Maybe it's...Maybelline?

Sometime the winter before last I decided to go back to buying the expensive cosmetics that I will not name here. I was convinced that it was going to be better, and I convinced myself I loved the foundation better. Then the foundation was gone and I decided I really didn’t love the mask-y feel and tried something else the same brand said was lighter and that never seemed to stick. Any touch to my skin left a transfer and I hate that. But I kept making those trips to the mall because they were suckering me in with free stuff. Soon, everything but my mascara was from the same little cosmetic counter. Then I found myself trying to thin everything out. Adding foundation to moisturizer so it would last longer so I wouldn’t have to keep spending the money – mostly because I can be kind of cheap – and then the idea of driving to the mall when I was already at Target seemed like such a pain in the ass….

Then I found an eye liner I wanted to try so I bought it in “Espresso” and I loved it so then I bought it in “Eggplant”. Coffee and Purple; go figure! The eyeliner is EyeStudio by Maybelline and it comes in a little glass pot with a fine tipped brush. When I first used eye liner this way a few years ago in a make-up artistry class I was in love with it. Especially because I have very round eyes and tend to go easy on the eyeliner, which with some pencil or liquid types can mean a lot of wet Q-tips and smudging. Because the pencils were usually easier to find and cheaper to buy that’s what I did. With the potted stuff I can control how heavy my liner is much easier. I really love this one; it goes on smooth and doesn’t feel gloopy. If they did a dark green I’d go there but right now they just have black, espresso, charcoal and eggplant and I mostly use my Espresso.

Then I bought new mascara I saw a commercial for. It actually wasn’t until today that I realized it too is a Maybelline product. This one is called Illegal Length and I bought it because of the idea of “Fiber Extensions” for my eyelashes and went to the store looking for the silver tube, which is how I do most of my make-up shopping, not paying attention to the fact that it was under the Maybelline sign. I like it better than the purple tube stuff people rave about and much better than the stiletto stuff that just seemed to clumpy on my lashes. I do feel like it makes my eyelashes look longer but it still keeps as much of a “natural” look as one can get while wearing “Blackest Black” mascara. It is not flaky and I haven’t had any clumping problems. I got about two months out of one tube and am ready to buy a new one and will buy a new one of this same kind which is rare for me. Make-up companies tend to trick me into trying new mascaras over anything else.

Then one night while wandering through Walgreen’s an eye shadow square that was displayed cleverly on an end-cap caught my attention. It was a group of greens and golds and the color is called “Forest Fury”. Just so you know, I love names of things like eye shadow, lipstick, and nail polish as much as I love people names, and sometimes pick between colors based on the name. “Forest Fury” won over the neutral tones of “Caffeine Rush” at first but I bought that one too and plan on adding “Amethyst Ablaze” next. And what do you know! These are EyeStudio by Maybelline as well! I like the versatility of the green colors. There is a bright green, a medium green and a dark green. I love the bright green at the office toned down with the white-gold over top. I like the sparkle in the shadow but will admit my only complaint might be that maybe there is too much sparkle? I notice sometimes I end up with it on my cheeks and in my bangs if I’m not careful.

It turns out the lip stain that I’ve been using forever is Color Sensational by Maybelline and the last three lip products I’ve bought have been Baby Lips, and a Super Stay 10 hour gloss and 14 hour lipstick all by Maybelline in different colors. The foundation I’m currently in love with is the Air Foam by – you guessed it – Maybelline! I’m also using their Bouncy Mouse blush (which I admit I bought just so I could play with it after seeing the commercial.) Bottom line is that Maybelline seems to have become my cosmetic counter, quite by accident! I would say it’s worth it to try any of the products listed here and if you don’t like it you can send it to me, I’m sure I will. (Maybelline is not giving me anything to say these things, just to be clear, but wouldn’t that be cool?)