review: maybelline color elixir

So I know these lip glosses have been circulating all over the interwebs, but I made the educated decision to hold off for a little bit and let the initial hysteria die down before I would strike with my own review.

I am not typically a lip gloss person, the stickiness doesn’t appeal to me and I usually prefer a more balm-like texture on my lips that feels hydrating. With this said, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the new Maybelline’s New York Color Elixir. It goes for $6.94 at Walmart, which is a decent price.

I bought the shade “085 Hibiscus Haven” which is a bright blue-toned fuchsia, also out of my comfort zone. I usually go towards more natural colors but this one called to me for some reason. So I went with it, and I’m glad I did. The color payoff was highly pigmented and opaque  on my lips and really gave me the “BAM” I hoped for, but it was also very wearable, which I love.

The gloss feels very thick on the lip, and definitely hydrating. Although the gloss wears off after a few hours, it does leave a bit of stain that is really nice and I almost like it more when it’s worn off a bit. I personally am not crazy about feeling thick shellac on my lips so usually I will blot it with a napkin. It takes the thick, high-shine gloss off but it still looks lovely and pigmented. the doe-foot applicator is also very nice and makes application easy and precise.

 

^ gloss as it is ^      

^ gloss after one blot ^

The way I prefer to apply it is I use a lip scrub first, like this one from Lush that tastes like mint chocolate, then a put a balm like my favorite Burt’s Bees one to make a nice smooth canvas for the gloss, put the gloss over and then blot once with a napkin.

^ Burt's Bees Lip Balm, Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub ^

All in all, it’s a really nice product. The smell is nice but not overwhelming, the color is opaque, wearable and stays put on your lips and it definitely was hydrating. My only cons are that I don’t really like how thick it feels and it will cling-to and show any dryness you may have, so you should make sure to exfoliate your lips prior.


What do you guys think of the elixirs? I definitely want to buy more. Tell me your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

:) ttyl,
madeleine

beautyhack: bb cream contour

Now I love a good contour just as much as the next beauty junkie, and there are a ton of different ways you can achieve a contoured face. You can use matte powder bronzers, cream bronzers, darker foundations and concealers etc. I have tried everything and realized there are pros and cons to all of those options. While they all give you the chiseled cheek bones, powders can tend to look unnatural in texture on your skin, especially in daylight. I’ve noticed a few crème bronzers look a bit orangey or muddy, and that using a dark foundations or concealers can cake up your face. So I’ve gone in a slightly less conventional route in the search for a natural looking contour that will let my skin breathe and that I can wear in the sunlight without feeling insecure.

This is when I noticed a bb cream in my makeup drawer that was too dark for my skin tone and a little light bulb shaped like a well-defined cheekbone went off in my head. Using a bb cream is perfect for a more natural contour because it’s meant to be a subtle tint of color without heavy coverage. It wont cake up your face or leave a powdery and unnatural finish on your skin. It just blends in perfectly, but creates the shadow affect you want from a contour. I use this everyday as either just a bronzer for my cheeks and forehead or use a little more product and concentrate it where I want to create a shadow and chisel out my features. 

The BB cream I’ve been using is the Maybelline Dream Fresh8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector ($7.59) in the color Medium/Deep. It gives the perfect tint of color without caking up my face. The brush I used to apply was the Real Techniques Contour Brush. Its the perfect size to concentrate the product in the small contour of your cheek and the tapered synthetic bristles blend the product out to a beautiful and natural finish (the brush comes as a part of their "core collection" set of 4 brushes for $18.00).

Shop the rest of the brushes. They're all perfection! http://realtechniques.com/

:) ttyl,

madeleine

a guide to beauty guru’s & blogs PART 1

I have been an avid reader of beauty blogs for several years now and have come to know “my girls”, as I affectionately/creepily/pathetically refer to them, quite well in terms of their personality, writing tone, and tendencies in terms of what types of products they write about. With this sage beauty guru knowledge, I feel as though I have a responsibility to spread it ‘round to those of you who may have only just discovered the magical treasures the beauty blogosphere hold. So here it is, a user’s guide to beauty guru’s & blogs! (disclaimer: this is all in the name of personal opinion).

