Monday 18 June 2012

E.L.F Reviews (Part Two) - Concealer, Eyeshadow, Nail Polish, and Bronzing Brush!


E.L.F Tone Correcting Concealer (Retails for £1.50)
I didn't have high hopes for this concealer, not because of the brand, price or the look of it on the site (I did buy it after all), but because I bought it in the shade Rosy Beige, whereas I would normally buy foundations or concealers in Ivory or their palest, or close to palest, option. However, Ivory was out of stock and this looked like the next palest shade.
I think I got carried away by the fact I needed a new concealer, it was the main reason I went to try E.L.F to be honest, and by the price. I would normally run a mile from pink toned foundations or concealers, as I have some pink to my skin which I am keen to tone down or cover up.
I do actually like the product. I like the formula, the packaging and the way it applies to the skin. It has a doe foot applicator which is great if you want to pinpoint blemishes. In order for me to get use out of this shade, I am using it as an under eye concealer, as I do often have dark circles and I know that orange or pinky shades are meant to counteract the blue. For this job, it is working great.
One thing I was unsure of is the scent. When on the website it said 'Scent - Sugar Orange' I didn't think much of it until I received the product and gave it a go. It does have a definite sweet orange scent to it, not overpowering, but the smell is definitely there. I didn't particularly mind this, and as I am using it around my eye area it is unnoticeable anyway. However, if you are sensitive to scents, and would use this around the nose and mouth, this might not be for you. From the E.L.F website it also looks like this concealer comes in quite a good shade range, especially for people with darker skin tones, who I know tend to struggle to find products catered to darker skin on the high street.
I generally like this product a lot, and I think it's a great concealer. It's a shame it's not really my shade but I'd definitely buy this product in Ivory when it is back in stock.


E.L.F Duo Eye Shadow Cream (Retails for £1.50)

I was really excited to try this product. I loved the colours in the Sugar Cookie duo, and normally am a big fan of cream eyeshadows. While obviously there will always be some cream eyeshadows that crease, they generally work very well for me, possibly as I have drier skin.
This product did not work well for me. On the packaging it arrived in it claimed to be longwear, crease resistant and blendable. I'm not really sure how they can even make the claim that it's longwear or crease resistant. Within minutes of putting it on my lids, it was creasing and over a half an hour period I had to run my finger back over it to fix it several times.
Seeing that it was not going to work well for me to go out in, I put an eyeshadow over it. This did seem to stop the creasing, and my shadow didn't crease throughout the day either, so as a base for eyeshadows this product could be great.
However, I didn't buy this for a base to other eye colours. I bought it because I loved, and still love the colours in this duo. One half is a beautiful shimmery pale pink, and the other is a lovely glittery gold. If this product had of worked for me, I'd have been over the moon because I loved the shades, and think it would have made a gorgeous look for summer. It's also a real shame because the duos look to come in amazing colours, and I would have undoubtedly bought more if the formula had have been better.

I'm not keen to waste a product though, and luckily the colours I bought it in work really well as a subtle blush and a golden highlighter for the summer when I won't be wanting to use a lot of powder products, as I prefer a dewy and glowy look.


E.L.F Nail Polish (Retails for £2.50)

I am a nail polish addict. I've been trying to ration myself lately to use up some of my existing ones before they dry up or go too thick, but when I saw Passion Pink on the E.L.F site, I couldn't resist.

The colour looked beautiful on the website, but I have to say I didn't personally think that the colour that arrived looked the same. Online it looked like a kind of milky opaque pink, without any shimmer. The Passion Pink that I got was much more of a hot pink with a gorgeous metallic gold running through it.

I have to say though, while this might be bad in other cases, I was very happy with the colour in the end. I love it a lot more than the one on the site, and it just looks a much more interesting and fun colour than I thought it was going to be.
I usually prefer nail polishes without shimmer, just cos I prefer the look of block opaque colours. But I love this. The shimmer is really subtle but still beautiful, so it doesn't look like you have really sparkly nails. The gold running through it is really different as well, and will be perfect for the summer months (if they ever arrive...).

