I showed you the Bright Eyes Edition last week and now I'm back with the smokey eyes one!
Same info and basic review as the other one, but in case you missed it:
e.l.f. is available from Target (limited range) and also from elf.com, and occasionally at dollar stores. I picked this up on clearance for $3.12, but they normally cost $5.
Here is the smokey eyes palette:
Top row of shadows, left to right. All swatches done over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
First shade is a pale white-grey (shimmer).
Second shade is a medium 'blurple' (satin with loose glitter).
Third shade is a navy blue (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a very dark blue with blue glitter (satin with loose glitter).
Only so-so pigmentation on this. The colors in the pan just don't transfer onto the skin! The black/blue on the far right is crazy pigmented, though.
Middle row of shadows.
First shade is a fair skintone shade with grey undertones (matte).
Second shade is a violet burgundy (matte).
Third shade is a blackened burgundy (matte).
Fourth shade is a black with a hint of burgundy (satin with sparkle).
Does this look like the WetnWild Lust palette to you? It reminds me of it. Decent pigmentation here for mattes, the second shade in is my favorite. The first skintone like shade is a bit muddy and unnatural on the skin; you could use it as a color to blend out other shadows.
Bottom row of shadows.
First shade is a pale grey silver with a hint of purple (shimmer).
Second shade is a medium silver with a green overtone (shimmer).
Third shade is a dark grey with silver shimmer (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a flat black (matte).
This would be my favorite row if not for the crap pigmentation on the black. It's surprising because the blue higher up in the palette is SO pigmented. Anyway, the silvers in this row are quite nice. I think you could make a good smokey eye if you use a different black.
This palette has a better range of finishes than the Bright Eyes palette (which was mostly shimmers), so that I can appreciate. A few colors are disappointing, however... mainly the top row. They look gorgeous in the pans but really sheer out on the skin.
From here is basically the same overview I gave the Bright Eyes palette:
e.l.f.'s shadows are quite soft so you do have to pack on the color a little. You can't expect vibrant payoff with these -- they're meant to be a sheerer wash of color. You can get decent pigmentation out of some of the shadows with an eyeshadow primer, but you're not going to have anything eyeseeringly bright.
Now, my complaint is the design of the palette. These would be awesome for travel, but they're cardboard, for one, and second they are quite bulky. I get that they wanted to have a 'book' feel but they could have designed the palette into something more compact -- maybe 6 shadows across the top and 6 across the bottom, or a pull tray? There's just a lot of wasted space on these.
They also come with a little eyeliner but I would have foregone that to just cut off the entire bottom half of the palette!
As I said with the Bright Eyes palette, this would be great for a beginner who wants to experiment with smokey eyes or if you're not into really intense ones. I know I have trouble wearing them so this palette is appreciated for someone like me who prefers to create a softer smokey eye.
Showing posts with label elf beauty book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elf beauty book. Show all posts
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
e.l.f. Beauty Book (Bright Eyes Edition) Review + Swatches
I saw these at Target when they first released for $5, and thought it was a good bargain. I didn't have time to purchase any. I came back a few days later and they had been put on clearance for $3.12... even more of a bargain!
I nabbed the smokey and bright eyes editions thinking it would be the biggest difference in shade ranges. The neutral book kind of looked like it had some dupes for the Urban Decay Naked palette, but I digress.
e.l.f. is available from Target (limited range) and also from elf.com, and occasionally at dollar stores.
First up, today I'm showing the Bright Eyes palette:
Kinda looks like the Urban Decay Book of Shadows, doesn't it? Weird... anyway.
Top row of shadows, left to right on the palette. All swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
First shade is a white with a hint of purple (shimmer).
Second shade is a medium lilac (shimmer).
Third shade is a violet with slight blue shift (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a purple with grey undertones (satin).
Decent pigmentation on this -- my favorite shade is the second one. A lot of pale purples tend to not show up or make you look ill and this has nice pigmentation and is slightly pastel without being over the top. The white is pretty standard and the two colors on the right are pretty, but not very unique.
Second row of shadows in the palette.
First shade is a very pale peach (shimmer).
Second shade is a coppery peach (shimmer).
Third shade is a medium gold (shimmer).
Fourth shade is bronzey chocolate brown (shimmer.)
Only okay pigmentation on this, the gold is quite pretty but the first shade makes your skin look a bit muddy. The chocolate brown is pretty but not very pigmented.
Bottom row of shadows.
First shade is a pale gold (shimmer).
Second shade is a seafoam green with a slight teal undertone (satin).
Third shade is a blackened forest green (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a very dark burgundy, mostly black (shimmer).
These four shades are probably my favorite of the palette, especially that seafoam green. The four shadows together make a great combination!
e.l.f.'s shadows are quite soft so you do have to pack on the color a little. You can't expect vibrant payoff with these -- they're meant to be a sheerer wash of color. You can get decent pigmentation out of some of the shadows with an eyeshadow primer, but you're not going to have anything eyeseeringly bright. I think the palette would be great for a beginner or anyone who wants to experiment with color and not go overboard.
Now, my complaint is the design of the palette. These would be awesome for travel, but they're cardboard, for one, and second they are quite bulky. I get that they wanted to have a 'book' feel but they could have designed the palette into something more compact -- maybe 6 shadows across the top and 6 across the bottom, or a pull tray? There's just a lot of wasted space on these.
They also come with a little eyeliner but I would have foregone that to just cut off the entire bottom half of the palette!
Despite that, I like this palette and I find myself reaching for that bottom row more often than I realize! Those are worth $3.12 in my opinion.
I nabbed the smokey and bright eyes editions thinking it would be the biggest difference in shade ranges. The neutral book kind of looked like it had some dupes for the Urban Decay Naked palette, but I digress.
e.l.f. is available from Target (limited range) and also from elf.com, and occasionally at dollar stores.
First up, today I'm showing the Bright Eyes palette:
Kinda looks like the Urban Decay Book of Shadows, doesn't it? Weird... anyway.
Top row of shadows, left to right on the palette. All swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
First shade is a white with a hint of purple (shimmer).
Second shade is a medium lilac (shimmer).
Third shade is a violet with slight blue shift (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a purple with grey undertones (satin).
Decent pigmentation on this -- my favorite shade is the second one. A lot of pale purples tend to not show up or make you look ill and this has nice pigmentation and is slightly pastel without being over the top. The white is pretty standard and the two colors on the right are pretty, but not very unique.
Second row of shadows in the palette.
First shade is a very pale peach (shimmer).
Second shade is a coppery peach (shimmer).
Third shade is a medium gold (shimmer).
Fourth shade is bronzey chocolate brown (shimmer.)
Only okay pigmentation on this, the gold is quite pretty but the first shade makes your skin look a bit muddy. The chocolate brown is pretty but not very pigmented.
Bottom row of shadows.
First shade is a pale gold (shimmer).
Second shade is a seafoam green with a slight teal undertone (satin).
Third shade is a blackened forest green (shimmer).
Fourth shade is a very dark burgundy, mostly black (shimmer).
These four shades are probably my favorite of the palette, especially that seafoam green. The four shadows together make a great combination!
e.l.f.'s shadows are quite soft so you do have to pack on the color a little. You can't expect vibrant payoff with these -- they're meant to be a sheerer wash of color. You can get decent pigmentation out of some of the shadows with an eyeshadow primer, but you're not going to have anything eyeseeringly bright. I think the palette would be great for a beginner or anyone who wants to experiment with color and not go overboard.
Now, my complaint is the design of the palette. These would be awesome for travel, but they're cardboard, for one, and second they are quite bulky. I get that they wanted to have a 'book' feel but they could have designed the palette into something more compact -- maybe 6 shadows across the top and 6 across the bottom, or a pull tray? There's just a lot of wasted space on these.
They also come with a little eyeliner but I would have foregone that to just cut off the entire bottom half of the palette!
Despite that, I like this palette and I find myself reaching for that bottom row more often than I realize! Those are worth $3.12 in my opinion.
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