Apologies and ELF

First off, I must apologize, I forget how many days ago I promised (to upload pictures the following day...) and that following day turned into many days.

I haven't been sick but I've been busy fending off germs from my sister by any means necessary. My mom didn't let me call hazardous waste management, so I was left with throwing bottles of medicine and water at her.
Well, not actually chucking bottles at her head, but more like reacting like she was a leaper.

Anyhow, the final bit of my review on ELF.

From their $1 dollar line, I've tried:
Eyes:

• Waterproof Eyeliner in Black
• Earth and Water Mascara in Black and Brown
• Wet Lash Gloss and Eyebrow Mascara (the clear mascara)
• Brightening Eyeliner in Black and Gilded
• Eye Brightening Eye Color in Nouveau Neutrals
• Eye Widener (the white eye pencil)
• Liquid Eyeshadow in Cream Dream, Sultry Satin, Sexy Silver and Mocha Madness

Lips:

• Super Glossy Lipshine in SPF 15 in Goddess, Pink Kiss, Juiced Berry and Candlelight

Face:

• Tone Correcting Concealer in Apricot Beige
• Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Apricot Beige
• Complete line of brushes

Tools:

• Eye makeup remover pads
• Nail polish remover pads
• Eyelash curler with black and pink grips
• Shine Erasers
• Dual Pencil Sharpener

(Some of you are thinking, that's a helluva a lot of stuff to have tried. The truth is, I'm a cheapie at heart. So when I hear about stuff that's dirt cheap compared to stuff you buy at the stores, I had to try. And to make me even more tragic, on all of this stuff I've used a discount. lol)

Review: 

Eye products:

Waterproof Eyeliner: A great price for what you want it to do. Its not the blackest black and its certainly not waterproof like it says it is. (If I make mistakes, like I often times do, it came off with a wet q-tip with no problem, wet, setting or dry.) It has been a few months since I've used their waterproof felt tip eyeliners so maybe they've added more staying power. I liked it for the size (it was about the size of Revlon's felt tip liner which I currently use.) however, it dried out fast. I even kept it upside down, and by three months I could do nothing to revive it.  Overall, I would recommend this product.

Earth and Water Mascara in Brown and Black: For 1 dollar getting two mascaras is a nice price. Its alright mascara. It did clump up on me and I had to break out that eyebrow comb and lash brush to separate it. I did like it because it was handy on the go. When I was dating (the man I'm now married) less was more for me. It wasn't amazing mascara but it did its job when I needed to spruce up. The black is your standard black mascara and the brown works great for fair skinned and light lashes. Sometimes black can be too harsh for pale lashes especially without eyeliner.

Their clear mascara: They should just change it to that. I use clear mascara to keep my eyebrows in place and for the price coming from ELF, I will be a lifetime buyer. I absolutely love this stuff! :D They have changed formulations (I just opened my second tube) so there is more of a gel effect if you sweep your brows hard. I did it the first time and about thirty minutes later, my eyebrows were as stiff as planks of wood. lol I would highly recommend this as something for others to try.

Eye Brightening Eyeliner in Black and Gilded: I am a little mad at ELF for this liner, but I get what I pay for. The wood surrounding the black pigment doesn't settle well, which means I get to feel the scraping wood as I line my eyes. However, the color payoff and the creamy texture of the liner is really good. I know this to be true because Gilded, a gold colored liner feels really nice for those hardly there makeup days. I don't really recommend you to tight line with these pencils. Go for kohl type pencils, which are made to be softer and more delicate for your inner eye. Other than that, I'd say buy them at your own risk.

Eye Brightening Eyeshadow in Nouveau Neutrals: I got this in a gift set, so instead of the shadows being divided up into triangles, its little rectangles. And it make just be me, but I have to really work their "C' shaped brush in that tiny little shadow quad. The color pay off is nice, but powdery. If your not careful you could unleash some serious powder flakes in the air. I really haven't used it much, but the green shade was pretty. It just didn't suit me the way I thought it would, so I am a little disappointed.

