Since vowing this year to start buying only cruelty free cosmetics, I have been hunting high and low for replacements for some of my favourite products and always looking for new brands to add into my collection. I have heard lots about e.l.f. and was dying for a chance to try them out. They are an American brand and I thought you could only get them over there, but you can now get hold of them in the UK from their UK website. They are a great example of a brand that proves cruelty free doesn’t need to be expensive. So is e.l.f. any good?
e.l.f. Tools
I have heard great things about the e.l.f. make up brushes and I have not been disappointed by the two I picked up. They are both marked as concealer brushes (£4.50), but I plan on using the smaller brush for concealer and the larger brush for highlight. They are 100% vegan, with soft and fluffy bristles.
e.l.f. Eye Products
I picked up two types of eye products – a cream eyeshadow (£5) and two eyelid primers (£3 each).
The cream eye shadow is part of their new aqua range, infused with vitamins and meant to be hydrating. I love the colour, it’s a soft rose gold that I thought would go well with my hazel eyes. The packaging tells you to blend the product in quickly before it sets, but actually I found that when I blended it with a finger, it almost disappeared to nothing. The colour intensity was lost and it just looked like a warm sheen.
I tried layering it but it didn’t really work. My plan next time is to not blend it at all. We shall see. Maybe I need to try it with the eyelid primer!
The eyelid primers work really well – I got both the pearl and the nude colour. You only need a small amount and they blend easily and evenly over the eyelid. I’ve heard a trick that these can help foundation set over your nose if you’ve got oily skin, so I might try that and report back!
e.l.f. Skin Products
I grabbed two concealers, in Fair and Light (£4.50 each) and a matte setting spray (£5).
It was hard to tell the colour of the concealers in the packaging but I found that the two colours mixed together weren’t a bad match for my skin. I have tried them under my eyes but found they creased more than my current combination (Estee Lauder Double Wear, which I need to replace, and Collection Lasting Perfection) but I really like them for concealing pigmentation and spots elsewhere on my face.
The face mist was a bit of a wild card, I currently use the NYX matte spray and don’t really find it does anything. I have oily / combination skin so this seemed like a good bet. I don’t know whether setting sprays do anything or not but I will be trialling this in the upcoming weeks and letting you know.
First Thoughts
Well, I had slightly higher hopes for e.l.f. cosmetics if I’m honest. Yes, it is super cheap but the quality doesn’t seem to be that great. I am loving the brushes and the eyelid primer and I can make the concealer work, but the rose gold eye shadow, which I had really high hopes for, isn’t up to much yet. However, it does seem that there are some gems in the collection and I’d love to keep trying more.
What do you think of e.l.f.? Have you got any other cruelty free make up recommendations?
♥ JH
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