ELF Haul before the CNY begins!

Finally after a long wait (about 3 months I supposed), my ELF haul finally reach me! YAY!


Nothing but ELF brushes! The spreer also put the Fragile sticker, just in case. How sweet of her. :)

And ta-daaaa....

All bubble-wrapped up nicely. =) Woot-woot!

First up, ELF Stipple brush.


I read quite abit of reviews on this one. But it's a little dissapointment to me though.

USD 3 for this brush.

Quick thoughts: Still okay for me but it is quite flimsy for my liking. Plus I'm not sure what I'm going to use with this one. Maybe for blusher... By the way, the bristles are really soft too!

Next, the one that I anticipated the most!

ELF Kabuki Face Brush! Look how cute it is in the box!

USD5 for the brush.



Quick thoughts: I was really looking forward for this when I first saw them on the ELF website. And when I got it, I love the look and feel of it! Uber-soft bristles plus it does seem quite sturdy too! So far I haven't use it but will update again when I used them.

Now for the last one .... Mineral foundation brush!
It's the newest range from ELF.

$5 for this brush.

Quick thoughts: I was quite skeptical at first, but since I intended to splurge on some ELF brushes, so I just gave in for this one. It looks quite normal to me. Bristles are soft but the one thing I noticed is that the brush handle looks a bit "cheapo" to me (Haha!). I'll take a closer picture of it the next round. And this brush is very lightweight too.

I've also got another back up for my powder brush but I won't be uploading the pictures since I've reviewed them before. Not all these brushes are all mine, I actually just bought one each this time, and the rest are for my fellow colleagues. :)

Note:
If you are wondering where I got these, I actually got them from Ms. Aini (aka hubby_enny @ LYN). Please take note if you are going to participate in the spree, you'll need to have the "PATIENCE". Especially handling sprees are not easy peasy.

Tight budget this year *sniff sniff*. But anyway, last but not least, wishing everyone great health, wealth and joyous wabbit year! I didn't manage to snap some goodie snacks for now but this is what I managed to snap last night.


hahaha, it's not mine but still it's something I can snap other than the messy room that I have. :P

ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer Review

I believe this ELF product is no stranger to anyone now. =)



I got this product pic from the website, and it seems they only have one color for this primer which is "Sheer".

And this is mine. =)

Taken this pic near to my eye, so it's an eye primer if you don't get the reason behind it. haha. (lame I know! :P)

This elf mineral eyeshadow primer comes in a box like this. With the description and details.



Color indicator.


Slick-thin packaging too! Thinner than my Crazy Rumor's Lipbalm.


The applicator.

Similar with UDPP's wand right? :)

Now here comes the SHEER colored primer.

pic below: application of primer on my finger (before and after).

Doesn't look "sheer" to me. Maybe it should call them "skin colored"?

Anyway, since I got my TFSI, I can only show you how both of them differ with each other.

In real life, TFSI felt more creamier and thicker than ELF's mineral primer. :)

If you wonder what TFSI is.. here's a random pic that I've taken with the other day. =P

You can read more about them later if you want to. :)

On to the reviews!

From ELF website:-

This gentle and completely sheer Eyeshadow Primer has key vitamins A, C and E to help prevent aging and moisturizes the skin. The formula glides on easily and disappears instantly to create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow. The Mineral Eyeshadow Primer is designed to be used with your favorite mineral eyeshadow to provide ultimate staying power for beautiful and vibrant color that lasts. 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

Application tip:

Apply a small amount to the eyelid and blend in. Use as a base prior to applying eyeshadow.

Price:$3 (compared to $17 for TFSI, this is super-cheap! :P )

My thoughts:
The description sure lures me to buy them! Vit A, C and E that comes with the primer for just $3?! Are you kidding me? ha! I couldn't imagine a primer that can actually help prevent aging! lol! (l.a.m.e) Oh well. But let me show you how it does "magic" to my veins can? =P



As you know, I have those typical heavy lids that comes with free veins :P. This primer actually does help a little in "concealing" them. So cool right?

But as for this statement "The formula glides on easily and disappears instantly to create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow.", I don't really agree with them. Glides on smoothly (YES), disappears instantly (still okay) but this create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow is nadda. I wore this primer to work at 7am but it creases at the inner corner of my eye by 2pm. By the time I reaches home at 8pm, I can see a "divider" at my eyelid with some oils in between (eeks!). Because of this, my non-waterproof mascara smudges a little too! -_-

I have also heard some bloggers doesn't like the "smell" of this primer. I didn't get any kind of weird smell when I first open it. However, after some time, this primer smell like "burnt rubber" (some sort!). Not heavy but very light if you do smell them on purpose. LOL!

Overall, this primer works quite good IMO. I'm saying this is because I still see most of my eyeshadow intact for 7 long hours. :) For $3, I wouldn't much complain because it does what it suppose to do (except the aging thing). =)

Last but not least, the ingredients:-


PS: I couldn't compare this with their $1 eyelid primer since I have never tried them before.

