REVIEW | ELF HD Blush

A few months ago I purchased the e.l.f. HD Blush in the colour Diva off of ftbbeauty.ca for $4. I've been planning to do a review for a while but just never came around to it, but here it is... finally!

The blush comes in a 10ml (0.34 fl.oz.) bottle and has an easy to use pump. The amount is huge and 100% worth the price! I really like the packing, I think it looks sleek and professional. I love the matte black accents and I love the fact that it's in a pump, you don't have to worry about bacteria and you can easily control the amount you pump out. I also really love that the entire bottle is translucent so you can see the colour of the blush and you can see exactly how much you have left.

According to the description, the blush has a "Vitamin E enriched formula" and it "conditions and hydrates." I'm not concerned about it having Vitamin E, but after doing a little bit of research, I learned that it's an antioxidant beneficiary to the skin and eyes. Obviously this blush is not meant for the eyes, so that doesn't matter, but it's great that it's good for the skin! I'm sure there isn't a particularly significant amount in the blush, but even the little bit must make some sort of difference.

The formula is very smooth and not too liquid and not too thick, it's just perfect. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this formula. This will probably sound ridiculous but the formula is literally too pigmented! It is so strong and bright that you really need to take the most care to not apply too much or you'll look like a clown. I kinda like using up my products and moving on to new ones, but I just know that this will last me forever and more. If you're one of those people that wear very little makeup and only own 1 or 2 blushes, this would be a great match for you.

I like to pump out a tiny bit onto my hand, tap a large duo fibre brush into the blush and then carefully apply it to my cheeks. It blends out wonderfully and dries to a matte finish. I've worn it all day long and it did not budge a bit (which is why it's really important you're careful when applying). It easily removes with some soap and water, which I think it very important for such a bright, pigmented product.

I've used this blush as a lipstick as well and it works wonders! I don't have to worry about using too much, I just pump out a bunch and apply it and it dries super nicely and leaves a gorgeous bright lip.

Performance: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Quality: 9/10

Hope you found my review helpful!

Ada xx

HAUL | FTB Beauty

Hello, hello! It's a good day for a haul day, don'tcha think?

I have been in dire need of a new face powder brush considering the old ELF one I was using was in horrible condition and the bristles were really not nice to my face. I did do some research on which brand to try out and I was going to order from Sigma, but I think their shipping was horrendous and I didn't wanna put myself through that. I'm a big Real Techniques fan, owning around 9 or 10 of their brushes, so I figured what's one more to add? I tried to find the original website I used to order the first few but apparently it's gone, so I had to go on the Real Techniques website and find another retailer. Good thing the other website disappeared because I really found a gem of a place this time. It's called ftbbeauty.ca and they have a small, but really great selection of various beauty brands, and they're located in Toronto so shipping was super quick, easy and inexpensive! I've already used the brush for a few weeks and I love it so much! It is soooo soft, totally incomparable to the old Elf one, and really gives a great finish to my skin. I paid $11 for the brush.

After doing a bit of browsing, I was extremely happy to see they sell Seche nail lacquers. I have been wanting the Seche Vite for forever and couldn't find a close enough retailer or a reliable ebay seller. And the best part? It was $2 cheaper than usual selling price. I was also surprised to find it comes in a much bigger bottle than usual. A regular Essie polish is 13.5mL whereas the Seche Vite is 14.8mL and I only paid $8 for it! If you'd like a full review, please let me know!

I did some more searching and was pleasantly surprised they sell some NYX products. NYX is usually a hit or miss brand for me - I really like their lip products, but their eyeshadows don't really do it for me. I've been wanting to try their Lip Creams, but unfortunately FTB doesn't sell them, but they do sell their Matte Lipsticks, so I decided to try one of them. I did some research and looked at various swatches and I decided to go for a colour I don't usually buy: an orange with red undertones. This one is called Indie Flick and I paid $6.50 for it. I'm a little bit on the fence about the colour because it is so different from ones I'm used to, I think I need to wear it a bit more to get used to it.

Lastly, I decided to pick out two ELF products. When I first started using makeup, I wore a lot of ELF products because they were cheap and good for beginners, but as I got older, I found their quality poor and wanted to move on to bigger and better things. But, that was when they only had one collection, the Professional basic ones. Then they began releasing new ones and people started talking highly about a few of their products for a while. I never really had a chance to pick any up, and when I did, they'd usually be way overpriced in store. I was surprised to find FTB had a few, so I decided to get the Studio HD Blush in the colour Diva and their Studio Mascara & Shadow Shield, both were $4 each. If you'd like a review on either of these products, please let me know and I'd be happy to oblige!

My total, including tax (free shipping), came to: $37.86. I think I got a pretty great deal! I'm definitely planning on ordering from them again soon.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

Ada xx