Like every girl I have been known to blow a great deal of time (and money) in Sephora and while I love my cosmetics I love finding beauty products that amaze me at little cost to myself even more. Over the years I have to come to collect quite a few e.l.f products because who can resist getting full size products that range from $1-$5 especially if they can be a dupe for the high end stuff I normally go for. I first saw e.l.f products in Target and was really drawn to the packaging, I think their marketing team did something very smart, they made a simple logo, black with white lettering that is very reminiscent of MAC labels. Like most beauty brands there will always be hits and misses, so I pulled out my large collection to give you my rundown!
Left to Right: stipple brush, small stipple, bronze brush, face brush
Lets start off with products I tried first. I was looking up and down for a stipple brush that would be dupe for MAC’s because I couldn’t see myself paying so much money for a single brush, so behold I found this large stipple brush. This use to be my go-to brush but I have since moved on to buffing brushes, I mainly use this now for heavier foundations because I find with this brush I don’t need to use as much product. Now onto my favorite e.l.f brush which is the small stipple brush. It is perfect for blending out under eye concealers and cheek tints and does a great job of blending into smaller areas! And then finally we have the face brushes, the bronzing brush’s bristles are a little uneven which I was concerned would cause a messy contour but it didn’t. The full face brush I had originally bought as a powder brush but because the bristles are so dense I use it mainly as a blush brush. All in all I was pleased with the brushes and best of all they don’t shed when you clean them which means they have longevity! All four of these brushes cost me $8. Not too shabby!
e.l.f Eyeshadow Pallet
I received this pallet as one of those ‘rainy day’ surprises from my husband. At first I was a little bit nervous about it because the colors were all shimmery and most times of the year I go for matte, but it was a gift so I just kept strutting on. This pallet has colors ranging from pearls whites up to jet blacks and everything in between. To be honest, the only shades I have used are the natural colors so I can’t get into specifics with the bright colors, but as far as those go they were great! They held up pretty well throughout the day and the only major bug I have with them is that because they are so shimmery when they do eventually wear down that all that is left is sparkle. Overall I would say I was pleased with this pallet and I look forward to playing with the colors a little more! This pallet retails for around $5.
e.l.f shimmering face whips in lilac pearl and white
Next we come to our first miss! These cute little tubes are e.l.f shimmering face whips and are suppose to add hints of shimmer and color to your cheeks. At first I really liked the dewy look of these on my cheeks and highlighted areas but the love soon wore off. After about an hour these turned super cakey on my face and fell into pores and the last thing you want to do is bring attention to your flaws! That was only day one so day two I decided to give them a second look..and then I opened the tube. Instead on the cream “whip” coming out when I squeezed it a big glob of oily liquid came out. The only thing worse then a cake on your face is a pile of oil. So these unfortunately are headed for my makeup graveyard. If you’re bold enough to try them they retail for only $1 a piece.
e.l.f. bronzer in Sun Kissed and all over color stick in Golden Peach
Here we come to a couple more of my dreaded misses. First we have the e.l.f bronzer in Sun Kissed which is a really light shimmery bronze which I was really excited to try because yes, I am a bronze queen. As fast as I was to try it I was equally as fast to dislike it. It could be a fault of my own but the shade didn’t not show up on my skin whatsoever. All that appeared on my face was a bunch of glitter which looked totally awkward on my contour lines. Next we have the all over face color in Golden Peach which is like a color stick which can be used for eyes, lips and face (AHA clever!) I was looking to use this to add slight color to my cheeks and instantly after I applied it I had a big problem, it was sticky! I could literally feel it pulling at my skin and falling into fine lines and worst off all after a day the entire stick dried up! If you are in a daring ‘let’s go for it’ mood both of these retail for $1.
e.l.f liners in silver, gold, black and e.l.f waterproof liner pen
Now onto my favorite beauty tool in the entire world, eyeliners! I will take eyeliners any way you can give them to me. First we have the three liquid eyeliners I tried in silver,gold and black, Normally I would never buy silver or gold eyeliners but they came as a gift set so what the hell. I only used the silver once because it was super bright and gave me really bad highschool flashbacks but the gold I surprisingly loved. I use it on top of my black liquid liner to add a touch of sparkle for those special days. The black eyeliner has to be my favorite e.l.f product of all time. It is a brush tip liner which makes me feel like I have a lot of control over my lines and the black pigment seems to last me most of the day, I have to say this has been my go-to liquid liner for a year now and while I know they’re are better, more expensive ones out there I still find myself coming back to this time and again. Lastly we have the waterproof lining pen, and while I’ve read reviews that sings it praises, I was far from impressed. It did not go on smoothly at all and it caused a lot of skipped lines and worst of all (which seems to be a theme with my e.l.f misses) it dried out in a week. These eyeliners retail for $3 a piece and the 3 piece gift set I purchased for $5.
Left to Right: Matte Lip in Nearly Nude, Lip Stain in Crimson Crush, Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Pink Umbrella and Movie Star.
Lastly we come to the lips! I have to say…I adore ALL of these products! The matte lip stick feels more like a crayon which I didn’t think I would like but I found it gave me more control over the color. I was looking for an awesome matte nude almost corpse like lip wear and this does the trick. While it does seem to be drying I find that if I prep my lips first with a lip butter I can make the color stay on longer. Next is the gorgeous lip stain in this super red color (If you saw my last post you saw me wearing this in my after pic.) I love the way it feels on my lips and the color is so pigmented it really does stain and I only find myself re-applying after a long day. Last we come to jumbo gloss sticks. I bought these in the lightest shade and the darkest shade for contrast I these have quickly become my go-to’s for everyday. The red isn’t too deep so I can wear it during the day without feeling like a clown and the pink is a perfect summertime shade plus the best part is these are super moisturizing and unlike most glosses these don’t make my lips feel like their covered in honey. All in all these are a must have for me. Each retails around $3.
There you have it, My official breakdown of a brand and while it seems like I have a lot of misses I think the hits more than make up for it. These products are super affordable so I encourage you to make your own opinions. Instead of blowing that check on a couple high end products, this month test out the line and see what hits and misses you find for yourself!
If you have tried the e.l.f line and have your own hits and misses I’d love to hear all about it so leave me some love below and don’t forget to subscribe. If you want more of my quirkness follow me on instagram @mkateholmes or give me a shout out on twitter @RecycleRex and as always, happy blending!
-Kate
tillmidnight 