Revlon Color Stay Full Cover Matte Foundation Review - Did it make the grade?

Hi everyone!! Happy Friday!!

It's a busy weekend here at 523....we have our new flooring coming in later this afternoon, so hopefully the hubby is finishing the painting in Caleb's playroom for that.  We are choosing to lay the hardwood ourselves.  I'm not sure how smart of a choice that is.  But, being that it will save us over $3000 USD to do it ourselves, I'm at least going to try.  While I have been waiting to have this flooring for many years and I'm excited to finally get it...that doesn't stop the dread that I feel from actually doing the work ourselves.  I don't like home repairs, I don't like to paint, I'm not a DIY'er type of girl.  I just like the end result and the amount of money it saves when you do it yourself. I know that sounds awful of me, but hey, I'm gonna keep it real here.  In fact last night when Brad was working on the flooring prep, I did all I could to keep myself busy with the dishes, laundry and getting Caleb ready for bed, just so I didn't have to help with the floor.  I figured it was ok, since I was washing Brad's clothes....that makes it ok, right?

Here's Caleb playing around in what is supposed to be his playroom but is partially dismantled.  We do have all of the carpet and the padding pulled up and glue all removed. 

So, let's talk makeup, because flooring bores me so....

Today I wanted to bring you a review of the Revlon Color Stay Full Cover Matte Foundation.

First up, I didn't like this foundation from the beginning...in fact because I didn't care for it at all, I went online looking for any sort of helpful tips or tricks to make it either better, or show me how to use it correctly, because it looked way too bad for this to be right.

Sadly, there was no help.  So, I still don't like this foundation.  What sucks about this situation, is that I promised myself that I'd use up all of my drugstore foundations all the way, before buying any other....now I have to force myself to use up this one.

Sometimes I think I am my own worse enemy.

So the Revlon Color Stay Full Cover foundation runs about $13-$15 USD and comes in 16 colors.  The texture is very mousse like...it is just like a chocolate mousse you would get as a dessert.

Below are the claims:

Revlon ColorStay Full Cover Foundation, for matte coverage that lasts up to 24 hours. Doesn't look cakey or feel heavy.

Benefits:

• Full coverage, lasts up to 24 hours
• Flawless matte without looking cakey or dry
• Lightweight, blends seamlessly
• Time release technology balances skin for a continuously fresh look
• Shine-free formula made with water, not oil

I do not find any sort of full coverage out of this foundation on my skin.  I still had to go in with a concealer to finish up the redness on and around my nose and the darkness under my eyes.  The original Revlon Color Stay foundation will cover all of this without having to use a concealer.  And I will always deduct points for a claim of "last up to 24 hours"....that's just baloney. :)

(in this photo above the arrows point to the redness and dry patch on my chin, the discoloration under my eye that wasn't covered and the cakey-ness in my forehead)

Full Cover Grade: F

This foundation looked instantly cakey on my face when I applied and settled into fine lines, pores and the creases around my nose.  I have very oily skin, but for some reason this foundation found a dry patch and brought it to life some how.  That was something I had never had before....so it was definitely odd.

(in the photo above, you will see it sinking into every nook and cranny of my face)

Flawless, Non-cakey or Dry Looking: F

The blending wasn't too horrible, but it does stand room for improvement.  I felt it blended better with a brush than a sponge, but it still looked kind of funny with either, or.  The brush seemed to leave streaks in it, no matter which type of brush I used, and the sponge just made the foundation sink even further into my pores.....which was none too pretty.

Blending:  D

Lastly it claims a shine free formula made with water not oil.  I will give the "ok" to this claim.  It actually does help keep me matte for a good portion of the day.  I notice oil breakthrough around the 8 hour mark.  So that's a very good standing with me and my oily skin.  Most foundations usually make it to the 6 hour mark.  The original Color Stay will go the 8 hours on my skin but most other drugstore foundations won't last quite that.

Shine Free:  A

However, when the breakdown starts with this foundation, it really goes quick and looks patchy and gross.  I have been taking off my makeup as soon as I get home on the days I have worn this foundation just because the look of it is so bothersome to me.

All Day Fresh Looking:  C


So, what's the final grade for the Revlon Color Stay Foundation?

Eeek...the final grade is "D"

I can't say I'm surprised.  It has been an utter disaster wearing this foundation.  I would think that someone who likes the whipped formula foundations, might get along good with this one.  Or if you are one who can use the liquid / powder foundation (you know those ones in the compact?) you might really enjoy this one.  I cannot wear those types....I think my skin is far from flawless to use those kind.

But surely there are skin types out there that this will work for.  As for me, that's all I got! I hope it was somewhat helpful for you and I hope to see you back again really soon here at 523.

Until next time, take care.

-Kim




Disclosure:  Some links may be affiliate links.  My thoughts and opinions are mine, the products were purchased by me and in no way does this link affect my judgement on the products mentioned.

Gimmick or Great? - Make Up Remover Cloth

Hi and happy Monday! I'm freezing cold.  Yep, that's all there is to that.  It's actually very, very cold weather for us here in North Texas.  The temperature is 22 degrees and that doesn't work out very well for us North Texans.  But, the heaters are all working well (knock on wood) and I'm going to count my blessings for that.

Poor Caleb was sick and home from school for two days last week....he just couldn't get past this nasty little cold he had.

This is him and Scooby sleeping in my lap. :)

Alrighty, let's talk about gimmicks or greatness.  Have you seen these makeup cloths lately?

These are the S&T Always Off Makeup Cloth.


They feel like microfiber cloths that I use to wipe my car windows with.  But these say they are made for removing makeup.  They claim to "lift away makeup instantly, with just water".  They have even stated that they will take off waterproof eye makeup. 

Well, I can't quite say that ALL of that is true.  Here's where I used the cloth with ONLY water.  You will see that the cloth does remove some makeup.  But after using the cloth, I went in with cotton rounds and my Garnier Micellar water to see how much makeup was left on my skin.  I had to use four cotton rounds to finish taking it all off.

Now, here's where I use my usual Equate brand makeup remover cloths.  I typically use two of these.  These are the ones that already have soap in them and you wet them down and lather them up.  And you will also see how much makeup left on my face with just one cotton round and micellar water. 

While it may seem that these cloths could be somewhat "gimmicky", I will NOT however, count these cloths off.  I don't really think any cloth will take off makeup with only water.  That claim is just too far off, for my personal thoughts.  But these cloths are good when used with water and soap combined. 

Now, will I continue to use them with soap and water? Probably not.  I don't like the feeling that it gives when you try to wipe your face with it.  It feels like it's pulling so hard at my skin.  I assume it's the microfibers that give the tough amount of friction.   But that is total personal preference.  I also don't like using the much loved Clarisonic facial brush.  I personally prefer the spinning head type brushes. 

But, the way I LOVE to use these, are in the makeup room.  When I am wanting to use the same brush but with a different eye shadow, I will just take the dry brush and wipe it across the cloth a few times and it will allow you to switch eye shadow colors without switching brushes.  It's like one of those Vera Mona color switch except those cost $13 USD and these cloths only cost $3 USD.

 Are they a gimmick?  No not entirely.  In fact, these will save you money because you have the ability to throw them in the washer and reuse.  Whereas the pre-soaped cloths have to be thrown away.  They will take off your makeup, but it really needs to be combined with some sort of makeup remover or face soap for the absolute best results.

So, there's my thoughts and my final verdict on the Make Up Remover Cloth.  These are only my opinions so the jury is still out as to whether or not you will like them.  But if you try them let me know your thoughts. 

I think that is all I have for today.  I hope to see you again soon, and until next time, take care!

-Kim


Disclosure:  Some links may be affiliate links.  My thoughts and opinions are mine, the products were purchased by me and in no way does this link affect my judgement on the products mentioned.

Loreal Rouge Signature Lasting Matte Liquid Lipstick - Does it make the grade?

Happy Friday!!

I have been having such fun playing with my stocks this week!! If you saw my post on Wednesday, you will have read that I started investing in the stock market.  And not for retirement, though I do have an investment retirement account too, but this is for a possible supplemental income.  I have no clue just what I am doing just yet, but I am learning a lot and loving it even more!!

Okie dokie, today we are going to talk about Loreal's new lip product they have out.  It's called the Loreal Rouge Signature Lasting Matte Liquid Lipstick.  That's quite a mouthful to say, LOL.  I found mine at Walmart for $9.97 each.

Ok, let's talk about the claims.

