Review : Elf Cream Eyeliner in Black, Coffee & Midnight

This is a new addition to elf's website! I got it in Black along with a Small Smudge Brush for free and I liked it so much that I ordered Coffee (dark brown) and Midnight (dark navy blue) ! This is what they look like:

 

The cream eyeliner comes in a little plastic jar, but you get a generous amount of product ( 4.7g) ! I've read that cream eyeliners dry out faster when they're in a plastic jar instead of a glass jar, oh well we'll see about that! :)

The product itself is creamy and it glides on the skin! The eyeliners are quite pigmented, but you'll propably need 2 layers to get the colour to show! It doesn't get cakey though, so no problem! :) Here are some swatches:

I have oily eyelids and with an eyeshadow primer/base this baby lasts pretty good (I haven't used it without an eyeshadow base) !! :) I'm actually impressed with its lasting power on me!! If you let it set and dry for a few seconds it won't move!!! Since it dries quite quickly, you have to be a little bit fast with application (not too fast though) ! ;) It's waterproof too, I had a swatch on my hand and I splashed it with water, it didn't move at all !! I even tried to rub it off with a wet napkin, it only started to fade after several swipes!

You can use either an angled eyeliner brush or a small smudge brush to apply it! I've used both and I personally prefer the small smudge brush! :)

Overall I'm really impressed with this cream eyeliner!! You can get it for £3.50 here: Elf's Cream Eyeliner

Review : Elf Studio Kabuki Face Brush

One of my favourite things from Elf is their Studio Kabuki Face brush! I actually have 3 of them! :D This particular baby you see on the pics has been washed once, it's not that fluffy when you get it:

This is what elf says on their website:

This new anti bacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more absorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. studio brush! Our handy and easy to use Kabuki Brushes provide a light to full coverage on your face or body to ensure a flawless finish. The compact brush is perfectly sized to allow for precise and controlled application of bronzer, powder, or a highlighter on your skin.

This is the softest brush I've ever touched, seriously!!! I love it!! It doesn't shed, it hasn't lost one single hair and it doesn't bleed, no dye came out while washing it for the first time! It distributes powder products nice and evenly! :) Although this is called kabuki, isn't not meant to be used for serious buffing (mineral/liquid foundation) , I'd say it's more for lightly dusting powder all over your face! It's pretty big as you can see actually, you could even use it on your body! :)


This is not a duo fibre brush, don't be fooled! It looks so pretty though with its 2 colours! :) It's made of synthetic hairs, so it's vegan friendly! 


You should definitely try this brush! It retails for £5.00 (awesome price for this amazing brush!) and you can find it here: Elf's Studio Kabuki Face Brush

Review : L'Oreal True Match Foundation

L'Oreal True Match Foundation is the first foundation I've ever used (before that I had only used tinted moisturisers) and I still like it! I have it in the shade C3 Rose Beige, which is a very good colour match for me! :)


I'll start with the packaging! :) The foundation comes in a glass bottle, which contains 30ml, with a pump and a plastic cap:

I like the packaging, it's very sleek and I also love the fact that it comes with a pump that's easy to control (the USA version doesn't come with a pump!) ! It's less messy and more hygienic! :) 

Now let's move on to the actual product! Let's see what L'Oreal says about this product on their website:

In true-to-skin shades across warm, cool and neutral tones, True Match liquid foundation perfectly matches the colour and texture of your skin, hiding imperfections with its micro-fine, creamy texture.

The result: natural looking, skin-true colour, outstanding coverage with no caking.

The foundation provides full coverage (last time I used it I didn't have to use concealer to cover my blemishes and believe me my blemishes are quite red!) and its consistency is neither thick nor watery, it's something inbetween! It doesn't dry quickly, so you have enough time to blend it in and it blends easily! This foundation doesn't set into my fine lines, as long as I don't use a lot of product! I would say that for being a full coverage foundation it looks quite natural!

Ok, all these things sound amazing! How about its lasting power? Well, I have oily/combination skin and this foundation doesn't have great lasting power on me! After a few hours it simply disappears and it looks like I have nothing on my face!! And from what I've read online a lot of people have this problem! However I'm still using it, because I like it! :) Lately I've found a solution to this problem! Using a primer before applying foundation solves the problem! ;) I've used Elf's Mineral Infused Face Primer! ;)

You can purchase this foundation at your local drugstore! :) It actually retails for 19Euros here in Greece, so that's quite expensive!!! Thank God my lovely friend Thalia supplies me with this from Germany, where it's a lot cheaper! ;)

Review : Elf Mineral Glow in Shimmer & in Bronzed and a little comparison! ;)

At first I wasn't sure if I'd buy them or not, the word "shimmer" terrifies me when referring to powders, because I have oily skin, so I don't need something that will make me even more shiny!! But I asked the girls on Elf's group on FB (hey girls!! mwah!!! ) and they told me that I should buy them! So, I had to obey lol ! Let's see how they look like:


                                                  Bronzed

Shimmer

Let's see what elf says on their website:

Whether you want to create a  subtle healthy glow or summer tan with our 'Bronzed Mineral Glow' or illuminated and shimmering skin with our soft pink 'Shimmer Mineral Glow', these sheer, natural powders will leave your skin looking and feeling healthy and radiant.

After following this beauty regime you will noticeably feel and see the pure difference e.l.f. Natural Mineral Makeup can do! All of our mineral glow powders are 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

Here are some swatches and a little comparison between the Bronzed and the bronzer from Elf's Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder:

"Shimmer" has a slightly pink undertone and isn't shimmery or glittery, it just adds a nice glow to your face when lightly dusted! You can apply it a bit heavier on the apples of your cheeks or even on your shoulders or cleavage for a night out! ;) "Bronzed" is quite dark for my skin, but it will be perfect for conturing, since it's matte, or during the summer when I'll be tanned!! The powder itself in both products is very finely milled, it feels like silk!

When comparing "Bronzed" to the bronzer from Elf's Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in the jar/pan they don't look different, but they are! When swatched "Bronzed" has a reddish undertone, while the bronzer from the contouring palette has an orange undertone and it's a biiiit darker!

"Shimmer" and "Bronzed" come in a 10g plastic jar and they retail for £5.00 each! You can buy both products here: Elf's Mineral Glow

Review : Elf Mineral Foundation

Ok, first of all let me show you something... I got this foundation in "Fair" and in "Light" : 

Which one is which shade? You'd say the first one is "Light" and the second one just underneath it is the "Fair" one... well...

WRONG!!! It's exactly the opposite!!! Isn't that weird????


Anyway, let's move on to the review and see what elf's says on their website:

Our weightless mineral foundation will help get you on your way to healthier illuminating skin. All our powders blend naturally into the skin, and are so light that they work with your skin color to create a perfect color match. All of our foundations contain sun protection factor (spf) 15 and are 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

I agree with everything elf says about their mineral foundation! It makes my skin look healthy and it's not obvious I'm wearing anything on my face, which I love! It gives me a nice finish, something between matte and glowy, leaning towards matte though! I also love the fact it contains SPF 15! It applies easily on my skin and it doesn't accentuate any fine lines or dry patches! And it will be perfect for the summer, because my skin gets oilier then! 


Don't expect a lot of coverage from this foundation though! If you have a lot of blemishes, redness etc. this product isn't for you! It provides light to medium coverage (you can build it up) and in case you have some spots or whatever you'll need to use a concealer to cover them!


This mineral baby comes in a little plastic jar that contains 3.4 g of product, which is a nice amount, since it retails for £3.50!! Give it a try and take a look at the first two pictures again, if you're pale choose "Light", not "Fair" ! The names are so misleading, Elf must change them! You can buy this mineral foundation here: Elf's Mineral Foundation

Review & Swatches : Elf Mineral Eyeshadows

I got most of Elf's Mineral Eyeshadows a few days ago and today I decided to make my arm look like a very colourful palette! What do I mean?? Just take a look:

The pics are taken in natural daylight, the eyeshadows are unblended and packed on, so that you can see the colours better, and I also don't have any kind of primer on, so the eyeshadows were applied on bare skin!

So, let's see what elf says about them:

Bring a touch of natural beauty to your eyes with these soft, translucent shades that add subtle highlights for daytime or increased drama for night. With key vitamins A & B, these eyeshadows hydrate and minimize the appearance of fine lines. Available in an array of light-reflecting color options they can be worn wet or dry, together or alone, for countless shimmering looks and trends. The all natural consistency makes them incredibly easy to apply and blend for a flawless finish. All our mineral makeup is 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

Most of the eyeshadows are shimmery (not glittery though) as you can see ( Temptress, Seductive, Partier, Mysterious are matte) and they blend nicely! I like all colours, they're so pretty, but I was a bit disappointed with two of them... "Mysterious" was too powdery and "Trendy" isn't very pigmented like the rest of the colours and it also has no pink undertones, although it seems to judging from the picture on elf's website! I loved "Seductive" though, because it's a true matte black!! ;) 

It would be nice to use an eyeshadow primer/base before applying these eyeshadows (this goes for any mineral eyeshadow actually), because they need something to stick to, so that they won't fade quickly! You could use an eyeshadow primer, like Elf's Mineral Primer, or a cream eyeshadow, like Elf's Duo Eye Shadow Cream! ;)

You get 0.9g in the little plastic jar, which is a quite generous amount of product for £3.00 (yep, that's how much each of these babies costs!) ! You can get these eyeshadows here: Elf's Mineral Eyeshadows

And please don't forget: Do NOT remove the seal from the jar, just open 1-2 holes! You'll get enough product from 1-2 holes, if you remove the seal you'll get powder everywhere!!!

Review : Zoeva 88 Shimmer Palette & 96 Palette (they're the same as Coastal Scents)

Everybody on youtube has been talking about these eyeshadow palettes, so I had to have them!! I didn't get them from Coastal Scents though, I got them from Zoeva, which is a German brand! I got a set of 2 palettes for 29.95€ (it was a bit cheaper that way than buying them individually!) and they look like this:

Here's the 88 shimmer palette (the colours look a bit washed out, maybe because of the shimmer! they're more vibrant in real life):

And the 96 palette:

First of all check out the condition, in which the palettes arrived: nothing is broken, no cracked eyeshadows or anything like that!! Wow!!! They were really well packed! :)


I really love these palettes, most eyeshadows are soft and very pigmented, especially in the 88 shimmer palette! You get a huge variety of colours, from highlighters to dark, smokey ones! You can also find some very unique,vibrant colours in there, like red, orange, green, bright pink etc! They're easy to blend and they don't crease/fade, but make sure to use a base/primer underneath them! :) I also haven't noticed any allergic reaction to these eyeshadows!


So, if you're just getting into makeup and building your collection or if you want to experiment with many different colours without breaking the bank, you should get these palettes!!


Ingredients of the 88 shimmer palette:


Talc, Mica, Mineral Oil, Kaolin, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, BHT, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007, CI 77742, CI 77510, CI 77288, CI 16035, CI 19140:1, CI 42090].


Ingredients of the 96 palette:


Talc, Mica, Mineral Oil, Kaolin, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, BHT, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77742, CI 77007, CI 77288, CI 16035, CI 19140:1, CI 42090].


You can get them from Zoeva's website http://www.zoeva-shop.de , just make sure to change the language to English, as the website's default language is German! 


Also check out Coastal Scents (actually they don't have the 96 palette lol, but they have others) : http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=122  and Ebay! :)