Maybelline Dream Wonder Liquid Foundation Review

 

 

I bought this foundation as soon as I could find it when it came out. It's under a slightly different name in the states; Dream Wonder Fluid Foundation. It's the Dream Wonder Liquid Touch foundation over here (huge difference, I know).

 



Amazingly enough Maybelline released dark shades for this line of liquid foundation. I wanted to try their Dream Wonder Powder but sadly the darkest shade in the whole line was light enough to match the inside of my palm. Not, cool Maybelline.

 

I usually don't wear Coconut (355) in Maybelline's foundation lines because it tends to be too light but this Coconut (95) was very deep, almost like Mocha from their Fit Me Range. So I decided to give it a whirl. I'm an NW45 just for reference. I've used this foundation all through the winter and it's been such a good match I don't even need to wear it all over my face for it to blend. When summer comes around I'll probably have to find an entirely different foundation though because this is the darkest shade in the line.

Claims from the Maybelline Canada website: Breakthrough texture fuses with skin. A finish so imppecable, yet undetectable. Exclusive dropper. Medium to full coverage, ideal for normal skin

 

This foundation retails for $12.95 at Wal-Mart. 

 

The applicator is a weird looking wand. I use it by dropping some on the back of my hand and then applying with my fingertips. I don't use a brush because this foundation seems like the sort to get sucked up by a brush. Even with my fingers I end up with a very natural but perfected look that I like a lot.

 

The bottle has 20ml in it and while that seems like a little for the price, it's actually a lot. The foundation is very thin so you don't need a lot to get the coverage you're after. 

 

 

This foundation is amazingly thin. It's very runny too which is why the bottle tells you to shake it well to mix up the pigments with the fluid. It's so thin but it spreads so easily on skin it's just weird to see. When you apply it on your skin it doesn't feel like there's enough but it just glides over skin like silk. When I have it on, I forget I've got foundation on.

 

The colour match is actually a really good match for my skin. It doesn't oxidize and become darker either.

 

The foundation dries to a semi-matte finish which I really love. I don't like how deadening matte foundations are and I don't like dewy foundations which grease up my combination skin. The foundation also has medium but buildable coverage which is perfect for me as I want to have as natural a finish as possible. As it wears through the day the foundation becomes dewy and not semi-matte.

 

The foundation blends very easily on the skin.

So there is the drop of foundation on my hand and I blended in the other swatch. As you can see, the foundation is actually a little too dark for my hand which is how I knew it was going to be absolutely perfect for my face. Like some women of colour, my hands are slightly lighter then my face.

I've been using this foundation for several months now and I still haven't run out. I adore this foundation and how easy it is to apply in a rush. I would rebuy it but I found it tended to dry out my skin a little. I'm mourning a little inside because I don't know how I'm going to find another foundation that feels as nicely as this one does with good coverage as well.

Likes:

1. Feels thin and weightless on skin!
2. Blends very easily
3. The bottle lasts
4. Semi-matte finish
5. Great colour-match

Dislikes:

1. Drying
2. No sunscreen!

A-



Maybelline Baby Lips BUDS Spring 2015 Limited Edition Oh! Orchid & Petal Rebel Review

 

 

This cute duo popped up in Canadian drugstores earlier this week and I managed to snag these two today. I couldn't resist the adorable flower motifs and the pink colours. I had a feeling I was going to like it a lot more then the Winter 2014 limited edition selection because there were no peach shades.

So both of these tubes had barcodes on them which is new to me as none of the other previous shades have had barcodes on them. Perhaps Maybelline is thinking of selling them without the card packing?

From what I've seen these are the only two shades Canada has received: 190 Oh! Orchid and 175 Petal Rebel (Maybelline really needs to stop repeating names. The Color Whisper line also has a shade named Petal Rebel). The states has another shade, Peach Posey and I'm super glad they didn't put that one in the duo. This duo retails for $7.96 at the Wal-Mart where I purchased it but it was on sale so I bought it for $5.96.

