January 6, 2011

Which Would You Buy? E.L.F. The Master Set or High End

180 E.L.F. Cosmetics could be yours for $150.

Would you buy it?

E.L.F. fails to list the exact products but they promise a whopping 180 products in the E.L.F. Master Set which includes cosmetics for eyes, lips, face, nails, and even tools to put it all on! It’s a $200 value for $150 bucks.

But what do you think?

Great value?

Or would you rather take that $150 bucks and splurge on some high end makeup?

You can get say a Guerlain Lipstick, Blush, and Eyeshadow Palette for that price OR 180 various products for your eyes, lips, face, nails, etc…

Sorry E.L.F. you’re too hit or miss for this Muse, I’d rather splurge the $150 on high end. I’d rather own three high end products that I know works rather than dish out on 180 products that may or may not contain three products that are actually good.

How about you?

Which would you buy?

Available from www.eyeslipsface.com

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • MC

    Splurge. The only things from ELF I like are their eyeshadow sponge tip applicators, their small concealer brush, and eyebrow/eyelash comb. Their eye makeup caused my eyes to get irritated and itchy the one time I bought some just to try.

  • Libby

    😡 I love drugstore buys and I’m a firm believer that I can get good quality products for cheaper….but I would take the $150 and splurge as well, lol. E.L.F. products, like you said, are hit or miss. Some of them are fantastic and some not so much. Also with huge sets like this, some of their products probably wouldn’t suit me whereas if I get to take $150 into Sephora’s….LOL I’d be a happy gal.

  • Rach

    I would go high end for sure and try that guerlian primer and meteorites bet I wouldn’t use most of what’s in that picture!

  • divinem (Melissa)

    I would never spend my hard earned money on a cosmetic grab bag. It usually means you’re getting the cruft.

  • Kim

    actually, they do have a list of what’s in the set.

    you can see it here:

  • jac-kie

    hi Muse!
    Nice to meet you omg it’s my 1st post! =) i love your blog so much!!

    on the subject of this post i totally agree, i have far too many beauty items in my wishlist to ever consider $150 worth of ‘lucky dip’ items! $150 is no small smount for me, it would be one massive skinfood ebay haul ;p

    • the Muse

      hi jackie! great to meet you! <3!!!!!!!!!! hells skinfood would def be the better option!!!!!!!!! :D!

  • Catherine Mendez

    I guess I would rather have high end products but I received this as an xmas present and I absolutely loved about 80% of the items in it. I love ELF and not all of us can afford the High end stuff so I was happy!

  • Claudia

    WOW. as much fun as I would probably have with experimenting, I doubt all those products are amazing…so I have to agree with you, Muse. I would rather go for several high end products and know they’re up to par

  • Bunny Masseuse

    I’d pass, unless someone has liked EVERY item ever produced, then it MIGHT be a good buy.

  • bayleysparkagex3

    i would rather just buy the stuff i actually want… haha 😀

  • Chie

    I agree with you Muse. I have their concealer palette, a few bottles of nail polish, eyebrow gel set and concealer/highlighter tube. I hate all those 🙁

  • voodoogirl

    i totally agree with you – it’s a classic case of quality over quantity.

    i have a few elf products that i like and there are some that i hate. the lip plumper tastes horrible. i also bought a foundation brush from elf and the handle just off as soon as i took it out of the package 🙁

  • Carrie

    I’d spend it on the high end brands.

    I’ve been underwhelmed by ELF before and at the end of the day it isn’t a value if you won’t use it.

  • Courtney

    Id have to pass as well. ELF’s products are hit or miss. I love their studio blushes, makeup brushes, liquid eyeliner pen, and a few other items, but there are also a good number of products they make that are really really awful. I’d rather buy a few ELF products and then splurge on some additional high end items.

  • breyerchic04

    I just went through and narrowed my Sephora cart to $154. UD Naked Palette, UD PP in Greed, Stila Smudge Pot in Cobalt, Korres Lip Saver Roll, Benefit Confessions of a Concealaholic.

    Much preferred to the ELF. I like a few ELF products, and there are a few more I want to try, but looking at that image, there’s a lot I don’t want.

  • Allysun

    Wow! I don’t have all that much experience w/E.L.F. makeup, just a couple brushes and a powder but so far I liked how it’s very affordable and still have good quality.

    As for this set, I think it’s great for people who is just getting into makeup! I’m not sure if I’ll pick this one up for just myself but I’m sure it’ll rock my sister’s world xDD Also, I could probably break it up and make smaller ‘sets’ for gifts!

    I know it’s already a good deal, but I think I might keep an eye on this for sales and promos 😀

  • Gaby

    No way!! I wouldnt spend that much on ELF products!! I would totally rather get high end makeup for that much! =) luv your blog by the way!

  • Lisa

    definitely a miss..! from what it features itlooks like it contains a variety of powder and concealer that does not fit my skin tone. unless im a makeup artist in the making and wanna test out their products of all different color women then yes i would buy this but other than that i wont buy it.

  • sswwerchen

    I won’t buy it.

    Since it had half price sale on all eye products, I purchased about $40 off stuffs last November. 2 out of 15 of mineral eyeshadow primer are defectives (one damaged cap, one with leak.) I was suprised by the quality control.

    HOWEVER, the most shocking fact is that ALL E.L.F PRODUCTS DO NOT HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON THE PACKAGES. This is what their costomer service answered me by email.

    BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!!!

  • Kristen

    I wouldnt spend $150 on ELF and I really like ELF. Id rather get something that I know isn’t hit or miss. Show me to Sephora with $150 and I’ll be a lot happier, or even a drug store, id go crazy in there!

  • April Lane

    Oops, I meant to say I would rather buy 13 MAC eyeshadow refills lol.

  • Coral

    If I had that much to spend on makeup it would be on high end products. There’s always an urban decay palette I have my eye on but can never bring myself to buy. And, from what I see there I don’t see myself getting super excited about those products.

  • Jane

    I take the money and then take myself to sephora. Elf has always been a brand that disappoints.

  • sugar sugar

    splurge on makeup!!! <3

    for so many reasons LOL! but one is it's just so hard not to buy especially with all the cute releases and new colors that come out. :3

    plus i'm a sucker for packaging and elf's packaging is anything but appealing. :/

  • tina

    I agree with you, i’ve never had that much luck with elf. i’ve spent 5o bucks on them before only to realize their brushes were decent, i hated everything else i bought, i rather take my money on products i’ll know will work

    • the Muse

      def tina! 🙁 you can waste a ton of $$ on stuff that doesn’t work…might as well just indulge in high end for that!

  • Mollie

    High End. Every single time. Not only are they 75% of the time MUCH better products, but you want your client to be impressed when you open up and display your kit. It scores HUGE points. I would never want to show up to someone’s wedding or a fashion shoot and pull out this floppy shit… Harsh but that’s just my complete honesty.

    I do like some of the ELF glosses and use one of their cream blush sticks on occasion but that’s about it.

    • the Muse

      oh god mollie if you showed up with this stuff at a wedding I don’t think it would go down well LOL!

      • Mollie

        Hahaha! You are so right… can you imagine me pulling that out and saying 300 dollars please?? Oh man…

        • the Muse

          lol mollie! would be raised eyebrows all around with the “seriously?” look!

  • Jen

    I’ve never bought any e.l.f. products before but I’m definitely with you, I’d rather splurge on high-end.

  • Anne W

    I’d rather have the high end products. Hard to say how many of the E.L.F. products would work with my fair skin tone. I’d rather be able to pick the colors/products I want.

  • Fuuka

    I agree. E.L.F. products scare me. Nothing that cheap can be very safe. Especially with lead being found in cheap stuff from China in kid’s toys.

