e.l.f. Beauty School 2014 Collection
As part of a recent e.l.f. haul in August, I picked up many of the limited edition palettes and sets for the Beauty School 2014 collection. I’m still in the middle of trying out the products, so this isn’t meant to be a review. More of a first impression of the products.
I’ve also found some Beauty School 2014 products at T.J.Maxx and Gordmans. It looks like Target is no longer carrying e.l.f. limited edition collections. The last collection they carried was Holiday 2013. Spring 2014 and Beauty School 2014 have so far been AWOL. I guess we’ll see if Target will receive the Holiday 2014 collection.
Some of the sets include staples like the Essential Eyelid Primer and Essential Lengthening & Defining Mascara. These are the same products that are often included in sets and are excluded from the photos because they’re redundant.
You can find more e.l.f. Beauty School posts here, including those on non-palette products.
e.l.f. Essential 18 Piece Eyeshadow Palette with Brush
First Impression: Love it!
Price Tag: $8 USD
The Essential 18 Piece Eyeshadow Palette is different from the usual rectangular pan palettes e.l.f. carries. It’s interesting that e.l.f. chose to put it under the Essential line, rather than the Studio line. The palette is reminiscent of NYX’s Butt Naked “Turn the Other Cheek” palette in shades and appearance, but retails for a fraction of the price. The top row is comprised of matte shades, while the rest are shimmery.
Though the eyeshadows are vegan, the palette does come with a natural fiber brush.
e.l.f. Essential 13 Piece Face & Lip Palette
First Impression: Pretty good
Price Tag: $8 USD
The Essential 13 Piece Face & Lip Palette is the counterpart to the above palette. The peachy blush and bronzer look like the recently released e.l.f. Disney Snow White Blush & Bronzer set, while the other blush/bronzer is similar to shades in the Blush & Bronzer Palette from the Beauty School 2011 limited edition quad. I haven’t tried the lip products yet.
I am not sure if the brushes contain animal fibers, but it is highly likely.
e.l.f. Essential 15 Piece Backpack Total Face Kit
First Impression: Definitely a steal, even if the eyeshadows create a smoky look
Price Tag: $6 USD
The Essential 15 Piece Backpack Total Face Kit is a steal, and a definite improvement over the e.l.f. 22 Piece On-the-Go Set (my review here).
My main issue is that the eyeshadows are very dark. I ended up with a super smoky look the first time I tried the palette. And watch out for that shimmery purple on the far right of the top row. It’s way darker than its brown neighbor directly on to the left.
The set also comes with a travel-sized lip gloss (nothing fancy, but perhaps an improvement on the lip gloss pans) and the usual Essential Lengthening & Defining Mascara.
While it lacks the all-in-one features of the 22 Piece On-the-Go-Set, the Backpack Total Face Kit’s palette is much smaller and sleeker, and less prone to unexpected openings.
This set is 100% vegan.
e.l.f. Essential Beauty School Defined Eyes Set
First Impression: More expensive than it should be. Also, in retrospect, way too blue.
Price Tag: $10 USD
The Essential Beauty School Defined Eyes Set is kind of weird. It includes a smaller than average palette (18 shadows vs the usual 32), an Essential Lengthening & Defining Mascara, Essential Eyelid Primer, and Essential Waterproof Eyeliner Pen. The non palette items add up to $3, leaving the palette at $7. Except that it’s far smaller than the e.l.f. Studio Beauty School 32-Piece Eyeshadow Palette that normally retails for $6.
I’m not saying it’s a bad product, just make sure you buy the set during a sale.
This set is 100% vegan.
e.l.f. Studio Beauty School 48-Piece Little Black Beauty Book in Chic
First Impression: Same inside palette that’s been released multiple times over the years.
Price Tag: $6 USD
I actually found this Studio Beauty School 48-Piece Little Black Beauty Book, along with some larger sets, at T.J.Maxx before I was aware of the e.l.f. Beauty School 2014 collection. The Chic version was the only one I found. Honestly, I just bought this because I collect the beauty books, and less for the colors.
This particular pastel rainbow palette has been re-released multiple times, but I’ve never bought it until now. It’s similar to the limited edition Toys “R” Us exclusive e.l.f. Sugarkiss Beauty Book: Bright Eyes Edition (my review here), except this one is at least 50% shimmery shades, whereas the Sugarkiss version has mattes. Likewise, the Natural version has been released before.
This product is 100% vegan.
e.l.f. Essential Beauty School Eyeshadow Compact in Natural
First Impression: Love it!
Price Tag: $3 USD
The Essential Beauty School Eyeshadow Compact is actually a reformulated version of the same named palette released for an earlier Beauty School 2012 collection. The original version was so glittery parts of it crumbled and fell apart. It is the only time an e.l.f. palette has done that to me. This version is so much better. All of the shades are very metallic and buttery smooth.
This product is 100% vegan.
As a rule I am not much impressed by e.l.f.’s eye shadows (mineral line is the exception here) and have a remarkably low opinion of their palettes – but e.l.f. Essential 18 Piece Eyeshadow Palette really tempts me. How do you feel about it now that you have used it some more? Worth organizing a international haul for it? 馃檪
That’s a tough one. I have really liked the palette thus far. To me it’s very similar to the NYX Butt Naked Turn the Other Cheek Palette, but the e.l.f. eyeshadows have a much, much better formulation. The shimmer shades are very creamy, apply well, and there’s a good distinction between shades. There’s also a good mix of warm neutrals and cool neutrals.
On the other hand, the matte shades aren’t as good. There’s only one light color and the rest are dark shades that are kind of muddy. While I haven’t had a lot of success with an all matte eye look, they do work well for defining the crease and outer corner.
It’s definitely one of the better eyeshadow palettes I’ve used from e.l.f., and so far one of my favorites (my favorite is the Beauty Book Eye Set in Natural).
Somehow I’m not surprised – e.l.f. really does not excel in matte eye shadows – I suspect either too much oxides in the coloring mix and not mixed soft enough or too much pressing medium making the product too hard. I’ve recently bought some Catrice singles – the matte ones – and am totally in awe. Pigmentation is medium but texture-wise a pleasure to work with.
*sobs in corner because I missed all of these by a day*
That’s too bad! I hate it when I miss out on LE promotions.
I noticed today that a few of the Beauty School sets have been brought back for the Holiday promotion, under the Gifts tab, so you might have a second chance.
Should it still be there during the bF/cM frenzy, I’ll try to get my paws on it 馃檪