HUGE E.L.F. Makeup Review

Hey, y'all! So, over the summer, as I got into testing different brands of makeup, I discovered E.L.F. makeup. I'm actually shocked that I hadn't found out about it before, because it's SUPER cheap (Most products are 1-3 dollars!) and quality-wise, I find it to be better than a lot of the other brands in the drug store, even though it's the least expensive. So, since then, I've been gradually accumulating more and have decided it's about time to do a review of them, so let's get started!

Eyes:

Disclaimer about ALL eye shadows: For each eye shadow, I swatched it once with the ELF Professional eye shadow brush (which will be the top line), the ELF C shadow brush (the middle line), and then just with my finger to show the true pigment. 

3-in-1 Mascara:

This Mascara claims to do 3 things: Lengthen, Define, and Volumize. I disagree. Usually, I'm not a huge stickler about my mascara. It's not super important to me as long as it's not completely clumpy. However, this mascara made it look like I had about 5 eyelashes. It wasn't clumpy, but it certainly did not define my eyelashes at all. I like the overall design of the brush because it makes it easier to get the baby lashes, but I just did not like the way the mascara looked. I think if the bristles on the brush were longer, it would've worked out better.

Baked Eye Shadow (Dusk): 

I'm a sucker for grey/silver eyeshadow, and I like the color of this one. It works as well as my silver Mary Kay eye shadow for half the price. If the other colors of this line work as well as this one, I'd definitely recommend them. You can't go wrong for $3! As you can see, the C eye shadow brush from the $3 studio line got the pigment the best. However, the professional eye shadow brush spread it out a bit more and made it a bit lighter which is a bit better for a more everyday look.

Black Liquid Eyeliner:

I'm admittedly not the best at applying liquid liner, but I really like this liquid liner. It's a really nice black, and you don't have to do multiple coats. I have yet to perfect the application, but I really like the brush because it's very flexible and easy to work with, and I really like it.

Brown Eyeliner Pen: 

That nice brown line looks really great, right? Unfortunately, that lasts for approximately one more line. It's a felt tip, and it doesn't work well for long. The tip didn't stay very pointy, and the eyeliner doesn't go on well after the first line or two. It's legitimately like a pen running out of ink within two swipes. It's a good pigment and consistency, but it just doesn't apply well.

Precision Liquid Eyeliner- Black:

I don't think precision was the right word for this. It's very very liquidy and the brush, though small, is large enough that it spread the eyeliner too thick. When I tried to apply it, it stayed very wet for too long. The cheaper black eyeliner worked much better! 

Pink Ice Eye Shadow: 

I really like how natural this looks on my super pale skin. Unfortunately, when I swatched it, it didn't show up well enough in picture. But I like that it's natural and sparkly!

Peach Fizz Eye Shadow:

Once again, it really works when going for a natural look. When swatched, it looks a bit more orangey than I like, but it's a nice sparkly light brown. I feel like the $1 Professional Eye Shadow Brush did a better job with this one than with some other eye shadows. It got the true pigment well, but I still think the C brush performed a bit better.

Driftwood Eye Shadow:

Can you tell I usually go for more natural eye shadows?  I enjoy natural colors with sparkle and this one is really great. I also was more impressed with the C brush (again). I think the eye shadow came off a bit chunky with the $1 brush, whereas the C brush was very smooth.

Moondust Eye Shadow:

Not sure why this one isn't as good as the other 3, but I don't really like this one as much. It's just a touch too dark, in my opinion, and I didn't like it as much as the driftwood color. Once again, I feel like the $1 brush applied the eye shadow a bit chunky. I really like how smooth the C brush applied the eye shadow, but it's still not my favorite.

Here's my full compact, which is only $1! I like that it comes with a mirror and it's really convenient that it's magnetic, so the eye shadows won't fall out. I haven't tried the sponges, because I really don't like applying makeup with a sponge. One complaint I do have about ALL of these eye shadows in the compact is that they come apart very quickly, so there's a lot of broken up eye shadow laying around on it. If you look at the driftwood one (bottom left) you can see what I'm talking about a bit. 

Eyelid Primer:

I've seen a lot of ELF reviews, and people are kinda mixed about this product, but I personally really like it. I've never used an eyelid primer before, but I feel like it's good quality and it's just a dollar. I have a reddish birthmark over my right eye, so I use this every day to get a natural skin tone on my eye, even when I don't put on eye shadow. I really enjoy this!

