ELF Haul: Product Overviews & Swatches

Hey everyone! I just got my ELF order (from their free shipping special) in today and wanted to share some swatches and a little bit about the products and my thoughts on them. I was also supposed to get one of their new $1 lipsticks in "Seductive," but apparently this was sold out even though it went through when I made the order :(

Anywho, here is what I got:
Back to School Eyeshadow Set - Natural Shadows & Brush ($3),
Back to School Concealer Kit - Zit Zapper ($3),
and Studio Small Angled Brush ($3)

Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils ($1)

First off, the Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils. I mentioned that I was a little hesitant to try these because all of the ELF eyeliners I own smudge on me really quickly... I was betting on these being no different. But... they are just so pretty looking! So I decided to play guinea pig and order a bunch.

The caps have a built in sharpener, like their Studio Concealer Pencils. Very convenient. However, the cap doesn't really stay on that well... I find it pulls off a little TOO easily.


I like how the color of the pencil is pretty much the actual color of the liner.

These pencils are very, very smooth and easy to apply. However, it is because they are VERY VERY soft. That's why I'm a little wary about the cap being so flimsy because you can easily smush the tip, and it'll probably be hard to sharpen since it's so soft.

L-R:
Twinkle Teal, Gunmetal, Iconic Ivory, Plum Passion, Boldly Bronzed, Grassy Green

However, the colors really are quite beautiful in person. The swatches on the ELF website are actually pretty accurate, except for Grassy Green. On the website, Grassy Green looks like a really bright, kelly green. But it is actually a dark, forest green IRL. Still very pretty though.

So far, I have only tried the Grassy Green one. It did not show up on my waterline very well, but it did show up nicely on my lashline though. I've only been wearing it for a few hours, but smudging has been minimal so far. Will continue to test the rest of the colors and see how they do. On the ELF website, it shows these liners being used more like eyeshadows, applied over the entire eyelid. I think I'll try them like that instead of just liners and see how they do as an eyeshadow or shadow base instead.

This is one of their Back To School Eyeshadow Sets, the Natural Shadows set.

I really like the packaging, it's very cute, sleek, and sturdy. I love the little windows on the outside so you can see the shadows. The inside has a little mirror. The tiny brush is pretty much useless though.


The shadows look quite pretty, no? I love neutral, natural shades so I thought this would be perfect. There are 3 matte shades (top left, top right, bottom right) and 3 shimmery shades (top middle, bottom left, bottom middle).

However, I must say, these shadows kind of suck. I was pretty disappointed with this product. The shadows are super soft and buttery, but also SUPER powdery and chalky and majorly lacking in pigmentation. At first swipe, they look alright I guess...

...But after some furious swatching, this is all you get:

This took about 5 layers to get the color to show up this much. I know this is supposed to be a "Natural" set, but I still wish it packed more pigmentation. I've been much more satisfied with their $1 Brightening Eyeshadow Quads. Out of the 6 shades, I can only really use one -- the dark brown one. The rest of the shadows are too sheer and shimmery for my liking, so I can only use them as highlights.


Here is the Back to School Concealer Kit. I got this mainly to try the Zit Zapper. I had also been wanting to try a lighter shade of the Tone Correcting Concealer, so I figured I might as well get the whole set. I have not tried the Zit Zapper yet but I will be back with a review soon!

Here's swatches of the Tone Correcting Concealer in Light Beige. I think it's an alright match for my skin tone. Haven't tried it on my dark circles yet. I semi-hate how just about everything in the $1 line has that strong citrusy scent though. This concealer is especially scented.


Here is the Studio Small Angled Brush. I've been religiously using my Wet N Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner lately, using Sephora and Coastal Scents bent angled eyeliner brushes, which are starting to get caked up and stiff. So I decided I would try an angled liner brush instead. I didn't really expect it to be so "long," but it is super soft. Have not tried it yet but I hear good things about it so I hope I'll like it :)

I was mostly disappointed that I didn't get my lipstick though... :( Was really looking forward to trying that out. Oh well, next time...

Have you hauled anything from ELF recently?