Elf 10th birthday haul

Hey hey lovely faces! New post coming your way right about...NOW! 

So recently, the makeup company Eyes Lips Face, more commonly known as ELF, celebrated their 10th birthday. So I'm guessing your thinking "Oh, cute for them Jade, but the point of this is?". Well, dear reader, did you know that they were offering 51% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE?! That's right, (just) over half price!! Needless to say, I took up this opportunity in a heartbeat (Thanks to Shannon of buffythemakeupslayer for notifying me!). So here's a summary of what I picked up in this sale!

First up, let's talk brushes. I'm starting to expand my brush collection, slowly but surely. As much as I dream of mountains of MAC, Tom Ford and Armani brushes, spending nearly £40 for a brush sounds pretty ridiculous to me, and is pretty infeasible for most of us makeup junkies! No need to fret though, ELF has us covered! Every brush listed here was less than £2 during the birthday sale. How fab! Let's go into a bit of detail.

First up, let's talk about the ELF studio powder brush. As harsh as it may look in the packaging, don't be deceived! This brush is super soft and fluffy with a lovely flat top for full application. I would be interested to see how this would work to apply foundation. It has been great for applying my powder, though I would recommend that you don't use a heavy hand as it can leave darker patches of powder. Just remember to blend. Did I also mention that all ELF studio brushes are made with taklon, meaning that they're all antibacterial?! FAB! 

And now for a disappointing product. When I purchased the basic tools brushes, I didn't have great expectations for them, after all, they averaged for about £1 and I'd never bought any during my visits to the ELF store in Cardiff. It's safe to say that my pre-judgements were in fact true with this brush. Firstly, I don't even know why I purchased this brush as the hairs look awful in real life. The red fibres make the brush look even cheaper than it is. It felt as if there were not enough brush hairs, so I question if this would be good for subtle application. It felt hollow on the inside too. This may sound ridiculous but it was not as comfortable as other brushes because it was too light. I could most definitely tell the difference between this brush in comparison to the ELF studio range, which I adore. Would not recommend this brush! 

And then things became a lot better. I never have enough eyeshadow brushes, so I took up this opportunity to change that! Turns out I love this brush so much that I'd actually previously purchased it from the ELF store in Cardiff! Once again, it felt fluffy and full, just like the other studio brushes. Plus it contains taklon fibres too.

Now for a studio tool that exceeded my expectations. I will be honest in that it was pretty basic, but definitely a lot better than the bronzing brush. It was definitely worth the price, and more. The brush hairs felt nice and looked a hell of a lot better than the red hairs in the bronzing brush. La la lovely! 

The blending eye brush had the perfect amount of hairs; it was thick, but still flexible. I think the ELF tools eye brushes are wooden and not hollow, which explains why they feel so much more comfortable than the bronzing brush. Again, totally worth the price. 

The defining eye brush didn't have as many hairs as the other brushes, so I fail to understand what actually helps to make it 'define', but nevertheless, it is still a decent brush, especially for the price that I paid. 

This crease brush can only be described as FAB! The brush is rounded with a pointed tip, meaning that it applies gloriously to the crease. I can't wait to try a smokey eye with it. This tool will most definitely do the job right.

Finally, we have the small precision brush from the studio range. The hairs were taklon and pretty rigid, shaped into a small point. This brush is precise and would be fab for the application of small details, or tidying up bits of eyeshadow. 

Next up, we have the rest of my order, with swatches included. 

First up, we have the radiance enhancer in shade 'Sunrise'. Now, I may have little patience, but I promise I'm not exaggerating when I say that it took about 40 clicks to get the product out. Insane! After that, I was greeted with a lot of product, so definitely be patient when using this. Personally, I wouldn't rely on the applicator brush (What is it even called?!), instead, I'd blend with fingers instead. When blended, it creates a subtle bronze shimmer that actually looks pretty nice, especially with a summer tan. I feel that this would be great to bronze or even contour with.

Next up is the ELF eyeshadow primer in 'Coco Loco'. First thing I have to mention about this product is how fast it dries, hence why my swatch looks really bad. That's right, in the time that it took me to take a photo, it had halfway dried! But seriously, let's not think of this as an issue, but instead a blessing. This primer would be fab if you're in a rush instead of waiting around for it to dry. The only limitation is, of course, the shade. It'd probably work great with a brown based smokey eye, or someone that uses brown shades everyday. Depending on how effortless you're feeling, I think you could pass it off as a quick lid cover. Nevertheless, I think this product is definitely worth a lot more than what I paid for! 

Oh Jade, look at that swatch focus, 10 out of 10! Let's just ignore that, after all, this eyeshadow is fab, with a little twist. When I first went to swatch the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow, I naturally thought it would be a powder eyeshadow, after all, it looked like it. Needless to say, I was surprised when I felt the thick, air whipped shadow. Is that a contradiction? Seriously, this is how it felt. What's great about this is that only a small amount of product is needed. Thanks to its soufflé like texture, it's easy to blend. My only concern was the shades available. Either way, I would totally recommend! 

The struggle was most definitely real with this product! Seriously, it was beyond impossible to open. I had to use a knife to pry open the lid. The swatch above was after three swipes, because it really isn't that pigmented. I suppose it'd work well for those with paler skin, or those aiming to achieve a subtle look, but I wouldn't really recommend this. 

I have a question. See in the upper right corner, why are their little moisture droplets on the product?! Okay, back to blogging! Surprisingly, this product isn't as pigmented as it looks. The swatch above was once again after a few swipes, however, it was very easy to blend. I'm not sure how I'd feel about applying this over a base though, due to its consistency. It'd probably work nicely for a minimal makeup look in the summer, just a hint of bronze. 

Okay, so I haven't used this product on my face yet, but so far, I'm obsessed! The consistency reminds me of butter, it's heavenly! In all honesty, I bought these cream foundations to try out 'cooking', a technique used by many drag queens where you let the makeup sit on your face and warm up (In case you didn't know, I'm obsessed with RPDR). When blended, it leaves a matte finish, which is fab because it really does feel like it wouldn't get oily throughout the day. I'm feeling a full review on this soon. 

Thankfully, a lot less twisting was needed for the All Over Color Stick. Firstly, I have to say that it smells heavenly! If you've ever used Lush's Yuzu & Cocoa bubbleroon, it smells just like that, the mixture of Citrus and Shea. Obsessed! Personally, I wouldn't use this as a cover stick as I feel it's too brightening, however, I think this would be fab as a highlighter. Either way, I could just use it as a perfume because it smells so good!

No swatch for this product unfortunately. No need to worry though my dearies, take my word on this because this product is in my everyday makeup look! I decided to purchase another eyebrow kit while they were half price. I bought my last one nearly a year ago and I'm still nowhere near finishing it. The kit consists of a coloured wax/gel, and a coloured powder to set it. Personally, I prefer not to use the powder. I apply this with ELF's small angled brush. This is a must have. 

Finally, I bring you the ELF lotion wipes. I haven't used these yet but I'm interested in giving them a try. I suppose they're a great product to have while travelling, but I feel that they're not that cost effective seeing as there are only 15 sheets per packet. I'd be interested to know how many sheets are needed to moisturise the whole body. Either way, they do smell lovely.

So, did any of you make an ELF birthday order? Let me know in a comment below. 

Thanks for reading, hope you have a lovely day. 

Lots of Love!