Month: June 2015

Blurred Beauty: Maybelline Color Blur Matte Lip Pencils

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Maybelinne Color Blur Matte Lipsticks Maybelline Color Blur I'm Blushing

Hello beauty world, sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for a sec, but I’ve been looking for a new product to review and was finally inspired by the new Maybelline Color Blur Matte Lip Pencils. I picked up three shades, I’m Blushing which is the shade above and is a dusty light pink shade. Cherry Cherry Bang Bang which is a cherry red, obviously, with a pinky undertone, and Berry Misbehaved which is a bright berry color, not quite fuchsia, but a very punchy pink. I picked mine up at Target for $7.99 a piece. These lip pencils features a sponge side to blend from the middle of lips for a more flushed lip look seen here, in Allure Magazine. You can wear them as a full matte lip like I am above or wear it blurred out, I also think these are great to create a ombre lip. Sidenote: I also got a Keratin Express treatment, my hair is really wavy and awful with frizz in the summer, so I’ll let you know if it’s worth it!

Review

Maybellien Colorblur

I wore each of these lipsticks on separate occasions and wore Berry Misbehaved and I’m Blushing ombred together. I also smudged my lips out with Berry Misbehaved and Cherry Cherry Bang Bang. The applicator for the product is super easy to use and define for a clean lip look. The pencil is creamy and easy to use to line and fill in lips with no significant bleeding. The spongy applicator is great for spreading product from the center out, its soft enough not to chafe lips, yet hard enough it doesn’t smear product.

  • I’m Blushing: This color is definitely the most everyday color I picked up, and I love it alone and as a ombre outer lip option. It pairs great with the other two colors I picked up. This pencil had the least staying power, but still held up for about 5 hours while I drank throughout that time. It faded significantly when I ate, but it’s a light shade so it didn’t leave any discoloration. I’ll definitely reach for it a lot because it’s so versatile. Score: 8.5/10
  • Berry Misbehaved: I love this color for every season and the small point of the pencil makes it easy to apply. I liked this color the best to “blur” out. It looked like that beautiful flush you’ve always wanted, kind of like when you eat a pink popsicle. It lasted really long even after eating about 8 hours. It can get messy like any lipstick if applied around your lipline, but that’s not really a deterrent for me! Score: 9.5/10
  • Cherry Cherry Bang Bang: This kind of color to me is the perfect summer red; it’s that gorgeous retro color. Once again it’s easy to apply, with or without liner, and this baby stays. This lasted on me 8 hours as well while eating, with very little fading. I do not like to blur this out though, it looks very messy if you’re not super precise, but as a matte lipstick it’s a great summer red. Score: 9.5/10

Overall I love these, as I love most of Maybelline’s matte lip products. I think they beat out even the high-end matte lipsticks. The closet product to these for me is Colour Pop’s Matte Lippie Stix, but they’re not as matte as these Maybelline lip pencils. As far as matte lip products go you can’t go wrong picking up a few of these, they’re more precise than Maybelline’s matte lipsticks as well.

Swatches

Maybelliene Colour Blur Makeup Swatch

From top to bottom: Cherry Cherry Bang Band, Berry Misbehaved and I’m Blushing

Makeup Looks

Summer makeup using Maybelline Color Blur

Foundation: L’Oreal Infalliable Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory

Concealer: Naked Skin Concealer in Light Neutral

Powder: Makeup Forever HD Translucent Powder

Brows: NYX Micro Brow Pencil  in Ash Brown, Brow Bar to Go darkest shade to fill in, NYX Brow Mascara in Brunette to set.

Eyeshadows: LORAC 2 Palette

  1. Crease: LT. Brown
  2. Lid: Rose
  3. Outer lid: Mocha
  4. Outer V and Lower lashline: Cocoa
  5. Inner Corner: Beige
  6. Browbone: Snow

Mascara: L’Oreal Miss Manga

Eyeliner: MAC Eye Kohl in Costa Riche 

Blush: Colourpop Cosmetics Bonus

Highlighter: Maybelline Master Class Hi-Light in Nude and Colourpop Highlighter in Teasecake

Cupid’s Bow: LORAC 2 Snow

Lips: Maybelline Colour Blur I’m Blushing

Extras: Shirt- Philosophy TJ Maxx

Bonus Look

Red lips and Express Heart and Arrow Dress

Used Cherry Cherry Bang Bang on the lips, dress is Express.

