elf haul

YAY! My first ever make-up post :)
So, about a month ago, ELF had this giant anniversary sale where everything on the website was 60% off!!  Well, I've tried various elf products before and really liked them, and this was the perfect chance to buy a few things to try that aren't available at Target!  So I bought a total of 17 items for $28.55 including shipping!

My Haul :)

 I havn't had the chance to try everything, but I did try most things.  So I'll just do a quick review for the things I have tried...

Elf High Definition Powder:

I bought this just to try it.  It normally retails for $6, but with the 60% off deal, it was only $2.40, so OF COURSE I had to buy it to try, such a steal!! Anyway, I was hoping I could use this to replace my Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil as like a cheaper alternative for everyday use.  I was kind of reluctant to buy this, because other reviews I have read about this mention it leaving a white cast on the face, and my skin is somewhat tan.
So, I use this with my kabuki brush, instead of the given powder puff, after foundation and contouring, and I have not noticed any "white cast" from using this, but it does mute out my contouring.  I mean, I can still see the contouring, but it's a bit lighter. Not too bad, since it kind of makes the contouring look more natural.
My skin is also a little oily, and this does seem to keep the oil at bay.  It definitely absorbs the oil right as I apply it, but my face can still be a little oily at the end of the day, similar to my mineral veil.
And as for it's high def photo qualities, eh.. I can't tell any difference, lol.
So would I buy this again? YES! :)


Contouring Blush and Bronzer Powder:

 I actually bought this at Target before, and I really love it!  I decided to buy it again during the 60% off deal since it's cheaper.  I think I should've bought more things lol.  I think this looks very similar to that one Nars duo, but I don't have that so I can't tell you if its the same.  Regardless, I still really like this product.  I use the bronzer to contour, and I think it's a really good color for that.  The blush is a really pretty corally-peachy shade. I'll definitely buy this again!!

Cool Bronzer:

I bought this hoping I could use it as a contouring palette, since it has dark shades and white highlighting shade.  I chose this over the other two because it's matte and the other two seemed really shimmery from their descriptions.

Contouring Blush and Bronzer on top
Cool Bronzer on bottom

Compared to the blush&bronzer duo, the browns of the cool bronzer are definitely more blue.  The cool bronzer is overall darker, like it makes my face darker.  I did try mixing the shades together, and I think it's more wearable than trying to wear it separately. But I still only use the two left shades the most.  I don't think i would buy this again.  I might want to try the warm bronzer though!

Blush:

Studio Blush in Fushia Fusion

Elf blush in Flushed

Fushia Fusion on the left, Flushed on the right

I really like the studio line blushes.  I also own peachykeen and tickled pink, which are both really pretty colors.  I actually wanted to buy pink passion to try, but it was sold out.  So I opt for fushia fusion instead, even though it looked sparkly on the website.  In reality, it's very sparkly in the pan, but when you apply it to your face, the sparkles fall off!

I bought flushed just to try too, because I've never tried the elf line blushes before.  It's also pretty shimmery, shimmery not glittery.  Or it's more like a pearlescent sheen, and it does stay on your face kind of.

It's hard to tell in the swatch, but both colors of pretty similar, and both colors leave my face looking sunburned.  Or maybe I just need to work with a much lighter hand when using this!!
Nope, I would not buy either blushes again!

Eyebrow Treat & Tame:

Eye Primer & Liner Sealer to the left, Eyebrow Treat & Tame to the right

I  bought this in dark, and I've only tried this once, which is enough for me to tell you that I prefer a pencil or the gel to the mascara like applicator of the eyebrow treat & tame.  I havn't tried this enough to tell if the "tame" side works.  I wouldn't buy this again.

the brow wand

the tame brush

so little product!!!

I hope you can see how little product there is in the "tame" side.  Just look at all those empty gaps in the tube!! 

Eye Primer & Liner Sealer:
I've only tried this once.  The eye primer reminded me of those covergirl shadowblast, except less creamy.  It still made my eyeshadow crease though!  And the liner sealer side burned my eyes! :(

primer - eyeliner - eyeliner w/sealer

primer - smudged eye liners

To show you how effective the liner sealer even is, I swatched it over my smudgiest eyeliner, almay intense i-color.  As you can see, when i put the sealer over the eyeliner, it kind of washed the eyeliner off, and then when I rubbed both, the eyeliner came off completely.  In fact, you can barely see the liner that had the sealer on it anymore!! NOPE! I definitely would not buy this again!

