Three New Products from Maybelline: Reviews and Swatches

The products I will be reviewing today are: The City Bronzer in the Shade 100 (Light), the Matte Bar eyeshadow palette, and the Last Sensational Boosting Serum. 

We'll begin with the City Bronzer, which cost $7.99 for 9.25 g of product. 

Maybelline calls this a bronzer AND contour powder, so it will be interesting to see how the color performs. If it is too orange, then I would be cautious about using it as an actual contour. 

Right of the bat, you should know that the powder is scented. I would liken it to a somewhat floral baby-powder scent. It is not unpleasant, and not too strong, and it not discernible when applied to the face. 

Onto the swatches!

I do think for my skintone, the powder provides a nice bit of warmth that looks natural. It is brown-yellow toned, but not too orange.

I thought it would be interesting to compare them to my other HG bronzer, the Butter Bronzer by Physician's Formula, also in the shade light:

The Maybelline bronzer is on the left, and the Butter Bronzer is one the right. Color-wise, these two are extremely similar. The only difference is that the BB is more luminous, and applies more sheer, but both of them are incredibly easy to use. They both are very blend-able.

Overall, I would recommend the City Bronzer if you are looking for a bronzer that is more on the matte side. However, I do prefer the scent of the Butter Bronzer and do realize you get more product in the BB, albeit for a a couple of dollars more.  BB also has a better range of shades.

Both are very pretty bronzers, and I am glad to have the Maybelline City Bronzer in my collection.

The Matte Bar Eyeshadow Palette, 9.7 g for $10.00

This palette is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. For one, Maybelline hasn't been using pressed pans in their palettes for a while, but in this case, they are.

Additionally, the mattes in this palette are pretty much the matte scheme in many of the higher end palettes we've seen for a while- The Modern Renaissance, the Queen of Hearts palette, the Urban Decay Naked Heat, and the Naked Petite Heat palette.

Did I necessarily need this palette? No, of course not. I do have these mattes in many different forms, but I do love the idea of a small, all-matte palette that is affordable.

Something else interesting? The shades have names! Printed on the back, of course, so I would never remember them.

So, from left to right, we have:

1. 1915, a peached-toned cream shade that is not showing up on my skin.
2.  Empire, a rose-toned pink very similar to MuG's Cupcake or Coloured Raine's Princess
3. Landmark, a berry, like Ladyship from CR
4. Groundbreaking, a literal wash of light orange? 
5. Hustle, an interesting salmon-toned orange
6. Flatiron (what is that name?) a yellow-toned cream
7. Grit, an orange-toned brown
8. Brickhouse, a red-toned brown

9. Gridlock, a true taupe

10. Hard Edge, a blackened brown

My Thoughts:

These mattes are very tightly pressed in the pans. Do not expect loose, buttery shadows here. There is color pay-off, and they are certainly buildable, but I would not recommend setting your entire eye after you've applied primer. 

The only shades I think are a waste of time are 1915, because I don't really see any pigment, and Hard Edge, which needs to be softer and darker. Other than that, this palette is extremely easy to use, especially in terms of how it is organized and how it helps you create depth and a gradient. 

If you don't have many neutral mattes in your collection, and prefer drier formulations that you can build up, I would recommend this palette. 

And now the last one!

Lash Booster Serum, $12.00

This is going to be my shortest and most ambiguous review because products like these take time to observe, and are really very subjective. 

Long story short, my eyes are extremely sensitive, but I have not had any reactions to this product. A couple of weeks ago, my lashes- which are usually just of a medium length and thickness- were weirdly stubby, so I started being more conscious of removing all of my mascara, and then applying this serum. 

I have not felt that my lashes were as bad as they were a couple of weeks ago, and mascara has been easier to apply. 

The site says to apply it twice a day, but I've only been doing it once. Maybe I should start...

The applicator is cotton, which I like:

So applying it to my lashes is very easy, and it doesn't pull on them.  

