Hello there! :)
This post has been a long time coming... I took these photos ages ago and just never got around to posting them! But at least now I have really used the products and can give (hopefully) a pretty insightful review. I'll try not to waffle and make it too boring for you!
Eau La la
ELF Nail Polish - Fair Pink
ELF Nail Polish - White
ELF Nail Polish - Golden Goddess
I purchased four gorgeous nail polishes from ELF and I can say I'm reasonably happy with them. You really need to build up the colour with them, probably three coats at least for a streak free nail but you can often get worse with more high end makeup brands anyway so as long as you don't mind the waiting, drying and reapplying these are just fine.
I bought the White shade thinking it would be a good cheap french manicure polish, but it's really not thick enough for it. I think with this I'll mix it with my other colours to create real pastelly shades (although I haven't figured out how to do this yet, I'll keep you posted!).
Mint Cream and Fair Pink are a lot paler than they appear in the photographs (sorry about that) and I was quite happy with them. Although Fair Pink appeared a lot paler on the website than it ended up, but it's still a very nice Spring colour.
Golden Goddess is a really great glitter polish. With fine and chunky, rich, gold glitter throughout it is really a great way to glam up your nails. The only thing was this was I found it took a bit longer than average to dry, but I am rather impatient when it comes to painting my nails!
These retail for only £1.50 and are worth your money. They do lack a bit in quality but you can build them up with a little patience. I would also recommend the colours (but not the White) and the two pastel colours are great for this Spring!
ELF - High Definition Powder
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this product. First off, I don't usually powder my skin after applying my makeup as I prefer a dewey look but I found that this lead to my makeup not lasting a full day. So I opted for this as it defines itself as "invisible" so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
This was £6, which I thought was pricey, but that's only compared to the rest of ELF's prices. So I figured this must be better quality stuff.
What I loved: I found that this really did give my skin a "soft focus" as it said it would and didn't mattify my skin too much. It went on over my makeup really easily and didn't disturb it at all. I didn't use the puff that it came with but I thought it was a nice little extra.
What I hated: It's so damn MESSY! I mean, I found this stuff going everywhere whenever I needed to get a little more out. There is no whaaay jose I could travel with this as the outcome would be horrific. And this is a big no no since I travel back and forth to both my parents and Mikes parents house and to our flat.
So if you are willing to put up with the mess I would give this a whirl if you're after an invisable powder without splashing out too much. But I now only tend to use this when I really need it on nights out or on long days at Uni.
ELF Studio Brushes - Complexion, Stipple and Powder Brush
I also thought I would try out some of the brushes in the Studio Collection and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of them. These were only £3.50 which is a bargian compared to some other brushes on the market. Here's why they are worth your money:
I used the Complexion Brush (and yes, it's spelt wrong in the picture, but arsed changing it haha) for the High Definition Powder. I think the brush made me like the powder more than I probably would have done without it. It's so soft and evenly puts on a thin layer of what you want. Now that I'm not using the powder as much I may try it out with a bronzer or blush! I'll let you know!
I used the Stipple Brush with my bronzer, first of the Chanel Bronze Universal. I found that this was great if you only wanted a small amount of the product on your face which is great with the Bronze Universal if you have pale skin and don't want to look too orange. When I tanned up a bit I used a more dense brush for that so I used the Stipple Brush for powder bronzers. I found this worked amazingly well, especially with glittery products as it made it come off less dense on your face. This brush would also be great for blushers :)
I began using the Powder Brush for liquid foundation as I thought it kind of looked like a flat top buffing brush. This worked well but as it is quite cheap quality product built up in the brush really quickly and I always found myself washing away half of my foundations down the sink. I have since moved on to the Real Techniques Buffing Brush for liquid foundation but I always use this as a back up when I've washed it and I need something in the meantime.
I think these brushes are great if you just need a few extra brushes for your products and you don't want to splash out £20 on one. These brushes are slightly lacking in quality but are still just as good as other £5-£10 brushes I've used so to me £3.50 is a steal! I think I'll purchase more, but more eye brushes as I don't feel I need amazing quality in them.
MAC - Face and Body Foundation
I also ordered the MAC Face and Body Foundation as I wanted a lighter coverage foundation which wasn't a tinted moisturiser. This is a water-based foundation and also claims to be water resistant, but I haven't really put that up to the test yet. You have to shake it up before use and it is a very runny consistency.
It's very easily blendable but I found that it can wear off in around 4-5 hours if you're not careful. This foundation is a light to medium coverage but is buildable. I like to put on a thick amount of Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection concealer on blemishes and imperfections underneath as this will just blend over that and that will leave a flawless look as this doesn't provide full coverage.
This foundation is £25.50 on the MAC website but I think this is pretty reasonable as you get 120 ML and it is a really good quality foundation. If I ever run out (it's lasting me FOREVER, haha) I'll definitely repurchase :)
Yay for pretty things!
I thought I would include this as I thought this might be of interest. I was in TK Maxx and I went upstairs to look at Mens Wear for Mike and I didn't realise they also had Homewares!! (Well in the Store in Aberdeen anyway) and I found so many beautiful boxes and storage items which I thought would be perfecto for makeup storage!
So I bought two Paris/floral boxes which fit into each other. The smaller one was £5.99, I think, and is perfect for lipsticks and lipglosses! The larger one was around £7.99 and I'm finding it pretty handy for loose blushes and eyeshadow quads :) And they stack nicely on my desk.
I also bought the grey/brown and white storage box which isn't dissimilar to a chest. It has a little clasp at the front and a handle on top. This was around £12.99 and I keep all of my general everyday makeup in here along with brushes in little plastic holders. I love this as it goes so well with my room and doesn't take up too much space but is also tall enough to keep my brushes in :)
So if you're in the market for some new storage items for either makeup or jewelry take a look in the Home section at TK Maxx :)
I hope this haul was helpful and informative, let me know if you have any of the products and let me know how you're getting on with them. You may find your opinion different to mine on these products but I have been 100% honest and tried to give as much information as possible.
Don't forget to follow for more posts to come soon!
Much Love, Jen Xxxx
