E.L.F Essential Spring 14 Piece Nail Cube Swatches and Review (Part Two)

Hi everyone!

Today I have the second half of the eyeslipsface (e.l.f) Spring Essential 14 Piece Nail Cube to share with you.

If you missed the first half of this review, you can jump over here and see the rest of the collection and get more information on pricing and availability.

The Collection

For the second half of this review I will be showcasing the following:

From left to right:

Mint Cream

Lavender Mist

Skinny Jeans

Chic Confetti

Gold Star

Dream Maker

Fairy Cream (I think this is actually Fairy Dust and my sticker is just a misprint)

[Mint Cream, Skinny Jeans, Chic Confetti, Gold Star, Dream Maker, and Fairy Dust (same as Fairy Cream) are available in full size bottles.]

The Colors

Mint Cream is a deep, duusty mint creme. Fitting name, right?

e.l.f. "Mint Cream"

We've all seen plenty of mint polish releases this year, but this one stands out among the crowd. It's skirts the line of being more of seafoam green than a mint green, but it still counts. I'm in favor of this one because it's more suitable for all seasons because of its muted tone. It's also more flattering for those weary of brighter green polishes.

In addition to the color itself, the formula couldn't be better. Smooth and opaque in one coat, and super glossy even before top coat. I did, however, have yet another hair come off the brush into the polish, but reapplication is a simple remedy.

e.l.f. "Mint Cream"

Lavender Mist is a bright periwinkle blue with silver microshimmer.

e.l.f. "Lavender Mist"

I assumed this was going to be a frost like the other two shimmers in the collection, but the brush strokes almost completely disappeared as the color dried. The brush did cause minor streaking, but two coats smoothed everything out. 

I'm a sucker for periwinkle, and a shimmery periwinkle is hard to come by.

e.l.f. "Lavender Mist"

Skinny Jeans is glossy blue creme.

e.l.f "Skinny Jeans"

This shade had the thinnest formula of them all, taking three coats to reach total coverage.

It's a pretty basic blue. There's no real wow factor here, but it does compliment the rest of the collection.

e.l.f. "Skinny Jeans"

Gold Star is a gold mix of fine and small hex glitters suspended in a clear base.

e.l.f. "Gold Star"

This is a great, basic, gold glitter mix depending on how you wish to use it. If you want to achieve the sprinkled look as I have demonstrated above, then this is a steal. The glitter sits so flat you don't even feel it when you run your fingers across the nail.

The reason behind this is also it's downside. The base is really thick. Unfortunately this means that it's extremely difficult to maneuver the glitter around and just about impossible to place a single glitter in a specific area. I basically had to dab it on and hope for the best.

I definitely like the end result, it's just shame that it's not more versatile. 

I know my photos are kind of funky, but since I'm back outside shooting (temporarily) I had to angle my hands down to avoid some major glare from the glitter. 

e.l.f. "Gold Star"

Dream Maker is a holographic mix of fine and small hex glitters suspended in a clear base.

e.l.f. "Dream Maker"

The formula for Dream Maker is nearly identical to Gold Star, but for some reason I had a much harder time getting the hex glitters out of the bottle. 

Even though it took some extra effort, I got the same beautiful result. 

Fairy Dust/Cream consists of tiny, iridescent flakies suspended in a clear base.

e.l.f. "Fairy Dust/Cream"

As with all iridescent finish polishes, Fairy Dust/Cream is extremely camera shy without indoor lighting. That being said, the flakies are more sparse than other iridescent finishes such as Color Club's "Snow Flakes." 

This can actually be a good thing as it allows you to control the intensity of the effect. This was much easier to work with than the previous two mixes. I used two coats for the photos above, but this is in direct sunlight where the effect gets a bit lost.

e.l.f. "Fairy Dust/Cream"

Chic Confetti is colorful mix of round and small hex glitters suspended in a clear base.

e.l.f. "Chic Confetti"

Multicolored  glitter mixes like this are a dime a dozen, and this one isn't all that special.

The formula was a bit more manageable than Gold Star and Dream Maker, but not by much.

I don't hate it, I just have many others like it.

e.l.f. "Chic Confetti"

Overall

Now that I've seen the collection in its entirety, I'm more able to look past my qualms with the brushes. Losing hairs into the polish is still unforgivable, but once I got used to the behavior of the brush I was able to see the polishes for what the really are. 

For $14 dollars you get 14 polishes in a variety of colors and finishes. Deal or no deal isn't really the question here. Of course it's a bargain, but only if you like the colors. While some of the shades are pretty basic, a few stood out as my favorites:

Flirty Fuschia and Mango Madness still rank as my top two, but Mint Cream, Lavender Mist, and Fairy Dust are a few that I'm 100% sure I'll be turning to again.

What were your  favorite shades from the collection? 

Will you picking up this nail cube anytime soon? 

What about as a gift?

Let me know in the comments below and shout out your favorite gift ideas for the polish-loving mother figures in your life.

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Thanks for reading!

-Melody