E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Book Review and Swatches

E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Book Warm Edition

I got this at the e.l.f. store in Manhattan for $5, it looks very sleek and is very portable. This is even shorter than my phone but just a little bit wider. This book is made out of cardboard and has a magnetic closure and feels very sturdy. Has an ideal size mirror which makes it more handy on the go.

There are 20 shades on the left side with a mirror and 28 more shades of eyeshadows on the right side. On the right side there is also a indent space for the double sided sponge applicator. If I pull a random sample, out of like 10 shades probably only one doesn't show up as much but still okay, and the other 9 would be very rich and opaque. Most of these are shimmering neutral shades, some look similar but I have no complaint because they are so pretty, I don't mind having doubles.

As you can see from the swatches below, most are shimmering champagnes, browns and coppers. A lot of variety in this palette because you can use the neutrals to make your everyday eye looks and some pops of greens, blues and burgundy for a bright eye look.  

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

E.L.F. Baked Eyeshadow Palette in NYC Review and Swatches

E.L.F. Baked Eyeshadow Palette 

 No Flash 

With Flash

This baked eyeshadow palette retails for $10 each on the e.l.f. website, they come with 10 different eyeshadow in one palette and so far there are 4 different shades on the website. I chose the shade in NYC to represent my own city, and this palette has shades that seem to have more variety.

 These are very saturated with color. Dusty when used dried, a little flaky. But when used a damp brush to apply it, it applied smoothly with less fall out. All shimmery, some glittery, some metallic and applied wet can have a foil effect. Be aware they do get messy, but you can always use your fingers for greater opacity and no fall out.

Here's a swatch of all the shades in the NYC palette without primer.

1,2,3,4,5 on top (colors from left to right)

6,7,8,9,10 bottom (colors from left to right) 

1. Pink mix purple with silver glitter.

2. Shimmering champagne with a bronze undertone.

3. Shimmering pearl with gold flexes

4. Shimmering champagne with a gold undertone

5. Glittery silver

6. Shimmering black with pink glitters

7. Shimmering brown with little pink flexes

8. Metallic black with silver glitters

9. Dark charcoal with gold flexes

10. Satin royal blue.

E.L.F. Prism Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

E.L.F. Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Sunset

This palette retails for $10 each of the e.l.f. website for 6 different shades of eyeshadow. These are highly pigmented and very shimmery. They glide on easily and don't have much fall out, I really enjoyed these eyeshadows cause they look like a cream but apply like a powder but not chalky. This also came with an dual ended sponge applicator, I dislike using it because I feel like the sponge doesn't transfer the eyeshadow smoothly onto my eyelids.

The picture above you see how gorgeous these shadows reflect the light and how easily they transfer from the pan you my fingers. Applying it wet can give off an metallic finish. 

Shades have no name but from left to right 1,2,3,4,5,6.

1. Shimmering white with a very slight tint of pink in it.

2.  Shimmering coral pink.

3. Shimmering bronzy copper color.

4. Antique bronzy gold.

5.  Shimmering burgundy with a hint of copper

6. Shimmering purple leaning towards the fuchsia side

E.L.F. Essential Eye Brushes

E.L.F. Essential Brushes 

These eye brushes are from their essential line and all of them were just $1 each. They have very soft natural bristles and are very effective. I heard the face brushes were scratchy so I stayed away from those and just bought the eye ones. Keep in mind, they do shed and some more than others.

         

Eyeshadow Brush - This is a flat shading eyeshadow brush, great for packing color all over the eyelid. Very similar to the Sigma E55.

             

Defining Eye Brush - This brush is flimsy and good for blending, create for applying a deep color on the eye socket. Its thin so it fits right on the crease. Also can be used to highlight the browbone.

           

Smudge Brush- Short, soft bristles that are flat and rounded off at the tip. Great for smudging out eyeliners and applying color to the lower lash line. Comparable to the Bubbi Smudge brush, they both have the same shape but the Bubbi one is made out of synthetic bristles. 

         

 Blending Eye Brush and Eye Crease Brush

I put both of these brushes together because they are the exact same shape, just one is slightly larger. I use both to apply color over my lid and for blending eyeshadow. The Eye Crease brush fits a little better for my eyes because I don't have large eyelids.

