Review: E.L.F. Essential Flawless Eyeshadow

Sea Escape Palette

Many drugstore brands are tested on animals, but did you know that there are a few cruelty-free budget brands? One of these is Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.), which is sold at stores such as Walgreen's and Target. While I usually stick to their mineral line, I decided to test out the E.L.F. Essential Flawless Eyeshadow to test out brighter pressed vegan shades, which can be hard to find in many natural lines.

Pros:

• Available in brighter shades
• Very affordable ($2)
• No parabens
• Colors can be worn together or alone
• Vegan and cruelty-free

Cons:

• Low number of pigments

Summary:
I applied this makeup using the included sponge (to get a more concentrated application), but the colors still went on sheer and had to be built up to be seen. When used with a primer, they tended to last for several hours, but faded to colorless shimmery shades by the end of the day. It's no surprise when you look at the ingredient list, which starts with Talc. According to the EWG, this product is quite gentle, rating just a low on the Skin Deep database. However, this seems to be a case of "you get what you pay for," as, for $2, you are buying talc, mineral oil, and lake colors, which many natural product consumers choose to avoid. It was good to see that this product is vegan (E.L.F. is a vegan company), paraben-free (many of the studio and essential eye shadows are not), and appears to be accidentally gluten-free (though this is not confirmed by the company). If you're looking for a cheap eye shadow to experiment with or use occasionally, these sets might be a decent vegan option.

Product Ratings (out of 5)

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Performance
Presentation
Purity
Value

Disclosure notice: This product was purchased by the reviewer. No compensation was accepted and the opinions are my own. Please verify any claims with the manufacturer, especially if you have any allergies or concerns.

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