Utter PAN-demonium! March 2013

So today's post is something I've never done on my blog before, but I thought it might be fun! This is going to be a post all about products that I've "hit pan on", or you can see the bottom pan on it. The reason I'm sharing this is because if I've hit pan on something, it most likely means I like it a lot! So this post might give you some new items to try! Let's get started!

FACE:

1) L'oreal True Match Powder in Neutral 1

This a powder that I've been using for quite awhile now, and I really enjoy. It's a much loved product around the beauty community anyway, probably because of how natural it looks and how much coverage it gives.


2. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation in Ivory

I've already posted a review of this foundation, (you can see that here) but I absolutely love it! It works well on my dry skin, and has great coverage. I've been using it solidly for about six months, and I'm only just running out of it now. Luckily I have a backup!

EYES:

1. MAC Eyeshadow in Phloof!

Finally hit pan on this little guy after using it for about two years. Not much to say about it, except that it's a frosty pink toned light shade, and my absolute favourite shade ever to use for highlighting. 

2. ELF Single Eyeshadow in Pebble

This is the eyeshadow I use everyday to fill in my eyebrows, which is probably why I hit pan on it. It's a matte taupe colour, and the reason I like it so much is because it isn't too warm toned, and it doesn't make my eyebrows look red. 

3. Covergirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

I've talked a lot about this one on my blog already, but I finally hit pan on it this month! I could have sworn it was a bottomless shadow, seeing as I've only just hit pan on it, and I've used it A LOT. A great basic to have in any collection. 

4. Urban Decay "Naked" Eyeshadow

This is from the first Naked palette, but it can also be bought on it's own. It's a matte light brown, which is wonderful for just running through your crease, which looks natural, but also adds a little something to a neutral shadow look. 

5. Smashbox Liner Palette

I hit pan on one of the cream liners in this palette that I've been using for a long time, on a daily basis. It's just a plain black liner, and I used it everyday on my upper lash line. I finally bought a new liner this month, which is a liquid liner, so I don't need to use this one anymore. But it was a good liner while it lasted!

So that's it for my PAN-demonium this month! This probably won't be a monthly thing, but I'll do another one when I have more things to make a post on.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara

So this is a review on a product that everyone in the beauty community has been raving about. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be another positive review to add to the list.

This mascara claims to give 200% more volume, with no clumps, despite how many coats you put. This mascara did none of the above for me. But this is where I'm confused. I know of so many other people who rave about this mascara, and I just don't understand why it didn't work for me. Maybe I got a bad tube? But regardless, don't be offended if you really like this mascara! This is just my opinion!!!

This mascara has a different brush than all the other mascaras in the LashBlast family. It's thinner and it's curved instead of straight. Covergirl claims that the bristles are perfectly placed apart to avoid clumps, so maybe my eyelashes are just at odd measurements?

The first thing I noticed when I pulled it out was how dry it was. Which makes me suspect that I might have gotten a bad tube, because this barely put any mascara on my lashes. 

Before

After

I'm sorry, but those are definitely what I would call clumps to me!! This mascara just did not work for me, which was sad, because I had very high hopes!

Sorry, Covergirl, but you had a miss on this one. I might try it again in the future to see if it was just a bad tube. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Dupe Alert! Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow vs. CoverGirl Tapestry Taupe

CoverGirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to alert you to a dupe I discovered. I've owned the Covergirl shadow for quite a while, and when I purchased the Benefit shadow, I thought they looked pretty similar. They are not exact matches, but they are pretty close. 

Obviously, the Benefit shadow is a cream shadow and the Covergirl is a powder, but the finish is very similar. They both have a high shine.

Top: Benefit Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit

Bottom: Covergirl Tapestry Taupe

As you can see, they are very alike. The Covergirl shadow is just a little warmer toned and more brown. 

Thanks for reading!!!

Melissa

Review: CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara

CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara

Today's post is going to be a quick review of a mascara I recently bought, the CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara in Very Black. I had used this mascara before, a few years back, but I couldn't remember what it did for my lashes. Since I needed a new mascara, I decided to give it a try.

Purple is my favourite color, so I'm really enjoying the packaging on this. That being said, this is a rather bulky mascara tube. It's nothing atrociously big, but it's not very slim, and it's rather heavy. 

brush

The brush looks the same as the one on their original Lash Blast. It is a pretty large brush, but not too big that I jab myself in the eye whenever I use it. 

The colour is pretty good; it's a rich black that makes statement on the lashes.

lashes-before

lashes-after

As you can see, this lengthens my lashes quite a bit. This mascara promises both volume and length, but it definitely gives me more length than volume. 

