E.L.F. mega haul #5 - HD powder

After reading rave review after rave review of the E.L.F. HD Powder I couldn't resist adding it to my recent mega order! At £6 I thought it was worth a try to see if I could replace my usual base/finishing powder with it (click here to read my post on what I use in my daily make up routine), as my Lily Lolo matte powder retails at ~£12! Here is a link to the High Definition Powder on the E.L.F. website.

I was impressed by the packaging of the powder when I opened up my box - it comes in a sophisticated looking black square tub and is quite big! I'm not sure I expected to receive so much product for my money! So good first impressions..

Inside the pot you get a pretty standard powder filter & a cute little face puff! Again, I was impressed by the appearance of the product as I hadn't really expected the packaging to be so good.

Now for the negatives - as you can see from the pic above, once you peel off the plastic sticker that keeps the powder safe in transit, it starts to get everywhere! As someone who already uses powder on a daily basis, I am used to having to brush myself off on a morning after doing my make up, but for some reason the HD powder is a lot messier and harder to keep in the tub. Once you actually get it on your face it is a great product and makes your skin feel so much smoother and matte, however I didn't intend to use this on its own, instead using it under my mineral foundation as a base. For that purpose it didn't work as well as the Flawless Matte Finishing Powder I already own, by Lily Lolo. 

I would still recommend the product to people who are just looking for a loose powder to soak up oil and give their skin a matte finish, without putting anything on top. It does feel great on the skin, and it's actually brilliant value for money but sadly it doesn't suit my purpose and just doesn't match up to the product I already use!

xx

E.L.F. mega haul #4 - studio cream eyeliner

Welcome to the fourth instalment of my E.L.F. mega haul! I realise it's taking me ages to get through all these reviews but it does give me the opportunity to individually review each product I purchased. This week I'm looking at the E.L.F. Studio Cream Eyeliner. Click here to view the eyeliner on the E.L.F. website, which retails at £3.50.

I was SO excited when I ordered the Cream Eyeliners in Copper & Black. As you have probably gathered from my numerous posts on eyeliners in the past, I'm a bit of an addict! The E.L.F. eyeliner comes in a little glass pot with a small plastic slanted brush. At first I was disappointed by the brush - to be honest it doesn't look that great and appeared a bit flimsy. I did love the pot though, it looks more high end and less drugstore brand.

Here is what's inside the pot! I've only posted pics of the Copper eyeliner because with Black you generally know what you're getting. The Copper colour is absolutely gorgeous, it's so much nicer than other plain brown eyeliners I've used, but its still subtle and not too shimmery. To use the eyeliner, you dip your brush inside the pot to get a little product on it, and then apply close to the lashes in a straight line, gradually building up the thickness of your line if that's the look you're going for. When applying the eyeliner I found I didn't really have to build the colour, which was nice, and the brush is very well designed for ease of application - its much easier to get a straight line than you'd think!

Here's a pic of my first attempt with the Copper liner - I think I did a pretty good job to say that this was the first time I'd used a brush to apply eyeliner. I'm much more used to pencils and felt tip applicators! Ever since purchasing the Copper & Black Cream Eyeliners I have literally been HOOKED! I have worn one or the other every single day since! (usually black on a weekend rather than for work as it's a bit dramatic against my pale skin!)

I love love love this product, I've definitely been converted to cream liners now! I'm actually a little sad because I love these so much I'm unlikely to ever return to felt tip liners or pencils again, despite the fact that I have quite a collection (except for application to the waterline, when pencils become invaluable). If you have any ideas as to what I can do with my little used eyeliners that are now redundant, leave your suggestion as a Comment.

Overall I think it's clear I'd recommend the E.L.F. Studio Cream Eyeliner. Especially in comparison to the Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, which retails for £7.99, you can't get much better value! In fact, I'm trying very hard to resist purchasing the liner in at least 4 other colours - I've got my eye on Gunmetal, Purple, Midnight and Metallic Olive at the moment!

xx

E.L.F. mega haul #2 - lipsticks

Welcome to installment #2 of my E.L.F. mega haul! I bought 5 lipsticks from E.L.F. in my super splurge a couple of weeks ago:

This is the Studio Matte Lip Colour in 'Natural'. I loved the design of this product when I first saw it on the wbesite, I'm a big fan of changing up the design of lipstick to aid application. This lip colour is shaped like a big chunky pencil which definitely makes it easier to apply, and when you need more product you simply twist the bottom!

