Pretty in Fuchsia

Here are the promised fuchsia lippie swatches:
From left to right: Givenchy Vamp Pink(21), MAC Candy Yum Yum, Maybelline Color Sensational Fuchsia Fever, MAC Show Orchid, MAC Trimming Talk and MAC Lickable.

Above, left to right: Givenchy Vamp Pink(21), MAC Candy Yum Yum and Maybelline Fuchsia Fever

Above, left to right: MAC Show Orchid, MAC Trimming Talk and MAC Lickable.

Photo Credit: Blogdorf Goodman
Disclosure: I purchased all the lippies except MAC Candy Yum Yum. That was a press sample. Show Orchid is my pride and joy. Snagged that at a MAC pro store in NYC.

Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Color in #140 Fuchsia Fever

I have been in the throes of a fuchsia fever. This current obsession reached a frenzied pitch with a blurb on fuchsia lippies in Allure. I just can not get enough of the cheerfulness of a bright pink. You just can not wallow in the doldrums of life with a lippie built on happiness and good cheer.  This Maybelline is all kinds of resplendent neon. Full of optimism.

The brightness is very similar to the great MAC Show Orchid and MAC Candy Yum Yum. I will have to issue my readers a rain check on a comparison photograph.  The texture is fairly creamy with a satin finish. There is no shimmer or glitter. The pigment power is very high end. One swipe is a color fest. I have had no issue with dryness or clunking. It is all kinds of prettiness.

I purchased my tube at my new Ulta store. Let us know what drugstore you spot it in! There are 48 shades in a wide range of shades from crisp reds to rose infused nudes. Visit http://www.maybelline.com/ for a peek. I highly recommend following Maybelline's twitter account. We are Gossip Girl buddies!
http://twitter.com/#!/Maybelline
The price varies from drugstore to drugstore. The best estimate I can give you is around $5!

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: I purchased this lippie from my local Ulta store.  We FINALLY got one in the ytown.

Dream a Little Dream

Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse Ultra Hydrating Cream Whipped Foundation Review by Cavewoman

Is there any one makeup item that causes more frustration than foundation? If you're a reader of Blogdorf, chances are you're a makeup lover who has quite possibly found this to be true for yourself. I know it has for me, almost all my life. Oh, there have been some wonderful foundations that I have found over the years, perfect formulas for my skin type at the time, perfect match in terms of color, some true Holy Grails. And then the rumors start to fly, and you hear the dreaded "d" word -- discontinued! Or the "r" word, reformulated. These words pierce the brain of any makeup lover who has found a perfect product, especially foundation, and send us into panic mode. What will we do? Hoard bottles and bottles and hope they don't spoil or change while being stored? And how even would we store them? Next to the Smuckers jars in the fridge? In a dark closet where we may even forget we stashed them? Or do we just run out and start the search all over again?

I've gone through all of this. Starting long ago with the wonderful Lancome Maqui-Libre, which I used for years, I know what it's like when you go to the counter to buy a beloved product and are told "It's discontinued, but here, try this one! It's new and fabulous!" Well, most of the time, it isn't. And it is not even close to being a decent substitute. If I could even remember the shade of Maqui-Libre that I used, I'd scour ebay for it.
Another amazing foundation that I loved for years was Rimmel Recover. Housed in a tacky cheap pink opaque bottle, I bought it on a whim from the local drugstore, just guessing at my shade from looking at the little "shade selector" color dot on the bottle. I'm pretty sure they were BOGOF that day (that means Buy One Get One Free) and I got two of them. Within days of trying out this foundation, and realizing how beautiful it looked on my skin, I went back to buy two more. It's long gone now, but I'm still hoarding my last bottle.

In between finding the perfect foundation I've had some decent hits and miserable misses. From the most high-end brands (La Prairie and La Mer) to the lowest price drugstore items (Wet N Wild) I've tried so many I can't even remember. Two years ago I had given up and decided to just go to Prescriptives, where a wonderful makeup artist concocted my perfect match and formula with what they called Custom Blend. She mixed and tested for over an hour, and when she was finished, I had a bottle of my best color match ever, and a formula that moisturized, gave a little glow, and was as good as I could ever hope for in every way. When Prescriptives announced that the brand was closing, I had another bottle made. It was nowhere close to the first. I don't know why, when my first makeup artist had meticulously written down the formula, to the last drop.

And so in the last year, I'd given up on even looking at new products that all the makep brands were offering. I'd resorted to using a tinted moisturizer (Dior Hydra Life, it's wonderful!) which I found last Fall at Sephora. It got me through the Winter. With that, and my precious Rimmel, and the last bit of the original Prescriptives Custom Blend, I was ok, until something runs out, anyway.

