Review: ELF Studio Cream Eyeshadow in Dawn

As a low maintenance eye makeup gal - eyeliner and mascara, that's me done - I'm always after something to add some colour to my lids, but without the effort of using multiple brushes, multiple eyeshadows and spending many moons blending, blending, blending. Enter the ELF Studio Cream Shadow in Dawn.

Dawn is a beautiful grey-taupe colour, which is the perfect everyday neutral shade. It has tiny gold glitters in, which are barely detectable in the pot, but show up very subtley on the eyelids. I tend to wear only this all over the lid for an easy everyday look, but this would also be lovely as a base for other eyeshadow looks too.

The texture is quite moussey and creamy, but never feels greasy on the lids. This is a great day to day product, as you can easily apply it with your fingers if you're in a rush or for a more intense colour, use the brush that comes with the eyeshadow. I have to admit, I haven't tried this with any other brushes as the mini brush that comes with the eyeshadow is really all you need. A little goes a long way, so I can see this 4.75g of product lasting a long time.

I have worn this all day for up to 8 hours and find it never creases on me, even without an eyeshadow primer (although I always powder my eyelids before applying eye products). I was seriously amazed at the longevity, as I can get oily eyelids. I have used this so much since I bought it in November and would highly recommend it. It is common for cream eyeshadows to dry out and harden after a few months, but I have had no issues with this yet.

What are your favourite cream eyeshadows?

Joy xx

Review: ELF Brushes

A few months ago, I bought some brushes from ELF as they were offering 40% off due to them getting 275,000 likes on Facebook. I happily picked up some new brushes and thought I've used them enough now to do a thorough review on them. I've also decided to throw in a review of some ELF brushes that I had bought previously too.

Lip Brush - £1.50 - I've not really had a chance to use this that much, but it is a lovely brush. It's super soft and is a good shape to give an accurate lipstick line. I feel like it's quite a large brush, but I've not got any other lip brush to compare it to. It's a great brush for a great price.

Eyebrow Wand - £1.50 - There's not much to say about this brush to be honest. I just use it to comb through my eyebrows before applying products and it works well.

Studio Stipple Brush - £3.50 - I have been using this for MAC Virgin Isle Cream Colour Base and MAC Her Blooming Cheek and it's great. It isn't very dense, but that's what makes it so good at applying pigmented blushes. It deposits the right amount of colour from pigmented blushers and diffuses it nicely on the cheek. It is also great for highlighter. The brush is very flat, but after washing a few times it has become slightly rounder. I have never experienced any shedding with this brush.

Studio Complexion Brush - £3.50 - I love using this brush for powder or blending out blusher/bronzer/contour. It's super soft and is nice and dense to distribute powder evenly. It doesn't shed at all.

Studio Blush Brush - £3.50 - This is one of my favourite brushes. It's the perfect size for blush and contouring. It's super soft and I love how it tapers at the end, so it's more accurate.

Studio Flat Powder Brush - £3.50 - I really like this brush. It's so versatile - I've used it for foundation, cream blush and contour and I'm sure you could use it for even more. It's very similar to the Sigma F80. It's a super dense brush, which applies everything like a dream, especially foundation. I have never experienced any shedding from it.

Studio Slanted Brush - £3.50 - This is a nice brush for filling in your eyebrows. The brush isn't very stiff and sometimes splays a little too much, meaning the lines it creates aren't always completely accurate.

Studio Face Kabuki - £5 - This is a lovely, soft and dense kabuki. I use this for my setting powder and it distributes powder evenly and is a great buffer. It washed well and I experience no shedding from it.

What do you think of ELF brushes? What is your favourite brand for brushes?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Current Favourites

I didn't do a November favourites, because I was using pretty much the same make-up throughout November as October and I didn't see the point on posting the same favourites. But recently, I've been loving some new products so I thought I'd share them with you by doing a quick video.

What are you loving at the moment?

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

July Favourites 2011

This is my first favourites post. I normally find it quite difficult to pick out monthly favourites, but this month a few products have really stood out for me :) I decided to do a video, because I felt like it.



I've written this in the downbar on Youtube, but in case you don't go to my Youtube I thought I'd just post it here too -
1) My camera doesn't autofocus during videos, so I had to film the 'macro' parts separately and used voiceovers in those sections.
2) I don't know why it's so zoomed in and up close, sorry if that scares you!
3) I think I've overused the word 'absolutely' in this video!
Before I go, I just wanted to apologise about how slow I've been replying to comments and commenting on everyone's blogs. I'm currently in the midst of packing up my uni room (because I finally break up for summer on Friday!) and I'm trying to enjoy the lovely weather we're having at the moment, so please bear with me. Thank you all for understanding :)

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

Favourite Lip Combination of the Moment

I just thought I'd share my favourite lip combination of the moment with you all. Since the weather is starting to warm up and summer is almost nigh, it's the trend to wear bright lipsticks. I've been wanting to wear some bright lipsticks, but alas I've been scared! So I settled for a happy medium, where my lips are brighter than usual but not as bright as the trends.

Left: MAC lipstick in To Swoon For, Right: ELF Plumping Lip Glaze in Oasis

Left: Oasis, Right: To Swoon For

The combination looks a little brighter and darker in real life.

What are you favourite lip combinations at the moment?

xoxo, Joy

Recent ELF Purchases

E.L.F. do special offers on their Facebook page at every 1,000 new likes. They recently had free postage due to 65,000 likes, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out a few of their products.

I was extremely pleased with how quickly the package arrived too. I placed the order at approximately 11am, so my order was dispatched on the same day and arrived in 2 days, which is mighty speedy! :)

Studio Blush in Tickled Pink - £3.50

Eyebrow kit in Dark - £3.50
Studio Small Angled Brush - £3.50
Plumping Lip Glaze in Oasis - £1.50

Swatches:

With flash - From L-R: Plumping Lip Glaze in Oasis, Plumping Lip Glaze (Clear end), Eyebrow Kit in Dark (Gel,), Eyebrow Kit in Dark (Powder), Blush in Tickled Pink

I used the products for the first time today and so far, so good :) I'm looking forward to trying out these products properly, due to reading some good reviews about them on other blogs and hearing positive reviews from some people on Youtube. Have you ever bought anything from E.L.F. before? Do you have any recommendations of good products by E.L.F.?

Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy