eyeslipsface.co.uk/ELF - the best o' the bunch!

Hey ladies,

So there has been a lot of buzz for the past while around a fairly new name to make up – ELF (aka eyeslipsface.co.uk). The brand prides themselves on their low prices and the fact that they are only able to be purchased online (hence, the low prices). I have had several hauls from ELF, and have been using their products for long enough to know the best products they have to offer. I’ll outline some of their rather genius designs, all of which can be found and purchased on www.eyeslipsface.co.uk :)


1) Studio mineral primer



This is one of the best primers I have had the pleasure of using. It is silky smooth, effective, and a little goes a very long way. Just pump out a pea-sized amount into your palm and spread it over your face. With primer, application is important. Instead of using short strokes to cover your face, use your palms to glide and smooth it on, effectively smoothing your face at the same time so you end up with a smooth canvas to begin your make up on. The only downside of this product is the pump; when will make up companies learn that pumps, generally, ain’t the way forward unless they have something at the bottle of the bottle to push the remaining product up? However, you can screw the pump top off and scrape out the primer with cotton buds. Do this and your primer will go a long way. Only £6 for 14g!

2) Studio Stipple Brush/Powder brush



Flat Powder Brush



Stipple Brush

Before these brushes, I pretty much hated the idea of foundation brushes. I had tried several foundation brushes, and found that the finish was more streaky that sleek, and I ended up with either too much or too little product on my face. I tried another stipple brush from Boots, and I did find it better but again, it had a tendency to streak and make my foundation look quite obvious. But these ELF brushes are different. They seamlessly blend my make up, whether I want it heavy or light, and they work perfectly every time. The bristles are soft and gentle, and excellent quality – they both work far harder than their price tag would lead you to believe. The flat brush I find gives an even smoother finish than the stipple brush, and I find I am using less product than I would be if I used a sponge or my fingers. These are both absolute steals at only £3.50 each– buy several and support ELF and the fact they don’t have a 5000000% mark up like some high-end brands!

3) Brightening Eye Colour



OK so I love Urban Decay and MAC palettes as much as the next girl, but at the end of the day, spending £11 a pop on coloured talc sure does hurt when you’re two weeks away from pay day. These quads are a god-send. They each contain 4 colours, enough to get you a combination of looks, whether you want to achieve the classic smoky eye, or perhaps a more wearable daytime variant. They now come in 18 varieties, which some truly lovely shades. The quads are small and the applicators are rubbish, however any palette you buy these days tends to have crap applicators and ELF should not be persecuted for following the trend, especially when their make up can be so much cheaper than other brands. The eyeshadow, while not of amazing quality, certainly has good colour pay-off and if used in conjunction with a primer, packs quite a punch. There is little-to-no fallout and the eyeshadow does last. The best thing? These babies are only £1.50 each! Experiment and buy a few!

4) Studio Complexion Perfection


It is an eternal struggle to find a powder which is both light enough so you don’t look like one of the cast from the Rocky Horror Show, yet dense enough to stop your make up from slipping down your face as the day ticks on. ELF’s Complexion Perfection does both pretty well. It is not an absolutely perfect product, as I think on some skin tones a light touch would not only be beneficial but necessary, plus the fact that it does only come in one shade is a bit limited. However, the packaging is reminiscent of NARS, the product looks pretty and high-quality, and when swirled, tapped and brushed on top of make up, it definitely does brighten and even the face. The colours may look scary (yellow, pink, green and blue) but in fact on the skin they all pretty much look the same, although my one trick is to use the yellow around the eyes to make them pop, and the green around my nose and chin (my Rudolph areas) to achieve an even face. The fact I have bought 3 in 6 months and am now touching pan on my third is testament to my belief in this product. You’d be hard pushed to find a better powder which doesn’t clog pores, brightens complexion (minus scary sparkles) and doesn’t break the bank. £3.50.

5) Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15




So, gloss. It is a wonderful thing, it can make us look healthy, it can make an otherwise bare face look polished, we Brits do love our gloss. However, the price of some glosses is beyond a freakin’ joke. Don’t get me wrong, gloss is pretty, but am I really going to invest £15 into something that, let’s be honest, is either going to be licked or talked off, or end up on my wine glass? I don’t think so! In my eyes, a gloss is a gloss is a gloss, if you are buying it for the colour, why not invest in a good lipstick and wear the lipstick with a slick of clear gloss on top? More economical as the lipstick will last longer, plus you get two items in the bargain! Speaking of bargain, ELF’s Super Glossy Lip Shine does what it says on the tin at £1.50 a pop. They smell good, they’re not overly sticky (if you do a ‘Bohemian Rhapsody head-rock, a few strands will stick, but not your whole head of hair!) and the effect is lovely. The colour range is not fabulous, with 10 colours being offered at the moment. Hopefully as the business picks up so too will their colour ranges expand, but for the moment there are the usual suspects of clear, pastels and slightly darker colours such as latte and mauve shades to choose from. The good thing is the tubes have 10g each which is quite a lot, and product is thick enough to feel high quality.

All-in-all, I urge you all to go on and at least sample some of ELF’s products, they are a great company with speedy delivery times that for the most part, delivery beauty on a tight budget!