This is all of the products I purchased after looking at hundreds of blog sites and swatches (not exaggerating hahaha, it developed into a bit of an obsession). The majority of it is from the studio line however a few things are from the mineral and essential line.
Brushes:
- Kabuki Brush- $6
- Angled Blush Brush- $3
- Mineral Powder Brush- $3
- Powder Brush- $3
- Stipple Brush-$3
L-R: kabuki brush, powder brush, stipple brush, mineral powder brush and angled blush brush.
I love these brushes, they are so soft and feel and look like they are of high quality even though most of them are only $3!!! I won't be reviewing every single one otherwise this post will be extremely long. The kabuki brush is the softest of them all and is even softer (although larger) than a $40 body shop one I had in the past. This is an example of why I love using cheaper cosmetics because sometimes more expensive doesnt necessarily mean better.
The left photo is the powder brush and as you can see in the photo it is quite dense so it can be used for many different things- even liquid foundation. The right photo is the mineral powder brush which broke when I was using it roughly while in a rush one morning (I bought it to use for setting the undereye area and highlighting because it is smaller than a usual powder brush and has a dome shape). However, other bloggers have said that this has happened to them and it is easy enough to glue back into place.
The first photo is the elf stipple brush next to my Artiste Manicare Proffessional stippling brush (17) that I bought from priceline and have been loving ever since. The elf brush is not as dense (right photo- sorry that they are not clean! :/ ) and is a little more flimsy, however, I have not used it yet to apply a full face of liquid foundation because I have recently been using my real techniques buffing brush for my foundation. I have tested it out with a small section of foundation on my cheek though and found it a little streaky and harder to blend. I will start using this though and I hope that it will apply better once I get used to it.
Face Products:
- High Definition Powder in 'Translucent'-$6
- All Over Cover Stick in 'Spotlight'-$2
- Mineral Booster in 'Sheer' (largest size 17.85g)-$8
- Real Techniques Complexion Sponge-$6
- High Definition Undereye Setting Powder-$3
- Personal Blend Foundation in 'Light' (4 shades are porcelain, fair, light and beige)-$8
- Mineral Face Primer in 'Clear'-$6
Here are all the face products I had purchased, although I haven't had the chance use everything a lot I have found that I love the majority of these products and will repurchase some of them in the future. On the other hand, I am not a fan of the bulky packaging of the HD powder, a supposed dupe for the famous Makeup Forever HD Powder. I am also still undecided as to whether I like the personal blend foundation as I have only ever owned one other mineral foundation and have never really been a fan of them much as I prefer more coverage. I can only use two of the colours and the reason I bought the personal blend was because they had no individual ones of the lightest shade which would be the only one that would suit my fair complexion. I did not buy many face products or any of the other foundations because it is difficult enough for me to get products to suit my casper pale skin and elf's colours generally run a little darker with more yellow tones. I love the cover stick in spotlight (right picture) because it is light enough for me to use as a highlighter, is creamy and easy to blend and has a lovely citrus smell that I enjoy although it may bother others.
- Studio Blush in 'Tickled Pink'-$3
- Studio Blush in 'Candid Coral'-$3
- Studio Blush in 'Gotta Glow' (highlighter)-$3
- Baked Blush in 'Peachy Cheeky'-$3
- Baked Blush in 'Rich Rose'-$3
- HD Cream Blush in 'Headliner'-$3
I bought two of the baked blushes (the only two shades available on iherb) Peachy Cheeky (bottom in the first photo and the right swatch in the second photo) and Rich Rose which is obviously the other one. Peachy Cheeky is a peachy pink with brown veining and a beautiful sheen that makes it also appropriate for highlighting. It's my favourite of the two because it suits my skin tone the best and I just love the colour! Rich Rose is a deep dusty rosey almost teracotta sort of colour with dark pink veining. (Gotta love my colour descriptions right? ;) hahaha) I love the colours though they are not very pigmented but they seem to get more pigmented as you use them. It's almost as if they have a seal or something and I found that wiping it a little bit with a dry paper towel helped remove this seal and improved the pigmentation. They are also a dome shape which may make them more difficult to store and travel with.
The left photo is the three studio blushes I purchased- Tickled Pink (top), Candid Coral (middle) and Gotta Glow (bottom). The studio blushes are supposed to be a dupe for the NARS blushes with the similiar proffessional packaging, however the elf blushes have a window so that you can see the colour without opening it. I do not have any NARS blushes to compare them and even though the highlighter (Gotta Glow) has quite a lot of powdery fallout, this doesnt really bother me. Candid Coral and Tickled Pink are fairly similiar and Candid Coral is my favourite of the two, though it has a few spotting marks from moisture. I had photos of the swatches photos, however, they were too difficult to see with the lighting and it didnt do the colours justice so I didn't bother putting them in here. The right photo is the HD blush in Headliner which is a light pale pink which is the lightest and most natural shade of the collection. Despite it being the lightest shade, it is still incredibly pigmented and can be difficult to blend because the texture is a little thicker and less creamy than I thought it was going to be. The pigmentation is crazy so be extra careful when applying and blend, blend, blend!! The HD blushes are a dupe for the much more expensive Makeup Forever HD blushes and can also be used as a stain on the lips.