               

Smudge Eye Sponge - The sponge tip is very stiff and quite pointy so I place this perpendicular to my eyelid because if I did, it would poke my skin. I can try to use it slanted but its not really so effective, also this is very difficult to clean. I prefer just using the Smudge Brush to smudge or diffuse eyeliner.

       

 Eyelash and Brow Wand - An ordinary spooly that every girl needs. Great for putting your brows in place and getting rid of harsh marks on your eyebrows. You can also use this to remove clumps on your lashes after mascara. This is also difficult to clean because dust gets easily captured between the spiral bristles.

E.L.F. Studio Brush Review

Studio Brushes

 These brushes are from their studio line and they were $3 each. They look very sleek and the bristles are synthetic and soft. The only bad thing is that the glue they use for the ferrule isn't that great, they usually fall off and I end up gluing it back together.

Powder Brush - Flat top brush, bristles are quite densely packed together. I use this as an all over face brush. Great for both liquid and powder foundation, setting powders, cream and powder blush and bronzers.

The flat top makes it great to glide across the skin and distribute product evenly. Flip it to it's side and use the angle part to contour.

     

Angle Blush Brush - Dense angled blush, similar to the Sigma Angle Kabuki brush and the Bubbi Sculpting brush, just less dense and a little bit flatter. I can use this buff in foundation, blush, and bronzer. I also use this to gently dab my concealer, and highlighter and powder.

      

Fan Brush - Very thin and soft bristles, somewhat flimsy. I like using this to apply setting powder, it gives a very natural finish and doesn't look cakey. You can also use this for pigmented highlighters, blush and bronzers because it light dusts product on your skin.

       

Pointed Foundation Brush - I had high hopes for this brush, I was hoping this would preform the same way as my coastal scents small dome kabuki but it doesn't have as much bristles. It streaks my foundation, I like it for blending concealer and applying highlighters. Its shedding and the handle fell off.

         

Flawless Concealer Brush -  Bristles are densely tucked in and rounded off. Mimics the shape of your finger to lend your concealer like how you usually blend your concealer using your fingers. This feels very soft under the delicate eye area and over blemishes.

           

Angle Contour Brush - This brush is cut flat in an angle to make it easy for contouring. The bristles are dense buy not as the Flawless Concealer Brush. I use this to apply all over color on my eyelids, contour the cheeks and nose. This can also use to blend concealer.

         

 Flat Eyeliner Brush - Bristles are soft and cut flat. I thought this would be a good push liner brush but the bristles are way too long to control. I'm scared I accidentally poke my eyes because the bristles are flimsy and move around when I was trying to tight line my upper lash line. This works great on the lower lash line and water line.

            

Retractable Lip Brush - Retractable brush that is very travel friendly. It caps together so the cap protects the bristles from getting messed up in your bag. The bristles tappers a little at the tip and its great for precise application. I use this to blend lipstick.

Looking 10 years younger? Physicians Formula Youthful Wear Spotless Review and Swatch

Physicians Formula Youthful Wear Spotless

 

 I got mine at my local drugstore for 14.99, but Physicians Formula products always have that instant $3 off coupon on the packaging so it was actually $12 for 1 fl oz of product. This foundation is very thin, comes with a dropper and a blush. If you like to put foundation on the back of your hand and then apply it from your hand, you have to be careful not to let this run down your hand because this foundation is very thin, similar to the L'oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder foundation. It is very blendable, light coverage and it has a semi-matte finish when it sets. Very nice finish but it has a very weird smell, like something has been burning, I find it very unpleasant.

        

The brush is very tiny, the white bristles are cut in an angle and very densely packed together. This brush reminds me of a smaller version of the Sigma F88 and my Bubbi HD Flawless brush. The shape is very nice to blend and reach precise areas but the surface area of the brush is too small, its going to take forever to do your entire face. NOTE: After using it once, I found it very hard to clean. I couldn't get it white like its original form, there was foundation stuck deep inside the center of the bristles. Because the bristles are densely packed together, it was hard for the soap to penetrate the inside of the bristles.

         

Before                                              After              

I got mine in the shade Light, but it was actually pretty dark (as you can see in the pictures below). It cover some of my dark spots and my skin tone looks more even. The lighting makes it seem like this foundation matches my skin, but in real life I look like I got a fake tan. I guess I can just add a few drops of this to my other foundations that I find are too light for me. This foundation looks has a very nice finish and texture, the smell is just unpleasant to me.

A few drops of the foundation.

(left)Foundation stippled, Foundation blended (right)