ELF Hits, Misses, and Others

I placed a HUGE elf order last christmas using the 50% off studio line discount code. Even though the code is for studio line, I also purchased things from the regular and mineral line because shipping to Canada is crazily expensive, so I wanna order everything that I wanna try at once. I did give away a lot to my friends as christmas presents, and some of the products I've used myself for the past half year. This entry is just some opinions I have regarding the products.

Elf Hits

The following 5 elf items are ones that I absolutely love. I use them on a daily basis.

1. Angled Foundation Brush (studio line) - I don't use this brush for foundation since I like to use my fingers for that. I mainly use it for contouring and highlighting because of the size. It's very soft and an awesome deal for it's price ($3 but I got it with a 50% coupon code so it was only $1.5)
2. Small Precision Brush (studio line) - I feel like this is the only brush that's true to its name lol.. by small precision, you can really expect it to do the job! I use it for the inner corner of the eye.
3. Concealer Brush (studio line) - I love this! It's perfect for padding on eye shadow. It's also very similar to the MAC 239 - see picture below.
4. Concealer Brush (regular line) - Very similar to the small precision brush (number 2), but it's slightly fuller. I actually prefer this over the small precision brush. Also used for the inner corner of the eye.
5. Mineral Eye Liner in black - It's smooth and easy to use - my everyday eyeliner. It's black enough for me, and for sure can be built on the intensity even over eyeshadow.

The one at the top (and left one in my hand) is my MAC 239 (sorry for how dirty it looks..) It's slightly fuller than the Elf brush, but it's barely noticeable. The bristles of the Elf brush is also slightly stiffer but still soft. Depending on what you want, sometimes I even prefer the elf brush. But to me, they're basically the same, except for the price (Elf: $3, MAC: $24.50).

Elf Misses

1. Daily Brush Cleaner - I'm not a fan of its scent. It's very strong and a bit too sweet. But I guess when the brushes dry, the scent do fade away to an acceptable level.
2. Dramatic Lash Kit - These are not even worth $1... There's not much shape to it. They fall kinda flat when put on. And the amount of lash glue is also non-existent. Not to mention how bad the packaging was when it arrived.
3. Single Eyeshadow in Amethyst - Doesn't blend and a bit chalky. Cute packaging though.
4. Corrective Concealer - I was very patient with this product and used it for at least a few weeks.. but eventually I gave up. I don't think it improves my skin that much for it to be worthwhile to be applied. I rather just have less product on my face :S
5. Liquid Eyeliner - The colour payoff is very nice, it's extremely black. However, the tip is way too stiff and it can irritate your eyes during the application.
6. Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara - Contrary to its name, it does not lengthen nor volumize. Enough said.
7. Contour Brush (studio line) - It might be just me, but I don't really understand the point of this brush. I guess you can use it as a fluffy brush to blend eye shadows.. but I already own a fluffy brush so this is useless to me.


Ok, the following products are ones that I don't use that often so I can't say if I love them, or hate them. But I do have first impression / opinions about them.

1. Fan Brush - Not dense enough. Good for swiping off eyeshadow fallouts, but you can do that with other face brushes too so I don't think buying this brush is necessary.
2. Mineral Eyeshadow in Trendy - I gave an Elf mineral eyeshadow to my friend in another colour. She loved it! However, I feel like the colour payoff isn't that good with my colour. I don't reach for this at all. Maybe it's just this particular colour (?)
3. Mineral Blush in Bliss - Again, I think the colour payoff isn't that great. But I love this coral blush colour.
4. Complexion Brush - I do like this a lot. It's very soft and dense. But I don't use powder that much so I haven't made good use of this yet.
5. Powder Brush - Another soft brush that I like, but don't use as often as I'd like.
6. Small Angled Brush - see photo below.

I guess the main usage of this kind of brush is for gel liners or if you want to use a eyeshadow as an eyeliner. I never tried gel liners (even though I really want to), and I never felt the need to use any eyeshadow as my liner :S I bought my MAC 266 at least 6 years ago but I never made good use of it. So I don't really understand why I got my Elf small angled brush - I guess it's inexpensive enough that I would allow myself to indulge on owning more make up products lol... But just by first impression, I do like the MAC 266 a lot more just because it's wider and a bit stiffer, which is appropriate for the purpose of applying eyeliner. But at $3, you really can't go wrong with the elf one!


Overall, I think Elf is a great company if you're on a budget. The quality of some of the products are really good, while others are not so well. But I guess that happens with every makeup company. You just have to do your research before purchasing :) I do own other Elf products, but they don't stand out to me that much for me to have much to say about them. If I ever make good use of them in the future, or if I ever have a change of heart with the ones I already reviewed, I'll make another post :P Oh another word of advice is, always search for a coupon code if you plan to purchase!!! There are tons of awesome great deals out there that's worth taking advantage of :P

Let me know what you think about Elf products, and what's your absolute favourite or if there's any that you regret buying!