ELF Studio Mini Makeup Review

Awhile back (around May), I received a Our Mistake Your Gain email from ELF Cosmetics with a code for a free Studio Mini Makeup Collection compact. The catch was that you have to spend $10 on products, & the code is not stack-able (meaning no extra discounts from other codes). I thought it was somewhat of a good deal considering it normally costs about $15. Plus, I wanted to try some of their Healthy Glow Powders and their other products. So, I kept my budget under $20 (including shipping costs).

Anywho, on with the review….

(Don’t feel like reading the long winded review… Go straight to the Pros & Cons)

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What I do like most about the ELFs Studio line is the packaging. All the products in this line comes in black–which always looks professional. Also, all the makeup casings have a matte finish. So, no worries about fingerprints.

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Another neat feature is the release button located on the front side of the compact. It feels secure when closed, especially after trying to tug it open. This is a good things since I wouldn’t want this thing to accidentally open up and make mess in my purse. However, it is made out of plastic & only time will tell on how well it will hold up in my purse.

On a side note… This thing kind of reminds me of my Thinkpad (also being matte black, as well). Kind of an odd thing to say that my makeup matches my laptop. Moving on…

The size is about as big as one deck of cards and a half (all little bit thicker than a deck of cards), or 3.8″ x 3.8″ and 1.2″ thick. So, it’s small enough to fit in a larger size purse. It’s pretty lightweight, as well.

When you open the lid you’ll first see the big mirror (I’m hoping it’s shatter proof considering how much of a klutz I am). There six eye shadows on the left side and the six colored lip glosses on the right. Above the eye shadows and lipsticks are a creme eyeshadow and clear lip gloss. Here’s a link to the actual names of each of the eyeshadows/lipsticks/etc: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/gallery_big/11264.jpg.

The top pans (Frosted on the left & Dazzled to the right) work well. Frosted adds a shimmery hue to your lids & can work as a good base for your shadow. I haven’t really experimented with it. So, I can’t give a proper review on it. Although, I have tried it on my lips, and it did made them frosty. So, I guess it has multiple uses. Dazzled adds a bit of gloss with glitter to your lips. As for Dazzled, I don’t think I’ll be using it since I’m a bit too old for glitter. Downside is that Frosted tends (and some of the lip glosses) to gets dirty more because its close to the eye shadows (more on that later). So, keep the clear plastic protective cover that comes with the kit.

The shadows were well pigmented, but they show up better when you use a primer or base. They also blend well. ELF shadows I used in the past tend to be either hit or miss when it comes to fading (due to oxidation). I find the darker colors have a bit more staying power. A primer will make the shadow last longer.

I think the muted colors that were chosen work well for everyday use. Yet, I wish it came with some matte shadows because all of them were shimmery. Not, that I hate shimmer, but its nice to have a good mix between the two (like some of their quads).

As for my faves, I really like the vanilla looking eyeshadow (Icing) for a highlight & the coppery brown (Truffle) for my crease. For an overall shadow, I would probably use the toupy color on the bottom (Mist).

Previously, I said that the Frosted gloss gets dirty easily. That’s because the eye shadows come off very powdery/crumbly. This didn’t surprise me because their regular shadows/blushes tend to be on the powder side. I don’t really mind a bit of a mess, but (as I said before) keep that clear plastic cover thing if you don’t want the shadows mixing with your glosses/lipsticks.

Now for the lippies…

Sadly, I found I can’t use alot of the colors. My lips are pretty pigmented and dark, & most of the lips glosses didn’t show up well (especially Sugar Baby, Princess, & Latte). Out of the six colors, I liked Diva (bottom row to the right) the most. It’s a berry pink color which can be used everyday.

Aside from pigmentation, the lip glosses were glossy, but not sticky glossy. It’s pretty much the same formulation as the Custom Lips glosses. Also, the staying power isn’t strong. So, reapplication will be frequent. There weren’t any weird smells or tastes which is always a plus with me.

As you slide the two pallets apart, it’ll reveal other shadows, lip glosses, blushes, and other stuff to play with.

