E.L.F Primer Eyeshadow in Sexy Silver and How NOT to use it

E.L.F is a great brand - not cos they churn out products thats's an exact dupe of either a MAC or UD, but cos of the sheer variety of products and the quality of it compared to the price. 

Whenever I review an ELF product, I try to keep that in mind - and I hope I am being fair.

I honor brands like ELF that keep things affordable yet fun and of good quality. 

E.L.F primer eyeshadow is part of their Essentials line and retails for $ 2 and has 3 shades.

Check this out here - Link

Now if you went to their website, you can see that they advertise this product as an eyeshadow with a built-in primer.  

Just 1 coat - and you're good to go.. nice idea but, it doesnt really work that way....

The doe foot applicator makes it easy to apply the color on the lids.

Now , treat this like you'd treat a highly pigmented lip gloss.

So, clean out the wand of excess product before you apply on the lid. 

This will help you to apply the product without much hassle and clumping.

As you can see, Sexy Silver does live up to its name. Its a nice gun metal silvery gray color with a shimmery satin finish. 

On a white surface, you can see that it has a coffee brownish tint, but on lids its mostly silver. 

In the pic below, I have applied 1 coat and has slightly sheered it out as a base for another eyeshadow. You can see that it gives a metallic foil like effect.

Here, I've tried to increase the intensity to make it a single coat of eyeshadow - apologies for the shaky pic.

I wanted to show you how this works as an eyeshadow. 

So I wore it around the house for around 1 hour. 

The pic below is taken after 1 hour and a snarky comment from my husband to "remove the stuff pls"

 

As you can see, its all flaked off and kinda ugly.....

I think this proves that this is not your eyeshadow of choice from ELF.

Now how it really works is, as an eyeshadow enhancer.

Don't try this if you're expecting to extend the wear time. 

Use this as a base if you want to make your eyeshadow more shimmery..or just if you want to make the color pop out.

I'd suggest using this as a base for powder eyeshadows, and for night time looks. 

Overall: For $2, this does decent. Its an easy to apply product and works well as a base to highlight the eyeshadow. Just don't make the poor thing work on its own! 

Also, if you've the luxury of choosing from ELF, I'd suggest you go with their paint pots or creamy eyeshadows...

To say or not to say? Review: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer

This is a product I am in two minds about - sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. Let me explain more..

Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer is my 4th attempt at finding a primer that works like one. I tried a sample of MAC prep + prime and I surprised myself by not liking it - weird huh? It felt like I am applying some kinda gooky stuff on my face and I didn't like the feel at all. And then there were some others..

I'd read some good reviews and some so-so's - for the price I thought 'Leme check this one out'... Now here is the deal - this works with some foundations, sometimes this feels good on skin and some other times, it just irritates the hell outta me. I can't find out exactly why and how this happens - a primer that behaves like a kid!!

With my Revlon Colorstay this behaves like a nice one - no worries, stays quiet for a long time and feels good to have around. With my Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals liquid foundation, this one behaves like a kid denied of a favorite icecream - all flaky and no reasoning with it all. And then some days, it sits well on my skin, some days it feels like slime... a tough one to figure out.

Overall - would I recommend it? Nooo.. Would I ask you to run away from it? Nooo.. Do you wish to try a low cost primer and do you have dry skin? May be this one will work for you- All the best!

Review and Swatches: Maybelline Whitestay UV base in shade White with Meroxyl SX+XL and SPF 35

I was searching for a face primer for my wedding makeup stash and before I could go to a MAC store and get the primer I want, I had to return to my home and there was no MAC store in the 300Km vicinity. So I asked my friend in Chennai to get a makeup base and this is what she got for me.

About Maybelline Whitestay UV base in shade White:

Product Benefits

• A pre-makeup base with skin tone correcting pearls for visible glowing fairness.
• Advanced protection technology with SPF 35 prevents skin darkening.
• Skin is visibly luminous!

Number of Shades: 3

• White: makes skin lighter and brighter
• Pink: Gives a glow/ healthy appearance.
• Purple: Corrects yellow skin tone

I will start by confessing that I had not much idea on what I was expecting since I had never used a base before, I always used my face cream as one. And after using this, I couldnt see much difference either!

May be I selected the wrong shade, so I am not blaming the product or the shade. All I am saying is if you are normal to oily skinned like me, medium wheatish fair and stays in a humid climate like Chennai or Kerala, better think 3 times before you use this.

The cream is a whitish emulsion like consistency and has a chemically scent. It takes around 5mins to absorb on my skin but I guess for dry skin beauties it shouldnt be a problem. I could see a shiny effect on my face, but I can get that with a sunscreen. I couldnt see any lightening and brightening effect, may be it is just a wrong selection for me.

And I have no idea what Meroxyl thing is :-) Overall, I think this is a very personal selection item,  before you buy, try and see if it works!