Ellis Faas… 2012 review

When I first saw this brand I thought it was a brilliant and fun idea, I love it when brands create a different packaging design… as long as it works.  With time I got a bit upset with the Ellis Faas packaging because I love the colors and the texture but it’s a pain for me to use the pens on a daily basis. I’ll explain why later on.

Apart from the face powder, all the Ellis Faas products are fluids and kept inside pens or “bullets”, the texture is more or less liquid and melts into the skin. Ellis Faas says that all her shades are inspired by the human body’s owns colors and are universal.

I actually love ALL the colors of her range, there is no doubt that the quality of the product is good and that the lasting power, which is important for me, is also extremely good.

I will show you some swatches below but for more information about the brand you can check out their website  you will find videos and lots of information about the brand.

The foundation – “Skin Veil Pen” SPF15

The foundation comes either in a bottle or in the pen packaging, the foundation pen is just slightly thicker than the other ones (lips, eyeshadows, blushes).

Foundation pen compared to other pens

The brush does not allow you to blend the foundation on the skin, you will have to use either your fingers or another brush.

The amount of product inside the refill is not huge (14ml/0.47oz) when you buy the foundation pen, you get 1 refill with it.

I have tried to swatch it for you…  I am NW20 in winter and NW25 in summer and I can wear the shade S103 all year round,  I don’t understand why but it looks like it adapts herself to my skintone…

I will repurchase the foundation for sure, but I will get the bottle instead of the pen. Once you are the end of the refill, it’s not easy to completely use the rest of product, you click and click but nothing comes out, but other than that, amazing foundation and in my top favorites.

I agree with EF when she says : “Skin Veil minerals diffuse light across the skin’s surface, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. ELLIS FAAS foundation incorporates moisturising ingredients which nourish the skin.” I have extremely dry skin and this foundation is very comfortable and lasts all day. I don’t need to powder at all afterwards.

You can build up the coverage if you need to, just wait for the first layer to settle and then add more. I don’t do that because I love a sheer coverage but you can easily do that if you want.

Ellis Faas blushes

I love their blush texture and finish so much, they are dewy and long-lasting. I just don’t like how the sponge applicator dries out and the product is difficult to take out the pen. It’s a pain to use it but I love the result, it’s stunning.

Ellis Faas eyes

Several textures are available :

• Creamy eyes : for contour and shaping
• Milky eyes : colour stain or subtle wash
• Lights : metallic highlighter, can be used sheer or heavy

I love the looks you can do with these, beautiful natural wash of color (for that I love to use the E109) or a more dramatic smoky eye. As long as you don’t try to create a wash with a Creamy Eye pen texture you will be fine and you won’t have problems blending.
When they set, they set ! they will not move. You don’t need a powder or a base. On my eyelids they don’t move at all.

But I have a problem with the eye pens,  I like to use them once a week but the brush dries in between each application. Even if you wash them after application, when you want to use them, the product is stuck and when it finally comes out, sometimes it’s way too much and you’ll waste it…
I have tried to clean them with water and soap. It works ok the first times but then, the brush gets more and more difficult to wash and I end with my hands covered with product, and still too much product in the brush !

Some eye color swatches

Eye Lights

Ellis Faas lips

Several textures are available :

• Creamy lips : a more lasting and coverage effect
• Milky lips : fluid and translucent effect
• Glazed lips : an ultra-wet, yet long-lasting splash of color that combines transparency and intensity

All the lip colors are gorgeous, I will keep buying them over and over again.

The Ellis Faas look attempt

It’s a bad day today, I am tired and my eyes are swollen because yesterday I spent nearly 2 hours at the Laura Mercier make up counter. Their make up artist Eric was there, he has been trying to book an appointment with me for a very long time but I never had the time to stop, when he saw me there, he told me “one day I will make you sit HERE and I will try LOTS of looks on you!!!” I replied “Ok, let’s do that today then…. ” So… we had fun yesterday but today my eyes are suffering from yesterday’s make up abuse 😛

I took a picture before I started applying my Ellis Faas make up on today, sorry I did not check that the lighting was correct but you can still see that my skin is far from perfect, I have many marks and pigmentation irregularities.

Without Make Up

With Ellis Faas

With Ellis Faas

Then I took two pictures with Ellis Faas make up on, I hope you can see that the skin looks better and is dewy, I am afraid you cannot see the dewiness of the blush … shame. It’s gorgeous in real life.

I am wearing one layer of the EF foundation (no concealer at all), the blush in S301, the lips in L108, I love how it tones down my lip pigmentation and provides a great “my lips but better” peachy nude effect. On the eyes E109 as a base, I love it, tiny tiny sparkles and a powder finish.. just perfect, then E107 in the crease and the E104 in the outer v and definition. Some Lights highlighter in the inner corner…

You can create a very natural look or a more dramatic look, but the blending can be tricky, so just do it quickly before the product dries.
I apply the product on the back of my hand and then I place it with a thin brush and I blend with a more dense and thick brush. I don’t use the EF pen brush. You can also use the fingertips but you still need a make up brush anyway.

Bottom line

It’s a love hate relationship with the packaging and a definite love for the texture and the colors. The cleaning process is a mess.

If you have any questions or any suggestions, please let me know 🙂