High End vs Drug Store

I have been so loyal to my Maybelline Master Prescise Liquid liner pen for about two years now. I love how easy it is to use and how it NEVER seems to dry out. I always manage to make the perfect cat eye flick with this stuff. However I got tempted by Essie Button about a month ago when she started rocking navy liquid liner. I searched high and low for a drugstore navy liner pen and there are absolutely none. Frustrating right? So I popped into Sephora and picked up the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner. I thought I would show you a side by side comparison, my favorite Maybeline liquid liner vs the cult followed Stila pen!

The Maybelline pen has a longer and more tapered nib. It is thicker at the base and tapers off to a .02mm tip. Stila has a shorter nib, I assume to allow more control over the line, and it also tapers down to a .02mm tip.

With a shorter nib I find I have to use more strokes. As you can tell from the picture, this results in a bit of a choppy line. Personally I find that I get a smoother line with a longer nib, I like to lay the nib along my lash line and build from there. 

Stila Stay All Day

Maybelline Master Precise

I find the color inconsistent with the Stila liner as well. You can see the black line is quite a dark, true black throughout the line whereas the navy is a bit lighter on the start and end of the line, or the inner conner of my eye to the tip of the cat flick.

I'm also finding that the Stila liner is already starting to dry out, which is annoying as I bought it a month ago. I find it picks up my eyeshadow as I draw the line along my lid, which might be why it's drying out.

Overall I'm not to impressed with the Stila liner. I love the color if it was a bit more even. I'd jump for joy if Maybelline brought out my "Old Faithful" in some addition colors! Anyone know where I can find a drugstore liquid liner pen in navy? This isn't cutting it!

In My Glory, Soap & Glory!

Well I'm finally here with my Soap & Glory review! A bit of a long time coming I know, but I wanted to make sure i'd given the products enough of a test time so I could give you an honest opinion. So my mother and sister went to Africa about a month and a half ago and they stopped over at Heathrow Airport. So being the beauty addict I am, instead of a souvenir tshirt I requested a list of Soap & Glory products I couldn't get ahold of in the States. From my list of 5 I got the two most important on the list! The Ultimelt hot cloth cleanser and the No Clogs Allowed self heating deep detox mask (what a mouthful THAT name is!).

First up is the Ultimelt,  and let me say this is my favorite of the two. Put this baby on, massage it into your skin on a full face of makeup and it literally melts it away! I have been loving this to take off my makeup at night and i'm about 1/2 way through the tube already. I'm seriously concerned about how I'm going to go about getting another bottle of this since I'm already addicted.

I was wearing the Bennifit They're Real Mascara in the day these were taken and that stuff is notoriously difficult to get off... as you can tell by my raccoon eyes The Ultimelt was up to the job! I also found that my eyelashes were softer after using this cleanser. Not what they market it for but I was happy with the side effect. I was really happy that this didn't break me out as that had been happening with most cleansers I had been trying and my skin felt really clean and soft after this.

Now the No Clogs Allowed, I was really excited about this for the self heating part of the mask. It really is warm! The tube says to shake the mask before applying which I found a little difficult as it is a pretty thick product and in a tube so not exactly conducive to shaking. However I did what I could! The mask comes out a light green color and is a weird texture. It's chalky and grainy and a bit lumpy.

I could feel the mask heating when I first applied it to my skin, I paid close attention to my nose to get at those pesky blackheads when smoothing it on for the first time. Next you wet your hands and scrub some more! The mask heats again and is supposed to turn blue to let you know when to stop but i haven't seen that happening. It really buffs away dead skin and after this is off my face feels like a baby's bottom!! Overall a great product as well! I'm not going through it as quickly as the Ultimelt because I only use it once or twice a week.

Soap & Glory really need to get their act in gear and sell the full line of products in the States and Canada! I was in New Brunswick a few days ago and hit up Shoppers thinking I'd be able to find some but they have the same products Sephora has here. Needless to say I was disappointed.

