My First Tango with e.l.f

e.l.f has been one of the many brands that I have been itching to try but living in Malaysia made it hard to get my hands on. I know I can purchase online but I have to confess that I am not a huge fan of shopping for makeup online. Why? Well, I love to do my swatches, smelling and playing around with the testers before finally buying my makeup. There is also a high risk of getting the wrong shade when purchasing online and I hate to be disappointed and for my money to go to waste. So when I finally saw e.l.f on shelf at Target, I just had to purchase a couple of products to try.

So here's the story of my first tango with E.L.F....

First up, I present you  e.l.f HD blush which is 'supposedly' a dupe for Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Blush. The packaging sure does seems to scream dupe even though e.l.f comes in a cheap plastic and the latter comes in pricey glass bottle. I got myself the shade Diva, a striking, shocking Barbie pink because..well, I don't know why, I hate Barbie so maybe I was in the mood for torture.

Take a close look at the picture of the swatches. No, those pink mice turds are not the result of a rouge mice having a buffet feast on one of my pink lipstick, unfortunately those are the blush. It was not by any means cream or liquid...it's actually a paste. Yes, you read that right, a paste. 

I.Kid.You.Not.

The first time I used it, I ended up looking like a mad woman who went to town with her favourite blush. Hubby dearest struggled to find kind words even with the threats of the kitchen will be close for a week. Yes, it was that bad.

The blush is extremely pigmented, a little goes a very, very, veryyyyy long way but because it's a paste, it was impossible to blend it. I tried blending with fingers and brush, it did not worked out well for me. It was just impossible to make it look natural. The one and only way I could use this is by mixing it with my moisturizer so the texture becomes creamier. Once mixed with moisturizer, this blush is extremely beautiful but come on, I did not purchase this because I needed the extra work.

However, all said and done, I am not sure if my blush is a QC fail. I've seen this same blush on other blogs and it looks creamy, almost liquidy so if you are planning to purchase this, keep the receipt so you can return it, don't be like me.

Next up, e.l.f Eyebrow Kit. Now I have a confession, I hate, absolutely hate drawing my eyebrows. Okay, I lied. Actually I couldn't be arse about it. It's not because I am blessed with Cara Develingne's eyebrows, on the contrary, I am every bit the opposite but gah! I just don't like it. However, after seeing e.l.f Eyebrow Kit being featured on a couple of other blogs, I decided to take a leap of faith and try it out. And I am in love.

The brush that came with this product is brilliant for application. I used the angled brush to outline and fill in my eyebrows and finally the other brush for the powder (lighter brown) to soften the look. While the process may sounds complicated, I assure you it is not. It's quick, easy and fool proof that a eyebrows noob like me managed to apply it.

Please concentrate on the eyebrows and excuse my crazy hair, sorry...

In short, e.l.f is a hit and miss for me, I adore the eyebrow kit but absolutely detest the blush. It has not deterred me from trying more products though, I think this brand deserves another chance so I'll be looking for new ones to try soon.

Are you a fan of e.l.f? What are your favourite products from this brand?