E.L.F. stands for “Eyes, Lips and Face” and is an online store that deals with, as you’re probably guessing, cosmetics. Even though they’re their own manufacturer and the website deals with their own products exclusively, we still felt it would be better to review it as a comparison with the other cosmetics stores out there, as it’s quite broad in its product range.
Product Selection and Prices
Even though all of the products come from one company, the selection is really impressive. It doesn’t matter which part of your face’s vision you want to alter, this store will have a product for the purpose. They’ve got a long line of eye liners, lipstick and gloss, conditions and creams for the face, and even cosmetic tools for those uncomfortable procedures you sometimes need to put yourself through.
In terms of prices, you should expect to pay a standard rate for their products – their eye liners seemed really cheap, but some of their lipstick models were considerably more expensive than some of even the more popular brands in other stores. Still, the quality of their products really does live up to the price tags – all of the products seemed very carefully-designed and are shipped in perfect condition.
Design and Navigation
One thing we found lacking in the store’s design was proper categorization – you can find the most popular types of products by just hovering over the “Products” button at the menu, but if you want to look for something more specific you should probably use the search function, as otherwise you’re not very likely to come across what you were after.
As for the design’s visual aspect, it’s smooth and pleasing to the eyes – nothing too catchy, the graphic elements have been designed with a nice touch. The website focuses on the gray color as a primary element of its color scheme, which, coupled with the light background style, makes for a very nice combination.
Ordering and Customer Support
We placed our order and immediately got a confirmation e-mail – and the actual products shipped several days afterwards. They came in great condition, packaged neatly to prevent possible damage. We were a bit dissatisfied with the quantities of some of the items though, but considering their content amounts are listed on the website before you buy them, we can’t say we weren’t warned. Still, for those prices, they could give a bit more.
You can find a good number of help articles on the website, though no live support – the best you can get is communicating with the staff over e-mail.
Final Thoughts
A good-looking store with a good number of quality products, it’s surprising to see a brand evolving so much and in so different directions. We can only hope for the best for this website, as it definitely holds potential to push the brand to the top of the market – with just a bit more effort thrown into development, it could become a miracle.
December 17th, 2011 at 12:47 am
I have to say, after reading this article, the title is a bit misleading. I thought the article would discuss the ‘health’ aspect of e.l.f. cosmetics, as in the quality of the ingredients used in their products. I’m not sure about when this article was published, but it failed to mention some wonderful reasons why e.l.f. cosmetics is a good brand to buy. My top reasons are:
1. The company DOES NOT test its products on animals. It qualifies as a cruelty-free brand.
2. The make-up DOES NOT contain any animal derived ingredients. All products are VEGAN, with the exception of the Essentials line brushes.
3. The company donates to animal rights organizations including PETA and The Humane Society of the United States. This is a noblely good cause to help animals in need.
4. The prices are reasonably affordable. Combined with special offers and promotions such as FREE SHIPPING with orders $25 or more is truly great.
5. Each make-up based product lists the ingredients on the e.l.f. website as well as on the product’s package.
6. Customer service is excellent. You should usually receive a reply within a couple of days.
Those are just some reasons for why people should purchase from e.l.f. cosmetics. I have been a customer of their brand for almost 2 years and it has quickly become one of my favorite cosmetic brands, the other being Wet n’ Wild from Markwins International. Also, the overall quality of the make-up is superb as e.l.f. offers three different cosmetics line within the company, which are the Essentials, Mineral and Studio lines. I love all of them equally and will continue to purshase from them in the future. I hope this helps, but if not, I suggest you visit their website and see for yourself!