- REVIEW: All E.l.f. Quads (long post) -

Because of Sarah and her generous package that she sent me a couple of months ago, I had the chance to try out a whole variety of products, among which are the e.l.f. 18 eyeshadow quads that I am going to talk to you about today.

There are 18 of these eyeshadow quads, each consisting of four different and unique eyeshadows. As far as I have seen, some colors are similar to each other, but do not repeat themselves in other of their eyeshadow quartet. 

The price for each of these 4-colour combinations is very affordable, but it varies alot from country to country. They are originated in the USA, fabricated in China and sold worldwide. They are 1 $ in the US and approximately 2,3 $ each in Romania, but here you can only order them from the official site, for which you have to pay a tax of about 2,5 $. 

The quad is very small in size, about 5 cm long and has a total weight of 3.5 grams (.12 oz). These colors are supposed to be:

"- light reflecting

- long wear

- crease resistant."

 The eyeshadows are not expected to have the quality of a high-end product, but as far as I am concerned, they are pretty resistant on the eye (the color remains vivid), they don't crease as fast as other cheap products do and some colors are light reflecting.

What I have noticed about these quad is a very annoying inconsistency in the quality of the eyeshadows. Some of them have a great payoff and do not fall on your cheeks, but some are so hard to grab on the brush, that you have to practically scrape the color from its container. Some are so beautiful when you look at them inside the case, but when you put them on the eye, they change dramatically!

Either way, I believe that you can use most of the colors provided and have pretty good results if you use a good primer and a white, opaque base underneath. At least, that is how I use them when I go out at night.

In order for those of you who are not very familiar with them to understand which quad is really worth buying and which have a good color payoff, I will show all eyeshadows in turn and rate them from 1-5 (PER QUAD) and also say which of their colors has the least amount of pigmentation. You can click on any of the pics to see the extreme close ups.

1. "Punk Phunk" is my favorite quad of them all. Not only does it have good pigmented colors, but they also look good on the eye, especially on top of a white base or a shimmery primer like the UD's "Sin".

Rate: 5/5 (NB: Rating related ONLY to these quads and NOT other e/s). They are all equally good pigmented.

2. "Glam" is also one of their best. I especially love the glittery dark gray. Rating: 4/5. Least pigmented: the shimmery pink from up right.

3. "Teal Dream" is good if you have light brown eyes and want to add a touch of magic to your lids. The colors are very pretty, especially the iridescent teal in the middle. Rating: 4/5. Least pigmented: the light brown in the center.

4. "Drama" is perfect for a shimmery smokey look. The black is actually very dark and the white matte e/s is one of the most pigmented whites I have ever seen. The colors are not flaky and the shimmers actually stay on the lids. 5/5, as it's another of my favorites. Equally pigmented colors.

5. "Rocker" has a similar shimmery gray to "Glam", but my opinion is that it's in a lighter version. Even so, the name does not quite suit a pretty "innocent" quad like this ;). I like the purple an the gray best. Rating: 4/5. Least pigmented: the shimmery white.

6. "Nymph Dreams" has a lovely combination of browns and a mint green eyeshadow. The colors are pretty and wearable mostly for daytime. I'm going to give it a 5 out of 5, even though the e/s look a bit washed off on the eyelid. Good pigmentation of all colors.

7. "Luxe" is the first quad I ever bought from elf. Its pigmentation is great and I love the red eyeshadow. 5/5.

8. "Silver Lining" is a perfect purple-blue quad that looks great on any eye color. I would give it 5 points, but unfortunately the light pink is very little pigmented... 4/5 and very pigmented purple.

9. "Hazy Hazel" has lovely colors, pretty pigmented and light reflecting. Equally pigmented. 5/5.

10. The "Ivy" quartet of eyeshadows has shimmery colors and a pretty, dark green, which looks great in combination with the other e/s. Unfortunately, the light green highlighter, with beautiful light green undertones, is very little pigmented. Its tones are lovely though, very similar to the color from my Vera Valenti palette (e/s used in this tutorial, for the highlight of my extreme inner corner of the eye). 4/5.

11. I think I'd like "Brownstone" more if the colors would not disappear when you try to blend them. Even so, it's appropriate for a neutral eyes look. A not very pigmented nude eyeshadow. 3/5.

12. "Pretty n' Pink" is more suitable for blue eyes and you can create soft day time textures with it. I am not a big fan of light pink eyeshadow. Light pink e/s not so pigmented. 3/5.

13. "Butternut" is a classic shimmery brown quad. All colors equally pigmented (the lighter ones a bit less). 4/5.

14. Usually the matte colors from these quads are the least pigmented and with a disappearance at blending, even though they have a very silky texture. This is the case for "Matte Mauve" also. The dark plum color is the least pigmented. 3/5.

15. "Ethereal" gives you a very natural, nude look. These colors are mostly good for highlighting or blending than for adding color. The orange-nude e/s grabs only the glitters, which don't stay on the eye. Lovely nude color, though (center, right). 3/5.

16. "Blue Moon" is actually a very good quad. Its colors have a good payoff and they blend easily without fading away. I mostly love the light eyeshadows, especially the light blue. 5/5.

17. If you like soft glitters in neutral colors, "Nouveau Neutrals" is the quad for you. When you look at the colors, they seem very washed off and with little color payoff, but they are actually pretty good. All are very shimmery, except the darkest dusty-gray from the middle. 5/5.

18. And last but not least, "Butternut". The only elf quad that has a metallic eyeshadow: the gold from up right. Too bad for the highlighting color, which you have to scratch a little to get some eyeshadow on your brush, though a very beautiful cream color with metallic gold undertones. 4/5.

And here are all the swatches for these e/s. I could have made a separate picture for each, but it would have been a very long post and I guess the explanations are quite helpful. Besides, most of you are very familliar with these eyeshadows, so there's no need for such a long review.

How about you? Which of the elf quads is your favorite and how exactly would you describe them?
Please share if you too have a review on these itemes.

Thank you for being so patient and have a great day!
(PS: Pentru cititoarele  mele din Romania, odata cu acest post am mai postat si tag-ul pentru leapsa geniala! Asa, ca informatie, sa nu credeti ca nu m-am tinut de cuvant! :P Va pup)