My ELF stuff from the drugstore.com and first 2 eyeslipsface.com orders have arrived so I've had time to test the stuff I bought. And I have to say, I am extremely happy with the products I got so far. In particular, I absolutely love the Mineral Infused Primer, the SPF powder and the HD Powder. With these products, I've finally found a way to combat my 'shine' issues. I am totally amazed at how matte I can still look even after a whole day and without touching up. Perhaps I'll blot once in the afternoon - it's been particularly humid in my neck of the woods - but other than that, the makeup has not slid off, I feel my face sweat but it NEVER shows! Colour me impressed!
And my brushes - I LOVE THEM! They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G quality for the price I paid! I cannot believe the workmanship that goes into making them and the price of an individual piece is around about 3 bucks only?!?!?! This is crazy stuff right here! The bristles are sooooo soft - they put my Too Faced Teddy Bear Hair brushes to shame! They also beat my EcoTools brushes. The brushes I've been using so far are the Complexion brush which I pair with the HD Powder and I use the Powder brush for my Jane Iredale Amazing Base foundation. I have started combining the Jane Iredale foundation with the ELF SPF powder. I feel that the SPF powder has really made the coverage of my powder foundation on par with the full coverage I get with my fave liquid foundation, Revlon PhotoReady.
I've been trying out the ELF Essential All Over Cover Stick as my concealer du jour with the Angled Foundation brush. My opinion on the All Over Cover stick is still a little divided. I'm not completely over the moon with the product cos I'm still unsure if the coverage and shade is what I need but I can build upon it till I reach the coverage I like. I feel the shade Rosy Beige comes off too light on my face and it isn't easy to blend. It does stay on really well though. And if it's confusing to see a paint palette in the pic, that's because it is a paint palette but I'm using it as my mineral makeup tray :D. I got wind (translation: Youtube beauty vids) of a product called Minerals Mate. It's basically a tray for dispensing your mineral powders into so you don't end up using the lids for catching the product since this can breed bacteria and get into the product. As much as I wanted this tray, the Minerals Mate is $11.50 + shipping to Portland then plus shipping to Homeland so it would add up. Since the palette didn't look too different from a paint palette, I went to a local bookshop when I was in Homeland last week and got myself the flat-bottom palette above and it definitely serves its purpose! And for the lowly price of 90 cents. Woohoo!
I also have two lip products in this shipment which are the Smoothing Lip Balm in Strawberry Creme and the Hypershine Lip Gloss in Vixen. The lip balm I tried first. It has me a bit confused. Overall, I think it's very moisturizing and it does smoothen the lips. However, I don't know if the formulation just doesn't suit me or what but it tends to get waaay too greasy on me. Even when I do a small swipe and it appears to be okay then perhaps 15 minutes later, take a swig of my coffee, it'll immediately turn into a grease-fest. Which is the part that has me confused. Why in the world does it turn so slick when water touches it? Confusing, Confucius. On the other hand, I LOVE the Hypershine Lip Gloss in Vixen. It is a gorgeous color and despite appearing as a bright red, when on my lips, it turns to a very natural red flush. Sort of as if I've been munching on strawberries and the juice stained my lips. Tres' pretty.
In terms of the acne related products, I've tried both the Zit Zapper and the Blemish Kit. It so happened that I got a bump on my forehead yesterday and I decided to test out the two products. First, by rolling on the Zit Zapper on the offending area and then I topped it with the blemish powder. At the end of the day, it's still there but I can feel that it's definitely not as 'angry' as it would have been if I simply used some other topical treatment. I can't give a definite verdict on these till I can use them for a more prolonged period of time. But so far, I'm okay with them. The Zit Zapper roller ball is a tad frustrating though. I had read reviews that the roller ball was a bit of a work and I can understand that. Half of the time, I'm kinda unsure if the product is coming out or not :)
Other stuff I got was the Shine Eraser blotting sheets which, based on first impressions, is a miss - I prefer the Clean & Clear Oil-Control films - and the Makeup Remover wipes which I have not used since I just got a pack of Topshop Makeup Wipes. The Shine Eraser paper is just too thin I think to be used in truly humid weather - you barely get to dab your face with it and it's torn. I was looking at the back of the Makeup wipes ingredients list and saw that the Topshop wipes and ELF wipes are basically the same except the ELF was made in China and the Topshop was made in EU. Topshop's wipes I found are surprisingly good (and can be seen in the haul pic above as well) so perhaps since ELF is so similar, I'll like it just as much. Next up is the Nourishing Cuticle Pen. I've used it every day since and I'll admit to seeing an improvement to my nail beds - my hangnail conditions aren't as dire as they usually are. Whether it really helps makes nails less brittle - that's more a wait and see kinda thing ain't it. But I would get it again.
The All Over Color sticks - meh. I am not truly a fan. Mainly cos it's shimmery and I guess the Lilac Petal in particular is just not suited for my skin tone. Thus it appears as just shimmer - no color. The Pink Lemonade does show up significantly better when I wear it as a blush. But it does require building up the color with multiple swipes on each cheek. This would perhaps cause you to overuse the product so a light hand is really needed when applying this. The Eyelid Primer, I tried it out on my lids sans eyeshadow - just to see the consistency and feel as well as how it reacts to the oils on my eyelids and for right now, I'm pretty positive about this product. It goes on rather creamy but once blended, dries down really nicely. I will try it out with eyeshadow sometime later and see if the claims of longevity will prevail :)
Lastly, I just want to praise the Mineral Infused Primer. I don't know if it's because it's mineral infused (or even what that really means when a product is infused with minerals) but it has made the application and staying power of my mineral powders superlatively amazing. I can understand where some reviewers have mentioned it feels oily but to me, I don't see it as oily, I feel it is just extremely silky. It goes on very smoothly. The texture is similar to the Monistat Chafing gel that I was using for a while but silkier, smoother, so much more better in terms of results even. And this is just 6 bucks! Now, I realize it's only been 3 days but I am truly impressed with my experience with it so far. I do have a bit of fear that it will break me out as that appears to be the case with a few people though for now, it looks alright. I'll use it diligently for the next week and hopefully I'll be able to render this a success because I truly LOVE what it can do. And yes, I do agree with other reviewers that mention the pump on the bottle is horrible - it is.
Ok, so far the ELF experience has definitely been a tres pleasant affair. I can't stress how pleased I am with the products I got. And I'm even more excited for the other stuff that I recently purchased to arrive - I have my recent Studio and Mineral line haul headed for Homeland this week and the Mother's Day haul is headed for the Portland addy and should arrive by the end of the month. Till then :)
