Online Only Matte Lip Color in Natural by e.l.f. Cosmetics

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Now that e.l.f. Cosmetics are at Ulta, I'm dipping my toe in the pool a bit more. I decided to try one of their Online Only Matte lip colors and chose the pale mauve pink Natural. I love the concept of this color and have admired this type of shade on other fair complected lasses, but wasn't sure I could pull it off. Three dollars is not too much to risk, so here I go.

The formula doesn't feel dry and did a pretty good job of covering my darker lips without looking chalky or patchy. The texture is thin and rather emollient, so there is some settling in my lip lines but nothing that scares me. I found the 3 or so hours of wear I experienced to be comfortable, really not bad at all for a matte lipstick.

One potential con is that the thin pencil bullet does not feel very sturdy, so I would not roll out too much when you apply. I'm not sure Natural is the most flattering lip color for me, but neither did I feel like it gave me the dreaded corpse lip look that some pale shades do. Overall, I like it!

Also, I would like to note that Ulta has gotten most of my beauty money this year. I've bought nothing to date from Sephora and will more than likely be letting my VIP status drop. Ulta's loyalty program is just so much better, and I find I'm not really missing the products that are exclusive to Sephora. At least not yet.

e.l.f. Earthy Mineral Eyeshadow: Review, Swatches and Comparison

The second out of four e.l.f. shadows that I purchased a while back is Earthy, a spring green shimmer.  I love this color of green and am attracted to it in almost any form - furnishings, paint colors, clothes, eyeshadows.....

Earthy is a soft color and  you can see silver and pink shimmer bits in it, which gives it a hint of a glowing quality on the eye.  The consistency was very nice and I found that it spread easily and smoothly, with minimal fall out.  It wore well over primer, with very light creasing after a full day's wear.  My lids are quite oily, so wear time may be even better for others.

Sun

Late afternoon shade that had this interesting glow

The only other shadow I have that I could think of as a possible dupe was the bareMinerals Glimmer loose shadow Magnetize, which I picked up several years ago.  However, once I put them side by side it was evident that Magnetize has much more yellow in it, making Earthy look positively minty in comparison.  Comparisons like these really help me to get a better since of undertones and color families, as I would not have though of Earthy as "minty" prior to this.

Magnetize, Earthy

Earthy, Magnitize

I really like e.l.f.'s Earthy and think the quality is there.  Factor in that it is so inexpensive at $3, and you've got quality + inexpensive = winner!

Don't forget to enter my first giveaway!

Update:  Just received an email from e.l.f. and they are having a sale:  40% off if you spend $30 (code MORE40) and 25% if you spend $15 (code MORE25).  Sale expires on June 3rd.

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this and have no affiliation with e.l.f..

e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow in Confident: Review, Swatches & Comparisons

I bought Confident, a mineral eyeshadow made by e.l.f, months back but wore it for the first time last Saturday.  I'm not sure why I waited so long to try it out, other than I go through phases when it comes to using loose mineral powders.

Confident is a lovely, shimmery taupe.  It actually reminded me of some bareMineral eyeshadows that I picked up several years back, so I dug them out to compare texture and finish.

e.l.f. Confident (sun)

e.l.f. Confident (shade)

Sand Dune was part of the Siren of the Sea set that came out in 2009 and was available at Sephora and QVC.  Sand Dune is a "high shine" light golden taupe, and you can see that it looks different in texture even in the jar.  It is very reflective and a bit crumbly, although it smooths out nicely, albeit with some fall out.

bareMinerals Sand Dune

Kudos is a bareMinerals Glimpse shadow in light taupe.  The Glimpse shadows are supposed to be soft, lightweight eye colors with a little less shimmer than the Glimmer shadows.

bareMinerals Kudos

Confident, Sand Dune, Kudos

No exact dupes here, but the finishes of these shadows are similar and I can't really tell any difference in quality and wear.  e.l.f. products are made in China and are significantly less expensive at $3 a jar, compared to bareMinerals $14 price tag.  I was encouraged to read that e.l.f. is cruelty free, so I'm going to keep an open mind going forward, although in general I'm ambivalent about beauty products manufactured in China for a variety of reasons  (working conditions, animal testing, quality control). 

For this look, I used Confident from lash line to just below brow bone, and Kudos on inner eye and along brow bone.  I used Urban Decay's 24/7 eye liner in the dark brown matte Demolition to line upper and lower lashes.  The mascara is Julep's Boho Glam lengthening mascara, which is a dark brown.  

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

e.l.f. Oil Free Maximum Coverage Concealer in Nude

e.l.f.'s Maximum Coverage Concealer Oil Free formula is billed as a perfect cover for hiding tattoos, birth marks, dark circles, blemishes, scars and more.  I've got some brown spots that my foundation does not completely cover that would benefit from a concealer, plus I'm always trying to find a holy grail under eye concealer.  So, for $3, I decided to give e.l.f.'s concealer a shot and see if it could deliver.

Oil Free Maximum Coverage Concealer in Nude

The pigmentation and coverage is indeed very nice!  I chose Nude, which turned out to be a good match for my fair but warm complexion.  Using a concealer brush, I find that I can completely cover my brown spots.  It is recommended to set these with a powder, and for extended wear to use a setting spray.  I haven't tried a setting spray but do either use a mineral foundation or some type of powder over the concealer.  I'd say wear time is average, but I've got oily skin, which can be pretty rough on almost anything I use on my face.

It also works well as an under eye concealer.  I do have some fine lines under my eyes so there is some slight settling, but nothing too terrible.  Once I smooth out anything that has settled into lines, I'm good to go.  Overall, I'm pleased with this budget concealer!

Disclosure:  I purchased this.

e.l.f. Diva HD Blush

Diva

Another e.l.f. HD blush to show you, this time in Diva.  Diva is a vibrant fuchsia pink.  Never fear, however, it's wearable on both your cheeks and lips as long as you use a light hand.  The HD blushes are so pigmented that the tiniest bit is all you need.  By tiny, I'm talking the top of a pin sized amount.

I put a small dot on my makeup palette and then take a stippling blush and dab it in the blush.  I smear the brush around on the palette, and then tap it on the apples of my cheeks.  I then take my regular blush brush and blend it in.

For my lips, I've been applying with my finger, but a lip brush will work as well.  I then top with a clear gloss.  Diva does have some small silver shimmer specks in it, but nothing too obvious or glittery.  The gloss I used below is Philosophy's Pink Champagne, which is a clear gloss with shimmer.

I really like these blushes!  They wear nicely, and at $3 a bottle, the price is fantastic.  There is one more color I'd like to get, Encore, but it's been sold out every time I've tried to order from e.l.f.  In fact, the only color currently available online is Showstopper, the darkest out of the five current shades.  I'm guessing lots of other people are enjoying these as well!

Disclosure:  I purchased this.

Beauty & Fashion Tech Saturday Blog Hop:

e.l.f. Pressed Mineral Eyeshadows

I picked up a few of the e.l.f. pressed mineral eyeshadows in  some neutral shades recently.  Since I don't have much experience with e.l.f. products, I figured the mineral products were the way to go, as they are natural, 100% mineral based with no parabens, preservatives or chemical dyes. They are also reasonably priced at $3, and with e.l.f.'s frequent specials, sometimes even less expensive.  So how do they perform?

Lunch Break, Out All Night, Miss Popular

Pretty darn good!  They are soft and apply smoothly.  There is quite a bit of powder kick up when I use my brush on them, but I did not experience much fallout when applying to my eyes.  The pigmentation is about average, but they can be used wet to achieve more intense color.  Swatches below are over UD's Eden eye primer and the darker swatches are wet using BFTE's Mix & Fix medium.

Lunch Break, Out All Night, Miss Popular

Lunch Break and Miss Popular are similar, with Miss Popular having a more rosy cast.  Out All Night would make for a nice smoky eye.  Overall, these are nice shadows.  The selection of colors is not that great at 10 shades and you won't find any that are particular unique, but if you need some basic neutrals at a good price, these might be worth a shot. 

Here I used Lunch Break from lash line to crease and along the lower lash line.  I used Out All Night wet above the lash line.  I dabbed Midnight Cowboy Rides Again on the inner corners for a bit of bling.

To give you an idea of some of the specials that e.l.f. periodically runs, I got all of the below for about $28.  If you sign up at their site, they will send you emails letting you know about current specials. 

Disclosure:  I purchased these.

e.l.f. HD Blush in Superstar

Superstar

e.l.f. HD Blush reminds me of OCC's lip tars, but for your cheeks instead.  These are crazy pigmented, a small dot goes a very long way, and wear time is fantastic.  I ordered two of them recently, Superstar and Diva, and today I have Superstar to show you.

The packaging is very nice, with an airless dispenser that lets you control the amount that comes out.  This is important, because you want just a small amount.  I dispense it onto a palette and then use my fingers to apply, but a stippling brush would probably work better.  Need to get me one of those. 

An added bonus is that these work as a lip tint as well!  Currently, there are five colors available, with Superstar leaning the warmest from what I could tell.   Very reasonably priced at $3, I hope they expand their color range!

Superstar on cheeks and lps

Every time I hear the word "superstar", I can't help but think of  Mary Katherine Gallagher from Saturday Night Live.   Love her.



Disclosure:  I purchased this.