Massive ELF Haul with Reviews and Swatches

The news that ELF was launching in Superdrug stores and their website is definitely one of the most exciting beauty events this year so far. I was so gutted when ELF pulled their UK distribution centre two years ago, so until now the only way we could get our hands on ELF was to fly to the US or buy through their UK website which actually ships from America so we were stuck with hefty customs fees. I’ve really enjoyed trying more products from the brand as part of the #elfbeautysquad and I decided to do a massive ELF haul with the products alongside reviews and swatches of everything incase you were looking for inspiration on which ELF products to try (or miss).

Superdrug have around 120 ELF products on their website right now, and some of these products are ELF’s newest launches and are only available on their UK website but you may be able to find them instore if you have an ELF counter near you. Fingers crossed Superdrug will extend their ELF range on their website even further, as I’m dying to get my hands on more of their new Beautifully Precise brushes I warn you now, this is going to be one massively long post as I have sixteen ELF products to show you, so here we go…..

ELF Blending Sponge £6

The ELF Blending Sponges are one of their most recent launches and are available in a total of four colours; Peach, Teal, Purple and Pink, with each sponge having an hourglass shape with a rounded base, which tapers into the middle before curving out again and tapering into a sharp point. I’m fussy when it comes to beauty sponges so I thought I wouldn’t like this sponge as I typically prefer an ‘egg’ shaped sponge, but this sponge surprised me.

It’s relatively soft, but not as soft as a Beauty Blender when dry but when dampened it softens even more and expands by around a third in size. I like to use the rounded base for applying my foundation to the majority of my face, and the pointed tip for around my eyes and nose, and I’ve not experienced any of the dye being rinsed away when I wash the sponge too which is great.

ELF Waterproof Liquid Liner £5

Again one of ELF’s newer releases, the ELF Waterproof Liquid Liner claims to be longlasting, waterproof, smudge and run resistant. It has an pot design, with the brush within the lid. The brush is long and thin and I found the formula to be very watery, and not intensely pigmented like I’d want from a liquid liner. I expected this to my favourite liner from the two as it’s the slightly more luxurious option, but in fact I much preferred the cheaper ELF Expert Liquid Liner which is only £3 so sadly this is a miss for me.

ELF Expert Liquid Liner £3

The design of the ELF Expert Liquid Liner is very similar to the Waterproof Liquid Liner with a pot, and brush design. The brush is a little more rigid though, and the formula is much better in my opinion. This liner is instantly super pigmented and intense, and dries to a super matte finish and I found that I didn’t have to go back and touch up my liner too. Even though it doesn’t claim to be waterproof or smudge resistant, I have found it to wear really well and I’m really impressed that it’s only £3.

ELF Best Friend Eyeshadow Duos £4.50

I couldn’t wait to try these duos as soon as I saw them as I loved the idea of having a super compact eyeshadow duo when you’re short on space when travelling. Each duo contains two powder eyeshadows, with one being matte and the other being shimmer and they compliment eachother to create the perfect eye makeup look. I do think £4.50 is a little steep for just two shadows in such basic packaging but the formula is fantastic.

There are five duos to choose from; Tea for Two, Pink Pal, Bestie Brown, Peach Squad and Soul Mate, and I have Tea for Two as well as Peach Squad. Tea for Two contains a pinky toned brown shimmer and a pale cream matte, whilst Peach Squad contains a warm golden shimmer and a peach matte.

All four shadows are extremely soft, smooth and pigmented with the mattes performing as well as the shimmers. They’re so easy to use as you know they’re going to work well together in their duos taking away any guesswork trying to work out which shade goes with which. My favourite of the two has to be Peach Squad as it’s simply beautiful, and it allows you to create a warm toned peachy bronze look in under a minute as they’re so easy to blend. I would happily purchase the other three duos as I love these two so much.

ELF Mad for Matte Eyeshadow Palette £12.50

I’ve seen the ELF Mad for Matte Eyeshadow Palette mentioned in YouTube videos many times so I was delighted to be able to try it for myself. It’s a sleek and slim, black plastic palette containing ten powder eyeshadows; all of which are completely matte. Matte shadows are often so hard to get right as they’re either too soft that they end up blending away to nothing on the lids, or they’re too chalky and patchy making them difficult to blend.

All ten shades are intensely pigmented, soft (but not too soft) and blendable, and I love the mixture of warm, cool and neutral toned shades. I also appreciate that although the pans are relatively narrow, they’re big enough to fit your eyeshadow brush into no problem. I am eyeing up the Mad for Matte Summer Breeze palette next as the shades are so pretty and unique for a matte palette.

