ELF & Sephora Haul: Pics + Swatches

Hello loves! Here to share an ELF & Sephora order that I received yesterday.

What I hauled from ELF:

Studio Blushes (Berry Merry, Mellow Mauve, Blushing Rose), Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder, Studio Cool Bronzer, Nail polish in Mango Madness, Studio Mineral Infused Face Primer, Blending wedges, Blushing/Bronzing/Blending brush, and Studio Blush brush.

Random: I have this habit where I only spend $21-22 on my ELF orders :P Every single time I order from ELF, I'll always spend that much AND I make sure I have some kind of promo code to use :P

Mineral Infused Face Primer - $6

Got this for my mom. Will wait until she tries it out to try it out for myself. Heard mixed reviews about this! I honestly thought it would be REALLY tiny. I guess it can be considered "small" but it was A LOT bigger than I expected! Still, the packaging is quite deceiving.

Nail polish in Mango Madness - $1

Apparently, this was mislabeled "Passion Pink" but it is supposed to be Mango Madness. I had to email ELF to find this out. I mean; they could have indicated this mix-up on my invoice, right??

Studio Blushes - $3
L-R: Mellow Mauve, Berry Merry, Blushing Rose.

Finally completed my collection of ELF Studio Blushes! I really like these. They are smooth and long lasting and FABULOUS for the price!! Some are better than others though. For example, my Mellow Mauve is not too pigmented... but my Blushing Rose and Berry Merry are UBER pigmented. But like the rest of my ELF Studio blushes, they are all quite buildable.

Mellow Mauve

Berry Merry


Blushing Rose

L-R: Blushing Rose, Berry Merry, Mellow Mauve

Studio Blush and Bronzing Powder - $3

I actually had the one that came in the ELF Studio Mini Makeup Collection, but I hate having to open up the whole thing every time I want to use this product. So I figured I might as well buy it separately! Love this duo. Very smooth and finely milled. A little more powdery than the Studio blushes but no biggie. Gorgeous pigmentation. And of course, it's known to be a close dupe for NARS Orgasm/Laguna ;)

Studio Cool Bronzer - $3

I figured I might as well complete my collection of ELF Studio bronzers as well; so I ended up picking up the the Cool Bronzer. Originally, I wasn't too interested in the shades. But since the Golden and Warm bronzers are both shimmery; I wanted to try matte. I haven't used this swirled together yet (not really intending to) because I'd rather use all the shades individually. The two brown shades are great for contouring, the pink shade makes a nice blush, and the white shade is a nice highlight.

Studio Blush Brush - $3

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this brush. It is suuuuper soft but the brush head is much too small and flat for my liking. I expected it to be a lot bigger/fluffier but also more dense. It picks up color fine but I just don't like the size/shape. Nothing beats my fav EcoTools blush brush!

Blushing, Bronzing, and Blending Brush - $1

Wasn't expecting TOO much from this brush; but I really liked the shape since I'm looking for an angled brush I can use for contouring. However, like the Studio blush brush; the brush head is quite small, flat, and dense enough. Also, the bristles are suuuper scratchy.

What I hauled from Sephora:
Benefit To Go "Stay Put" Set, Tarte Double Dose in Go Go Goji, and Smith's Rosebud Strawberry Lip balm.

And some samples.

Benefit To Go "Stay Put" Set - $10

This set includes miniature versions of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray, Erase Paste, and Creaseless Cream Shadow. I think it's a GREAT value for the price because you get to try out 3 products for less than the price that ONE of these individual products costs! The pots are about the size of a quarter and I can see them lasting me a really long time. The Stay Don't Stray is VERY tiny though and I think I'll use that up really quickly.

I did a little testing of these products and here's my say so far:

• Creaseless Cream Shadow: The shade RSVP is described as a "Sparkling champagne." It's very light, creamy, and easy to smooth on. It's very shimmery and sheer but buildable. I used it as an eyeshadow base/highlight and it worked nicely. Not something I'd consider a "groundbreaking" product for me, though.
  
  
• Erase Paste: I did a scathing review a couple years ago when I tested a sample of this. I must say; I have to retract half the things I said about it XD My sample must have been a bad one because the pot I have now is A LOT different. It is still a weird pinkish undertone, but it actually blended well with my skintone, covered my dark circles pretty well, and brightened up my undereye area. The texture is still slightly sticky and thick, but NOWHERE near as horrible as the sample I had; the sample was literally like paste... gross. But the one I have now is a lot more smooth, creamy, and easy to apply. Will do more testing of this before updating my review.
  
  
• Stay Don't Stray: I was really interested in trying the full-size of this product, but now I know better. As an eye primer, it does increase the staying power and pigmentation of eyeshadows, but I'd say it's only on par with my ELF Mineral eyeshadow primer. Nothing spectacular and my shadows ended up fading by the end of the day. It's also similar to the ELF primer in that the longer you let it sit; it begins to lose it's "effectiveness." However, it worked better at making my concealer stay put. But again, nothing SO spectacular that it couldn't be achieved without using this product. It did nicely double as a semi-concealer though; and evened out the discoloration around my eye area. Will do more testing; but for now, I don't think the full size is worth it's hefty price tag ($24).

L-R: Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP, Erase Paste in Medium, and Stay Don't Stray.

Smith's Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm - $7

It was the adorable packaging that got me!!! But other than that; I'm 50/50 with this product. It smells nice and sweet at first... but then it starts to get a little chemical-y and cloying. When you apply it on your lips, the smell fades quickly but the taste is gross and plastic-y... it's not terribly unbearable but it lingers. The texture is smooth and not hard or waxy like I've read in a couple reviews; but that could have to do with the fact that it's so hot and humid here. It smooths on nicely and feels moisturizing and soothing.... but it's just the smell/taste that slightly irks me. Will keep using it though and see if things change.

Tarte Double Dose in Go Go Goji - $6

I took a chance at getting this since it reminds me a lot of ELF's 2 in 1 Conditioning Gloss; which I didn't have the best experience with. Like the ELF gloss, it is SUPER sticky/tacky. EVERYTHING gets stuck in this gloss. Not the most comfy on lips. However, unlike the ELF gloss, it is quite easy to get the color and clear gloss to come out at the same time AND it is VERY pigmented and shows up on my lips. It feels slightly moisturising and conditioning, but even after the gloss wears off (it lasts FOREVER though); a thin layer of stickyness remains for quite some time -- yucky. Works well as an overnight treatment though.

Go Go Goji is a bright medium-pink with slight shimmers. Shows up nice and glossy on lips. It has a slight sweet minty smell/taste/tingle that's doesn't last long and is not unpleasant at all -- it's quite nice, actually.

And that concludes this super long swatch/pic-fest.
Hope you survived! ;)