  • Holly

    I agree with you! I’ve found some good things from ELF, but I’m more likely to find duds. Also, I have had issues with stuff missing from a shipment and customer service was like, “Um. Well. Sorry.” Also, can’t return stuff if it irritates my skin or isn’t the right color.

    • the Muse

      mm holly who needs CS like that? Mostly duds for me. Occasionally product that I def can rave about but that’s rare!

  • cait

    That’s WAY too much to pay at once for mediocre cosmetics lol. There are a couple things that I’ll use from ELF (brushes, mostly), but most of it is meh, especially the $1 products (which it looks like those are). Plus, there’s no way everyone could use all those products, since they give you a bunch of different colors for concealer, powder, etc. I’d spend the $150 at sephora on 5-6 excellent things that I know will work really well for me.

  • electronicfly

    from the pic, there’s a number of rubbish products in there, and since ELF has discount coupons out so often, it’ll be cheaper to buy the items individually. Plus, if it’s for personal use, there would be some face stuff that are confirmed not the right shade.

    • the Muse

      agreed electronic looks like it’s all the $1 stuff rather than the better studio $3 stuff…!

  • Sara

    Splurge, splurge, splurge!!

    I like some of the liquid liners I got from elf, but there’s pretty much no way I’d spend big dollhairs on them when I could get a ton of other stuff instead.

  • Claire

    I’m crazy enough to want to go for this BUT I would absolutely need to know what products are in it, also what shades and such? I don’t want to open something up and find out it about 3 shades darker then my skin tone. Would make a great starter kit for a make up crazy girl.

  • Sandi

    I agree with you. There are a few E.L.F. items I like, but not enough to spend $150. I figure I would only end up liking half at most.

  • Lucy

    Maybe someone just starting out wearing makeup would like this. Not me! I have tons of makeup. Some I’m sorry that I bought. I should’ve saved my money and bought more high end makeup. I don’t have to much cheap makeup but still I hate to throw it out. I’ve never used ELF products and I don’t want to waste my money on it. I also hate cheap packaging.

  • Kim

    I definitely would pass! Everything I have ever tried (with the exception of the flat buffer studio line brush) has been dollar store material, I don’t get the raves! 🙁

    • the Muse

      me either kim. a few items here and there are ok but not the raving I’ve read/seen.

  • Patrizia

    I wouldn’t get this. I’d rather spend that on a small amount of high end make-up. This just looks like a lot of clutter to me. Even if I had 0 make-up I’d go out and spend on one of each item I felt I needed at a high end counter where I could test things out rather then just buying a big set of everything, including things I didn’t need or might not even be worth it.

  • mon

    I completely agree. I was afraid of makeup for a long time till I found Makeup Alley (my life changed and angels kind of sang or at least burped). I’ve met too many cheapo duds (there are some gems, key word some) to want to gamble with that much cash. I’ll take one concealer that actually conceals over 5 that scream I’m trying too hard to hide something any day.

  • Aiia

    Can’t there be some kind of middle-end option, still getting the most out of our money on lower-end-high-end stuff like Urban Decay or maybe Kat Von D? 😛

  • Beth

    I’d definitely go high-end. I don’t have issues with drug store products but generally I don’t have any reason to buy them as I spend my money on brand cosmetics. And elf is just too unattractive for me.

  • Kerri

    Same… I’d go high end & be sure I would use it. Out of all the products pictured I’d probably only use the lipsticks and glosses. I won’t use cheap powders, shadows, blush etc, but am happy to use drugstore lip products.

  • Stacie

    If I could pick the 180 items I would. I do l really love ELF but not all their products.

  • Mara

    I’m with you on this. I just can’t fathom spending $150 on E.L.F. products.

  • LipGloss Bitch

    I’d go for the high end stuff. I do love some of the products from E.l.f, but there’s lot’s of misses too.

