I’ve had pretty good luck with e.l.f.’s makeup so far. Just last month, I fell in love with their $4 highlighter, and have been reaching for it non-stop. I couldn’t wait to try another cheek product from e.l.f., so I grabbed the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette. It’s $6 quad filled with what appears to be some pretty intense blush shades. But is it worth it? Here are my thoughts!
e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette
The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette includes four blush shades housed in a sleek, compact case complete with a mirror. Each blush can be popped in and out of the compact, though there isn’t much you can do with them after that point other than swap shades between the two quads (maybe they’ll release more in the future?). If you want to put these in a Z-palette, however, this makes it a little bit easier, but you’ll need to add a magnetic strip to the plastic backing.
There are currently two quad options – Light and Dark. Light contains lighter and brighter blushes (including pinks, peaches, and oranges), while Dark has deeper shades consisting of mostly reds, bricks, and raspberries. Both options feature a mix of matte and shimmer finishes – the Light palette for example has three mattes and one shimmer (which happens to be the shade on the bottom right). The shades can also be mixed together to create a custom look.
e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light
e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light
e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette Review
When it comes to pigmentation, the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette definitely impresses me. It only takes 1-2 swipes to get a nice even layer of color, plus the formula is soft and silky-smooth. All the blushes do however have a slightly chalky feel, and some kick up powder when you swipe a brush over the pan, though not a crazy amount.
I think it’s important to note that the first time I tried out the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette, it was a completely different story. The formula took forever to build up, and the texture was incredibly dry, making them a chore to apply and blend out. Thankfully, I returned back to the palette the next day, really playing with the shades and digging into the pans. To my surprise, the texture and pigmentation dramatically improved, which tells me that, similar to the highlighter, you have to get past the top drier layer of the product before you get to the actual formula. (Maybe e.l.f. coats their products with something to preserve/protect them? Or perhaps the top layer dries out while in storage?) Anyway, I’m glad I gave the palette another chance before I closed the book on this one!
Swatches of the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light
The only thing I’m not too crazy about is the shade selection. The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette Light palette in particular falls short when it comes to variety. The two pink shades on the left look almost identical when swatched (one is just a tad darker than the other), and the orange shade has me guessing….it looks more like a bronzer, only it’s way too warm and almost orange-y to work on cool or neutral skin tones. It does however work well when mixed with the other shades to warm them up. I tried out a 50/50 mix of the ‘orange’ shade and a cooler pink shade (top left one), and it actually created a very pretty neutral, peachy-pink color (see second photo below).
Swatches of the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light
Applied a mixture of the two top shades from the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette in Light (orange-tan plus the lighter pink-purple)
Overall, considering the low price point, the e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette is a great buy if you need something for travel or just want to experiment with some new blush colors. The packaging is sleek and compact (love the full-size mirror too), the blushes are pigmented and silky, plus there is a fairly decent color selection that you can mix together to create cool, warm, and neutral shades. (Just remember to get past that first layer of product before tossing it in the bin like I almost did!)
The e.l.f. Studio Blush Palette is available on elfcosmetics.com for $6.
Have you tried the e.l.f. blush palette?
What are your thoughts on the pigmentation, texture, and overall quality?
