Wednesday, October 20, 2010

E.L.F. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

Name: Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
Brand: E.L.F. Studio Line
Size: 14oz/4.0g
Price: $3.00

From E.L.F.’s website:
Create a healthy and natural glow all year long. The Blush highlights the cheeks to add a flush of color, while the Bronzer accents and contours cheekbones for beautiful definition.

What I liked:
- very pigmented
- blush gives a healthy and glowy look
- bronzer is great for contouring
- the packaging
- the price

What I didn’t like:
- bronzer not suitable for pale skin

The compact, which contains a blush and a bronzer, looks very sleek and similar to Nars’ packaging. But the E.L.F.’s one isn’t rubbery, which makes it easier to clean. It comes with a big mirror but no brush. I don’t mind that since I never use those brushes that come with products. They are never good.

Both the blush and bronzer have a slightly soft texture. The powder is finely milled but not very well pressed and can end up all over the compact after a while. Both shades are very pigmented too and a little goes a long way.

The blush is peachy pink with gold shimmers. It’s a very wearable color that gives a glowy, rosy-cheeks look. Because it is so pigmented it needs to be applied with a light hand. It starts fading after several hours and needs to be retouched a couple of times throughout the day.


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The bronzer is a dark brown shade with shimmers but they can be hardly noticed once applied. As soon as I saw how dark it was I knew it wouldn’t be suitable for pale skin. Still I decided to try it. I dabbed the brush in with a very light hand, tapped off any excess and very gently swiped it on.

But it still made me look dirty and muddy. A lot of blending, time and powder later I managed to make it look decent but I still wasn’t comfortable wearing it outside so I just washed my face and removed it.

While the bronzer would work great for contouring darker skin, I’m not sure I’d recommend the duo to pale-skinned ladies since the bronzer is useless to them. But overall, £3.50 is a great deal even if you only use the blush.

Summary:
Overall, I like this duo a lot. It’s very cheap, the packaging is sleek and the colors are very pigmented. The blush is perfect to achieve a rosy cheek look but fades throughout the day, while the bronzer would work well for contouring, but is not suitable for pale skin.

Rating: 4/5