e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick {Review}

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Overview

Rating: 5/5 stars ★★★★★
Price: $5 USD
Shades Available: 12 shades
Weight: 0.13 oz
Where to Buy: eyeslipsface.com

Update: With the discontinuation of the Mineral line, the Mineral Lipsticks have been moved to the Studio line. This review now reflects that change.

Back in April, I purchased my first haul from the e.l.f. website. Included in this order were three Studio Mineral Lipsticks: Nicely Nude, Barely Bitten and Cheerful Cherry.

Overall, I had few complaints and liked the lipsticks (I’m a lipstick woman), so when I saw the 75% off Mineral Lipstick sale, I took the plunge and made another order. As a bonus, the free shipping deal for orders over $75 worked before the discount. I managed to buy thirteen lipsticks, plus seven other products for only $31 USD.

Yep. Great deal.

This review is #2 in a three part review on my recent e.l.f. haul.
Part #1: e.l.f. Haul #2 Overview
Part #3: e.l.f. Haul #2 Breakdown

Packaging

Each lipstick is individually packaged in a white cardboard container that features an ingredient list, as well as a comically misleading “representative” colour dot. For some reason, I’ve kept most of the lipsticks from this haul in their boxes and they’ve held up well. I decided to stop being a hoarder and tossed them a while back.

I feel bad for the people that buy the lipstick based on those colour dots…

The lipstick container itself is constructed of sturdy, soft-finished black plastic. The e.l.f. logo is featured on the top of the lid, while the eyeslipsface logo is positioned vertically on the lipstick’s base. Originally the logos were shiny black, which resulted in a monochromatic look, but this has apparently been replaced with silver lettering.

It’s not a big deal. I just thought it was an interesting change.

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick with packaging

I do feel the lipstick container is sturdy. I keep most of my lipstick safely at home in a makeup drawer, but I have carried a couple in my purse with no ill effect (so far).

Formulation

The e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipsticks are creamy and very sheer. Fortunately, there is a wide range of colour intensities, with a few shades delivering a fair amount of colour. Almost all of the shades go on matte, even the ones that clearly have shimmer.

The shades are like many others from vegan lipstick lines: generally nude pinks, corals, weird reds and browns. I’m sure this is a turn off to most women who don’t have to worry about animal derivatives, but I like it better when a company decides from the beginning not to use carmine. This way, we don’t have situations like Ecco Bella and Beauty Without Cruelty that have very nice shades…except for those lone orange-y vegan shades. I think it forces companies like e.l.f. to be creative from the beginning to formulate pretty colours.

Sure. The e.l.f. shades don’t compare to Zuzu Luxe. When I have the finances to plop $12 $18 on a single lipstick, I will gladly go to Zuzu. In the meantime, I’m content with these e.l.f. lipsticks I got for $1.25 a pop.

Shades

With twelve shade options, the e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick is one of the best vegan lipsticks on the market.

I now own all but two four shades from the e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick line: Bare Brown, Rich Raspberry, Beautiful Berry and Rustic Brick. I rarely do browns or berries rarely, so I didn’t waste my money on them. And I ended up with two brown shades anyway.

Despite not really having many drop-dead awesome colours, I think e.l.f. has inadvertently created a line of very wearable shades as I find most to be flattering.

On to the specifics. The individual shade descriptions follow the picture below, in order from left to right.

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph, Run[a]way Pink, Pouty Petal, Party Pink, Rosy Tan, Nicely Nude

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick Swatches in Nicely Nude, Rosy Tan, Party Pink, Pouty Petal, Run[a]way Pink, Natural Nymph

Natural Nymph [Creme]

I did not buy this colour to use as lipstick. I tend to bite my lips, so I thought I could use this shade as a lipstick primer. That said, it’s not exactly a bad colour on its own, but you have to be very fair to pull it off.

Run[a]way Pink [Creme]

This is a very sheer, light pink. Again, you need to be fair to wear this shade. I managed to get a very pigmented swatch, which I found odd, but I’ll warn you that it will not apply as strongly to the lips.

Note: This is listed as Runway Pink on the site, but the box and tube clearly state “RunAway”. I guess someone at the top changed their mind. Either that, or it was a typo from the beginning.

Update: I received a comment from a reader that e.l.f. is now going by the name Runway Pink for this shade.

Pouty Petal [Pearl]

I have no idea why this colour consistently turned fuchsia in every single photograph I took. I assure you that it is not fuchsia. There must be a blue undertone in the lipstick that angers my crappy digital camera.

This is actually a very pretty neutral pink colour. I assume it looks better on fair individuals like myself, since it is a lighter colour, but I think it should work fine for most. It does not have much shimmer.

Party Pink [Pearl]

This is one of the few true pinks in the e.l.f., and as such, one of my least favorites. This one is just too pink for my liking, but if you’re really into light pink lipsticks, this is for you. There is a little shimmer when applied to the lips.

Rosy Tan [Creme]

This one is a no-go for me. Judging from the image on the e.l.f. website, I thought I’d give it a try, but it’s too far on the brown side.

Update: Turns out this is one of my favorite shades in e.l.f.’s Mineral Lipstick line. When I said I thought it was a terrible, I hadn’t actually tried it. I took one look at it and declared, “Eww”. While it is on the brown side, I find it’s a great neutral color. Probably best suited to those with warm skin tones.

Nicely Nude [Pearl]

I first bought this shade in April and liked it so much that I decided to buy a second in this haul. It is, like Party Pink, a true pink and very pretty. It it a little on the light side, so those with darker skin tones beware.

Supposedly this is a shimmer shade, and there are clearly tiny shiny bits in the lipstick, but I do not see any shimmer on my lips. In fact, I never even noticed this lipstick had shimmer until I photographed this batch of mineral lipstick. I whipped out my original Nicely Nude and was surprised to see it also had shimmer. I put it on and, nope, no discernible shimmer.

It’s still pretty, though.

e.l.f Studio Mineral Lipstick in Rosy Raisin, Barely Bitten, Fiery Fuchsia, Ripe Rose, Cool Coral, Prime Plum, Royal Red

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipstick in Royal Red, Cheerful Cherry, Prime Plum, Cool Coral, Ripe Rose, Fiery Fuchsia, Barely Bitten, Rosy Raisin

Rosy Raisin [Pearl]

[Discontinued] I’m not sure why this ended up in the dark shades group. It’s not that dark. I think of it as a shade darker than Pouty Petal. This one has a slight shimmer.

Of all the lipsticks I own from e.l.f., this is my absolute favourite shade. It’s strong enough to be noticeable, but natural enough that it doesn’t conflict with my light skin tone.

Barely Bitten [Pearl]

Again with the shimmer, but there isn’t any that I can see when applied to the lips. Barely Bitten is more of a dark coral shade, since it definitely lacks a pink undertone and leans closer to the oranges. As a warning, this shade has a fair amount of pigmentation.

Honestly, if I had seen this in a store, I probably would not have bought it. I don’t usually wear coral or dark shades like this. But to my surprise, I really like it. This is the second tube I have bought, because I wanted to have another in reserve.

Fiery Fuchsia [Pearl]

[Discontinued] Hah! What a misnomer. This is neither “fiery” nor “fuchsia”. Actually, it’s a lot better. This shade runs in the colour family of Pouty Petal and Rosy Raisin, only slightly darker. Very pretty.

Ripe Rose [Creme]

Ah, another misnomer. This one is not really rose colour, but leans ever so slightly into the oranges territory. A very concentrated shade. I find it flattering and it is the darkest shade I would wear on a daily basis.

Cool Coral [Pearl]

Hmm, this one should be farther up on list, since it’s not too dark. This is one of the few shades that is actually shimmery.

I’m not convinced this is a true coral shade, although I admittedly don’t have a lot of experience with coral. It’s more of a dark pinky/peachy colour. Despite my love of pinks and nude pinks, I think it’s very pretty. I wish e.l.f. had more similar shades.

Prime Plum [Creme]

[Discontinued] Plum? More like brown. This one is very pigmented and very brown. I’ve only swatched it, so I don’t have more insight into this shade.

Cheerful Cherry (not pictured) [Pearl]

[Discontinued] I did not buy a second tube this haul, but I thought it might be good to include it in this review. No real shimmer.

I would argue that this is the most red shade e.l.f. carries, though it has a strong purple/orange-y undertone (does that make any sense?). Actually, I’d argue that this is the “real” Fiery Fuchsia.

This is a colour I love have, but could never bring myself to wear in public because…it’s strong and pigmented and bright and, most of all, red! Fair skinned people beware.

Royal Red [Pearl]

This is the other true shimmer shade…and what a strange colour for e.l.f. to add sparkle to. While it looks red in the tube, I’d say it’s kind of on the brown side. This is a very dark shade and something I would play with while inside my home, but not likely to wear outside.

Images

Final Thoughts

Pros: Good colours, good pigmentation, economical, moisturizing
Cons: Some shades too sheer, shimmery shades lack shimmer power, not enough true pink and peach shades

I complained in an earlier review about Everyday Minerals products being too similar, but I don’t feel that way with the e.l.f. Studio Mineral Lipsticks. I think there are enough differences between them that the purchases I made were not redundant.

The only shade I don’t like is Prime Plum. One dud out of thirteen doesn’t seem that bad, especially considering I was referencing the oh so inaccurate e.l.f. website images.

I do have one complaint as I feel the e.l.f. has completely missed an obvious opportunity. Where are the peach shades? Normally, vegan lipsticks are rife with peach. They make up like 80% of all vegan lipstick (percentage completely made up on the spot). I finally decide that I’d liked to try a peach shade and the only one available is Cool Coral. What’s up with that?

On to another issue. When I wear lipstick, I need to apply lip balm first since I have dry lips. This routine causes me problems with this lipstick line. I have to wait a few minutes after using lip balm, otherwise the lipstick will not stick to my lips.

So to recap, the mineral lipsticks aren’t how they appear on the website, or even the cardboard boxes they’re packed in, but I think e.l.f. has created a good product. The Mineral Lipstick line is definitely worth $5 and I would highly recommend them.

If I had to recommend a single shade, I would go with Pouty Petal because I think it’s one of the most universally accessible colors in the line.