What do you guys think about ELF Cosmetics?

[Meliths]

Hey all, just popping in for a little conversation and what you guys think about e.l.f (eyes, lips, face) aka as pronounced ELF Cosmetics!

Before I got into the world of makeup, elf was my go-to. Elf is cheap with brushes from $1 and even palettes for $5 that did me wonders. That being said, I thought Elf would be a great starting point because 

A) I was new to makeup.

B) Broke college student.

C) I wanted to try out many things without burning a hole in my pocket or making myself sad!

So what did I do? I went to the elf website and thought to myself "a light pink eyeshadow look would do, eh?" and I stuck with it. I ordered 7+ brushes, picked up a drug store foundation (not elf), got a beauty blender (not elf), ordered 3 palettes that contained light yet shimmery and warm colours in the pink range, a highlighter, and elf always loves giving gifts to orders $25 and up, so I got a blush and a liquid highlighter on top of that.

From my experiences, it was very easy to build up eyeshadow, especially for someone as clueless as me. I worked with every single palette to get a medium to dark tone of pink with a hue of purple in there to my crease. I used Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in "Trooper" because for some reason I thought I could do eyeliner (mistake) and bought it from Sephora as my first and only (at the time) product from Sephora/Kat Von D! 

I actually pulled off the look for many months until I got comfortable with my makeup skills. Learned to blend properly, apply to the crease, etc. etc, you know, everything ta beginner needs to learn. I did however realize I loved glitter and if it was one thing I loved more than glitter, it was... pink glitter. 

Just this month and November, I went to Sephora and bought a whole lot of makeup. 9 liquid lipsticks from Too Faced, 2 from Anastasia Beverly Hills and 1 from Kat Von D. I bought Colorpop's "Golden State of Mind" palette which was legit just warm colours and glitter (YASSSS) and on top of that ordered even more stuff.. Now what? I have a huge wish list going on and I'm getting much better at makeup. It's crazy. As for my elf products, I still keep them! I like elf's highlighter. ABH beats it anyday obviously, but it's subtle and shiny, and I also really like their brushes. I'm actually thinking of ordering more brush sets from them. 

I always thought elf was a high quality brand. Because elf doesn't spend money advertising or promoting and marketing, they're at a pretty low price. They're vegan and cruelty free, so no real fur or anything extra special goes into their makeup. It's perfect for anyone wanting to buy vegan products. Being both an environmentalist and an animal rights activist, I only buy from cruelty free brands (Like TF and ABH!) so elf is amazing. They only have a few stores open in New York and for example, it only costs about 10-20 cents to make one highlighter, let's say. Because it is in fact true, it costs very little to make makeup. They could sell it for $1-3 to make profit off of it, and that's why it's cheap. It doesn't mean it's low quality. Of course some products may be a hit or miss but that does depend on what's ordered and how the person uses it. Elf may not be perfect but they are pretty close in my opinion. I've had palettes from 50-70 dollars that have been a complete miss for me, so I never judge by price.

What do you guys think?

[bakeamuffin]

A lot of their products work well, but I agree that it’s a hit or miss brand. I love that they offer affordable makeup up products and think that they’re great to learn with 

[SchylarR]

I have some ELF makeup brushes that have lasted me for years and outperform my higher end brushes but at the same time I have come across some ELF products that aren't even usable. It is definitely a hit or miss brand.

[Susubee]

I like a mix of high(er)* end and drugstore. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. No matter the name behind it. That's why I really love JamBeauty on YouTube - she reviews such a wide range of products from a variety of sources, and will usually tell you if there's a drugstore dupe available and how close she really thinks the comparison is. 

*I can't go really high end. $😳$

[Indy701]

I think elf is a decent brand. Like you mention it’s cruelty free and vegan which is also very important to me. When you compare price and quality, it’s a good deal. Wet n Wild is similar to me. Ive found there are hits and misses at every price level.