Affordable Gel Eyeliner from Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner ($9.99) is a gel eyeliner that comes in a glass pot with a screw-on lid. Lasting Drama is currently available in four shades: Black, Brown, Grey, and Plum. I’ve only tried out the Black and Plum myself. Each glass pot of gel eyeliner also comes with a small, flat bristled brush with a dome shape for lining. I personally didn’t find the brush the right kind to line with (I prefer angled or very, very thin and pointed), but it’s a nice little bonus.
I’m pleased to report that after testing the wear of this liner that it is indeed lasting! (I wore it in this look.) Blackest Black didn’t smudge, budge, or fade on me throughout eight hours of wear–though Maybelline does advertise “24-hour wear” (I’ll leave that test to someone else…). I found it was plenty black for me–and I love me some rich black pigment–so I was quite surprised at how well it translated onto the lid. I used MAC’s 208 angled brush to apply Blackest Black to my upper lash line, and it was smooth, easy to apply, and gave me good color intensity off the bat. I didn’t have to go back over to darken at all, which was yet another concern alleviated.
Blackest Black is very much a true black. It doesn’t have much of a sheen, though it’s not completely flat, and it doesn’t have shimmer. Plum, on the other hand, has a higher sheen and plummy-mauve shimmer in a dark plum base. The consistency of both is thick without being goopy and very smooth when applied. They’re not creamy like Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliners, but they can be blended or smudged so they’re not too thick. They seem to dry without much of a fuss, but they don’t dry instantly, so you may have to wait a few seconds before you squeeze your eyes shut to avoid any transfer.
At $9.99 each, they’re on the pricier end for the budget beauty maven, but Maybelline frequently goes on sale, so at buy one, get one free or buy one, get one 50% off, I think they’re definitely worth picking up if you’re in the market for an affordable gel eyeliner. The packaging has a surprisingly “high-end” feel for Maybelline (whose packaging I’m generally not impressed by) — they look and feel much like MAC Fluidlines.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for an affordable gel eyeliner, keep an eye out for Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner!
Availability: Ulta, your local drugstore
The First Blush of Spring: Dolce & Gabbana Nude
Dolce & Gabbana Nude (#10) Blush ($44.00) is the softest peach-beige. This is a lovely way to accent cheeks for barely-there color!
This was actually a particularly difficult color to capture, because on my skin tone, the color melds and blends in quite well, so it’s harder for my camera to focus on the color swatch, but I managed to capture it–and you’ll be able to see just how soft it is.
I really like this for a way to give cheeks a bit of definition and color but without overdoing it; it works really well as a go-to cheek color when you do a more dramatic look (either on eyes or lips). I wore it with bright teal eyeshadow and coral lips, because it worked well to balance to look without taking away from it.
Dolce & Gabbana’s blushes have a nearly matte finish; they have just a subtle sheen but nothing glittery or shimmery here. If you liked such shades as MAC Notable or MAC The Perfect Cheek, Dolce & Gabbana’s Nude has a similar effect.
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- Product: 29/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For soft cheek color that doesn’t compete, Nude makes a great choice.
Availability: Saks
Drugstore Treats from Maybelline’s Eye Studio Collection
Maybelline Eye Studio Give Me Gold Color Plush Silk Eyeshadows ($9.99) may be a mouthful to say, but it’s a surprising treat to be found at your local drugstore. Each of the Color Plush Silk Eyeshadows can be found in a palette with four shades in each, and there are twelve different varieties currently on the market.
I’m often left wanting more from mass makeup, but Maybelline really knocked it out of the park with their Eye Studio collection. (I’ll be reviewing two shades of the Marbleized Eyeshadows and Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliners later this week!) I’m a tough one to impress when it comes to “drugstore makeup,” and I’m just really glad I had the opportunity to try these so I could share a new find with you.
Give Me Gold includes four shades: a silky champagne-white, a yellow gold with shimmer, a copper-bronze with gold shimmer, and a chocolate brown with a little bit of gold shimmer. I particularly liked this palette because the shades really work well together; they complement and you can get some nice neutral-ish eyeshadow combinations out of it. I’m pleased to report that all four of the shades were well-pigmented, felt soft to the touch, and applied very smoothly.
The only real downside to this palette was the packaging, which looks so-so, but it does feel a little cheap and flimsy. It may not last if you carry it around in your makeup bag on a daily basis, but if you just take it with you for travel from time to time (and leave it at home most of the time), I think it’ll be fine. I found the cover of this one snapped off, but I was able to snap it right back on.
Other than the packaging not wow-ing me, I’m pleased. The product itself is the most important part, and it was standout. Definitely some of the best eyeshadows I’ve tried from a drugstore beauty brand. You can definitely expect a look from me in the next day or two with these!
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- Product: 27/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for eyeshadow on a budget, Maybelline’s new Eye Studio palettes may be just right!
Availability: Maybelline, Target
Too Faced Teddy Bear & Heaven Eyeshadow Duo
Spring Makeup: Neutrals from Too Faced
For spring, Too Faced introduces four eyeshadow duos
($17.00 each) all in shiny black packaging with clear lids that snap shut.
- Teddy Bear & Heaven is a duo a dark, cool-toned grayish brown and a silky smooth pale beige-nude. They’re both matte in texture and have good pigmentation.
- Cocoa Puff & Honey Pot is a beautiful duo of a dark, rich chocolate brown with bronze brown undertones and golden shimmer and a metallic copper bronze with a high level of metallic-frost in its finish. I really loved the deep shade (I presume Cocoa Puff) — very intense, lovely, and easy to work with. Honey Pot is very flashy and has a great deal of metallic sheen.
- Erotica & Silk Teddy is like a cool-toned version of Cocoa Puff & Honey Pot, actually. It’s a cool-toned taupe chocolate brown with gold and green shimmer paired with a champagne pink with a bright metallic sheen. Like Honey Pot, Silk Teddy is very, very high in sheen.
- Sexpresso & Peach Fuzz has a dark, cool-toned espresso brown with a matte finish and a light peachy orange with gold flecks (but the base color felt rather matte with more of the glitter/shimmer as an overlay).
According to Too Faced, the eyeshadow duos were their way of giving you the ability to repurchase your favorite shades from their Natural Eye Palette. I actually reviewed the Natural Eye Palette back in August when it first debuted. The shades they didn’t put into duo form were Velvet Revolver, Push-up, and Nude Beach (and by the way? Nude Beach is no loss, seriously!).
I think it’s cool that Too Faced–at least it seems that way–listened to their fans and made sure they wouldn’t run out of their new favorite shades. I personally prefer the eyeshadow duo packaging — more durable, less messy, and I like being able to tote just one or two around, rather than entire palette. The palette was cute, though. This is also a nice way to maybe grab one duo instead of the entire palette if you were looking for a particular shade. The palette retailed for $34 and contained three larger sized shadows (0.07 oz. each) and six smaller sized shadows (0.03 oz. each), and the duos are a good size — 0.08 oz. for each duo (I imagine it’s split pretty evenly down the middle). You get a better bang for your buck with the palette, but you might prefer the set-up and convenience of the duos (or maybe only want one!).
Bottom Line
Smooth, buttery, and pigmented — these eyeshadows are particularly lovely, high quality, and they’re all easy to use neutrals. I actually much prefer these over the Fun in the Dark Palette and would put my money towards these instead!
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like Too Faced eyeshadows, and you’re looking for neutrals… those are these!
Availability: Sephora
Laura Mercier Naked Rose Lip Velvet
Laura Mercier Naked Rose Lip Velvet ($22.00) is a brick-brown nude. Like Mocha Rouge, the color is difficult to describe, but it’s most certainly not what I’d think of when I read “Naked Rose.” (I would have expected a pink-y shade, maybe a beige-y pink!)
Lip Velvets are indeed long-wearing liquid lipsticks. They apply with a doe-foot wand applicator and go on extremely pigmented from the get-go. They are, however, more matte in finish (I’d consider it semi-matte, personally), so they do tend to feel dry on lips. What’s unique about the formula is that even though it feels dry, it’s not actually drying. The product just hugs and clings to lips, but it doesn’t actually dry them out as some matte products do.
As I mentioned in my review of Mocha Rouge, I don’t think the formula is that comparable to Chanel’s Rouge Allure Laques. Chanel is more moisturizing, don’t cling as much, and have a very glossy finish. The shade range is also completely different, so you can’t just pick one over the other so easily!
Again, I’d really love to see Laura Mercier expand the range to include more versatile and wearable shades in 2010.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for a work-safe, long-wearing lip color, check out Laura Mercier’s Lip Velvets.
Availability: Blue Mercury
Holiday Sparkle with Prescriptives
Prescriptives Cool Lustre Shimmer Cheek Color ($24.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a gorgeous plummy pink with gold sparkle. It instantly reminded me of MAC’s Stark Naked Blush (swatch. They are very similar, though not exactly the same — but if you’ve always wanted Stark Naked (one of my favorite blushes!), this one is a nice substitute, even if it is also limited edition.
The texture of Cool Lustre is smooth, soft, and the color is noticeable. It’s not ultra pigmented like NARS’ blushes, but it has just the right amount of pigmentation to add plenty of pop to your cheeks–plus, you can always layer for deeper color.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve been looking for a dupe for MAC’s Stark Naked Blush or enjoy yourself a cool-toned plum… you might like this!
Availability: Nordstrom
, Prescriptives
