E.L.F. Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow review and swatches

I have quite a few reviews coming up on the blog soon. I asked on the Budget Beauty Facebook page which review you would like to see first, and someone said the review for pressed mineral eyeshadow. So here ya go!

Not too long ago, Elf was having a deal on their website. If you purchased 20 dollars worth of products, you could use a coupon code and get 20 dollars worth of products from their mineral line for free. I did not have any experience with Elf's mineral line of products (except for a couple of brushes that I have received in myster bags, or as free gifts) so I jumped at the chance. I was most intrigued by their newest product in the mineral line, the pressed mineral eyeshadows. I have always heard great things about their mineral eyeshadows, but had never jumped on the bandwagon because I am really not a fan of loose shadows. They are messy, and I tend to have a hard time working with them. So, when they released the pressed ones, I was eager to try them, and this deal seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I purchased 5 of the 10. I got Disco DJ, a light silvery grey. Lunch Break, a mid toned brown with a satin finish. Out all Night, a dark gunmetal grey. What's your name?, a taupe-y purple color. And lastly, Wine tour another taupe-y purple-y color with lots of Gold shimmer.

I was really excited to get these. The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was how small these seemed. The packaging is about as big around as a 50 cent piece, and not very tall at all. I don't know why, but I was expecting it to be bigger. So, I checked their website and they say there is actually 3 G worth of product, so that's a lot for a single eyeshadow, in my opinion. I guess it's just because the packaging isn't super bulky, so my eyes were deceived.

Speaking of packaging, these eyeshadows are packaged very nicely. It's a simple, round case, that is black, with a clear window so you can see the product inside. It's nice and sturdy, again, without being bulky. I like it!

Disco DJ, Lunch Break, Out all Night, What's your name? Wine Tour

Now let's get on to the actual products. I was so excited when I swatched these. They swatched beautifully. Quite pigmented, and really soft and easy to work with, with minimal fall out.

top: Disco DJ, Lunch Break, Out all Night bottom: What's your name?, Wine Tour (with Flash)

The same as above, no flash

But, when I started working with these eyeshadows, putting my brushes into them and applying them to my eye, I have to say, I was disappointed. Despite the promising swatches, these colors did not come off bright and pigmented on the eye. Instead, they came off quite sheer and needed to be built up a LOT to get them to show up on my eyes, even with a primer. Now, I can deal with that I am sued to having to work a little bit with products, especially when they are so inexpensive. But, then I started blending. They blended easily, don't get me wrong. They are quite soft. But these blended away to nothing. Whenever I tried to blend these eyeshadows they disappeared, causing me to have to add more and more product. And then, after all the trouble putting them on, and making them look nice, they faded away after just a few hours of wear. They didn't crease, or transfer. They just faded away. And when I tried to apply them wet. I am not sure if this is the type of product you can apply wet or not, but I figured It was worth a shot. That was a disaster. They applied patchy and uneven wet, and the water that I used to wet my brush changed the texture of the eyeshadow in the pan a bit too.

Like I said, I have no experience with mineral eyeshadows. Maybe the natural ingredients and dyes make them less pigmented and not as long lasting as a rule, and I am just expecting too much from these eyeshadows. I don't know. I love the colors. Especially "Wine Tour" and "Lunch Break", but these just aren't worth the trouble with application and the fading for me. I am glad I didn't pay for them. I know, they only cost #3.00. But, there are so many other great products from Elf with that same price point, and even less, that it seems a shame to spend even 3 dollars on a product that just doesn't work.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend these products. They are okay. And if mineral makeup is important to you, and you don't mind working a little harder to apply your makeup, then I would say go ahead and give these a try. Maybe you will have better luck than I did. But, otherwise, stick with some of the other eyeshadows from Elf! Maybe try the loose mineral eyeshadows. Like I said, I haven't tried those, but I have heard great things about them!