e.l.f Haul

If you haven't already registered your email address to receive the newsletter from e.l.f, can I recommend you do! If I hadn't, I wouldn't have known about the 30% off flash sale that was on last month for a limited time. Elf regularly email with discount codes to be used on all their products or on the shipping, so it's definitely worth keeping up to date with their offers via email! 

E.l.f (or Eyes Lips Face) is a budget online beauty brand which originated in America and made its way to the UK in 2007. The prices are seriously low, and although the products are a bit hit and miss, when it's good, it's really good! And when paired with a generous discount code (in the Summer, they offered 60% off!), it's definitely worth trying out their stuff. 

So the product I was most looking forward to trying, and one that is often sold out due to its popularity is the Contouring Blush and Bronzing Cream in St. Lucia (£3.75). This cream cheek duo is often compared to Nars Laguna bronzer and Deep Throat blush (I own Laguna and the fairly similar Orgasm blush, I can feel a comparison post brewing). I haven't even dipped a brush into this yet, firstly because it's just so pretty and I hate 'spoiling' pretty beauty products haha, and secondly because I don't really know where to start with applying this. I'm thinking I should use my stippling brush and start by applying lightly, and BLEND. Full review when I've given it a try, promise!

I also bought the Blush in 'Blushing Rose' (£3.75). I'm normally drawn to peachy pink blushes, but for Autumn, I really love mauve pink shades, so Blushing Rose seemed like a good choice. This is a beautiful, slightly plummy pink with golden shimmer. I've used this blush a couple of times and I really like it. The staying power isn't great, but I don't really find any blushes last that long on me (not sure why as I don't have oily skin) but the pigmentation is spot on. This looks lovely paired with a berry lipstick or a smokey eye. Both the powder blush and the contouring blush and bronzing cream come in black palettes that are very similar to the Nars packaging, except they are made of plastic instead of being rubberised, which makes them a lot less luxurious but a lot easier to keep clean. There are also decent-sized mirrors inside the palettes. 

During the Summer 60% off sale, my sister picked up some e.l.f bits, including the Black Cream Eyeliner (£3.75) and I've borrowed it from her more times than I can count, so couldn't wait to pick up my own. I also picked up the shade 'Coffee' as I tend to opt for brown eyeliner during the day. The cream eye liner comes in a small clear plastic jar with a black lid. As soon as I opened them, I noticed that the brown eyeliner had hardened into a chunk that didn't actually fill the whole jar, and could probably be tipped out in one go (as you can see from the picture above) - not good. The black eyeliner was in great condition though. I've used the black one a few times now and it's so easy to apply. It's so creamy and soft and opaque in one swipe. The brown, as I expected, was not so easy to work with. It's not as pigmented or as soft, making it harder to line the eyes effectively. I'm thinking about popping it in the microwave for a few seconds to see if that makes it a bit softer and easier to use (any advice would be appreciated). These cream eyeliners also come with a small angled brush, though I haven't tried those yet as I've been applying it with either my MAC or my Models Own angled brushes. 

I picked up the Eyelid Primer (£1.50) which I've heard good things about but haven't yet tried myself, the Daily Brush Cleaner (£3.75), which I tried very briefly and on first thoughts wasn't impressed with but I'm definitely going to give it a proper try and get back to you as I really want it to be good for spot cleaning brushes, and the Blush Brush (£3.75) which is a soft, fluffy but fairly flat brush with a black handle, ferrule and bristles. 

Have you tried e.l.f? What are your favourite e.l.f products?

Holly xo