If you have tried them and felt otherwise, do let me know! =)

ELF Studio Complexion Brush and ELF Eye Shadow Brush Review

**Warning: This is a seriously backdated post of my ELF haul in May'09 **



Yeah! Spot on! My ELF brushes, again (I bought ELF again 2 weeks later after my first haul) ! Nothing but brushes. I'm a "kiasu-er", I bought these and they are all my backups except for my complexion brush. Here's my previous haul about them >> ELF Haul 1

I know this is nothing much to shout about as I believed you may see many bloggers had already talk about these cheap + super affordable brushes. I should be talking about Christmas and Holiday collections but still I'm sticking with this ELF ELF ELF... **piff** (I don't care anyway, huhu! vain, I know )

I got this from a spreer in LYN but I seriously don't remember who is the person who help me with it. *soweee* I can't remember historical hauls coz I only have 80GB memory in my head.. ahh.. watever! hahaha :)


See how ELF packaged their brushes? Quite professional looking right? If you look at other brands, they only came with some thin plastic cover..

Let's talk about the normal line of brushes that I got - ELF eyeshadow brush.

This eyeshadow brush came with a hard plastic cover without a brush guard (unlike those studio brushes). But it's only $1, so WTH (LOL!).

They even explained what this brush does behind the cover!


The real thing!


With silver-engraved wordings.


Size comparison.


Side view.


Front view.

See how dense this is!

Believed it or not, this pick up any eyeshadow (powder eyeshadow,please!) like a charm.

The Product: ELF Eye Shadow Brush

From ELF website:

Specially sheered brush tip absorbs the perfect amount of eye shadow and provides long lasting color saturation. The comfort curved brush contours the eye with natural gliding strokes for easy and accurate eye shadow application.

All e.l.f. professional makeup brushes have been designed and tested by professional makeup artist Scott Vincent Borba. Each brush has been ergonomically designed to fit perfectly into your hand and facilitate a flawless finish with every application.

Price: $1

Made in: China

My thoughts about it:
I don't really like it. I know many bloggers raved and raved about this brush, but for me, I feel that it is too dense and it sort-of "scratching" my eyelids when I apply the eyeshadows with this. This brush is not synthetic and I have no idea what it is made of as well. However, it does pick up the right amount of eyeshadows and if you just pat it onto your lids, it does really do a great job. But blending wise, I don't fancy them.

Cons?
Too scratchy. I think the synthetic version (Studio line Eyeshadow "C" brush) might not be so scratchy as this one but I don't think I can comment further since I haven't use them yet. Also, the bristles kinda frays a little bit after a few uses as well.


But seriously, $1 for this brush and I cannot be complaining that much!! Sorry ELF.

Overall, it does a good job on applying eyeshadows. But for blending, it's another thing already. :)

xxxxx


Next up, the ELF Studio Line Brushes - Complexion Brush.


I really like ELF's packaging of these brushes. These brushes came with a plastic kind of brush guard.

I have to confess, this is my FAVORITE brush for now.


I used to rave and rave about my ELF Studio powder brush, but when I finally got the idea of using this complexion brush, I immediately "jump ship" (as in changing my preference, LOL!).


See how softttttttt this is! After many months of using them, it is still so soft and they never shed nor bleed like my other brushes!



I straight away give5 honorable stars for the complexion brush!


he Product: ELF Studio Complexion Brush

Price: $3

Made in: China

From the website:

This new anti bacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more absorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. studio brush! -Creates an even and natural finish -Expertly sweeps all types of powders across the entire face and sculpts features beautifully -Use with pressed, loose, or translucent powders, blush or bronzer *Vegan Friendly Dip brush into powder and tap off excess. Apply all over face or wherever needed for additional coverage or color.

My thoughts about it:
Like I said, I love it! Initially, I didn't know what to do with it. I tried using this for my blusher and highlighter, and the way this brush work with them are horrible (Or maybe I'm horrible with it :P). Then out of nowhere, I used this with my loose powder, and it works perfectly! And this is when I fell in love with it(ok, i gotta end my love story here).

I'm not sure if it's a tactic, the way I use this brush is by patting it with the flat surface (not the tip of the bristles). First, I sort of use the flat surface to pick up my loose powder, then I "flick" the brush to take off the excess and then I pat the loose powder onto my face. It doesn't cake onto my foundation which makes the whole face "flawless & smooth".

Cons?
I'm not sure if this is me, but I find it hard to remove the foundation "stain" on the brush handle. See below if you don't get what I meant.

This is when I first got my brush, it was sleek and nice.


After many months of using the brush....


Stain?!?!?!?! Or Mosses???!! Hmmmm............


I did try to "scrub" them off but still the stain stays there.. It doesn't bother me much, but the look of it is a little scary...

But overall, I heart this... even though it gave me free weird stains.... Best of it, any brushes from ELF are super affordablecancry. You gotta have this even if you are a pro MUA, seriously!