Jan 26, 2014

The Lipstick Tag

Sleep and Water is one of my top favorite beauty blogs of all time! I was so excited when she decided to do the lipstick tag, and even more thrilled to see that she tagged me to do it too! Lipstick is my favorite beauty item, I love to talk about it, apply it, buy it, stare at it, take pictures of it...basically I am a lipstick hoarder. 

1. How many lipsticks do you own? 
Oh my goodness. I have way too many to count, I started counting and I reached 200 quickly.. Yes, I told you that I love lipsticks!!! That's not counting glosses, lip pencils, or lip balms either.. *insane laughter*

2. What was the first lipstick you owned? 
Well, I used to be obsessed with Lip Smackers when I was little.. I still have a bag full of them. Then I graduated to countless sparkly lip glosses, which I wore throughout my childhood. I bought my first lipstick when I was in my early teens.. it was like Angel from MAC or something. Then when high school started, I really started getting into red lipstick, Ruby Woo specifically. Red is still my favorite color to wear to this day, I just can't get enough of it! 

3. What is your favorite lipstick brand? 
I have so many favorites! MAC, Estee Lauder, YSL, Lime Crime, Revlon, Milani...
If I really had to only chose one brand it would be MAC. They always have something new that I want, as well as so many great classics. I love the variety and the shade selection that MAC has. 



4.What is your most worn lipstick? 
My most worn lipstick is MAC Ruby Woo. It's my favorite MAC lipstick of all time! Estee Lauder Scarlet Siren is a close second.

5. What is your favorite finish?
My favorite finish is cream! I love a good creamy lipstick that feels hydrating but it also pigmented. I really like matte finish lipsticks too.

6.What was the last lipstick you bought?
I recently went to IMATS LA and bought tons of lipsticks! Lime Crime, Ka Oir, NYX, Dose of Colors, and I also did some drugstore hauling and found a ton of new NYC lippies. I told you I have a lipstick buying problem. Haha! 

7.How many lip products do you currently have in your bag? 
I actually always clean out my makeup bag. I never like to leave any makeup in my purse. Everything in my collection has a place, but when I do go out I never leave without like four lipsticks and a gloss and of course my Lypsyl lip balm. 

8.What is your favorite red lip color? 
I can't pick just one... that would be the day! 




Here are some of my all time favorites from left to right: Estee Lauder Scarlet Siren, MAC Ruby Woo, Lime Crime Retrofuturist, Maybelline Vivids On Fire Red, NARS Future Red.

9.How do you store your lipsticks? 
I have two of the Alex Ikea drawers, I use one of them just to store my lipsticks! I also have a small lipstick container from Target that I keep on my vanity for my everyday choices.




10. Which lipstick are you currently lusting after? 
I really want to try a Tom Ford lipstick.  The shade that I'm lusting after is Cherry Lush, it's a gorgeous bright red. I need it.


I have never actually wrote or talked about my lipstick collection before, so that was a really fun post for me! I slowly want to start reviewing each brand of lipstick that I own, that's my ultimate goal of the year. Hopefully you all enjoyed this post! 

I tag Coco, Sara, Mateja, Adrienne, Angelica, and Sandra and of course anyone who feels like doing it! 



 | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube |  


Jan 20, 2014

Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Sticks

I am beyond excited that Maybelline recently added six blush sticks to their permanent Face Studio line. I haven't seen a blush stick at the drugstore in ages, since the awful Revlon Baby Stick incident. Let me tell you, these are fantastic. I could not be happier that Maybelline has given the drugstore some great blush stick options!  


These little tubes are so cute! I bought 3 shades: Coral Sheen, Just Pinched Pink, and Pink Fever.


Swatches from top to bottom: Pink Fever, Coral Sheen, and Just Pinched Pink
Pink Fever is a bright cool toned pink,. Coral Sheen is a bright warm coral, it almost looks like a true orange. Just Pinched Pink is a cool toned mauve. These have a very subtle amount of shimmer, it's only noticeable in the natural light.  Swatches are 2 swipes each.

