6 weeks review of "Joy and Karma" Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Vitamin C

Yesterday while participating to a graduation party, I have received many compliments about how young and radiant my skin looks and every one was asking what my secret weapon is? It has been now 6 weeks since I am using the Hyaluronic serum and I am very pleased with it! My skin likes it, has never had a reverse reaction to it, it is very smooth after application that is done every night after my skin was cleaned. As stated in my previous review about this serum, after application the skin is very smooth. It dries quick, it is not sticky and leaves the skin smooth and velvety so my makeup does look perfect!
I will repurchase this product as I am loving the consistency, very gentle scent, the dropper and of course the end result.
Thank you Joy and Karma for this great product!

Choosing the best format for your eBay auction

Choosing the best format for your eBay auction is an important part of making sure your item sells for the best price. There are several different platforms; in this guide we’ll look at all of your options so that you can pick the best one.

The Basics of Selling Format

The default shows the Online Auction tab. You’ll see different price options: starting price, Buy It Now price, and an option to select a reserve price. The only required field is the starting price. The other two options incur fees but are often worth it.

If this would be one of your first five auctions of the month, you will see a line stating Enjoy a $0.00 Insertion Fee when you list your item as an auction at the top of this section. This lets you know that if you use an auction-format, you will be subject to the first five auction fees (no Insertion fee, but an 8.75 percent Final Value fee on the total selling amount). This is good for items expected to sell for under $25 or over $500, but not so great in the middle.

Auctions can only have one item, so the quantity field is grayed out on the Online Auctions tab.

Starting Price

First, let’s look at the starting price. You should have an idea of the average selling price from your item research. However, it’s always worth double-checking with the most recent Completed Listings before selling your item.

At the top of the section you’ll see an average starting price and average selling price for items like yours. Don’t use this. eBay only looks at items that have similar keywords to yours. For example, for a camcorder, it includes auctions for batteries, cases, and so on, not just the camcorder unit itself. That skews the results. At the top of this section there is also a link to Get ideas about pricing by searching completed listings. This link will let you look at the completed listings yourself. So you can look for listings with an identical bundle of products to yours, or adjust your price accordingly. Buyers will always pay more when there are more accessories included.

Reserve Price

There’s one established fact on eBay: lower starting prices attract more (and earlier) bids. In general, a low starting bid will increase your chances of success. Because we are using a comparatively low starting price, we want to protect ourselves with a reserve. If the bidding doesn’t reach the price you set, then you’re not under any obligation to sell the item to the highest bidder. You can offer it to him if you want to (using a Second Chance Offer), but you don’t have to.

When setting your reserve price, consider both the average selling price and what you want to get for the item. Be realistic, though. At the end of the day, your objective is to sell the item, so don’t list a ridiculously high reserve price. You won’t end up with a bidding war at the end of your auction if the reserve has still not been met.

Buyers expect to see reserve prices on expensive items, but not on cheap ones. Most buyers prefer auctions with no reserve, but that is more risky for you. On expensive items, I recommend that you always use a reserve. On less expensive items, use your discretion to weigh the risk versus your expected selling price. The more popular an item is, the less risk you take by not using a reserve. Hot-selling items usually get enough bids to end up selling at their true value. Slower-selling items or obscure goods that have a limited market can be very risky to start at a low price without a reserve.

Most buyers bid in whole increments ($15, $50, $200, $325, and so on), so it’s wise to list your reserve price just below one of those increments. If you want to set your reserve at $700, instead set it at $689; instead of $75, use $68. Once someone meets the reserve, the real bidding begins. For our auction, we know the average selling price is $247, so let’s list our reserve at $199 (that way, we catch the $200 bidders as well).

To add a reserve, click Change next to No Reserve price set for this item and enter your reserve price. Remember: the fee for adding a reserve price is nonrefundable.

Buy It Now Price

You don’t have to set a Buy It Now price. If you choose to, it will cost you between 5¢ and 25¢, depending on the price you set.

