Thursday 30 June 2011

E.L.F. Haul from 50% off sale

Having gone back to a bit of guest blogging, I have yet again ignored my own. I've got tons of reviews to write up- which means a load of products are sitting around cluttering the house. Just because I haven't been writing, it doesn't mean I haven't been buying and my most recent haul was another huge purchase from ELF. So what did I get and what are my first impressions?

Studio Makeup Mist & Set and Cool Bronzer
I bought these on my last haul and decided to get cheap backups as I loved them so much.

Coffee Eyeliner (from the mineral range), Plum Passion Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil, Purple Cream Eyeliner
Coffee is a dark neutral brown. It doesn't lean towards warm, which I like a lot as warm brown liners make me look like I'm lacking sleep. It's quite soft, so I suspect I'll have to set it with powder on my lower lashes. It doesn't seem to like my waterline though, so I'd avoid it if you want to tightline.
I'm a bit disappointed with Plum Passion. The colour is beautiful, but the shimmer is minimal when I compare it to the gorgeous Grassy pencil I bought previously. I also found the colour faded significantly on my lower lashline.
I'm undecided on Purple Cream Eyeliner. It lasts wonderfully but I was hoping more for a purple shade rather than a darkened plum. It doesn't work on my waterline and seems to be far less pigmented than the amazing black and metallic olive that I bought last time.

Coffee Bean Studio single eyeshadow, Burnt Brown Studio Matte Eyeshadow
I promised myself I wouldn't get anymore ELF shadows after my disappointment last time. I'm so very glad that I decided to give them one last go. Coffee Bean is a beautiful golden dark brown with subtle golden shimmer. It's pigmented, seems to last well with primer and it is such a versatile shade. As for Burnt Brown- I suspect this is going to become a holy grail item for me. It's a midtoned cool brown, something I love to use just above my crease to disguise my hooded lids. The pigmentation isn't amazing but I prefer a sheerer shade in that area. It's so blendable. LOVE! I've seen some blog hatred to the matte shadows but this one is perfect for me and I'm planning to get more.

Studio Contour Brush, Studio Complexion Brush, Studio Angled Foundation Brush
As with all the ELF brushes I bought before, soft, don't shed, don't smell strangely and just the right size for what I'm planning to use them for. Obviously they need more use before I can decide how much I love them but early indications are good.

Nicely Nude Mineral Lipstick , Cool Coral Mineral Lipstick, Heartbreaker Studio Lipstain, Goddess Super Glossy Lipshine
First, let me say that ELF need to seriously rethink their names. Nicely Nude and Cool Coral are nothing like their names imply. Both are lovely shades though. Cool Coral is a warm, fiery shade, leaning far more towards orangey red than the orangey pink I expected something called Cool Coral to be and looks much darker than the swatch on the ELF website. Nicely Nude is far more pink than nude. It's a gorgeous YLBB on my lips though. Sadly, my tube arrived damaged so I'll be getting in touch with ELF to see if I can get a replacement.
I seem to be one of the few people that loves the Studio lipstains (even though they aren't stains!). Heartbreaker is a gorgeous sheer pink, another YLBB shade. I find the gloss on this shade to work much better than the gloss on Bombshell. It is quite longlasting, which is perfect for me. I can see me rebuying this again and again.
Goddess had a lot to live up to as I adore the Watermelon Super Glossy Lipshine. Its quite sheer, again a YLBB shade, and I think it is amazing. My lips feel soft, it lasts quite some time on my lips and it gives them a beautiful sheen.

Studio Blushes in Tickled Pink, Blushing Rose, Pink Passion
These shades are very similar to the swatches on the ELF website. I'm least keen on Tickled Pink. It is more chalky and less pigmented than the others. It's a very muted peachy pink to me. I can see me using it when I'm doing heavy dark eyes perhaps but I can't see it being my go-to blush. Blushing Rose is my favourite. It's a dark rose pink shot with very small amounts of golden shimmer. It's wonderfully pigmented and I can see using it a lot in the winter. Pink Passion is matte and very pink indeed. It reminds me a lot of Sleek's Pixie Pink blush but less pigmented. If you are very heavy handed, I'd suggest you go for this instead of Sleek.

Studio HD Powder
Hmmm, well I've yet to use it properly but I'm fairly unimpressed so far. You get very little in a hefty jar. It would be great if they did refill bags so you don't have to buy the container everytime. My favourite powder for the past year has been Sleek's HD. I'll use this up but it will have to be special to beat Sleek.

So there we go, my gigantic haul from ELF which cost me £30.50 after the 50% discount. The service was amazing and delivery was swift. In the main, I am happy with my products. I'm just looking forward to a play with them now! Please forgive the lack of pictures but this haul was so big, I figured readers would lose the will to live if I made it longer. All the packaging images are on the ELF website (www.eyeslipsface.co.uk)and as I'll add pictures when I review individually.

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