Ultra Comfortable Liquid Lipstick:  Yes, this is the most comfortable wearing liquid lipstick.  I most definitely give this an "A"

Dyes your lips for a lasting color:  Yes, this does dye your lips.  Dye is such a scary word....let's say it is a "semi-staining" on your lips.  However, this only comes with the dark colors.  The lightest nude color, I do not see any sort of stain on my lips.  But since the range is mostly deeper and vibrant colors, I went ahead and gave it a grade of "A"

Less texture, more color:  Yes again!! There is so very little texture with these liquid lipsticks.  No flaky, gross-ness is had with these.  AND you can apply more than one layer and even re-apply mid day.  I give this one an "A" also.

Let's talk about the staying power.  It states it has a "lasting matte color".  Yes the color is matte, and it does last.  But it does wear off around the 6 hour mark.  Although, this is the vibrant color you when first applied that wears off....not the stain.  The stain will stay around until about the 8-9 hour mark.  I again, give this claim an "A".

There are 12 colors total....at the time of me taking the photos (which was at 5:30 this morning) I only had 3 colors.  BUT, I made a pit stop on the way to work and grabbed two more colors.  I'll be using them in upcoming tutorials so I'll show them off then. 

But the three I have are "I Empower", "I Rebel" and "I Represent" and you will see them from left to right in the photos below.



So, 12 colors total....I kind of wish there were more.  This is such a fantastic lip product that I really would like to see more colors come out.  But I will just work with what I have for now. 

Some of my own personal thoughts on these are that I love how light and liquid they are.  So they can built up to a full opacity or they can actually be somewhat sheer if you want as well.  I love that they can be layered.  I think that is really a fantastic option with these because most liquid lipsticks can't do that without feeling cakey and crumbly.

The overall grade is an "A" and for me I can definitely see why.  I am going to collect all of the colors with maybe the exception of the dark brown color...I'm not 100% sure of that one yet.

But I do recommend this lipstick.  I think it's a great product and I feel that for people who do not like liquid lipsticks or feel they are too uncomfortable, this is really the product to tryout. 

Well, that's all I have for today.  I hope it was helpful and informative.  I will be back again next week with more, I hope you come back and visit me then.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair - Did it "repair" ?

Hello my friends, I hope you are all doing well on this beautiful Friday.  I have some cooking to do tomorrow for Caleb's Cub Scout's Blue and Gold Banquet.  We are asked to bring dishes from our family's country.  I only know a little about the food that comes from Germany....for some reason I only know beer. :/  And I don't think that's very appropriate for Cub Scouts.  But I decided on bringing German sausage.  We actually have a place near our town that is a German meat market and specializes in German meats.  We have this sausage every Christmas at Brad's family gatherings and also every Easter at my house.  The next thing I've decided to bring is banana pudding.  While we are mostly German, we are also very southern.  And there really isn't anything much more southern than Paula Deen's banana pudding.  This is another family favorite on both the hubs and my side of the family.  So we are going to be diving into our ancestors history with German sausage and our present family with banana pudding.  I'm really looking forward to the pudding. :)

Well, now that I'm hungry for sausage and pudding, let's get into today's post.  On December 6th, I started using an anti wrinkle cream from Neutrogena.

Ok, let's first and foremost talk pricing on this.....I paid $24.99 USD.  I know, I know, I could have paid $200 at Sephora for an anti-wrinkle cream.  But still, I think $25 is a fair price for something that "should" work...am I right?

So let me show you what first got me going on needing a wrinkle cream.  I get that these aren't the best photos....but you do see the slight lines in the forehead, right?  The one on the left is without makeup, the one on the right if full face of makeup, both taken on the first day I used the product.

What I hate about the one with the makeup is that you can see (well, not so much in the photograph) where the foundation and powder will ultimately "sink" into my lines.  Not so pretty!! I have to watch what powders I use to set my foundation with because some will show the lines waaayyy worse than others.

So, let's talk about the claims of this here product....... here's the back of the box.

"Visibly smoother and younger-looking skin in just one week".  Hmmm...one week, huh?  I don't concur.

It said it would "fade the look of even deep wrinkles, including crow's feet, FOREHEAD and cheek wrinkles".  See?  It says it right there...forehead wrinkles.

I still see the wrinkles in my forehead.

This photo was taken the day I completely used up the product.....