That's all from now, for now! Thanks so much for reading!!

5 Days of Using the Norvina Palette.

I am not normally so consistent with the palettes I use. However, because the shimmers and mattes pair so well with other colors, I had a lot of fun this week. The best part was that I wasn't even intentionally trying to use the palette for the whole week, I just found myself in that frame of mind.

For reference, this is what my palette looks like:

As always, please click on the image for better resolution.

Monday:

From left to right, we have:

Looxi's Durty, BH Cosmetic's Zodiac Dark Brown Matte, ABH Volatile, ABH Dazzling, and BH Cosmetic's light brown shimmer. 

This look I was trying to go for a multi-dimensional brown shimmer look, using both warm and cool tones of brown. 

I first used Durty in the crease and up to the brow bone. Then Volatile in the crease and lid, and the dark brown matte on the outer corner. Dazzling on the center of the lid, and the brown shimmer on the inner part of the lid. 

My thoughts: This look begins my consistent use of the Norvina palette, especially Dazzling, which made THREE appearances this week. I am not sure why. I know I was wearing a blue sweater that day, and wanted a neutral elegant eye look, so I went with the shimmer in the palette that I thought was the most "refined," Dazzling.

Volatile, from the picture, could have been blended more and built up more in the crease, but maybe I ran out of time. 

Anyway, I love using the cool tones of the palette and pairing them with other warm toned shadows. 

Tuesday:

This day I used Clionadh's Strawberry Mousse, Coloured Raine Princess both in the crease. Maybe an Inglot  pink also in the crease? I can't remember!

Dazzling is on the lid, and Mac Snowflushed is in the inner corner. 

Maybe the reason I was obsessed with Dazzling this week- and I think this is true of the Norvina palette in general- is that even though the color appears neutral, it's cool tone makes it work well with other colors, where it almost changes depending on how you use it. Using matte pinks brought out the pink to this color, which I liked.

Wednesday

Today I used Volatile in the crease and on the lid, Dazzling on the lid, Colourpop's Birthday Wish on the inner lid and inner corner, and Mac Snowflushed on top of Birthday Wish.

This look is like an improved version of Monday's look, and I really liked it. I found Volatile a little easier to work with, and I wasn't so hesitant in building it up. 

Snowflushed was also a great product to use with Dazzling, because of the copper and pink dimensions to it.

Thursday

This day I decided to switch things up a bit, which may have required a bit more work and planning on my part. Instead of cool browns and rose tones, I used:

From left to right, Eccentric from the Norvina Palette, Maize from Clionadh Cosmetics, Pumpkin Spice Life from Looxi, Summer and Dreamer from the Norvina palette. 

I used Clionadh's Maize in the crease, Looxi's Pumpkin Spice Life in the crease, ABH's Norvina's Eccentric in the crease and lid, Summer (gold/bronze shimmer) on lid, and Dreamer (light gold shimmer) in inner corner. 

My liner was....not great today. I have no idea why I only realized now I made a pretty significant mistake. The above is actually my eye after work. I thought I needed to improve the look by blending more of Maize up towards my brow bone. When I did my makeup this morning, I did not blend enough upwards. 

Still, I thought this look was fun and I should improve upon it in the future. Maize is a great formula for me. I actually prefer drier more powdery formulas, as long as they adhere to the skin and build up. There are some out there (like Fantasia) that are dry and powdery and blend away to nothing. So as long as a shadow strikes that balance, I am good. 

Summer and Dreamer are quite gorgeous and it seems to be they have almost a duochromatic quality to them. 

Friday

So, rose golds came back with a vengeance today:

From left to right, we have Mac Snowflushed, Colourpop Lay Low, ABH Love, ABH Rose Gold (Norvina), and a BH Cosmetics reddish brown from the Zodiac Palette.

Don't these colors look like a happy family?

This was probably my favorite look of the week:

I used Lay Low in the crease, a warmer toned pink that blends easily. I then used Love also in the crease. 

