More and more companies are joining the subscription box ranks these days, take Starlooks and Le Metier de Beaute for example. But who expected e.l.f. to be one of them? With more than affordable prices, everyone who wants to try their products can do so without much harm done to their wallet.
About e.l.f. Beauty Bundle:
Do you switch it up regularly or are you set in your ways when it comes to your makeup? Receive brand new bundles every 8 weeks for $19.95 + $6.95 S&H or take advantage of the Gift Plans to seal the deal and pay only once for a yearly or half-yearly subscription, perfect for gifting a bundle to a friend, or even as a well-deserved bit of beauty to you from you!
Click here to subscribe.
The first bundle follows the Birthday theme, since e.l.f. turns 9 this year. I was hesitant to purchase it, because honestly, for the price plus shipping on top, it seems a bit overpriced for a box of dollar store products. I read so many mixed reviews about this brand, so I decided to finally see for myself what they are all about. It will take me forever to swatch and try everything I received, so here’s the brief breakdown of the contents and the overall value of the box, with individual swatches and reviews to follow.
The first impression of the box is “Wow, they sure went all out!” The box itself is beautifully printed on the outside and inside, and the whole bundle comes in a nice reusable pouch (I re-purposed mine for storing flip flops). The product card describes each item and even gives the retail value of each product.
Lip products:
- Glossy Gloss in Pink Candy
- Mineral Lipstick in Party Pink
I am not familiar with e.l.f. lip products, or really with any e.l.f. products at all. Out of these two I only tried the lip gloss so far and it was actually better than I expected. The lipstick has a weird plastic smell to it but I’ll try it eventually anyway.
Cheek products:
I briefly swatched both of these products, and they’re very pigmented (surprising quality for the price). The cheek whip is a lovely flattering pink shimmer, which can be used as a highlighter, but I’d probably just use it as a blush topper. It’s very concentrated, too, I needed about a quarter of a rice grain size for each cheek. The Blush&Bronzer duo is perfect for contouring, I was actually quite impressed at such high color payout – one light brush stroke provided enough pigment for my entire face.
Body products:
- Lotion Wipes in Vanilla & Coconut
- Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths
I’m a wet wipes hoarder, so I was ecstatic to find these in the box! I’m not planning to open them for a while though because I still have a big pack to go through and I don’t want them to dry out. As for the lotion wipes, I actually had no idea such thing even existed. It’ll be fun to try!
Eye products:
Tried a couple of these colors without a primer first – the pigmentation is just terrible! Will try again sometime on top of a good primer, because the colors are very pretty.
Brushes:
These brushes were the first thing I actually opened and tried from the box, and I must say the quality is acceptable. I know I own several worse brushes that cost way more than $3 per, so this is not a bad deal at all. The “C” brush is nice and firm, and actually picked up some pigment from the eye shadow palette. The angled brush worked well with the cheek duo palette, providing precise strokes and decent blending properties. Yes, they will eventually shed, but before they do I will definitely get my $3’s worth of usage 🙂
Lash products:
Haven’t tried it yet and won’t really get to it until a couple months later as I just opened a new waterproof mascara by Lancome. I’ll eventually review it in a separate post.
Nail products:
- 3-Piece Nail Polish Set in Beach Party
That’s cute, I like mini-bottles of nail polish because I rarely go through the entire bottle. The individual colors are called Coral Dream, Flirty Fuchsia and Smokin Hot – very summery and beach party appropriate. Also, all e.l.f. polishes are 3-free, which is a nice thing.
The verdict: So what did you all think about this box? I think it’s a great bundle for those only starting to build their makeup collection, or for girls like myself who have never tried e.l.f. and wanted to see what the hype is about. I also like that they included only neutral products which are not complexion-specific, so most people would be able to wear them. I believe this box is a good value for the money, but I don’t think I will repurchase, because I just bought a year-long subscription to another makeup delivery service.
What do you think about e.l.f.’s first box? Will you subscribe?
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Glossy Gloss in Pink Candy | $5.00 |
| Mineral Lipstick in Party Pink | $3.00 |
| Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia | $3.00 |
| Shimmering Facial Whip in Pink Lemonade | $1.00 |
| Lotion Wipes in Vanilla & Coconut | $3.00 |
| Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths | $3.00 |
| California Baked Palette | $10.00 |
| Angled Blush Brush | $3.00 |
| Eyeshadow “C” Brush | $3.00 |
| Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara in Black | $3.00 |
| 3-Piece Nail Polish Set in Beach Party | $3.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $40.00 |
Shut the front door! Very cool that ELF has joined in on the subscriptions! That’s awesome. I do like some of their stuff and it’s a great value!
Haha! Did they really just go there? You bet they did! 🙂
seems like good value. ELF stuff is typically hit … as would be the “mystery” contents of the bag (:
Indeed, everything seems pretty nice. The only product I outright disliked was the palette, mainly because it’s so hard to get any color out of it, but I’ll figure it out 🙂 A good primer makes all the difference!
With baked eye shadows the best color payout is by wetting the brush first.
This is great but the problem is Canadian shipping. Still given the ELF prices it’s usually easier just to pick up what you want. I do like their products though!
writingwhimsy.com
Ugh yes, I feel your pain, even though it doesn’t directly affect me. That it’s just so unfair to charge much more for the shipping, especially since we’re pretty much all on the same piece of land 🙁
my very first makeup brush set was from ELF and they’re holding up pretty well. I have tried a few of their products before and they’re so-so. This is great for young girls who are starting out their makeup and want to know more about ELF!
Nice nice, maybe these two will hold up well, too 🙂 Have you tried any of the blushes above? They’re surprisingly good!
I think it’s nice that e.l.f. has a subscription box out now, but I won’t be purchasing it. I like my beauty boxes to help me explore new products, or try more expensive things I wouldn’t have had the money to try out otherwise. This box doesn’t really do either of these things for me, so I’m going to pass. Thanks for the review!
You’re welcome! I agree, I wouldn’t purchase it again, but as someone who has never bought anything from ELF I was intrigued and decided to try it out. Some things were pretty decent, some were just okay (on par with other dollar brands), and some were just horrid. I’m glad I tried so many products at once 🙂
I’m very familiar with ELF. The products are sold in my local grocery store and in Target stores. I’ve got to say that they’re the best cheapo-cosmetic product on the market. You can’t beat decent quality eye shadows, eye pencils, and mascaras for just a dollar! They have higher priced items too but I love the products that I’ve mentioned. My only gripe is that the eye shadows look better in the container than on my skin. The pigment quality isn’t as great as it could be.
That said, ELF is a great line for someone who needs to build their collection on the very cheap. This is actually a decent line, unlike Wet n Wild or NYC. I’d stay far away from those brands.
Thats a crazy good deal!
It sure was nice to try all of these goodies 🙂
I have that same eyeshadow palette. Ordered it a while back. The colors look so much better over a primer! Don’t worry. 🙂
Disorderly Perfections.
Good to know, that makes me feel a lot better 🙂
I think you’ll get better results with the California palette if you use a damp brush!
Thank you for the suggestion, Jenni! I tried using these again with a damp brush and over a primer, and they turned out beautifully 🙂