I was looking for a nice subtle shade that I could wear to work and I think I found it! Also, the product doesn't dry out your lips; it has lots of lovely moisturising agents in it which is ideal! I would definitely recommend purchasing this, I intend to invest in some different colours when I have a bit more money! £3.50 Linky!

Next up is 'Seductive' from E.L.F.'s basic line of lipsticks. I already own two from this range ('Gypsy' and 'Classy' - click here to read about them) and so I already knew the packaging wouldn't look great (especially compared to the Mineral line, but more on that later) but the actual product is usually much better. 

This colour was a bit more pink than I'd expected - much less subtle than the Matte Lip Colour so I'm not sure if this will get much wear on work days. I do like the colour though, and can see myself wearing it on a relaxing weekend! As with all other basic E.L.F. lipsticks, it can be quite drying so you do need to combine with a lip balm (I use Carmex) to keep your lips happy and the colour at its best. £1.50 Linky!

This is one of the 3 Mineral lipsticks I bought, this one is 'Party Pink'. The packaging on the Mineral line is just gorgeous, it looks so much nicer and sturdier than the basic E.L.F. lipstick line! I would definitely not be embarrassed whipping this out in the toilets at work!

The colour is nice and natural and actually quite sheer. It's perfect for wearing to work, which was the main reason behind my mega haul in the first place! It goes on nice and smoothly, no staining afterward, and is very creamy and soft on your lips. I didn't combine this with Carmex as it didn't dry out my lips! An absolute steal at £3.50 Linky!

 This is another Mineral lipstick, shade 'Rosy Raisin'.

Again a natural & sheer colour, this gives just a gentle hint of plum which I love. It kept my lips hydrated and went on beautifully, no complaints here! £3.50 Linky!

 Last but not least is 'Nicely Nude'.

 I don't really have much to add to what I've already said about the Mineral lipsticks - they're great! This colour is subtle & exactly what I was looking for! £3.50 Linky!

I think this shade and the Studio Matte Lip Colour will probably get worn the most at work, but I can definitely see myself mixing it up with other shades too, especially some of my MUA lipsticks!

xx

E.L.F. mega haul #1 - shimmering facial whip

When E.L.F. (eyeslipsface) recently gave customers a code offering them a whopping 50% off the entire website, I couldn't resist! As my followers on Twitter will know, I ended up spending £31.50, qualifying for free shipping too! This is what £63 will get you at E.L.F.:

Obviously too many products to cover in just one post! So for the next few weeks I'll do a post every weekend on a different group of products, ensuring I'm thorough with my reviews and don't bore you endlessly with one mega review! Today's post is on the Shimmering Facial Whip - I already had this in two shades but one of them exploded in my bag (sadface) and the other just doesn't match my skintone. So I purchased the whip in Spotlight and Lilac Petal...

This is Spotlight. It's the lightest shade of the whip and I thought it would be useful as a highlighter on nights out. In real life, the tone is much more subtle than I expected but it still gives a gorgeous light-reflecting shimmer. As with all the whips, you only need a small amount and it blends into the skin easily. It also smells lovely - the facial whips have a tasty citrus scent to them which is luckily not too overpowering!

This is Lilac Petal. I have been using this as a highlighter every day since it arrived - I adore it! You can see the brilliant shimmer effect it gives on the skin which is perfect for a nice natural make up look in the summer. I will probably use Spotlight for a more subtle look when I start work and the winter starts creeping in.

Overall a fantastic product, definitely recommended. The whips are sold HERE for £1.50 each, I'd recommend purchasing a couple of shades to ensure you end up with one that matches your skin. I can't hype this product up enough, I actually prefer it over Benefit High Beam as a highlighter! And as I got mine for 75p I am one happy bunny!

xx