Sophistication Sundays - E.L.F. Cosmetics

My Sophistication Muse, Audrey Hepburn
Photo Source

Sophistication Sunday revolves around my favorite beauty finds, techniques, fashion trends and anything else "pretty" that catches my eye. I look forward to sharing these ideas with you and hope to hear your suggestions and feedback as well! I am no expert at beauty or fashion by any means but perhaps that will make my thoughts more relatable. Simply put, I'm just a girly-girl navigating my way through the fabulous finds I come across.

...

As a newlywed couple on a budget (and starting out in this fabulous economy) we love a good deal! So today I'm writing about one of my favorite cheap thrills: E.L.F. Cosmetics.

No not that Elf...

Photo Source

THIS E.l.f.

Photo Source

A few months ago I watched a video from one of my favorite you tube "vloggers" and was eager to try winged eyeliner (some people have a knack for it but it seems daunting to me!). So I went off to Target looking for some black gel liner at a reasonable price. While perusing through the aisles I happened upon a gel eyeliner by a brand called E.L.F. (eyes lips face). I was drawn to the sleek, black packaging and then I looked at the price. WOW. Is this real?! The products ranged from $1 - $3 a pop. I was skeptical and kind of wrote it off as being poor quality. Wet-n-Wild and N.Y.C. are two well-known inexpensive beauty lines but I am often not impressed with their products. I decided to give E.L.F. a go and I am so happy I did! It is my new favorite cheap thrill!

Photo Source

I am extremely happy to report that I'm pleased with the quality of almost every product I've sampled. You can find E.L.F. at Target and one day I randomly found an E.L.F. kiosk in one of our grocery stores as well. If you can't find E.L.F. in your area they have a fantastic website that offers even more variety to choose from and near-constant daily deals and coupons. A girl can't lose with this! I can actually afford to try these beauty products (and tools!) without worrying I'll blow our monthly budget. Talk about the best of both worlds for a "recessionista" :)

Photo Source

The other thing I really love about E.L.F. is that they offer a lot of products that usually take awhile to make their way to the regular drugstore brands like Covergirl and Maybelline. Products such as matte finisher clear nail polish, eyebrow gel and powder set, and makeup setting spray just to name a few. On top of this they really offer a plethora of products to choose from. Aside from the plethora of makeup there are fantastic makeup brushes, tools and bath/body products.

Let me be clear here, I am in no way affiliated with E.L.F. I'm just so happy with this find that I wanted to share it with all of you. And just to give you a taste of their products I'll give you my 5 current faves:

1. Studio Eyebrow Kit

This kit comes in light, dark, ash or medium. It has a slanted brush for the pigmented wax (on the left) to whip your brows in to shape while the other side fills in brows with powder.

2. Mineral Blush

I adore this blush! It is a little more expensive but coming in at $5. (still pretty cheap though, right??) It only takes a tiny amount of product to flush your lovely apples and the product stays put all day. This made me extremely happy because so often my blush fades by midday. I haven't had a problem with this fading and have barely made a dent in the product. I have a feeling it will last quite awhile! I purchased this blush in "rose."

3. Professional Studio Endless Eyes
Pro Eyeshadow Palette

This palette is amazing and is only $10! It features 100 different eye shadow colors. With this affordable palette I have virtually every color at my fingertips. Sometimes more is more :)

4. Essential Mechanical Eyelash Curler

I've been through many eyelash curlers over the years and this one is by far my favorite. It is only $1 and it works so well! It doesn't pinch my eyelids and the design of it is so much more user friendly.

5. Studio Translucent Matifying Powder

Okay I know I mentioned this briefly in a previous post but I had to mention it again. It is my absolute favorite for combating midday shine. Because of it's fabulous price I keep one in my makeup drawer, one in my purse, and one in my desk. Have I mentioned I love this?

...

So have you seen E.L.F. in any of your stores or have you given it a try? Will you try it? I'd love to hear your feedback!

~Christi