Note: This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift! Some minor adjustments have been made to format and readability, but the content is the same with spot-updates from today!
(In 2015) I’d been using L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess for a while and liked it well enough. I was picking up a waterproof tube (of something else) for a wedding I went to in June 2015 when I decided to pick up a tube of L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, too (not waterproof).
TL;DR? I love it.
I made a typo when I was writing out the title of this post – I accidentally wrote, “April 2015 Favorites.” Yeah, right.
I’ve moved on from Blond Brilliance. Priced similarly for way more product, Sally Beauty’s GVP line has what is apparently an excellent dupe of Clairol Shimmer Lights. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t tried Shimmer Lights, but what I do know is that this stuff is glorious for preservation of blonde.
It’s back! My cuticles are a mess since the manicure that blew my no buy. They did a fairly shoddy job, and now my fingers are worse off than before. This is the universe’s way of getting me back, ha. To help protect them, I’ve been slathering the Sally Hansen Cuticle Massage cream into them a couple times a day. I’m almost all fixed up.
I’ve jumped on the bandwagon. Shape Tape is a really great concealer. It isn’t some godly ambrosia perfect for every situation as the masses on YouTube would have you believe, but it is pretty solid.
I’m using Cabana Tan on my legs, but my arms (which take color at a comically rapid rate and do not suffer aggressive exfoliation from shaving) are getting a gradual sunless tanner for now. I’ve used Jergens with success but wanted to try L’Oreal Sublime Glow for fun and bought it over the winter – I like how it smells a bit more than the Jergens, and it seems as effective. Bonus? This has a small bit of fun, non-distracting, non-tacky shimmer – just enough to highlight the skin ever-so-faintly and give it a bit more life. I use medium. Note: This isn’t Sublime BRONZE, which is their more aggressive sunless tanner. This is the gradual one!
I’ll be the first to admit I have a Febreze problem. I have since as long as I can remember. Back in the day, it was Meadows and Rain. Then, Thai Dragonfruit, Allergen Reducer (smells surprisingly nice and I still use it). Next (and also currently), the Tide scented one since that’s my husband’s laundry detergent preference. I’ve tried and liked many more. Then, Febreze came out with their refillable Febreze One product and I immediately purchased it. It’s a fabric refresher and air freshener in one. It’s non-aerosol, and you can buy refill cartridges rather than whole new bottles. The Bamboo scent reminds me of something between Tide and Meadows and Rain – it’s clean, but not nauseatingly so. There’s a distinct, crisp Ozone note that I can’t.get.enough.of (its what I love about Yankee’s Margaritaville Mother Ocean candles!) Anyway, then BzzAgent sent me the other two scents which are quite lovely as well. I love that they’re lower-waste and that it’s a multi-use product. Couch? Curtains? Bathroom? Office? Handled.
Today is my first day back to my day job since the day before Christmas Eve; an unpredecented holiday break (my employer has a use-them-or-lose-them vacation day policy) for me. So, as I’m sure anyone in a similar situation can imagine, this first Monday of the year is a molehill that feels like a mountain as I make my way through the motions of my workday. But hey – at least I look awake!
Professionals, students, and Moms, you can relate: Sleep is a beautiful, precious thing. Even though I find significant joy in makeup, one cannot get through the days as a functional human being on joy and/or a perfectly executed winged liner alone.
On a daily basis, I prefer more sleep over more time to primp. I am a Snooze Button fiend. In spite of my extra sleep, I often still look pretty tired and sleepy until my second cup of coffee (and even then, coffee doesn’t cure dark circles). I’m not always a fan of looking like death-warmed-over, though.
Fortunately because I find myself in this situation more often than I care to admit, I’ve become pretty good at handling it. Regardless of the reason we’re time-deprived, most of us have three minutes. Yes, three. That’s it. This isn’t a, “no makeup-makeup look,” that requires you spend more time than you’d ever expect. This isn’t a full blown morning routine complete with sun salutations and lemon water, though – this is JUST making your face look less exhausted without doing a full face. Give me three minutes and I can look like my cats didn’t wake me up three times last night or like I did more harm than good by thrice-striking snooze.
First, concealer, post haste. I still really love Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer, even though the packaging could be better. I’m cracking open my fourth tube, soon – and let’s face it, how often do we makeup fanciers repurchase something 4+ times? Yeah, I dig it. We understand each other.
January 2015 FavoritesWe’ve made it through January despite cold weather, colds and sinus fun, and so-so moods – here’s what made into my list of January 2015 Favorites.
Brands L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline feature products that are very similar to one another (like their gel eyeliners) and for good reason – both drugstore makeup brands fall under the L’Oreal Group’s portfolio.