Here's Oh! Orchid. It's a pinkish purple shade. It smells like raspberries which is my favourite baby lips scent. It's got the same scent as Pink Shock from the Electro line and Pink Quartz from the Crystal line. This shade is really sheer. I had to swipe it on the back of my hands several times in order to get it to show up. I don't really mind per se because it gives my lips a milky purple tint which is easier to pull off on my NW45 skin if it's sheer.

Here's Petal Rebel. Like Oh! Orchid is has that enticing raspberry aroma. This shade is also entirely clear. I swatched it on the back of my hand approximately ten times and there was the slightest, slightest, slightest, slightest tint of soft pink. I'm a little disappointed that this shade didn't have any tint but it does make it easy to wear as it's clear. I actually love the way it makes my lips look! It's clear but there is a soft hint of colour that bumps it up from a totally clear balm, but keeps it easy to apply without a mirror.

Here's a picture of Oh! Orchid on the left with Petal Rebel on the right. I don't know if you can make it out or not, because it's very sheer.

So there it is. I am disappointed because I was expecting tinted lip balms, not clear lip balms with an inflection of colour but at least they don't look terrible on so I can get some use out of them.

Likes:

1. Delicious scent
2. Fairly moisturizing
3. Cute packaging

Dislikes

1. Says it's a tinted lip balm but only one shade delivers on that claim



B-

Hard Candy Glow All The Way & Sheer Glow All The Way Review

I am fairly new to the world of highlighters so I decided to try some cheap thrills to test the waters. So I picked up Hard Candy's Sheer Glow All The Way illuminator in Blushing Babe and after that Glow All The Way in Tropical Tan.

Blushing Babe

 Tropical Tan

Claims: Glow All the Way with this pearly, luminizing highlighters that illuminate any skin tone. Infused with 24-karat gold for a million dollar look! Also available in two shades of tinted sunless tanners to instantly bronze and build a lasting tan.

I think it's pretty neat that Hard Candy has infused these illuminators with gold and at first I didn't believe because I thought that would seriously drive up the price of these highlighters. True enough gold is listed as an ingredient so there is gold in the product though its under the name "colloid gold" which is entirely baffling.

Anyway for the price, these tubes are huge. I use half of a pea sized amount for both cheeks so I shouldn't have bought two of these things because one will last me ages. I don't really mind though. You're definitely getting a good amount of product for the little price you pay.

The product has no discernable smell to me. The texture is very creamy and moisturizing as you apply it. The product doesn't dry down and get flaky, but glides like a lotion. Both are fairly shimmery but isn't obvious and tacky once applied to the skin. It just looks glowy.

I really like these illuminators because they carry out their job well in addition to feeling really nicely on the skin.

Blushing Babe: A pearlescent pink highlighter with a hint of peach. Is as sheer as the name implies.

At the top is a glob which was just too much! I put a glob that same size beneath it and look how much space it covered!

Zoomed in to show fine glitter suspended in gel.

This is Blushing Babe completely blended in. See how soft the glow is? It's subtle but there.

Tropical Tan: A bronzey brown shade with fine shimmer. It's supposed to tan the skin but my skin wouldn't yield any results if it did tan!

There's a much smaller smear of Tropical Tan on the left followed by a blended swatch of Tropical Tan. As you can see it blends in very easily.

All in all; I really like these highlighters and I'm really glad I purchased them!

 A

My Winter Skincare Routine!

This winter the skin on my face has become remarkably dry! I've always had combination skin and I still do have some serious grease on my nose but everywhere else is incredibly dry! So here are the products I use to combat my dry skin and to leave my skin glowing and healthy.


1. Clean and Clear Sensitive Skin Deep Cleaning Cleanser: This cleanser gets my skin clean and fresh without drying it out at all. I love the inclusion of salicylic acid to keep acne at bay!


2. L'Oreal Paris Sublime Soft Gentle Micellar Cleanser: I can't extol the virtue of this micellar water enough. I leaves my skin soft and clean without feeling drying.


