e.l.f. Makeup Review | Affordable, Clean? Makeup | Review of Tons of Products + EWG Rating

We decided to test out tons of E.L.F. makeup products and give our honest review. Using products with “clean” ingredients is important to us, so we also take a look at how the e.l.f. makeup products stack up.

elf makeup review + ewg rating

Note: We have no affiliation with E.l.f. Cosmetics. This post may contain affiliate links.  This website is largely reader-funded through making purchases using affiliate links (at no additional cost to you).  Thank you for your support! 

Top 10 Reasons We Love E.L.F Makeup

  1. e.l.f. Makeup is Affordable e.l.f. offers makeup at affordable drugstore prices. Many of their products are priced as low as $3.
  2. e.l.f.  Makeup is Vegan e.l.f. makeup does not contain any animal-derived ingredients. 
  3. e.l.f.  Makeup is Cruelty-Free e.l.f. makeup is not tested on animals. Just like Elle Woods, this makes us very happy.
  4. e.l.f.  Makeup has (Mostly) Clean Ingredients e.l.f. makeup has much cleaner ingredients than most drugstore brands. Unlike many companies, they don’t use phthalates, parabens, nonylphenol ethoxylates, triclosan, triclocarban, or hydroquinone. Most products rate low on the EWG scale (the EWG, or Environmental Working Group, rates products based on potentially harmful ingredients). 
  5. e.l.f.  Cosmetics is Socially Conscious We’re proud to support a company that has the same socially conscious values that we have. e.l.f. Cosmetics is pro Black Lives Matter, pro LGBTQ+ and against Asian Hate (just to name a few). 
  6. e.l.f.  Makeup is Easily Accessible (Hello, Target!) We love that e.l.f. can be found in our favorite stores like Target and Ulta. 
  7. e.l.f.  Cosmetics has a Great Reward Program The e.l.f. reward program is one of the best makeup loyalty programs out there (called the Beauty Squad). Like many other reward programs, you earn points for shopping, which you can redeem for free products. Other perks include free shipping and early access to the products. There are several things that sets the e.l.f reward program apart from others worth mentioning: 1) You can buy your e.l.f. products from certain retailers (like Target) and scan the reciept so you still get points! And, 2) You can redeem points for giftcards to stores like Ulta, Target and Amazon.
  8. e.l.f.  Makeup has Makeup for All Skin Tones Supporting makeup companies that are inclusive and have a wide-color selection is important to us. 
  9. e.l.f. Cosmetics is Reducing their Packaging e.l.f. is making great strides to becoming more sustainable by reducing their packaging.
  10. e.l.f.  Makeup Actually Works All the things we mentioned above about e.l.f. would be useless if the products didn’t work. e.l.f. has built a reputation for themselves for providing high-quality makeup products that work. 

e.f.f. Makeup Review

Products We Love!

EWG Rating: not rated

What We Love About It:  This product is very popular and for good reason. The Poreless Putty Primer really does help minimize the look of large pores. We dab it on to problem areas before applying foundation or CC cream. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get rid of the appearance of pores all-together (if anyone knows a product that does, please let us know!)

Tip: e.l.f. sells the poreless putty primer in a travel-size trio with other primers, so consider getting this to test out several products at once. 

EWG Rating: 2-3 (depending on shade)

What We Love About It: This is an affordable drugstore dupe to the IT Cosmetics CC Cream. We love the way this blends and wears. It evens the skin-tone beautifully and is perfect for the “no makeup” makeup look. It also builds nicely for a fuller coverage. We love that it has SPF 30 built-in. The pump also makes it easy to control how much product we get each time. Overall, we love this product and use it regularly.

Tip: Using the right moisturizer and/or primer underneath may make or break this product. We experienced some cakey-ness and dryness in some spots when we weren’t using a moisturizer underneath.  

EWG Rating: 2

What We Love About It: The 16 Hr Camo Concealer is a cult favorite, with thousands of 5-star reviews. It’s often compared to the Tarte Shape Tape concealer (but at a much better price point). The 16 Hr Camo Concealer is a full coverage concealer that comes in a range of 26 shades. We like how well the 16 Hr Camo Concealer covers our dark circles and brightens the under eye. 

Tip: We also like to use this concealer on the eyelids to double as eyeshadow primer. 

EWG Rating: 3

What We Love About It: We absolutely love the putty blushes by e.l.f.! The putty blushes comes in beautiful shades. They are buildable in coverage. We use a beauty sponge to apply a light amount for a more natural look. 

EWG Rating: 2-3 (depending on shade)

What We Love About It: The e.l.f. Monochromatic Multi Stick is a cream-to-powder product that can be used on the cheeks, lips, or eyelids. We love using this on our cheeks. It’s a super quick way to add some blush to the cheeks, and it’s literally fool-proof. Simply swipe and rub in with fingers, and you’re ready to go in seconds. 

Tip: We have 2 shades of this, the Dazzling Peony and Glistening Peach. The Dazzling Peony doesn’t have noticeable glitter (though there are a few specks), while the Glistening Peach has very noticeable glitter. Out of these two, the Dazzling Peony is our favorite, as we reach for it more (bonus, it’s only a 2 on the EWG scale!).

EWG Rating: 2

What We Love About It:  Although we don’t regularly use shadow sticks, we love this one by e.l.f.! We like that it’s retractable (vs. having to sharpen). We wanted to get this product in Perfect Pear after seeing tons of rave reviews, but it was sold out so everyone else must have had the same idea. So instead, we got the Champagne Crystal color. We like using it in the waterline to make the eyes pop. 

EWG Rating: 2

What We Love About It:  This is a product we’ve bought time and time again. We love that it has a retractable pencil so there is no need for constant resharpening. It wears all day and you can’t beat the price. It’s our holy grail eyebrow pencil.

EWG Rating: not rated

What We Love About It:  The e.l.f. eyebrow gel helps the brows stay in play all day. We love the tiny brush!

EWG Rating: 2

What We Love About It:  This is a great neutral eyeshadow pallet with both matte and shimmering shades. And it only costs $3! 

What We Don’t Love About It: Even though this is rated well on EWG, it does contain talc, an ingredient that does raise some concerns (it is known to often contain asbestos). 

Products We Don't Love

EWG Rating: 4

Why We Don’t Love It: The e.l.f. Hydrating Camo Concealer is a more hydrating version of the 16 Hr Camo Concealer. It has a satin finish compared to the matte finish. It’s also supposed to crease less under the eyes, but we didn’t notice a significant difference between the two products. The 16 hr Camo Concealer has better ingredients, so we’ll stick with this one instead. Plus, many people, including us, noticed the Hydrating Concealer has a scent. The smell doesn’t bother us and dissipates quickly, but many complain it’s off-putting. 

EWG Rating: 4

Why We Don’t Love It:  Although this blush is very popular and won several “Allure Best of Beauty” awards, it contains too many questionable and potentially unsafe ingredients for our liking. Especially when there are better options available (like the e.l.f. Putty Blush).

Thanks for reading! 🙂 What are your favorite e.l.f. makeup products? Which one should we test out next?

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