ELF Primer Trio Review

So, a week or so ago I found myself in Target on my way to work (I love having a Target next to work), and I stumbled upon the ELF display. I was in awe at all the goodies that were laid out before me. It was like I was a kid in a candy store (well, sort of. I'm not 100% in love with ELF products, but I do swear by their cream eyeliners). They had just put everything out and I immediately discarded my search for EOS lip balms in lieu of seeing what new goodies were on sale.

Lo and behold... I found my new holy grail of eyeshadow primers!

For three dollars you get three different primers. A nude, champagne, and a pearl. (I also picked up two of the beauty books, but I haven't had the chance to swatch them or work with them enough to review just yet. But I will!)

I both love and hate these... and after the jump you'll see why.

L-R Nude, Pearl, Champagne

Now, I made the mistake of leaving these in the car all day when I was at work, in the heat, but they still work just fine (surprisingly). I brought these babies home and right away started playing with them.

The nude one is almost a spot on dupe for TFSI (Too Faced Shadow Insurance, just in case). I mean, they have the same consistency and longevity. And for $3.00 USD, its a steal. This one is by far my favorite one in the trio. There's no sheen or sparkle to this one at all.

The pearl primer has small chunks of glittery stuff in it. I don't even know what it is, but I don't really like it. When I used this one, I covered it up quickly with Blanc Type just to get rid of the shimmer. I don't know what it is. If I want to use a pearl primer, I'll use my NYX pearl primer.

The champagne one isn't as bad as the pearl one, but it's still sub-par compared to the nude one. I used this one for more brown-based looks because it brought out the complexity of the shadows more rather than just popping the over-all color out. I found it took a little more product to fully cover my eye (and I have small-ish eyes) and it felt oilier than would be expected.

I should score these individually because I don't want the bad to outweigh the good, and for 3 dollars, it's not like you're spending a ton. But, I'm a budget beauty geek and I hate wasting money. If you're looking for a dupe of TFSI, get this set just for the nude. Because I give the nude primer a 5/5, easy.

Overall, I would give this a 3.5/5 as a set.