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 :-)