Eyeliner & Shadow Stick- Brown, Black: 

This is possibly the best product I've tried from Elf. I absolutely love both of the colors that I've tried. The brown eyeliner is one of the better brown eyeliners I've tried. A lot of the time, I find that I have to use a lot of  pressure to apply brown eyeliner, but this glided right on. And the eye shadow that comes with it is a really great natural and sparkly eye shadow. In my opinion, the black one is even better. I really love silver eye shadows, so I really like the one that comes with the black liner. The black eyeliner applies really easily and is just as good as my $10 Mary Kay eyeliner, and I've never found any eyeliner that comes close to my Mary Kay black liner. It's also a retractable liner, which is my favorite to use because you don't have to sharpen it and it's easy to apply. I've seen people complain that it smudges or loses color throughout the day, but I've found that it stays put well. My SINGLE complaint is that both of the liners have broken off on the inside. But that doesn't bother me so much because I can still apply it just as well. I'm really surprised that I've never seen anyone review this on an Elf haul or review, because I think it's really great!

 Jumbo Eye Shadow Stick: 

As you can see in the picture, these are very pigmented. Each swatch was just one swipe. Generally, I don't like eye shadow to be THIS pigmented, but I've found that it's fairly easy to smudge it out and make it a bit thinner. The lightest color, Little Miss Thing, is really great for a subtle eye shadow. The brown, Turkish Coffee, is great because it's a good brown, with just the slightest sparkle. My personal favorite is the metallic, Rock Out!, because I really like having metallic eye shadow. The black stick, Midnight Rendezvous, is my least favorite. It can be thinned out and made a bit more grey, but it's very hard, and it's very very black. As much as I like these colors, I don't use them much because the stick form is very hard to apply correctly and evenly because it's not a powder. So, if you want something really pigmented and are willing to put in the time and energy to apply it correctly, I'd say to go for it!

 Loose Eye Shadow- Rock Candy:

This is one of the biggest disappointments I've had from elf. The stick part with the sponge on the end is actually a spring, and the sponge is squished into the eye shadow while screwed closed. It's called loose shadow, but the sponge makes it as if it's a pressed powder. It's so hard to get more product on the sponge because you really can't control that far into the cap. And once you get it onto the sponge, it doesn't apply well because when you apply pressure on the sponge, it pushes the spring in rather than getting the shadow onto the skin. I think the eye shadow has a good color, but I can't tell for sure because it's utterly unusable.

Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Mascara:

I use the brow side on a daily basis, and I never use the lash side. As you can see, the lash side is still nice and clear, but the brow side got a bit murky looking. I wasn't sure whether this was normal or not, so I went ahead and purchased a second one and have been using that. I really like how it keeps my eyebrow hairs exactly where they need to be all day. And it's only $1, which is just absolutely great!

Eyebrow Lifter & Filler- Dark/Ivory:

I don't really use the ivory lifter side, but I like the filler side. I have fairly patchy eyebrows, and I like that even the dark comes with the ivory color, because I have dark brows and very pale skin.

Lips:

Hypershine Lip Gloss- Fairy:

I really like the color of this gloss. It's a soft pink that I think is really wearable on an everyday basis. I also really like the brush. However, I really don't like the packaging. I much prefer lip glosses that have a wand. The twisty ones always come out very uneven and too much always comes out. I'm also not a fan of the thickness and stickiness of this gloss. It's very thick and very sticky, so I really don't use it much because I just really don't enjoy the texture.

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick- Nude:

I like the color of this gloss, and I think that it's more matte like a lipstick. It's not too thick. It looks great from far away. It looks too thin when you get really close, but from a normal distance, I think it looks great.

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick- Summer Nights:

This color is a natural pinky color with some sparkle, which I like. The texture is just as good as the nude color, but I personally like the nude color a  bit better.

As you can see, the Summer Nights color is a bit more pink and sparkly, and they're both very natural, smooth, and I like that they aren't extremely pigmented since they're more natural.

Lip Balm- Pink:

I really love this lip balm. It's a really nice light pink, and it doesn't fade super quickly. For me, it's one of the better elf lip products.

 Lip Balm- Nude:

The texture of this lip balm is just as good as the pink one, but this color is NOT nude. If anything, it's an orangey color. And I don't know about y'all, but I don't really want orangey lips.

Lip Exfoliator:

The lip exfoliator is supposed to be really good for your lips to repair them. I liked this for the first two uses. It has a nice vanilla flavor and is really smooth. After it got worn down a bit, it got to just the little exfoliating beads, with none of the soft lip stuff around it, so it just felt rough and I did not enjoy using it.  So it's nice, but not for long.