If the first bidder chooses to place the starting bid instead of using the Buy It Now option, the auction usually reverts to a standard auction and the Buy It Now price disappears (unless there is a reserve price on the auction). Just like the reserve price fee, the fee to add a Buy It Now price is nonrefundable, whether or not the buyer uses it.

When you are setting your Buy It Now price, you should always set it significantly higher than your starting price; otherwise, there is really no point. eBay requires the Buy It Now price to be at least 10 percent higher than the starting price, but I recommend that you go higher and list it around the average selling price, or possibly a fraction higher.

Our average selling price is $247, but the most successful auctions were $300 to $350. Our Buy It Now price will be $297.70 because it’s between the average and the top prices, and pricing it just below $300 makes it more desirable. It’s also well below the retail cost for a newer model, so the buyer is assured that he is getting a good deal.

By pricing it a little lower, any buyer using Completed Listings to research prices will see our item as a good deal.

Using $297.70 rather than $299.99 for the Buy It Now price may seem a little pointless, but there is a logic to it. Buyers will always see $299.99 as $300 because of retail store prices. $297.70 is only $2.19 lower, but it seems much lower because it’s not a common price point. So you are more likely to get the buyer over another seller who priced his item at $299.99.

One tactic that can really attract sellers to use the Buy It Now price is offering free shipping. Simply add the shipping cost to your desired Buy It Now price, and add another 50¢ to pay for the subtitle. Then say “Free U.S. shipping with Buy It Now” in the subtitle.

Fixed-Price Listing

People are often confused about the difference between a Buy It Now auction and a fixed-price listing. Buyers can make an instant purchase on either listing type, but a fixed-price listing does not have an additional bidding option. The Buy It Now price is the only option. The buyer either buys it for that price or doesn’t.

If you want to sell in a fixed-price format, click the Fixed Price tab. The only amount you need to enter here is the Buy It Now price. Use the same reasoning as you do for a Buy It Now option in an auction to determine the price you set. You can also use the free shipping tactic to increase your fixed-price sales.

If you have easy access to your computer, consider using Best Offer. If you want to use this option, set your Buy It Now price a little higher to allow for haggling down with your buyer. That way, she feels like she got a deal and you don’t actually lose any money.

If you select the Best Offer box, you will be given an opportunity to enter an amount that you want to be automatically accepted and an amount to automatically reject below. So I might set it to automatically accept an offer at $275 or higher, and automatically reject anything below $245. I will still receive notification of offers submitted with a Best Offer of $246 to $274 for my own review.

Giving your buyer the option of Best Offer can get your item sold more quickly.

Good luck, and happy selling!

 

Buy Now listing guide on eBay

Buy-it-Now listings work completely differently from anything else on eBay.

Most Buy-it-Now prices are just the seller dreaming, but newly listed (less than an hour old) Buy-it-Now listings are sometimes where deals can be found.

If you see something you want, meaning you've checked out the seller and  read the listing, then Buy-it-Now NOW, because it may already be gone before you've finished reading it.

The better the deal, the faster it goes.

 

Pay-it-Now Buy-it-Now

Sometimes sellers reserve the right to sell the Buy-it-Now item to the first person who pays for it, not the first person to click Buy-it-Now.

When you click Buy-it-Now, you'll see a message as you get to the checkout screens letting you know that if you don't hurry it up, and someone else pays for it first, you lose.

This is good, because it doesn't take items off the market until someone actually can pay for it, but know that after you've successfully clicked Buy-it-Now and the confirmation button, you still haven't necessarily won the item.

 

Disappearing Buy-it-Now

Some sellers will offer a Buy-it-Now price, as well as accept regular bids.

The Buy-it-Now price usually stays up until someone Buys-it-Now or the listing expires, at the highest conventional bid.

Some few auctions will have the Buy-it-Now price evaporate as soon as the first bid comes in. This is annoying: I was in the process of clicking to buy-something-now for $300, and at the same time, some other sucker dropped in a $10 bid. Of course the item sold for full price to someone completely different a week later.

 

Reverse Auctions

Most Buy-it-Now items are overpriced.

