Full disclaimer: No one really challenged me to this. It’s more of a self challenge. I don’t know if that says anything about my general lack of friends, but I like to think that it’s more about having initiative. The desire to overcome obstacles and prove to someone that this can be done.

Once again, not sure who that someone is right now, but hey..maybe that someone can be you.

The Rules

Rules are simple: $20 for a full face of makeup using e.l.f. products. Since this is my challenge, I am not categorizing moisturizer or primer as makeup. I mean, let’s face it. I use moisturizer even on days that I don’t wear makeup and I am going to admit to the fact, that 50% of the time I forget to apply primer before putting on foundation.

Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Anyways, I chose e.l.f. because it’s easy to buy (got all my products at Target), economical and their products are actually really good. It was a no brainer to me.

The Players:

Perfect Face Palette in Nude ($10) – this is the anchor holding this challenge together. This palette has it all: eyeshadow, blush, highlighter AND lipstick. Also, the brown eyeshadow is ashy enough that it can double as contour. SCORE!

Flawless Finish Foundation ($6) in Natural – I have freckles, discoloration and acne scars to cover up so foundation is a must. I didn’t want to spend this much, but I saw no way around it.

Brightening Eyeliner ($1) in Brown – I am actually planning to use this as an eyebrow pencil. The formula seems creamy enough that if I use a light hand it won’t look too dark on me.

$3 left and this is the part where I run into a bit of a quandary. I have to decide between concealer or mascara. I am totaling Sophie’s Choicing right now.  I mean, these are not really products I typically leave out of my routine.

I’m standing in the makeup aisle at Target, pacing with the concealer in one hand and mascara on the other mentally weighing the pros and cons so heavily that people started staring. I may have also been talking to myself, which I’m sure contributed to said stares.

I decide on the mascara. My eyelashes, as my friends Karla once told me, are practically clear, so if I plan to create a sexy smoky eye, then it’s going to look just plain weird without it.

So rounding out the ensemble is….

3-in-1 Mascara ($3) in Black –  I like my wands to have a curved brush to curl my lashes, but I couldn’t find one, so I half heartedly settled on this one.

$20 on the nose. I am the Queen!

The Execution

I am planning to go out to lunch with the kids and hubs, so I have to make this look work. I look at all my players and the first thing that comes to my mind is “This is it?” I typically use more than 4 products to create a full face of makeup. But remember it’s not quantity, but quality and creativity, which I got loads of. I think. I pin a lot.

I apply the foundation with my beauty sponge and like the finish, but it was a tad light for my skin and not exactly full coverage. However, for $6 this isn’t too bad. I do go in after I am done and apply a bit more under the eyes, forehead and more freckly bits.

Then it’s onto the palette. Using a flat eye brush, I pick up some of the lighter brown shade and begin to contour my face by drawing lines under the cheekbones, chin and on my forehead and blend the bejeezus out of it with a fluffy angled brush. I’m not going to lie, I had to dip into the shade a few more times to achieve the level of contour I was looking for. The pigmentation was a little on the weak side when you are covering so much surface.

The blush was a lovely peachy shade and it went on without a problem. The “highlighter” was basically just white powder with probably some intention of shimmer, but I ended up layering the champagne shimmer shadow over it to create the type of highlight I like. The good news is that I was able to use the white “highlighter” under the eyes to brighten it up a bit and the effect was nice.

It’s now time for the brows and this is the part that I am most nervous to tackle. I know that there are no rules to makeup and that you can use lip liner as eyeliner and vice versa, so why not eye liner for the brows. The only problem is that it’s quite a dark brown and I am afraid I am going to look like I took a Sharpie to my brows. Using the lightest hand possible I begin to carve out my brows and fill them in. The pencil is creamy enough to allow me to create the effect I am used to, but I did have to dip into the light brown eyeshadow a bit to soften the look up.

The last steps were the easiest. I created a perfectly acceptable smoky eye using the eyeshadow trio and the peachy blush. I rounded it out by once again using the white “highlighter” under the brow bone and the champagne color in the inner corner. Mascara on the lashes and, last, but not least, I took the rosy pink shade from the lip stick selection and dabbed it on my lips with my finger.

Voila! The look is completed.

The Verdict

I asked my husband what he thought of my makeup and he said I looked very pretty. I asked him if he thought something looked different and he then asked me if this was a trick question, so I left him alone.

Sofia also thought I looked nice. She did mention that the tail end of my eyebrows are lighter than normal, but I think that was more me hesitating on using the dark brown eyeliner too heavily and not the eyeliners fault.

Maritza for the WIN!

What do you guys think? Did I pass the challenge? Let me know in the comments below.

Till next time, my friends.

Maritza