This is two coats of mascara in the pictures above. After two coats, it can start to get a little clumpy, but this mascara is actually pretty decent for not being clumpy. 

Staying power is good, too. After about seven/eight hours of wear, it can start to wear down a bit. 

Overall, I'm pleased with this mascara. I would have liked maybe a little more volume, but I'm pleasantly surprised because I got this on sale for $6.99 CAD!!!!

My Rating: 9/10

Thanks for reading!!!

Melissa

I <3 Drugstore Makeup Tag!

So emilynoel83 of Youtube tagged me to this tag. So without further ado, here is the "I <3 Drugstore Makeup Tag"! It consists of eight questions, all about my favorite brands/products you can get from your local drugstore.

Let's jump right in!!

1) What is your favourite drugstore makeup brand?
This is sort of a hard question. I like lots of brands from the drugstore; as I think they all have their hits and misses. I can't just choose one! Ok, I'll pick one for each category. I like Revlon for their face products, I like Covergirl for their eye products, Maybelline for their mascaras, and Revlon for lip products.

2) What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products?
My favourite face product
 would have to be a primer from Rimmel- The Fix and Perfect Pro.

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Primer

This makes my foundation stay on a lot longer!! And it makes my face very smooth and soft. I'm not sure that's viable criteria for a good primer, but whatever.

My favourite cheek product is a highlighter from Revlon- the Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Rose.

Revlon Colorstay Mineral Powder in Rose

It gives such a nice glow to the cheeks. I apply it on my cheekbones, above my eyebrows and on my cupid's bow and it really brightens up my face.

Another favourite cheek product is a blush from Rimmel. It's in Pink Sorbet. It's more pigmented than any of my MAC blushes, and it gives a nice sheen to the face without being shimmery or sparkly. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Blush in Pink Sorbet

My favourite lip product is also from Revlon. It's the Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting, which is a light pink with gold shimmer. It's a good way to do a nude without washing yourself out.

Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting

I also really love all the eos lip balms. They make your lips very soft without being too thin or too thick. And they smell great!

3) Least favourite product?

That would have to be something I bought from Hard Candy (sold at Walmart) a while ago. I was hoping it would be a good highlight, but it turned out to be a chalky white powdery with yellow glitter scattered around. Not a fan.

Hard Candy Moon Glow Powder

4) What is your best makeup bargain?

For me, that would be Covergirl eyeshadow (the singles, duos, trios and quads). They run about $3-$6 CAD, and they have really great pigmentation and colour payoff. One of my favourites is the colour Tapestry Taupe.

Covergirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

5) What is your favourite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

Annabelle eyeliners! They are such amazing quality and they are so inexpensive!! They are comparable to Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners.

Annabelle Eyeliners

6) A drugstore product that is overpriced?

I don't have a specific product, but I think a lot of L'Oreal products are overpriced, when they're quality doesn't really surpass some more reasonable brands.

7) Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!

Well, this question brings me back to the Annabelle eyeliners. Particularly a line called the Smoothliners. A lot of the colours in the line are dupes for many of the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners, which are about three times the price.

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion

Annabelle Smoothliner in Brownie

These aren't exact dupes (one is black and the other is brown), but the intensity of their pigmentation is very similar.

8) Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?

I know this isn't technically a drugstore priced item, but these are sold at the drugstore. And they're Essie nail polishes. I know a lot people love them, but I own three, and they just don't live up to the quality of my OPI and China Glaze ones.

Essie Polishes in (L-R) Case Study, Fishnet Stockings, Fiji

 

So that's the entire tag! Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

Review of CoverGirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

CoverGirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

Today's review will be a quick one; a review of one of my all time favorite eyeshadows- CoverGirl Single Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe. 

As you can see, this is a lovely taupe color, with a mixture of green brown undertones. It's a lot lighter and less purpley/gray than MAC'S Satin Taupe (another one of my all time favourites).

This is a very multi-purpose shade. I like to use it as an all over wash of color on my lid, but you can use it in place of an eyeliner, or a crease shade. 

swatch- sunlight

Tapestry Taupe is a very pigmented shade, as you can see, with a beautiful shimmer both indoors and out. 

swatch- natural light

There's not too much more I can say about this shade. It's pigmentation is great, and the colour is beautiful, and it stays on great with primer. Love this shade!!

My rating: 9.5/10 :) 

I got this at my local Shopper's Drug Mart for about $5 CAD, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for reading!!

Melissa