Product: ELF Brightening Eye Colour
Price:- £1.50 from ELF Cosmetics

******General Information******

Elf products are everywhere at the moment, staring out at me from the pages of glossy magazines and appearing in makeup bags across the office. This is one beauty secret that took me a while to catch on to but Boy am I glad that I finally did.

Cost effective, budget friendly quality make up encased in simple, transportable, practical packaging. I have begun a whole new love affair with my makeup bag and rejuvenated my look all courtesy of the wonderful peeps at ELF.

E.L.F is essentially Eyes Lips Face.com. A makeup company that provides cruelty free, good quality products across three ranges that not only perform well but they are really really cost effective.

******The Product******

The blurb on the ELF Website describes this product as:-

"Luxuriously smooth, corn silk formula provides eyes with a neutral base and an awakened brightness. The formula blends into the skin for a long lasting, beautiful effect. The 4 colour quad allows for both natural and dramatic looks. Mirror in compact included".

Source. http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk

This is another ELF Product that I really like; the eye shadow set that I purchased is advertised as ELF Eye Brightening Color and contains four different gorgeous autumnal shades. I choose the set named butternut but there are plenty of other colour options ranging from pinks, mauves, greys, blues and assorted bright greens etc.

The first colour is an ochre cream which looks darker in the eye shadow set that was on my eyelids. There is a hint of sparkle in the eye shadow but I wouldn't say this was a heavily pigmented product. I used an eye shadow brush to apply the eye shadow which I was glad to say was quite solid in its packaging and there wasn't any of the surplus powder trailing from the eye shadow brush as I applied it. I used the colour to as a base over my eyelid and then added a bit more to accentuate my brow bone. The colour wasn't dramatic but rather a pale natural sparkly glow and surprisingly had staying power. I didn't need to reapply at all during the day so there is longevity with this product.

The Second Colour is a bright, slightly metallic peach which again once applied seemed to lose some of its colour but I actually preferred the colour it transpired to be once it was on my eyelids. Again there is a light sparkle with this colour and I used an shadow brush to blend it into the corners of my eyelids nearest the eye. The peachy tone seemed to work with my yellow skin tone and gave my eye area a fresher more awake appearance.

The Third colour is a very dark metallic brown which softened to a smoky brown once I had applied it to the bottom half of my eyelids. This colour seemed to contain a lot more glittery metallic pigment that the other two but it wasn't an overpowering glitter fest and didn't detract from the rich smoky brown hue. Again this product lasted throughout the day and was very easy to blend into the other eye colours.

The Fourth colour is a rich metallic russet brown and again it was a joy to apply and lasted the whole day. I blended the colour into the smoky brown with ease and it stayed true to the colour in the eye shadow palette with a hint of glitter.

The set allows room for a lot of experimentation; you can create a really natural fresh faced look or a dramatic evening look depending on the look that you require. Because the products are a dream to blend there isn't really a limit to what you can achieve with this set and I love the versatility of the product.


******Application******

One of things I most appreciate about the eye shadow set is the consistency, the eyeshaows stay firmly in their packaging and glide from eye shadow brush to eyelids with ease. No broken bits of eye shadow floating around the packaging and more importantly there wasn't any powdery residue dropping off the brush when it was applied. The eye shadows melt into the eyelids like a dream are easy to blend with one another but somehow retain both their colour and their lasting power.

I have very oily skin and most eye shadows tend to crease or disappear by the end of the day but although there was some creasing on the eyelids, overall I am very impressed with the performance of this eye shadow set. It's functional and affordable and the least messy eye shadow set I have used to date.

One thing I didn't like was the foam eye shadow applicator provided. It was low quality and I gave up using it to blend the eye shadows as they just flopped too much to be able to apply with precision. But for the cost of the Eye shadow set I don't consider the cheap applicators too much of an issue and happily used an eye shadow brush instead.

******Packaging******

The Eye shadow set is quite small and fits into the palm of my hand which was an ideal size as it's transportable in a makeup bag.

The eye shadows are laid out a triangular pattern with the ochre and peach eye shadows to the left and the smoky and russet browns to the right. The case itself is white, wipeable plastic at the bottom with a clear plastic front with the ELF log in silver with the words Brightening Eye Colour underneath. The eye shadows are accessed by simply lifting your thumb under the clear plastic lid and pushing upwards. No fuss, no nonsense and there is the added joy of the eye shadow applicator being stored over a small mirror. Such a simple space saving idea that works really well.

