ELF Studio Lip Primer & Plumper

I’m generally a fan of ELF products, they represent fantastic value for the most part, but for me this is a pretty epic case of the fails. It’s a double ended lipstick type affair. One side is a clear plumper and the other is a concealer coloured primer. It costs £3.50 which isn’t a lot but the amount of product you get is pretty meagre (Primer 1.6g, Plumper 1.7g). 

The plumper side is the worst offender so we will get it out of the way. It has a very strong scent of cinnamon. So strong that I can still smell it a good 20 minutes after application. Now I never thought that I had overly sensitive lips but this thing BURNS. It’s actually quite sore although I’ve heard others say they didn’t feel it at all so I suppose it depends on your lips. Needless to say this end won’t be getting used at all even if it did plump my lips, which it doesn’t. Not even a little. 

The primer side holds a little more promise. You can see in the swatch below that it is extremely pale and flesh toned. It is so unforgiving on the lips. Any dry patches will be magnified and it has a tendency to settle into any lines. This means your lips have to be in tip top shape to use it and I find that smoothing it out with a clean finger gives a smoother finish. I have found a use for it. I use it to change the colour of certain lipsticks, for example Sleek Mystic turns into a slightly milky hot pink over this which is actually quite pretty. It’s supposed to help hold your colour on all day though and it certainly doesn’t do that. If anything my lipstick fades more quickly with this on. 

So I have a use to the primer which means it wasn’t a complete waste of money but I can’t help thinking that I could have achieved exactly the same thing with some concealer or foundation on the lips. I had been hoping for a dupe of the Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion which really does grab my lipstick and keep it in place. Unfortunately this doesn’t manage that at all. It’s not often I do a completely damning review but I really do loathe this x

*Bought by me*