More Picks from Elf

A couple of weeks ago I received some Elf products in the mail to try out. In the stress of all things in-law over the last week, I haven't been near the internet or my make up stand, so these have had to wait before I got to play with them.

Regular readers of the blog will know that I have tried out some Elf products before, and some I loved, and some I hated, so I had no expectations when I played around with these products at all.

My first reaction to the package was that there is so much packaging! I didn't keep a picture, but the lipgloss came in a plastic outer pack, the lipstain in a box, the brush in a plastic wrap (that I'm fine with for sanitary reasons), and the eye shadow in a cardboard box. All of it together just seemed so unnecessary. I know that these days I really look at packaging and am conscious about how much trash I create, and given that Elf is majority mail-order company, this all seemed a little much.

I have tried the lipstain before in the color Fashionista($3), and really liked it. It's a gorgeous pinky nude, and was reasonably comfortable to wear, given it was a lipstain, which are in general a little bit drying. For this reason, I was very excited to try the Lipstain in Birthday Suit ($3). Unfortunately, this was disappointing. The color is a much more opaque, brighter pink, and really quite pretty, again in a spring way. According the Elf packaging, the lipstains can either be worn alone for a matte color, or with the attached clear moisterizing gloss. I had birthday suit on for 5 minutes before it started to dry my lips out, and was uncomfortable to wear. The reason why I liked Fashionista so much was that it could be worn without the gloss without being too drying. I don't know why Birthday suit was so different, but it was very drying on my lips. You can see it actually start to dry them out, and in the swatch you can see it's almost dry as well. This was a disappointment.

I also received a Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss ($1). This is Elf's answer to the infamous Lancome Juicy Tube, in that it comes in a tube with the slanted opening. The color is not exactly unique, but it is very, very pretty. It's a cool sheer pink with a slight shimmer. It was nice to wear, reasonably smooth, and non-drying, and not very sticky. The only thing I did not like about this product was the scent, which was sweet and reminded me of a childhood candy, which I could not quite remember which one. Some people might like it, but not me. I'm not sure I'd buy this again, as I'm not really a lipgloss girl, but at $1, this is definitely a good steal. Thumbs up.

The Defining Eye Brush ($1) was a surprise to me. I have tried one other brush from the standard Elf line, and hated it because the bristles kept falling out. This one is so much better. It has a slanted head, and is designed for defining your crease. I have a fluffed out one which I love using, but this is good at being precise and more specific, so I can see this being a really useful addition to my kit. Another thumbs up from me.

The final thing that Elf sent me was a Mineral Eye Shadow in Caffeinated ($3). I have tried one other mineral eye shadow from Elf, Natural, and love it so much it's received two posts on JLG, so naturally I had high hopes for Caffeinated. The name made me expect a dark espresso brown, whereas I think the color is closer to a dark antique gold. Again, it's not a super original color, so check your stash before purchasing, but it is pretty and very useful. It swatched deliciously rich and smooth. The only thing I can see not loving about this shadow is that the packaging - a jar with a shaker top - does not stop a lot of shadow getting into the top area, and with a color as rich and dark as this, you might not want a whole lot on your brush. But the color itself is gorgeous, and I can see working well on summer nights with some black liquid liner and a bronze lip. Gorgeous.

 

Gloss in Pink Kiss, Stain in Birthday Suit, Mineral Shadow in Caffeinated

What's your experience with Elf been? Good, bad, indifferent? I'd love to hear in the comments.

The products in this post were provided for review purposes. Products provided for review are not guaranteed coverage, nor are they guaranteed positive reviews. This post contains affiliate links, which in no way influence the review of a product on Jolie Laide Girl.