I remember when I first saw E.L.F. Cosmetics on the shelf in Target. The price point of $1 (also known as one hundred brown pennies) led me to walk away from said product. One dollar makeup cannot be, as Martha would say, “a good thing”.
ThisThatBeauty Editor-In-Chief, Felicia, assigned me to cover ELF’s Fall 2010 and holiday collection launch. Recalling my earlier exposure to the one dollar brand at my local Tarjay, I eagerly (read sarcasm in “eagerly”) accepted the assignment. Thanks Felicia! However, my sarcasm regarding ELF pretty much ends here! At a recent press event I had the opportunity to go beyond the price tag (and beyond my personal snooty thoughts about one dollar makeup)….and boy was I surprised!
The holiday themed event was decked out with a white Christmas tree and the frozen hot chocolate flowed freely.
Andrea Dunaway, creative director at E.L.F., started off by giving a little background information on the company and the brand. E.L.F. was started by Joseph Shamah, who had the “belief that innovative technology, quality ingredients and superb delivery systems should not be limited to prestige retailers and every woman should have the opportunity to experience luxury cosmetics without sacrificing her budget.†This mantra, if you will, led to the one dollar price point. E.L.F. has a full line of cosmetics for eyes, lips face and more recently — a line of products for bath, body and nails.
Declaring that products are one dollar but then delivering a lackluster product would not be a very good business plan, so, I set out to test some of E.L.F’s signature one dollar products, as well as some of the other moderately priced cosmetics included in their 2010 Holiday and Fall collections.
Shimmer Pencil
My favorite thing about this pencil, apart from the $1 price tag, is that the sharpener is in the cap – a genius move. The pencil glided on effortlessly and added just the right amount of shimmer to make my eyes pop. After about two hours I had a bit of eyeliner migration, which led me to use a primer on my upper lid the next time I used the pencil. On my second application with the primer, the liner held up well and I even got a few compliments. Woot woot!
Natural Matte Shadow
The shadow comes as loose powder and has richer pigments than I expected for $3. I generally add primer to my lid before I apply loose eye shadow, I think that’s because when I first started using loose pigment shadows I got it everywhere. I used E.L.F’s eyeshadow brush for application and it worked really well. More details on the brushes below.
Holiday Collection Eyeshadow Palette
If you are a newbie to make-up and want to experiment without going broke, you can go bananas with E.L.F’s shadow palettes from their holiday collection. 
I tried several shades and I loved them, a few of my favorites are shown here.
Not all the colors are highly pigmented. Some will definitely require the use of primer and you may have to do some layering to get the desired result. The palettes come in three sizes:
- 100 piece ($10)
- 32 piece ($5)
- 6 piece ($3)
The best value is the 100 piece because you get each color for ten cents. How can you beat that?
Brushes
E.L.F’s brushes are made from synthetic fiber but they are extremely soft. They were designed and tested by professional makeup artists. While I have been into makeup for a long time, I never really got into using brushes (Editor butting in: Christene, how is this possible? You’re into makeup, but not brushes? Girl, we have to talk). I had one brush that I wiped and used for everything, except eyeshadow (Felicia again: I’m breaking out in hives editing this!). With E.L.F’s $30 holiday brush set, I get 11 brushes, one for every stage of my makeup application. The brushes come in a nifty waterproof case. My favorite so far is the powder brush. The set also includes a fan brush, angled foundation brush, and small smudge brush.
Nail Polish
The holiday nail polish collection is all about shimmer. The six shades, Metal Madness, Party Purple, Golden Goddess, Twinkle and Glitter Glam, all have glitter in them. I tried Twinkle on my bare nail as well as over another color. I liked it better when applied over another color. All nail polishes are $1.
Mini Palette
So, I saved the best from the holiday collection for last. If you have never tried E.L.F and you are curious about how far you can stretch your beauty buck and the quality of the products you can get for that dollar, the holiday Mini Palette is perfect for you. It includes eye shadows, blush, bronzer, lip gloss, brow powder, eyeshadow applicator, face brush and lip brush. This is also a great gift idea for someone who wants their “pretty†in sleek ultra-portable packaging. The palette retails for $15….a mere bag of shells (RIP Jackie Gleason)
Other Product Favorites
In the past I have tried a several drugstore mineral powders but that always seem to leave me looking a bit ashen or gray. I used E.L.F’s mineral booster and was in awe of the results. Coverage is minimal so it is perfect for application over my tinted moisturizer. It retails for $5 and is available at E.L.F. The lip glosses are great and they provide high gloss without being too heavy on the lips. I have oily skin and the shine eraser blotting sheets work well. According to the manufacturer they are also supposed to minimize pores, I did not notice any change in the size of my pores. Blotting sheets retail for $1.
Overall, I give E.L.F a passing grade. They offer a wide range of products and tools that are of good quality. If you try something and you don’t like it, chances are you will be out no more than a buck, plus tax.
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This post is written by ThisThatBeauty Contributor, Christene Carr. For more from Christene visit her blog www.christenecarr.com.
