Revlon's ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick

I have a confession to make...    I love Revlon lip products and when I saw that a few of the shades of their liquid lipsticks where on clearance a few weeks ago, I just had to pick one up to see if it was going to be worth me loving enough to pay full price for.


So, I got this in the color "Platinum Petal", a rosy-pink color that looks very beautiful. I am here to let you know what my first impressions of this lippie is.


I like the doe-foot applicator that it comes with, it makes applying the product very easy.

Doe-foot applicator for easy application

Pretty rosy-pink satin color

To be honest, there is a slightly weird smell to this product that I cannot describe. But, I think that most all long-wearing lip products have that certain smell, so it must be a faint chemical-ish (but not really, if that makes sense) smell. But once it is dry on your lips you will not smell a thing!


This is what Revlon claims this product will do for you:

" *Food-proof lip color with a built-in ultra conditioning coat
   *One-step application. No topcoat required for comfortable wear
   *Stays comfortable and wears beautifully
   *Does not feather or fade; no touch-ups required, even after meals "
   

So, I decided to test this theory out and put it through the rigors!


I applied this at 9:00 in the morning, right before I began my workout routine. But, before I applied this I made sure to exfoliate my lips to get rid of any dead skin so that the lipstick would dry nicely once applied. 


Than I applied this once on my lips;  according to directions, one layer is all you need for full coverage. While I waited for it to dry I smiled so that the product would not settle into the lines on my lips and cause them to sand out (a tip I learned on YouTube). 


After waiting two minutes after applying the lipstick, it was dry and I thought that I would do a simple test and kiss a piece of paper to see if there would be any transfer. And, yes there was, as you can clearly see a pink outline of my lips! So, wait longer than two minutes for it it be completely dried, which in my opinion, is too long!

First Application

As I went about my day, eating, drinking, working out, etc...I did not notice any transfer at all! I was pleasantly amazed by that. But, what I did notice was that my lips definitely felt dry and uncomfortable, just like the majority of long-wearing lip products I have tried out. I had to fight the urge to put some chapstick on, just so I could stay true to this products claims that you do not need a top coat since it is supposed to me moisturizing!


 I wore the lipstick until I got ready to wash my face for bed that night, which was around 8:00 p.m. I noticed that the lipstick did fade in color a little bit, and looked very dry on my lips. Despite the dry feeling/appearance, the color didn't look that bad, even after minimal fading!

After all day wear

The down side is that it does look dry and it is irritating to wear products that dry out the lips. I must say, that I will not be re-purchasing this product because of that fact and because it brings out the lines in my lips more than I care.


Long-wearing lipsticks are easy to come by, but a good one is hard to find!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Creamliners!

I have a confession to make...    not too long ago, I ditched my love of pencil eyeliners. Now, don't get me wrong, I still like them and I still use them for the lower lash line and sometimes when I am in a hurry to slap on some makeup and get out the door, I will use pencil liners. But, for that pretty and precise line for the lid, my go-to choice is gel or cream eyeliners. 


To me, they are much smoother and they give more definition, and for the days when you want some extra glamour, they will deliver on that, too!


I came across the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel Creamliner (WOW is that a mouthful!) and it was on sale for $4.82 and I had always been curious about them and heard good reviews on them. So, I figured, why not test it out? For a few bucks I got three colors, two of which I did not have in gel form.

I purchased this in the shade for blue eyes,
even though my eyes are brown!

I know it is cool that the pots stack one on top of the other and it probably does save on room, but what I dislike is that the lids do not fit back on properly. Gel liners are known for drying out quickly and so it is important to screw the lid back on tightly. There is only a tiny amount of product in each pot, less than you expect from the big packaging, but if these dry quick, at least you had used up most of the product by then, hopefully...But, these do come apart and you can travel with just the color you need and not have to worry about taking the whole stack with you.


The brush is a nice brush and does it job nicely. The bristles are soft and flexible so using this to line the lash line is brilliant. Plus, it fits in your hand easily since it is not big, nor is it too small.

Brown

The brown shade is beautiful looking with flecks of gold in the product. Alas, when worn on my lash line, this brown is not as pigmented as it is when it is swatched. It comes off as a very light copper brown and the golden flecks are lost on my own lids. But, when you want that natural look with no harsh and heavy line, this would be nice. I just expected more of a precise and darker brown.

