ELF GETS NAKED?

Some people have been saying that the ELF BeautyBook Neutral Eye Edition is a dupe for the infamous Urban Decay NAKED Palette. So I thought I'd show you side by side swatches to see if it's really true.

VS

So check out the colors overall in the pan first....

ELF Palette

Urban Decay Palette

Ok, so far, yes...they look pretty similar. But now let's swatch them...

As you can see, the UD shadow is a lot more pigmented, but the ELF shadow is still extremely similar.

Same thing here....

Now here you can see this is a different color completely. They are both soft browns, but the ELF is lacking that slightly redish undertone that the UD shadow has.

The ELF shadow is lacking the glitter that the UD shadow has--your opinion if that is good or bad. I don't mind the glitter. But otherwise, this color is very similar.

Very similar color, but I really had to build up the ELF to get it close to one swipe of the UD.

The ELF shadow has more orange in it here. And again, the UD shadow is more much pigmented.

The ELF shadow doesn't have the bronzed undertone that the UD shadow has here.

The ELF shadow doesn't even come close in my opinion. I had to really pack it on it get this color to show up .

Color is a bit similar, but you just can't compare these as far as sheen goes! Look how the UD ones just glow and they ELF fall flat.

Again, this color is just way off for me. The ELF shade has so much red in it whereas the UD shade is just a beautiful dark brown.

Again, no comparison here. Period.

I feel like these are pretty similar though. The UD is just a tad darker.

Overall opinion:

If you can't/don't want to shell out the bucks for NAKED, this is an alright alternative.

The ELF Shadows don't have the creamy texture or color payoff that UD has, but what else can you expect for a buck?

When the day comes that I finally go through my NAKED palette....I will probably not turn to the ELF palette, but will instead re-purchase NAKED.

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FTC Disclosure: I purchased all products shown with my own money. I have never accepted money in exchange for a review or product promotion. All opinions are my own.

ELF LE ENDLESS EYES EVERYDAY BASICS

I was pumped to find the ELF Limited Edition Endless Eyes Palette in the Everyday Basics. at my Target several months ago. I've barely picked it up at all! I've decided to try to really make an effort to not spend much on cosmetics at all. So I wanted to go ahead and swatch these to show you and myself!

Of course I love neutrals! The packaging is cute, but I find that it is a bit hard to open. I do like how you can see some of the colors while it's closed.

Look at this loveliness! I was excited to open this and see all the choices of neutrals. You've got taupe's (my favorites!), browns, grays, blues, purples, and oranges. What more could a girl want? Now, how to the swatch?

I used primer for these and had to swatch them many times for them to show up! That was pretty disappointing. These were mostly the lighter colors. Some of the shadows were very soft and creamy. So this palette is pretty hit or miss for me. Do you have this? Which colors are your favorites?

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FTC Disclosure: I purchase this with my own money. I am not affiliated with this company. I have never been paid to write a review.



ELF CUSTOM EYES

As you may have already noticed, I've picked up a ton of things from e.l.f. lately! A few things from the Studio line, but mostly from the regular $1 line. If you haven't tried e.l.f. yet, you should! Now on to the good stuff....



e.l.f. Essentials custom eyes

Luxuriously smooth and silky mineral formula provides eyes with a neutral base and an awakened brightness for a long-lasting wear. Choose your favorite colors that best compliment your unique and beautiful look.

There were really only four colors (out of the 10 they carry) that I actually liked. They are pink ice, mocha, dusk, and moondust. Here's the swatches:

As you can see, these have really nice pigmentation to them! But they are SOOO incredibly soft---and I actually don't like that too much. Why? There is SOOO much fall out with these--especially the darker the ones. That is something they can certainly improve upon.

As you can see, the second one from the right has the magnet placed slightly off, which makes a bit difficult to put in my palette, so not so bad that it doesn't fit. I suppose I can't really fault them for that though, not every one is going to come out perfect.

The e.l.f. one is just a bit bigger than the MAC ones. The e.l.f. shadows have a little eye design imprinted on them. Pretty much as soon as I touched it, it came right off---that's how soft this one is. I do like the colors and I love the price, but these in no way compare to MAC. All they really have in common is the size. But hey, it's not bad for $1.

I do wish they would improve the formula and expand the color range. Perhaps if they do that, I'll pick up more of these. Until then, I'll save my money for MAC.

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FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned. I have never been paid to write a review.

ELF LUSCIOUS LIQUID LIPSTICKS

e.l.f. Essentials Luscious Liquid Lipstick

therapy is here. Intensive hydrating agents along with natural pigments leave lips with long-lasting color and moisture. This luscious liquid lipstick creates wearable color that flatters a multitude of skin tones and looks.

I've been eyeing these for a while. The packaging remind me of the Stila lip products---though I don't own any of those! But I love the little twist bottom that clicks to release the product! The first time you use them, you really do have to twist it about 12 times, like the packaging says to do. The tip is a slanted, felt like tip:

For some called a "luscious liquid lipstick" I was kind of expecting a little more color than these provide. They feel like a mix between a gloss and a lipstick. It's not heavy or sticky and is very smooth. There's a slight scent to these that I enjoy. Here's my swatches:

So you can see that raspberry is really the only one that adds color to my lips. The others really just look like I'm wearing a clear gloss--although I'll admit they do a hint of color.