Since there are quite a lot of beauty guru’s I wanted to include, I am going to make this a bit of a series. I tried to think of a particular order or category for these parts but it got a bit overwhelming so this is in no particular order.

Essiebutton- Estee is a funny and endearing Canadian living in London. She writes about a wide range of products, from drugstore (high street) to luxury. She talks in plain language too, not using too many big scary scientific words when talking about formulation and she gets her point across well, while being entertaining. Since she is based in London, she uses mostly European brands but they are all recognizable and well known. Overall: she is good for a laugh and an easy read with solid knowledge to share.

Her Links: http://www.essiebutton.com/ , http://www.youtube.com/user/essiebutton 

It’s Judy Time- Judy is a mother of one (soon to be 3!) living in a suburb of Seattle, WA. If you are curious about a product, but don’t know if it’s worth buying Judy is the one to go to. She is the queen of reviews, mostly drugstore products particularly foundations. But she does also do high end product reviews as well. Her video reviews are the best. She shows her impression from the moment she puts the product on the back of her hand ‘til when it’s 12 hours later. Overall: she gets to the point, doesn’t fuss around and does great and informative reviews.

Her Links: http://www.youtube.com/user/itsjudytime , http://itsjudytime.blogspot.com/

Glamlifeguru- Tati is a professional makeup artist living in Los Angeles, CA. She has great Youtube channel (not a blogger) where she has a range of content, from hauls, “hot or not” reviews, to hair and makeup tutorials. Since she is a professional you can tell she is a lot more knowledgeable on how the products actually work and can give you really trustworthy information as opposed to a general opinion. She talks about mainly beauty but also goes into hair and skincare products. Overall: great reviews and tutorials, trustworthy formula information, slight allegiance towards drugstore products in terms of reviews.

Her Links: http://www.youtube.com/user/GlamLifeGuru

Vivianadoesmakeup & Lily Pebbles: Now I know these women are individuals and have their own style and personalities and I do really love them and their blogs, but I’ve grouped them together because they are quite similar in terms of their content. They both live in London and focus on mainly luxury products, with a few drugstore items every once in a while…Oh and they’re bffls. But I like that about them. They discover so many interesting European skincare and body care brands that I’ve never heard of but now instantly NEED. They also do videos for a Premium Youtube channel called Daily Mix with other well-known British beauty bloggers, aside from their own respective Youtube channels. Overall: both very charming and passionate about beauty. Discover unique luxury products of a wide variety, although mostly European.

Ana’s Links: http://www.viviannadoesmakeup.com/ , http://www.youtube.com/user/ViviannaDoesMakeup

Lily’s Links: http://www.youtube.com/user/WhatIHeartToday , http://www.lilypebbles.co.uk/

Pixiwoo- British sisters Nic and Sam Chapman are professional makeup artists and Youtube veteran goddesses. They’ve been in the YT grind for years and give the best makeup tutorials from natural looks to celebrity inspired looks and just crazy fun looks with a new eye shadow palette they found. Regardless the looks are always beautiful and they do a lovely job of walking you through the look and also just chatting to you while they do it. They have a great amount of product knowledge and because they are professionals, they really know what they are talking about. They also have an awesome makeup brush line that I love called Real Techniques. Overall: unique and fun tutorials, pretty much use only high-end luxury products, trustworthy and very useful knowledge.

Their Links: http://www.youtube.com/user/pixiwoo, http://www.pixiwoo.com/,  http://realtechniques.com/

Tanya Burr: Tanya, formerly Pixi2woo is the girlfriend of Sam and Nic Champan’s younger brother. She also happens to be a makeup artist who blogs and has a Youtube channel. Her blog has a mish mash of topics from recipes and pictures from her vacations and adventures to makeup swatches, reviews and tutorials. She is very endearing and funny (without trying to be) to watch and always posts really wearable and pretty makeup looks. She doesn’t post terribly often on her blog, but her Youtube channel is all about beauty and she uploads at least once or twice a week. Overall: fun to watch, wearable tutorials, uses both high end and low end products.

