Encore and Diva
Next on the elf haul list are the e.l.f. HD Blushes. I was excited since I'm sorta big on HD blushes, and a cheaper alternative is always a plus. I decided to get some of the brighter shades to see how the pigmentation holds up to the more established MUFE HD blushes. I got Diva and Encore. Unfortunately there are only 5 shades to choose from in this line (hope they have a wider range in the future). It can be bought from elf directly or from certain Target stores for $3.
To read the review and see swatches, click the link.
These HD blushes, much like their counterparts, are supposed to give good color coverage that lasts a long time. Elf claims that their blush helps to sculpt and highlight with a lightweight formula that contains vitamin E to help boost your skin health. The container is the exactly the same as MUFE HD blushes with a pump to dispense the product. It's a little easier to control the amount dispensed, but it still spits out too much. Once again, this is a product that goes a LOOOONG way. I don't have any of the lighter shades, so I can't compare it to the ones I got, but these darker shades are VERY pigmented. I was really surprised at the intensity. Fair skinned ladies, make sure you are extremely light handed when using this. The texture is closer to a silicone product (although the ingredients do not list silicone). It glides on smoothly and stays put. It has a slightly longer setting time when compared with MUFE, allowing you to play around with it more. I had no problem with the blush fading throughout the day (it lived up to the long lasting claim). Does it sculpt and highlight my cheeks? I would say it does. I had a nice glowy, rosey look. In any case with my crazy long hours lately I can use any added bonus not to look like a corpse.
The pic below shows a size comparison to the MUFE HD blush. You can see that it's the same size externally, but there is a difference in product amount. MUFE HD blushes contain 0.2 oz of product while e.l.f. HD blushes contain 0.34 oz. You can read about MUFE HD blushes here and see how it compares in size to other cosmetics.
Swatches
Diva is a bright medium pink that leans slightly cool. It has pretty sparkles in it that helps to highlight your cheekbones (you most likely don't want to add highlighter on top). It has good pigmentation, but even on lighter skin tones (I'm a MAC NW20) you can blend it to a nice flush of color (towards the bottom). No clown face necessary. Encore comes out as a rather intense blue-toned red. I was a little scared that I'll never be able to blend enough to make it a usable color, but I was pleasantly surprised. Encore doesn't have the sparkles in it, but I wouldn't call it a matte shade. It has a sheen to it that gives a glowiness (yup I know that's not a word, just go with it).
Diva and Encore
I also did a closer swatch of Diva so you can see the pretty sparkles up close. It gives the cheek a nice luminescence without you looking like a disco ball. Just keep in mind that the more you blend, the more the sparkles disappear.
Bottom Line: These are great. Price is right and the product works well for all skin shades (light to dark) because of how well it's pigmented and the blendability. It's long lasting too! I'll just have to try some of the other shades now :)
Note: elf's current code is 50GIFTS for 50% of gift sets on orders of $25+. Valid until 11/21/12.
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