as Ice--I didn't quite get a week of wear, but I did like it.

Do you wear Wet N Wild?
Have you tried any of these?

DIY Lancome Blush La Rose (4 Methods)

Hey y'all! I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day. My social media was just flooded with love--it was a nice change from the usual negativity I see lately.

I loved seeing all of the roses, and speaking of roses, remember a few weeks ago when I shared my review of the Lancome La Rose Blush? See the original post here. I talked about making my own and a few of you suggested that I do it, so welcome to today's post!

Since the original Lancome La Rose is $60 and sold out in most places, I had to make a comparable diy version. And it is SO easy.

You'll need--

artificial rose
blush, shadow, or highlight
round box
optional: pink paint for box, rose gold marker for edge
glue gun
brush
rubbing alcohol

Choose your rose. I wanted one that closely resembled the original Lancome rose in color. Make sure the rose is clean and free from dust. I used a blast from a keyboard air cleaner for mine.

Remove stem and all leaves.

TIP: Make sure the rose fits in the small box.

Choose your color. I have an eyeshadow from Maybelline in Seashell that is pretty much a dupe. But for those not into highlight, you can choose an eyeshadow or blush.

TIP: If using blush/shadow, make sure the shade matches the rose in color as well.

METHOD 1: Just dip the clean rose into a blush/highlight/shadow and swirl around to coat the top. Just to apply to face, use a brush.

METHOD 2: Add a little rubbing alcohol or makeup setting spray (not the dewy kind) to a small bowl and scrape into it your shade. You should have more color than alcohol.  Mix well. I used the blush for this demonstration because it photographed better.

Using a small brush, paint the top of the rose petals with your mixture and allow to dry. I used a different rose for this one, since it was blush, so you could tell the difference.

Paint box pink if desired. The rim on the original Lancome is rose gold, so you can use a paint marker for the edge to mimic it.

Hot glue the rose to the bottom of the box. Use a brush to apply product to face. Keep the lid on when not in use.

METHOD 3: Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle. Spray the rose gently and then brush pigment on top. Allow to dry.

METHOD 4: Mix makeup setting spray with the pigment and spray on rose.

Other things I tried but didn't like as much: vegetable glycerin with color (too heavy/greasy), coconut oil with pigment (too thick, no matter how I did it), painting just individual petals (like those in the background of my pics) and rubbing them on my face (kinda silly, but a good idea for travel but there's paper blush/highlight already).

I'm wearing the blush and the highlight. It is very natural-looking on the skin.

I found Maybelline Seashell to be a pretty good dupe. On the first finger is the Lancome and on my middle finger is the Maybelline.

And here they are side by side, with the Lancome on the bottom. Pretty similar!

What do you think of this DIY?

SEE ALSO: Beauty DIYs with roses (use those leftover roses from Valentine's Day)

PS: I was on PopSugar today--read it here.

NEW Maybelline Makeup Reviews + Swatches

Extra Elle:
I hope you had a wonderful weekend--mine had an extreme lack of snow (boo) but lots of ice (scary) and watching the Golden Globes (fun).

Let's get into what's new at Maybelline! I was sent these a while back, and now that everything is in stores, I had to share it with y'all!

First up, Maybelline Baby Lips Color Balm Crayon: a scented oil balm with a pop of color. These are very moisturizing, the color stays for a bit, they each smell differently, but I wish they had more shades.

Next up are the Maybelline Brow Precise Highlighters (swatches will be a few pics down). These are essentially stick concealers used to highlight around the brow. They work and I like the rectangular shape to them, but if you're already using something else you love, this isn't a necessity. There are 3 shades.

Also included in my package was the new Maybelline Colossal Big Shot--see the review here.

Speaking of concealer, there are 6 shades in the Maybelline Brightening Creamy Concealer. They're creamy, easy to blend, but definitely more of a brightening concealer than hiding my dark under eyes.

Pictured above are swatches of the Maybelline Brightening Concealers and the bottom three are of the Brow Precise Highlighters.

One of my favorite Maybelline products are their matte lipsticks, so I was so happy to see the Maybelline Inti-Matte Nudes line. These are so pretty.

These are fabulous, and I recommend them. They remind me of my beloved Bite Beauty lip/cheek products, and the closest almost-dupes I've found.

I had to mention two new shades from the Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks in daring colors--swatches in a few pics below and see my review on these here. Not the shades I'd choose, but many of you would rock 'em. There are ten new shades total.

And now for more color! I couldn't wait to try these Maybelline ExpertWear Eye Shadows, since I am so bad at using single shadows. But look at these colors! Twenty shades from matte and shimmer. The mattes I liked, the colors diffused, and the metallics (minus the blue) worked well. Swatches below.

I didn't swatch all of them, but wanted to give you a range--the swatches look blurry, but they are in focus, that's how they swatched. The purple was my least fave, swatch-wise/wear-wise. And the Liquid Lips are up at the top.

I do love a highlighter, so I immediately went on a swatch-a-thon of the Maybelline Master Strobing Liquid Illuminating Highlighter. It comes in three shades. I tried this as a primer, but liked it best as on top of makeup as a finishing touch. The middle shade--I had to really work to get a good swatch. It disappeared pretty quickly. I liked the light shade the best.

Finally, the most-asked and searched for query of the new year: Maybelline Dream Cushion Foundation. This gives luminous coverage in 8 shades. I will say it's kind of hard to find what shade worked for me. I could easily build this to a medium coverage with a brush (as opposed to the included puff).

This did bring out my lines, and I had to wear a primer beforehand on my super dry skin. And those who who are anti-cushion foundations because of bacteria, I tested one after a month of use for bacteria compared to a freshly-opened one (hence why this is going up in January as opposed to last month when I got all the products) and saw none. I am considering testing it in another month or so.

Would you be interested in a comparison of this against L'Oreal's cushion foundation?

And here I am with everything mentioned above on! I have the Cushion Foundation, the Brightening Concealer (I used shades to highlight and conceal as well), 3 shadows, the brow highlight, Big Shot mascara, highlighter, and the matte lipstick.

I preferred wearing a primer with these. I plan on retaking this pic to give a better idea of the shadows.

And here's my makeup at the end of the day. I switched to the Baby Lips crayon maybe 20 minutes before this pic. The glow is from the highlighter.

MORE new Maybelline releases to look out for:

• Camo Color Correcting Kit
• Master Blush & Highlight Kit--1 highlight, 3 blushes per palette
• Lip Contour Palette
• 24 Karat Nudes Palette
• Shaping Lip Liners

What interested you from these new releases?

PS: More new drugstore makeup releases/reviews here.