It applies really well to the nail, although sometimes there's more product on the brush than there looks so that can lead to the odd accident. A lot of nail polishes have too thin a brush with them, but I felt like this was just the right size and would only take one or two strokes to cover the nail.

I'm normally the kind of person that really layers up nail polish. I like it to look quite thick and to be completely opaque, but with this I did two coats, and felt it looked great without keeping on adding more. I found it dried relatively quickly as well, as long as you don't layer up before it's properly dry, which is good because I am really impatient and will inevitably touch something and ruin it all. It lasts relatively well on the nail. Over 3 or 4 days I didn't have any chips (and I didn't use a top coat), however there was some wear on the top edge of the nail where some had worn off, but not noticeably.

I also like that the formula is apparently 'infused with Vitamin E for stronger, healthier nails', so you don't feel like you're doing damage to your nails.


I'm over the moon with this nail polish, and will be looking into the other colours in the future. But be warned, it may not look the way you thought when it arrives!

E.L.F Bronzing Brush (Retails for £1.50)

I'd tried contouring before, but never really had the right brush for it, and I had seen that a lot of people owned this angled brush from E.L.F so was keen to buy one.

Although the website calls it the Blushing, Bronzing and Blending Brush, the brush itself just says 'Bronzing Brush' on it. I don't think I'll use it for blushing or general bronzing because I prefer bigger, rounder brushes for that. But for contouring and highlighting I found it just right. The angle allows you to be really precise and as it's not too thick, you aren't left overdoing it.
I really like this for contouring and am pleased I bought it, but for other purposes I would probably look to other brushes.


That's all my E.L.F purchases done. I am on the whole really happy with them, and will definitely be looking to E.L.F in the future for my make-up needs. I am quite a fan of make-up shopping and looking at and testing products in person though, and found it quite hit and miss as someone who normally buys high street brands which, even when you buy online, you are aware of what you're getting. But for these prices, the quality for these prices, and the range I think E.L.F is brilliant!


(E.L.F Review Part One - http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/elf-reviews-part-one-eyeshadow-eyeliner.html)

xxx

Bronzing Brush - £1.50 - http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~43.htm

Cream Eye Shadow Duo - £1.50 - http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~67.htm

Nail Polish - £2.50 - http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~62.htm

Tone Correcting Concealer - £1.50 - http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~68.htm

7 comments:

  1. I always buy from ELF but no matter what I buy I am always disappointed with at least one thing. I agree with you, their nail varnish swatches are never true to real life and I always find myself disappointed with them. I mainly stick to the studio line now as they're a bit better at giving you what you're paying for - and those products are only a fraction more expensive!

    Alice

    http://SecretsOfAWannabeCharlotte.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really liked most of the products, it was only the cream shadows I was disappointed with. I'll definitely be trying out more of their stuff and give the studio line a go next time! Thanks for the advice!

      Delete
  2. I love the colour of the varnish! So cute. And I'm glad you like the brush :) it looks so different to mine. Weird. Might give the concealer a go. I really like the weird orange smell of ELF products! X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a great colour! It's gonna be on my fingernails and my toes for a while! As and E.L.F newbie I was a bit confused when I suddenly smelt oranges when applying my concealer! It's a nice smell, I just hadn't really thought about having fruity concealer before! x

      Delete
  3. i always find that e.l.f. delivers for the price you pay. i love their products! soooo glad they have them in the united states.
    this is a really cute little blog you have here, i just came across it! i'm officially suscribed :)

    -alexandra
    http://alexisinodak.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For the prices they're brilliant! And the range is so much bigger than a lot of cheap brands. I'm looking forward to my next shop and trying out some of their other things :).
      Thanks! I think I'm following yours as well, I really like it :) x

      Delete
  4. Pretty :) xx

    http://heidi-likes.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete