Excuse my decent into poverty but whilst in New York, by chance I stumbled across, what I believe to be one of only eight physical E.L.F stores in existence and ran amok, making the most of the slashed retail prices. Admittedly had I not been on vacation, I wouldn't have bought nearly as many products as I did but a lot like stores such as Primark et al, when surrounded by discounted prices (as little as $1 a product) it is difficult to show restraint, and as such I bought more than I really should have.
My dwindling bank balance is not what you came to read about; as E.L.F products are once again available within the UK, I think it is about time I shared what I picked up a few weeks ago. At the moment - on the most part - I only have preliminary thoughts on such products but I will comply hit and miss posts in the very near future.
Eyes/Brows
E.L.F Lock On Liner and Brow Cream £5 - link.
Most products were bought on a whim rather than by recommendation but whilst in the store a good gaggle of women were arguing over the last E.L.F Lock On Liner and Brow Cream in a deep brunette shade, once the argument settled down I of course added the blonde option to my basket. I have tried this cream once and although not the most long wearing the shade is great and the formulation is not far removed from your typical brow gel/pomade.
E.L.F Baked Eyeshadows in Enchanted and Moonlight Serenade £4.50 each -link.
I bought both with the intentions of using them as highlighting products, I haven't really done more than swatch either but I can report that they are not the most pigmented baked powder products I have encountered, if anything they are overly firm.
E.L.F Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer (not online in the UK)
Weirdly this is not online but this probably one of the most well known E.L.F products within the beauty world - partly because it is noted for being a dupe to the ever iconic Urban Decay Primer Potion. I haven't opened mine just yet but I look forward to seeing if it can stand up against one of the best eye lid primers out there.
Face
E.L.F Foundation Palette £7.50 - link.
I purposely bought this in the shade Medium/Dark to use as a cream contour palette. I'm hopeful this might be a more affordable option to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Palette - I guess we will just have to wait and see.
E.L.F Contour Palette £7.50 - link
The shades of this palette are really warm, I am a little worried that this will translate as orange onto my skin, however as the shades are so neutral I'm sure I can use them as eyeshadows if this happens to be the case.
E.L.F Complete Coverage Concealer Palette (again not online in the UK)
Think of this as a mini, high coverage foundation palette; I am so impressed by this palette that I will not only be posting a full review in the coming weeks but also purchasing the other shade options available the next time I'm in NYC.
E.L.F Corrective Concealer Palette £4.50 - link
After watching one to many YouTube tutorials I decided that colour correcting is something that I need to be apart of, I've yet to try this palette but if it is anything like the above concealer palette, I am sure I will be happy.
E.L.F Cover Everything Concealer in Corrective Yellow £3 - link
A few years ago, this is all I used to rely on to brighten and highlight my under eye area. I can recall it being the perfect consistency - not too thick yet high coverage and not prone to creasing, let's see if this is still the case four years on.
E.L.F All Over Coverage Stick £2 - link
A matte brightening stick that can be used in place of a highlighter or foundation/concealer. I bought the wrong shade (it is a little too orange) but the texture and coverage is pretty great. If you like all-in-one products this is something worth seeking out.
E.L.F Tone Correcting Powder in Cool - as part of a set - link
I bought this mainly for the segment of pressed yellow powder - the rest I highly doubt that I have much use for but we shall see. I might use the pink segment as a blush when travelling or something like that.
E.L.F Bronzer in Golden £4.50 - link
Again this is huge, great if like me you like to apply bronzer to your body - I always like that it is split into four separate segments of colour so that you can also use it as stand alone blushes, bronzers or eyeshadows.
Highlighters
E.L.F Illuminating Palette £7.50 - link
Sometimes things are discounted for a good reason and sadly this highlighting palette is both stark and powdery - especially when applied to the face. I do think this can work when applied as eyeshadow so I guess that all is not a loss.
E.L.F Baked Highlighters in Blush Gems and Pink Diamonds
A lot like the eyeshadows of a similar name, these are super firm but the shades are beautiful so I might try and make these work for me - I'm thinking that perhaps if I dampen the powder, it might glide onto the skin a little easier?
Cheeks
E.L.F Blush Palette £7.50 - link
I mean can you really have too many blushes? I don't personally think so and at just £7.50 for four shades housed in a nifty little palette, you can't really go too wrong. Online E.L.F offer two shade options, I have light which is a medley of rosy pinks and mauves.
E.L.F Blush & Bronzing Powder in Turks & Caicos
E.L.F Blush & Bronzing Powder in Fiji £4.50 each - link
When I first began blogging, the beauty world was flush with reviews of the E.L.F Blush and Bronzing Powder Duos, mainly because some shades were said to be dupes for the ever pricey NARS palettes of a similar style. I can't say I've tried either of my duos yet but the shades seem to be perfect for everyday use. I also think that for just £4.50 a palette, they are huge. More to follow on this beauty bargain soon...
E.L.F Blush in Candid Coral £2 - link
This reminds me so much of NARS Deep Throat Blush but of course a whole lot cheaper and maybe not as pigmented as the cult classic.
Lips
E.L.F Matte Lip Color in Catwalk Orange and Hot Commodity (again not online in the UK)
Although not overly matte both shades are flattering, comfortable and quick and easy to apply - a great lip product to pop into a bag, pocket or car glove box. Basically what I am saying they are convenient.
E.L.F Beautifully Bare Satin Lipstick in Touch of Nude and Touch of Pink £6 each - link
One of the more expensive E.L.F products but in my opinion well worth the splurge as they are not too dissimilar from MAC's lipstick line: soft, creamy and pigmented. I wish I bought more than two shades as they were only $3 each in the U.S - they were on sale at the time.
Brushes
E.L.F Small Tapered Brush £4.50 -link
E.L.F Complexion Brush £4.50 -link
E.L.F Angled Blush Brush £4.50 -link
I need a little longer with each brush to fully decide just how I feel about them - and of course to see just how well they wash and dry - but for now I can tell you that all three styles are soft and fairly dense, meaning they do pick up powder products well and so far not overly prone to shedding. So far, so good and it is nice to see a super affordable brush range within the UK once again.
Are you glad that E.L.F is once again available within the UK?
What products do you personally recommend from E.L.F (you know I'm going to have to go back and pick up a few more things) and what product would you most like to see reviewed in full?
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