Elf Facial Shimmer Whip Review

Hi Everybody,

I started playing with makeup a long time back. But since the last 6-7 months I have been using it much more sensibly. But throughout this time I never came across any product which was completely useless.

I never threw away any single product. I make them work for me- one way or the other.

I came across ELF at Big Bazaar some 6 months back. I had heard quite a lot about this brand and was happy to spot it. Moreover, the pricing was irresistible and it meant I could have a lot many things at one go. I should have known it was too good to be true.

I browsed through their range when the excessively chirpy SA showed me this particular Shimmering Facial Whip.

What it claims-
Shimmering Facial Whip
Brand: ELF

Multipurpose, on-the-go whipped colorant is vitamin B, C and E packed to instantly brighten and sooth skin with no greasy after-feel.

elf Shimmering facial whip review

Shades available- There are five shades available. They are Pink Lemonade (bright bubblegum pink), Citrus (an Old Rose type colour), Persimmon (a Fresh flush pink), Lilac Petal (Lilac) and Toasted (A pale brown).
It has lots and lots of shimmer. The colours really don’t matter much as it is mostly made up of shimmer.

Directions to use: (From the website)
Squeeze a pearl-sized amount onto finger and blend into cheeks, eyes, or lips.

Ingredients: (From the website)
Aqua (Water), Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearate Acid, Paraffinium Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Glycerin, Carbomer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethanolamine, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Fragrance(Aroma), Diazolidinyl Urea, Iron Oxides (CI 77491 , CI 77492 , CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019), Red No.33 Lake (CI 17200), Blue No.1 (CI 42090), Yellow No.5 Lake (CI 19140), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77491), Red No.40 Lake (CI 16035)

I got the shade Persimmon. It was priced at Rs. 199/- six months back.

When I bought the SFW, the SA told me it can be used as a lip gloss (?), an eye shadow (??) or a blush (?????). I believed her. She even added her own input and said that this can be mixed with foundation or moisturizer to add a subtle (!!!!) glow to my complexion. I again believed her.
So I brought this tube home.

elf Shimmering facial whip review

The formula is neither whipped nor light. I was expecting it to be something in between a lip gloss and a lip tint. It was neither. The texture was satiny but it was full of shimmer. It did not glide well on eyes, lips or face. So much for the brand name!!!!!

elf Shimmering facial whip review

Then I tried using it as a lip gloss. The moment I applied, I smelt burnt plastic. That put me off. But I was determined to make it work. So I applied it generously and went out with my friends. After an hour or two, my friend asked me why I had put that cheap glitter on my lips. I was offended but checked the mirror. She was right!!! I had only glitter on my lips!! The colour had disappeared entirely.

But I didn’t give up.

elf Shimmering facial whip review

Next I tried to mix it with my foundation. I squeezed out a pearl sized amount and mixed it with my MaxFactor colour adapt foundation. I had already bought a wrong shade of the MF foundation. So the final result was me looking distinctly pinkas if I had dropped headfirst in a tub full of Nerolac paint. And again after an hour or two, the colour disappeared leaving only tacky glitter all over my face.

elf Shimmering facial whip review

After that I tried using it only as a blush. Same thing all over again!!! Same tacky glitter remains on my face!!!

Finally I tried to use it as eye shadow. My eyes burnt so badly as soon as the SFW touched my eyes, that I had to run and wash it off.

I was defeated. I couldn’t make it work anyhow. The product remained stubbornly tacky and glittery. It smelled horrible. And I threw it at the back of my dresser drawer.
A few days ago this brand was mentioned on the blog. So I pulled this tube out of my dresser drawer only because I wanted to warn all of you against this particular SFW.

  • I would not even rate this product. It was awful. If I had to I would give it minus points.
  • I did one more stupid buy from ELF. It was the Wet Gloss Lash Clear Mascara. It was water packaged in the name of Clear mascara.
  • It was slightly sticky so I used it up as brow gel. But as I have very sparse brows this was again useless. But it was some Rs. 100+.. So I didn’t mind much.

So unless anybody of you comes with a great review of an ELF product, I am steering clear of this brand.

Have you used ELF products???

IMBB RECOMMENDS

33 thoughts on “Elf Facial Shimmer Whip Review

  1. Thanks for the consolation Anamika.. Yeah.. i tried hard.. But the cutie was real stubborn… :rotfl: :rotfl:

  2. thx for the warning M, i normally dont buy makeup but there are always the times when one is impulsive 🙂

  3. Hello M.. whats up..??

    Dont get so angry (though i totally understand Rs.199 down the drain) with the company sweety. every brand has a hit and a miss. So you never know..!!

    Did you saw Poornima’s latest review on her bronzers.. if not then she has mentioned about a TBS product she bought which is nothin but glitter, she bought that on a whim.. But now she utilizes it when she wears low cut blouses for a lil shimmer on her sexy back.. so u can do the same… mix it in some moisturizer for a sexy back..!!!

    I hate that we have to pay so much for products that cost so less in the US. This elf range was launched for $1 in the US which in terms of indian rupees equals to Rs45.60. That means we pay over 4 times for the same thing.. Now i guess it wouldnt have been a bad deal if we had to pay Rs.50 for trying out their products. I would in that case definitely try each and every thing because you never know sometimes cheap can be good.

    Sad thing i dont know any place where we can find E.L.F in Delhi. Delhiites has anyone seen elf products anywhere please do tell me..!!

    1. Oh of course Priyanka.. I will hold nothiung against the brand.. Only i will wait for someone to come up with a fab review till I go for my next buy!!!

      How are you??? Feels like i am talking to you after a long time… :-*

      1. Hey im gud.. ya long time no..!!!

        Maybe i’ll come with one..!!! finding elf very eagerly… will be doing a major major haul soon..!!!

  4. i always stay clear of anything with shimmer in it! after a while the shimmer/glitter spreads to the whole face and looks horribly tacky! you really did try quite hard to make this product work! :-((

  5. aww..

    I really don’t know what to say…

    Hope you’ll must have seen my post on ELF cream liner..It is such a lovely product..At the same time, I am not quite happy with my Eyelid primer.

    Like Rati said, there could be hits and misses in a product range.

    And be happy that it was only 199…My TBS supposed to be bronzer was around 1050 :sweat: :sweat:

    1. No i missed the review… 🙁 i’ll check it out.. I wish I had done it earlier.. Would have bought a better product from the brand… I know bout your TBS let down… 🙁 😉

      I didn’t mind this one b’coz of the price… Gr8 low down on the bronzers btw…. :-*

  6. Hey Mrunmayee,

    I can imagine your reaction.I think everyone has the experience of getting a product which is a failure on them.
    You have written your experience so well and I enjoyed reading it. I almost laughed aloud when I was reading your attempts to make the foundation work. Don take in a different sense. But I understand the frustration that you wud hv had.

  7. Mrun…..I think now you know what I told about streetwear smelling of molten plastic…..why this particular fragrance is zeroed upon by such brands is a mystery. I know how only glitter can make you look well….tacky….good thing you warned all of us……. :yes:

    1. Hi Jomol.. how r u..?? n hows little Aarohan..??

      Btw was just clearing up my make up.. and found my streetwear gloss in it.. U remeber i told you it doesnt smells of burnt plastic while your does.. i guess thats because we have two different batches of the product.. while your tube has a black cap and black print over it mine is silver.. so the product we have is two different batches.. mine is definitely good. It is in the shade 37 Fabui.. very nice shade..!!!

      1. Hey Priyanka…where were you……..missed you out here…….what where you up to …..Aarohan is doing fine, but mischievious………

    2. Oh i totally get it… The smell was awful.. i s it some ingredient common to all cheaper brands??? ?:-)

  8. aww.. it must be bad . This happened to a color bar lippie I scored as a freebie .. it was pretty frosty but If you ignored the frost it was a b’fl coral .. I cudnt make it work .. the “sparkles” will travel everywhere and I always ended up looking like a disco ball… I was SO frustrated !
    But finally I made it work but really , these experiences are awful. :pain:
    Its not about the money you pay,it’s about the trust you have in that particular brand,I really cured Colorbar in those days 😛
    .-= Palak´s last blog ..Ponds Age Miracle Tinted moisturizer review =-.

  9. This product doesn’t really work for an eyeshadow/blush/lip product, so I’m not sure why they say you can.

    It does, however, work as a GREAT highlight! But even using a pea/pearl amount is too much, otherwise you end up looking like a disco ball! Getting the amount right is tough, but if you use a smaller-than-droplet size, it looks much better and blends/spreads nicely to cover a larger area without looking tacky/glittery.

    Having said that, I much prefer their Studio line products ($3 each). I love their Studio Blush, Cream Eyeliner, Matte Eyshadow, and most especially the brushes. Their 100 eyeshadow palette is also quite nice, but some colours are a “miss” in quality/vibrancy. I have tan/indian skin so it can be a bit hard to figure out colours, but have relied heavily on swatches and reviews to decide.

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