E.L.F. stands for Eyes Lips Face, but most people just say "elf". It's a company who is trying to provide high quality yet low cost makeup, skin care and beauty tools. They have their hits and misses, as do all cosmetic companies, but I've been quite impressed by some of their items.
The Matte Lip Colors are a cult classic among makeup enthusiasts. They're a crayon (or pencil) shape, are retractable and even have sharpeners at the opposite end. They normally sell for $3.00 on E.L.F.'s website, and if you catch a sale, you may get them for even less! So, they are quite affordable. I have most of the colors (14) and do enjoy them quite a bit. Of course, I have my favorites and not so favorites, but we'll get into that soon enough.
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| Sharpener |
E.L.F. states the following about these Lip Colors:
There is no major smell and most of them have no taste. I have noticed a few that have a sweet taste to them, but not an overwhelming sweet taste. One thing to note is that for some of these colors, you will need to exfoliate your lips (as you may notice in some of my pictures my failure to do so before taking the pictures!). And, some of these are more matte than others, but none of them seem to dry out my lips. So, I wouldn't expect the same kind of matte you can get from a liquid matte lipstick.
- The convenient jumbo sized lip pencil creates exact color application.
- The pigment rich color glides on effortlessly and provides long-lasting matte color
- The enriched Vitamin A, C & E formula moisturizes and hydrates lips for all day comfort.
On to the colors!!!!
The first color is Berry Sorbet. It's a pretty, light berry color that actually looks a bit like you're wearing two different colors depending on the light. This is an easy-to-wear color for most skin colors in my opinion. As you can see with this color as with some other colors below, it is not as matte as you may expect.
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| Berry Sorbet |
The next color is Coral. This is much more of an orange...like a milky orange, than what I think of in a coral. This color doesn't look good on my fair skin, so without help from lip liners or other lipsticks, I don't think I'll use this one as much. I could see this looking good on darker skin, though. And, why do I always think of Rick Grimes from the Walking Dead calling for his son when I see or hear the word coral? 😆
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| Coral |
The next color is Cranberry. First of all, pardon my sloppy application! I must have been getting tired when I put this one on, but it is one of my favorites! It does appear to have a nice, true cranberry color, although the outside packaging does not match the actual color. This color would probably look good on most skin colors.
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| Cranberry |
The next color, Dash of Pink, is a true, warm pink. It's definitely wearable, unlike some of those "Barbie" pinks you may find. It's more of a subtle pink...one that won't grab everyone's attention when you walk in the room. The warmth in it does make your teeth look a bit yellow, but not a lot. I think most any skin color could wear this.
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| Dash of Pink |
The following color, Hot Commodity, is definitely orange. It's not a really bright orange, but orange enough to have no doubts about the color. I don't care for this color much at all for my skin color, but this would definitely look good on darker skin tones. As you can see, it's not matte at all, so I'm not sure how it came to be known as a Matte Lip Color.
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| Hot Commodity |
The next color is Mulberry Maven. Now this one's packaging definitely does not match the actual color! The actual color is a medium purple (the outside packaging looks more red). I hated this the first time I tried it on, but it grew on me. I'm not opposed to wearing "non-traditional" colors, so you may want to take that into consideration before buying this color. But, if you want to wear a purple that isn't too much of an "in your face" color, this may be the one for you! (P.S. Sorry for the frown...must have been toward the end of my picture taking session!)
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| Mulberry Maven |
OK, so this next color took me by surprise. It's called Natural, but the outside packaging looks a lot more orange (kind of like Coral's outside packaging). And, where on earth is this a matte? This is one of my favorites, though. It has a slight mauve to it. It's a "my lips but better" color that will go with a smoky eye perfectly. I don't think this would look good on everyone...probably just us fair and light skinned ladies and possibly mid-toned ladies.
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| Natural |
Nearly Nude is the least favorite for me. It shows every dry patch you may have and has a slight orange tone. I don't know why E.L.F. loves putting orange in everything, but not many people I know can pull off wearing an orange. When I wear it, it blends a bit into my fair skin, but just looks weird for the most part. I guess it could be used mixed with a dark warm color to lighten the color, but other than that, I don't see many people being able to wear this shade. But you do you, Boo!
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| Nearly Nude |
The next color, Praline, is one of my most favorite colors. It's a brown color. but more on the milk chocolate color. This is an extremely wearable brown that I think most skin tones can wear. It does remind me of the browns from the 90's but one that is wearable even for the office.
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| Praline |
The color Rich Red is not at all what most people would think of in an actual rich red. The outside packaging looks like a rich red, but when this is applied to the lips, it's much more of a bright red. I was really disappointed when I got this one because the name Rich Red lead me to believe that the color would be a blue toned darker red. I think most anyone can wear this color, but it is bright.
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| Rich Red |
Rowdy Rouge is another one that I think is totally misnamed. Perhaps the person naming them is color blind but this is ORANGE, and a bright one at that! Am I the only one that thinks of a red when the name "rouge" is used? I'm telling ya... E.L.F. loves orange apparently since we've seen so many in this line! This one might be salvageable by using a lip liner or mixed with another color. Or I just might be adventurous wear it. Who knows? Maybe it will change my mind wearing it for a day!
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| Rowdy Rouge |
This next color...all I can say is "YAAAASSSS"! Scarlet Night has to be my favorite. It's a beautiful plum color that I would imagine most anyone can wear. And, again with the packaging...it looks so dark on the packaging that I was afraid it might be just too dark, Well, the packaging lied! I love this plum berry color!
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| Scarlet Night |
Oh, the color Tea Rose. What a beautiful color. It has to be right up there with Scarlet Night. My picture is not doing it justice! It's a light mauve color that I could see paired with a smoky eye or an elaborate eye makeup. It's also possible to use another lip color with this to make an ombre lip. Oh, I've got plans for you, my little lip color! And, this is another that you can see is not matte.
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| Tea Rose |
Again, I got reckless with the swatch on our next and final color, Wine. Yet another one whose name and outer packaging don't fit. The packaging is more of what a wine color should look like, but it actually reminds me of a deeper rose color. It's not bad at all, but I have many colors in my collection that are the same if not close to this color, so I was disappointed that it wasn't actually a wine color. I think this can be worn by all skin colors in my opinion.
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| Wine |
So, my final thoughts are that I like most of them. They are easy to use, and it's a wonderful bonus to have a sharpener built right into the packaging. You can really get a precision application when using the sharpener. Also, like I said before, some are closer to matte than others. So, if you really want a matte lip color, I wouldn't recommend these. However, the vitamin-packed formula does make these feel good on your lips all day. And, for $3.00, they are definitely worth a try!
Have you tried these before? What are your opinions? Are there any other brands that are similar that you prefer over these? Also, do you like swatches like this or full face swatches like I did for my Buxom review? I'd love to hear from you!
