This is my review of the E.L.F products I have tried. Personally, I call it Elf, like the little people from the North Pole. But it actually stands for Eyes, Lips, Face. So far, I've tried out the eyes and the face part. Since they had a 50% off Studio sale, I figured what the heck, why not. This post is my review of the products I ordered.
-Powder brush ($3 w/out discount, $1.50 with discount)
-Pearl/Glow Shadow/Liner Stick ($3 w/out discount, $1.50 with discount)
-Kabuki Face Brush ($5 w/out discount, $2.50 with discount)
-All 3 "Beauty Encyclopedia - Eye Edition"s (Reg. $15 total, I bought them as a set for $10 total)
I honestly cannot imagine how ELF is able to make money, because their products are just so, so cheap! Many of their things are just a dollar. So either every other makeup brand overprices their products, or ELF is losing a lot of money, or ELF products are just awful quality - which doesn't seem to be the case. Or it could be some other explanation I really cannot fathom. So, today I'll be reviewing these products, which I've now had for around two weeks.
First off, the powder brush. I found it to be beautifully soft. I used it to apply illuminator on my cheeks for a couple days. It may become a daily part of my routine. It was easy to clean, and hasn't shed a hair yet. I love the softness of it, and it comes with a plastic protector sort of thing that I keep on it when I'm not using it to keep it from becoming misshapen or collecting dust.
Next, I have the shadow/liner stick. I found it to be easy to apply, but very shimmery. It was a very soft shadow stick, the same for the liner. I haven't really used this one much. It wasn't super pigmented, which is all right by me. I might use this sometime when I just want to quickly put a neutral-type shadow on without any fuss about blending or washing a brush.
Then we have the face brush. After reading rave reviews of this, I was expecting a soft brush that would feel like heaven on my face. Oh, how wrong those reviews were. The bristles were scratchy, even on my hand. About 5 seconds after I got it, the brush shed about 5 hairs. I tried it out on my face and winced a little bit. Even after washing it once, the bristles did not soften even a tiny bit. In my opinion, this brush was a complete waste of a dollar. I haven't used it to apply anything to my face, because anything that feels scratchy means it is not going anywhere near my face. Oh yes, and when I washed it, the water ran red. Continually. For about two straight minutes.
On to the kabuki. Great for applying pretty much any powder/pressed powder face product. It's marvelously soft, although the handle is a little too short in my opinion. If it were longer, it would be easier to grip the brush. It's pretty to look at as well as being very functional.
And lastly, we have the eyeshadow encyclopedias. I got 42 colors, I believe. You get 12 pressed powder shadows and 2 cream shadows. I used the Urban Decay Eyeshadow primer, and the powder shadows stuck like glue during the day. It was exceptionally hot when I wore them, and they stayed on despite my sweaty face. At the end of the day, they were just as vivid. My eyelids did not turn oily or anything. And believe me, this is not simply due to the primer. When I used the primer with Clinique eyeshadow, my lids were on the oily side by the end of the day, and the shadow was completely gone except for a sliver lingering in my crease. With the ELF eyeshadow, none of that occurred. The colors were completely gorgeous, although they all do have a bit of shimmer in them. Some of the ones in the sparkle palette have super-shimmer, like the black. However, the shimmer isn't super flashy and in my opinion, doesn't look tacky at all (although I haven't used the sparkle palette during the day yet). However, the colors have a lot of variation. My only complaints are that they are not made of a metal that sticks to magnetic eyeshadow palette holders, unfortunately. The brush also picks up a lot of powder when you just touch it to the color - it's not super tightly packed. Also, the palette size is not very portable. However, these are minor complaints. Overall, I loved the palettes. So many colors, and for so cheap!
Overall, my buying experience at ELF left me happy at the end of the day. My favorite product out of the lot was the "Eye Encyclopedias", which, in my opinion, are a total steal, especially for that price. Twelve eyeshadows for five dollars?! Count me in. My happiness with my products was only ruined by the "Total Face Brush", which I didn't like at all. However, the rest of my products seemed to be of at least good quality, if not great. I will definitely be buying more ELF products in the future. Will post later!
