Holy Grail Beautyy . . .

 

• Cruelty Free NO
• Fragrance Free YES
• Inexpensive
• Two in one pencil and brow powder
• Dark blonde, dark brown, medium brown shades

This is the third Maybelline eyebrow product I have reviewed, you can read the others here and here.

Beauty Guru

This dual ended product contains a pencil stick pigment and the other end contains a powder tip which pigment powder fills in from the cap.  The stick is far too hard for the delicate skin in the eye and brow area.  It is almost sharp and too dry.  The shade is Dark Blonde and it is slightly warm.  The powder pigment though is much better and not too hard to apply.  I have kept this product for the powder but by no means is it worth it to purchase this pencil just for the powder.

I do not recommend this product.

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Image from Priceline.com.au
Maybelline

•  0.02 ounces product
• Inexpensive $7.17 AUD
• Cruelty Free NO
• Fragrance Free YES
• Four shades 
• Spoolie

 
This is one of a few Maybelline eyebrow products that I have now used.  You can read it here.

Beauty Guru

The main issue with this pencil that makes it unusable, is the amount of wax in it.  It seemed promising but after a few strokes the end of the pencil was visibly bent.  Subsequent tries deliver the same result which makes it incredibly difficult to get a sharp defined hairs or shape.  The pigment is not good enough and together with the wax issue makes this product not worth it.

I do not recommend this pencil.

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Image via Priceline.com.au
Maybelline

• Cruelty Free NO
• Fragrance Free YES
• Expensive due to product weight 0.002 ounces at $13.95 AUD
• Micro fine tip 1.5 mm
• Dual ended with spoolie
• Retractable

This is my third eyebrow product that I have tried by Maybelline.

Beauty Guru

This pencil is pretty good! It is very fine as the name suggests at 1.5mm and it is retractable.  My issue with this product is that it contains very little product! It contains 0.002 ounces and lasts about three weeks as an average if you use it daily.  In Australia, it costs approximately $13.95 AUD and for that price it is simply not worth the purchase. 

It has a good amount of wax and pigment so if they could up the amount of product it would be worth buying.

I recommend but with caution.

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Image from beautyexpert on Google images.
Maybelline

• Cruelty free NO
• Fragrance Free YES
• Squeeze tube
• Drugstore price
• Two colours available

My skin is fair with pink undertones and freckles oily/combination and currently 38 years old.

This is my first liquid highlighter by Maybelline.  It was on sale and I thought perfect chance to try it out!

Beauty Guru

This highlighter is in a squeeze tube and is available in two colours an iridescent pink and a golden version.  You can use your fingers or a sponge for best application I feel.  I used two squeezes of the tube to get the level of highlight I wanted.  I was in love with this until I saw the ingredients list and it had denatured alcohol as the fourth listed ingredient.  Usually, I can smell high amounts of alcohol in products but I didn't think it was obvious in this product.  As a result, I would not advise using this product every day or too regularly as the type and amount of denatured alcohol that is present in this product will irritate and damage the skin even if you can't see the damage people!

Here is a photo of me wearing it on top of the Revlon Youth Fx Fill + Blur foundation 110 Ivory (review to come soon)
So, I really like this type of highlight with no glitter in it, it is just metallic.




I do recommend this highlighter but with caution because of the amount of denatured alcohol it contains.

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Image of me by me.
Maybelline

• Cruelty-free NO
• Fragrance free NO
• Covers UVA/UVB
• Sweat Resistant
• 4 Hour water resistant
• Non Greasy 
• Recommended by Skin Foundation 
• Made in Australia

I have very fair, almost pink tinged skin with freckling however my skincare regime has lightened a lot of them so they are bit more in the background these days, but in primary school they were more centre stage.  After getting second degree sunburn at the age of 11 I have been religious in looking after my skin with sunscreen products and appropriate skincare.

Beauty Guru

If I am not using a base product like a Revlon Photoready BB Cream Skin Perfector or a foundation with a good SPF like the 40 SPF Maybelline Dream Cushion Foundation. 

I have oily combination skin and can easily get clogged pores quickly and this particular emulsion does not clog my pores.  It does have a fragrance but it is not obtrusive and definitely does dissipate after application.

The Ultra formulation comes in varying sizes, I have currently the 200gram tube and also the 400g pump bottle.  Both are under $20 AUD.  I did find that the 400gram pump bottle had leakage issues after around 1 year use but it still was viable from the pump.  I would remove the buildup with face wipes regularly.  The product did not drip further than the pump build up.

I definitely recommend. 

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Image taken by me.
Banana Boat

In these portraits, I am wearing no foundation or concealer, blush nothing.

What I am wearing is Banana Boat SPF 50 sunscreen, RimmelLondon Hazel eyebrow pencil, Too Faced Better then sex mascara, Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Matte Mini Palette Grounded eyeshadow and Maybelline Curve black eyeliner pen.  Shine my own oil with sunscreen.

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Images by me.
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Storytime

This is the second drugstore cushion foundation I have tried; the first one being L'Oreal Nude Cushion Foundation.  That one when first applied looked good but once it dried it looked awful! So I had neutral hopes for this product. 

Beauty Guru

This foundation is stated to be medium coverage, has a SPF 40, has a slight smell, contains a small sponge within the product which separates the sponge from the product.  The product is sealed which you then remove to reveal the sponge saturated with foundation.  I chose the shade 10 Ivory and contains 0.51 oz or 14.6g.  There is also a good mirror inside as well. It has a 6 month expiration date and is made in Korea.

It is a great little foundation! It is super easy to apply and blends out fast.  I even applied this on the bus going to work! It has good medium, buildable coverage too.  It dries to a soft matte look without looking too flat.  I have an oily T-Zone so I needed to apply powder in that area if I did not set it in the beginning.  It does last 8 hours plus but it does come off if you sweat profusely and dry your face with a tissue etc.  It has not caused me to have any bad reactions or issues of any kind.  The smell of the product dissipates quickly so do not worry about that.  I don't notice it anymore myself.

After nearly three weeks I have found that with five days out of seven days using the product that it seems like it is already running low.  I have an oily combination T Zone and you will need to set it with powder otherwise it is very apparent.  It seems to wear away mostly on the T Zone and sweat as well will cause it to wear away quickly.  It does highlight under eye lines so make sure to keep that area well hydrated and don't over apply the product in the area just pat lightly.

UPDATE: This foundation applies beautifully with a dampened beautyblender sponge. 

This product cost me $16.99 AUD on sale at the supermarket.  In Australia, we have drugstore products at a much higher price point unfortunately.

I definitely recommend this foundation, it currently has 8 shades in this range.

Ten out of ten!

*Not cruelty-free.

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Photo by me.
Maybelline

UPDATE!!: This mascara I have found has a flaw; which I found out after I wrote this review and that is that unfortunately, it does transfer to the upper part of your eyelid if moisture is in the environment.  This can be a deal-breaker and to be honest I now don't want to wear it to work because of how long I am there for i.e. all day as it is a full-time job.  If it was just a few hours it might be fine.  I still love it but be prepared when wearing it for black smudges.

Storytime

I loved the original Lash Sensational in the frosted mauve pink tube and saw that this second mascara had come out in the US.  I have had my eye peeled for this matte black tube with the frosted pink mauve trimmings.  Finally, its here!!

Beauty Guru

I love this mascara! Love at first brush through.  It defines, volumises and lengthens and its pigmented! I love inky black mascaras! There is no smell, no flaking, no nothing.  It is a joy to use.  Its around $21 dollars AUD.




I definitely recommend!

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Images by me.
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Maybelline

Storytime

In Australia we don't receive all the major drugstore brands new product releases (that are not high end) in the retail stores at the same time as the USA.  I believe this product was released maybe four months back in the USA.  Drugstore makeup is sold mainly in our supermarkets, Target and Kmart stores.chemists and beauty specific stores.  Of course, you can go online and purchase any products you like that way.  Products are available here sporadically and not all products in brand lines are always sold here anyway, so you will need to go online.

The Maybelline palette is only available in two shades and I bought the Light/Medium and there is the Medium/Dark option too.

Beauty Guru

I turned the product over and there is instructions on how to apply the three products to your face.  I found it a bit odd that the contour is referred to as a BRONZER.  There is a small angled brush included in the kit but this brush is next to useless.  You may like to use it to contour your nose or maybe placing highlight on your cupids bow.  Its a token brush really.

The swatching of the products was quite telling.  The highlight was the highlight of the trio. Its an almost neutral icy gold shade and is not glittery, it has kind of a matte look to it.

I applied the contour shade first and it is not an ideal shade to be using for contouring.  It is too warm and like the fact it is referred to as a bronzer on the reverse of the product makes sense.  I would not recommend this as a contour.

The blush was on next and the blush is pink but I feel there is nothing special about it.  There is no depth to this product, in fact it makes me look sunburnt.  I don't think this is a good shade for me personally.  I am a very pink toned very pale freckly person and this is not flattering.  Very flat product.
In this photo above I applied the three products VERY LIGHTLY you can imagine if I applied it stronger, its so orange and a harsh pink. 

The highlight is easily star of the kit.  Its a very pale icy gold, very pigmented and is worth the whole price of the entire product.

Some good things about the product:

• Highlighter is the best of the trio
• Contour is great as an eyeshadow
• Inexpensive

Some not so good things about the product:

• Contour is too bronze like
• Blush is flat, lacks depth, unflattering on me
• Lasts around two hours before it starts to fade

Ultimately, I would not recommend this contour kit, there is other products out there that are much better and give you the results you want.  Save your money for a product that is going to give you want you want.  I have seen that Wet and Wild (not available in Australia at physical stores) have great contour and highlight products that are the actual right contour shade for possibly cheaper.  This review is my opinion, everybody has one and has the right to one.  Makeup is fun to do and we can all use what we like to get the look we want.  This palette might do things you like that don't suit me and that is the great thing about makeup.

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Photos by me.
More Maybelline 

I very recently purchased this matte pencil in 50 I Like to Mauve It, hoping it would be my perfect pinky nude type mauve color. There are 10 color choices as you can see from the image above.

Unfortunately the color is not a hit with me, my lips are darker than the color itself so it gives an ever so slight chalky appearance.  It is very smooth and easy to apply, no drying effect at all which as we all know is an effect that occurs with matte formulas in varying degrees.  I think its a little too bright for me, even though the coating is not really thick there are undertones in it that are loud.  I think its the slight chalkiness that bothers me more than the color does actually as I am not averse to loud colored lipsticks.

On the upside of the pencil there is a plastic smudger that if you wish, you can create a 'stained worn look' effect on the lip with a concentrated amount of product in the inner of the lips and fading out to the edges and corners of the mouth.  I have seen this look executed in magazines and I personally am not a fan.  It can be an effect that can occur randomly with lipsticks that wear off in a patchy manner but it is not a look I am into.  Having said that the smudger does not do a great job and you are better off using your finger, brush or Q-tip to create this effect.



If this color were what I was after than I would use it and buy it over and over.  It probably suits a lot of other people more than me.  *For some context in regards to the color and my coloring I have very fair skin with pink undertones, blue eyes, dark blonde hair naturally but have white blonde highlights.  I also have white eyebrows naturally so I need to use a pencil to bring them out.  Otherwise I look like the smudging tool on this product.

Thank-you for reading this review.

*Images reproduced from Maybelline.com