Wednesday 25 November 2009

Eyes.Lips.Face.

Hello my lovelies!

So as I mentioned in my very excited post from this morning, my ELF Cosmetics package arrived today! I had been so excited about getting my ELF products because I've heard such good things about them - mainly that you get really good products at ridiculously low prices.

First, a little bit about ELF Cosmetics. ELF stands for Eyes Lips Face and it is a cosmetics line that aims to provide quality makeup for the average consumer who isn't looking to shell out the big bucks. And thats exactly what they do. Unlike other brands at the lower end of the price spectrum, they have a SPECTACULAR range of products. They also have a line called the ELF Studio line which consists of products for professional use - but I think these are so lovely and so affordable that everyone can use them.

Ive been playing with these all day and now you get to share the joy - pictures, swatches, reviews... the full deal!

So this is what the stuff looked like in the box... Yay! :)


And this is the complete haul all laid out nicely on my desk....




I love the packaging. Specially the shiny embossed image on it featuring the product inside.



Right, lets get to the individual product breakdown! This first item here is the ELF Cosmetics Warm Bronzer (from the Studio line, £3.50). As you can see the palette is divided into four colours - a light nude beige, a pinky nude colour, a gold-brown and a true bronze (btw, that line is a shadow on the upper half of the palette, sorry about that!)


This bronzer is so, so lovely... its so soft and finely milled and it goes on really sheer but in a GOOD way. It gives my skin the perfect natural-tan effect. Yum. Obviously, you can apply each colour seperately but I like to use a big fluffy brush and swirl it around in all the colours to get a little bit of each :)


Here's a closer at the Warm Bronzer... Can you see that lovely shimmer? Its absolutely gorgeous!


And here are some swatches...



This next product is just SO EXCITING! This is the ELF Eye Transformer (from the Studio line, £3.50) and it is basically a palette consisting of four shades of opalescent eyeshadows - green, gold, pink and lilac. These can be worn under, over or blended in with any darker eyeshadow and the result is a beautiful, completely unique new color! I tried layering the lilac over Carbon from MAC (a matte black) and the end results were so pretty! I am in LOVE with the concept of this product. Big big thumbs up.



Here, you can really see the colours of the transformers (?!)...

And here are some swatches! You cant really make out the colours here...


Next up: the ELF Corrective Concealer palette (from the Studio line, £3.50). This little beauty gives you four corrector colours in one palette at a FRACTION of the price other high end brands do.

I'd been so reluctant to invest in a corrector concealer palette because they're usually so expensive but I knew I had to have this as soon as I saw it! These concealers are really creamy and easy to apply, they go on slightly sheer so I did have to build it up but they definitely do the job!



Here are some swatches... a nude, a beige, a green and a pink! Anyone fancy a post on colour correcting and colour theory soon? Leave a comment down below if you do!



This here is the ELF Complexion Perfection palette (from the Studio line, £3.50) and its meant to balance your complexion out, create a radiant effect on the skin and absorb excess oils.

I was pretty sceptical about this product because, to be honest, I wasnt expecting much at £3.50 but it works. It really does even out the skin tone but I felt like it overdried my skin to a certain extent. As in, I could see a slightly powdery finish on my face which I then had to sort out by spritzing on MAC Fix+. That might be because (thanks to winter) my skin is a little drier than usual nowadays. Sigh.


I havent swatched the Complexion Perfection because there would be no point - its meant to go on colourless and hence it doesnt show up in a swatch, or atleast it barely does!

This pencil is the Lip Definer and Shaper (from the Studio line, £3.50) and before anything else, I love that it comes with a sharpener built into the lid - how handy! This pencil is dual ended - one side (dark brown) is meant to be used a lipliner to define your lips and the other side (shimmery champagne) is meant to be used in the cupids bow and just outside your lips EVER SO LIGHTLY to shape them, creating a fuller effect.

Perhaps I should do a tutorial on that... yes, no, maybe?





The Define side...



and the Shape side...



This is the most expensive item on my list - and it cost £5! This is the ELF Small Makeup Brush Holder... I love the sleek matte black finish. So chic and yet so functional.

The brushes in there are mine... they didn't come with the Holder (haha, I wish!).


I also bought the ELF Daily Brush Cleaner - it comes in a HUGE bottle (250ml!) and it only costs £3.50!!!
I have a mixed opinion about this product... I really like the fact that it works brilliantly for spot cleaning (cleaning brushes quickly; it takes about a minute for brushes to dry using it) but Im finding it difficult to get used to the fragrance. Its a really, really sweet overpowering smell and I'd much rather that it was fragrance-free (ELF Cosmetics... if you're listening please make this a fragrance-free product!).



This is the ELF Dual Pencil Sharpener (£1.50) - its the big one on the right that you can use with regular pencils and thicker pencils as well. And the one on the left is free! :) Works perfectly!



ELF Shine Eraser is a pack of 50 blotting sheets (£1.50) absorbs excess oils on the skin, mattifies the skin and minimises the appearances of pores. Ive only used it once so I cant comment on the minimising pores bit, but it definitely cuts down the shine!




Wow. This has been a long post.


All in all, I'm really impressed with ELF Cosmetics. The shipping was SUPER fast (got my stuff in 2 days!) and everything got here in perfect condition. And for the price I paid I am really, really happy with their products :)


Head over to www.elfcosmetics.co.uk to check it out for yourself :)


x

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i loved to see all the products specially the brushes....and yeah i wud like to see a lip definer n shaper tutorial....and now im off to check out the whole range of ELF cosmetics....love ya=)

Sana Ansari said...

Im so glad you liked it Dania! Ill see if I can do something about the Lip Definer and Shaper tutorial soon ;)