Another thing it claimed was that it would "diminish the look of age spots".  Again, there's a "nope" to that claim for me.  In the photo above you can see traces of the spots, which are leftovers of the melasma or "pregnancy mask" that I still have, leftovers from my now eight year old son.

Oh, the things we go through for our sweet baby's.  LOL  I will not go out without some sort of foundation covering it. So, I had hopes that this would lighten it up a bit more so I didn't have to try so hard to cover it with makeup.  Again, it didn't happen.

I wasn't expecting results in one week like it claims that "100% of women" had noticed.  I didn't see results in four weeks nor 8 weeks...in fact it took me 9 weeks and an entire jar, using twice a day, and still had yet to see any sort of difference.

You may wonder if perhaps it did ANYTHING for my skin?  Well, no, not that I could visibly see.  It did give my skin a lot of extra moisture however.   And one thing I noticed was that it worked just fine under makeup as well.  It didn't break anything down early nor make my skin extra oily throughout the day...so I was happy about that part.

So, to wrap it all up...this did absolutely nothing for me.  I was so disappointed, I really thought I'd see some sort of improvement.

Does it mean that YOU shouldn't try it? No, I don't tell anyone when it comes to skin care, to not try something.

Skincare is not a "one size fits all" type of product.  If you look at reviews on this product, it gets very high ratings.  I am just one face that it sadly didn't work on.

So there's my thoughts and my own personal findings on the Neutrogena Rapid Repair.  I hope you found it helpful, and I hope you will come back and visit me (wrinkles and all) here at 523!

That's all I have for today, I will be back again soon.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

Loreal Infallible 24 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation Review - Did it make the grade?

Hi everyone, how are you doing on this beautiful Wednesday?  Even though it's 9:30am, I just had the most perfect and absolutely enormous cupcake I have ever seen.  The size of it was like a triple sized cupcake.  It was a decadent chocolate cupcake with some even more decadent chocolate icing.

Here at work one of our techs went to a location called Small Cakes to perform service for them and they gave him these gorgeous cupcakes to bring back to us here at work.  Its one of those type of cakes that you eat it and it is so wonderful you keep eating until you are sick and then even though you are sick you are still smiling profusely at how delicious it was.  Do you know what I mean?  LOL

Anyways, now that you are craving cupcakes, let's talk makeup, shall we?

Today I am very much ready to bring you my full review of the Loreal Infallible 24 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation and I will let you know if I think whether or not it "made the grade".

I purchased the Loreal Infallible for $14.99 USD at my local Walmart.  If you want me to be completely honest, I will say that the price is a little high.  I think that they really need to keep the price in the $8-9 price range for drugstore foundations.

So I gave the price a C

I liked applying it with a damp sponge, although it works ok with a brush, but I find a very light coverage comes with the brush.  So the sponge is where I find the best application.

So let's look at the claims:

Long wearing, up to 24 hours of wear: B

Twenty-four hours.......nope, that is not happening.  First off I'd never wear foundation for 24 hours, but I will and do on the daily wear it from 5am until about 8pm. So I wear my foundation for about 15 hours.  But, this foundation has a breakdown time of about 8 hours.  Now, that is very normal for foundation on my skin.  It is very rare that I can keep a foundation on without breaking down anywhere on my face much longer than the 8 hour mark.  I think that the Revlon Colorstay will go for about 9-10 hours for me before it starts to fade and break down.  The reason I give this foundation a B is because while it lasts the same as nearly every foundation I have ever tried....I did deduct points for the claims of 24 hours.  That's just a silly claim.

Breathable:  A

Yes, this is very fluid like, meaning it's very thin and watery but very light feeling on the skin.  I completely agree with the statement made of being breathable.

Medium - Full Build-able Coverage: B


I won't go nearly as far as saying its a "full coverage".  Build-able and medium are very true claims so I met in the middle of A and C and gave it a B.  I like that you can get a light or medium coverage.

Three oil absorbents allow it to resist sweat, water and is transfer resistant:  C

No, I can't say it's transfer resistant...I lost a lot of my foundation on people's shoulders when I was overly hugged at the funeral last week.  I really put that foundation to the test then.  I haven't came across sweating yet, its not that time of the year here in Texas so I can't lay claims on that one.  As for water resistant...well it was decent.  It's not hard to wash off, but it didn't run completely off of my face when crying a bunch last week.  Just so you know, I have been using this foundation since the early part of January, but it got some real heavy duty testing last week at the funeral and visitation for my grandmother.   I am a little confused about the "three oil absorbents"....to me that sounds like it should be made to control oil....however, it says no where on the bottle or website that it controls oil.  Which is good because it doesn't do that at all.  But I can't punish something when it doesn't claim "oil control".  It is just a bit misleading to me.