The Stila lip products start around $20. These are $1!! You won't get too many uses out of these, but for a buck, they are pretty nice. There's 11 different colors. Now that I know how sheer they are, I'll probably try some of the darker colors next time. If you want to see all the colors, go here.

Which ones have you tried?

Check out my guest post on Sedona Lace's blog! I swatched the 28 blush palette, which is amazing by the way!

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FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affiliated with e.l.f. I have never accepted money in exchange for a review.

ELF EYE BRIGHTENING QUADS

e.l.f. Essentials Brightening Eye Color

Luxuriously smooth, corn silk formula provides eyes with a neutral base and an awakened brightness. The formula blends into skin for a long lasting, beautiful effect. The 4 color quad allows for both natural and dramatic looks. Mirror in compact included.

I have a quad, though set up differently than this, from ELF that came with their smokey eye kit and the pigmentation was really good so I thought I'd try these out. I really love the neutrals, obviously, so I picked up these two. I was disappointed that Butternut came slightly broken, but it wasn't too bad. But you can kinda see in the lightest color that some of the darkest got into it. Oh well....

Here's Butternut:

I think these are so pretty! They aren't too dark and make for a really nice day/work eye. They are pretty smooth and blend pretty well. The darkest color is pretty powdery though, so watch out for fall out with this one! I do wish there was at least one matte in these, but for a buck, it's pretty awesome!

Here is Brownstone:

Again, I like this more subtle neutrals. And also again the darkest two colors are quite powdery. But they still pack a mean punch when it comes to pigmentation. I like this one the best so far! There are lots of other quads and they are much more colorful than this, check them out here!

Which quads do you like best?

I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to VOTE for me in the Folica "Great Hair Day" contest. I was #2 and now I've fallen to #9!! Contest ends 3/31/11!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this with my own money. I am not affiliated with e.l.f. I have never accepted money in exchange for a review.

ELF SEDUCTIVE LIPSTICK

e.l.f. Essentials Lipstick

Indulge your lips with long lasting color and shine. The moisture rich formula hydrates, conditions and softens on contact for silky smooth lips. .

Instantly beautiful, healthy-looking lips designed, formulated and tested by our professional team of makeup artists.

I thought this color, Seductive, would be absolutely gorgeous! Besides beautiful color, smooth feeling, super pigmentation, cute packaging....it's only $1!!! I also love that when the cap is on, you can still see the color!

You get a good amount in this as well, 3.5 grams. I couldn't get over the pigmentation of this lipstick! Check out the swatches:

Sorry the lips are a little blurry. The color goes on very evenly, it's not a "thick" feeling lipstick though. It goes on really smooth and feels like an expensive department store lipstick. I also really like the creamy finish.  I haven't worn it all day, so I can't comment on it's staying power, but it was a bit hard to rub off all the color on my hand and lips. My inital reaction is these are great and I wish ELF would make more colors available. This was really the only one that I liked from the six available.

You can see all the colors here!

**Update---I can't believe I forgot to mention that it has a really nice scent as well! It's a bit fruity! Love it!!**

I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to VOTE for me in the Folica "Great Hair Day" contest. I was #2 and now I've fallen to #7!! Contest ends 3/31/11!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this with my own money. I am not affliated with e.l.f. I have never accepted money in exchange for a review.

ELF EYESHADOW

I love finding ELF products at Target! Especially when I find something like this deal! I got all four of these duo's for $3 or $5---sorry I can't remember! It was a while ago I picked these  up, so forgive me! They came packaged together as a set. All of these shades are pretty neutral, so you know I love that!

I think the names of these are a bit odd--the first two are on the top are called basic quad 2 & 4, well...it's obvious these are duos, not quads! So maybe these were once part of another collection?? I have no idea. But nonetheless, I really like these! On to the swatches:

The pigmentation is pretty good. These are not creamy, like Urban Decay or the like, but they are pretty amazing for the price! I love Basic Quad 2 the most!! Here's some looks I've done with these so far: (First one is the picture from my HairDo, part two post)

Basic Quad 4

Did anyone else snatch these up? I think they'd be a great stocking stuffer for that makeup lover in your life! Or a treat for yourself!

Winners of my One Year of NV'ious Beauty give-a-way announced soon!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this with my own money. I was not paid to write this. I am not affiliated with ELF.

ELF SMOKEY PALETTE

I bought ELF's smokey eye kit several months ago and just haven't really got to reviewing it! I wasn't sure how pigmented or smooth this would be because as you might know, ELF is a pretty dirt cheap makeup line!! The smokey eye kit was $5, so what did I have to lose?

Here's the swatches:

Amazing pigmentation right? I was really blown away! They are really smooth too and blend really well. Way to go ELF!!!  Here's my look:

Two thumbs up for ELF Smokey Eye Kit! Try it out!

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FTC Discloser:Products mentioned in this post were purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with any brands or companies mentioned.