ELF Liquid Lip Primer £5

This is a strange one as I can’t find it listed on the UK ELF website or Superdrug, but it is on the US ELF website where it’s priced at $4. I’ve never heard of a liquid lip primer before so I didn’t really know to what to expect, but it claims to help lock lip colour and prevent fading, bleeding, and creasing with a creamy formula that glides on easily to create the perfect canvas for lip colour. It is also enriched with Vitamin E to help nourish and hydrate the lips.

It is packaged within a white plastic tube with a doefoot applicator, and it’s completely clear and invisible once dried, hence not being able to see anything in the swatch photo above. In terms of efficacy, I’m not entirely sure. It does feel quite hydrating on the lips but I’m not sure it helps with fading, bleeding and creasing like the claims imply but it is a nice moisturising base nonetheless.

ELF Lip Lacquer £3

Matte lips are so popular right now but I much prefer a glossy lip so I was particularly excited about these ELF Lip Lacquers. ELF describe them as being a beautiful lacquer lip gloss that provides maximum colour and brilliant shine, and are formulated with Vitamin E to moisturise the lips. There are nine different shades to choose from, and I have Tea Rose and Praline with Tea Rose being the prettiest lilacy pink shade, and Praline is a browny toned nude.

They’re impressively pigmented for a glossy product, and they apply so smoothly to the lips and feel lightweight and non-sticky too. They’re pigmented enough that you don’t have to dip the wand back into the tube, as there’s enough product on the applicator for one application as they are so pigmented and they have a sweet vanilla scent/taste too.

ELF Lip Exfoliator £4.50

The ELF Lip Exfoliators are designed to remove dry, chapped skin in a lipstick style bullet which you swipe across the lips like you would a lipstick. The Lip Exfoliator is a thick lipbalm enriched with Vitamin E, Shea Butter, Avocado, Grape and Jojoba Oils with lots of sugar granules which gently buff the lips whilst leaving the lips softened. There are six different exfoliators to choose from; Clear, Sweet Cherry, Mint Maniac, Coconut, Pink Grapefruit and Rose, and I have the Clear and Rose variations.

I’ve owned the Clear version before previously so I’m really happy to have a replacement as it’s so effective. The Rose one would be ideal for rose fans as it smells and tastes of rose, but the Clear is my favourite as it’ so sweet and sugary. It’s amazingly quick and easy to use as you literally swipe it over the lips a couple of times and then use a cotton pad to swipe away any dead skin cells, and is the perfect prep step before applying any other lip products.

ELF Velvet Matte Lipstick / ELF Moisturising Lipstick £4.50

I got a selection of the ELF lipsticks to try; two of the ELF Moisturising Lipsticks in Orange Dream and Velvet Rope, and one of the Velvet Matte Lipsticks in Bold Berry. Each of the lipsticks are packaged within black plastic casing with a clear base section to show the colour of the lipstick inside which is so helpful when you own multiple shades.

There are an amazing 14 different shades available to choose from for the Moisturising Lipsticks which are enriched with Shea and Vitamins A, C, & E to nourish and hydrate the lips, and nine for the Velvet Matte Lipsticks which are infused with Argan Oil, Rose, and Vitamin E to help condition, replenish, and soothe the lips.

ELF Lip Definer + Shaper £4.50

The ELF Lip Definer + Shaper is a dual ended chunky lip pencil, with one of the caps containing a sharpener so you can sharpen both of the ends. There is only one shade available: Natural/Nude, and one end of the pencil is a brown toned nude shade which is the ‘definer’ whilst the other end is a shimmery beige which is the ‘shaper’.

I have to admit I really didn’t get this one as the shimmer side is a little strange, but I do like the browny nude lipliner end, but I can’t get the shimmery shade to work for me. There are a lot of glowing reviews on the ELF website though so it does obviously work for a lot of people, but perhaps I need to practice with it a little more to get the hang of it.

ELF Day to Night Lipstick Duo £6

I really love the ELF Day to Night Lipstick Duo concept as it’s a dual ended lipstick with two different lip colours so you can use the more muted shade for ‘day’ and the bolder shade for ‘night’, or use them both together to create an ombré effect. There are five shades to choose from on the US website, and I have the I Love Pinks duo which has a mauvey pink and a bold fuschia pink.

The lipsticks are so creamy and pigmented with a slightly smaller lipstick bullet size which is great for a precise application with “a velvety satin formula enriched with Shea, and Vitamins A, C, and E to help nourish and hydrate”. I think £6 is a great price for a dual ended lipstick, especially with such a lovely formula.

So that is my Massive ELF Haul and all of the new ELF items I’ve been trying over the last few months. I have some more ELF products to show you very soon which I’ve bought from Superdrug so I’ll post about them very soon. I’d love to know if you’ve tried any of these products? Do you have any ELF favourites?

All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.