  • neutralgirl

    I agree with you on this one! Yeah it would be great to play with 180 new things but after the initial new phase you would just be left with almost 180 things u prob want to throw away. LOL

  • Jen

    I think a few months ago I would have been happy with a set like this. Now, thanks to bloggers like you, I now appreciate the finer formulas and products that are out there. 🙂

    I wouldn’t use a lot of this stuff, especially the glosses, nail-polishes and pressed powders. So.. while an impressive collection – I too would choose to pick out a few choice items if I had an extra $150 to spend. 🙂

  • Makedonka

    Ditto everyone! Quality over quantity, especially ELF (tried it – neah, not right).

  • Storm

    High end! I like their eyeshadow brushes for loose shadow application (especially over sticky bases) and their clear brow gel…and that is it. Where would I store $200 worth of ELF stuff anyway????

  • Becky

    High End. About two years ago I tried some and all of it was junk except a couple of the loose eyeshadows when I used them wet.

  • Mykeshia

    Yeah high end for me too. ELF has so many good coupon codes I am sure you could get all of that for less!

  • LorraineER

    When I have $150 to spend on makeup I’d much rather pick some things that I love and that are good quality and have less of them rather than a whole lot of things I may or may not like and are also not as good. I think that mega-palettes and this sort of thing are great when you are beginning to create a makeup collection for yourself because you can get an idea of what you like, what looks good on you & what tools you require. Also, the good thing with a collection someone else put together is that it includes colors you may not have reached for yourself but you end up loving once you get them on.
    Then when you have some palettes and maybe a brush set, then I think it’s time to pick and choose single pieces that you really like and slowly build it up. You can only wear so much makeup at a time so there’s no point in putting your money towards things like this more than once or twice.

  • tini

    elf has some good stuff but mostly studio, atleast 75% of that crap would end up in the graveyard for me. toe seperaters? DO NOT WANT!

    I think of cheaper brands as a good way to supplement my make up collection, for $150 I could buy a good foundation, udpp, a palette of good quality “core” eyeshadow, maybe a few quality brushes and stuff where quality is essential, but if I want to try something like a new shadow color or blush or something where, for me, quality isn’t as important like a setting powder (the elf HD powder is AWESOME) or mascara, $50 bucks at elf or even a drugstore really gets you a lot to play around with so I can save money on he stuff I don’t need and use it on he stuff I really want. elf has some great finds but why would you want 200 so-so products you won’t use when you could get 10 or so you’ll LOVE? $150 good be the naked palette, bos3, and two smaller ud palettes!

  • Vijaya

    I’m with you, except for the ‘hit or miss’ part. I’ve not yet met an ELF product that I liked, unless you count the toe separators, which are kind of hard to screw up. Which sucks, because their pricing is very attractive.

  • Leslie A.

    ELF does have some good products, but there are also a lot of so-so products or ones that don’t work for me at all. While that is to be expected for products with such a low price point, I wouldn’t be wiling to take a chance on spending that much.
    I do wish they would come up with something like 20 products for 14€ for the regular line or 12 products for 35€ from the 3€50 studio line, for example and getting to choose those products from a list. I think that’s more in line with what ppl who are huge fans of ELF would expect.

  • Robin

    I can’t imagine what I would do with 180 pieces of e.l.f. makeup! Like most of the others here, I like a couple of e.l.f. products (their duo cream e/s are nice) but give me a run at the MAC store or Sephora with $150.00 any day!

  • Kerry

    I’d definitely go for the high-end makeup. I definitely love some E.L.F. products, but the brand is too hit-and-miss for me.

  • Karrie

    I would rather spend the money on a couple of quality products that I can pick out myself.
    Grab bags are fun, but I don’t think I need 180 elf items.

  • Liz

    I would never spend that much on ELF makeup. I place $15 orders from them every few months but if I was going to spend $150, I’d go for something high end. I like certain ELF items, but they are a cheapy, opportunist brand, really.

  • lil’eve

    I”LLC take the $150 and use to buy my eBay watch list of Korean cosmetics. The only thing about elf I like are the lipgosses, pink lemonade stick and shimmer mousse all $4. The spray set is more like water and the eye primer makes no difference to me so ididnt keep buying staff from them.