e.l.f. Mineral lipsticks in Royal Red, Beautiful Berry and Prime Plum

I like e.l.f.'s mineral lipsticks, especially Rosy Raisin, the "my lips but better" tone. Now these here are much, much darker (warning - they look lighter on this photo).  Ingredients list is very nice to look at.

Prime Plum - Plum should be purple, no? Well, this one is dark brick-brown.

Royal Red - elegant deep cool-toned red but far too dark for me

Beautiful Berry - dark red, could also be described as a cross between Prime Plum and Royal Red - again not for me.

Lumene Natural Code lipstick in Sweet Pink

I bought this in January! And then lost it... it was hiding in an old bag until now. So here is my long lost buddy swatched: 

Consistency is nice and creamy as expected, coverage is somewhat less - this is more a lip balm then a lipstick. Recently there have been signals, that these are no longer obtainable in larger department stores. Seems Lumene might discontinue them. What a shame.

This time the label came off well and lipstick itself looks nice too. I bought a lighter one because it seemed to me Mauve Rose makes my upper lip seem even narrower then it actually is - darker lipsticks have this annoying effect.

Head huulepulgad, päris hea meel oli, kui see ikkagi vanast käekotist välja ilmus :). Igapäevavärvina parem kui Mauve Rose.

e.l.f. mineral lipstick in Rosy Tan

A slightly darker sister to Rosy Raisin - and a nice wearable color as well. This was one of the three items that I bought for myself during the -50 sale.

e.l.f. mineral lipstick in Rosy Tan swatches

These are not nature cosmetics, they are partly based on mineral oil - but they do not contain synthetic colorants nor preservatives - so they're kind of ok in my book.  I'll add comparison photos later, after have swatched all the mineral lipsticks I have: Pouty Petal, Rosy Raisin, the new addition and the not so loved Cool Coral.

swatches of e.l.f. mineral lipstocks in Cool Coral, Rosy Tan, Rosy Raisin and Pouty Petal

Need on mu meelest ühed parimad e.l.f'i poolt pakutavad huuletooted - aga ka siin võib alt minna. Kui Pouty Petal, Rosy Raisin ja Rosy Tan on mõnusad kreemjad siis Cool Coral on ebameeldivalt kuiva konsistentsiga. Väga popid toonid muidu on Natural Nymph ning Party Pink ja Runway Pink. Samas ei ole see looduskosmeetika - sisaldab ka mineraalõli aga osad pahalased nagu sünteetilised värvained ja säilitusained on siin retseptist siiski välja jäetud. 

e.l.f. Mineral Moisturizing Lip Tint SPF 8 in Berry and Rose

e.l.f. mineral lipstick in Rosy Raisin on the right

I've had not so good luck with e.l.f's lip products lately: Studio lip stains were a serious disappointment. The mineral lipsticks were ok but even there one out of three (Cool Coral) felt dry and streaky on the lips. Well these are Cool Coral all over again - I cannot seem to make them work on my lips. 

They feel drying and can only be applied to the outer side of lips, they wont stick to the inner side, closer to the mouth (basically it looks as if you'd eaten something and lipstick has faded away). Sizewise they're also a lot smaller then the mineral lipsticks and seem to break easily (so thin!).

Rose

Berry

Lets get down to ingredients now (please note the large content of mineral oil and that all the natural oils are at the bottom of the list):

Active Ingredient: Titanium Dioxide 4% (that's where the SPF comes from)
Inactive Ingredients: Paraffinium Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (coconut oil product), Isooctyl Palmitate (palm oil product), Synthetic Wax, Microcrystalline Wax (Cera Microcristallina), Petrolatum, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate (Ve), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019) (all colorants)

The product is totally out of stock (at the US store, UK store is not carrying them yet) and the reviews are all too good to be true - I wonder - did I get mine from some bad batch? Good thing about these is there's no smell but on the other hand they taste sweet. It bugs me that I cannot see any artificial sweeteners listed amongst the ingredients.

Would I buy these again? Hell no!

Jätke need poodi - ei niisuta ja ei ole ka kuigi kergesti pealekantavad. Lisaks on nad kõige tavalisemad mineraalõlipommid, vaid parabeene ja sünteetilisi värve pole sees. Ma ei suuda siiani uskuda, et neil USA poes nii head arvustused on. Siiani olen veendunud, et e.l.f.'i Studio seeria pintslid on siiski e.l.f'i absoluutne tooteparimik - ülejäänud kaup on nii ja naa.

e.l.f. Studio lip stains in Heartbreaker and Fashionista

I am no fan of lip products in general - I like sheer lipsticks with some added goodies like Joik's colored chapstick or e.l.f.'s mineral lipsticks in Pouty Petal and Rosy Raisin. I am a realist and therefore have no faith in longlasting lip products  - prefer to use stuff that fades gradually and unnoticeably. Your lips but better is the perfect trend for me.

These lipstains pretty much explain why I generally do not like lip stuff that much: first of all they stink. They continue to feel sticky for quite some time and have the tendency to become pretty icky on the lips (just look at the Heartbreaker swatch below) - to avoid this you are probably supposed to run around open mouthed for about 5 minutes until it dries solid. Colors are wonderful and if by chance you do not mess it up before it dries - it will look pretty good on you for an hour. After that you either need to reapply or run around with half painted lips. This is of course if you use the stain half alone. 

I strongly believe e.l.f. should rename this particular product as lip stain and remover kit - as this is exactly what the glossy part does - it melts the stain right off  and as a bonus adds some stickiness to your lips (which we all love, right?). I thought I'd use the stain bit alone but cannot - it's difficult to apply and absolutely REEKS.

This product receives no love from me. :S

Lumene Natural Code lipstick from the Smile Booster series - Mauve Rose

I was enthralled by the packaging - beautiful black base and delicate green print on top.

Color looks rather bright in the pics, it's a lovely wearable darkish pink color, creamy and covering. Feels wonderful on the lips and goes well with my more neutral eye looks. I think this was a very appropriate use of the Kaubamaja gift card :D

Lumene Natural Code lipstick Smile Booster nr 2 Mauve Rose

I'll wait with the lip swatch until I have some light again, hopefully it'll be soon. Ingredients are not so natural as the Lumene Wild Rose series lipsticks have it (those are more sheer, like glosses). There are some lake dyes in here.

But I wonder WHY do our shops mangle our toiletries this way:

the glue just wont come off... any advice?

this is what it looks like now... after I tried to remove it
with oil and when that did not work, acetone :S

Paber õnnestus õliga maha hõõruda kuid liimijäljed jäid. Atsetoon seevastu muutis kokkupuutel plastikuga tolle krobeliseks ja nüüd näeb tuttuus huulepulk suhteliselt kole välja. Kahju. Pakend ise ju väga kena disainiga. Häbi Sulle, maaletooja (või kesiganes neid silte kleebib)!

E.L.F. mineral haul arrived today!

Fell on Sunday when skiing - some twerp cut me off and I ran into a ramp. Next time, heed my words, I shall ram my skis up your arse, u bugger! Bystanders informed me later that the flight itself was rather impressive though the landing somewhat rough. I walk like a wood-legged pirate now, according to doc takes some months to heal.Twisted knee...

It's Christmas again! Although I paid for the gift myself it's still pleasant to receive them. Just why does E.L.F. need to put it in a box 3 sizes too big??

The eyeshadow primer needs some testing before can say anything. It's definitely more liquid then my old one from Manhattan and consistency is thin. I took care to photograph everything in a way that it's possible to see the ingredients list too.

The brown eyeshadow set is superb - warmly recommend, I did not try the pencil. Confident is a really adorable color and very wearable too. Wild reminds me of TKB Trading's Swiss Chocolate, with a wee bit of more gold sparkle. It's the mattest of them all. Elegant is a very good color for highlighting the inner corners - I would not put it on the browbone unless I worked in the circus. Brushes are not bad at all - soft and not shedding... yet.

The E.L.F. mineral eye shadows I got for myself are somewhat disappointing: Socialite is asphalt gray when applied dry. Applied wet it gets more brownish and more suitable for my complexion. I have no idea what went through my head when I ordered Royal - purples are not my colors at all. SInce it's more reddich then pluish purple, I ca probably use ti. Now Confident is a safe bet though.

The sifter holes are huge, instead of removing the sifter cover just poke couple of holes in them - it's more then enough. Jars are 10gr per volume ones with raised bottoms. Jars are not filled to the brim, there's lots of room inside. And lets be honest it's no reason to bitch about since it takes forever to use up one eyeshadow anyhow :D.

E.L.F. mineral eyeshadow swatches: upper photo taken in sunlight, lower in bright daylight.

First glance: I thought Ripe Rose had great promise alas it is very creamy and a lot more pigmented/covering then the previous lipsticks - it's too dark.... Cool Coral is a total miss :S - I thought it'd be orange but it's not - it's bright red. For a blond pale girl like myself best pick has to be Rosy Raisin.

The free gift - Candy Shop lipgloss in Melon Mayhem.

All pics are klickable and can be enlarged.

PS! I may have to revalue Royal (tad reddish sheen on the right) and Socialite (brownish sheen, on the left)... both seem to be exceptionally good for Smoky eye. At least in artificial light (just primer and eyeshadow, no mascaras or liners).

Üldiselt võib E.L.F.'i hauliga rahul olla kui huulepulgad välja arvata: Cool Coral pole piisavalt oranž ning Ripe Rose on liiga tumepunane minu jume jaoks. Pruunist silmameigikompletist saab väga ilusa kingi, Confident on haruldaselt hea värv. Elegant on talutav highlighterina ja Wild on vastupidiselt oma nimele tegelikult suht igav kakapruun. Kompletis olev hajutuspintsel erineb veidi kodulehel olevast, millel tundub nagu olevat teravam tipp.
1-dollarilised hajutuspintslid tunduvad esialgsel pealevaatamisel ok olema ning üksiklauvärvid polegi nii hullud. Loodetavasti sõbrantsile meeldib ta roheline Earthy ning mina saan hakata suitsusilma harjutama oma Royal'i ja Socialite'ga. Viimane on kuivalt ja päevavalguses nagu märg asfalt, eemaldab mu näost viimasegi värvikübeme ja tõmbab mu üleni plassiks. Niiskel pealekandmisel muutub alustoon külmaks tumepruuniks - see juba sobib..
Lauvärvi aluskreem on väga vedela koostisega ja mulle tundub küll vägagi õline - tuleb ettevaatlikult peale kanda, sest minul läks esimesel korral juba see kreem ise lauvakku kokku. Aplikaator annab korraga liiga palju välja. Järsku on seda üldse vaja enne raputada, et paremini seguneks? Eks ta odav asi ole, kui kehv siis kehv ja kui joppab siis joppab.
Nüüd jääb üle veel vaid Studio-seeria haul ka ära oodata :).

E.L.F. mineral lipsticks - not bad at all

lipThe main problem with E.L.F. mineral lipsticks is that they are NOT true to pics on the E.L.F. homepage. Most of the negative comments are made by people who have bought a specific color and then ended up with something totally different. I think it's "Royal Red" that causes the biggest confusion. I warmly suggest to look at a lot of swatches first when planning to get some.
Also beware - it's not a true "mineral" product - mineral oils are used in production. Of course E.L.F. homepage fails to tell us this and those ingredients can be later found on the packaging of the product as it arrives in your mailbox.

E.L.F.i mineraalhuulepulgad on põhimõtteliselt toonivad läiked - sõbraliku koostisega (sisaldab loodusliku kõrval siiski ka paari mineraalõli-derivaati, kõigile ei sobi) ning mahedad toonid. Kui uskuda e.l.f.i kodulehel olevaid kommentaare, siis on osad huulepulgad katvama koostisega kui teised. Maksavad 5 USD tükk kuid saab ka odavamalt, kui kupongikoode kasutada.

The ones I got are Pouty Petal and Rosy Raisin. Nice colors, the first is cooler, the latter warmer toned. Both are very suitable for pale people. Remind me of my favorite lipstick-shaped  lipglosses from Manhattan that are no longer in production - sheer, moisturizing and wearable. I quite like the packaging - sleek and black, the logo is very unnoticeable - black on black.

E.L.F. ships pretty fast, ordered on 27th and received on 9th, 2 weeks is very good for packages from US. I used the coupon code "CAROLINA" which gives you 50% off on your purchase up to 15 USD. Since E.L.F. stuff is cheap, one does not exceed that limit very often. Perhaps if you crave the Studio Line makeup-brush set that costs 30 USD... but even then I suggest to wait for a special offer on makeup brushes which is bound to happen at some point. Occasionally they even offer 75% off coupon codes on some products. But the "CAROLINA" though - I think it's a permanent thing, it has been around for quite some time now.

Annoying is that once I received the lipsticks I discovered that they have a 50% sale on lipsticks until February 15th (if you buy for more then 15 USD worth) with the coupon code "50LIPS".

E.L.F. aslo has a quite reputable-looking mineral product line: bases (not much of a color selection, contains bismuth oxychloride) eyeshadows, blushes etc. and their Studio line makeup brushes are also quite famous. I also read excellent reviews on their 1-dollar line eye shadow and blender brushes.