I then used Rose Gold on the lid, Mac Snowflushed on the inner corner and inner section of my lid, and then finally used the dark matter brown on the outer lid.

I usually have such a problem blending dark mattes, but I think I am finally getting a hold of doing a decent job. The key for me is not to use a blending brush, but to rather use a packing brush to sweep the product on the outer corner.

So yeah, I would definitely wear this look again. I am super pleased with it.

Final thoughts:

Norvina is a great palette. There are some colors that I still barely use- Drama and Soul- but maybe this weekend I can complete the full week.

Thanks so much for reading!

Affordable/Drugstore Highlighters that Rival High End

This topic is definitely not a novel one by any means, but I do think the highlighters I've chosen today are ones that aren't talked much about, and I am very excited to sing their praises.

For reference, I have combination-oily skin, with fine lines/a bit of texture on the areas I like to use highlighter, like the tops of my cheeks.  My skin tone is fair and cool-toned, and I do prefer highlighters of many different colors, though I have been steering away from gold-toned highlighters lately.

Though I do have a small collection of higher-end highlighters I very much enjoy, there are drugstore/affordable highlighters in my collection that prove that you don't need to shop high-end to get a fabulous highlighter:

Though the ones I've selected all skew on the lighter side, the products I've chosen belong to lines that have a good range of colors of the same high quality.

First pictured, the top left, is Colourpop's Here Kitty Kitty, which retails for $8.00 and contains 6.5 g. It is a light champagne shimmer. It lasts all day, but also has a sheerer base so that the sheen is natural and smooth.

It sort of appears the product has bits of hard-pan, but I have not experienced any difficulty working with it. On the contrary. This is a highlighter that can give off a natural shine, or be built up dramatically. 

Next, we have Milani Strobelight in After Glow. Milani's line has a great range of colors and depths, with plenty for people to choose from. These retail for $10 and contain 8 g of product, but it seems that Target is selling travel sized ones for $6.00. I am not sure when Milani/Target started selling the travel sized versions, but now I am even more intrigued.

Anyway, before I got my hands on the loose highlighter from Wet 'n Wild, this one was one of the most "blinding" highlights in my collection. It is definitely one of the more frostier ones, in my opinion, but with a pinker-toned metallic shine.

From what I have seen, all the powders in this line, of various gold and coppery tones, are of excellent quality.

Next is from Physician's Formula, from their Butter line of Highlighters, which is well-regarded and reviewed. These retail for about $10 and contain 5 g of product. The shade I own is a Pearl. The formula of these are similar to Colourpop's Super Shock line. I have heard amazing things about all the colors in this Butter Highlighter line. I've been using Pearl for a couple of weeks now and love it. It creates such a natural but intense sheen, and stays on the face all day. Pearl is a sheer-based frost that almost has a pinkish/lilac reflect.

As the most expensive option on this docket with the least amount of product, I would strongly suggest using a CVS/Walgreens coupon when buying this, but I do think it's worth it.

Personally, I do have trouble keeping face powders and cream products on my face, but not with any of these, especially the Butter Highlighter. One caution is that the product is scented. I think it has more of a buttery, cake-like smell to it, compared to the Butter Bronzer. With the Butter Bronzer, I just smell sunscreen.

Finally, my newest acquisition, one the one that inspired this entire post: Wet 'n Wild Written in the Stars, $7.00, containing 8 g of product.

Woo boy. I have been using cream-like highlighters for a while, and I was wondering how I would transition back to powder products in the summer, or even if I was going to do that at all. Well, this loose powder by Wet 'n Wild, as part of their Zodiac collection, has a bright, pink, cool-toned reflect, and though the product is sparkly, it by no means is full of chunks of glitter. Though Written in the Stars was part of a limited edition collection, I believe it is still on sale. Wet 'n Wild also has two newly released loose highlighters available that suit darker skin tones. This product not only lasted all day on my face, but still gave an obvious/vibrant glow. 

A swatch of all of these products together:

(click image for better quality) From r-l, After Glow, Here Kitty Kitty, Pearl, and Written in the Stars

Honorable mentions include the Megaglo pressed highlighters from Wet 'n Wild.

Let me know if you have tried any of these, or if there are others worth mentioning!

Thanks for reading! 

Sleek Californ.i.a Cream Blush Palette Review

I am having a cream blush moment. I know that when it starts getting hot out and my skin gets oily and sweaty again,  this moment will be over, but for now, I am enjoying myself. Cream blushes blend really well on the skin and have a very natural finish.

After being quite happy with Lipstick Queen's very pink Frog Prince blush, I decided I wanted something coral- a true coral. The only true coral I have is Milani's Coral Cove, and I do think the formula- which includes synthetic wax- is very powdery and does not stay long on my face.

So I did some research, and found that Sleek, a UK drugstore brand, has an entire blush line of powder and creme formulas that look really nice. I settled on Californ.i.a, a name that I don't quite understand.

It cost $5.00.

The palette is composed of three pans. In total, the palette contains 13 g of product. The shades are, from left to right:

1. Newport Peach, a bright peachy-pink

2. The Surf, a very light creamsicle orange with a bit of gold shimmer

3. OC, warmer than Newport Peach, a true coral

I enjoy all the shades in this palette and even enjoy mixing them. To use the blush, I dab the product with a small face brush with synthetic bristles, and then blend it out on my face. A little does go a long way, but the product is buildable.

I found that the shades lasted most of the day, which I found quite impressive.

Below is a picture of me wearing The Surf, which I was surprised to find wears more like a highlighter/blush topper.

I would definitely recommend this blush palette, and I am looking forward to trying more face products from Sleek in the future. 

Thanks for reading! 

Skin Care Product Review Round-Up

Cerave AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion, SPF 30

This is the second purchase I've made of it, and I've finished about 75% of it. I use this lotion daily. There are a few negative reviews online from people who have experienced pilling- meaning the product clumps up on their skin and doesn't allow them to blend their makeup in. I find for me, the product only "pills" when I've used too much, specifically in hotter weather. I have combo-oily skin, but get really dry in the winter. This face product is still my holy grail. I love the smell of it, but I do wish it could be even more moisturizing. 

Saturday Skin Featherweight Daily Moisturizing Cream

I bought this cream in the summer, and have been using it consistently. The one I have is in the travel size (I think-30 mL), because I bought it part of a set. However, I am not even close to finishing it. I don't use this cream in the morning, I use it at night because I think it's light but hydrating enough that I can layer it with other products. When I wake up in the morning my skin is definitely glowy and refreshed. At full size it is $49, so I am probably not going to repurchase. 

Physician's Formula Skin Booster Vitamin Shot: Time Restoring

This is part of PF's brand new line of serums. I bought this one because 1.) it was purple/pink and 2.) Time Restoring makes me think of the far more expensive Missha one. But does it do anything? It's a bit hard to say- it hasn't broken me out, though. I have used about 40% of the bottle so far, and I have been layering it with the Moisturizing Cream at night. I do like the results, but I have no idea if I would repurchase.

Neutrogena Anti-Wrinkle Deep Wrinkle Serum

Retional-SA

And here we have the big kahuna. This serum I purchased as an alternative to The Ordinary's Retinoid 2% serum, which used to be my favorite. I have- for a couple of years now- have had pretty deep forehead lines and a cluster of lines above my eyebrow. And within a day I saw results, which I know sounds pretty extreme. But I was shocked. I do want to exercise caution, though. I used a bit of it on my cheeks and a little too much on my forehead the first time I used it, and the next morning I had two small little breakouts in those areas. So I only use a light amount in the target areas, and I have not had any problems since. I really do like this serum and probably would repurchase. 

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