Mini e.l.f. Haul

Well, it's my birthday, so I decided to spend a few bucks at Target on e.l.f. products. I've heard a lot about these products, so I've decided to try them out and let ya know what I think. I'm doing this in two parts because while shopping I came across one of their palettes that totally deserves it's own separate post.
Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own funds, I am not being paid or compensated by the company in question. My opinions are entirely my own.

I decided to just do a look using the e.l.f. Punk Funk Brightening Eye Color quad and working the rest of the face around that so that I could get a real feel for the e.l.f. products that I picked up to try out. I will introduce each item as I used it, and there will be a list of the e.l.f. products I used with their price.

First, I am starting with a freshly cleansed, toned and moisturized face.

Next I used the concealer end of the e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter in Fair/Glow under my eyes to try and hide my circles and make my eyes "pop" a bit.

I've got to say that I was not overly impressed with this product's ability to hide the circles under my eyes. The formula was pretty thin for a concealer, so I had to layer it quite a bit to really minimize my circles. But it did brighten my eye area quite a bit which led me to continue applying down to the top of my cheekbones for a little highlight that I thought looked quite nice. I also applied the concealer over my entire lid and up through the brow bone to give me a nice light and even surface to apply the eye make up. I also applied to the bridge of the nose for highlight, and used it to hide any red spots or blemishes. Even though, or maybe because this concealer is so thin it blends fabulously. It's super easy to work with, and being that I don't need a lot of coverage that's just great.

I finished the face with Clinique's True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer in Sunkissed in the hollows of my cheek, around my face and on the jawbone followed by Clinique's Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in Pink Blush, which I applied on the apples of my cheek. I've had these colors for ages, and I like them a lot when I'm looking for a subdued face. The colors are really light and very manageable. Afterwards, I used Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light all over my face just to help blend the blush and bronzer a bit more and further even out my skin.

And here's where things get fun. My eyes (except for the mascara, which is Sephora Full action Extreme effect mascara aka my current "go-to" mascara) are all e.l.f. products. I started off with the color, obviously, which is the Punk Funk quad. The quad has a nice cream/white eyeshadow, a blue shadow, a purple shadow, and a hot pink shadow.

 I started by applying the cream/white shadow all over my lid and up to the brow, blending around the edges of the eye to prevent any harshness. I really liked this color, it is really pretty and the shadow goes on very smooth and creamy. It didn't feel cakey going on, and once on it doesn't move around. The blue is, in my opinion, pretty unremarkable. Sure, it looks nice, but it just doesn't do much for me. It's not super pigmented, but it's not really weak either. It goes on okay, but it needs a little extra blending. It sheds a little too, but I really should have known that it would as most blues do. I really should have used shadow shields, but it's late and I'm kinda tired, so give me a break. The purple is a really pretty shade, but as with the blue not super pigmented. It does build up pretty well if you apply more than one coat of color, and again it is a beautiful shade of purple. It blends a lot nicer than the blue as well and without the color falling on my face, which is a definite plus. And lastly, the hot pink. It's a great color. It requires a little building depending on the intensity you want, but with a pink I think that's a good thing. And it's just such a bright happy color! I can't wait to do more with this color, I really really like it. It blends well, it's really smooth, it's really bright; I really don't know what more I'd want in a pink. Though, being that the quad is $1 USD it's all really worth the money. This is a Brightening Eye Color quad, so it is not matte! Hear me, NOT MATTE! But even though the colors look quite sparkly in their pans, I didn't notice any glitter on my eyes. They aren't even shimmery. More like.. luminous. Very very pretty. I'll definitely get a lot of use out of this quad.

Next thing on the list is the e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in black. Overall, I like this liner. It goes on quite smooth and is really easy to work with. The color is definitely black, it doesn't look washed out or wimpy. It doesn't feel heavy on my eyes and I've been wearing it a few hours now without it smudging or smearing on my face. It seriously stays put. The only thing I don't like about it is that it dries really fast. If you like to blend your liner, you had best do it quick with this stuff.

After the liner, I put on one coat of Sephora's Full Action Extreme Effect (I can't remember what the color is called and it isn't on the bottom of the tube, but it's black, so yeah) and brushed Clinique's Incredible Brow Water Resistant Automatic Pencil in Blondi. Also, I used a light coat of Rouge Artist Natural in N18 (a rosy nude) on my lips, topped with Clinique's Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 (Again, can't remember the name of the color, but it's a pale super glossy pink.) I got a sample from Sephora on one of my past purchases of a few of Rouge Artist's colors and I love them. They glide on very smooth, they're super pigmented and they don't feel heavy or chalky even without balm or gloss. This particular shade is a beautiful natural rose color with a matte finish that is, again, NOT CHALKY!!! It's amazing and I would highly recommend Rouge Artist's lip sticks. I am totally going to buy a full size of some of these colors when I get some extra money. And the Clinique gloss is great. It might be a little tacky (feeling, not looking) for some people, but it lasts for a good long while, even after eating or drinking. I use this gloss all the time, it's probably my favorite gloss right now. A must have for those of us who like very glossy gloss.

The last step for my first e.l.f look are lashes! I bought e.l.f. Natural Lash Kit, which came with "Natural Looking Lush Lashes" in black and lash glue.

 I had never used false lashes before, so I wasn't expecting perfection, and I'm hoping you guys aren't either cuz ya ain't gonna get it. I had an awful time with these lashes, and I mean awful! The glue that comes with the lashes seriously blows. I mean wow. The "applicator" to put the glue on the lashes was a crap design that didn't provide a nice even flow of glue. And it took a while to dry and even after I got them on (or so I thought) the glue just didn't provide enough "stick" and they kept coming loose and I would re stick them and then they'd come loose until I finally got pissed enough to just goop it on the ends and even then it didn't want to stick toward my inner eye. I ended up trimming them a little, which helped make them stay a little better. I think I'm going to trim just a little more off the inner area and I'll have a better look, and I am definitely going to get new lash glue before I try to wear these for any period of time. However, the lashes themselves were quite pretty and blended really well with my lashes.

Also, I forgot to mention that I did use the other end (Highlighter in Glow) of the e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter on my brow bone after I applied the color.

e.l.f. Products and Prices

e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter... $3.00 USD
e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color in Punk Funk... $1.00 USD
e.l.f. Cream Liner... $3.00 USD
e.l.f. Natural Lash Kit... $1.00 USD