My e.l.f. experience, Part 1

A few months ago, I heard Dollar General was carrying e.l.f. products. I kid you not when I say I immediately went to a local DG to scope it out. I had been dying to try this inexpensive line of makeup and beauty tools but wanted to see it in person first.

To my dismay all I found were basic beauty tools. No makeup.

However, I scooped up one of each because, heck, they were only $1 each!

So how did they measure up? Well let me just say, of course there are going to be better tools out there. But for the price, alot of these are worth having.

Eye Shadow Brush: My first one was horrible. It felt puny and shed terribly. I had heard that they’d recently made improvements to this brush so I went to another store and bought a 2nd one. Much better luck that time around. The handle was longer and the brush head was wider and slightly more dense with much less shedding. Verdict: Only a good brush if it’s the newer style. I use this a few times a week.

Defining Eye Brush: This small tapered brush is great for highlighting the brow bone and inner corners. Verdict: Love it. I use this brush everyday.

Total Face Brush: I use this primarily to brush on powder to set my foundation so I’m not looking for precision here. Does the job but it does shed a little. Verdict: Not bad for $1 brush. I use this a few times a week.

Bronzing Brush: I honestly haven’t used this much, only because I’m not currently using a bronzer. But I did try it with blush and it seems like it would be good for contouring. I haven’t experienced shedding with this one. Verdict: Definitely worth a try if you are looking for a bronzer/contouring brush.

Natural Lash Kit: These were fine for about 2 wears then they started looking ratty and losing their shape. The glue they came with wasn’t that great so I just used my ole stand by: Ardell’s lash glue. Verdict: I really liked the way these looked, very natural. Not bad to have for backups.

Eye Lash Curler: I hear all the time of people curling their lashes before applying mascara. I figured since this was only $1, I’d see what all the fuss was about. I’ve used this thing one time. Verdict: Nice thick handles makes for a secure grip and seems to do the job well. But I just can’t get into curling my lashes regularly.

Dual Sharpener: This is a great tool. It comes with a small bonus sharpener that’s great for travel. It sharpens evenly and holds shavings inside the little plastic cap. However, since I keep it in my makeup bag which I carry in my purse, it gets knocked around alot. The plastic “legs” that hold the cap on have started to break. Verdict: I use this alot. I like that it has the small and large holes for sharpening. Just don’t be rough with it or you’ll be without a cap to hold the shavings in.

So far not bad, now I was hungry for more. I checked out the selection online, found a discount code via RetailMeNot and ordered a few more brushes, some polish, eye primer and all-in-one sticks.

I’ll share my thoughts on those next time.