e.l.f. Retro Paradise Collection Review & Swatches

In the past I have found e.l.f. cosmetics rather hit or miss but when I saw the new e.l.f. Retro Paradise collection I knew I had to have it. The collection consists of a good variety of face and body products, and includes an eyeshadow palette, lip glosses, a primer glow oil, a face & body shimmer, a glow body oil, a body brush and some liquid glitter eyeshadows and I probably would have bought it all if I had had the money.

The packaging is coral and iridescent and gives you strong summer vibes. Starting with the star of the show, the e.l.f. RetroParadise 18 Piece Eyeshadow Palette costs £14, which I know for the brand is slightly more up there in price, but given the selection of shadows, I personally feel it is a good deal. There is a mixture of mattes, shimmers and metallics within the palette, and half of the shadows are more neutral, sandy, golden tones, and then the other half are pops of bright colour, and some darker shades too, so even though this collection has a Summer feel to it, you could absolutely use it all year round and due to the colour story, there are so many looks you can create with this. Formula-wise, I found the eyeshadows to be pigmented, especially the metallics and shimmers, and I did struggle with one or two of the mattes not giving much pay off, but it wasn’t anything terrible. My favourites are definitely the metallics and shimmers, but the Tropicana lilac shade is super pretty as I love a lilac eye look at the moment.

The shades inside are:

·         Canvas – cream matte

·         Sandy Bum – warm nude

·         Rise & Shine – warm golden metallic

·         Spiced – pink/red matte

·         Paraiso – dusky pink metallic

·         Coconut – deep brown matte

·         Dijon – light mustard matte

·         Sea Salt – pearlescent white

·         Fuego – peach matte

·         Sip Sip – turquoise shimmer

·         Baja Mar – apple green matte

·         Tropicana – lilac matte

·         Caliente – burnt orange matte

·         Cacao – mid brown matte

·         Fortuna – bronze metallic

·         Royal – indigo blue matte

·         Disco – iridescent purple shimmer

·         Nightlife – black matte

Next up is the e.l.f. Multi-Dimensional Face & BodyShimmer, which retails for £10.00, and again I would say this is slightly pricey for the brand for a highlighter as it isn’t an overly large compact or anything. However, this comes in two shade options, Luna – white with yellow gold flecks and the one I have here, Sol, which is a peachy pink with pink and yellow gold flecks. The formula is nice and soft and even has a tropical scent to it! I found that this is definitely more sparkle than it is highlighter, in which I mean that you don’t get that gleam you get from a highlighter, but you do get plenty of glitter. I do think this is very pretty, but I would probably use this more on my shoulders, arms, etc rather than as a highlighter, but I also believe this would be great for the eyes, especially in the inner corners of the eyes to really brighten them up.

When it comes to liquid glitter eyeshadows, I nearly always go for the bronze or gold shade, so for the e.l.f. Retro Paradise LiquidGlitter Eyeshadow I decided to go for the silver option. They cost £5.00 each, which I think is great value and there are three shade options available, Flirty Birdy, a rose gold, 24K Gold, a light-medium gold and the one I have here, Disco Queen. Disco Queen is silver with holographic glitter running throughout it. The Glitter Eyeshadows come with a double-sided flat applicator sponge wand and so they are super easy to apply to the lids. I do like the formula, and the glitter is amazing, but I personally like to add a matte shadow base first, just to give you a fuller, more completed look. I adore this shade and I am so glad I went out of my comfort zone and ordered this one as the glitter is just so, so gorgeous!

The final item I ordered from the collection is the e.l.f. Retro Paradise Dream On Lip Gloss, of which there are four shades to choose from and they cost £5.00 each, which I think is also a good deal. The four shades available are, A Moment, which is a clear gloss with peach, pink, and gold glitter, Electric Lemonade, which appears pastel blue, but applies clear with multicolour iridescent shimmer, Tropical Fruit Punch, which is a soft peach gloss with warm gold and peach shimmer, and then the one I have here, Strawberry Daiquiri, a nude pink gloss with iridescent pink shimmer. If I had the money, I would definitely buy the other shades from the collection as they all look lovely, and I am super impressed with the formula of mine. There is a double-sided flat sponge applicator just like with the Glitter Eyeshadow, and so they are really comfortable to apply, and the formula isn’t sticky whatsoever. The Gloss helps my lips to look fuller and glossy and now I really want them all….

Overall, I am super impressed with the collection, and will definitely be keeping an eye out for future collection releases. You can find the e.l.f. Retro Paradise collection online here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx