Happy New Year - 2011 Will Rock - A Look Back at 2010

Peace, Love, Beauty in 2011!

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope everyone's NYE was safe, happy and  most of all FUN!  We have a lot of high hopes for 2011. 

Not to dwell on the past, but we had to mention some of our favorite things from last year.  We are looking forward to all the exciting things in the world of beauty that 2011 has to offer.  We wish everyone the best this year.  Thank you so much for helping Beautyburg get off the ground in 2010, and we know that this is just the beginning of a really exciting future.  Beautyburg's New Year's Resolution is to try to be the best blog it can be!

So... Let's just revisit some of our favorite things from 2010.

These are in no particular order, and some products shown were not launched in 2010 but new to us that year.  For more detail click on the appropriate links to the reviews.








MAC Venomous Villains



E.L.F. HD Powder


OPI Shrek Collection - Fiercely Fiona on the right



Burberry - the makeup line


What were your favorite beauty items of 2010?  What are you looking forward to in 2011?  Do you have any beauty resolutions for 2011?

REVIEW and EOTD: Eyes Lips Face ELF's The Beauty Encyclopedia Smoky Edition Palette - Holiday Gift Guide Series



ELF's The Beauty Encyclopedia seemed like a really good deal when I saw it in Target a couple weeks back.  In part with our Holiday Gift Guide series, I posted a first look about this budget-friendly palette, and it drew a few interested parties!  So here is my review with swatches and an application example. 

This set contains:
12 eyeshadows
1 eyeliner pencil in black
1 mirror
1 applicator
$5 at Target stores
Different versions of the The Beauty Encyclopedia are available on Elf's site.


The palette opened.


  
First row: matte and shimmer.


 Second row: The blue was built up a lot to show that much pay-off.
Sadly, the purple was built up as many times, but the efforts were futile.
No color pay-off from that purple.


 
 Very weak last row.


 Instructions.

 
 Eye diagram.



I didn't follow the Encyclopedia's instructions.
See below for which colors I used (you may find it surprising!).



Diagram of the colors applied.
No, that's not a mistake.  I *did* apply that bright robin's egg blue.  
Color pay-off?  Zilch.
D, the navy shade, was oh-so disappointingly hard and didn't show up at all.
Nars eye primer and MAC Haute and Naughty mascara were used on both eyes.


An eyebase to help bring out color from these weak shadows.
This is Cyber, a Metal-X shadow from MAC (discontinued).
If you missed Metal-X shadows the first or second time, more on on their way.



Base applied.
A metallic silver cream-to-powder shadow base.  
Now let's try this again.


 
What a difference a base makes.
Pow... now THAT'S blue.
This is C, patted on.


The base made all the difference.  
See the colors actually showed up!


 Side by side, the eyeshadow base really brings out the colors.
Sadly, these shadows are just not that pigmented, but it's $5...
Seriously, what do you expect?

 Another edition of the Beauty Encyclopedia.


 The quality was very similar to the Smoky palette.

To Review:

Pros: Good gift that's very wallet friendly.  Would make a good stocking stuffer or a nice Secret Santa/office present. 
Cons: Hard, dry, mediocre quality shadows.  Dry eyeliner pencil.  Not a gift for someone who is really into makeup.  They will be disappointed with the quality.... but then again, it's $5 (pro).

Overall Rating: C+ (only because it really is such a good value)





FIRST LOOK: Eyes Lips Face ELF's The Beauty Encyclopedia Smoky Edition Palette - Holiday Gift Guide Series

e.l.f.'s The Beauty Encyclopedia - Smoky Edition

$5 for a book of 12 eyeshadows and an eyeliner? Seriously? Yes, $5.

Well that's exactly what e.l.f.'s The Beauty Encyclopedia - Smoky Edition. These are available at Target stores, but other Beauty Encyclopedias in other "editions" are available at e.l.f.'s website


Instructions

The Encyclopedia's cover


The Encyclopedia's back


The Encyclopedia open - mix of shimmer and matte shades.

Want to see this purple on.


Already have a look in mind with the silver and purple!


Love the top neutrals.


I will be swatching this palette and others as part of our Holiday Gift Guide Series. Keep checking back for swatches, comparisons and reviews! If there is anything here that you would like to see, please write us at beautyburg@gmail.com.

Thanks!