Saturday, January 15, 2011

e.l.f. Haul/Review

Not too long after Christmas I saw that e.l.f. (eyeslipsface) was having a sale where basically you get $5 off your order. I had been meaning to try them out so I picked up a couple of things. This brand is known for there lowlowlow prices but also for having very hit-or-miss products. Here's what I got:
Face primer, complexion perfection, and three brushes.

The cream handle blending brush is from their "Mineral" line and was $5. The other two are from their "Studio" line and were $3. I actually really love these brushes. I have a problem with paying $20 for one brush, so I was really eager to try these. I've heard from others that the brushes from their regular line are awful, but these work just fine. They're pretty dense and serve their purpose. I would definitely recommend these.

Face primer: $6. I haven't ever tried a face primer before, but I rather like this. It's a clear gel that feels very velvet-y. It doesn't make my face feel greasy or anything, and it does make my foundation apply smoother. You actually don't get very much product with this, though. The container seems fairly large at first, but when you look there's just a small tube in the middle that contains the product. This kind of sucks because when you press the pump once, too much product comes out so it's wasted. So, $6 seems like a good deal, but you don't get very much at all. Overall, I like the product, hate the packaging.

Complexion Perfection: $3. This is designed to even out your skin where you have redness, undereye circles, or any kind of discolorations. They say to swirl a large brush all through and and apply it all over your face. I tried this when I wasn't wearing any make up and didn't notice any difference. I then tried it after I'd already applied foundation and noticed it helped a little. I wouldn't say this stuff is really outstanding, but it works well as a setting powder at the very least. That's what I plan on using it for.

I can see why everyone says that e.l.f. is hit or miss. You can't really complain though, seeing as how low their prices are. I like the brushes the best out of everything I got, especially the "C" brush. It works really well for brow bone highlighting. I'd like to get some more brushes from this line eventually.

Are there any really great or really awful e.l.f. products I should know about? I've wondered about their nail polish and mineral lipstick. Let me know!

Have a lovely Saturday! :)

9 comments:

  1. Next time when you go shopping there during the "no sale" period, use the code "carolina", it'll take 50% off your order (maximum achievable discount with this code is 7,5 USD). 5 bucks off is not a good deal by US e.l.f. standards ;)
    Try to aim for 50% off brushes, 50% off studio or those other good deals before buying anything big.

    I like the studio powder brush and stipple brush (for blush), mineral lipsticks are good, mineral eyeshadows too. Studio blushes looked great too. 1$ line eyelash curlers are magnificent.

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  2. I love the mineral lipsticks, but hate the nail polish (some really like the np though). The studio e/s and blushes are ok, with blushes being a bit better of the two IMO. I don't really like any of the other lip products outside of the mineral l/s. They all have that cheap smell to them...well, they are cheap, I guess.

    I really love the flat top buffer brush from the studio line. I actually like the $1 shader brushes, rather than the studio e/s brushes...hmm, what else...the studio bronzers are pretty nice too. I actually like quite a few of the $1 eyeshadow quads too. For a buck, they're not terrible. As long as I keep the price range in mind, I don't tend to get too bent out of shape at crappy ELF products, since they're so cheap! :D

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  3. How is the mineral brush?

    I had a primer from MEMEME in that EXACT same packaging. Wth is that all about?

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  4. I've thought about trying their brushes because I will not spend 20-40 dollars on brushes!

    I have 3 of their nail polishes and I had no issues with them. One thing I will say is if you are planning on ordering elf polishes from their website do not trust their swatches. I've heard people complaining about how they aren't accurate.

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  5. @RobynI really like it. It's a pretty darn perfect crease brush.
    And as for the primer, I dunno. It's annoying. I do not like being deceived! If it's a small amount of product, just put it in a small jar. Putting a little tube in a big jar is just wasteful IMO.

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  6. @cait I'm with you there! It's hard to get really upset about something that's so cheap haha it's almost like you're not expecting it to be any good.
    I really wanna try the mineral lipstick, they have what looks like some really lovely neutral colors.

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  7. I definitely recommend the studio ones! They're only $3. I hate the prices of brushes these days, even the ones at the drug store are expensive.

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  8. I actually really like it! It's your basic blending brush and it does it's job. As for the primer packaging, I dunno. I don't like being deceived! I wouldn't mind it if it were just in a small tube, but a small tube inside of a bigger tube just seems wasteful.

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  9. I have very greasy T-zone, Monistat seems not to help me there. On the cheeks it looks great, but on forehead just above the nose makeup simply melts away.
    it also emphasizes shininess should the makeup be "luminous", to me it seems Monistat would excel with matte products.

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