Eye Widener: Is a joke. I don't like it at all. When I went to draw on my inner eye, I got zero color pay off and again, the cheapness spoke volumes. It needs to be softer and creamier for this concept to work, ELF.

Liquid Eyeshadow in Cream Dream, Sultry Satin, Sexy Silver and Mocha Madness: I was really surprised, I like these a lot. I think I like the Creme (which is an ivory shimmer and sparkle) and the Satin (is more of a taupe white) more than the Silver and Mocha. The Silver is pretty dark too, but pretty. I've used them successfully as bases. (I did one eye at a time, and when it went from tacky to almost dry, I applied my eyeshadow.) I really like these and I want to buy more of them. :)

Lip Products:

Super Glossy Lipshines: I had about 6 of these but I a few to my mom and sister. My two ultimate favorites was Goddess, which was a pinky nude pearl gloss and Candlelight, which was a true nude based pearl gloss. Juiced Berry is a clear purple-pink gloss with glitter, where as Goddess and Candlelight, even Pink Kiss, were creamy and pearly. Pink Kiss is a true pink gloss without the Barbie attached to it. And gernerally I stray away from pinks, because if you have any yellow on your teeth (from coffee to just not brushing good enough) they will sort of show each other off. So eesh. I think these glosses taste amazing, smell good and you get a great amount for the price you pay. I've thought of buying more, but I've got enough glosses to get me to 2014, so for now I'll enjoy what I have and use use use and use some more. :)

Face Products:

Tone Correcting Concealer and Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Apricot Beige: Before ELF had come out with any lighter shades (like the ivory you can buy today) the lightest they had was Apricot Beige. Which was the equivalent of me wearing 4 shades darker foundation. And orange based too. Like I didn't even bother to blend. Esh, right? Well After that experience both the Concealer and Moisturizer went to people darker than myself and I've pretty much decided that I won't touch concealers or moisturizers without color swatching first.

Their 12 piece Brush Set: I'm going to be a concise as I can since going through 12 products could double this post just right here. So Brushes I would Recommend: Their Dome/Contour/Blending brush, "C" shaped eyeshadow brush, possibly their square eye liner brush and their angled defining eye brush. Everything else is a try at your own risk. Their Powder brushes, like their angled blush/bronzer/blending brush and their total face brush are very scratchy and not worth the money. Their foundation brush is synthetic and flimsy, so you have to go over your face with a little foundation triangle to even out the streakiness it can leave behind. I would personally invest in their Studio Line, because it is worth the chunk of change. I am a cheapie, but I also love quality too. And finding both at a reasonable range for modern day consumers is the real trick of the trade. Its called smart spending. So I would classify ELF's studio brushes as a very smart spend. :)

Tools: 

Their Eye make up remover pads didn't work out so well for me. Plus I can buy sensitive wipes that are able to remove all my make up for a better price than what ELF sells them for. And the same thing with the nail polish wipes, I don't like them because I had to go through so many that I gave up. My sister, however, loves them. So its a personal call that you'd have to make. I love their Eyelash curlers, especially the black one because its got a nice clamp feeling, where some feel like your going to just keep curling fo-eva. I also highly recommend their Shine Erasers because they do the job that they gotta do. And their eye pencil sharpener broke when it arrived in the mail, so that blew.

Summary:

All and all, I would highly recommend their Clear Mascara, I'd say try their liquid eyeshadows, definitely try their tube lip glosses, invest in some "C" shaped eyeshadow brushes as well as their curlers and shine erasers. But everything else is a personal choice and hopefully you'll find stuff you really love from ELF.

STUDIO Update:

I just wanted to give you a little more info about the Studio brushes.
That flat top brush is really good at stippling (like that white and black MAC stippling brush) your liquid foundation, just remember to blend! I didn't blend as much as I thought I should today and right now my neck and face are two shades apart. :( I would also try it with mineral make up too. Its not as packed as some mineral make up brushes I've used but it will do a nice job none the less.

I will have to post pictures later today BC baby is wanting attention!
Take care,
ChristinaReviews

EDIT: I looked over some of the pictures I took and I will retake them. Too untrue to the colors. :(