Goes on smoothly:  C

I wish this did better.  I could see it just sinking into my pores and not looking too good.  I did start to use a pore filling primer and that made it much better.  So if you use a pore filling primer or you are just blessed beyond means and have baby smooth skin, then you will like the way it looks.

Healthy Looking:  A

Yep, it is skin like in my honest opinion.  I think because of how thin it is, is what makes it look just like your natural skin.  In all honesty, it looks beautiful on the skin...but you just have to either have pore-less skin or use a pore filling primer.

Color stays true:  A

Yes, again!  While I really could have gone a shade lighter (I bought 425, Linen), it did stay looking true to color.  It didn't oxidize at all on me, even throughout the wearing of it.  The color didn't budge.

Another other thing that I wanted to mention before the final grade....this foundation takes a little while to dry down.  I will turn a little fan on to help it to dry down some, but that is something to think about.

So what is the overall grade?

The Loreal Infallible 24 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation scored:  B

I think that's a very fair score.  It is not a terrible foundation, but it just needs to adjust the claims a bit, especially the 24 hour wear, and you might want to throw a primer under it.  But I have continued to use it and I will finish the bottle up.  I won't repurchase, but I am not disappointed by the product either.

So there you have it...my review and final thoughts on this foundation.

I hope you found it helpful and I also hope you will come back to visit me here at 523!

I will see you all again really soon, so until next time, take care.

-Kim

Gimmick or Great? - Pizza Cutter Shaped Applicator for Liquid Liner

Hello and happy Monday!! Well, Caleb and I had high hopes of playing Bingo with my grandmother this past Saturday at the nursing home.  But when we arrived there was a note posted on the door saying "if your visit is not necessary, please reschedule, there is a viral illness in the entire building and we are trying to keep it contained". 

While I know Granny was really excited for us to come and Caleb was really excited to play Bingo with her, I knew that we had to turn away.  This will also keep us from going tonight on our normal visits to the nursing home, when Caleb reads to Granny.  It is sad, but I know that kind of illness is very serious and I don't want to risk Caleb getting sick, nor do I want Caleb bringing any outside germs to people who already might be sick and their immune systems aren't up to par. 

Well, that was what our weekend held....how was yours?  Have you ever been turned away from a place because illness ran rampant through the building?  I had never experienced this before, but this is the first year for my grandmother to be in a nursing home too.  So, I wonder if this is a normal procedure or if this is really some serious issue?  What do you think?

So, today we are going to talk about something I came across while cleaning up my makeup drawer the other day and it's inspired me to seek out this post idea a bit further.  So today I present my first of (I hope) many other posts on items that look like a gimmick item and either really are a gimmick or they are really great!

So, let's start!
I have been into makeup, skincare, bath and any sort of beauty products since early Jr. High, and I have seen plenty of items in my days.  Some really unique and innovating products and some just plain ridiculous and make you scratch your head wondering "WTF?"

 

Today we are going to determine if this eye liner that has a pizza cutter style applicator is one of those types of gimmick products or if it's really a great product.  The product I am talking about is the Butter London Stroke of Wow Roller Liner. 

I had received this in a Boxy Charm subscription a while back and decided to see how well it worked.  It looked almost scary to me when I first saw it.  I don't know if any of you have been cut by an actual pizza cutter before, but if you had, you'd be just as apprehensive of putting such by your eye, as I am.  LOL

I am mostly a drugstore cosmetics girl, so please know that you can get a liner applicator just like the Butter London one at Walmart by purchasing the Revlon Roll Liner, instead.  If this hadn't been sent in a subscription box, I'd never had purchased it.  So if this is intriguing to you, I'd say pick Revlon first.  BTW:  The formula of the Butter London isn't very good anyways so I'd go for the Revlon for that reason alone. Just in case you were curious.

But let's get started.  I'm not sure who thought this might be a good idea to put a thin roller as an applicator for liner.  I see some part of the idea because you can get a very thin line. 

