E.L F Comes Back To The UK!
Remember e.l.f? Remember when it was all over blogs and YouTube as one of the only budget beauty brands available? Well it's back.. but it's got a lot more competition this time around and it's twice as expensive.If memory serves there used to be a basic e.l.f line which sold at £1.50 per item and then a 'Studio' line which was a little pricier but still very reasonable. Looking at the site now it seems like the basic range is gone and it's all 'Studio'. There were certain items I loved from this brand that I sought out when it relaunched, some are no longer available and what still is has a new, inflated price.
The quality isn't terrible but I don't belIeve it's improved enough/at all to justify the higher cost. The highlight palette had a nice texture but the shadows were chalky and sheer, the lip crayon wasn't as creamy or opaque as I remember and the 3-in1- mascara (which I once loved) disappointed too. I did very much like the Serum Foundation though, it wont be for everyone because the coverage is almost non-existent - can you guess which side it's on? - but it evens and blurs which in the summer months is all I really want.
Another new addition to the relaunch is skin care! I remember them having wipes and perhaps a moisturiser previously but there's a whole host of products now and the bubble mask was very exciting indeed! You know I love a new mask and my skin felt lovely after using this one. Whether there are any long term benefits I will have to keep you posted but it was definitely a highlight of the bunch for me. The eye cream is also quite nice, light enough to wear under makeup and refreshing on my tired under eyes. No shimmer either which I had expected with it being 'illuminating'. Although I want 'bright' I'm not keen on a 'sheen' under my eyes since they're quite hollow and it's not super flattering.
After yesterdays 'Is Positivity The New Negativity' post it would seem I have embraced the negative for this review.. not intentionally. Perhaps the huge variety of budget beauty products now available has dulled my enthusiasm for anything that doesn't immediately impress me. I was just really underwhelmed by a launch I was so looking forward to but it wouldn't stop me placing an order in future. One thing I do remember was how inconsistent e.l.f were with their quality, I'm interested to see whether that's reported as often this time around but there are a whole host of products I'd still like to try and I will be testing the above further for an upcoming video. I wanted to get this first impression up for you today because there's 50% off on their site for one day only so if you're going to roll the dice and try something new, today is the day!