Luscious Liquid Lipstick:

I bought this in perfect pink.  I wanted to try strawberry, but it was sold out.  Perfect pink turned out to be a lot brighter than it appeared on the website!  But it turns out to look really pretty on the lips and when paired with other lipsticks.  It just makes everything more pinky!! I also own baby lips and pink lemonade, which I also love.  I like perfect pink looks glossier than baby lips.
I would definitely buy perfect pink again! And I would really like to try more colors!

Lip Stain:

I was pretty intrigued when I first saw the lip stains in Target, but I didn't want to spend $3 on them! There are many colors to choose from, but I bought heartbreaker, because it looked like a pretty nude color.  I was curious about how this lipstain would work, because all the other lipstains I've seen darken your lips and this one would make it lighter. Well, it definitely colors your lips, very close to the color in the tube. But it leaves me lips with this wierd sticky dry feeling that won't go away even with chapstick.  I didn't try the lipgloss over it yet.  I don't think I will use this often, and I wouldn't buy this particular color again, but I would still like to try the other colors.

Mineral Lipstick:

Runway Pink - Nicely Nude - Just Bitten

I've been in a lipstick craze for a while, so OF COURSE I had to snag a few of these to try!  Normally $5, they were only $2 after the sale.  I only regret not buying more to try!!  I bought runway pink, a baby pink color, nicely nude,  a really pretty warm pinky nude, and barely bitten, a sheer berry red. They're also pretty creamy and moisturizing.  Out of all three, the only one I didn't like was runway pink, it's a lot lighter than I expected it to be, so it really washes out my face.  Barely bitten is nice, I honestly really like it, but I don't see myself wearing this everyday, or at least for now! and I absolutely love nicely nude, it simply gives my lip and really nice shade of pink that's almost nude.  Very wearable!  For sure, I would buy this color again if I run out, and I would buy more colors to try :)

left to right:
Lipstain: Heartbreaker
Luscious Liquid Lipstick: Perfect Pink
Mineral Lipstick: Runway Pink - Nicely Nude - Barely Bitten

The Beauty Encyclopedia Lips Edition:

Like I said, I've been into lipsticks lately, so I bought this to try a whole bunch of different colors for cheap :)  Overall, I was really suprised by this.  I was expecting really cheap product, but the lipsticks in the palette were pretty creamy!!

I only swatched the palette once, and the dents I made in each pan were from dipping the accompanying lipbrush back and forth once or twice.  Yup, soft and smooth and creamy!! Except for the two lipglosses, which were hard, which was what I expected for the lipsticks. 

lipsticks in order from left to right, top to bottom

the lip glosses

Another big suprise, just look at how pigmented the lipsticks are!! Most of them are pretty wearable, especially the four in the top row.  The two lipglosses are pretty sheer, but that's expected for lipglosses.  I havn't actually used any of these lipsticks out yet, but they're fun to play with!  I don't think I would buy another one of these again, but only because I think this one will last me quite a while!

Nail Polish:

I bought a bottle of nail polish in hot pink.  It's darker than how it appeared on the website.  I havn't actually tried this yet, but according to the box, it's toluene free, formaldehyde free, and dibutyl phthalate free.

Brushes:

Last but not least, I bought two brushes just to see, the studio line small angled brush and the elf line blending eye brush.  I tried the angled brush with my mac fluid line, and it's too flimsy to line the eyes with. I couldn't get a nice defined unstreaky line no matter how much I tried. So maybe i'll just use it for the eyebrows, or to put eyeshadow on my bottom lash line.  As for the blending brush, I havn't really tried applying eyeshadows with it yet, but I did try just simply blending.  It was just okay.. nothing great.  I have better blending brushes to use.  I wouldn't buy either of these again.


Okay, phew!! That was a really big haul and a really long post.  Overall, I really like elf products, and I would really like to try more.. I'm just waiting for the next big sale..