Black

This black is very pigmented and has flecks of dark blue glitter in it. Do not worry, because the glitter is not chunky nor is it noticeable; it is only noticeable if focusing straight on at it as it is very subtle, since this is a shimmer liner. From looking at the picture above, you would not be able to tell that this has blue flecks in it. Only when you dip your brush inside will you be surprised. This will give a clean and cut line and is easily winged out with definition. 

Blue

This blue is gorgeous! It is a very dark blue, I would almost say it is a navy/purple with blue shimmer running through it. Just like the black liner, this one is easy and precise when applying, it will not disappoint you! The shimmer on this one, at least to my eyes, is not noticeable unless stared at for some weird reason (really, who out there stares at our eyeliner?). But, I love this!


This is what Physicians Formula claims about this product:

" *Three custom shades provide a glamorous look to define and enhance your eye color.
   * Unique gel cream formula glides on effortlessly and smoothly while providing the definition of a liquid eyeliner.
   * Long wearing, water-resistant and smudge-resistant formula provides 24-Hour definition.
   * Includes Pro-Eyeliner Brush for effortless and precise application.
   * Stackable eyeliner pots can be pulled apart for individual use on-the-go. "

The application of these products is extremely smooth and soft. For the brown liner, I think that it is a little too soft as the product skips and does not give a pigmented fluid line. So, it takes two applications or so to get the color neat on the lids. 


When they claim that these liners are long wearing, water-resistant and smudge-resistant, they are right on! I wore these on my lids with nothing else, no primer, no shadow, nothing, and they did not move at all nor did they transfer. These are amazing for all day wear because you will not have to worry about it moving.

From Left To Right: Brown, Blue and Black

A Few Minutes After I Swatched, I Tried Smudging!

You can see from the swatches above just how smudge proof they are. The black did move slightly, but when worn, do not fear, this will stay where you apply it. 


I highly recommend that you purchase these liners because they are easy to travel with and as you go about your day, you will not worry about your liner smearing or running down your face, depending on your activities!


Pretty Confessions of the positive are always fun to confess!

Maybelline ColorStay Tattoo Review

I have a confession to make...    and it centers around the new Maybelline Eye Studio 24 Hr Cream Gel Shadows that came out early last month. Apparently they are like MAC's Paint Pots, but even better. I have two Paint Pots, "Painterly" and "Indian Wood".  I have never fallen in love with them because they crease like crazy on my oily eyelids, alone and when used as a base. So, when I heard that Maybelline came out with an even better version, I thought that for $6.00 it is worth a try.


I purchased this in the color, "Tough As Taupe", at Shopco for $5.99. The color is such a gorgeous matte dark grey color, extremely unique in cream shadow.

This dried relitively quickly when I swatched it on my hand and once it dried, it did not budge, so that was a pleasant surprise for me! 


Maybelline says that this product was created using an ink technology (must be how they get such vibrant pigmented colors!) that creates 24HR wear shadow for intense long lasting color saturation. It is a cream formula that does not crease and keeps its vibrant color and will not fade. It is safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens.


So, I decided to give this a whirl and test this theory out for myself. 


I applied Tough As Taupe to my lids using a shadow brush. I used no eyeshadow primer, so this was going to be the real test, to see how creaseproof this was going to be on me.

10:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

I noticed that this does apply smoothly and quickly dried to my lids, but still was able to blend the edges out. It felt nice and light on my lids and was happy with the results of application. 


Through out the day I would check in the mirror and was pleased that there was no creasing. I would even touch my lid to see if my oils where breaking though and the product was still holding fast and dry.


I decided to wear this product for twelve hours and see how it would hold up. Here is what my eyes looked like at the end of the experiment:

10:30 p.m.

10:30 p.m.

As you can see, there was some fading and some obvious creasing; so for my extremely oily lids, it did not last for twelve hours completely. Yet, I normally do not wear makeup for twelve hours so for a "normal" day, this product would last about seven or eight hours on my lids with no dramatic creasing and fading. 


Mac Paint Pots are no good on my lids because they crease within three-four hours, no matter how little I apply. The Color Tattoos last much longer, so overall, I am satisfied with this product!


What is great is that the Color Tattoos come in vibrant colors as well as a few more muted colors and they are very affordable! I would definitely purchase this again and use it on its own as a sweep of color on my lids. 


Drugstore products are amazing me more and more each day! long lasting tattoos for our eyes? What will they come up with next? Whatever it is, I cannot wait!