Yes, the economy remains crappy. We're all painfully aware of that fact. Even though "they" are saying the recession is over, consumers are still feeling anxious and have yet to return to the carefree spending days of not-so-long ago. Even if you're like me and you're gainfully employed, I have little doubt that you're always looking for ways to save money. But you still want to be beautiful, and that's where e.l.f products come in hand.
While I'm still a MAC virgin (can you even believe that?!), I've finally tried a few e.l.f. (eyes lip face) products. And I must say, for $1 for their basic products to $3 for the studio and mineral lines, they're not too shabby!
Their blush is nicely packaged (somewhat reminiscent of NARS packaging) and the color is rich and flattering. Their lipgloss made my lips feel refreshed and moisturized while providing just enough color and shine.
Now, I know that super cheap cosmetics sound somewhat scary--almost too good to be true. For me, it brings up memories of Wet & Wild products from the drugstore. Others think that $1 beauty products are probably full of toxic chemicals and test on animals.
So I did a little research.
First off, e.l.f. does not test its products on animals, nor do they use products derived from animals. They're PETA approved!
I went a step further and checked out e.l.f. at the Environmental Working Group's handy-dandy cosmetic safety database, and it looks like the ingredients used by e.l.f. are no better or worse than some of the spendier brands. Here's an overall comparison from the Environmental Working Group (1 = good; 10= bad):
- MAC Cosmetics: products range between 2 and 9
- Bare Escentuals: products range between 1 and 6
- Philosophy: products range between 1 and 9
- NARS: products range between 2 and 10
- Cover Girl: products range between 2 and 10
- Revlon: products range between 1 and 10
- e.l.f.: products range between 1 and 7
Disclosure: Press samples were provided.
