e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pot Review

e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pots

I am very excited to show you the new e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pots.  These gel/cream shadows are only $2.00 at eyeslipsface.com, but they pack quite a bit into those tiny jars.  I’m usually a little wary of e.l.f.’s Essential line because it can be very hit and miss, but there is no need to worry this time.  The Smudge Pots are pigmented, have great wear-time, and feel lightweight on the lids.  They are some of the best products to come out of e.l.f. in a while, and you definitely are going to want to check them out.  So, let’s get started.

E.l.f. has this to say about the Smudge Pots: “This smooth gel formula glides on perfectly. Use it as a long-lasting eyeshadow or eyeliner! Enriched with Vitamin E to nourish and hydrate the delicate eye area.  Dip a brush into the pot and apply along the lash line for rich eyeliner color. Use a brush or your finger and apply to the eyelid and buff out for vibrant eyeshadow color.”  I have not use any of the Smudge Pots for eyeliner yet, but I have used them all as cream eyeshadow and color bases for powder shadows, so I can tell you that they work wonderfully.  The formula feels like a gel-cream hybrid.  They aren’t quite as gel-like as the e.l.f. Studio Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows (which are also pretty awesome), but they are definitely not simply a cream.  The result is a formula that does not dry out and flake, but at the same time does not stay so wet that it creases or fades away.  I really think that e.l.f. nailed it.  I am able to wear the Smudge Pots with no primer and have no issues with creasing whatsoever.  If you have oily eyelids, you may want to use a primer first to extend wear-time.  As it is, the Smudge Pots wore on my dry lids for twelve hours with no creasing and just a tiny bit of fading after the nine hour mark.  The formula is lightweight, so you don’t feel them on the lids.  They blend easily with each other and with powder shadow.  I have nothing but good things to say about them.

e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pots come in nine shades.  I have six of them.  The three that I am missing are Pearls of Wisdom (pearly white), Ocean Bound (dark blue), and Hit the Town (steely charcoal gray).  The darker shades seem to perform better than the lighter shades, mostly because the lighter shades are a bit more sheer.  The lighter shades take more work to blend out evenly, but are still good products.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Ain’t that Sweet

Ain’t that Sweet is a frosty iced pink.  It is the most sheer of the Smudge Pots, and the weakest of the six shades that I own.  Because it is sheer, it does take a little work for an even application on the lid.  That being said, it is still a very pretty shade and it still plays very well with others, so it shouldn’t be counted out completely.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Gotta Glow

Gotta Glow is a metallic yellow gold.  Like Ain’t That Sweet, Gotta Glow is a sheer shade.  I find that it performs better and applies more evenly than Ain’t that Sweet, so it is the better choice of the two.  Because I don’t have Pearls of Wisdom, I can’t say how the white shade performs for sure, but my guess would be that it is very similar to both Gotta Glow and Ain’t that Sweet.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Back to Basics

Back to Basics is a fiery metallic bronze.  It applies opaque and blends easily.  It looks a little darker in the pan than it actually applies.  Back to Basics is a gorgeous shade, and one that I recommend wholeheartedly.  All four of the darker shades that I have are fantastic.  Here is a swatch of the first three shades.

(L-R) Ain’t That Sweet, Gotta Glow, and Back to Basics

From left to right we have Ain’t That Sweet, Gotta Glow, and Back to Basics.  You can definitely see what I’m talking about when I say that the lighter shades are sheer, especially Ain’t That Sweet.  Back to Basics is easily the strongest of the three.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Cruisin Chic

Next is Cruisin Chic, which is my favorite shade of the batch.  It is a gorgeous brown-based metallic taupe.  It looks a lot darker in the pan than it actually applies.  I can’t get enough of this shade, but then again, I’ve never met a taupe I didn’t like.  Cruisin Chic is a great everyday option that looks so multidimensional that I can get away with wearing it all by itself, but have it still look like I put way more effort into it.  This is a must-have in my opinion.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Brownie Points

Brownie Points is a milk chocolate brown with a subtly metallic finish.  It’s not quite as shiny as Back to Basics and Cruisin Chic.  Brownie Points is a lovely dark brown, not exactly unique, but certainly a staple.  It’s a great crease shade.

e.l.f. Smudge Pot in Poppin Party

Poppin Party is a deep, bold purple.  It has a subtle metallic finish, similar to Brownie Points.  It is a gorgeous purple that stays true to color and doesn’t fade to black on the eye like some dark purples can.  If you are a purple lover, then Poppin Party is a great choice.

(L-R) Cruisin Chic, Brownie Points, and Poppin Party

Here are the last three shades, from left to right: Cruisin Chic, Brownie Points, and Poppin Party.  As you can see, all three shades are opaque and very pigmented.  A little goes a long way with these shadows, so go slow and be careful not to over-apply.

(L-R) Back to Basics, Cruisin Chic, and Brownie Points

And here are the three brown shades next to each other so that you can see the differences.  I think that they are so different from each other that you would be totally justified in getting all three.  While I don’t think the two highlight shades are essential, all four of the darker shades that I have to show you are.  I recommend all four to you, especially Cruisin Chic.

And there you have it, the e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pots are fantastic.  Two thumbs up.  The formula stays creamy long enough to blend, but once it dries, they do not move.  In fact, you will need makeup remover to take them off.  Simple soap and water and a non-makeup remover wipe was not enough to remove the swatches from my hand.  E.l.f. wasn’t kidding around with these Smudge Pots.  I can’t say enough about them.  For $2.00 each, I recommend buying several to try out.  What do you have to lose?  If you have tried the e.l.f. Essential Smudge Pots, I’d love to know your thoughts.  Let me know in the comments below.

