October 3, 2012

E.L.F. Cruella Evil Everday Eyes Palette Review & Swatches

I can’t get the stupid Cruella song out of my head every since word popped on E.L.F.’s new Villain Eye Palette Collection. I sing it in the shower, I hum it at work, God what an ear worm to have.

As you know E.L.F. released three Disney Villain inspired Eyeshadow Palettes for Halloween 2012. The palettes are $9.99 each and available exclusively at Walgreens (in most cases they can be found in the Halloween section of the store).

The palettes are made from a sturdy cardboard and feature essentials for creating a Villain themed eye look.

I got my hands on Cruella’s Eyeshadow Palette recently.

Here are my thoughts.

E.L.F. did a fairly good job with the packaging of these palettes. Visually speaking this is what will sell the palette to many beauty junkies. There’s some very nice art work of Cruella smiling all pretty evil-like on the cover and inside E.L.F. included a rather wicked how to chart featuring instructions for creating two separate eye looks. There’s also a small mirror on the inside flap.

The palettes are made from a sturdy cardboard however, they aren’t very travel friendly and may get crushed, show signs of wear, etc..if you decide to travel with them.

Cruella’s Palette features eight eyeshadows, lashes, lash glue, liquid eyeliner, and two lip and cheek pencils. You can create two looks using the shadows which are called Day Evil and Night Villain. Obviously, you can also mix and match any of the shades to create other looks as well.

I’m not a false lash girl so I don’t really have a review prepared for the falsies included. I was impressed with the shadows as they have fairly nice pigmentation and an easy to blend formula. The lighter shades are a bit sheer (top quad) but the bottom shades have very good color pay off. The palette/makeup does have a strange scent, kinda plastic-y? If you’re sensitive you might want to sniff it prior to purchasing. I find most E.L.F. makeup has this scent so it isn’t unusual to this palette.

As I said the eyeshadows are fairly decent and on par with some of E.L.F.’s larger eyeshadow palettes. They have a nice color pay off with a velvety feel. Most of the shades contain shimmer and two mattes for using to color wash or line with. You do need to prep well as I find E.L.F. Eyeshadow fades and creases as the day progresses. Good primer (not the one included) will keep them looking their best.

The things I didn’t like about the palette were the primer, liquid liner, and lip and cheek pencils. I’ve tried E.L.F. Eyeshadow Primer in the past and don’t feel like it does much for holding my shadow in place. Within three to four hours of wear my shadow begins to crease so including this mini primer in the palette is a waste as I won’t use it. The Lip & Cheek Pencils are rubbish. There’s no nicer way to put it. They are hard and have an old feel. Using these on your cheeks E.L.F.? Seriously? I think not never mind the fact they tug horribly on lips. And finally the liquid liner I was not comfortable using since it looked oily and separated in the tube.

So in the end I love the idea of the palette. Disney Villains don’t get enough cover time and I love E.L.F. for creating a fun collection around some of them. This is a key selling point for the palette and for collectors.

However….

The makeup leaves a lot to be desired. The shadows are of fair quality but the rest just wasn’t great in my opinion. Plus I think $10 might be a little expensive as most of the products are mini with merely eight eyeshadows. By E.L.F.’s current price range, $10 for this little amount of product, is actually expensive….! You can get a massive palette featuring a ton of shadows for $8-$10 from the brand yes?

Cute idea and probably a must have for collector’s but if you’re a real beauty connoisseur I imagine you’ll turn your nose up at this.

Own it?

Do share!

I purchased this item.

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

  • Kelly

    What was the lip product you are wearing in the picture? It’s GORGEOUS.

  • OrangeLipstickBlog

    Ouchie! Using that pencil on your cheek? No thanks! I’m going to be passing on these because I agree that $10 is a bit expensive. Plus, my favorite villian is Ursula, so unless they start cranking out some stuff with her on it, I’ll probably be passing LOL!

    • the Muse

      ursula rocks ;-D yeah, WTH? on my cheeks? really? It’s so hard it would scratch my cheeks!

  • Ruth

    cruella deville, cruella deville, if she don’t scare ya, no evil thing will…

    thanks for the review, i was going to try and hunt down the maleficent one, but maybe not now.

    • the Muse

      lol got an ear worm now? i was temporarily cured until I read your comment, now I’m singing again *shakes fist* mmm it might worth it for collector’s purposes but the makeup inside, debatable…!

  • Jen

    You did manage to make it look good on you!

    I feel like ELF’s new products (and some of the old) are going up in price without actually improving lately. This seems to be part of that trend.

    • the Muse

      aw thanks jen! I think I went up too far with my blending but I had fun with it shrug! ;-D that’s sad 🙁

  • Candice Nicole

    What lippies are you wearing!? You make this palette look good, girl!

  • Elise

    Seafoam green and peach for a Cruella palette? That seems… off. Very off.

  • Miss D

    Yeah, whenever I see a pic of Cruella I immediately start singing the song in my head too! I was going to check out the other palettes, now I think I’ll skip on them.

  • Eli Caroline

    I just picked up this palette this morning. I do like the eye colors & I don’t even mind the primer.
    My biggest gripe is the cheek pencil. I’m left scratching my head on that one. Ouch! otherwise the palette is good.

    • Eli Caroline

      This is slowly becoming my morning go to. The colors are just really pretty. I leave it at work & when I arrive in the morning, I have it there. I like having a full face in a box (minus the cheek pencil).

  • dulin

    I bought two of them, and kind of regret it. They aren’t bad, but they are overpriced for e.l.f. The eyeshadows are okay, but not amazing (for cheap eyeshadow, I prefer wet n wild), and the eyeliner is useless. It’s super, super flaky. I can use the pencils as lip liners, but the idea of using them on the cheek is hilarious (and not in a good way). My eyes are actually incredibly eyeshadow friendly, so the e.l.f. primer works for me (I get a tiny bit of creasing without primer, and none with the e.l.f. primer).

    Eh, I’m not at all convinced that buying these is worth it, but they are cute, and I have wanted to try out false eyelashes… (although where I’d wear them, I’m not so sure).

    • the Muse

      agreed dulin, happy to have it, cute packaging, overpriced for ELF! gosh using it on my cheek I’d slash a hole in my face lol SERIOUSLY? what were they thinking!?

  • Danielle

    What did you use on your lips?! O_O I needs it! Just that red, though. >_>

  • juicy

    looks awesome!!! i really want all three of these just to have thme in my collection