Over a decade ago, when I first discovered e.l.f. cosmetics, I looked at their products as sort of a fun “novelty” to have in my beauty arsenal…. A two-dollar lipstick here… a one-dollar mascara to tame my brows there… I appreciated that their low price point afforded those of us that needed to count every penny, the opportunity to join in on the fun. But at the time, I never considered trying one of their foundations. I just couldn’t imagine that something so inexpensive could possibly look good on my skin…

Fast forward a decade later… e.l.f.’s Camo Concealer is often referred to as  a “dupe” for one of the most popular concealers on the market (the Tarte Shape Tape, if you’re interested…) The e.l.f. Camo CC Cream is compared to the (very) well-known It Cosmetics CC Cream.  And their foundations regularly get compared to their higher end competitors among the beauty community.

But what I’m really here to talk about today is e.l.f.’s shade range and undertone offerings among their foundation lines, and how I wish more cosmetic companies would follow suit.

I decided to review the e.l.f. Cosmetics Flawless Satin Finish for my Youtube channel (video below.). Often, when I find a foundation with a very reasonable (read: low) price I will purchase the foundation in several shades. I love it when I can swatch more than one shade of a foundation for my viewers, as it helps to see as many shades as possible, in different types of light, especially if they’re purchasing it online.

After discovering a great sale, I ended up purchasing four shades of the e.l.f. Flawless Satin Finish Foundation. And as I swatched the shades on my arm, I noticed among the first three shades in chronological order (shade 120, 130, and 140…)  a (true) neutral undertone, followed by a (true) pink undertone, and then a (true) yellow undertone. It was clear that e.l.f. has discovered that by rotating undertone options, among the shade options, offers the greatest opportunity for foundation wearers to find a suitable match.

It seems that this method would be a logical way of offering foundations, no? But how many times have we stood at a beauty display, and picked up shade after shade of pink undertones, or shade after shade of golden undertones, unable to purchase a formula we’re truly interested in? Don’t even get me started on the time I went to Sephora in early ’22 to try out the latest foundation from a very famous, very popular line…. Although the shades had names that represented different undertones (“golden”… “neutral”….etc.) it was literally shade after shade of PEACH. I was so disappointed to see that there were no true neutral undertones in the bunch… But maybe in the long run it was better as instead of purchasing it,  I politely asked for a sample of the closest shade I could find, so I could still review it on my channel. So, I did save a few dollars…

One final note to e.l.f. Those of us with equal parts pink and yellow in our skin (neutral undertones) require a shade with a bit of “beige-iness” to prevent us from looking to sallow or too flushed. I was so pleased that I was able to find not one, but two neutral undertone shades in the Satin Finish line that I was able to mix together for a perfect match. It is almost unheard of that I am able to find two neutral options within close proximity to each other, especially on the pale side of the spectrum( and this is coming from a gal who swatches hundreds of foundations.) So, thank you e.l.f. for including such beautiful neutral shades. 

Want to see the e.l.f. Flawless Satin Finish Foundation in action? Watch the video below. And while you’re at it, let me know if you’ve tried any of the e.l.f. foundations or CC cream!