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e.l.f Earth & Ocean Palette

I haven’t purchased anything from e.l.f in the longest time. I happened upon a post of this palette on Instagram and the complimentary comments really peaked my interest in trying it for myself. Palettes I have tried from e.l.f. in the past haven’t been the greatest of quality; I kind of associate the brand as being for children, beginners or natural beauty wearers. I was also interested in the Retro Paradise Palette, but I thought I would get more use out of this one at the moment.
 
THE PACKAGING
The packaging is quite simple with a clear/black outlined plastic rectangular shape. The fronting is transparent so that you can see the eyeshadows from the outside of the palette. It has a clip closing, which you push apart to reveal the inside. The square eyeshadow pans are spread out across a black base and the shade names are printed in grey font under each pan.
THE EYESHADOWS & FORMULA
You get eighteen 0.94g eyeshadows in Matte (M), Metallic (ME), Glitter (G), Satin (S) and Shimmer (SH) finishes.
 
·         Smooth
·         Creamy
·         Blendable
·         Ultra-Pigmented
·         Effortless Application
·         Vegan
·         Cruelty-Free
 
THE SHADES & SWATCHES
Trenches -
black (S)
Underwater - sea green with teal duo-chrome (ME)
Can’t Kelp It - dusty brown green (M)
Desert Storm - khaki brown (M)
Sahara - yellow based light green (ME)
Spruced Up - deep olive green (M)
Abyss - deep ocean blue (M)
Drip Drip - vibrant blue (ME)
Lagoon - powder blue (G)
Rock Bottom - tan with a slight green hue (ME)
Gold Rush - true gold (ME)
Sun Yourself - light yellow gold (ME)
Siren - steel grey (ME)
Oasis - blue grey (M)
Saltwater - silver with opal duo-chrome (SH)
Tundra - silver (G)
Fuji Feels - antique bronze (ME)
Mojave Mami - sandy brown (S)
 
MY THOUGHTS
·         Primer/Base - The eyeshadows are pigmented enough without a primer or base, but I would always layer one down. I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Too Faced Glitter Glue.
·         Pigmentation - This is very decent for the price, but the lighter shades can take some building up. They do not finger swatch well, they perform better on your eyes with a primer/base underneath.
·         Application (wet/dry) - The eyeshadows can be applied wet or dry. I always use mattes dry, unless I am applying them to my lower lash line or using them as eyeliner. I sometimes apply metallics/shimmers wet, but it depends on the formula and whether they contain glitters. Wet application can max up the pigmentation and help prevent fallout.
·         Blending - The earthy matte shades blend pretty nice, but the colour mattes look a little patchy (the blues look the most noticeably patchy).
·         Kick-Back - Obviously, there is always going to be kick-back in your eyeshadow pans as you are disturbing powders. The kick-back was not a concern or issue for me in this particular palette.
·         Fallout - I only noticed fallout from the glitter shades. A good layer of glitter glue is a must!
 
I like the colour story a lot; there are warm and cool tones. The pigmentation is not what I am used to as I tend to buy higher end palettes; I find that the quality is usually better (not always though). It is great quality for the price, but it is a little lack lustre for me. My favourite shade is Sahara. The issues I had were that the colour mattes were a little patchy and it took time to blend them (especially the blues). The shade Oasis looks like you have a bruise around your eye if you are not careful! Lagoon and Tundra have a sort of chunky texture, but Tundra is noticeably chunkier and you will get fallout with these shades. Spruced Up looks darker on your skin than it does in the pan, which is disappointing as it looks like a gorgeous bright khaki in the pan and I really wanted that on my eye. It looks more like a forest green on your eye. I wish the metallics were molten looking; this might have been a game changer. I also think they could have dropped a couple of the darker metallic shades and put in a couple of brighter matte shades instead. Overall I am glad I got to try it out, but it just isn’t for me. If you are after an inexpensive earthy and cool toned palette, I would recommend it but don’t expect it to perform like popular higher end palettes.
 
You can purchase the e.l.f Earth & Ocean Palette for £14.00 ($14.00) from elfcosmetics.co.uk.
 
| I purchased this palette for £14.00 from FeelUnique.com |
 
| Swatch Stencil: Stripes Double 18 Pan by SwatchPerfect.co.uk | 

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