3. L'Oreal Paris Ideal Moisture Dry Skin Day Lotion SPF 25: This is the day lotion I've always been looking for; one that doesn't make my skin grey! This starts out white but as you smooth it onto your skin it ends up clear which is perfect for my NW45 skin tone. A lot of companies act like those of us with darker skin don't need sunscreen but anyone's skin is susceptible to damage. This day lotion is incredibly hydrating on my skin and I love how soft it leaves my skin feeling.


4. Clean and Clear Persa-Gel 5 Acne Spot Treatment: I dab a bit of this cream onto my acne spots twice a day and they dry up really quickly! This has helped me reduced the length of any pimples which is always appreciated!


5. Clean and Clear Night Relaxing Cleanser: This is a great cleanser to remove makeup or to use with a facial brush that leaves skin squeaky clean.

6. Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose: Such a fantastically creamy treat for lips! I love how thick and hydrating this lip balm is. So perfect for the winter!

Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick Touch of Spice, Mesmerizing Magenta Review

I was super thrilled to see these lipsticks in the drugstore! I'm not too big on matte lipsticks but I love Maybelline and the sound of a creamy matte lipstick was too good for me to resist!

Claims from the Maybelline Canada Website: Only from Maybelline: The Creamy Mattes by Color Sensational deliver a red burst of bold lip color and a surge of creamy texture in 8 make-a-statement shades, for mattes your lips will love to wear! 

These retail for $7.96 at Wal-Mart. The first one I picked up was Mesmerizing Magenta (left) and I loved it so much I wanted it in a more neutral shade so I snatched up Touch of Spice (right). 

I'm bad at describing shade names but I'll try. Mesmerizing Magenta is a bold berry toned fuchsia with a touch blue. Touch of Spice is a warm terracotta rose. Both lipsticks have a creamy glide and are very pigmented, both are one swipe each! They do feel powdery and matte at once on my lips, there's no sheen to these lipsticks at all. When you mush your lips together, the lipstick does feel creamy like a satin lipstick but slightly powdery as well.

As per usual they have an awful coconut vanilla old-school lipstick smell. I wish Maybelline would just do away with this rank scent and make it unscented because that would be a thousand times more tolerable then this scent. 

These lipsticks last a considerable amount of time without fading. I had lunch with Mesmerizing Magenta on and there was a considerable amount of transfer but the colour stayed absolutely put! I love both of these shades and I'm quite pleased with both of them.

Likes:
1. Matte but not drying!
2. Gorgeous colours!
3. They just glide on.
4. Afforadable price!

Dislikes:

1. The lipstick's smell!

A

New York Colour Expert Last Lip Colour Matte in Creamy Mauve Review

 

 

 

So I popped by Wal-Mart this afternoon and I happened to see these lipsticks had finally landed in Canada. I picked up the only colour I was interested in Creamy Mauve. Usually mauves work really well on my skin tone because they tend to be deep purple-y pinks. This was entirely misleading as it wasn't a matte or a mauve.

Claims from the NYC website: The perfect balance: a mix of matte and satin! These satin matte shades are perfectly wearable in the city. From day to night this lipstick will complete your look.

This lipstick retails for $1.77 which is insanely cheap. So cheap I cannot understand why there's a security tag attached to this lipstick. Anywho the colour is actually a light-medium yellow based pink with a creamy finish.

It's got the same gross berry-candy scent the expert last lipsticks all have. It's got a very hydrating, slippery feeling on my lips. The colour stuck to every crease and flake of skin on my lips. As usual the lipstick doesn't swivel all the way down so you've got to be careful closing the lipstick so you don't slice off a chunk.

So there's the picture of the lipstick on me. As you can see it's pretty pink, no hints of purple here. In addition to that the lipstick is not matte at all! It's a straight up satin!

I definitely won't be using this lipstick ever again. I wouldn't wear it on my NW45 skin (I barely even took a picture for you guys because I knew I looked totally ridiculous). Maybe if I paired it with a lip liner but I just wouldn't wear it by itself. I think this might work better on lighter skin tones.

Likes:
1. Hydrating feel
2. Afforadable

Dislikes:

1. Smells bad
2. Not matte (and it's sold as a matte!)
3. Sinks into lip lines
4. Doesn't flatter my skin tone

C