Goodnight loves!

Bold Brows: Anastasia Brow Wiz vs NYX Micro Brow

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Bold brows

Bold brows have taken over for good, which for some blessed specimens (Care Delevingne I’m looking at you!) they are fortunate to have hairs that need no fillers; for the rest of us we need products to get that beautiful and bold brow look. Over the past few years I’ve used everything from the Maybelline Quad Natural Smokes darkest shadow, not one of my best makeup moments, to Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyebrow Mousse, which I still love. But like most brow lovers, I’ve relied heavily on brow pencils. At first, we had the infamous and lovely Anastasia Brow Wiz, but at $21 it’s not always the most affordable tool. But once you go all bold brow gal there isn’t any going back. So like many others every three months I’d suck it up and buy my Brow Wiz for $21. But recently more affordable brands have stepped-up their brow game. The drugstore brand that intrigued me most was NYX. I love their products and think their quality is great, so I was super happy to find their Micro Brow Pencils featured similar shades to Anastasia’s Brow Wiz’s. But did NYX’s pencil give me those bold, shapely brows I was used to? Read below for my Brow Showdown.

brow wiz vs microbrow

Showdown

A little comparison: NYX and Anastasia Beverly Hills Pencils feature the same amount of product, each has 0.003 oz. Both are cruelty free, side note: if you want to save the fur babies use the app Cruelty Cutter, you can scan products and see if they test on animals.  Another similarity, both feature spoolies, or those little brushes to put those brows in place. So really the only major difference is price and performance. As I mentioned above, Anastasia’s Brow Wiz is $21, whereas NYX’s Micro Brow is $9.99. Also Anastasia offers 9 shades, where NYX offers 8. But I believe that all the core shades are in both collections. An in-depth review is below.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz: The shade I wear is Medium Brown, and I’ve also used Brunette which is now called Dark Brown. I love this pencil to really shape the brows and carve them out, but I don’t love this to fill in my brows. The product is a bit hard, which is great for shaping, not so much filling in. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve filled in my brows with this, but usually just to get a defined tail. Also, the last Brow Wiz I received the product would not twist up right and would fall out. I’ve had about three Brow Wiz’s so I think my last one was just a bad egg. Overall this is a great brow product with many colors and is definitely a staple.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil: Similarly to Anastasia’s shade, I wear Ash Brown in the NYX pencil. For NYX this product is a little pricey at almost $10, but considering the alternatives all hit the $20 mark range, this is a steal. Micro Brow is much creamier than the Brow Wiz. That’s not to say it’s so creamy you’ve got product everywhere, it’s just easier to use. I love this pencil for both carving out my brows and filling in. The spoolie is a bit rougher than the Brow Wiz, but it’s not a huge deal to me.

Verdict

You can’t go wrong with either the Brow Wiz or the Micro Brow pencil. But personally I like the NYX Micro Brow a bit better. Even if the price was the same, I’d go with Micro Brow. I find it to be easier to use and I can use it to fill in my brows, and I’m also able to blend without tugging like with the Brow Wiz. Whichever weapon you choose though bold brows never lose.

Extras:

Bold brow and red lips

Makeup: 

Foundation: Maybelline Fit Me Dewy and Smooth Foundation in Porcelain

Concealer: NYX HD Photoready Concealer in Porcelain

Powder: Makeup Forever Transluscent Powder

Brows: NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown, Brow Bar to Go to fill in, NYX Brow Mascara in Brunette. Carved out with lightest shade in NYX Correct and Conceal palette.

Eyeshadows: NYX Nude Matte Eyeshadow in Maybe Later and Espresso for the LORAC 1 palette in the crease, LORAC 1 Palette White and Cream on the lid. White on the brow bone.  Espresso on the lower lashine. Nude on the inner corner.

Eyeliner: Top liquid liner is Jordana Cat Eye liner in Black Leather. Bottom liner is L’Oreal Silkissime in Charcoal.

Lashes: Ardell Glamour Demi’s.

Contour: Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette, mixed Sombre and Shadowplay

Blush: Milani Powder Blush in Romantic Rose

Highlight: Colourpop Cosmetics Butterfly Beach

Lips: Colourpop Lippie Stix in Fighter with Fighter lipliner

Top: Missguided Jersey Wrap Over Bralette in Black  (from first photo) Missguided Halle Crepe Dress (second photo)