There isn't a wow factor with this packaging as opposed to something at the higher end of the cosmetics scale such as Chanel's iconic black packaging or benefit and too faced's distinctive approach to packaging but ELF manage to keep their costs down in part due to their no nonsense packaging approach and with that in mind I think that ELF have managed to achieve their goals whilst providing packaging that isn't ugly or poorly made. In fact their simple, minimal approach to packaging works. Their products manage to look simple and understated and quite urban. I view their packaging as the IKEA of make up if IKEA decided to create a makeup range then ELF make up encapsulates the look IKEA would be aiming for.

********Ingredients *********

Talc, Mica, Zinc Stearate, Kaolin, Paraffinium Liquid (Mineral Oil), Petrolatum, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, MethylParaben, Propylparaben, Iron Oxides (CI 77491 , CI 77492 , CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow No.5 Lake (CI 19140), Red No.40 Lake (CI 16035), Ultramarine Violet (CI 77077), Blue No.1 Lake (CI 42090

There isn't a plethora of nasty, toxic chemicals listed in the ingredients for but there are the dreaded Parabens which I have commented on regarding their toxicity in other reviews on DooYoo But I have highlighted a few below because essentially the product is applied to the eyelids and invariably seeps through the skin and I think it's useful to make an informed choice as to whether we want to absurd some of these ingredients on a daily basis.

I would always recommend a skin patch test before full application in case of skin sensitivity and allergies.

Mica is basically a mineral based powder harvested from rocksand ground into a powdery form to be used in cosmetics and are generally used as fillers or bulking agents in cosmetics. But can be used for a matte or shimmery effect and probably contribute to the glittery pigments in this eye shadow set. Although not considered toxic, ethically my concerns are regarding the harvesting of the mica.

Talc is a basically another mineral powder which is usually made from talc rocks and is used to ensure that your make up stays where it should as it's usually moisture resistant which explains the longevity of the eye shadow set. Regarding toxicity talc isn't considered to be really harmful but again it's not on my list of favourite ingredients as it can cause allergic reactions

Zinc stearate is a compound of Zinc and is generally used as an anti-caking agent because it's insoluble in water and has a great capacity for absorbing excess moisture by coating make up particles which in turns makes them water repellent. It's used to encourage easy application and build texture in cosmetics which I imagine has contributed to the lasting power and easy application of the eye shadow set. Again not regarding as a major make up toxin but not something I am overly keen on using.

********Website***********

I adore the ELF Website, it's very easy to navigate and each product is listed under sections such as Eyes, Lips, Face, Brushes etc. There is the lower budget range with an assortment of Make-up items and a Studio Range which is the more professional and pricier type of items and also a Mineral range which contains mineral type make up such as foundations and blushers etc.

The Studio and Mineral ranges are also broken into sub headings such as Eyes and Lips etc.

Shopping on the ELF website couldn't be easier you just select the item you want and the colour (ELF provide3 a very accurate swatch of colour under each item) and add to your shopping basket or wish list. Once you have selected the items you just proceed to a secure checkout which lists your order and delivery options which is £2.95 for standard UK 1-5 days and £8.95 for Next day delivery with all orders over £30 being free to deliver HURRAH!!.

Once you have placed and paid for your order via credit or debit card you can track your parcel and your order is also emailed to you.

My items arrived the next day on the standard delivery and were packaged in a large cardboard box. Great prompt service in my book.


*****Value for Money*****

I would consider this Product excellent value for money. The eye shadows had longevity, were easy to apply and stayed in their packaging without crumbling. I would highly recommend this ELF Product.

My main concern regarding the price is the ethical considerations regarding the manufacturing.

*****ELF Background*****

According to Wikipedia
"e.l.f. Cosmetics was founded by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba in June 2004.[2][11] The duo originally met at a party in 2002; Shamah was a 23-year-old New York University business student. Borba was a 31-year-old Los Angeles beauty-industry veteran, responsible for previously launching brands such as Hard Candy cosmetics and Murad skin care. Both were enthusiastic about an inexpensive, high-quality cosmetics line for women, and decided to form a company together. A few days after the party they sat down to brainstorm, and a business plan was created within months. Borba claims the idea originated from seeing women with expensive cars such as BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes buying bargain-price cosmetics at 99-cent stores in Los Angeles.
e.l.f. Cosmetics (short for Eyes Lips Face) was officially launched in New York City on June 2004, also with the assistance of Shamah's father Alan. They continue to sell high-quality cosmetics at $1, $3, and $5 price points". Source = Wikepeida

Thanks for reading xx