NYX Butter Glosses

Ok people I think I may be in love.... with a lipgloss. Not just one though, an entire line of lip glosses! And as you can probably deduce from the title, they are the NYX butter glosses. I first purchased the Creme Brûlée shade from ULTA and from the moment it touch my lips I was hooked and had to grow the family. As of this post I am the proud owner of 5 shades: Creme Brûlée, Fortune Cookie, Peach Cobbler, Maple Blondie, and finally, Red Velvet.

These are the newest additions to the family I instagramed after purchase

These glosses really do live up to their name. They are super buttery and are extremely pigmented, not sticky at all and for a $6 gloss they last really well! The darker shades are almost like a lip stain in lasting time.

From top to bottom: Red Velvet, Peach Cobbler, Maple Blondie, Creme Brûlée, Fortune Cookie

From left to right: Fortune Cookie, Creme Brûlée, Maple Blondie, Peach Cobbler, Red Velvet

Now it isn't all sunshine and roses with these. Formulation wise i'm in love but I am not a huge fan of the Fortune Cookie color. I find it too pale and it really washes me out. I've been trying it over different lipsticks but because it is such a thick and creamy formula it really isn't working. But one out of five isn't bad right? I am really excited to grab some more colors and expand my little Butter Gloss family!

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

    I picked this L'Oreal mascara at ULTA right after I got back from South Carolina. Initially, I hate to say, I got sucked into the marketing which is why I picked it up. However, after using it  for a few weeks... I'm in love! It has a really unique wand, it looks like a butterfly wing... Gee i wonder how the product gets it's name? This baby really does it's job though! They longer bristles on the outside really lengthen and volumizes the outer lashes creating an almost flash lash look. But in a really natural way, confusing I know. The wand is rubber with a really flexible head and is great for getting the base of your lashes to volumize but the bottom of the wand has shorter bristles which i like to use to coat my bottom lashes.

    I didn't get a water proof version because i HATE trying to get it off at night but this stays on all day, doesn't flake, and holds a curl really well. Over all L'Oreal gets an A++ in my book!! And you have to love the price too! Drugstore mascaras are my fav, anything under $10 is worth it in my book!

Pre Mascara

After Mascara

         As you can see my lashes are visibly more voluminous, lengthened, and curled. I'm literally in love with this mascara!!!!

PS. Please ignore my unruly eyebrows... I have an appointment to get the waxed!

Primer Problem

     I have been having the hardest time finding a primer that works for me. Sephora has been fantastic with letting me bring home samples to try. Nothing has done what i was hoping. I'm looking for something to control shine, hide pores, and fill lines. That's exactly what Maybelline's Baby Skin primer claims to do! I picked it up and i have to say i am really disappointed! This is supposed to be a dupe for Benefit's POREfessional and from how this looked on my skin i'm really hesitant to try Benefit's version.

       This is a silicone based primer so it should sit on top of the skin, blur the look of pores and fill in lines. Obviously I was all over this.... everything i want at a drug store price? Yes please!

       

         It comes out clear and looks as you would expect and it apples really smoothly and easily. I used the Baby Skin on half of my face after moisturizer and left the other half without. Here I am looking beautiful, pre- foundation!

      The right side of my face has the Baby Skin primer on it, the left just has my normal moisturizer.

         Here i am fully made up for the day. I'm wearing Make Up Forever's HD foundation in the shade 110, Revlon color stay concealer in porcelain (i think... whatever the lightest shade is is what i have), the Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser in the illuminating shade, Cargo's HD translucent finishing powder, and finally the L'Oreal Telescopic mascara.

         Finally, here I am at the end of the day. I went to the mall, out to lunch, and worked a 5 hour shift. There is no noticeable difference in the sides of my face in this picture, in real life I'm a bit shinier on the right side, my makeup actually wore better without being primed.

     

        Overall the Maybelline Baby Skin didn't fill in lines, control shine, or make my make up last longer. In fact my makeup did these things better without the primer on. It didn't work for me but many people have raved about it so i handed it off to my sister. Maybe she will have better luck!