- Baked Eyeshadow Palette in 'California'-$10
- Cream Eyeshadow in 'Natural Glow'-$3
- Essential Eyelid Primer-$2
- Cream Eyeliner in 'Black'-$3
- Liquid Eyeliner set (black, gold and silver)-$3
- Mineral Eye Liner in 'Black'-$3
- Mascara Primer-$3
- Lengthening and Defining Mascara-$2
- Ultimate Eyelash 3 piece set-$3
- Individual Eyelash Kit-$2
- Eyebrow Lifter and Filler in 'Light/Ivory'
The eye products were a little more mixed in my opinions about them. The eyeliners (liquid, cream and mineral) were by far the best eyeliners I have ever used and I will repurchase them without a doubt in different shades. They have amazing pigmentation and were easy to apply, the liquid eyeliner has a thin and flexible blush that makes it easy for me to get a thin line even though I don't have much experience with liquid eyeliner . I bought the liquid eyeliner in a 3 piece set with a glittery gold and silver one for only $3, making them $1 each!! The mineral eyeliner is a screw up pencil which is creamy, pigmented and does not drag on your waterline, making it quick and easy to apply. The eyelashes are nice and quite natural though the glue is horrible and I am going to be purcasing some duo lash adhesive to use instead. The individual lashes, however, are difficult to apply and look unnatural. On the other hand, I have never used individual lashes before so I think I may just need more practice and the better glue. I cannot comment much on the eyelid primer and the eyebrow pencil (right photo) at the moment because I am new to them and have nothing to compare them to. I bought the eyebrow pencil as the highly praised eyebrow kit was out of stock :( The colour is light enough for me when I'm careful and apply it with an extremely light hand, it stays on very well and I like the built in sharpener in the lid. I also like the idea of the lifter side although it is too dark for me to use.
Top to bottom: silver liquid eyeliner, gold liquid eyeliner, black cream eyeliner, fill side of the eyebrow pencil (light), lift side of the pencil (ivory) and the black mineral eyeliner.
Here is the baked eyeshadow palette in 'California' which is the natural palette full of earthy and golden tones. I love the colours though I am still trying to figure out the best ways to use this. The pigmentation is much like the baked blushes and even though I have wiped them with the dry paper towel, the colour still has be built up, used with an eyeshadow primer or used wet. Therefore, this makes it a little more time consuming and not the best to use when getting ready on a time constraint.
I am not a big fan of these two products. I knew afetr looking at all the reviews that Elf are not very succesful with their mascara's and I had wanted to try the best reviewed one which was the Mineral Infusing Mascara however this was out of stock. I instead bought the cheapest one just to try as I had never really been picky on mascara's before but this 'Lengthening and Defining Mascara' is horrible. It is difficult to see in the picture but it is incredible clumpy and just makes your eyelashes stick together in a clumpy mess, defining? lengthening? definitely not. The tube on the left is the mascara primer which is just a sort of white mascara designed to prime your eyelashes and make them more defined, thicker, longer and prevent smudging or flaking. I have only used this a few times but so far I just find it strange and it makes my eyelashes sort of stick together and look unnatural. I purchased this after watching a youtuber rave about it so maybe I just need to try it more, I dont know.
This is the cream eyeshadow 'Natural Glow' and this is another thing that I am undecided about because the texture is almost oily, it is patchy and unbuildable as well as creasing/fading really fast. In saying that, it is a beautiful colour that if applied carefully as a base can look really nice.
- Matte Lip Colour in 'Rich Red'
- Matte Lip Colour in 'Nearly Nude'
- Matte Lip Colour in 'Coral'
- Mineral Lipgloss in 'Au Naturale'
- Glossy Gloss in 'Sweet Salmon'
- Glossy Gloss in 'Ballet Slippers'
- Lip Lock Pencil in 'Clear'
- Luscious Liquid Lipstick in 'Baby Lips'
In the left photo (left to right) is a lip lock pencil, glossy gloss 'Sweet Salmon', glossy gloss 'Ballet Slippers', lip stain 'Heartbreaker', mineral lipgloss 'Au Naturale', Matte lip colours and the Luscious Liquid lipstick in 'Baby Lips'. These photos are a little off in terms of the colour and I could not focus the camera enough to be able to read the labels in the photos-good luck with that :p My favourite lip products are the lip lock pencil, the matte lip colours and the mineral lip gloss. I like the other products but they have some downfalls that mean I am a little undecided in my opinions of them. I love the liplock pencil it is a clear waxy crayon that primes and moisturises your lips, therefore, I do not need to purchase different coloured lipliners. Coral is my favourite shade of the matte lip colours, and Nearly Nude is a great natural darker nude for my complexion. Rich Red however is not the best shade for my skin as it is a little too bright so I do prefer to wipe it off a little so that it is more of a pink stain.
~ Enya Williams ~