Claims: "Cheeks go dewy and gently glazed with this portable, creamy blush stick.
Glazed pearls and shea butter glide provide blendable, natural color and smooth, even application.Fragrance Free. Non-comedogenic. Suitable for all skin types."
Finish/Texture: The finish is a bit dewy at first, but it dries down to a satin. These have a very pretty subtle shimmer . The texture is so creamy, you could easily use your fingers to blend these out! They glide on the skin so smoothly, it's great.
Lasting Power: Alone these lasted about 5 hours, which is more than I expected (note that I do have dry skin). Over foundation these lasted about 8 hours before they started to fade. I was very impressed with the wear time! 
Scent: These do not have scent, yay! 
Packaging: They come in a small plastic tube (very similar to the NYX cream blushes). After the cap is removed, the stick can be easily twisted up/down. 
Price/Availability: I paid $9.30 for each blush stick at CVS.


Likes:
  • Great pigmentation
  • Nice texture/blendable
  • Easy to use
  • Good staying power
  • Variety of shades to choose from
  • Overall great quality

Dislikes:
  • Blush does not twist down all the way into the tube (I know this problem will go away over time, so it's not a big deal)

Overall:
Maybelline has set the standard for cream blush sticks at the drugstore!  I'm so pleased with these blush sticks, overall I think they are going to be a huge drugstore hit. 

Although they are about ten dollars with tax, these will last you a while. They are nicely pigmented, so a little really goes a long way. They blend out effortlessly, even with my dry skin. These have shimmer to them, but it is very subtle, and once it's blended out it's barely noticeable. The lasting power is nice too, and there are a variety of shades to choose from, although I wouldn't mind seeing more collections in the future! 

I'm excited to see what other brands may do to follow up, I'm hoping for a blush stick trend this spring.. is that just me?



 | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube |  

Jan 14, 2014

L'Oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks

L'Oreal definitely isn't my first choice when it comes to lip products at the drugstore. For that reason, I wasn't expecting these new liquid lipsticks to blow my mind. I really didn't find them to be anything special, honestly they are more of a pigmented gloss to me, not a lipstick at all.


 There are 16 shades available, and I chose Ruby Opera (left) and Pink Tremolo (right).

Ruby Opera (bottom) Pink Tremolo (top)
Swatches are two swipes each.

Claims: "Transform lips from ordinary to extraordinary. Color is richer, lip surface is smoother and shine is magnified. Formulated with precious micro-oils and rich color pigments, Extraordinaire provides the ideal balance of color and care for perfect lips."
Pigmentation: These are extremely pigmented, that is the best thing about this product. It really does only take a little of this gloss to get full color on the lips. 
Finish/Texture: The finish is very shiny, like a gloss. The texture is smooth, but almost a little too slick. It did bleed out of my lip line a bit, and I usually don't have that problem.
Lasting Power: These only lasted 2-3 hours on my lips, and they did bleed.
Scent: OMG you guys, these smell SO STRONG. It's like a cherry/chemical smell. It's just so terrible, I hate it because it takes a while for it to fade away.
Packaging: I think the gold plastic is so tacky, the bottle is just ugly to me in general. The applicator is fuzzy and it grabs a lot of product, which I do like.
Price/Availability: I paid $10 each for these at CVS


Likes:
  • Great pigmentation
  • Nice applicator/easy to use
  • Variety of shades to choose from

Dislikes:
  • Awful scent
  • Expensive for the quality
  • Slippery texture/bleeds out of my lip line
  • Poor lasting power
  • I think the packaging is kinda tacky..


Overall:
If you're looking for something that feels and looks like a pigmented gloss, this is for you. I do like the pigmentation on these, but there are other things at the drugstore that do the same thing for me that are cheaper, such as the Maybelline Color Elixirs. 

I wouldn't say these are a liquid lipstick, especially since they feel and act more like a gloss. I wasn't a fan of the extremely shiny finish, or the super slick texture. The texture was almost gooey, it seemed to slip out of my lip line no matter what. The scent is almost unbearable for me, like I said it's a weird cherry/chemical scent that is just so unnatural. I also think that ten dollars (that's not even counting tax) is a bit much for the amount and quality of the product.

Overall, these just were not exciting to me.  I think they're nice to use over a lipstick, but that's about it. There are other things at the drugstore that are pretty much the same idea, but are cheaper and better quality. 

Have you tried the L'Oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks yet?
If you would like to see what these look like on my lips, please check out my video review on YouTube here.



 | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube |  



Jan 11, 2014

Covergirl Tru Blend Foundation

Covergirl recently relaunched their Tru Blend foundation line, which I never remember being a fan of, but decided to try anyway. Also the ad campaign had the singer Pink on the display, with her skin looking about the same shade as mine. Long story short, the foundation was too dark, it oxidized, and the formula wasn't impressive..

