Friday, 9 March 2012

e.l.f Spring Brights gift box review and swatches!

I used to order from e.l.f (short for eyes lips face, an on-line company originating from America) all the time a couple of years ago but kind of fell out of the loop- until now! I received an email with a 20% off code and paid a visit to the website. The new gift boxes caught my attention as they each come with a selection of six e.l.f goodies, including a few items from their original range, a Studio item and a Mineral item (the original range of products cost £1.50, whereas the Studio and Mineral ranges cost around £3.50 per item). The gift boxes cost £12 each with a retail value of £16, meaning you're saving £4- every little helps!


e.l.f Spring Brights gift box 
I decided to order the Spring Brights box as the mint green nail polish looked lovely, and I'd wanted a gold shimmer stick for a while. It contains the following six items (see below for swatches too!), all of which tie into the spring-time theme of greens and golds:


Brightening eye color 'Teal Dream'


The eyeshadow colours consist of a pearly white, gold, mid-blue and mid-green, and are quite shimmery:


Swatches of 'Teal Dream' shadow quad 
Studio Cream Blush 'Heartbreaker' 
The cream blush looks like a rather bright pink in the pot, but rest assured it doesn't come out that way on the skin! It's slightly redder in real life rather than the super bright pink in the photo (silly camera!), but it gives a natural pink flush when applied.

You only need a little, dabbed on cheeks and blended into skin lightly with your finger tips. 
'Heartbreaker' cream blush 
'Mint Green' nail polish
I love the pale pastel green shade of this polish; I've tried a few from other brands that have been slightly too dark for my pale skin tone, so I was looking for a pastel green. This fits the bill nicely!


I only had time to paint one nail! 
Shimmer pencil in Grassy Green 
Nice shimmery metallic mid-green colour
I love the consistency of the pencil, as the nib isn't too hard and so it doesn't drag against the skin. It also means it's easy to blend.


All Over Color Stick in Toasted 


This shows on the skin pretty much how it looks in the tube above, a gold-bronze shimmery colour, and it blends easily. I'll be using it as a multi-purpose product: lips, eyes, highlighting cheekbones/collarbone/eyebrow bone. It also smells really good, like oranges!


Mineral lipstick in Party Pink 

I don't usually wear lipsticks, I'm more of a gloss girl as I'm always afraid lipstick will look too 'obvious' on me. I was pleasantly surprised by this shade though, as it doesn't come across too heavy-looking when applied, and it has quite a sheer finish. The colour is as pictured; a pinky-peach with subtle gold undertones. And for days when I feel like wearing gloss I can simply dab some clear gloss on top :)


Overall I'm very impressed with the selection of products and the quality of each item. The packaging of the Studio and Mineral products are particularly nice; sleek and black, they don't look as if they only cost £3.50 each when bought separately! The All Over Color stick is a handy pocket size, making it easy to carry around for touch-ups, and the eye pencil compliments the eyeshadow palette perfectly. And as for the nail polish, it fulfils my green colour wishlist :) e.l.f definitely offers great value for money, and the range of products and shades available on their website is impressive. I've placed a couple more orders with them since receiving this package... Keep your eyes peeled for future posts!


Full range of e.l.f products available on their website here

6 comments :

  1. I made my first order from ELF last week, I can't wait to see what comes and to test the products! xx

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  2. Ooh what did you order? I'm becoming a little bit obsessed with ordering, but they have regular deals so I can't resist!xx

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  3. Ive never tried anything from elf actually... There's so much choice, it's a bit overwhelming really.
    I like both the blush and nail polish you got. :)

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    1. The cream blush is great, only need to use a little so I think the pot will last a while. I've ordered a batch of nail polishes in various colours (as they're so cheap!) I'll be writing a post about them soon!xx

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  4. I think I might have to buy this for my little sister for her birthday :) Do the gift boxes come 'gift wrapped'? Or are they just in a plain cardboard box? x

    www.lottys-luxuries.blogspot.com

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    1. Unfortunately it doesn't come gift wrapped, but I'm sure with a bit of cheap tissue paper and some ribbon you could make it look like it does?! Haha, I was a little disappointed to find it just comes in a plain cardboard box, but for the price I'm not too annoyed :) I'm thinking of getting the Red Carpet set as a present for a friend's birthday, it has a smoky eye pencil and eyeshadow quad, as well as a red gloss, a cream blush and a gold shimmer stick xx

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