New Stuff for Cool Girls: e.l.f. haul

e.l.f. (eyes, lips, face) is a company sold at target and a couple other similar stores. Their prices are just about the cheapest you can get when it comes to makeup. Usually when we think of things being very cheap we also assume they're low quality or bad products. In the case of e.l.f. this is completely untrue. I did a little research on the company and here's what I found:

"e.l.f.'s philosophy is that beauty comes from within and it's our goal to enable every woman to look and feel her personal best through the perfect blend of both the inner and outer person. With that goal in mind, e.l.f. cosmetics was born - a line of simple, luxurious, problem-solution tools... We at e.l.f. believe that innovative technology, quality ingredients, and supurb delivery systems should not be limited to prestige retailers. Every woman should have the opportunity to participate in innovation, without sacrificing her budet."


I really liked this philosophy and it's very similar to mine; beauty comes from not only the outside but from an inner confidence and way of carrying one's self. I really do love this company and the products they produce. Upon reading a little about what others thought of the company I've learned that people do like some of their products but it's either a hit or miss with them, keep in mind this is with most cosmetic companies even high end. I'm going to be doing a day one review of the products I received from them. The items I received are:

• Mineral Infused Facial Primer 
• Luscious Liquid Lipstick [Strawberry]
• Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder Duo
• Brightening Eyeshadow Quad [Drama]

This wasn't the full of my order, I had actually ordered a second Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips, but it was out of stock. I also ordered the Studio Blusher in Peachy Keen which I was quite looking forward too, there was a bit of a billing discrepancy so that definitely brings down my feelings for the company. But I won't speak too soon, I might change my opinions on the company (only ordering from the web, this is not reflective of in-store products) depending on how the problem is resolved. I received this order a few weeks ago but I wanted a good amount of time for me to figure out how I felt about each product. Typically, I LOVE everything I get the first couple days I have it, but after the exciting part of having a new product wears off the true feelings come out. That is what I tried achieving with this order, and it seemed to work well!

Here's what I thought
Mineral Infused Facial Primer I have to admit this was the first primer I've ever owned. That being said, I was hoping I fall in love with it because everyone always speaks so highly of primers and how much they love them. Unfortunately, this product didn't sit well with me. It make tiny dry spots I frequently have look much more large and noticeable. Also, the staying power of my makeup wasn't really any different that when I didn't use a primer. So all in all this just came off as another step in the morning that I just don't have time for. If I'm going to try another primer, I think I'll go for a more hydrating primer formula. UPDATE: Change of plans! I just found using this under my M.A.C. Face & Body Foundation makes it last so much longer and creates a really nice base for the makeup to stick to. I totally changed my mind and use this everyday now. (;

Luscious Liquid Lipstick [Strawberry] What I love most about this is the moisturizing formula. Although, I wouldn't call it a lipstick, it's more of a pigmented lipgloss. So, aside from thinking it would be a little more opaque, I really fell in love with this. To make it last a little longer and be more opaque I put a base underneath it MAC Lipstick [Myth]. I love the color turnout (especially with a base). It's a great pop of color for summer and great to take with you on hot days when you're afraid your lipsticks might melt in your bag.

Contouring Blush & Bronzer Duo It's like this duo was made for me! The blush gives me a perfect pink peachy flush and the bronzer is just lovely. The only thing I will say that could be considered a con about this product is that the bronzer isn't my type of contour, I like my contour to be matte, which this is not. Both the blush and bronzer have flex of sparkle and some shimmer in them. But as a bronzer for days when I'm not in the mood for blush, it's an amazing color! It seems that this duo has potential to work well for a large array of skin tones, as long as you apply it the right way (if you have lighter skin, just be sure to apply with a light hand). This is a really great product that I definitely recommend. The price is amazing too!

L/R: blush, bronzed applied over primer, blush and bronzer applied without primer

Brightening Eye Shadow Quad [Drama] This quad contains the ingredients for a perfect, budget friendly smokey eye. If you're always playing guessing games when figuring out what to use for a smokey eye, this quad was made for you. It comes with four triangle shaped pots; a matte white, a shimmery silver, a darker gray with large sparkles, and a black with large sparkles. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photo of my swatches for this one and I don't really use these colors (I'm not a smokey eye kinda gal) so I don't have any photos of a look using this quad. The pigmentation is okay, for the price I didn't expect anything much better. But I do love the white, it's a great inner corner highlight. I also loved mixing the silver with the gray as an all over lid color. I apply this really lightly and it gives a really pretty turnout.

All in all I was happy with this order. I did end up receiving my missing products which I'll review in the future for you. I really enjoy e.l.f. products because they offer great items for amazing prices. They're a great brand if you're just starting to play in makeup and figure out what you like and what you don't. Remember to check makeupalley.com for reviews, they have just about every e.l.f. product reviewed on there with helpful insights and thoughts. Before I buy anything I always check it on MUA (however, don't not buy something you really think you'll love just because it got bad reviews, you never know, you might love something that's not too popular with others!)

What are some of your favorite e.l.f. or budget friendly brands?

- Mj