Her Links: http://www.tanyaburr.co.uk/ , http://www.youtube.com/user/pixi2woo

Look out for Part 2 Next Monday Jan 27!

:) ttyl,

madeleine

review: freeman charcoal & black sugar face polishing mask

I've seen these Freeman masks everywhere so I decided to give one a try. I've heard a lot of hype about how amazing charcoal masks are, especially since Glam Glow entered the beautisphere about a year or two ago, but I am not about to drop $70 dollars on a tiny jar of coal and mud. So this prompted me to try a cheaper alternative.

 the Freeman Charcoal and Black Sugar Face Polishing Mask  goes for only $1.97 at Walmart for the little single-use package, which is .5 oz for your face and neck.

The package says that this mask:
- absorbs oil and impurities without over-drying the skin
- exfoliates away dulling skin cells for softness and clarity
- is perfect for all skin types

I followed the directions and applied it all over my face and neck and this is where I ran into a problem. I don't know if I was just naive, but when I squeezed out the product it looked and felt like just a regular scrub. It was very grainy and didn't have the texture I was expecting from a 'mask'. It was kind of difficult to apply it evenly on my skin because all the little sugar bits wanted to stay together. It also started to get really messy and crumbly and chunks were falling on the counter and down my shirt. After a couple minutes I was able to distribute the mask fairly evenly.

                                         

I then waited, as directed, for 5-7 minutes for the mask to sink in, set? Not really sure what the waiting did, I didn't feel the mask doing anything, but I had faith in whatever secret process was going on in my skin. After the 7 minutes I "gently massaged" the mask into my skin for about 1 minute, which was slightly unpleasant as there were A LOT of sugar particles and it started to hurt after the first 20 seconds or so. Rinsing it off my face with warm water was easy and quick, the mask didn't cling too much to my skin and just washed right off. The end result was actually quite nice. My skin felt really smooth and soft and it wasn't red at all from the exfoliating, which surprised me and the mask did as it advertised and did not dry out my skin at all.

My final thoughts on this mask is positive. Although the application was a bit messy and it took a little elbow grease and some wincing to exfoliate, the end result was very nice and it did what was promised.  My makeup went on amazing as well, after using this plus it was dirt cheap, which is always good in my book.

I would definitely recommend this mask to somebody who is about to go to an event or for people who wear heavy or full coverage makeup because it makes for the perfect base. I wouldn't suggest this mask for regular use though, because of the exfoliant. Im definitely going to try more masks from this line. Which ones do you like?

:) ttyl
madeleine

a wee walmart haul

As per usual, while food shopping in Walmart I took a little detour down the beauty isle and picked up a few things. As you can see I got a nice variety of both new and older products. Expect too see reviews on all these soon. Have any of you tried these out? Tell me what you think and we can compare notes!

Covergirl Bombshell Volume Mascara (very black) $8.94
Maybelline Color Elixer Lip Color (085 Hibiscus Haven) $6.94
Freeman Charcoal & Black Sugar Face Polishing Mask $1.97
Real Techniques Expert Face Brush $8.98



:)ttyl,
madeleine

ootd: lunch in downtown delray

It was a rare day in South Florida, only 60 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. So my boyfriend Sean and I had to take advantage and we took a stroll in downtown Delray Beach, then we got lunch at our favorite burger place, Johnnie Brown's. Really chill place and they have awesome live music every night too! check it out if your in the area :) 

Dress- Brandy Melville

Shirt- F21

Purse- Target

Sandals- Sanuk

Sunglasses- Nordstrom bp

Bracelet- H&M

Watch- Kate Spade

Nails- Essie ‘Hip-anema’

:) ttyl,

madeleine

disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any companies or brands mentioned in this post. The opinions mentioned in this post are 100% mine.