E.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes Review and Swatches

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes

I am very excited to show you the new e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes today.  These two palettes in Light and Dark are the newest offerings from e.l.f., and they are pretty good additions to e.l.f.’s lineup in my opinion.  I’m not the biggest fan of the original Studio Blush line.  I really like the two highlighting shades, and a couple of the darker shades aren’t bad.  But in general, I find most of the shades in the line aren’t very pigmented and are kind of dry and chalky.  However, despite the name, the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette isn’t like the original Studio Blushes at all.  Let’s take a closer look.  We’ll start with the packaging.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes

The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes are 3.5 inch square palettes with a large mirror and four shades of blush.  They are a little bulky, but not too bad.  It really depends on your makeup storage set up and the size of your purse.  Frankly, they are a little larger than I like to carry around with me, but I usually go for a smaller bag.  The blushes can snap in and out of the palette.  E.l.f. doesn’t currently have any other products that can utilize this feature, but maybe they will offer blush singles or eyeshadows that can snap into similar empty palettes for more customization at some future date.  In the meantime, you will have to settle with interchanging the shades in the Light and Dark palettes.  Personally, I wasn’t thrilled with the process.  I did pop out one of the blushes to see how easy it would be.  It was pretty securely in there and gave me some problems as it resisted leaving its home.  It also didn’t want to pop back in either, so e.l.f. may need to work the kinks out of this first before expanding.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette Mirror

Take  look at this mirror.  It’s pretty good quality, not some cheap fun-house mirror.  You could definitely use this to do your makeup in a pinch if you aren’t in front of a full sized mirror.  Added bonus, the mirror keeps it’s position at any angle, so it’s actually a really valuable aspect of these palettes.  The blushes themselves are 1 g each for a total of 4 g of product.  That’s not very much, considering a normal Studio Blush contains 4.75 g.  The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes are priced at $6 each as opposed to the $3 price tag of their predecessors.  The thing is, despite the higher price tag and smaller amount of product, I think that the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes are totally worth it.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light (L) and Dark (R)

Here are the Light and Dark palettes right next to each other so that you can compare the shades.  I’ll break them down later, but first I want to talk about formula.  Like I said before, with a few exceptions, I thought the original Studio Blushes were dry and chalky, and not very pigmented.  The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes have a completely different formula.  I think that they are soft and silky, and the blend so easily.  They have a ton of pigmentation, so a little goes a really long way.  They can be a little powdery in the palette because of their soft formula (though they certainly do not look powdery on the skin), so be sure to go in lightly with your brush.  You’ll want to be light-handed anyway, because of the pigmentation.  I personally prefer to apply all of my blush with a duo fiber stipple brush.  That way I can wear dark shades without looking like I’m joining a circus.  I love the e.l.f. Studio Stipple brush with these blushes to get the best application without going overboard.  A stipple brush won’t kick up very much powder in the palette either, so problem solved.  The blushes blend beautifully, and they wear all day on me without fading.  I think that they are a much better formula than I have previously seen from e.l.f., and I am very pleased.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light

The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light contains a cool soft pink shade, a warm apricot bronze shade, a medium-deep pink shade, and a pink-toned coral shade.  None of them have names.  The first three shades are off-matte.  They are definitely not satin finish, but aren’t flat matte either.  The coral shade has some shimmer in the pan.  The shimmer does not translate very well onto the skin, so it will look much more shimmery in the pan than on your cheek.  That’s a plus for me.  The apricot bronze is a little too warm for a contour shade, but it does look beautiful as a light bronzer.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light

I really like all four shades in the Light palette and I think it’s the most universal.  The blushes can be sheered out or built up with equal ease.  Fair and light skinned girl will love the shades.  I also think that they are pigmented enough to show up on even darker skin tones pretty well.  If you can only choose one palette, I’d go for the Light version first.  Of course, at these prices you can afford both, so let’s look at the Dark palette.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Dark

The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Dark contains a medium peach shade, a raspberry pink shade, a deep strawberry shade, and a red-toned plum shade.  All but the Strawberry shade have the same off-matte finish that I described above.  The third shade has shimmer, but again, the shimmer is hardly noticeable on the skin.  All four of these shades are pretty warm, so those with very cool-tones will want to stay away.  Also, as you will see with the swatches, these blushes aren’t kidding around.  They are extremely pigmented.  Lighter skin girls can still wear them if they use a light hand, but if you have fair skin you probably want to skip this one.  Those with dark and tan skin will love these shades.

e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Dark

I think the Dark palette is gorgeous.  And yes, I have been able to wear all eight shades, so if you want both palettes you can make it work.  The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette blushes are fantastic.  They are smooth and pigmented, and except for the powdering issue in the pan, they are just what a blush should be.  For $6, I am willing to overlook the powdering issue, especially since it doesn’t show up on the skin.  The blushes aren’t dry, they powder up because they are soft and a brush displaces too much product.  It’s not a deal breaker for me.

I was able to score both of the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes for 50% off.  E.l.f. has sales all the time, so be sure to catch them during a sale or a free shipping offer.*   I absolutely think that the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes are great products and totally worth ordering online.  Unfortunately, with the recent sale on April first, most of the new e.l.f. products are sold out, including both e.l.f. Studio Blush Palettes.  Don’t worry though, e.l.f. is sure to restock soon, especially with the rave reviews that I am sure will be flooding in.  Bottom line, when the palettes are back in stock, you should jump on the next e.l.f. sale at eyeslipsface.com and place an order for these blushes.

*Thanks to Erika Dorsey for leaving a comment on my previous e.l.f. sale alert post to alert me that e.l.f. doesn’t offer free shipping on $35+ orders anymore.  This changed about two weeks ago, and e.l.f. has yet to release an official statement.  I think that it is an unfortunate change and will probably not work out in e.l.f.’s benefit, but that’s just my opinion.  What do you think of the change?