A High End-Free Holiday? Some of my Favorite Drugstore Products

[All purchased by me, one NYX lipstick was a gift from a friend]


I think it's very hard to stay away from high-end makeup normally but its going to be even harder with all of the new releases that are gearing us up for the holiday season (a little too early in my opinion).  This year, I'm going to try a little harder to stay away from the big palettes and fancy packaging.  I don't think this is going to be so realistic around Sephora Friends and Family time,  Luckily for me, a lot of the new things landing at the drugstore (particularly lip products) look very interesting.  I thought this was a good time to look through some of my favorites from the drugstore.

     

The three eye products shouldn't be a surprise since they are well-supported favorites of many people in the beauty community.  The Physician's Formula Lash Booster eyeliner in Ultra Black is very similar to Asian liquid liners.  Most liquid liners, even the ones in a pen form, don't have as fine of a brush type as this.  This formula does really make my lashes look fuller over time if I use this and the serum consistently.  I photographed this with the Revlon Just Kissable Balm Stain below, oops!


  Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze is easy to love, with a creamy and long-lasting formula.  The color is a shimmery mid-tone bronze and super flattering.  I purchased the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe to use with Bad to the Bronze. Alone or used together, this is a gorgeous shade of bronze that's very similar to Bad to the Bronze.

For cheeks, I think this NYX cream blush in Natural is super pigmented, smooth and easy to blend.  I don't really see any aspect of this product that isn't well worth the dollars this costs.  It's definitely one of the most pigmented blushes I own, high or low end.  You can see in the picture below that the texture is really soft and indents with brush fibers. 

I really don't know why NYX Black Label lipsticks are not mentioned as a favorite in every drugstore lip product list.  The formula is absolutely dreamy  and buttery smooth.  They have a semi-shiny finish and aren't sheer or overly opaque.  They're more comfortable than some more expensive lipsticks out there and I think they're definitely worth checking out.  Heiress is an almost perfect nude with a slightly plummy/pink undertone.  Brick is an almost terracotta red-orange.  It is a really great color choice for fall.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey has been on my lips nonstop.  It's so low maintenance and easy to touch up during easy-going makeup days.  It really enhances the color of my lips and works across such a wide range of skin tones.  I definitely recommend this shade to anyone who wants a long wearing and flattering lip color.

Top (L to R): PF liner in Ultra Black, Revlon Honey, NYX Heiress, NYX Brick.  Bottom (L to R) NYX blush in Natural, Maybelline Bad to the Bronze, L'Oreal Bronzed Taupe, Bad to the Bronze under Bronzed Taupe

 

 

Underhyped Products

[All purchased by me]


On the flip side of products that I bought but didn't feel strongly about, I think some of the things I really enjoy aren't really discussed on the big, wide world of Internet beauty blogs.  I guess this comes from just buying and liking a lot of makeup.  Hopefully, some of these things are kind of new to you and finding something interesting! 

NYC Liquid Lip Last, Bareminerals Moxie lipgloss, Maybelline Eyestudio Palettes, Real Techniques base shadow brush. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof eyeliner, Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof, Clinique High Impact Curling 

NYC Liquid Lipshine in Wine n Dine:
A super-opaque, non-sticky borderline liquid lipstick that smells like buttercream and comes in a nice range of non-frosty shades, these have come a long way since the lipglosses NYC offered back in the day.  If you're interested in the Rimmel Apocalips (Show Offs), but think that they're too intimidating or want a wine option for the Fall, this is the one for you.

Bareminerals Moxie Lipgloss in Gutsy
For another highly glossy, non-sticky and pigmented lip option, this is a really nice one to try, especially if you want a minty taste.  It isn't plumping and there's no tingling sensation, which I prefer.  I'm pretty sure Bareminerals and it's sister company Buxom make some of the better lip products available of any high-end brand and I'm excited to try some more out.

Maybelline Eyestudio Color Explosion in Caffeine Rush and Forest Fury
These seriously remind me of Asian drugstore shadows in their creamy texture and shimmery finish.  They include a glitter topcoat like many Asian brands and offer good pigmentation that isn't over the top.  The applicator includes a smaller end that can be used in the crease or as liner and is better quality that any other drugstore sponge applicator I've found.

Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush
I know Real Techniques brushes get tons of hype but the eye brushes kind of get overlooked and I can understand that since synthetic bristles don't pick up as much product as natural hairs.  However, this is my go-to brush for applying and blending shadows on the eye when I'm not doing an overly smoky look.  This is more pointed than the Mac 217, so it fits in the crease better.

Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof in Flashy Violet
Pigmented purple liners are very hard to find, just like pigmented purple shadows.  This is very creamy, pigmented and long-wearing.  These might have been discontinued but I believe Sephora has replaced them with a different formula and more colors.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof in Moray
I have these in several shades and they are pretty amazing.  They walk the line between super creamy and super long-wearing and are retractable which many of the new "gel" formula liners are not.  I find these easy to use, easy to blend and then set for  the  majority of the day.  If you find these in a set like I did, I think these are a great buy.

Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara in Black
This is my holy grail (HG) mascara.  It holds a curl, amplifies volume and exaggerates length like nothing else I have ever tried.  Since the brush is curved, I can coat my lashes with the curve side up then flip over to reach the lashes on the edges.  It is the kind of waterproof formula that removes only with warm water, a feature found usually on Asian mascaras.  If you're someone who prefers to remove all eye makeup in one swipe, this might frustrate you.  However, I find splashing warm water on my eyes is a little less harsh than tugging my eyes with a cotton pad.  

Indirect Light: NYC Wine n Dine, Bareminerals Gutsy, two Maybelline Caffeine Rush shades, two Maybelline Forest Fury swatches, glitter topcoat shade swatched above, Sephora Flashy Violet, Stila Moray

In Direct Sunlight

There you have it!  I can recommend any of these products and I hope something here offers a solution to something you're looking for! 

Makeup Bag: Travel Edition

[Everything purchased by me]


As Summer is going full-blast (at least where I live), I think a lot of people are going to be going on vacation (or "holiday" as the Brits say). There was actually an original version of this makeup bag that included more Maybelline Color Tattoos and L'Oreal Infallible pigments but my friend nixed that idea for the more travel-friendly single palette format you see here.

Also, I tried to only bring lip products I included in my "Five Lip Products to Use up in 2013" post from oh so many months ago.  An SPF lip balm is definitely coming with me though.

It's a really basic kit of makeup that I can hopefully adapt everyday to suit my preferences. For base, I haven't decided which one I'm taking but it will definitely be liquid and therefore not in my carry on but in a Ziploc with my skincare.  For concealer, the SheerCover Duo Concealer in Light Medium is a creamy combination of peachy and neutral shades.  It beat out other concealers where brushes/excess blending is required.  The setting powder is from GloMinerals and is translucent.  Nothing to write home about but it has a mirror and is non-chalky.  A mini of Benefit's Watt's Up is not only coming along for it's compact size but also because it's a very nice highlighter.  I can't stand the fact that the full size is so bulky and has an applicator at the other end though so may have to find another alternative when this is gone.

For cheeks, I have a little duo from Tarte in Park Ave Princess and Dollface.  The bronzer contains shimmer so it's not my favorite and the blush is ok as well.  It's a nice lighter pink blush and for a peachier option I am taking Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral.  I've been reaching for this a lot because it's easy to apply and hard to over-do. 

I think the Too Faced Summer Eye palette will be great for a neutral look to pair along my pinker lip colors (NYX Haute Melon, Revlon Peach Parfait) but also adjust really well to a brighter blue or pink look if I want to wear just the Dior Beige Casual lipstick.  For brows, the Missha Brow Styler from the semi-annual sale post is really impressing me. As for eyeliner, I am taking Stila Smudge Sticks in Stargazer and Oscar Fish.  The lash curler you see above is from Koji.  


Bonus Item!

This was in my original version of my travel makeup bag, but I had to add it back in because I want my friend (the one I'm visiting who has an impressive makeup collection already) to try this out!  I'm so sold on this duo and it's a current must have.  

There you have it!  Wishing everyone safe travels this Summer! 

Delayed Posting! Mascara Comparisons
L'Oreal Telescopic vs. Maybelline The Falsies vs. Benefit They're Real

[All purchased by me - the Benefit was a gift with purchase]



Wow I just posted this as a test and it worked!  Basically, since I am a total newbie at this blogging thing, I thought using Word would be an easy way to write blog posts.  HAHAHA that only didn't work a little bit.  I tried copying to Notepad and posting but that didn't work.... UNTIL NOW.  Sigh, this isn't as easy as some of the experts make it look.

Anyone who watches Viviannadoesmakeup knows that L’Oreal Telescopic mascara in the waterproof formula is her favorite mascara of all time.  While I also have a favorite mascara of all time that’s not in this post (will review once I repurchase), I wanted to try out some other options since finding a perfect affordable mascara is probably every beauty blogger’s dream.  I was also rotating around Maybelline The Falsies as well as a mini size of the Benefit They’re Real mascaras and thought since these are three pretty popular mascara options that I’d do a comparison between them.

I’ll rate them along the same characteristics: length, volume, curl, lasting power, removal and overall ease of application using a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best.