If you look the Completed Listings from the same seller (or same search criteria), you may see that the same item has sat around as a Buy-it-Now at higher prices the weeks before.

A reverse auction is where a seller offers an item at a very high Buy-it-Now price, hoping a sucker takes the bait.

If not, next week it goes up for less, and lowering the price each week until someone bites.

This is called a reverse auction because the offer price starts high, and drops until it meets what someone is willing to pay, exactly the revere of a real auction.

 

Falling Buy-it-Now Prices

A seller may remove a Buy-it-Now price any time he likes, or have it go away as soon as the first regular early-bid comes in, and he may also raise or lower the Buy-it-Now price any time he likes. If no one has bought-it-now, it can do just about anything the seller wants.

Buy-it-Now prices usually remain the same throughout the entire auction, but that's just because the seller didn't feel like screwing with it.

I've seen Buy-it-Now prices go up, but much more often, I've seen them come down day-by-day as the seller realizes no one is biting.

This is the same as a reverse auction, except that it happens much faster than relisting the item each week.

 

Make Offer

If there's a Make Best Offer box, you can send an offer with an expiration date. If the seller accepts, you're obligated to buy it at that price.

You are obligated for about three days if the seller decides to accept the offer, so be careful!

I tried this when I saw a guy guessing at price and running a reverse auction.

The seller can come back with another offer.

In this case, I didn't trust the seller because he was all over the place on price, and was trying to get me to buy into one of those Microsoft scams offering 50% off if you signed up for something.

I wouldn't make any offers again, because you've just obligated yourself for several days. I forget if eBay let me know that I was obligated for several days or not as I made the offer.

On eBay, you never want to obligate yourself to anything for any length of time, in case what you really want shows up.

 

Fraud

Fraud turns up on buy-it-nows when the "seller" offers a crazy-low price on something exotic that he doesn't really have, and offers to accept other forms of payment than PayPal. eBay doesn't allow this, so scammers post a graphic with text in it offering that, instead of actually writing it in the listing.

Scam operators play on the fact that most of us, myself included, jump to Buy-it-Now when the price is a steal. You can avoid these by being sure that you pay via PayPal. The scam on which I bit only took money orders. Luckily I noticed a moment after I bought-it-now, and blew it off after eBay let me know it was a scam.

If you pay by PayPal, you won't get scammed because eBay will credit you if you play by the rules with its Buyer Protection. Scammers do everything they can to get you to pay by money order, check, moneygram, Discover, Western Union or whatever, and if you do, that's the last you'll ever see of your money.

If you do see any of these scams, click the Report button, and eBay takes them right down. Scammers put these up as fast as they can, and eBay takes them down as fast as they can.

Buying and selling guide on eBay

STEP-BY-STEP eBay selling for beginners

I have about of buying & selling on eBay. I was asked many times to explain how to buy & sell, and have simplified the process into a step-by-step easy to follow guide. This is a guide you will really need & it covers everything you need to get up your very first listing. It is easiest to print it out and take one step at a time. I took each step as it will appear while you enter your information.
BEFORE you get started here are a few IMPORTANT steps you need to take:

• One of the first things you will be asked in setting up your eBay account is for your personal identifying information. This will include a credit or debit card - there is NO way to get around it. I recommend this single MOST IMPORTANT tip. Set up a checking account with a debit card COMPLETELY SEPARATE from any other accounts you currently have. Make this the ONLY account you link to your eBay buying/selling & PayPal. This way, in the event of an account hold or breach of security it minimizes the overall risk for you.
• Decide right now on the $ LIMIT you will hold in your account. In order to keep your overall risk to a minimum, I strongly recommend that when your account goes OVER $ 250. - $ 300. make a PayPal transfer of funds directly to the linked account. Take it out & move it somewhere else (or spending it is fun, too !) Constantly limiting your risk to no more than this decided amount. I like to make a transfer on the 1st of each month and leave only the original $ 250.00 - $ 300.00 to be used.
• Go to the eBay web site & scroll to the bottom. Click on SITE MAP. On the bottom right you see HELP TOPICS, then SELLING & SELLER FEES. Click it to see how fees are calculated & PRINT OUT the fee chart. Keep it handy. You will need to refer to it when deciding how to sell your item. (auction, buy it now, setting a reserve, etc.)
• On the same page, middle column you see MY ACCOUNT - here is where you can easily make any changes to your personal information if you need to.
• A couple of necessary expenses before you begin. You MUST have a digital camera, small postal scale and good ruler or tape measure. If you try to go without the scale, you will spend MORE making errors in postal fees than if you just go purchase one (about $ 20.) so all of your shipping weights will be accurate when you list.

Now we are ready to review one of the most helpful steps in buying & selling. You must know how to search for recently SOLD items. This will give you a wealth of information to use EVERY TIME you buy or sell. Pick an item you have an interest in, let's use an old coca-cola tray for an example. Go to eBay and in the large search box at the top of the page enter VINTAGE COCA-COLA TRAY. Notice it takes you to a page of all trays currently for sale. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT to help you make decisions. Just AFTER the search box you see the word ADVANCED in small Blue letters. Click on it.
This takes you to a more helpful way to find items. Scroll down just a couple of lines to where it says SEARCH INCLUDING: title and description OR COMPLETED LISTINGS. Check the box that says COMPLETED LISTINGS. Scroll to the bottom of the page - you see a drop down box marked SORT BY: click on PRICE + SHIPPING HIGHEST FIRST...NOW click search.
All the dollar amounts shown in GREEN are items that SOLD & for how much. Dollar amounts shown in RED DID NOT SELL. This also gives you:

• The starting bid amount
• Final price paid
• The number of bids received
• How much was charged for shipping
• Method of sale..auction or fixed price with BEST OFFER
• If you scroll down the pages you see the same items by other sellers, some sold & some didn't. Here's where you can find one similar to what you are about to sell, find the one purchased for the most money & decide what price to use for an opening bid on selling your own. It also tells how much they charged for shipping.
• Also use this page to find out the specifics - the one that sold for the most $ was listed under WHAT CATEGORY, what KEY words the seller used in the title to get the most attention, what words were used in the description & what details are given. Note the differences in the quality of the photos...all tips on the item you are about to list !!

In preparation for listing your first item take enough photos to clearly show the condition & details. Be sure to edit & crop them before getting started.
NOW WE ARE READY TO BEGIN !

• Go to eBay - click on SET UP AN ACCOUNT which takes you to the register section. It asks all your basic information & email. Here you must select an eBay ID & password.
• To confirm your identity you must enter a credit or debit card (see above - only give the debit card linked to the ebay only checking account you set up JUST for this).
• In the top right corner it says SELL, when clicked a larger screen comes up saying LIST YOUR ITEM.
• It asks to enter a keyword OR browse categories. Select browse categories and find the category that best describes your item. It will take you to sub-categories until it gets to a very specific category for your item. (EX. collectibles → advertising → soda → coca-cola → trays)
• Click Continue
• TITLE - Use as many of the 80 characters they allow in the title to be as specific as you can while using descriptive KEYWORDS to get the attention of people searching
• SUBTITLE option - SKIP this for an additional $ .50 cents - you don't really need it
• CONDITION - it is mandatory that you use the drop down box to show NEW OR USED
• ITEM SPECIFICS - it is FREE so add your own short keyword description of item
• ADD PICTURES - some categories like collectibles let you add up to 12 FREE photos. It is specified to use pictures LARGER than 1600 pixels high & wide. This is a standard photo. - A box opens giving options of STANDARD / COPY WEB FILES / SELF HOSTING / BASIC. Just click the BASIC and it will give you the screen to browse your files to find the photos you want to use in your listing (up to 12)
• GALLERY PLUS & PICTURE PACK FREE in some categories. If not, it will show cost.
• Once clicked the photos to use click on UPLOAD. Once you see the photos in the box to the left, proceed to next step.
• DESCRIBE ITEM - (leave this on the standard tab) but you can make changes to the font, size (12 is best), color, bold, italic and underline, spell check, bullets & justify page. It also gives you the opportunity to enter a link into your listing if you wish. Not recommended for a beginner.
• FILLING IN DESCRIPTION - Looks best if you center justify the page using the top tool bar. Repeat the title and give a basic sentence or 2 description. Then I find it easiest to write a single sentence such as " This beautiful _____ features:" and bullet each descriptive point about the item.
• DESCRIBE AS: Age of item / Distinguishing features / Size H x W x L / Give weight of item AFTER you have put it in a mailing box with the packing material ! / where it was made if you know / any & ALL logos or markings on the item by the artist or manufacturer / be specific about the condition and be sure to list any nicks, scrapes, cracks, imperfections
• VISITOR COUNTER - use the basic counter so you'll know how many views it has
• CHOOSE HOW YOU'D LIKE TO SELL YOUR ITEM (refer to your fee chart print out):

