Review: E.L.F. Brightening Eye Color shadows

Hey everyone!

How's your weekend going so far? It was a beautiful Saturday in NYC. Plus, I'm enjoying an extra-long weekend as I'm taking a mini-vacation from work...I'm off until Wednesday! Yippee!

A few weeks back I was introduced to E.L.F. cosmetics at the Redbook Beauty Bash in NYC. Afterwards, I ordered several of their products (you wouldn't believe what - and how much - I purchased for about $25!)

I've been using these products pretty regularly over the last few weeks and I wanted to share my impressions of them. There's a lot of ground to cover so I will be doing a series of reviews over the next couple of weeks. PLUS, I will be doing an E.L.F. giveaway soon...so keep an eye out for the details!

First up is a review of the E.L.F. Brightening Eye Color shadows. These shadows come as a quad compact and at $1 each (yes, $1!) are a great value. I purchased the four quads below; the colors are (clockwise from top) Nouveau Neutrals, Day 2 Night, Silver Lining and Drama.

I'll begin by stating that all four palettes are shimmery, none of the shades are matte. In the case of Drama, the two gray shades border on the glittery side. All four palettes include a highlight shade, two medium shades for the lid, and a dark shade for the crease. When I first picked these up I didn't hold a high expectation for them. But as I began using them, I was pleasantly surprised!

With the exception of the three lightest shades in the Nouveau Neutrals palette, all of the shadows had good pigmentation. But I quickly learned that a gentle hand is needed for the application of these shadows. Unfortunately, they are a bit chalky; a light tap of your shadow brush into the darker colors will probably be all you need. I also found that I had to work the brush a little more than usual to blend the shadows but it's not impossible to do.

At first I was skeptical about the durability of these shadows. Like my skin, my eyelids are oily so I always have issues with my shadow staying put all day. I tried applying these shadows with and without primer. When used without primer, I experienced creasing after two or three hours and the colors had somewhat faded. But when used with a primer, the shadows stayed put for most of the day, kept their vibrancy and I noticed little creasing. I tested application with three different primers: MAC Painterly Paintpot, Smashbox Photofinish Lid Primer, and NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese. (I realized after the fact that E.L.F. sells their own eyeshadow primer - I may order one next time.) All three performed well with these shadows but I think my Smashbox primer was the best option.

My favorite palette of the four is Day 2 Night followed by Silver Lining. In my opinion, Day 2 Night will work well for anyone; you can use the lighter ivory and brown shades for the day and then glam it up for evening with the gold and charcoal grayish-black shades. Silver Lining is a fun wearable palette, ideal for spring and summer. I love the pink and grayish-purple shades.

For a $1 apiece these E.L.F Brightening Eye Color palettes are a super value and will a go a long way. I especially recommend them for teens starting to experiment with makeup. There are several more colors in the product line; you can find them online at http://www.eyeslipsface.com

Also E.L.F. has a channel on YouTube and they have some great tutorial videos. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeslipsfacedotcom

Stay tuned for my upcoming reviews of their various lip products as well as a review of their shadow duos and other goodies.

Until next time!

Liz :-)

April Favorites!

Hey everyone!

WOW! I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Very, very bad of me. I really need to make up for lost time! I have a list of reviews to write up and I really hope to get to most of them this month.

Now down to business. It was tough picking my top 3 faves for April. But I narrowed the field and, ironically, they're all eye products! Here they are:

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Trio in "Desert Gold"

I bought this eyeshadow palette just a couple of weeks ago and have been using it almost every day. I love these colors! The bottom color is a shimmery taupey-brown color for the lid. I would describe the middle color as a khaki-like brown with a hint of shimmer and is perfect for the crease. The top color is a pretty gold color, also with a slightest hint of shimmer. It's a fabulous highlight shade.

I have to admit that when I first purchased this palette I was half-expecting to be disappointed. In my opinion, Maybelline shadows never had the best color payoff and so-so lasting power. But I've noticed over the last couple of years that the quality of their shadows (and other products for that matter) have improved tremendously. And the improvement is definitely noticeable in this eyeshadow palette. The colors glide on effortlessly and are totally blendable. They work especially well when used over a good primer.

This palette was released with their spring/summer collection and is limited edition (yikes!). So I highly recommend you run - not walk - to your local drugstore and pick yours up. I bought mine at a local Duane Reade in NYC and I've seen it at CVS and Rite Aid. This is a palette you can definitely use all summer and well into the fall season.

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer

I bought this product at Sephora last year, used it a few times, put it away and basically forgot about it. Why did I do that? I decided to use it again out of sheer guilt since it was a shame to throw out a nearly full product. I've really fallen in love with this primer! It has a light tint which I find helps to minimize discoloration on your eyelids. But more importantly, it really helps your shadows (any brand) stay in place all day! I have super-oily eyelids so not having to touch up my eye makeup during the day is a major plus. I had been using Benefit's FY...Eye for years but it's now discontinued. I've also used Urban Decay Primer Potion and I really like it but I think Smashbox is going to be my new holy grail primer.

Cover Girl LashBlast Fusion Mascara

This mascara is simply awesome! According to Cover Girl, this product is a combination of the original LashBlast which promised lash fullness and LashBlast Length which promised longer lashes. I never tried LashBlast Length as I'm always going for volumizing mascaras. This mascara really delivers on it's promise! After just one coat, my lashes are long and full and oh so alluring! And after two coats, look out! This is a product I can definitely see myself repurchasing...it's a terrific value and works so much better than many of the expensive department store brands out there. Give it a try!

And there you have it...my top three faves for April. Stay tuned for some product reviews in the coming weeks as well as a giveaway!

Until next time!

Liz :-)