Sunday 27 October 2013

My first E.L.F. Haul Review

I've been reading loads about E.L.F. products on other blogs & also had watched quite a few You Tube beauty videos talking about E.L.F. makeup before finally biting the bullet and ordering some myself.

When E.L.F. offered 35% off a couple of weeks ago I took the opportunity to peruse their website thoroughly!

And this is what I got:

My E.L.F. Haul!


The Shopping Experience
I found their website easy to navigate, pictures were clear and the different colours & shades available were shown for ease of selection.

I had no problem applying the 35% off code (and bearing in mind that E.L.F.'s product range is already very good value anyway, it felt even more bargainous).

Delivery was quick and the products were well packaged and arrived undamaged.

You might want to think about following E.L.F. on Facebook and/or Twitter to be always up-to-date in relation to product launches and promotions/discounts.

The Product Selection
When ordering I focused on cheek and eye products as I had heard great things about their baked eyeshadows, the blushers and bronzers.


Product overview of my autumn inspired colour selection!




Single Eyeshadows in "Sunset" & Raspberry Truffle (@£3.38)

Left to right: "Rapsberry Truffle" & "Sunset"

I was really happy with my colour choices! 


"Sunset" is a beautiful burnt orange shade - the kind of slightly muted shade which really comes into its own in autumn.

"Rapsberry Truffle" is nice aubergine colour with hints of brown which I have been using as a crease colour (However, if you are into more dramatic, dark eye looks then I can totally see this working as part of a smokey eye look).

Perfect for autumn!
(No primer or flash used)
Both colour have tiny gold fleck added creating a very subtle, flattering shimmer!

They look great together but can also easily be combined with other shades to switch it up.

They were easy to apply, had great pigmentation, were buildable and lasted well throughout the day without creasing - with and without a primer.

I also really liked the black, sleek packaging with the little mirror in the lid - great for touch ups on the go!

("Buttermilk", "Oatmeal" and "Wild Wheat" are on the list for my next shop!).



I chose these two colours as I had heard great things about the baked eyeshadows and am also a massive fan of both baked eyeshadows and neutral colours.

Left to right: "Enchanted" & "Toasted"

The colour pay off for both colours is really great and I love their warm, multi-dimensional tone with hints of metallic.

Gorgeous colours!
(No primer or flash used)
"Enchanted" - a really pretty muted rose gold shade - is the lighter of the two colours and looks really good giving a shimmery finish to my lids. 

"Toasted" is a nice taupey, metallic, mid-tone shade which I liked both on the outside corner of my lid or in the crease.

Both shades have really great colour pay off and I was again impressed with their staying power.  I did not experience any creasing and wore the baked shadows with and without a primer.

As the shades can be built up to be quite intense, I felt that they would also look good for a more dramatic going out look.


Baked Blush in "Pinktastic" (@£3.75)


"Pinktastic" is a great very light shade with a very subtle pink shimmer to it which makes a fantastic golden highlight on the top of your cheekbones.  I have also used a tiny bit on the middle of my lid to really add light to an eye look and it worked great for that as well.

Baked blush in "Pinktastic"

The golden base colour of this baked blush creates a great golden-toned highlight with pink undertones when the pink swirls are mixed in with your blusher brush.

Intensive golden shimmer
This product is very pigmented and a little goes a long way. This is definitively on the shimmery side so you really only need a tiny bit to achieve a super glowy finish.

Super pretty, intensive, rose-gold highlighter
(no primer or flash used)
In terms of glowy finish and shimmery effect, it really reminds me of "Mary-Lou Manizer" by The Balm (though that is slightly more golden toned).

Once applied this easily lasted the whole day on my face!


Blush in "Giddy Gold" (@£3.75)



If you want the look but not the price tag of Nars "Orgasm" then you should give E.L.F.'s blush in "Giddy Gold" a try! (for £3.75 this comes pretty close!)

"Giddy Gold" close up
I love that the packaging also comes with a mirror in the lid making an additional mirror unnecessary!

Muted pumpkin colour with glold flecks


It's a muted pumpkin colour colour with very tiny gold flecks making this a really glowy blush, so I think there is no need for an additional highlighter.

A nice, versatile blush shade
(no primer or flash used)
The colour goes on evenly, is blendable and definitively buildable.

This blush does wear really well on me and hasn't faded during the day.




Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in "St. Lucia"(@£3.75)

Handbag-friendly packaging

As my skin is pretty pale I chose "St. Lucia" as this compact holds the lightest colour combination.

Good-sized mirror
Both the blush and the bronzer are easily applied, blend well and had great staying power on me.

Very wearable colours!
The Bronzer was great for contouring and was light enough to not look unnatural on my skin while still adding a touch of natural looking colour with a super subtle sheen to it.

Good pigmentation!
I thought that the dusky rose blush shade really complimented the bronzer giving a super pretty, flattering cheek look!

No primer or flash used!
Great for warming up pale skin!


Overall Verdict
I am really happy with my product choices! The colours I chose work really well with my light skin tone and I was happy with the application, staying power and colour pay off of every product.

Considering that I had also heard that E.L.F. products can be a bit "hit 'n miss", I can only say that my experience with this brand so far has been outstanding!

(I'm sure that there are products which work less well for individual people or which don't quite match up to expectations, but I guess that could be said about just about every brand).

Without a doubt I'll be back for more!

(I also wished I lived a bit closer to Cardiff and not at the other side of the country...)



What's your favourite E.L.F. product?

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See you soon!

Mountainbeauty2013






2 comments:

  1. These are so cheap and look absolutely amazing, just like NARS products. Can't wait to try!

    http://abigailalicex.blogspot.com

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  2. I'm really impressed with everything I got! I did some research beforehand though as a couple of products aren't as good as the rest! You are right - some of their packaging does look a lot like NARS.

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