1. AUCTION - Lowest start $ .99..a 7 day auction is standard. if you select longer there is an additional charge. You can add a BUY IT NOW which you will enter the price you want if someone wants to skip bidding and just "buy it now". For beginners I do not recommend this. Also you have the option of setting a reserve price to your auction (will show up under add or remove options). This just means that you set a minimum you are willing to sell for but it does NOT show up to anyone but you. Once bidding reaches your set reserve amount bids are still accepted so you may get even more money for it, but if no none bids UP TO the reserve then you don't sell it.
2. Tip: DO NOT start auction at .99 unless you will be happy getting only .99. It is best to enter the minimum you are willing to sell for, but remember you already did the homework reviewing SOLD ITEMS to get an idea for price.
3. FIXED PRICE - this just means a set price, no bidding. You can include option of taking the BEST OFFER and can leave item up for sale until you decide to take it down if you choose the length of time option of "Good till canceled"

• LOTS OR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS - if you have a group of 3 trays, you have one lot of 3. It means you are selling them all for that price.
• DURATION - standard 7 days (offer 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 10 days) there are extra fees if you don't select the standard 7 days.
• DECIDE HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PAID at this time PAYPAL must be one of the options. It is the most widely used for the individual seller who cannot take a credit card. They no longer allow you to accept payment by personal check. You can choose to accept a money order, if so DON'T SHIP THE ITEM until you have cashed it.
• GIVE BUYERS SHIPPING DETAILS - I suggest beginners SKIP International shipping at first. In the USA you can select the option of FREE SHIPPING, FLAT RATE or CALCULATED shipping. If you pick calculated you must give the ACCURATE weight and measurements of the box. If it is anything but a paper item I suggest CALCULATED. Just be sure you actually weigh it in the box with packing material !! This means it will automatically calculate shipping from your zip code to the buyers zip code.
• HANDLING TIME option of 1 - 30 days, 2 to 3 business days is standard.
• OTHER THINGS YOU'D LIKE YOUR BUYER TO KNOW..use the buyer requirements (click on add or remove options). The settings I suggest are: YES block certain eBay buyers from buying my items if they have rec'd 2 unpaid strikes within one month AND have a feedback score equal to or lower than -2.
• SALES TAX - need this if you are a business
• GIVE BUYERS ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS DURING CHECKOUT - I like to post here that payment is due within 7 days of purchase.
• RETURN POLICY - Check box to set up your own personal return policy. I make mine ALL SALES FINAL NO RETURNS because I normally sell mostly antique paper items. It will instruct you if you decide you want to accept returns.
• Here we are at the end !! Notice before you leave the page it tells your listing fees and asks if you want any listing enhancements like a subtitle (extra .50 cents) OR to have your title in BOLD PRINT (extra $ 2.00). Also it tells your account balance to date.
• NOTICE IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER THERE IS A TAB FOR HELP OR A TAB FOR SAVE FOR LATER in case you want to come back to it at another time.
• At the bottom you can LIST - PREVIEW YOUR LISTING - EDIT - Be sure to PREVIEW YOUR LISTING before you actually post it !
• ONE LAST tip: you WILL get "phishing" emails, people fishing for your information, the easiest way to be CERTAIN they are actually from eBay or PayPal is to just DELETE without opening anything coming directly to your email. ONLY open it if it is in your eBay MESSAGES section !
• NOW HAVE FUN....GOOD LUCK !!

3rd guide of Hopw to buy on eBay-Tips and tricks

    There are no general rules how to buy or sell on eBay, but there are couple of good advices that sellers/ buyers can give you.
In case of buying, always check if there is a Better Offer available for you item. You may send  in this offer to the seller, that of course is less then the listing price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/oakley-straight-jacket-/161300976440?pt=US_Sunglasses&hash=item258e499338
If the seller will accept your offer for less price, you are a winner, the item is yours.

    Receiving free shipping for the item that you are watching will save you some additional money. In this case the item price might go up higher as the other watchers want to benefit form free shipping and that would just rocket the item price higher.

There are some apps on the smart phones that you can use to automatically bid for you while setting up a maximum bidding price. This app can save you lots of time as you are not required to watch the item and bid for it "live".

 

 

 

The last, but not least, make sure that your seller is honest, while reading the feedbacks left form other buyers. Please make your payment as soon as possible, so your seller can ship out the item for you.

The best part is still the bidding part, at least for myself! Happy bidding!

2nd eBay guide - How to buy household goods

Often online, especially on eBay you can find an item that you want to purchase for your home at a reasonable price than retail stores.
Let's take for example a simple soda fountain, see link below:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6661362429051567078#editor/target=post;postID=2596443036736747202;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname
There are couple of things you need to watch while buying on eBay: is this the item that I want?
Please check the description  and pictures of the item that you want to purchase.

 Please make sure that the item's description is matching exactly your needs. When in doubt, ask the seller. Beside watching the item you need to watch the seller as well. Make sure you are buying from  a seller that has a perfect or close to perfect rating. Better the rating, more likely is that you will receive the item you have bought.

Also make sure, the shipping costs are as well convenient for you.
After a winning bid, according to the seller's specifications, the payment needs to be sent.
Lastly an honest feedback needs to be given to the seller.

Wishing you happy bidding!

1st eBay guide - How to sell a briefcase

Selling an item on eBay , successfully, is not hard at all. It needs to contain a true and realistic description of the item that is sold, giving all the measurements, volumes of the item, describing all the extra's and all the flaws that the item is having.
The way how I sell my items is in the view of the buyer. What does the buyer like about my item and how can I make the description the way that it will choose mine against the other 20 or a undress out there to be sold.
First of all, do not write a whole chapter about your item. The description needs to be short, precise and to the point. The description needs to be all true, all the flaws of the item must be described, especially if it is not brand new.
Let's take for example the briefcase for sale in the following link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171322253617?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
The item name already describes a lot about the item, in this case it is a briefcase.
To be able to give a very precise description, pictures are taken and posted beside the written description. The pictures should show the item clearly.

Shipping and handling charges should be clearly stated as well if there is a return policy that applies to the item.
As all these statements were written a nice background of the pictures as a frame, can be chosen to show the item in a favorable way and outstanding from the other items.
If there are any questions from the buyers, make sure, there are all timely answered and they are polite and strait to the point.
Over all: Happy Bidding!

