First Impressions - ELF Makeup!

When in Lockdown - you order makeup. Or at least, I seem to do anyway! I have obviously only been shopping online at the moment and have tried to only place a couple of small orders of items that I really wanted to try as I know it's not of top priority right now. However, whilst this may seem like 'silly' reasoning, it's kinda helped to keep my mental health on the straight and narrow throughout this whole situation. Makeup has always been one of my happy places - especially trying new, exciting products - and with everything else either getting postponed, changed or cancelled, gathering together a bunch of new items to get testing, play around with was one of the few things left for me to do to keep sane over this strange, pretty bleak time... 

ELF was one of my main stop-offs as after falling in love with their new Hydrating Camo Concealer not too long ago, I was really interested in trying some more of their products. Especially as there were already a couple that were on my Wishlist (mainly through others recommendations)! And with some of them not being readily-available on retailer websites, I decided to purchase directly through the ELF website for the first time! I started on their loyalty programme and have already earned myself a few points, managed to get free delivery and it wasn't too long before it arrived too (especially considering the current climate)! So who knows, maybe I'll stick to their own website if I try anything else from ELF in the future, eh?

So, the first thing I picked up was the Luminous Putty Primer. Remember the infamous original ELF Poreless Putty Primer? Everyone and their Nan was talking, trying and generally raving about it not too long ago! It was supposedly a more affordable dupe for a much-more-pricey face primer and though I never got round to trying it out for myself, I did always keep it on my radar as something I might eventually give a go. Well, before I could do that - I saw they'd released this version! This was another product I spotted from MakeMeUpMissa and I just knew as soon as she recommended it there and then in the video that I wanted to pick it up. This basically sounds pretty identical to the original - and so still supposedly smooths the skin, blurs pores and provides that slightly tacky grip which should enable makeup to adhere nicely - just with that added focus on providing a more dewy finish! I think the one thing which ended up holding me back on picking up the classic Poreless Putty Primer in the end was the fact I was a little unsure over the 'suitable for all skin types' tagline as typically - that statement isn't actually always true. However, with the Luminous variety being solely targeted towards those of us with Normal-Dry skin and/or love a dewy, radiant complexion - I was a little more confident in making the purchase. And I am so glad I was - as I have fell in love with this primer! Just like what it seems to be with all of these 'putty' primers, it's a super thick, almost solid texture but as soon as you start applying it melts into the skin with ease - and because of this, a little sure goes a long way too. This primer leaves my skin looking so healthy and radiant! There is a little bit of glitter in the formula, but luckily it's really not that noticeable when actually on the skin - if anything, most of it seems to come off on my hands when applying. Other than that, I'd say the glow almost-entirely comes from the actual primer itself. I can tell instantly how it gives such a great shot of extra hydration My foundation glides on top easy-peasy with no issues at all and I just love how extra dewy it looks as a result too. I'd definitely say my skin appears more smooth, blurred and 'poreless' and would certainly say this primer helps keeps my makeup in place - every time I've used this, it's lasted impeccably all day long! All in all, I think I've found a new favourite face primer...

Also for the Face, we have the Halo Glow Setting Powder in 'Light'. This was yet another MakeMeUpMissa recommendation and once again - she has not failed me! I use this to 'bake' my under-eyes and smile lines as I usually would and it works a real treat. It sets beautifully, leaving things matte but not dry or cakey in anyway. It just looks really smooth and 'flawless'! The areas in which I 'bake' with this powder stay shine-free, free of creasing and impeccably in place all day long. But, what's more - just as the name of this suggests - it adds such a lovely, soft-focus glow at the same time! Don't worry, as there's no visible, chunky glitter or shimmer, it just gives such a soft, natural sheen that almost blurs the complexion. I love it!

Next up, we have the Putty Eye Primer! This caught my eye there and then when browsing the website and I guess, still on the whole 'putty' hype. Some of the reviews looked promising, so I picked up what I believed would be the best shade for me - the lightest, most neutral, skin-tone colour called 'Cream' - and thought I'd give it a try! I do tend to have my favourites when it comes to eye primers/bases, but I'm still always open for trying something new if I think it might float my boat. This one really intrigued me and sounded up my street, so I started pairing it with both the new palettes I also picked up in this haul (coming next...) and also some of my holy grail favourites to see how it fared. And so far, so good. This eye primer has worked really well with both the new palettes I picked up in this haul and a couple of old holy grails that I've tested it with. It's another almost-solid texture and I personally find it best to use a dense brush to pick some up and apply it to the lids. Though it does feel quite dry, it does pick up and apply pretty easily. The colour is just about right for my skin-tone - not too light, not too dark - and just as I hoped, it's got a slight yellow-undertone that helps cancel out any unwanted discolouration and veiny-ness (technical word right there) on my lids. It's got a good amount of coverage to it too, so it really does create a pretty even, blank canvas - another thing I always look for in a good eye primer/base. As I kinda expected upon first digging into this product, it is quite a 'dry' formula but whilst it does appear a little more dry on the lids compared to other primers or bases I use, it's not overly so and it certainly doesn't feel at all dry or uncomfortable either! And I'm more than happy with that as that texture in question seems to really help do the job when it comes to priming. This primer does not need setting at all, you can just go straight in with your shadows and not only do they apply super well (mattes are super pigmented, non-patchy and blend easily; shimmers adhere easily to the lid and do so really intense and foiled-like) they also last impeccably throughout the day too. No fading, creasing, smudging, flaking - nothing! My eye looks appear virtually as first applied come the end of the day, which is obviously what I'm all about. I feel like this has now made it into my go-to eye primers/bases that I tend to rotate between, so I'll definitely be reaching for this again!

Finally, we have some aforementioned eyeshadow palettes. And, what other palettes could they be other than the new-ish Bite-Sized Eyeshadow Palettes! These, again, have been garnering a lot of attention here, there and everywhere ever since they were first released and finally, when they made their way over to the UK - I knew it was time for me to pick one or three up! 'Hot Jalapeno' (a gorgeous mix of golds and greens) was the shade selection that first caught my eye, so I had to pick that up for sure; but I also thought I'd add a couple others to my basket so I could really get to see what the formula was all about. I knew I had to try one of their classic, more 'neutral' offerings - so I picked up 'Truffles' as I loved the look of its slightly cool-toned, smokey vibe - but then I also really liked 'Acai You' for its very unique, blue-purple colour scheme. The whole colour family and shades in there are not like anything else currently in my collection, so I knew I had to give it a whirl! And all in all, I am very impressed with these little beauties. For just £3 each (yep, that's right, three pounds!) - they are pretty damn amazing! The mattes are well pigmented and blend like a dream without going patchy at all and the shimmers are so intense and almost foiled-like, even with just a dry brush to apply! Sometimes, with palettes this affordable (or even more expensive, to be honest) you'd need the use of a fingertip or a damp brush to really get the shimmers to 'pop' and basically, adhere nicely and with a good amount of pigment and reflection to them - but these pick up on a dry brush with no issues and apply really nicely with no additional help needed. Yay! The shadows stay looking as good as first applied all day long. I really think I'm going to need to pick up some more of these little mini palettes! I stayed away from a few which although looked lovely and had some gorgeous shades inside, I doubted whether I'd be able to create a full look with - but if they're all as good quality as these three, I feel like I may just have to do that! They're so small and compact and so super easy to pick a couple up at a time to mix and match to get the shades you want - so expect to see some more of these popping up round these parts in the future...