The second middle tear tier on the shadow side has three more shadows (top to bottom: Silver Glitter, Charcoal Glitter, & Black Glitter…that’s a lot of glitter!). Actually, I should say shimmer. Again, it’s not a bad thing, since these colors are perfect for a smokey eye night time look.

The last bottom tier are the blush and bronzer. (Sunrise on the top and bottom, Sunset). Those names are so cute! Anyho… Sunrise is a pretty corally pink & Sunset is a bronzy brown. Both are very pigmented, and both have shimmer in it. I don’t mind it in the blush, but they could have left the shimmer out of the bronzer. Seriously…shimmer in the shadow, blush, and lip glosses. I’ll end up looking like disco ball! So, I suggest using one or the other if you don’t want to look all shimmery.

As for the other side…

The second tier holds three more lip glosses (top to bottom: Ruby, Red Apple, and Wicked). These all range from a lighter red to a darker red. Wicked has some pretty small flecks of gold. The other two aren’t as shimmery, surprisingly. Normally, I don’t wear reds, but I’m pretty happy with these three because they actually look nice on my lips. This would look great for night time outings (paired with the smokey eye shadows).

The third bottom tier holds a black eye liner, makeup brushes, & brow powder. The eye liner is a smaller version of their Eye Brightening Eye Liner. I’m not a fan of their eyeliners because it comes on a bit hard on the eyes. I have to warm it a bit (between my fingers) to get it to glide on. It also doesn’t stay on very long & fades fast (even with primer). I feel bad tossing it, so I’ll probably continue using it. At least the well is big enough to fit other types of eye liners (especially my used eyeliners that are sharpened to this size).

As for the makeup brush, these things are too small to be of any real use. Well, maybe the lip brush (which can be used as a lip or eyeliner) and sponge applicator, but definitely not the blush brush. Plus, the quality sucks (bristles are falling apart). I would have rather use these wells for more blushes, primer, or, setting powder.

Lastly, the brow powder (Expresso) above the brush well rocks! It’s the only shadow that is not shimmery! I can also use this as brown eyeliner if i wet down the lip brush.

By the way, here are the swatches…

(click to enlarge) The top eleven swatches correspond to the shadow side and the bottom eleven the lip gloss side. On the lip gloss side, towards the furthest right two are the brow powder and eyeliner.

ELF did a nice job putting this kit together. It has many usable colors for work and for a night out. I wasn’t too thrilled about the over use of shimmer, fading eyeliner, or the flimsy makeup brush. However, I was quite satisfied the pigmentation of the eye shadows, blush, and some of the lip glosses. I really liked how compact this kit is and its over all design, especially how the tiers slide out.

Price wise, I think $15 is a decent price for it, and you are getting more bang for the buck comparing to purchasing each shadow/lipstick/blush separately. I think the best way to get one is through one of their coupon codes like I did. However, I don’t think I’ll get another one in the future. The reason why is that I hate tossing my empty compacts out (which are perfectly still usable). I’ll probably press my own eye shadows or blushes when they run out. Actually, ELF should make their own custom kit in this design with refillable eye shadows, etc. Just like the custom compact, but with the mini design. Also, they could make it so the refills are interchangeable with the regular custom line.

To sum it up….

The Elf Makeup Mini Collection includes:

• 9 eyeshadow shades
• 1 cream eyeshadow shade
• 1 blush
• 1 bronzer
• 10 lip gloss shades
• 1 brow powder
• 1 eye liner pencil
• 1 dual ended eyeshadow appliacator and brush
• 1 face brush
• 1 lip brush

Price: $15

PROS:

• Compact design (very portable) and loved how the tiers slide out
• Not very heavy
• Big mirror!
• Eye shadows, lip glosses, and blush are well pigmented
• Price… Well, I somewhat got it for free.

CONS:

• Over use of shimmer unless you want the diamond sparkly Edward the vampire look
• Blush brush is too tiny for practical use.
• Eye liner hard on eyes and easily fades