Top to Bottom: The Falsies, Telescopic and They're Real

Amateur artistic interpretation of results

L’Oreal Telescopic in Black

Length:  3 – this surprisingly didn’t do amazingly telescopic things to my lashes as the name implied, but it didn’t make them seem short and clumpy either

Volume: 4 – the wand adds a decent coat of mascara to the majority of my lashes and makes them look more intense with one sweep

Curl: 2 – this isn’t the waterproof one so I can’t overly fault this for not holding a curl better but it didn’t really enhance a curl at all

Lasting Power: 3 – not a ton of smudging with this but can’t say zero smudges

Overall ease of application: 3 – The wand is finicky because it’s a thin triangular comb shape which might throw people off who are used to a traditional mascara wand.  I found it pretty easy to maneuver actually but my main qualm was actually getting this back into the tube.  I bend this almost every time I tried to close it.

Maybelline The Falsies:

Length: 2 – does not do much for length and I find all of Maybelline’s variations on the Volum’ Express mascaras actually do make my lashes look a little stunted and clumpy with too many coats

Volume: 5 – the volume-boosting factor is where this mascara really shines and I can see why this is a popular product.  It builds up lashes easily and dramatically.

Curl: 3 – this was better than the Telescopic at holding a curl, probably because of the drier formula.  It won’t dry out your lashes like a waterproof formula will but the curl won’t stay quite as well either.

Lasting Power: 3 – same comments as the Telescopic.

Overall ease of application: 3 - This wand is a little strange and the way the bristles are spaced makes it really easy for me to smudge this on my eye.  If you’re careful you should be fine and this is a pretty subjective characteristic anyway.


Benefit They're Real

Length:  4 - the plastic bristles did a good job of creating believable length and was the most lengthening mascara overall

Volume:  4 – not every use yielded the same amount of volume as the Falsies did but more times than not, this left my lashes looking very full

Curl: 4 – of the three, this held curls the best and was probably due to the drier consistency of the formula.  Luckily, this didn’t increase how hard it was to remove at the end of the day.

Overall ease of application: 3 – I don’t prefer plastic bristles and this one kind of poked your eye a lot because the bristles are so long.  I think that the end of the wand, which is rounded, doesn’t necessarily make it easier to get to the ends.  However, this consistently gave my lashes good length and volume and held a curl well for a non-waterproof formula.

Conclusion:  I think the Benefit mascara is the best one of the bunch but I wouldn’t be willing to purchase this because of the ridiculous price and also because I have a mid-range mascara that I like even better (to be in a future post).  If I had to pick one at the drugstore to buy, the Falsies really impressed me and I think it’s one I would recommend to anyone looking for a volume enhancing mascara.

Quick Lip Comparisons:  Things that Seemed Really Similar but are Actually Quite Different

Also, Thing I Couldn't Resist Buying


[All purchased by me]


This is sadly not a "dupe" post as denoted by that verbose title.  I started out with a couple lip products I liked (and which you've already seen many times in this blog) and thought that since these are some of my favorite products of the moment, I should go off and find some comparable products to blog about.  Well, it didn't end up working out so well but I did get a couple of new favorites to add to my collection. 

I thought that (in formula):

Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquers (which go by the much cooler Apocalips in England) 

= 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 


and (in shade)

Maybelline Color Whisper in Coral Ambition

=

Dior Addict Lipstick in Delice (I should just stop talking about this already)

Clockwise from Top Right: Rimmel Stellar, NYX Antwerp, Maybelline Coral Ambition and Dior Delice

As you can see from the swatch, the Rimmel Show Offs are extremely opaque much glossier than the NYX Lip Creams.  These Rimmel lip lacquers have the texture of a thin lipstick that is comfortable to wear and easy to apply.  However, these are surprisingly not food or waterproof and last on my lips about as long as a typical bright lipstick would.  The color is a bright almost neon pinky coral with zero shimmer.  I thought these would remind me of the Lip Creams in their pigmentation but it actually surpasses the NYX by quite a lot.  It's a true bold lip suitable for anyone who wants a traditional lipstick finish in a nicer formula and easier application.  The Lip Creams are decidedly matte and you need to build them up for full opacity.  I think the color selection in the Lip Creams is slightly more appealing but that is purely personal preference.

I thought that I would find a dupe for Delice in the new Color Whisper line and this seemed to be the closest pick.  However, it has a much whiter base than the Dior and reads more nude on my lips.  In terms of formula, I think that the Color Whispers are closer to matching the texture of Dior than the Revlon Lip Butters because they are thinner and more glossy.  However, the Dior has more of a balm texture whereas the Color Whispers feel lighter and more "gel-like" as their formula claims. I have yet to try L'oreal's take on this lip trend but will report back if I do on which one comes closest to the Dior formula people like so much.