I’ve finally had the opportunity to test both L’Oreal and Maybelline gel shadows – Maybelline’s Color Tattoo (available for $6-ish on Amazon and at drugstores, etc) formula, and newer (to me – not new in general), L’Oreal’s Infalliable Eyeshadow (available for $7-ish on Amazon and at drugstores, etc). Now that I’ve had adequate time to play with L’Oreal’s Infalliable offering (and have really, really come to enjoy the latter), I wanted to share a comparison and review.
First, let’s check out the packaging of the L’Oreal and Maybelline Gel Shadows:
On the left, we have Maybelline’s Color Tattoo, lid down. The bottom of the glass pot includes information about which sub-line it is from (this is Barely branded, which I talked about in my Color Tattoo post – it is from their Metals sub-line), and also boasts that it will wear for 24 hours. That said, unlike my accidental 28 hour test of Maybelline’s gel liner, I haven’t made a point to push this past a normal day. The cap includes more information about the product, such as the shade name, batch number, and product volume (4 grams or .14 oz).
On the right, we have L’Oreal’s Infalliable Eyeshadow, also lid down. The L’Oreal packaging is a bit more simple, not as loud with the font used, and it allows for an unobstructed view of the product inside (this is Bronzed Taupe). The pot is lower profile, sleeker, and is more of a squared shape with a round screw-on cap. Like its Maybelline cousin, the cap has a sticker featuring batch, color, and volume (3.5 grams or .12 oz) information on the cap. A notable difference is that unlike the Color Tattoo, this Infalliable Eyeshadow features acrylic (plastic) packaging; this makes it lighter (and sturdier!) which I personally consider a plus, but glass is more-often associated with luxe when it comes to product packaging…something L’Oreal usually tends to pursue.
Opened, the L’Oreal and Maybelline Gel Shadows are two different scenes – the Maybelline Color Tattoo has the product right there in your face, but the L’Oreal Infalliable Eyeshadow has a little secondary lid that sits atop the product. Though it isn’t loose or of such a consistency that it may escape if you accidentally invert it, I imagine this secondary lid is to help tamp the product in place to keep it from drying.
L’Oreal and Maybelline Gel ShadowsI’m going to be a little backward and share swatches before sharing consistency details. I’ve swatched the L’Oreal and Maybelline Gel Shadows on the back of my hand. Both products were picked up with a finger and applied with one swipe over no primer – this is how they are out of the pot. You can’t see it in the photo so well, but the L’Oreal Infalliable shadow, pictured left, is a bit more even in one pass than the Maybelline Color Tattoo. They are both great; excellent pigmentation and color payoff. Both L’Oreal and Maybelline gel shadows pictured are frosty metallics, but Bronzed Taupe features a shinier, almost wet-look finish on my hand here compared to Barely Branded, which looks satiny in comparison.
Now, my favorite part: the formulas. Though these are both gel-type shadows the formulas and consistencies could not be more different.
Maybelline’s Color Tattoo formula, though gel, is actually somewhat stiff. Although they recommend applying with a finger for best results (like you might do with pigments), I found that using this non-flat shader brush gave me the best results. I apply with my finger from time to time and usually regret it – I just can’t get an even application with my finger unless I pat, but I find patting this product with my finger doesn’t give me great color payoff, even if I press, unless I pick up a TON of product. Once it is on, it dries swiftly and does not budge. I like using Barely Branded as a base for other gold or light-neutral eye looks or to use in a single-shade look for lazy days. I have oily lids and this is fine through a ten-hour (office!) workday without additional primer.
L’Oreal’s Infalliable Eyeshadow formula is much softer – we hear the word, “buttery,” tossed around a lot to describe product texture in the beauty world but seriously, this reminds me of butter. Not room-temperature butter, firmer than that, but still definitely smooth – it glides on BEAUTIFULLY with a finger or a brush. I actually prefer using a finger with this to swipe or pat it on my lid. That is invaluable to me – as much as I love makeup, I reeeally love sleep, which sometimes means I don’t have as much time to do my makeup as I’d like…I like not having to grab another tool, and I love that it is so easy to work with. I haven’t used this shade as a base yet because I feel like it would be more appropriate as a base for a darker look (which I don’t do a ton of), but it is also fantastic for lazy or single-shade days (which I’ve had a lot of lately).
In the past two weeks I’ve REALLY been loving using the L’Oreal and Maybelline gel eyeshadows in Brozned Taupe and Barely Branded in concert to create a nice, neutral two-step eye that is appropriate for work. Slap on mascara and wham, you look like you put some effort in when really it took like, oh, maybe two minutes tops (before coffee). They’re definitely worth their price tags.
December 2014 FavoritesRather than waiting a week to get these out, I decided to publish my December 2014 Favorites today. I feel like I should have more on my list, but they kind of overlap with last month…and I imagine next month’s will overlap with this month, too. :P I hope 2014 has been awesome to you, and that 2015 is even more fulfilling.
Before moving on to my favorites, today is the final day for my Urban Decay Naked2 Basics giveaway – it ends at 11:59PM EST, go check it out!