Lip Stain- Nude Nectar:
This might be natural for someone a bit darker than me, but I think it's too reddish for it to be a natural shade. But, as far as a stain, it definitely worked well. I really like how it dried and stayed well.

Luscious Liquid Lipstick- Baby Lips:

I feel like this is definitely more of a lip gloss than lipstick. And compared to the gloss mentioned all the way at the top, this is definitely much better. It's a bit thinner of a formula and isn't anywhere near as sticky, which is great! I don't like the color as much as the lip gloss, and I don't like the applicator as much as the brush. Once again, I don't like the twist design, but the product inside of it is a pretty good quality.

Luscious Liquid Lipstick- Pink Lemonade:

The formula is just as good as the other one, but I don't like the color quite as much, because I don't usually go for a bolder lip look.

Matte Lip Color- Nude:

I really like nude lip colors and was really hoping this matte lip color would be good. Unfortunately, this was just really thick and didn't look good at all. It was just really cakey and unpleasant.

Matte Lip Color- Rich Red:

I got this one after the nude one because I wanted to see if the other matte lip colors were as thick and cakey, and surprisingly, this one wasn't! This one had a great color and had a good texture.

Super Glossy Lip Shine- Angel:

As stated earlier, I like natural lips, so I definitely had to try their clear lip gloss. I was not impressed. Like their other lip gloss, this was too thick and too sticky. Surprisingly, it was even worse than the Hypershine Lip Gloss.

Super Glossy Lip Shine- Pink Kiss:

I bought this one to see if the color of the lip gloss changed the quality of the product, since I know that has happened with other products. Unfortunately, however, this had the same stickiness and thickness as the angel color.

  Face:

Clarifying Pressed Powder- Ivory:

I got it in the lightest shade, and it was definitely more yellowy on my skin than in the container. I also didn't feel like it did really anything to my skin. It was like I'd never even put it on. Also, there's a little puff that comes with it, and it was basically worthless.

All Over Color Stick- Persimmon/ Pink Lemonade:

This has a very strong scent. It's kinda sweet. I don't dislike the scent, but I'm not a big fan of makeup having scents. This is supposed to be used all over the face (eyes, lips, cheeks, etc.) but I'm not a fan. I think there are reasons why we have separate products for those areas. This has the consistency of a lip balm, and I know that for me, it would feel weird to have lip balm on my cheeks. It just feels too thick and wet. I like the color of both of them but I feel like the only way they can really be used is as a lip product.

Contouring Blush and Bronzer:

And now we come to the product that EVERYONE is raving about. If I were really into cheek color and contouring, I feel like I would be raving about it too. However, I'm much more into foundations and eye products. I like the blush. I think it's a really nice color, especially since I have paler skin. However, the bronzer is definitely too dark for me. Also, it's a bit sparkly, and I'm not sure bronzer is really supposed to be sparkly. If you're into cheeks, I'd definitely check this out!

Cover Everything Concealer- Ivory:

Just like the pressed powder, this is too yellowy. This is another of my elf let-downs. Besides the color, the consistency is not great. It feels very thick, but it doesn't conceal very well. It's also a bit hard to get the product out unless you really scrape at it with the brush.

 Shimmering Facial Whip- Lilac Petal:

My complaints about this are the same as the all-over face sticks. It has the same scent and has the texture of lip gloss. Basically, this seems to just be a more liquidy version of the all-over face stick.

HD Powder:

This is a product that people seem to be very divided on. People either love it or they hate it. I thought it seemed interesting, so I got it. Unfortunately, I just wasn't a fan. First off, everyone agrees that it's really messy. And honestly, that's an understatement. Don't open this while wearing black. It gets everywhere just by opening it. Although I don't like puffs, the one it comes with is actually a really nice puff. I'm not sure why so many people thought that this made their skin feel really soft. My skin felt very chalky after applying this. Later in the day, it felt soft, but I'm not sure if that's from the product getting softer or the product not staying on my face. I'm betting on the latter.

Studio Blush- Tickled Pink
I'm not a huge blush person, and since testing this, I haven't really used it. It's a bit chalky, and I'm not sure how much I like this color on my skin. Also, the packaging on this fell apart the night I bought it. The little plastic window fell out almost immediately after opening this. I also know that this has happened to other people, so the packaging on this is just a bit shoddy.

Studio Concealer- Ivory
This is a bit better than most stick concealers, which are usually too thick and chalky, but it's still definitely not my favorite.

Tone Correcting Concealer- Ivory

I like this concealer more than the studio concealer, actually. It has a similar scent to the facial whip and all-over color stick, but more subtle. It also covers really well, and isn't cakey since it's a fairly thin liquid.