Joy and Karma Vitamin C serum first impressions

As I did with the Joy and Karma Hyaluronic Acid Serum, I will share my first impressions using this product. Both serums were shipped at the same time, ordered from Amazon, and they arrived very fast. The transaction went fast and smooth.
I want to try this serum using it once a day, in the morning and then eventually using it twice daily. The serum is a thin, clear liquid that is dispensed by a dropper in a brown tinted glass container. The consistency is too thin for my taste as after placing couple of drops on my forehead and cheeks, the serum was running down my face before I have had the chance to place the dropper back into the bottle.
Aside form this, the serum can be easily spread out on the face, neck and décolletage. It is very fast sinking into the skin, that I like a lot. For couple of hours just left the serum on my face without applying any moisturizer or makeup on the be able to assess the result of the application.
The skin feels puffy, like you have a  small cloud on your face, it is a good feeling. Compared to other serums I do not feel it on my skin as a thin film layer, actually I do not feel anything beside my skin being more relaxed and being puffy. At this point, I do not know if this is a good or bad sign, but in my next review in 2 weeks, I would report on the long term results.
After these initial assessments, I have applied my daily moisturizer. It was taking more time to the moisturizer to skink in my skin as usual, leaving my skin a bit tacky. As I have normal to dry skin, I do not really think that this is a bad thing as the foundation application was easy and the final result was a dewy finish. Now, this is good winter time, or cold days, but how would my makeup look like in hot and humid weather?
Overall, as a quick assessment I must say that for a first application this serum did not impressed me a lot. There are no immediately visible signs of using it by itself, and used with a daily moisturizer my skin feels tackyer and the foundation that went over looked more dewy than usual.

"Joy and Karma" Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Vitamin C

First of all ordering through Amazon was a good experience, the serum arrived pretty fast. I decided to begin using this serum once a day in the morning and than probably using it at nigh as well in about 14 days. Since I just received it, can't give a full review, these are my first impressions. The serum comes in a 30 ml glass bottle with a pipette type dispenser. The amount is generous, but the consistency of the colorless, see-through serum is thick, so if it is used according to the instructions on the face neck and décolletage, the amount needed is as well more. After washing the face and applying a tonic for my normal/dry skin and letting it dry, I have applied the serum on the areas described above. After the serum totally dried on my face the skin felt very smooth and stretched out. Have not felt any itching or stinging sensation, but the skin felt very stretched out. I applied a daily moisturizer, exactly as mentioned in the instructions as the serum is not meant to be used on his own, but in a combination with a day or night cream. After the moisturizer sunk in my skin, it felt very smooth, elasticized and hydrated. 3 hours later I applied my regular foundation to see how does it look. I am very pleased with the results, as my makeup looked excellent. The foundation stays on very well, there is no sign of slipping or oiliness, the serum had a smoothing effect and calming effect on my skin. Getting back to share my final thoughts in about 2 weeks. Cheers!

I Just Joined Smiley360

I Just Joined Smiley360

E.L.F Eyelid Primer

It's been a long time since the last time I tried an e.l.f.
It comes in a small tube, with a doe footed applicator. I'm not a big fan of doe footed applicators for primers (curse you, old Urban Decay Primer Potion packaging!) but hey, it's a dollar. The beige fluid is much thinner and slippery feeling than my LORAC BtSEP. I've also noticed that it dries to a slightly noticeable finish, whereas the LORAC dries to nearly invisible. I'm tempted to let it dry out a little bit on purpose, I feel like it would work better.
 product. Lately, I've trying to be more thrifty and I've almost finished a tube of my beloved LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer so I thought I might give the $1 Eyelid Primer a try.
How do shadows perform over the two primers?
there's actually a pretty big difference. The LORAC primer grabs a lot more color and really improves the look of the eye shadow. For the matte shadow, the e.l.f. Eyelid Primer kinda makes the shadow look more chalky. It's a tad better with the shimmery shadow, but still not as great as the LORAC.
The staying power isn't bad. My makeup wasn't as crisp as it was with the LORAC Behind The Scenes Primer, but it was still rather decent after 14 hours. I'm going to keep this one and I think I'll use it on lazy makeup days when I use just a single wash of shimmery color all over my lid.

Final verdict: It's not half bad, but it didn't work perfectly for me either. It's a dollar. Take a chance on it. Maybe it'll work really well for you, and if that's the case- fantastic! That's money saved, better spent on lovely things like a superb lipstick or a gorgeous blush.

One last thing- I know that e.l.f. makes another primer- one from their Mineral line. Has anyone tried that? Compared the Eyelid and Mineral by any chance?

