So as you all know, from a
previous post I made an order with Elf after hearing so many positives about the company. Elf pride themselves on offering great quality makeup at an affordable price, meaning every woman has the opportunity to look as beautiful and as glamorous as she so pleases :)
I’ve been using the products since I last posted about my haul and I thought it was high time I let my readers in on my thoughts about the individual items. I’ll firstly start out saying that I have a combination skin type, with my T-Zone being a little oily but the rest of my face being normal/dry.
The All Over Cover Stick - Lilac Petal & The All Over Cover Stick – Spotlight
I bought both of these products on the basis that I quite like crème based products for my cheeks i.e. crème blushes and also for highlighting. Both of the products come in a small cylinder shaped tube which you pop the top off and then twist up until there is enough product on show to adequately apply to your face – they also both have a gorgeous scent to them, which Elf call ‘Sugar Orange’, I’m not normally a fan of overly scented products but it’s such a subtle sweet summery smell and it instantly put a smile on your face when you smell it, which has to be good!
The Lilac Petal is almost a crème blush but in a stick format – I’ve been using this on the apples of my cheeks to give a nice fresh rosy appearance. Because it has some shimmer in it you end up with a really dewy, glowing finish – Super pretty for summer! I have been applying straight from the stick by dabbing it over my cheeks and then blending it with my ring finger – There has been absolutely no caking of the product whatsoever and like I say I’m really pleased with the dewy, fresh look that it leaves me with.
I’ve also been similarly impressed with the Spotlight highlighter, which I’ve been using along my cheek bones, slightly up onto my temples, a fraction on my nose, forehead and chin and then also as a brow bone highlighter. Again, I’ve been applying this direct to my skin from the tube and then blending, with the exception of on my brow bone of course! This highlighter leaves you again with a gorgeous glowy look, which is absolutely perfect for summer. I’ve even worn this on my skin without any foundation just to give it a bit of radiance, when I didn’t necessarily want a whole face of makeup.
The All Over Cover Stick - Apricot Beige
This cover stick is more a concealer than anything; I’ve been using it in conjunction with a concealer brush to cover up any blemishes I may have had. Again, like the other two cover sticks, I have found no problem with cakey appearance once it has been blended in correctly. It is a lovely creamy consistency, which offers great coverage. It blended really well into my skin and Studio Fix Fluid – I had worries that it would not match well and look a total different colour, but my worries went out the window after actually trying it out :)
*All of the Cover Sticks are such a perfect size to slip into your everyday makeup bag for touch-ups etc – I would definitely repurchase all 3*
Corrective Concealer
I have to say, in all honesty, this was the product I was most looking forward to receiving. I love the idea of using different toned concealers to hide or mask irregularities in skin tone, or surface blemishes. I thought, after using the L’Oreal Studio Secrets corrective primers that I would be won over and love this product. However, unfortunately this was not the case... The product which as you can see, comes with two different concealer tones and then the green (anti-redness) and the pink (anti-dullness/sallow skin) , just didn’t do it for me. I felt that even using my own concealer brush, (the one they provide you with is tiny and of no use at all – Not that I was expecting any other) I could not get enough product (green/pink) onto the brush. It kept coming off in really thin, fine layers, was fairly dry and had lost all colour, so by the time you had applied it to your face it left you with no colour pay off which consequently meant that the blemish or area you wished to ‘correct’ looked exactly the same.
The swatches are about 4/5 layers of each colour - Just wouldn't show up otherwise!
The actual concealers for my skin tone, were just too dark – but you don’t get the option of choosing different toned concealers?? .. Never mind, this is possibly an area where Elf could expand on, firstly improve the formula so that it is more of a creamy consistency – making it easier to apply and then secondly making different toned concealers available.
Mineral Powder Foundation – Light
I’m the type of girl who, like most want a flawless medium-full coverage foundation – I find that either of my holy grail foundations are just perfect for me and always give me the result I want, I normally use either MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid in NC15&20 (mixed) or Dior Skin Sculpt. However, I’d never tried a mineral powder foundation and thought it was about time I did. The foundation comes in a medium sized round pot, once opened you can dispense as much or as little product as you desire into the lid and then use a brush, such as a kabuki brush or even Elf’s own flat topped Powder brush - I tried the product with both and actually preferred to use the flat topped one from Elf. I started at the top of my face and worked my way down, working the powder into my eye sockets and around my nose, then finishing off with my chin and blended down into my neck. I didn’t have to use very much product and in the end you’re left with a very natural finish. This for me would be the perfect foundation to use if I was just chilling out at home, having a small trip to the supermarket or on a hangover day where I just want to blend out my blotchy alcohol infused skin and make it look a little more presentable! – After using this mineral foundation, I think it reaffirms in my mind that my usual everyday products are exactly what I should be using for the look I’m after. This said, I think it could be perfect for those who have more of an oily skin tone, as its not adding any more moisture onto the skin and the powdery finish will mean that the oiliness of their skin may be masked to some degree.
Finally [Well done if you've lasted this long!]... The Elf Powder Brush & Kabuki Brush
It has to be said, I think these are my two favourite items which I purchased! Firstly, the powder brush which is made from synthetic hair can be used for both wet and dry products. As I just mentioned previously, I used this to apply the mineral foundation, with a great result, it really does apply well and evenly across the face. It picks up the powder well and doesn’t just ‘dump’ a huge amount onto which ever part of your face you start on. However, my favourite way to use this brush has to be with my usual everyday liquid foundations, most used at the minute has been my MAC SFF. I apply a thin base layer with my foundation brush and then with the remainder of the product on my hand, I dab in the powder brush and then use it to swirl in the foundation and almost stipple it into my skin. This gives the most amazing finish and I can’t get enough of it! It’s truly fabulous and for a mere £3.50 it has become one of my favourite brushes, and is of course used daily!
The kabuki brush, a little more expensive; actually I can’t really say expensive at £5.00! Again, this brush is the anti-bacterial synthetic Taklon hairs. It’s fab at picking up any powder, I use it with blush, bronzer and also highlighter. I cannot emphasise how soft this brush is, it’s truly amazing! Another new favourite brush and it has easily worked its way into my daily routine.
Both brushes have been washed and have had very minimal shedding, literally just one or two strands from each brush. I can’t recommend these brushes highly enough for their quality, price and the finish they deliver! – I will definitely be purchasing more brushes from the Elf Studio Range :)
Ooopsie! Just realised how long I’ve let this post get – I just wanted to give you a full and comprehensive review :) ..
Hope this has helped if you’re thinking of ordering anything from Elf, on the other hand it would be great to hear from you all as to what you’ve already bought and what products are your favourites?
I’m thinking of starting OOTD posts, but unsure – Let me know if you’d like to see them?!
Muchos loveee
Laura Xx
