Walgreens Disney Princess Belle Collection {Haul}
I’ve been feeling terrible lately, maybe caused by food poisoning, but it was very unpleasant, whatever the cause. I meant to go out the day before to get some groceries and take a trip to Walgreens until it occurred to me that I could barely walk and maybe it was best to spend the day in bed recuperating. Yesterday I managed to drag myself to Walgreens in hopes of finding the new e.l.f. Disney Princess Belle collection. Fortunately, everything was in stock so I didn’t have to obsess over finding it or feel like I wasted my time.
Besides finding the Belle collection, I also picked up the Wet n Wild LE Sky Me Mine polish on clearance for $0.75 (but rung up at full price), as well as some eco-friendly, tree-less toilet paper by Ology that was on clearance. I’m not sure if the toilet paper is being completely discontinued. Walgreens once clearanced their tree-free printer paper, but restocked it later. I’ll be disappointed if the bathroom tissue is discontinued. The 2-ply four packs are $1.29 and the single 1-ply rolls are $0.49.
The Wet n Wild MegaLast polish Sky Me Mine is part of the LE California Dreaming Summer 2015 collection. I had put off buying it because I thought I probably already had a similar color on my polish collection. I found two of the Sky Me Mine and one yellow Bee-U-Tiful in the clearance section. As I suspected, Sky Me Mine is similar to two WnW polishes I own. It’s very, very close to the LE WildShine Chambray Showers, although the latter has more green undertones, and the new WildShine Putting on Airs, though that one is greyer and a muddier blue. The one benefit to Sky Me Mine is that the formula is thicker than the WildShine. Since the polish rang up at full price, and I already have two similar shades, I’m planning on returning it. I’m really getting frustrated that the clearance makeup is not ringing up correctly.
Disney Princess Belle collection
I had some restraint this time around and did not buy everything. I picked up the Beauty Book ($12.99), Eyeshadow Compact ($6.99), Face Palette ($6.99), and a Super Glossy Lip Shine in Rose ($2.99).
I really like the Beauty Book. The photos I saw online do not do it justice. If you like rosy nudes, you’ll probably enjoy it as much as I do. It’s my favorite Beauty Book so far of the Disney Princess collection and I can’t wait to try it.
The Eyeshadow Compact is an interesting mix of warm, rosy nudes and some cool, darker shades of forest greens and blacks. The middle shades give off an Urban Decay Naked 3 to me. I’m positive that the Elsa version was a dupe of the Pacifica Charmed palette, so maybe this is also another eyeshadow palette dupe? The shades have a similar feel to the Beauty Book, with only Chip and Cogsworth being possible dupes. My one complaint is that the palette doesn’t have any true highlighting shades, making it feel a little incomplete.
The Face Palette has a blush and bronzer that are very similar to the ones found in the Beauty Book. The blush is slightly rosier than the Beauty Book and the bronzer has more of a copper color to it, as well as being more shimmery. Both blushes have gold glitter flakes.
The Super Glossy Lip Shine is available in three shades Rose (a deep reddish pink), Mrs. Potts (a neutral pink that I think is a repackage of Goddess), and Belle (a pink shade). I don’t think Rose or Belle are repackaged, although Rose does look very similar to one of the shades in the e.l.f. Essential Holiday 9 Piece Glossy Lip Gloss Cube.
There are also two Smudge Pots in the collection. One is Belle, likely a repackage of Back to Basics, and Beast, that I’m certain is a repackage of Cruisin’ Chic. Back to Basics is a golden brown and Cruisin’ Chic is a taupe. I did not buy either one because I am not a fan of the Smudge Pots and while I liked the new packaging, did not feel it was a good idea to buy more of a product I dislike. If you do not own either, I recommend Back to Basics. As much as I prefer the color of Cruisin’ Chic, the formulation for Back to Basics is much better. Both shades feature a picture of Belle on the lids.
I also picked up one of the lip balms that came out earlier alongside the ORLY polishes. These are not made by e.l.f., but by the company Townley. Unlike a lot of companies that produce licensed cosmetics, but are difficult to determine if they are cruelty-free, Townley was up front that they are PETA approved (look under the heading Safety Certificates). A quick check on PETA’s site confirmed they are indeed listed on their website. I know that some are not a fan of PETA’s list, so take the info as you will.
The ingredients are the usual synthetic, petroleum and alcohol based ingredients that you typically find in low end lip balms. I was surprised to see—or not see—lanolin and beeswax absent from the label. I only picked up the Strawberry Spell because I haven’t read many good reviews so far. If there are still any available come clearance time, I’ll probably pick up more.
The Vegan Low Down
The e.l.f. Face Palette, Eyeshadow Compact, Super Glossy Lip Shines, and Smudge Pots of the Belle collection are completely vegan. The e.l.f. Beauty Book is vegan with the exception of the animal fiber eyeshadow brush. The Townley lip balms from the Belle collection look vegan, but have not been confirmed, and the company is on PETA’s cruelty-free list.
Final Thoughts
The irksome thing is that e.l.f. has kept the increased price for their latest Disney Princess collection. For example, originally the Beauty Books, first found online and through Target, retailed for $5. At some point the price raised to $6, which is not a big deal. Inflation and all, although e.l.f. did reduce the eyeshadow count from 12 to nine shades and replace a cream product with a mirror.
The licensed Disney Villains (both years) and 2014 Princess collection Beauty Books retailed for $9.99. Although nearly twice as much as their unlicensed counterparts, there is the Disney license to consider. Then the Elsa/Frozen collection came out and e.l.f. increased the price points of all products—including the Beauty Books that were raised to $12.99—most likely taking advantage of the Frozen mania sweeping the nation. I had hoped the next collection would step down to the 2014 pricing, but no such luck. The Belle collection has remained at the higher price point. I’m not sure what exactly has driven the price increase, whether it’s Disney increasing the licensing fee, e.l.f. feeling justified at keeping the higher prices after the success of the Elsa collection, or possibly just inflation catching up. e.l.f. has been quietly discontinuing the $1 Essential line products and introducing more Studio line products with higher price points, so the company may be trying to raise the brand’s value.
How do you like the new Walgreens Belle collection? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks so much! I know now I don’t need Beast smudge pot because I already have cruisin’ chic.
I was very annoyed when I bought the Elsa Smudge Pot because not only was it a shade I already owned, but also really didn’t like. I’m glad I could help you avoid rebuying a shade you already have. 馃檪
Can you add pictures of swatchest for the blush and bronzer for both palettes to see the difference? Thank you!
Hi! I ended up making a whole post to compare three e.l.f. Disney Princess palettes. I hope this helps! You can find it here: http://www.makeupfu.com/2015/06/e-l-f-disney-princess-face-comparison/