Overview

Rating: 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆
Price Tag: $8 USD
Sets Available: 4 versions
Where to Buy: Online at target.com

There are four limited edition Get the Look box sets available for the Halloween 2015 season: Angel, Devil, Glam, and Witch. These appear to be Target exclusives as different sets are currently available online at the e.l.f. website.

Unlike previous years, the set is not a Beauty Book, but a collection of products packaged in a box. Each set contains six products: a lipstick or lip gloss, an eyeshadow duo, a set of false lashes with glue, a mini eyeliner pencil, an eyeshadow primer, and an eyeshadow brush.

Unboxed Halloween 2015 Get the Look Set: Witch

The box set retails for $8 USD. While the cost is more than $6 the Beauty Books usually run, the Get the Look sets feature five full size products. The Beauty Books usually do not, and they certainly don’t have full sizes of lipsticks or eyelid primers. Currently, the Studio Moisturizing Lipstick is $3, the Essential Eyeshadow Duo (officially discontinued) would be $1-$2, Essential Eyelid Primer is $2, Essential Lash Set is $1, a full sized Essential Eyeliner Pencil is $1, and the Essential Eyeshadow Brush is $2. The total is an estimated $9-$11 if purchased separately, so $10 is about right.

The set is cruelty-free and all products, with the exception of the eyeshadow brush containing natural fiber bristles, are vegan.

Packaging

The cardstock packaging is larger than I expected. The artwork is pretty, but sparse, with a artistically rendered woman’s head wearing a witch hat, but doesn’t show off how to use the set as well as it could. The bottom of the packaging shows which five products are included in the set. The artwork of the face could also be larger on the box.

Front of the Halloween 2015 Get the Look Set: Witch

My main gripe with the packaging is that it clearly features a product mock up rather than photos of the finished products. Look at that text practically hanging off the eyeliner. I’ve seen product mockups of e.l.f. products on places like the Toys “R” Us site and of the Disney Princess Jasmine collection, but they’re always replaced with official art on the actual product. Not so with these sets.

Back of the Halloween 2015 Get the Look Set: Witch

I’d much rather have had a Beauty Book than a set, but this is what we got this year.

Products

As noted before, there are five full sized products and one mini sized item included in the set.

Swatches of the Halloween 2015 Get the Look Set: Witch. It’s a very dark set.

Studio Moisturizing Lipstick in Blackout

One of the main reasons I purchased this particular set was for the lipstick. I had wanted to purchase Blackout during my last e.l.f. haul and decided against it at the last moment. I kicked myself a couple of weeks later when I learned that Blackout was no longer available online.

At first, I wasn’t sure if this lipstick truly was Blackout because the box doesn’t mention any product by shade name and uses product concept art for some reason. I figured even if it turned out to be an Essential Lipstick, it was worth it, especially considering I had missed last year’s super limited black Essential Lipstick.

Turns out that the lipstick is actually the Studio Moisturizing Lipstick, making it the only Studio product in the set.

e.l.f. Studio Moisturizing Lipstick in Blackout. Did you know the bottoms of the tubes are removable?

This is a fun shade. I would never wear it out in public under normal conditions, but it’s nice to try. And it’s certainly the most economical vegan black lipstick out there.

I find Blackout to be more matte when dry than the other Studio Moisturizing Lipsticks. I’m quite amazed that the lipstick doesn’t get all over my teeth when I wear it. The lipstick also holds up well after eating and drinking, but you’ll probably want a touch up to the center of your lips.

I do find the product drying after an hour or so, despite the name, though the color holds up well. I think applying a clear gloss could help with dryness. It’s also quite staining. Even with makeup remover wipes, there were bits of black left in the lines of my lips.

e.l.f. Studio Moisturizing Lipstick in Blackout and limited edition Halloween 2015 Essential Duo Eyeshadow

To wear this shade properly, you’ll need a lip liner—or reverse lip liner—and concealer for touching up the edges. You can’t just slap on a black lipstick and go. They take precision and care.

For more info on the Studio Moisturizing Lipsticks, be sure to read my review here.

Essential Eyeshadow Duo

There are two shades in this duo, a very dark grey and a very dark purple with chunky silver glitter. Unfortunately, they’re almost the same shade when applied to the eye.

I find the purple applies better and darker than the grey. I call the latter grey because while it looks black in the jar, it doesn’t have a ton of pigmentation, unlike most e.l.f. black eyeshadows. The purple in the purple color isn’t very pronounced. Mostly you just see the black base and lots of sparkles. The base color of the swatches don’t look that different from one another.

Limited Edition Essential Duo Eyeshadow

I tried applying the purple shade foiled to my eyelids. I found that while it seems to apply a little more evenly, the glitter is much less pronounced. However, I don’t find applying the eyeshadow wet to be much of an improvement. The purple is barely more noticeable.

The generic directions on the box are kind of amusing because they recommend taking the lighter shade—take your pick—and applying it over the lid all up the way to the browbone. That works well enough for the other three sets, but not so much this one.

Essential Eyelid Primer in Sheer

At the moment, I prefer to use the Essential Glitter Primer instead of this version, but I still think the Eyelid Primer is a good product. While it is a light beige color, the color should be sheer enough for anyone to use.

This primer has been officially renamed as the Essential Shadow Lock Eyshadow Primer, but mine just says e.l.f. Eyelid Primer.

Essential Brightening Eyeliner Pencil in Black

The set includes a mini black eyeliner pencil, the only non full sized product. It’s very small and not the best quality. I prefer the Essential Glitter Eyeliner in Black Bandit with its smooth consistency. The Essential Brightening Eyeliners are a common addition to e.l.f. sets and unfortunately haven’t changed much with time. They’re suitable in a pinch, but you’ll probably want to use some other eyeliner product.

The lid for my eyeliner is very loose and won’t stay on. The pencil itself does not have a shade name sticker and the only words printed on the side are “e.l.f.”.

Including an Essential Liquid Eyeliner would have been a better move, especially with these dark eyeshadows.

Natural Lash Set

I don’t intend to use these. I have attempted to use e.l.f. false eyelashes in the past and it just hasn’t worked out. I know a lot of reviewers have had success with this product, so don’t be afraid to try it.

Essential Eyeshadow Brush

While e.l.f. has converted half of their Essential line brushes to vegan versions, their popular Eyeshadow Brush has yet to change.

Unfortunately the brush included in all of the Get the Look sets is the Essential Eyeshadow Brush and therefore not suitable for vegans.

Images

Final Thoughts

Pros: Full size products for all but one product, two rare items
Cons: Non-vegan brush, difficult to find, only one LE product, contains mineral oil

There’s not much new with these limited edition Halloween sets by e.l.f. Last year’s Halloween 2014 Beauty Books (read my throwback post here) were slightly disappointing with their not great artwork, but these seem like a complete miss. I’m also not liking e.l.f.’s growing insistence on including the Essential Eyeshadow Brushes in all their sets.

I really feel that e.l.f. just threw something together for the Halloween season. Especially since it appears the sets are very difficult to track down at your local Target stores. There were a lot of inconsistencies at first over whether the sets would be at my stores. Ultimately, they were not stocked. Fortunately you can order the sets online, but it’s a hassle and basic shipping took a long time.

Hopefully Halloween 2016 will bring treats next time, not tricks.