Drugstore

September 2014 Favorites

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September 2014 Favorites

September 2014 Favorites
1. MAC Lipstick – Brave $16 / 2. Sonia Kashuk Brush Cleaner $8 /
3. Clinique Almost Lipstick – Black Honey, $16 / 4. CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, $14 /
5. Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick – Divine Wine, $6

I didn’t think much of it during the month, but looking back – my September 2014 Favorites were pretty lippy!

Details after the jump.

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Wanted: Low-Scent Dry Shampoo

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Dear Haircare Companies,

Dry shampoo is a staple for me. In addition to saving me from situations where I don’t have as much time as I’d like, it is a regular part of my routine in that it helps me go a little longer between washing, especially when used my favorite way: before bed. This helps preserve the health of my hair in addition to saving me time, effort, blah blah blah.

Every one that I have tried, with the exception of my current favorite, is rife with varying strong perfume-y fragrance. Even my favorite is scented more than I’d like – though not as much as the competition I have tried. While I understand the goal of a scented dry shampoo in that it should help refresh your hair, I really don’t want to walk around smelling like my dry shampoo. So I ask this: please make a low-scent dry shampoo. Please.

Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak, “Refreshing,” Dry Shampoo.
Not an example of a low-scent dry shampoo.

In a rush the other day, I didn’t take a good look at the state of my hair before I left to start my day. When I got to work (early, thankfully), I felt that I could use a quick blast to help my hair have a little more life. Fortunately, I have a travel-sized can of Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo (long name, sheesh) in my desk. Being as that I arrive eons earlier than my teammates, I sprayed a quick blast at my roots – and coughed. Mmm, aerosol perfume – now with powder particles!

I got up and went to one of the restrooms (which for some ungodly reason do not have fans) and finished the job, but I had to keep moving around to avoid a lungful of this stuff. Granted, most dry shampoo is aerosol and you could have this happen – but of all the ones I have tried and all the times I have used it, this was the worst. The spray is dense, the fragrance is dense; even aiming the product at your roots (as intended) doesn’t prevent some of the powder-mist from settling wherever it feels like (like your top). I hope it dissipated before the next person went in; but even after the dry shampoo cloud itself disappears, the fragrance of this one lingers.

Low-scent dry shampoos would definitely be adopted. A lot of your consumers already wear perfume or some other fragrance. Having their fragrance-of-choice compete with their dry shampoo is no good. On the other hand, I’m sure some of your consumers, or your would-be consumers suffer in the midst of strong fragrances – so they either suffer while using your product, or they forego it. In the interest of keeping happy customers–and gaining new ones–I suggest that you, like Expo did with their dry erase markers, make a low-scent dry shampoo.

Sincerely,

the Beauty Skeptic

Herbal Essences Reboot

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Herbal Essences RebootHerbal Essences Smooth Collection Shampoo and Conditioner

Years ago, Herbal Essences underwent a facelift and eagerly dashed away from the awkward, far-too-excited commercials of yore. But with the new look came new formulas, and people pined for the Herbal Essences formulas from back in the day. Within the last year, Proctor and Gamble decided to reboot two of the classic Herbal Essences lines: Smooth (rose-based, pink bottles shown above) and Shine (chamomile-based, the classic yellow bottles). Users rejoiced!

I’ve never used Herbal Essences products aside from a leave-in product about four years ago, so I wasn’t lining up to pluck the bottles from the shelves. I didn’t have a basis for comparison to the old stuff, so talking about it wasn’t a priority.

Recently, having finished up my Nexxus Therappe and Humectress, I was shopping for shampoo again. I perused the aisle until my gaze fell across the new-old Herbal Essences bottles. I don’t want to spoil it, but I’ll give you a hint: look at the green banners on the left side of each bottle.

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Maybelline Creamy Matte Daringly Nude

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Two weeks ago, I shared a review and some swatches of Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Divine Wine. I actually purchased Daringly Nude, another non-corpsifying (on me, at least) nude lipstick. I had never really thought of a matte nude lip but when I went to make my purchase they were out of the other shade I wanted, so I went with this instead – I figured Daringly Nude would be, “safe,” as lip colors go.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Daringly Nude - Case

I actually swatched this one on my lips as soon as I left the store. It flattered, so I was happy. It felt good on my lips, didn’t dry them out, and it lasted decently. The consistency of Daringly Nude feels identical to that of Divine Wine, though Daringly Nude appears more matte on the lips than Divine Wine. I also noticed that it settled into my lip lines a little bit more – but this may not have happened if I had super moisturized lips.

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Makeup Packaging (Chatter)

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When it comes to cosmetic products, what do you value the most? Form or function?

Personally, I place performance primarily. Packaging comes second; if a product isn’t good, it could have the most elegant packaging ever and not matter.

Maybelline Instant Age-Rewind Concealer, for example, is a fantastic drugstore under-eye concealer…but the applicator is silly. I don’t loathe it as much as some others do, but I do think it could have been executed better. To dispense the product, you twist the case and it clicks as it slowly advances the product up to the built-in sponge-esque puff applicator. It isn’t ideal for application, it isn’t as hygienic as many consumers would prefer, and it is difficult to get the product onto a different applicator if you want to try it that way. The product inside the tube is fantastic, though, so many of us deal with it; it is well-worth it.

That said, there are times when packaging can be a purchase-deterrent. When I choose to invest in a product, I expect greater care to be put into the packaging during the design and manufacturing process. Let’s look at three products, here.

Makeup PackagingMakeup Packaging Comparison
elf Studio Blush, $3 / Benefit Coralista, $28 / Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush, $35
  • e.l.f. features simple, uncomplicated packaging. It is slim (bag-friendly!), straightforward, and features a window in the front so you can view the shade within while it is closed. There is a small mirror inside. It snaps shut.
  • Benefit Coralista, and all of their face powders, comes in a box. The box appeared to be made from thin, reinforced cardboard or paper that is printed with, in Coralista’s case, pink leopard print and some other motifs – I think palm trees, but I really have no idea. This makeup packaging does not latch to close.
  • Hourglass features classy, sleek packaging. On top of being aesthetically pleasing, it houses the product well, closing with a reassuring snap. If I bought one of these and it took me 20 years to finish, the packaging probably wouldn’t make me feel dated or juvenile.

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Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick – Divine Wine

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Lipsticks are one of those fun items that you don’t need a ton of time to test in order to fully evaluate. Despite the fact that I don’t wear them often (they’re a little high-maintenance for my day-to-day tastes), I love the look of a matte lip. When I heard that Maybelline added this new Creamy Matte Lipstick formula to their Color Sensational line, I was damn excited. I actually saw them on YouTube first before seeing them in a store, on a blog, etc – Nicole Guerrero was wearing Touch of Spice in a recent video and I was like, “Yep. I need dis.” I looked around and could find no information online, not even on Maybelline’s site.

A few days later, I saw other YouTubers sporting shades from the Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick line and the message was clear, “go to Target.” Next time I was there, armed with a new coupons (no shame in trying something new with one, after all), I went to get Touch of Spice and Divine Wine. They were out of Touch of Spice, but I did get Divine Wine to share with you.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Divine Wine

The caps on the Creamy Matte Lipstick shades are identical: frosted for a matte look, but this otherwise looks like many of the other Color Sensational lipsticks from the outside.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Divine Wine Case

So dark! The flash makes this look not quite as dark as it is. It isn’t like… Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Transylvania or Nars Train Bleu dark, but it is a pretty deep wine red.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Divine Wine - Open

Swatched. For reference on how dark it is, Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick this is sitting next to a well-known shade, Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso. Should have let Beso dry, but I was rushing.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Divine Wine Swatch (Stila Beso above for comparison)

Though I will sometimes wear a bold red lip, I pretty much never wear a dark lip. In fact, I can remember the last time I did, not counting Halloween scenarios – my mom had a dark burgundy(ish)? Clinique lipstick ages and aaaages ago. I pilfered it. I was not even a teenager yet. That was all.
I am not vampy! I like sheer washes color on my lips and clean eyeliner. I am out of my comfort zone! Applying it, eeek, it is so dark. Just applied:

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Divine Wine, Applied

And I love it! Again, slightly ligther in the flash, but trust that this is very fall appropriate.

Despite being called, “Creamy Matte Lipstick,” this is definitely more of a satin-matte finish; the lighter shades are slightly more matte. I think this finish is flattering with this color, personally, but if it want it so-matte-its-flat, this may not be the formula/color for you. It doesn’t feel dry going on – some matte lipsticks can skip or tug on your lips during application, leading to mistakes or uneven-application, nearly necessitating use of a lip brush. Not these! They glide on pretty easily and have great color payoff in one pass. They aren’t as unforgiving as a classic matte lipstick (I’m looking at you, MAC Retro Matte formula – I’ve seen what you’ve done to lips!) but I chose to exfoliate and treat prior just in case. So far, I haven’t noticed any feathering or sass from this lipcolor, but I would probably use a liner (if I had an appropriate color) with this one just in case.

I noticed, also, during application and wear, that the scent of the Creamy Matte Lipsticks remind me of the scent of the Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams. I’m sure they share some common ingredients, though I’m not sure what they are. I would wager that it is whatever allows them to apply easily and remain matte. I love my Nyx Soft Matte Lip creams, but I already have a strong preference for this type of lipcolor to be in a lipstick form rather than a tube with a doe-foot applicator.

I got about about 3.5 hours of wear before needing to reapply, but that includes drinking two glasses of tea and eating dinner. I heard and confirmed that it wasn’t a punk about reapplying, but even the Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams can be punks when it comes to reapplication. To be fair, I think expecting a lipstick to last through eating and drinking is entirely unrealistic – and this one does not claim to be long-wearing, so I am happy.

It is so damn new that even now, almost a week after I’ve purchased them, I cannot find them online anywhere. Not Amazon, not Target, not drugstore.com – but I will be sure to update you with a link as soon as I find one. In fact, I have another shade to share with you at some point – I’ll hold off until I can get a dang link for you.

Are you into matte hues? Seasonally-appropriate ones? Will you try one of the new Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipsticks, or stick with something more familiar like, say, a Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream?