Elf Disney Villians Evil Queen Look Box: Review & Swatches

More Halloween fun for you all! Apparently e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) had a collaboration with Disney Villains last year (which I totally missed), and they have done it again. Apparently there were only 3 villains last year- Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, and Maleficent- but this year they added Ursula. My favorite is the Maleficent, but today we're going over the Evil Queen Look Book. Each of the 4 Look Books come with a multitude of cosmetics, and retails for $9.99 at Walgreens. Luckily I got it when it was on sale for $7.50, score!

To continue reading the review and see swatches, click the link below.

As you can see from the display (above), the collection is rather large. There are nail kits, hair tie kits, nail polish kit, and very cute cosmetic bags. The other other item that's not shown that is available are false lashes. I kinda want one of the cosmetic bags, but it might be too "young" for my age...But the artistic designs are so great!

The Look Book opens up to reveal the contents, along with step by step instructions for a day and night look. The sides of the package closes with a magnetic closure, so you don't have to worry about these falling open and getting ruined. As mentioned earlier, I think the art work on this (and the other villains) is great, and probably one of the best features. That said the products are nice on the whole.

The cosmetics in the Look Book all have a designated slot for it, and there's a clear plastic to cover it. The individual shadow names are written on this plastic only (not on the back of the palette itself), and there's a banner that says "Mirror, Mirror on the wall...". Yup, TOTALLY adorable. Clearly I'm a package freak. The limited edition items of this set are named Evil Queen. The palette is labeled as Swell Compact Evil Queen. It comes with a very small mirror on the backside of the portion labeled e.l.f. Eyeshadow in the picture. The closure of the palette is secure as well, so there should be no issues with it falling open if you want to travel with it. No applicator is inside the palette.

The eyeshadow colors are (from left to right):

• Top Row: Huntsman, Jealousy, Majesty
• Bottom Row: Witch, Vanity, Dark Magic

The shadows themselves are nice quality. Especially the non-matte shades. The shimmer/pearl shades are gorgeous, and with a primer the matte shades are workable. There is some powdery texture to the shadows, but nothing that creates fall out when applying. The colors included are usable shades that work well together, and great for fall. It ranges from neutral lights to darks, with a dark purple thrown in for fun pop of color. It also has a medium toned, cool grey in the palette to keep it from being a completely warm palette.

I would say that the eyeshadows are the main attraction since it's on display even when the book is closed, but the other items are just as important. These items are from the basic line, which is the Essential line, and individually run $1-2 per item. If you do the math, and assume the deluxe sample size items to run ~$0.50, then the look book is worth the cost. 

Next up is the Lengthening & Defining Mascara. It appears to be full sized, but don't quote me on that. It comes with a regular bristle brush that is rather far spaced. It actually does seem to define my lashes some, and maybe slightly lengthen. My issue is that the wide spacing of the spirals makes for easy areas for extra mascara to collect, making it more difficult to apply to the lashes. I need to carefully apply, then comb it out if I don't want gloopy lashes. For me, that's not worth the effort. Perhaps if the formula was drier, it would be easier to use.

The Liquid Eyeliner is a full sized product in the color Black. As a side note, the Ursula Look Book is the only one that doesn't have a black liner, but a very dark navy blue. The liner is a true black, applies smoothly without skipping, and the brush is easy to use. It's long enough that you can create a winged liner effect easily. Once the liner is on, it stays put as well. I have no problem with it running.

The Professional Eyeshadow Brush is a total dud. It's a pity since I actually like e.l.f. brushes from the Essential line. I think they just put extra cheap, badly manufactured versions in the Look Book. As you can see, the bristles are longer on one side, and short on the other. Even the ferrule (metal part) is bent. I tried using it, but the shorter bristles kept on poking me in the eye. Total fail.

The Lip Color in Evil Queen is a semi-opaque, glossy formula. The color is a fabulous magenta pink. It comes with a doe-foot applicator, and has a sweet scent (vanilla-ish) that goes away soon after application. It's comfortable to wear, and easy to apply. It's not sticky on the lips, and lasts about an hour (which is normal gloss wear time for me). There is mild settling of the gloss into lip lines. This product is not full-sized.




The other doe-foot applicator item in the set is the Eyelid Primer. The formula is creamy, and it appears skin-toned in the container. Once you blend it out onto the eyelid, the color becomes transparent. It does not have any corrective properties to it. As for how well it works, I was rather surprised. This lasted through my workouts, and I sweat like a man. I literally have sweat pouring down my face, but my eyeshadow looked great. This is not a full-sized product either.

Last item in the set is deluxe size of the Brightening Eyeliner Pencil. I don't have a close up picture of it, since it's literally a pencil liner. It's very hard in texture, and has no "give" so it gouges the eye. I don't understand what's brightening about it either. It's a black liner. On first pass it's more a washed out black, but it can be built up. It doesn't smudge either, so if you have non-sensitive eyes, it might work for you.

Swatches

Now for the good stuff. From left to right: Liquid Liner, Brightening Eyeliner Pencil, Lip Color, and Eyelid Primer. 

Evil Queen Lip Color on the lips. It definitely imparts color, but it's not fully opaque. You can see my lip underneath (but not the freckles I have).

Different views of the the eyeshadows in varied lighting. First are the top row shades. Huntsman is a champagne color that leans towards light gold, Jealousy is a warm taupe, and Majesty is a khaki green with olive undertones. It's hard to see in the pictures, but Majesty almost has a duochrome quality. All are pearl/shimmer shades.

Huntsman, Jealousy, Majesty

Huntsman, Jealousy, Majesty

The Day Look using the shadows above. Huntsman in the inner corner, Jealousy on the lid, Majesty for the outer third, and Brightening Eyeliner Pencil for the upper lash line. (Mascara isn't part of the set, but it's the Rimmel Extra Pop Lash).

The bottom row shades in multiple lighting. Witch is a mid-toned cool matte grey, Vanity is a matte mid-toned warm milk chocolate brown, and Dark Magic is a dark blackened plum that has a slight duochrome nature with more obvious sparkles (but not glitter chunks).

Witch, Vanity, Dark Magic

Witch, Vanity, Dark Magic

The Night Look using the bottom row of eyeshadows. Witch in my inner corner, Vanity on the lid, Dark Magic in the crease, the Liquid Liner along the top lashes, and the Lengthening & Defining Mascara.

Closer look at the Lengthening & Defining Mascara. As you can see, my lashes have decent length with some definition, but the wet formula tends to clump my lashes (I didn't comb it out).

Bottom Line: I think this is a fun kit, although not necessary. There are some duds in it, but there are plenty of winners as well. The only completely "fail" product is the Professional Eyeshadow Brush. The rest are acceptable to great. The palette and packaging alone would be worth the price (in my opinion). If you don't care about the shadow colors or packaging, then it's not worth it for the extra items alone.