Review | ELF Brightening Eye Color

Hey Guys! So, today I have a review of the ELF Brightening Eye Color (eyeshadow quads).

 

                                             

Shade - Drama

 

Shade - Brownstone

 

Shade - Day 2 Night

 

 

Shade - Luxe

 

Shade - Ethereal

Price - £1.50 e

Shades - 14

Places To Buy - ELF UK, ELF USA

 

 

Packaging: The packaging on these eyeshadow quads are extremely standard as far as drugstore palettes are concerned - Plastic. They are made of plastic, the bottom half is a white plastic whereas the top lid part of the palette is clear. The fact the lid is clear is extremely handy so you don't have to memorise names of you quads or open every single one until you find the one you are looking for - the clear plastic allows you to be able to see the colours that are in there, which is perfect if you have a large collection of these shadows. The writing on the front is a silver colour, however don't expect it to stay written on there as it does rub off - I assume it is just sprayed on there. The palettes do feel very cheaply made and packaged but for £1.50/$1, what more can you expect? I don't mind the slightly cheap feel of the compact as the shadows inside are, in my opinion, fantastic. There is a tiny mirror at the bottom of the inside of the compact where the shadows are, when you buy the palette brand new, a sponge tip comes supplied in there. However, I do believe the mirror is massively useless. It is far too small to be able to see what you are doing and gets really messy from the shadows anyway. The triangular shape of the shadows can cause a few problems as you may not be able to get your brush in the single shade and may get a few other shades on the brush, something to think about when buying these - you may need to invest in a smaller/slimmer shadow brush if you don't already possess one as if not you may find yourself being stuck/using your fingers to apply the shades.

 

Texture: In my personal experience, the texture of these shadows vary from quad to quad. Day 2 Night for example, the shades are very pigmented, buttery smooth, and glide on the lid without looking chalky, crumbling or flaking off your lid. However, if we take Ethereal, this is the opposite end of the scale. These shadows are not as greatly pigmented, they are not buttery smooth, still smooth though. They can flake off my lids and appear crumbly if I don't use a very good and tacky base - I particularly like the ELF Glitter Primer for this as it is very sticky and has no colour so it doesn't change the shade of the shadows. Taking Ethereal as an exception, the texture of the majority of these quads are very smooth, pigmented and glide on the lid without any problems. The finishes range from matte, satin, shimmer and glitter - something you may want to look out for when purchasing your quad as well. The texture of the glitter shades can sometimes be quite chunky based on some previous reviews I have read, however this is not the case for all of them, something you may want to read up on. In my personal experience with these shadows, the only quad I have been ever so slightly disappointed with is the quad in Ethereal, however I still like it and this it would be great for beginners as the shades are very neutral and the fact they are not massively pigmented, means they will be much more forgiving if you mess up slightly during application.

 

When do I apply these?: With eyeshadows it honestly doesn't even matter, however there are a few tips I will give you about when to apply certain shadow types/shades. 1. If you are working with very dark/shadows that tend to have a lot of fall out - make sure you do the eyeshadow step first. This is because it will prevent you from spoiling the rest of your face makeup from fall out/smudges of dark shades, and you will find its easier to work with as you can be quite messy and clean it up after you're done, as you wont run the risk of ruining the rest of you makeup. 2.If you are working with light/neutral shades with not a lot of fallout - Your options are wide open. The timing of application doesn't really matter as you will have very slight chances of ruining your makeup that you have already applied. I personally like to apply my shadows after my base makeup (foundation, concealer, powder). This is because I can then work my blush/bronzer/lips around the way I have done my eye makeup. However, you could also do it vice versa - making your eyes match everything else.

 

I've applied too much!: Don't fret! With eyeshadows the way to tone down a look that went a little heavier than expected is simply to take a fluffy brush and keep blending the shades out. This will diffuse the colour and the more you blend - the lighter and sheerer the shades the appear. Keep blending until you are finally happy with the outcome - blending is important on any shadow look anyway but is also a great fix if you have gone too heavy on a look, not just too harsh.

 

Would I recommend these?: Yes! I would recommend these shadows. However, I don't think that all the shades will please everybody and the shade range may not be the widest for some people - the shades do range from neutral, colourful and dark though so, there should be at least one quad that caters to your needs. For £1.50/$1 I honestly don't think you can go wrong, and if you do get a dud palette, it's not a massive loss like it would be if you ended up not liking a Tom Ford quad for example.

 

Hope This Helps!

xoxoxo

Review | The Body Shop Shimmer Shades - Lilly Cole Collection.

 

Hi! Here is my review on the Lilly Cole Shimmer Shades from The Body Shop. Unfortunately these were Limited Edition so you can not buy these anymore, unless you get lucky in The Body Shop like I did. I got these on sale for £5.00.

 

There is only one shade selection from the Lilly Cole Collection.

Pigmentation - Medium But Buildable.

Price - £16.00

Places To Buy - The Body Shop

 

Packaging - Personally for me, the over all packaging let the product down a bit. I do like the idea that the cubes of shadow are all individual in there own plastic casing. But, it is very cheap packaging. There is nothing special about it, it's just plain, clear plastic. However, like I said, I do like the concept that each shade is individual so you only have to take the colours you need. That idea is very nice and travel friendly. Another thing that lets it down is that it doesn't lock shut, so I can guarantee if this is going on a plane, the shadows will fall out because it doesn't stay shut.

 

Texture - The texture on these are very hard and they are pigmented but not as pigmented as I expected for the regular price. I do think these are hugely over priced and you really are paying for the name over quality. Where I do think these are nice if you just want something nice, light and easy to apply, then these are probably for you. But for me, after trying so many cheaper things, I personally don't think these are worth the money and bought them to try and because they were on sale so I thought it was the perfect opportunity. With them being quite solid, I'm guessing that because of the way they are packaged, they have to be quite solid.

 

I've Applied Too Much! - Just take a blending brush and keep going oer it, this will almost dilute the colour and make it less harsh on your eyes, making a more soft, blended look. If it's the darker colours that you have over done it on, then sometimes just taking the lightest shade and running it over that colour will help meaning you won't have to spend as much time blending out the colour.

 

When Do I Apply These? - Eyeshadows are something hat you can apply whenever you want as they won't get messed with the other products as you probably won't be laying foundation and concealer over it, meaning it will still be there on your eyes. Applying these before your face makeup also helps a lot as if you get any fall out, you won't have to take away any foundation, powder or concealer, so you can just wipe it away at the end and then start your foundation routine. You could also apply them after your face makeup if you prefer, I tend to do this if I know that the eyeshadows won't have much fall down, if you are conscious about this, take a shadow shield under your eye and it will catch any fall out. Or, if you don't have them, you can just hold a tissue/cotton pad under your eye and it will do exactly the same thing.

 

Would I Recommend These? - I wouldn't to everyone. If you are just starting out with make-up and you want something that is easily blended, quite pigmented, and something where it's all there in one place, then I think these are perfect for you. However, if you, like me, have been using make-up for years and know good eyeshadow from bad, or you're a make-up artist, I think there are much better products out there, some cheaper, some the same price, but there are definitely better things out there.

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Review | ELF Baked Eyeshadows (Studio)

Here is my review on the ELF Baked Eyeshadows!

Left to right: Burnt Plum, Pixie

Price:£3.75

Shades:6
Pigmentation: Medium-High Pigmentation, Buildable.

Places to buy: ELF Online

 

 

Packaging: The packaging on these shadows, again, are pretty standard and kind of cheapy feeling because of the plastic. However, saying this, the black, back part of the packaging has a nice kind of rubbery, velvet feeling (very similar to the NARS packaging) which to me is a nice chance and makes it feel a lot less cheap and flimsy. I have had these since Christmas and they have not broken, or even scratched in any way. The writing on the top of the clear, plastic covering is very much like the MUA Blush Perfection in the sense that it is a spray. However, the writing on these had not rubbed/come off in anyway, it has held up very well. Now, my only complaint about the packaging is that when I received mine, the sticker on the back only consisted of a number and not a name. This is a bad thing as it means that you will either have to remember the name, or make your own sticker with the name on it and stick it on the back of the casing. 

Texture: The texture of these eyeshadows are very soft and silky, not powdery at all. They apply very evenly to the eye, I don't have a problem with drag marks/the shadow going patchy like I do with some baked shadows that I have owned in the past. They are extremely pigmented shades and you don't need to run your brush over them a lot to get a good colour pay off. The shade Burnt Plum is a nice deep, well, plum shade. The shade pixie, is a light pink colour, almost metallic, with blue and purple shimmers, this particular shade looks amazing over the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold. They are almost creamy in the texture, I know from past experience with baked eyeshadows, that some can tend to be extremely powdery and fly all over the place and translate better on a full swatch on your finger than with a brush on to your eye. This is not the case with these, they are very nice smooth, silky, creamy, richly pigmented shadows.

 

Ways To Apply: I mainly apply these with a soft bristled brush with the lighter colour and place it all over my lid, then use a slightly stiffer brush and black the Burnt Plum shade on my outer corner and crease (I also use a smudge brush to mirror that on my bottom lash line). Really, the only ways you can apply these shadows are with a brush or with your fingers. With a brush you are going to get a ore precise look and you are going to have more control with where the product goes and where you blend it out. With your fingers you are going to get a more quick, messy look. This doesn't always look terrible, it just depends how you work with it. Don't attempt to apply the colour into the crease with your fingers, stick with all over the lid and the outer corner, so you can still maintain control and a look like you have spent more time on it rather than like you have stamped the eyeshadow colour on your eyes!

 

I've Applied Far Too Much Product!: Don't worry! I'm here to help! Basically, the most obvious way of fixing it is just keep blending out the shadow with a blending brush, until you get it to the right amount of colour that you want. Another way that I have found out, when I have applied a mountain of product (which is quite often!) is to get a Q-Tip (Cotton Bud) and just wipe it over, the bud will remove some of the product, meaning you can either build on top of that if it has taken off too much, or just leave it if it took off the perfect amount and just blend out the edges.

 

When Do I Apply These?: Personally, I apply these after foundation and when I have done my eyebrows, before I have done concealer, powder etc... mainly because, then you don't have to worry too much about fall out. It is easier to fix when it has landed on foundation rather than layers of your face makeup. The reason being is that you can just run your foundation brush under your eyes and remove any fall out, without removing a big patch of your face makeup.

 

Would I Recommend These?: Of course! I love these shadows and for the price that they are, they are an amazing deal. The quality is there, they are by no means like cheap eyeshadows, the packaging is quite sturdy and holds up well. I haven't took these on holiday yet so I don't know how well they hold up on the plane, if they will crack or anything, but if they do, I will update this post with the results and some pictures.

 

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Elf Elements Custom Eyes- Review.

Hey everyone! So today I have a review on the Elf Custom Eye shadow Refill Pans which are £1.50 each in the UK and $1 in the USA. I have 4  shades:

I added effects as the photo was a bit too dark, the colours aren't quite as metallic and the swatches are without primer.

 

These eye shadows are super pigmented! Although the black one (dusk) has quite a bit of fall out when you apply the shadow onto your finger/brush so be careful of that, but other wise they aren't too bad. They do have a few colourful ones like purples and greens but I went for neutral shades. They apply very beautifully, they don't have a ton of fall out but the shade in dusk has a bit more fall out than the others. They apply evenly and with a primer I can get around 10 hours worth of wear until they fade away off my eyes, but to be honest, I dont need anymore wear out of eyeshadows. They don't cause drag marks on the inner part of your eye, which is a problem I have with a few eyeshadows, so they are amazing. The packaging they come in is just a plastic container which the oan sits in, which is inside a cardboard box so they are very secure. You don't have to remember the names as they have a sticker on the back with the names on aswell as a magnet. However, the dusk eyeshadow that I have came with a clear label on a black magnet with black writing to I can't actually read the label but I just remember them all anyway. The compact to put them in is also £1.50/$1 and they also fit MAC's pan eyeshadows aswell.

 

Hope this helps!

xox



Maybelline 24hr colour tattoo- reviews.

Hey everyone! So today I have a review on the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's. I have 3 shades:

The swatches in this photo are pretty true to colour but of course they are a bit different.

 

I really love these. They are describes as a gel-cream consistancy, which yes they do feel that way.

They are very soft and extremely creamy, but to keep the creamy-ness of the eyeshadow, make sure you store them upside down. They are priced at £4.99 in the uk and around $7 in the USA. On my eyes which are very oily, the cream shadows without a primer last around 16-18 hours on me, which is amazing! I haven't ever worn my makeup for a full 24 hours so I dont know whether they would as I wipe it off after 16-18 hours of wearing it, as I do need sleep! They are quite shimmery and glittery, especially the gold one and it is quite chunky glitter inside which you can feel once applied, but it dries a bit and once it does you can't feel the chunky glitter on your eyes anymore. The pink one is quite new to the UK so I don't know whether it is available in the US yet. I really ike the oackaging on this product! It is in a nice glass jar and the label on top of the jar is the colour of the actual cream shadow, so you know what colour you're picking up if you store them standing up.

 

Hope this helps!

xox

Pink Tease eye palette - review

Hey! I'm back with a review on the Pink Tease eye palette!

This palette is very metallic so for an everyday look I do not recommend this as the colours are very bright and bold on your eyes. The selection of colours are quite good! You have your beige, gold, brown, silver, black and there is even a couple olive tone eye shadows in there, so that is amazing! I don't know the price as I got this palette for Christmas last year and I cant find the price on the Internet, which means I don't know where you can buy this palette either. If anyone finds it please leave the details in the comments as it would really help!

Anyway, like I said, the colours are extremely metallic so I would either use a tiny bit with a very very light hand! Or, just use it to spice up a look. The whole palette itself is 10.5g but doesn't say how much the individual eye shadows are.

I do like this palette, however because the finish of the eye shadows are so bright, bold and metallic I am limited to what I can use them for.

I would recommend this palette to people who wear bold and out there looks, but not to people who use the natural look.

Hope this helps!!
xoxoxo