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Revlon colorburst lip butter

My overall thoughts on this line from Revlon is; YUM! I love them all! They are really excellent feeling and balmy (in the lip moisturizing sense) with delicious colors. They make the lips shiny and scrumptious looking. There is no weird lipstick or plastic taste, which is fantastic. The Lip butters are completely unscented and unobtrusive while you are wearing them. They contain mango, shea, and coconut butter, however without any smell. (I hate coconut so that would be a major deterrent for me.) Revlon describe them as somewhere between a lipstick and a lip balm, and these ColourBurst lip butters truly live up to this claim in my opinion.

As far as packaging, the color of the case matches the look of the product which is a delight and the translucent look is very pleasant. It's also great that there is a clear window on the top of the case so you can check out the product directly. Unfortunately, as I have found out, the product color can be very different to the color on the lips. It is a very nice touch either way.

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Maybelline color tatoo eyeshadows

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Maybelline released at least 10 shadows in this formula.  The majority are very vibrant colors.  The fact that Tough As Taupe exists in the rainbow colored, long wearing, eyeshadow community of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow group, is a surprise and a treat.  The nine other shade names are:

Fierce & Tangy - Orange
Too Cool - White
Audacious Asphalt - Pewter Grey
Painted Purple - Purple
Bad To The Bronze - Bronze
Pomegranate Punk - Maroon/Deep Red
Tenacious Teal - Teal
Bold Gold - Gold
Edgy Emerald - Green

I find the consistency of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe to be very creamy and very similar to MAC Paint Pots. Although, I find that the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe seems to dry faster than the MAC paint pots.  I do own the long since discontinued MAC Paint Pot in Stray Gray, but I could not for the life of me, find it in my stash.  That is a clear indicator that I have too much makeup.  However, from memory, I think the shades are nearly identical, so if you are still pining away over MAC Stray Gray, then Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe is your dupe.  The consistency of Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeshadow Cremes are slightly more sheer than the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows and they do not set as quickly as the Maybelline shadows.  The Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Shadows are the sheerest of the bunch and have the most working time before they set when compared to Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows, MAC Paint Pots, and Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeshadow Cremes.

The color of Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe is a rich and opaque grey beige. One thing to note The color in the pot, when you first open it, is NOT the color underneath.  Que?  Yes. The color on top seems to be a completely different color from what you actually get when you swipe the color with your finger the first time.  NOT COOL! It ends up looking more grey than brown. This creamy shadow has no shimmer at all and dries to a decent matte texture which is nice. One must work quickly and sheer out the edges before they set.  That makes working on one eye at a time essential.

I did not find this shadow lasting anywhere near 24 hours on my lids.  I actually went out to purchase this shadow after seeing a tweet from Maybelline.  They had retweeted a person extolling the 24 hour virtues of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow. I should have known it was too good to be true.  I already know that Maybelline won't be retweeting my tweet that these so-called Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows last only 4 to 6 hours without primer and 8 to 10 with a primer.  Nope. I bet they won't even.  It was crease city when I applied Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe for the first time.  I used no primer. Just clean lids. I applied using my finger (as instructed on the Maybelline website) and I managed to get a fairly sheer but even application.  Four short hours later and my eye was creasing faster than a cheap suit on a long car trip.  I tried the next day applying Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe over an eye primer while using a synthetic brush. I achieved a more opaque yet even application this time, but, by hour number 8 I was creasing faster than the lines in Daniel Craig's forehead.  Not 24 hours by a long shot.  Well there goes my 15 seconds of celebrity. I'm sure Maybelline isn't going to retweet "@Maybelline 24Hr Color Tattoo e/s lasts as long as Kim Kardashian's Virginity" (Low Blow) or "@Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo e/s is about as stable as Spiderman The Musical's stunt team" (Beating a dead horse) or "@Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo e/s disappeared faster than Charlie Sheen's career" (not winning!). (I'm just devastated...can't you tell?)

 I did get very good results when I wore this with a powder shadow on top.  Almost 14 hours of wear, which is great. That being said, because I received so much positive feedback from you all. I will recommend this...but, as I mention below, your results may vary depending on how oily your eyelids are.