Lastly, my random impulse purchase of the month (so far) is this Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral.  Did I buy it just to try out the cool texture of this product?  Maybe.  Have I seen this in pictures of some pro makeup artists recently?  Yes.  Could I resist?  No.

Beware as this really is not super-pigmented.  It's endless entertainment molding this around the pan but when it comes to getting this color on your cheeks, multiple swipes are needed.  I think using a brush may help but have yet to try that out!

The Summer Line-Up Part Two

[Everything purchased by me]


When the weather gets warmer, I also tend to think warmer tones in terms of eyeshadows as well. Some of my favorite tones are a reddish copper, golden pink and bright teal.  I have a few examples of single shades and a couple palette recommendations.

Clockwise: Maybelline Seashore Frosts (LE), NARS California, L'oreal Pink Sapphire (LE) and Jesse's Girl Sunset Blvd

Sorry half of these are limited edition.  I think companies come out with these kinds of shades around the Summer months.

This is how they look swatched in the same order.  I'd recommend all of these formulas and obviously all these shades as well.

Too Faced Natural at Night and Summer Eye palettes

Fave Shades:  Top is from Natural at Night in Moonstone, Night Cap and Cocoa Star
Bottom is from Summer Eye in Coral Crush, Toasted Coconut and Cocoa Beach

I don't know why these both happen to be from Too Faced but these have the best shade selection of the palettes I own for the Summertime.  I believe the Natural at Night palette is available year-round and the Summer Eye palette is actually being re-launched this year in new packaging.  It comes in a tin now and I believe a couple shades may be different.  Overall, these palettes contain a great variety of true neutral shades and fun brights or more interested neutrals in the case of the Natural at Night palette.  I think the larger shadows on the left are actually kind of a miss in both of these palettes but otherwise, I think you can see from the swatches that these shadows are super smooth and pigmented.  

Maybelline and Dior Summer 2013 

Hi-Lo Impulse Purchases (Vol. One of Many)

[Purchased by me]

Inspiration strikes me at random times and judging by my self rationalization from a few posts back, impulse buys and long-time wishlist front-runners make up the majority of my beauty purchases these days.  I don't really differentiate between high-end and low-end in terms of preferences for most things, but for impulse purchases, it seems low-end is the way to go.  If something doesn't work out for you, your wallet feels a lot better than if you splurged on something on a whim.

With the overwhelming blogger attention to the Maybelline Color Tattoo launches, I usually get interested in every collection that comes out but rarely bit the bullet and purchase anything because I know cream shadows dry out and it's not something I've incorporated into my everyday routine.  However, when I heard the Summer 2013 collection was duochrome, a lightbulb went off in my head and I thought "I want that."  For all you movie buffs out there, imagine the lady from Napoleon Dynamite whispering this to her husband as Uncle Rico presents a model ship as part of his sales pitch.


I found these at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $5 which is pretty much a crazy great price for a really great formula....BUT sadly there was a hit and a miss.

Seashore Frost and Icy Mint

Seashore Frost is a gorgeous periwinkle/lilac duochrome with a yellow sheen that has medium pigmentation that's buildable.  I think this is really nice on it's own and a really unique color for cream eyeshadow.  This was the one I wanted the most from looking at other blogs and I'm glad I got it.  I'm a sucker for duochrome. 

Icy Mint is a sad disappointment.  The color is sheer and not buildable.  I wanted it to use as an inner corner eye highlight (an obsession of mine recently as you've seen) but it barely registers.  All that really shows up is a light green sheen.  I managed to make this work as a base for neutral shades surprisingly.  Under a wheat brown shade, it lends a very very subtle green sheen underneath that's a slight twist on the usual neutral eye look.

I also bought Dior Addict Lipstick in Delice.  If you've read my lip product post you know I'm actually trying to use one up right now in another shade, Beige Casual.  I swatched this at Sephora and couldn't resist picking it up during the Chic Week sale.  It lends a sheer orange sheen to the lips that looks really nice but is essentially a glorified tinted lip balm.  I haven't found anything at the drugstore that's a worthy comparison to this texture but my main justification was to be able to wear an orange lip in any type of environment, even the conservative.  

Dior Addict Lipstick in Delice

Top to Bottom:  Dior Delice, Maybelline Seashore Frosts and Icy Mint

Almost impossible to capture the true sheen of Seashore Frost but believe me it's awesome!

This is just such a gorgeous shade and I totally justified it.  I was thinking of doing a monthly favorite post but I actually rotate through my collection pretty regularly on a daily basis and these new things are probably what I'm reaching for most otherwise.