Here's what the new packaging looks like. There are 21 shades in the line and I chose the lightest one, Light 1. 

Here is a swatch of Tru Blend L1 

Claims:"truBLEND Liquid Makeup is available in 21 shades and features a new shade matching system. To find your perfect blend, first determine your shade family. Second, choose your number. Coordinate complementary truBLEND products based on your number for a seamlessly flawless nude look that blends in and virtually disappears. "
Formula: The formula is thicker than most liquid foundations. I don't like the way that I can actually feel it on my skin. It's a bit cakey for my liking.
Finish: The finish was a bit dewy, but not glowy. 
Coverage: The coverage was medium. I couldn't really layer it without it looking like too much, since the formula is so thick. 
Lasting Power: I don't really know that lasting power since I couldn't wear this out of the house.
Scent: There was no scent.
Packaging: I think the bottle is bulky, but  I do like the pump though.
Price/Availability: I paid $10.50 at CVS

Likes:

  • The pump is useful

Dislikes:

  • Expensive for drugstore
  • Thick, cakey formula
  • Color does not match/turns orange
  • Coverage was 'ok'
  • Overall quality is poor
  • Does not live up to claims

Overall:
Covergirl foundations have never impressed me in the past, but I wasn't expecting this foundation to let me down as much as it did. I really had high hopes that this foundation would work for me color-wise, especially since they claimed that the line will match 99% of women, AND since they had models with similar complexions to mine on the ads. 

I really didn't have anything to like about this foundation other than the pump. The formula was very thick, making application more difficult than it should be. The coverage was alright, and the finish was a little dewy. I think over ten dollars is ridiculous for the overall quality of this foundation. Revlon Colorstay is a bit cheaper, and it's my holy grail. So I would never repurchase Tru Blend again, since it really did nothing for me.

It's incredibly misleading to use women with pale, cool skin tones on the ad/commercials, and not actually have a color in the line that pale women could use. I always find most makeup product ads to be ridiculous, but Covergril takes the cake this time. Just look at the color swatch on the website, it's totally different from what you actually get! 

 | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube |  

Jan 8, 2014

Haul: More New 2014 Drugstore Makeup!

Happy 2014 everyone!  I hope you all had an amazing holiday! I realize that I haven't actually posted on here since before Christmas, so it's been a while! I thought it would be fitting to start off my first post of the new year with a haul! Once again there are more products out for the new year, let's take a look..


Covergirl Tru Blend Foundation - Have you seen the commercials for this foundation? They claim that this range of foundation matches 99% of all women. HAHA, that made me roll my eyes so hard.. this one turns orange on me and it's way too dark to begin with AND it's the lightest shade in the line (L1). Also there aren't many dark shades? So yeah, not too happy with it and the formula didn't amaze me either. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation- I tried this on a whim, it doesn't work well with my dry skin. The shade is light porcelain, it's a bit too yellow for me. The formula claims to be lightweight, but to me it feels heavy. Not a fan of this one either.

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer- Ok, this stuff is great. I've been using it the past week and I'm amazed. It gives a matte finish while leaving the skin feeling hydrated. It feels like a lotion, it reminds me a lot of Smashbox PhotoFinish Light. Recommend. 

Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder- This cute little compact is something that I just recently found at the drugstore. Unfortunately Porcelain Ivory is the lightest shade, it totally looks so much darker than it's showing in this photo.. I was so sad because it feels very soft! 

Physicians Formula Nude Wear Blush- This blush is so chalky and awful. I really hate it, it's probably the worst blush I have ever tried from PF! It claims to have 'perfecting nude pigments'... nope.


Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Sticks- These are actually amazing. I've been loving how cute they are, just look at them! No, but really they're pigmented and really blendable. This is probably the first ever drugstore blush stick I'm a fan of.

Maybelline Master Hi-Light Highlighting Blush- More blush from Maybelline! These are basically shimmery blushes. I'm not crazy about them.. feeling a bit 'meh'.

Covergirl Bombshell Shine Shadow- This is a cream shadow in a tube. It's nothing special, this was the only color that I thought would be nice. It's honestly just a shimmery mess. It's too gooey and greasy. Just an all around no for me. NO NO NO. 

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Curl and Care Mascara- I haven't used this yet. I found it last night at Rite Aid. I really love the other Organic Wear mascaras, so we'll see. 

Will you be trying any of these new products? 
You can watch the  video version of this haul below! 


   | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube |