Thursday, October 4, 2012

ELF studio HD blush review and swatches

I just couldn't wait for my package to come in from the mail since i was too excited to get my HD blushes from elf :D.  I mean who can! Their products are awesome and the price is awesome...what more can I say! And plus people are comparing them to Makeup forever HD blushes which run for $30 per bottle, i think these are a steal then!
Elf's description of the HD blushes:
"Rich and creamy HD Blush naturally sculpts and highlights the cheekbones for a soft-focus effect that is great for everyday use. The Vitamin E enriched formula conditions and hydrates the skin for a healthy, radiant glow. Velvety soft, lightweight and highly pigmented color creates a long-lasting result for all day wear. "


Product packaging:
 These all come in a skinny, sleek, thin cardboard box with the corresponding shade highlighting the name of the product. Simple, straightforward, I like it.
The back of the box...read away.
 These come with 0.34 fl. oz. (10 mL)...sorry I know i'm stating the obvious :/.
 To show you guys how small these are,  I have a ruler :D.  These are 7.3 cm in height.
 Compared to a Mac fix+, its like a tiny mini me.  Sho cute!
These HD blushes come in a really handy pump, but even though you can control the pump easily, it still despenses a little too much product since they are crazy pigmented as you will see down below. I believe how the pump works is by the pressure from pressing the top.  This is convient since a straw sticking down the tube doesn't always get all the product, so this is a good thing that they use pressure instead of relaying on stupid straws.

Color Pigmentation/ Payoff:
Just like what I have heard from all of the reviews I have read so far, everyone says that their first impression of the bottle is that they are small, but when they go to apply it on their skin, they understand why it is such a small bottle.  This is because you really need a tip of a tweezers amount to do both your cheeks.  Pumping it a little bit and getting a needle tip amount might be already too much! These are crazy crazy pigmented so you really have to be careful.

Something I would like to note is that these do somewhat stain. When I went to swatch these on my hand and wipe it off, it left a giant stain and my hand now looks like either I'm having a allergic reaction or I'm in an abusive relationship HAHA. Even with MAC make up remover (the pink one which takes off eyeliner easy) can't get rid of the color. So I'm left with this red stain on my own left arm. So word of advice, make sure you either use a primer and/or a foundation before you use these because they WILL STAIN!
A problem that I had with a few of these blushes was that when i went to pump it out, oil came squirting out.  I think either that the blush is splitting, blush has been sitting too long in the factory, or it just wasn't mixed properly to begin with.  Even after shaking it vigorously, it didn't really help.
The studio HD blush collection comes in 5 shades as for now and I did buy all five, its only $3 each so what not! The five shades are headliner, encore, superstar, diva and showstopper.
 
Most of these shades are really out there and I'm a pale asian girl.  I got these already so I'm going to have to make it work somehow.  I thought even if you did get these and you don't like it on your cheeks, you could use these as a lip color too! So Here are swatches on my skin and my lips :).  Enjoy!
Headliner- light pale pink color with fine light pink shimmer (shimmers don't really show unless you take a magnifying glass to look at your cheeks; finish is quite matte). This color is perrrfect for those pale girls out there since it is the most wearable and more safe color since its a pale pink color.
On the lips, this is a gorgeous pale pinky nude color and it works for my NC 20-25 skin! So pretty!
Superstar-  wearable pinky coral color (matte finish with minimal fine shimmers...little to none).  This color is the second color I'd reccomend for pale girls too but this would be quite strong on the cheeks if you don't use this one right.  Be careful!
Even though in the picture it doesn't seem so orangy undertone, in real life this does have that mandarine orange tone.  This color on the lips just screams summer to me :), and it is really wearable and pretty!
Encore- This color is crazy, lets just start off with that.  I don't even know how I'm going to be able to pull this one off, even with a duo fiber brush! That swatch on the right is just a tiny bit and if i have that color on my cheeks, I'd look like a sunburnt santa claus (that is if santa even goes anywhere else other then North Pole LOL. Maybe for vacation he went to haiwaii :), just to treat himself.) This is a relaly cool red tone fuschia color and its completely matte finish.
I've always wanted a crazy fushia lip color and now i have it :D.  So happy since i wouldn't get myself a crazy lipstick because I'm not really a lipstick person, but this i can do.
Diva- Gorgeous hot pink color with a warm red undertone.  This can easily make you look like you got a sunburn if you aren't careful with these.  Completely matte finish like most of these.
Stunning barbie pink color :). Do I look like barbie :D.
Showstopper-
If you look really carefully, this blush does have really really fine purple and blue shimmers but you really can't tell on the skin after being applied.  This color is straight up wine, purple grapes color.  Stunning but I think this would work well with really dark chocolate girls out there.  I myself don't think I can pull this off even with the slightest pin tip sized amount but this would be super cool for photos as a contour!

 This is a perfect color for the fall time since its so vampy on the lips! Gorgeous but I think i still need to build up my confidence to rock a bold lip!
All the swatches side by side.

Texture:


These are really easy to blend but they are really pigmented so I don't recommend you use your fingers to blend these out on the cheeks. These would be best used with a duo fiber brush. Elf's small stipple brush or their regular stipple brush is perfect for the job but any stipple brush will do. Just make sure; PLEASE make sure you have this over your foundation or primer because THESE DO STAIN! I can’t stress that enough~~ The texture of these are somewhat watery but creamy at the same time.

Smell:
These do not have any smell to it which is a good thing: D.

Lasting power:
These have such good lasting power that it stains your cheeks LOL. I'd say that these would last for about 5-7 hours but it really depends on what are you doing during the day, skin type and if you are using primer/ foundation with these.

Price:
These only go for $3 each which is crazy to me since the make up forever (which everyone is saying these are dupes of) goes for $30 each. For the quality, packaging, color pigmentation, these can easily go for way more than $3 so I think these are a steal. Instead of just thinking of these only as a cheek color, I really think these are basically face paint. Super pigmented and you can mix it into your lip glosses and use it as a lip color. I don't know yet about eye shadows yet but I will have to experiment.

Are you interested in these? Have you tried them?

Hope this review is helpful to you. Arm is so irritated from swatching and rubbing LOL but I love blogging too much.

5 comments:

  1. How long do these wear on the lips?

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    Replies
    1. These wear for a little over 6 hours for my dry to combo skin.

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  2. I bought one last year which I never ever use because it's so pigmented and I couldn't seem to handle it when I got it... But I'm determined to find a way to apply it that is relatively easy and mess-free so that I can decide whether or not to wear it based on the product itself. I have either Diva or Encore, I forget, but it's just so bright and the tiniest amount I press out can dye my whole hand! lol
    Thanks for the review, it sounds like Headliner would've been more my style and easier to manage (it was out of stock at the time).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea I haven't used these since I bought it. Try using it even before foundation, it wouldn't be as bright and you'd have more control.

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  3. i think encore and diva would look great on my dark skin as for show stopper most def

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