 But, have you ever used a pizza cutter and tried to cut in circles or round out edges with it?  It doesn't always work like that.  This liner applicator, while it will make nice thin straight liner, will not go in a curved motion.  Such as the shape of my eye. 

I had to go in little swipe-y motions to allow for the curvature of my eye lid, and got a very choppy look from it.  This was not my first time using this on these photos either.  I had already been playing with it a few times this week trying to make it work.  I would think that if you are willing to put in the time and effort, there could be a learning curve you will need to learn.  Apparently I did not pick up that curve.

While I do believe you can get a nice thin line, I couldn't get this liner to get close enough to my lash line however.  You can see gaps where it should be on my lid, but isn't.  I like the brush tipped liners because the liquid on the brush will in a sense "fill in" the gaps of my lid. 

Ok, while I couldn't make this liner work for me, that doesn't mean it won't work for your.  There are 4 out of 5 stars on the Butter London site that the applicator is wonderful and has helped "newbies" to liquid liner, get precise wings and thin lines.  As always this is my personal experience from this product and yours might be very different, especially because all of our eyes aren't the same.  So it's up to you to decide if this is the product for you or not.  And while I can't say this product is "great" I can't quite say it's a "gimmick" either.  I think it's a lot like magnetic lashes, whereas you have to find the learning curve to making it work.

Well, that's all the makeup talk I have for today.  If you have tried this product or one like it, let me know, I'm interested to know if it works well for you or if you have any tips I may try out.

I will talk to you all again soon, and my next post will be the tutorial for the green shadow I am wearing in the above photos.  But until next time, take care.


-Kim

Dupe or Dud? - Cover FX Shimmer Veil - VS - Revlon Photo Ready Eye Art

TGIF!! Woohoo, it's Friday!!  How are you on this fantastic Friday?  I'm doing great here at 523.  I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend with only one plan in mind....Bingo at the nursing home with granny! :)  We go each and every Monday to the nursing home and visit with my paternal grandmother.  They always have fun activities to do at the home, but she won't get out of her room to participate....she says "it's too cold".

While she really doesn't care much for the game of Bingo, she did say that if Caleb came up and wanted to play (because that is Caleb's favorite game) that she'd gladly leave her room and go play.  So, that's our plan.....B-I-N-G-O with G-R-A-N-N-Y.  What does your weekend hold for you?  Let me know below...I'd love to know.

So, today I am bringing you another "Dupe or Dud" post, where we will be comparing a $28 USD product to a $8 USD product.

While going through my makeup, I came across this Cover FX Shimmer Veil in Amethyst.  I think I received this in a subscription box and never opened it, but decided to see what it was all about.

It looked similar to a product that I already had on hand, which was the Revlon Photo Ready Eye Art in Fuschia Flash.

When looking at them in their containers they do not in the least bit look the same....however when I swatched them on my hand, they were extremely close looking. 

The Cover FX is the swatch on the right side and Revlon is on the left side.

So I decided to try them out on my eyes to see if there were any sort of differences when wearing them.  As you can see, however, there is a subtle difference in the way they look on the eyes.

The Cover FX (on the right) has more of a glittery purple hue to it.  Whereas the Revlon (on the left) has a more metallic finish and stays true to the pink color.  So they are not "dupes". 

While I'd normally say that I was sad they weren't dupes, I have to be honest...I actually don't care for the Cover FX.  I have worn this eye look for the past 3 days and all three days the Cover FX has been flaking off all over my face and falling into my eyes.  Not fun, nor comfortable!!

However, while I don't like the formula of the Cover FX, I do like the slight purple hue it gives.  So I decided to play around with some other stuff in my collection and I did find another product to add to the Revlon to make it look more comparable (minus the flaking) to the Cover FX.  I topped the Revlon with the Milani Hypnotic Lights in Beaming that cost $10. 

Together (Milani and Revlon) they made a good color and texture match to the Cover FX.  So for only $18 USD, I got the same look as I did with the $28 USD product and didn't have to deal with the flaking off!

I did try to use the Milani by itself, but it doesn't have a cream colored base....its almost like it's mostly shimmer that gives the color, not necessarily the base of the product.  When used alone it looked more like a wash of purple glitter on the eyes, nothing like the cream of the Cover FX.

In case you were curious, here is my full completed look.  I used the Rimmel Crimson pallet and applied the 4th color from the left throughout my crease, applied it heavier in the outer V and ran it on my lower lash line.  I used the Milani Blossomtime blush for my cheeks and for lips I used the Loreal Color Riche in Rose Gold.

 Anyways, I love finding less expensive ways to recreate looks!! It's puts a little pep in my step to do this...and it's not just makeup, I will do this with home furnishings, clothes, accessories, etc.   In fact I'm currently in the process of looking for a pair of earrings that had butterflies on them, that Meghan Markle, Dutchess of Sussex, was wearing not too long ago.

Obviously I cannot afford the ones she was sporting, but I can get really close to the look and not have to have the Queen's approval to buy them.  LOL

Anyways, that's all the makeup talk I have for today.  I hope you all have a beautiful weekend and I will see you all again really soon.  So, until next time, take care.

-Kim

Maybelline Brow Tint Pen Review - Does It Make the Grade?

Happy Wednesday!!

How have you been?  I was out on Monday, Caleb didn't have school, so I took that day off with him, caught up on my Ecology class and I also had to go to the nursing home and take care of my grandmother's laundry as well.  So I wasn't able to get a post out on Monday.  But I am here today to talk about a product that I had been trying out for a bit and have come to a conclusion on, so I wanted to share with you what I found.

I have been trying out the Maybelline Brow Tint Pen.  This is the one that is supposed to make the "hair like" strokes of tint to allow it to look like real hair for your brows.  The applicator has the comb looking tip that is supposed to be really good at making faux brows look real. 

This sounds like a real winner, especially for someone like me, who has very, very little brow hair.  I am one who has to basically recreate an entire eye brow each and every morning during my makeup routine.  So a product such as this should be a wonderful product for me.  Sadly, I can't say that it was a winner.

On the very first swipe of the product over my hand, it showed some really good results.  I was excited to try it out.  The color looked perfect and the amount of product was not too little and not too much...it was the Goldilocks effect...on the first swatch that is.

Sadly though, when I started to apply it to my brows, nothing came off.  The applicator was just scratching off my foundation and not leaving any product behind.  It was starting to hurt after trying to get the product out.

After scraping up my brows, I decided to see if it would apply to my hand again.  I was able to get a few more swatches until it dried up again.  It was like it was used up in those few swatches on my hand.  I was so sure that it wouldn't work any more, so I tried to apply it to my forehead....I know, it's teetering on the "odd side".  But I was frustrated and my eyebrows were sore.  Again, no such luck, it didn't even show up when I tried swatching it on my forehead.

So maybe it was the foundation?  Maybe it wouldn't go over foundation and so I went again on my hand....no such luck.  Apparently it was dried up at the tips and there I was with only one brow done.  I finally decided to try to see if any product would come out on the side of the pen.  I tilted the pen on its side and tried to use it that way, and some more of the product did come out.  So I used that to apply to the other side.  But because it was a large flat side, I got this straight broad line on my eyebrow that looked like I took a Crayola marker and applied it to my brow.  So I had to do some cleaning up.  Finally I just pulled out my Kokie brow powder and finished up the brows.

Each and every time I tried to use this brow pen, I always ended up pulling out my other brow products and saving the brows with them instead.  To say I was saddened is a very big understatement....I was in pain and mad.  This little product cost me $8 USD.  While that won't break the bank, I wouldn't throw 8-one dollar bills into my trash either and I feel as though I had just did that when I threw away this product.

My final thoughts are that this pen, while it could be that mine was a lemon and the others aren't this way, was a total fail.  There's no average grade to be made or "A" for effort, this was a complete and total "no show" of a product, not even warrant for any sort of letter grade. 

If you have tried this product, please let me know what you think about it.  I want to know if I got a bad one or maybe it's because I was using over foundation?  But whatever your thoughts are, I'd love to know.

I hate doing bad reviews, unfortunately they are necessary if I am going to be honest.  Off hand I cannot think of the last time I actually threw away an item.  I usually like to find ways to make things work, but I just couldn't with this brow pen. 

So those are my thoughts.  I hope you found it informative in some way and will come back and visit me again here at 523!  I have a lot more reviews coming soon, I have been playing around with quite a bit of new makeup.  So I'm excited to share more tutorials and reviews soon.

But for now, that's all I got.  I will see you all again soon.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim