Review: Maybelline Master Drama Cream Pencil in Taupe Takeover

Hi everyone!

If you haven't already, feel free to pop over to my last post to take my reader survey. It will help me to see what you guys want to see more of (or even less of)!

But anyway, into the review! A couple of posts back, I reviewed the Maybelline Master Drama pencil in Midnight Master, which the plain black of the line. Today I'm reviewing the one in Taupe Takeover. This was released with Maybelline's Summer Collection, which for some reason, is still in drugstores around me.

 

I bought this for the main purpose on smudging it under my waterline on my lower eyelid. I figured it would be a nice pop of shimmer underneath the black. 

This is a twist up liner, so you don't have to sharpen it. One thing I will mention: once you twist it up, you can't twist it back down. 

This liner claims to have creamy glide, bold colour and 24 hour wear. Let's take a look to see if it lives up to that!

1. Creamy Glide: Yes! This is one of the smoothest liners I have tried. It glides on with such creaminess, it's almost a pleasure to put on in the morning. It's not like one of those liners that almost hurts to apply, because it scratches. 

2. Bold Colour: This liner is about as bold as a taupe can be. Obviously it's not one of the deepest darkest colours around, but it's not supposed to be.

3. 24 Hour Wear: Since I only wear this below my waterline, I can't vouch for the staying power of this on the waterline. I imagine that it would be the same as the black one from this line, which didn't stay 24 hours. This one does stay on quite a while on the eye lid, though. 

This is smudgeproof, but not waterproof. It will run if you go swimming (or cry). 

All in all, I like this liner, but not as much as the black one. I don't find myself reaching for this one quite as often, because if I want a pop of shimmer on my lower lid, I'll usually just reach for an eyeshadow. This isn't a necessity for me. 

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Master Drama Cream Pencil in Midnight Master

So I recently picked up two of the cream pencil liners from Maybelline's Master Drama line. I've been a big fan of the liquid liner from the line for a while now, and after receiving lots of recommendations for this liner, I thought I would pick up a couple of shades. 

The other one I picked up is in 'Taupe Takeover', which I'll be reviewing soon. That shade was part of Maybelline's Summer collection, which is still available in some drugstores.

But the one I'll be reviewing for you here today is the one in Midnight Master, which is the classic black of the line. I wear black pencil liner every day on my water line, so I figured I would give this one a whirl after hearing good things about how creamy it was. 

This is a twist up liner, so you don't have to sharpen it. One thing I will mention: once you twist it up, you can't twist it back down. 

This liner claims to have "creamy glide, bold colour, and 24 hr wear." Let's see if it lives up to these claims!

1. Creamy Glide: Yes! This is one of the smoothest liners I have tried. It glides on with such creaminess, it's almost a pleasure to put on in the morning. It's not like one of those liners that almost hurts to apply, because it scratches. 

2. Bold Colour: This is the number one reason I love this eye liner so much. It's no secret that a lot of black liners do not show up with intensity on your waterline, without really having to work at building up the colour. This liner glides on with rich, dark black in one swipe. I love it!

THAT'S ONE SWIPE. 

3. 24 hour wear: This is where we lose some points. Now I must say, I can only vouch for the staying power of this on the waterline, and I know that liners do not last as long on the waterline as they do on the eyelid. This does not last 24 hours on my waterline. It doesn't even last five. But I do believe it will last much longer on the eyelid. 

It also says this liner is smudge proof, which, once it sets, I have proven to be true. However, it is not waterproof! It will run if you cry or go swimming or something. 

Anyway, all in all, I would highly recommend this if you're looking for a rich black liner. I absolutely love it, and it will definitely become a staple in my collection! It's so much cheaper than my Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Perversion, that's for sure!

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Seashore Frosts

This eyeshadow was literally the most elusive eyeshadow I have ever had to deal with. As soon as reviews of this started hitting the blogosphere, I started keeping my eyes out for it in stores. It was about three weeks before I spotted Maybelline's Summer collection display at Shoppers Drug Mart. They had the other Color Tattoo shades, but not this one. This is the only one I wanted; it was the most hyped about. So I called all drugstores in my city and they all had a similar story- that they had received this collection and Seashore Frosts had sold out quickly, and that they weren't getting anymore in. So I turned to the internet. After lots of searching, I finally found this sucker (brand new) on ebay. After paying twice the price and a week a waiting, this bad boy finally arrived. 

Seashore Frosts is probably the most talked about colour for the summer. It is a gorgeous duochrome blue-gold-green shade. It was so worth the wait. 

In the picture above, you can see more of the gold with a hint of blue, but in the next picture, I tried to capture more of the blue. 

See how pretty it is?

Formula wise, it isn't the greatest. It isn't as long wearing as the color's in the rest of the line. And the main issue I have with this shade is that it isn't that buildable. It doesn't pack a huge punch on the eyelid with just one layer, but when you try to add more, it won't spread easily. The duochrome sort of translates onto the lid, but I wish I could build it up more. 

Here's some swatches of this shade. I tried my best to capture the duochrome, but it is sort of difficult to get on camera. 

You can sort of see here the gold turning into the blue.

And this picture here is more gold, while the one after is more blue.

All in all, I highly recommend checking this color out. It's so unique, and it really isn't too vibrant on the eye, so it can look natural.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Master Duo Liquid Liner in Black Lacquer

I bought this liner after my Line Stiletto liner (also from Maybelline) dried up. I had heard good things about this liner, so I thought I would give it a shot. However, I had heard that only the black colour was good; that the blue, purple, etc were too watery. But I would only go for black anyway, so that wasn't an issue.

There were only a couple of shades available. There was a black, but it only came in one form (no "black", "very black", or "blackest black"), Black Lacquer. There was also a blue and a violet, and maybe one other colour? I'm not too sure. 

Unfortunately, this wasn't on sale when I bought it, but I was desperate, so I paid the full $13 bucks for it. That's a little outrageous for a drugstore liner, but oh well.

I really like the bottle of this. It's sleek looking. It's in the inkwell format, which a lot of other liners are in too. You screw of the top and the brush is attached to the lid.

The concept for this liner is pretty cool. It's meant to be a double liner (hence the name duo liner). One side of the brush is flat, and using that side, you are able to get a thick line on your eyelid. But when you rotate the wand 90 degrees, you are able to get a thin line. It's super easy to do winged liner with this!

This is the thick side of the brush.

And this is the thin side!

The formula for this is pretty good. It isn't thin or watery and it glides on pretty easily. I don't find myself having to go over a second time to get a rich black line. As with most liquid liners, you do have to shake it before use. 

The only issue I have with this is getting it off at night time. It's really tricky to remove, and it takes quite a bit of effort. 

Here a swatch to show the difference between the thin line and the thick line. 

Final Verdict:

Honestly, I don't like this liner as much as I like my Line Stiletto liquid liner. The Line Stiletto is easier to remove than this one.

This is a good liner, it's just not my favourite. 

I find the brush slightly awkward and it's sort of difficult to get an even line. It was much easier with the Line Stiletto.

This is a cool concept though, but I do recommend it for people with more experience applying liquid liner.

I will say though, that the formula on this one is very good. No complaints there.

Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express Mascara

Hi! Sorry it's been so long between posts. I've been so busy!

Anyway, today's review is of a mascara that has been much raved about in the beauty community. It's the Maybelline Rocket Volum' Mascara in Blackest Black (non waterproof). Since I was in the market for a new mascara, I thought I would give it a shot.

Let's break it down! (Ok, that sounded way more gangster than I intended it to. You know what I mean. I meant we should break down the aspects of the product.)

The Packaging:

Ok, I LOVE the packaging. The pink and blue tube is just way too cute. It's very fun and bright, and it will easily stand out in your makeup drawer. 

It isn't too bulky that it's hard to get a grip on the tube; it's the perfect size.

The Brush:

Before you dip the brush into the product for the first time, it looks really awesome. 

For starters, it's pink. Adorable. You can see that it has a thin core and lots of long plastic bristles extending out from that. 

The brush isn't too long that it won't fit your eye. It's a really good size, but I will say that if you're not careful, those bristles will poke you in the eye. And that HURTS.

This is what the brush looks like after you dip in the product.

You get a lot of product on there!

The Formula:

First off, when they say Blackest Black, they ain't kidding. This is probably the richest and blackest mascara I have ever used. It's pure black, and it looks AMAZING.

This is fairly wet formula, wetter than I'm used to using. Because of that, yes, it does clump fairly easily. That being said, it doesn't clump until the third or fourth coat. But the clumps never make your lashes look spidery, like some mascaras do. They just make your lashes stick together. 

This mascara claims to give you 8x the volume, which is a pretty big claim. It definitely does give good volume, but not 8x. In fact, this gives better volume than any other mascara I've used. And it really does a good job in the lengthening department. 

But where it shines, is in separating your lashes. If you just stick to two coats of this, the long bristles comb through your lashes beautifully. It looks awesome. 

It also holds a curl very very well,

The Results:

Let's take a look at what it did for my lashes, huh?

Before-no mascara

 After-with mascara

Overall: 

I LOVE the way this makes my lashes look. It is a little tricky to remove, but it is so worth it. I really recommend this mascara.

This retails for about $10 CAD at any drugstore. 

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner

Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Liner

This is actually the second liquid liner I have used in life. The first was from Revlon, which was in the pen form. I disliked that one so much that it completely turned me off liquid liners. 

I used gel eyeliner and pencil liner almost religiously. But a couple of months back, I was doing winged liner almost everyday. And gel liner was ok for that, but it was hard to get a really precise wing. 

Someone recommended this liner to me, and lucky me, it was on sale for $6.99 CAD at Shoppers Drug Mart. So I picked it up, and I am so glad I did!

I only saw this is one colour, Black, which I think is the case for most liquid liners. 

Maybelline describes this as "ultimate precision liner", which is sort of the case. The thing I like the most about this liner is the brush. It's precise, but it's also flexible so you can in from all angles. It doesn't have a super fine tip, but it does a pretty good of getting a good wing. 

I find you have to shake this with every use, or else the colour won't be as rich and as black. I learned this the hard way. About a week after I bought it, I found the colour getting weaker and weaker. It was early in the morning, and I didn't realize you had to shake it. Lol. But I figured it out!

This is a swatch, see how rich and black it is! This is it freshly applied. It dries to a more matte finish than this, but not completely matte, so beware! 

My one complaint with this is how long it takes to dry. Sometimes, I'll be in rush and so I will curl my eyelashes before it is completely dry, and it will rub off. 

Staying power is good, too; it lasts all day.

So all in all, a great product!

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink

Maybelline Color Tattoo "Metal" in Inked in Pink

Welcome to the review of my new HG eyeshadow, Maybelline's Color Tattoo "Metal" in Inked in Pink. I wear this pretty much everyday now. 

This is the first Color Tatoo I've ever used, but I've heard really good things about them, and how they are the best cream eyeshadows in the drugstore.

I LOVE this colour. Inked in Pink is a pink obviously, but it doesn't look so bold on the lids. It has warm undertones, but it looks pretty neutral when actually applied. Here's some swatches. 

See? Super pretty! It doesn't look too pink; it has goldish undertones. But this is a super formula. It stays on better on me than MAC Paint Pots. It lasts seven to eight hours with no creasing. 

This is marketed as a "Metal" color, but it doesn't show up super metallic on the lids, which I'm grateful for! Too metallic is not the best. 

This is pretty full coverage, so you don't need to load it up on the lids.

I definitely want to try more Color Tattoos after trying this one!

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