Tone Correcting Powder- Cool
Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of this. Like many of the Elf face powders, I think this is very chalky. And it definitely didn't do any tone correcting. So it didn't really serve a purpose for me.

 Translucent Mattifying Powder
The fact that it's translucent is good for me, because it's very hard to find something to match my skin tone. Overall, it's a pretty good mattifying powder. There are some that I prefer, for a comparable price, but this isn't bad.

 Zit-Zapping Concealer- Green

This is one of my biggest makeup disappointments of all-time, let alone just in this elf haul. I tried really hard, but couldn’t find any redeeming qualities to this concealer. The click tube packaging takes several twists (even after several uses) to get any product, and once the product starts coming out, it doesn’t stop when you stop turning the clicker. I also noticed after a couple tries that it had a fairly strong Noxzema-type scent. The concealer is extremely thick and unblendable. It’s supposed to be a corrective green, but even on very red and irritated skin, all that shows up is green. A little of this product goes way too far. I tried several times and was never able to get it to blend into my skin. It just sat on top of my skin, bright green. I had to laugh and think that it worked well as Wicked Witch of the West makeup, but it faded to a less “witch-like” green after a couple minutes, so it can’t even be used for that purpose. As an added bonus, it’s impossible to remove it from your skin. After doing the swatch, I had to scrub and scrub just to get my hand to a muted color. Seriously, don’t waste even a dollar on this.

Zit Zapper:

Although it definitely has zit-zapping ingredients like Salicylic Acid, it doesn't really seem to zap zits. In fact, I didn't really notice it doing anything to my zits. And it has a rather strong scent.

Brushes:

Complexion Brush:

This one is not my favorite brush. I have a feeling I would like it if it were a round brush, but it’s flat. At first I thought it would be good to contour with, but it’s just too big for that. I prefer round brushes for liquid foundation and powder, so I haven’t really figured out how to fit it into my makeup routine. It’s probably good for something, but I have yet to discover what that is.

Concealer Brush:

This is a really nice, very dense brush. It’s definitely too big for just blemishes, but it’s good for under-eye concealer and larger areas that need concealing, and I use it every day for my concealer.

Eye Shadow C Brush:

As I demonstrated with the eye shadows, this brush is really great for applying eye shadow. It’s very soft on the eyelids as well.

Professional Eye Shadow Brush:

This brush is really good for packing on color. It does seem to spread it out quite a bit. My only real complaint is that the brush is a bit rougher than the studio brushes. Despite that, however, it works pretty well and I like both it and the C Brush.

Kabuki Brush:

I think it works really well for blending out any blush or bronzer that might have been packed on too much in one spot. It’s very soft, which I especially love.

Mineral Powder Brush:

This is actually my favorite for blush. It’s just the right size for it, and it’s a nice, rounded brush. For me, it’s a bit too small for powder, so the blush use is just right. (Additionally, something that JUST happened, the ferrule just detached from the handle of the brush 

Powder Brush:

This is one of my absolute favorite brushes. It’s incredibly soft and very dense. I use it for pretty much every all-over face powder I own, and I absolutely love it.

Small Stipple Brush:

This is my other favorite brush. It’s perfect for applying liquid foundation, and that’s how I use it on a daily basis. It’s the right size, has the right density, and is very soft. A word of caution though, it does need to be washed on a regular basis or else the longer bristles will stick together. My first stipple brush had to be tossed out because I got lazy about the washing and couldn’t get it clean enough later.

All-Over Face Brush

This is my only real brush disappointment from elf. It’s extremely rough and feels terrible on your skin. The bristles on this are also way too sparse. There’s no density at all to this brush. And it doesn’t seem to serve a real purpose.

So, those are all the reviews I have. I decided that since this is such a long list of things, I should give my best and worst E.L.F. products.

Top Suggestions:

Small Stipple Brush

Powder Brush

Eyeliner/ Shadow Stick Duos

Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara

Black Liquid Eyeliner

Eyelid Primer

Lip Balm- Pink

Least Favorite Products:

Zit-Zapping Concealer- Corrective Green

Loose Eye Shadow

Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

Super Glossy Lip Shine

Total Face Brush

HD Powder

Cover Everything Concealer

Well, there you go, my super huge ELF Makeup Review. Seriously, this is the longest a blog post has ever taken me. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, let me know in the comments. Also, let me know what you think of ELF makeup in the comments. What products do you like/ dislike? I've got a lot more makeup posts coming soon, so stay tuned! See y'all soon!