ELF Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder (St. Lucia) Review

This may be my first product review for this year, but I already got my ELF Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder(St. Lucia) a few months back. I already took the necessary pictures for blogging when the product was new, but deleted them accidentally. So please bear with the pictures that I'll be using in this review. The product is already a bit worn out so I can't show you how it looks like when it's brand new. But then again you get to see how it fares after months of usage.

They say ELF Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder(St. Lucia) is a good dupe for the NARS Orgasm/Laguna Duo, which is like 10x it's price. In the US, ELF's costs $3 while locally, it is available for  P249 ($6). Isn't it ironic that cosmetics are more expensive in third world countries than in first world countries, where they all came from?

Anyway, so what is it and what does it do?

• Create a healthy and natural glow year-round
• The blush highlights the cheeks to add flush of color
• The bronzer accents and contours cheekbones for beautiful definition
• DIRECTIONS:  Brush on the bronzer to the hollow of the cheeks for definition and dust around the face line to create a healthy glow.  Use the blush on the apple of the cheeks to create subtle color.

There are a lot of reviews about this product in the internet and different girls have different things to say about this. I think one of the reasons why it took me so long to do this review is because I got confused with all that the previous reviews had to say. Also, essentially, there are two products to review here: the blush and the bronzer.

BLUSH

ELF Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder's is a pretty peach color that hardly shows when you apply it. When I first used it, I got frustrated by how light it is. If I use a normal blush, I feel like I have to use a lot of product before it shows up. I especially had trouble using it on morena girls. It was also a bit powdery and it has a bit of glitter (which I don't mind actually). Eventually though, as I got accustomed to it, it grew on me. I realized that it doesn't really give me the rosy cheeks that I got accustomed to with the more pigmented blushes that I used to have. What it does is it adds color to my face, giving it a subtle healthy glow. 

see? the blush is barely there. But I tell you, there is a difference!

You can never go overboard with this blush and it's my favorite day-time blush now. It matches my skin really well and I will definitely repurchase!

outdoor lighting.

But to make this blush work, I have to use my Elianto slanted blush brush which is made of goat's hair.

Brushes made of animal's hair picks up products better so it works for this blush. I tried using a synthetic blush brush for this one and it just got me frustrated. 

 

swatches of bronzer and blush

BRONZER

The bronzer is the main reason why I bought this product. I was looking for the cheapest bronzer at Watsons and I couldn't find any. ELF has individual bronzers but they were out of stock so I got this one instead. When I first tried it, I was surprised at how pigmented and dark it is. I had a hard time using it at first, and it took a lot of getting used to. I am a bit fair so this bronzer really shows on my face. You know how bronzers are, if you don't know how to use one, it tends to look dirty and messy.  For my skin color, I have to use a light hand and a little product. I love how this shows even on morena skin though. I use it most of the time now during make-up gigs. The bronzer doesn't have any glitter in it, and it doesn't have any orange or yellow undertone.

I also use the bronzer on brows and to contour the nose. It's not the best product for both but there are times when I'm on the go and I can only bring a limited number of products with me.

Both the blush and the bronzer doesn't last long on my skin as much as I want to. The bronzer isn't that bad but the blush fades after only a few hours so I usually skip applying powder on my face whenever I set my foundation so the blush adheres better on my skin. 

I love the packaging. It's very classy and sturdy. The mirror works really well. I can see a good portion of my face in it. I always carry this with me even if I don't reapply that often simply because the mirror is very convenient. 

It doesn't come with a brush, which is a good idea I think. Most brushes that comes with blushes aren't very functional and they just take up space in my opinion.

At P249 ($6), you get a lot of product too. I've been using this for months and just look at how much there is left!

I haven't even hit the pan yet.

Likes:

I love the color of the blush and the bronzer

Blush makes my skin glow and matches most Filipina skin color

Bronzer has no wierd undertone

No weird smell

Relatively cheap

Mirror is functional

Love the black packaging

Dislikes:

More expensive locally than in the US.hmf.

Texture is powdery

Blush is hard to pick up

Blush has shimmers

Bronzer can be hard to work with

Over-all rating:

4.5/5

Recommend?

Yes. Definitely

Repurchase?

Definitely!

Further thoughts:

This is a really good product to buy. It may take you a while to get used to it though. Don't tell me I didn't warn you! But in my opinion, every girl should learn how to use a bronzer. Unfortunately, a lot of us are hesitant to try. This product is a great way to introduce bronzer to your make-up kit.

I wasn't able to show you how the bronzer works for me so here's a make-up video(doesn't past for a tutorial) I made a while back (my first one!) and you can see here how the blush and the bronzer performs. I only used my webcam kasi biglang feel ko lang gumawa ng video during this time.hahaha! impromptu much? Anyway, care to watch?

Screenshots:

Thanks for reading my blog!