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Rave: Maybelline knows how to do great lip products! They’ve also stepped up the game when it comes to highlighters. Rant: They have discontinued a lot of their great lip product shades without replacements!
— Christine
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Rave: Their mascaras and highlighters are excellent quality! I’m also a fan of their Fit Me Concealer as it really is a great dupe of Nars Creamy Concealer. Have heard great things about the Fit Me Loose Powder, too.
Rant: I remember way back when they had EXCELLENT eyeshadow singles, and in very interesting, unique shades that were far ahead of their time. Not anymore. Also, where did some of my favorite DS nude lipsticks go? ?
Their Matte Ink line is my absolute favorite long-wearing lip color, both the liquid and the crayons. I wish the liquid had more shades that suited me; I’ve got four shades of the liquid, and there aren’t too many more that tempt me. I also love that the tubes are colored, but they’re not always a great representation of the actual color, which might be why the last time I tried to buy one at Ulta, every single tube in my color had the seal broken!
Emily, I feel exactly the same way about the color selection in the Infallible liquid range. It’s really the only liquid lipstick I can stand, but only one color suits my skintone.
Aren’t the Ink Crayons superb, though?
I’m checking out the Ink Crayons tomorrow! I love the liquid lip sticks so much. I own about 9 of them. Glad to hear the crayons are good.
They are good, but different! Not tacky at all, and they transfer just a tiny bit (mostly in the first hour or so). They wear a little faster than the liquids, but more attractively (i.e., no flaking).
Rave: Their classic mascara formula never disappoints. I always have a backup tube of it around. It was the first one I ever bought for myself with my own money and still love it to this day!
Rant: Some of their eye shadows can be inconsistent. I own their lemonade palette (which I love) but it’s amazing how different the formula is across just this one product, and of course my favorite shade is super soft and crumbly and had to be packed back into the pan!
Not much to rave about from me. I loved Great Lash Mascara for decades, but in the past 15 years or so I’ve found other brands I like a lot better. I tried Fit Me foundation when it came out, but I returned it because I couldn’t stand the scent. The only other products by Maybelline I’ve bought in the past few years were the Blushed Nudes eyeshadow palette and Gray Over It lipstick (when greige lips became a thing). The eyeshadows were unpigmented and powdery. And greige lipstick makes me look like an extra from “The Walking Dead.” I wound up giving both products away.
Rave: Their Color Sentational Lipsticks are of great quality and they don’t dry out the lips at all!
Rant: Their Age Rewind concealer oxidises horribly on me, some of their great products -like the fit me concealer- aren’t available in the Middle East.
I forgot about the Age Rewind Concealer. I have the same problem with oxidation. And I despise the sponge applicator.
Another hand raised regarding their issue with oxidization! And it’s not just the Age Rewind concealer, it’s everything.
I think I purchased that concealer in my 20s, many years ago, don’t remember anything notable. 😆 Nowadays I’ll just stay out of it… I despise products with build-in sponge applicator… it’s not hygienic and it’s useless.
It’s a relief to see that I wasn’t the only one! Some of my friends still enjoy that concealer which’s very confusing it me! It seems like it oxidises on some people and doesn’t on others!
I came back here to correct that the Fit Me Loose powder is the one that’s not available, not the concealer!
Rave:
-> Availability. You can find their products in many stores, even local grocery stores (limited selection), all over the world.
-> Mascara. They have an incredible selection of decently good mascaras… and considering I’m replacing mascara every 2-3 months, it’s good to know I can save up. They are definitely not my favorite mascaras, but if I’m anywhere in the world without a mascara, I can find a Maybeline one at the nearest store.
-> Some great dupes for higher end brands. The Total Temptation Brow Definer is a good dupe for the Anastasia, Benefit or Hourglass pencils. The SuperStay Full Coverage foundation and Better Skin Skin-Transforming powder are good drugstore option.
Rant:
-> Lack of quality consistency. Like most drugstore brands (from my personal experience), there is a lot of variability in quality of products; not only different products, but even same product purchased twice.
-> Worst eyeliners ever. I have tried many eye liners (liquid, gels) from the brand and all were miserable to say the least. Poor pigmentation, transferred on my eye lids, disappeared by the end of day… I have never tried a make-up product as bad as their eye liners.
-> Complexion products oxidize at least 1 shade darker. But all of their concealers, foundations and powder I have tried oxidize at least 2 shade darker on me, so finding a good shade match in their lines is tricky for me.
I have used so few Maybelline products over the years that I wouldn’t be able to comment one way of the other. I tried the Age Rewind concealer but it didn’t have good coverage on me. I have used a couple of lispticks but I didn’t care for the scent/taste. I used a few mascara’s back in the 70’s and haven’t used any since. Maybelline just isn’t a brand that I care about!!
Pretty much only a rant from me- I seriously dislike the scent of their lip products! I can only wear unscented lip products or else I get headaches and nausea. It’s quite disappointing since they have so many great shades and formulations, but every one I’ve tried leaves me feeling ill. L’Oreal has the exact same problem in my experience.
Rave: I like a lot their Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer and the Brightener version (peachy color, acts like a corrector). I love the latter more than Becca Brightener/Corrector and I use it on my blue areas in the inner corner of my eyes. I don’t have dark circles per se, under the eyes, but that blue appeared after two recent surgeries under general anesthesia. The brightening version is amazing. It erases the blue completely and is not an oily formula, like the Becca’s corrector. I need only a tiny amount, then I add a bit of concealer on top.
For those who don’t like the sponge applicator, I strongly recommend using a glass or metal mixing palette. I use a mixing palette for liquid foundations and concealers. I don’t care if the concealer has a sponge applicator or a wand – I never dispense product directly on my skin. I put the liquid concealer/corrector on the mixing palette, then with a pointed concealer brush, I take a small amount and apply it on the targeted areas.
Rant – Their Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick in Inspirer. This particular shade was the only one appealing to me, while I was looking for a cheaper version of my beloved Dior Lip Tattoo Lip Stains. The lipstick was sealed. I don’t know if it was a bad batch, or one bad lipstick from a batch, but I’ve never experienced such stickiness. Like my lips almost stuck together and this was visible while speaking. I applied only one layer (not a thick one) as it is quite pigmented, and waited for a good minute for it to dry. I had to remove it after half an hour as it got worse by the minute (it was quite difficult to remove it as the cotton pad kept sticking to my lips), and finally I had to apply a lip scrub to get rid of that residual stickiness. Gave it a try the next day and the same thing happened, so it went straight to the bin. This is not a rant about their Matte Ink range, as I have tried only one shade, but I was quite disappointed.
Rave: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara was my first mascara and although I have found a better replacement I have a soft spot for it. I do like some of their lippies and I won’t hesitate to try new ones.
Rant: Their foundations, concealers and eye products don’t wear well on me even though I use a primer and setting spray.
Rave: I love a lot of their lipsticks and I have quite a few of them in the Colour Sensational range. Their eyebrow and mascara products are pretty good too. The brand has recently extended their foundation range to be more inclusive, which is a plus as it is a budget brand.
The only eyeshadows I have purchased from them is the Burgundy Bar – and I cannot rave enough about how versatile, pigmented and long wearing these shadows are. I use it nearly every week.
Rant: My rant is about the availability of stock here in Aus. – we only get about 1/3 of what’s on offer in the States and it is so annoying.
Some of their eyeshadow palettes can be disappointing, like most DS brands and the tendency to include fragrance in every product is still an issue.
Rave: I don’t currently use many Maybelline products, but the ones I do use (lipsticks, Lasting Drama Matte Rusty Terracotta eyeliner, SuperStay Better Skin Ivory concealer) and have used in the past (eyeshadows, discontinued Mineral Power concealer) have mostly worked well for me.
Rant: I haven’t really had a rant-worthy experience with the Maybelline products I’ve used-the closest I’ve come is that I had my first Rusty Terracotta eyeliner break. The replacement RT liner I bought was fine, so I can’t tell whether it was manufacturer error or operator error.
Rant: the OG Great Lash made my eyes BURN!! Also, their older lipstick – Coral Crush was very disappointing – sheer and bad wear time.
Rave: their 24 hr lip colors (two parts) are really awesome, and my current fave mlbb (Warm Me Up) is a fab lipstick! I have a few others of their newer lines that I also enjoy.
Oh, I also like their Total Temptation mascara!
I think Maybelline shines best with their mascara. Not only affordable, but good quality, which is nice when the product has an open shelf life of 3 months. I also like their lipsticks. Again affordable and an easy way to update your look each season. I love their rose gold highlighter too. The rest of their products are just ehhh to me.
I think Maybelline is one of my favorite drugstore brands. I love their Matte liquid lip sticks, Color Sensation lip sticks, Falsies mascara, and their Master Chrome highlighters are all bomb! Maybelline’s Skinny eyeliner is one of the only eye liners that stays on my waterline. Several of their products are as good as or better than high end makeup.
Rant: Although I like the Tattoo cream eye shadows. For the most part I’m not a fan of their eye shadows. And I wish they’d make the Skinny eyeliner in more colors!
Rave: Great selection of colors and finishes, especially in their lipstick line.
Rant: Why don’t they put seals on their lipsticks?!?! every single time I go to look at a Maybelline lipstick, someone has opened up and swatched it and it’s not cool.
Rave: The liquid eyeliner! Seriously so black and long lasting and I think it is better than the Stila one! The color scensational lipsticks and also their brow gels! The concealer –all of them, and my favorite — the City mini palettes of which I have four of them and have repurchased them several times. I wear them all the time!
Rant: not so much a rant but not a love: the highlighter is only okay and I have that one and the Wet n Wild one that everyone raves about, but they are just mediocre.
I’ve been using the Fit Me concealer for a few years now but I’ve gotten really pale from winter/regular sunscreen that none of the shades are light enough anymore. I bought a Brow Tattoo last summer just to use at the water park and it actually worked pretty great but I still prefer powder for everyday brow wear. Now that I’m in my mid-30’s I’ve been wearing more natural makeup and most of their stuff is just too heavy and makeup-y (if that makes sense) for me. I do still use the Great Lash clear mascara to hold eyelash curl or neaten brows occasionally.
Rave: huge selection of every type of product except lashes (no big deal). Their lipsticks, foundations, and brow products are all pretty great. Their highlighters are the best at the drugstore. And their new bronzers fill a gap that they definitely needed to fill.
Rant: I wish they still had nail polish. I used to look forward to those seasonal collections with a nail polish, lipstick, and eye shadow. I wish they did all of that still – seasonal collections. In fact, I miss LE collections from almost all the DS. Also, their Great Lash makes my eyes swell horribly every time. I must be allergic to it. All their other mascaras are fine for me. Finally, I wish they would become cruelty free. No, I’m not exclusively CF, but I do consider it when choosing a brand, and all other things being equal, I’ll buy the CF item.