So last week, Mom and I were in the grocery store, and I was checking to see if there were any new fun nail polish colors in the cosmetic area, and I spotted a display for the brand new Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Ultra-Hydrating Cream-Whipped Foundation. I liked all the words. And I especially liked the row of tiny tester jars, one for each shade. Mom went on to the next aisle, and I started to test, with memories of my discovery of Rimmel Recover and how taking a chance on that one had been such a great success. I narrowed my color choices to two, and selected the one I thought might be The One.

I came home with #180 Nude Beige. For the record, I'm kind of pale, with pinkish undertones despite my Italian-Sicilian heritage. I'm hard to match in foundation shades. The closest I can come in MAC is NW20 and then it's not really that perfect.
I opened the jar of Maybelline and grabbed my beautyblender sponge.

The jar has two compartments. Unscrew the lid, and the foundation sits in the jar base. Flip open the top of the lid, and you'll find a nicely shaped flat sponge. I love my beautyblender so I chose to use it instead of the enclosed sponge. I twisted the beautyblender onto the foundation (wow, creamy!) and tapped a bit onto my face. The first thing I noticed was what a perfect match the color was! I could barely see where I had applied it. The second thing I noticed was that my pores seemed to disappear! And I hadn't even applied a primer! The formula has a glow, not sparkly, not dewy, just a fresh natural appearance. My skin felt so comfortable, the formula is as light as air, and application was completely effortless. With just a few taps of the beautyblender, I had finished a perfect application.

A few hours later, I went back to the mirror to check out my new discovery. I was amazed. The formula appears on the skin to be almost identical to the Rimmel Recover, without the teeny sparkles. It felt so moisturizing that I did not feel any discomfort from not applying a separate moisturizer underneath. It appeared as if the foundation had just melted beautifully into my skin, no visible pores, no dry patches, no creasing, and still glowy and fresh-looking.
I tested the foundation again the following day, and it lasted all day with absolutely no uneven wear and no changing color.
And yesterday when I wore it, Ms. Blogdorf exclaimed over how lovely it looked on my skin. We got a good laugh over it because after all of the high-end fabulous makeup lines we've tried, all of the expensive foundations we've loved, here I was back in love with a $8.49 drugstore foundation!

There are two things I have discovered over the years of testing and loving and hating and tossing and trying. First of all, now that I have hit my post-menopausal years, I cannot wear oil-free foundations. They cake and dry out my skin and change color and look horrible on me. The lighter the formula, in terms of coverage, the better I like it on me. The new Maybelline appears to be a light-to-medium coverage and I am thinking it would be buildable in problem areas if that's an issue for you. Secondly, I try to avoid foundations with sunscreen, especially titanium dioxide. I have found that when TI is used as a sunscreen it literally sucks the life out of my skin, and the foundation dries out and sits on top of my skin looking like a mask, wearing unevenly, pulling moisture out of my face, and just generally looking terrible. So, for me, an oil-free formula does not work well, and I look always for foundations without sunscreen, or at least a chemical sunscreen and not a physical sunscreen. I cannot find any SPF listing on the new Maybelline, so perhaps it does not have a sunscreen rating. That is fine by me! The new Maybelline is perfect! It's everything I loved about my former favorites, and I feel no need to look any further. For now, anyway. And I even feel a little bit smug, and very clever, to have discovered a great product at an unbelievable price. I'm so happy I took a chance on this wonderful new product from the venerable Maybelline New York.

Disclosure: The reviewer purchased this item for holy grail purposes.

The Vibrating Mascara Movement Hits the Drugstore:
Maybelline Vibrating Mascara One Day Preview Online Sale on May 18th 2009.

Maybelline will be the first drugstore brand to launch a vibrating mascara. This mascara will debut at your local drugstore in June and will retail for $14.95. For one day(May 18th 2009) it will be available for purchase online at maybelline.com/pulse,Target.com, Walmart.com, CVS.com or Walgreens.com.

Maybelline promises intense color, increased thickness, 75% longer length and clump free lashes. This vibrating mascara delivers 7,000 vibrations per minute with just a click of a button. The Pulse Perfection battery lasts a minimum of 130 applications. Assuming a consumer applies the mascara once a day, once activated, the battery will last 130 days, or over 4 months.

Will this mascara be the next CEW winner? Will it be the next Great Lash?
I might need to test this one out.
Let us know if you cave on this May 18th!

Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Washable Mascara


"I am so dope, like Louboutin's with the red bottoms, you gotta have 'em, you glad you got 'em."
(Jay Z's I Know)


This is the latest mascara offering from Maybelline. The advertisments and packaging really play up the stiletto reference. The mascara packaging is a narrow black tube with a thin red sole. It is very Louboutin inspired and quite clever. It stands straight and does not topple over. You think that practicality in design is not appreciated in cosmetics, but many makeup users love when their products do not wobble like a weeble.

The mascara formula promises provocative length with black patent leather shine. The traditional bristle brush is fairly well spaced and not dense. It grabs each lash and excels at seperation. My lashes had improved length but were not shiny. It was more of a matte soot. It lasted all day with no mess. I had no smudges or flakes.
The mascara comes in three shades: Very Black, Brownish Black and Soft Black. It retails for $8.95 and is available at your local drugstore.

Visit http://www.maybelline.com/ for more information.

Credits: Bergdorf Goodman and Maybelline

Disclaimer: A press sample of this product was provided by Maybelline

The Concealer Chronicles

Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector

This concealer is no magic potion but it does hide imperfections with very little drying issues. It is a two sided beauty saber.
One side is a concealer wand while the other is a highlighter brush.
I loved the highlighting formula. It is a light cream with reflecting pearls of pigment. It adds a subtle opal sheen.
It was perfect to give a "smoke and mirrors effect" to my eye situation.

The concealer did what a good concealer is supposed to do. It hid discoloration.
This formula was not as moisturizing as the highlighter.
Overall I think it is a fair product.
It masked imperfections, added much needed radiance and did not dry the eye area in any excessive way.
It also did not make my heart flutter or take years off my age.

Let us know what you think of this concealer in the comments.
Also let me know what is the best drugstore concealer.

Credits: Maybelline and Star Wars Darth Maul
Disclosure: I purchased this product at my local drugstore!

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 40, Maybelline Great Lash

It mystifies me that this product winds up on every "best of" beauty product list.
It's charms elude me.
I used it for years because I was conditioned that this was the best and only mascara.
I was duped.
I am very passionate on how this product sucks.
My lashes experience no improvement with volume, length, or curl when using this product.
There is only clumps and chaos.
I have no technique and have been cursed with short stumps for lashes.
Great Lash only makes the situation worse.

Who are these fans of Great Lash? I need to hear their voices in this post because I think the "beauty powers that be" have made them up. They are like the Sasquatch of beauty junkies.
They are rumored to exist...but no one has ever seen them.

Feel free to diss or gush over this product in the comments.

Maybelline Define-A-Lash Lengthening Mascara

I splurged on this tube based on its Granny Smith apple color. It promised a fuller and longer lash fringe, so I ignored the little voice in my head that kept repeating that I had enough mascara tubes to fill a football field at home.

This mascara utilizes the revolutionary rubber wand. It has all the powers of Mr Fantastic. It can be bent in half and twisted in all kind of ways. The Chanel Inimitable and the Max Factor Volume Couture wands can not boast this feat. The Define-A-Lash wand is a "smidge" longer with similar bristles. The bristles do not extend to the top of the wand like Chanel or Max Faxtor.

The mascara formula does not smudge or clump. It is washable and does not leave a mess on the face. It separates the lashes very well and gives definition. The pigment is weak and the lengthening action is nothing to write home about.

So it was a bust.

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: I purchased this mascara at my local drugstore.

Brushed With Greatness Project

Miscellaneous Brushes by Cavewoman

This last photo includes a little mix of odds and ends from my brush collection, one from this or that company, that are worthy of mention here on Blogdorf's Brushed With Greatness.

At the top is a Victoria Vogue white-bristle brush that might have been designed to be a shadow brush, but it's too large for that. I bought it at a drugstore, with one specific purpose in mind, to apply Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder to the undereye area over concealer. Its soft and moderately floppy bristles fit perfectly into that area, giving a very even, light application of the powder, keeping it right in the undereye area. It grips the powder very well, too. It is the perfect brush for this one important makeup task that I do every day.

The Armani brush was sold to me at Saks, to go with the Luminous Silk Foundation. I've never used the brush with liquid foundation, Armani or not, because I just can't get a grip on the idea of natural bristles with liquid foundation. Granted, my MA at Saks used it to apply the foundation flawlessly to my face, but I can't seem to bring myself to do it. I use this brush for blush.

The Japonesque flat wide brush sits in my collection, neglected. I'm not sure what the purpose of this shape of brush is. Please let me know what I should do with it!

The lash comb/spoolie is a recent acquisiton from Tarte. It's a great lash comb, better than my expensive Rubis which lost some teeth one day when I was cleaning it. I love the long handle, it's easier to use than the folding Sonia Kashuk, and the spoolie is nice for brow grooming.

The red-handle synthetic brush is the Lola Cosmetics concealer brush. Way way too big for undereye concealer application, but okay for spot-concealing on the face. I have actually used this brush for foundations. It works well with cream foundations. It may seem a bit small for face work, but it was certainly too big for the undereye area.

The Maybelline shadow brush was cheap and nicely shaped for blending crease colors.

Two short-handle shadow brushes from Garden Botanika are good for travel bags. One of them has a very useful v-shape, great for working a smokey color into the outer crease area. I've never seen another company offer a brush with this shape.

The little stubby Cover Girl shadow brush was also a travel purchase. Who would think that such a nicely-made, well-balanced, usefully-shaped tiny brush could be found in a blister-pack on a peg at the Cover Girl wall!

I need to repeat Discovery #1 here.
I have too many brushes.

Disclaimer: The featured products were purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman