Cream Blush: Bourjois vs. Maybelline

I have only recently discovered my love for blushes in general, and so when I discovered Bourjois were bringing out some cream blushes I knew I had to try them. Whilst I was in Boots purchasing a Bourjois cream blush, these Maybelline ones also caught my eye! From doing some research, I don't actually think these are a new release from Maybelline, but I had never seen them before so decided to pick one up to compare the two!

 

 

 

 

Left: Maybelline, Right: Bourjois

 

The shades I have are Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 07 Plum, and Bourjois Cream Blush in 03 Rose Tender.

 

The packaging of these are quite different. The Maybelline blush is in a rather sturdy glass pot with a colour coded, screw on lid, whereas the Bourjois blush is in a tiny magnetic compact which contains a handy mirror which is really useful for when you're touching up your make up on the go. Although the Bourjois packaging is more travel-friendly, I actually prefer the Maybelline packaging, simply because I find it easier to open!

 

The consistency of the two products was where I found the most difference. I found the Maybelline offering to be much more creamy and easy to apply than the Bourjois one. I usually use my Real Techniques Stippling Brush to apply these, and I find that the Maybelline blush provides more even application and less work to blend into the cheeks. I have also tried applying these both with my fingers, and again the Maybelline one is much more creamy and easy to blend than the Bourjois.

 

The Bourjois is a cream blush which dries to a powder finish, whereas the Maybelline blush tends to leave a dewy, cream finish on the cheeks. This is all down to personal preference, but I prefer the finish of the Maybelline as it looks more like a natural colouring!

 

In terms of pigmentation, I would say that these two were on a par. I had no complaints about either of their colour payoff, and they both lasted with my make up all day, something which is important to me as I hate touching up my make up throughout the day!

 

Overall, I like both of these products. I think they're both good quality, however my favourite has to be the Maybelline Dream Touch Blush, as I find it easier to apply and blend in!

 

The Maybelline blushes are £6.49 and available from here, the Bourjois blushes are £6.99 (usually £7.99!) from here.



Festive Red Nails

I  barely ever wear red nail polish except for this time of year. I don't know what it is about them, I just am not a fan of red nails unless it's Christmas. So naturally, I pretty much constantly have red nails over the festive season. These are my three favourite red shades that I find myself reaching for more often than not.

 

 

 

L-R Barry M 'Raspberry', Barry M 'Bright Red', Maybelline Express Finish 'Cherry'

 

Barry M 'Raspberry' is, as the name suggests, a true raspberry colour. It's perfect for Christmas as it's slightly deeper than a traditional red, so to me, it feels slightly more sophisticated.

 

Barry M 'Bright Red' is a traditional true red colour. It's the shade I think of when someone says 'red'.

 

Barry M is my all-time favourite nail polish brand, and these two colours are absolutely perfect for Christmas.

 

Maybelline Express Finish in 'Cherry' is in between Bright Red and Raspberry. It's deeper than Bright Red, but not as dark as Raspberry. This one is such a lovely colour, and it dries in super quick time as well. It also lasts for quite a while, which is always good!

 



Maybelline FIT Me! Foundation Review

Before I start with the review, I know this is only a sample, but as it is a very generously sized sample I believe I have had enough use out of it to be able to give it a fair review. I used this foundation for around 4 weeks before reviewing.

 

Now that's out of the way, this is the new foundation from Maybelline, which is called "fit me!". I believe there's a range of products including this foundation, a powder and a concealer.

 

 

I won't mention the packaging as this is only a sample and therefore is not in the same packaging as the full-sized bottle.

 

Maybelline were offering people the chance to try this foundation for free on their website, but unfortunately they have now run out of samples! Naturally I jumped at the chance to try this as I had heard so many good things about it. I didn't want to purchase the full-sized one just yet as I still have half a bottle of the Benefit foundation left and I hate wasting products, so I thought I'd try a sample and see what I thought before purchasing the full-sized.

 

In all honesty this is the wrong shade for me, it's slightly too orange. It's not too bad and I have worn it but I think I would be inclined to purchase the shade lighter than this.

 

There's 12 shades available in this range, and although it's a pretty good range if you are pale-skinned, if you are dark-skinned then unfortunately there's not a lot of choice with this foundation!

 

I have the shade Classic Ivory but as I mentioned it's slightly too dark so I would probably purchase Ivory.

 

 

 

Maybelline describe this as "flawless, let the real you come through", and their tagline for the range is "don't mask me, fit me" so the focus is on a natural look which enhances your skin rather than covering it up. It's actually very similar to the Hello Flawless Benefit foundation I have been using (review here) in the fact that it's quite runny, and the coverage is sheer at first but it is buildable without looking 'cakey'.

 

It's very easy to blend into your skin - I tend to blend with my fingers and the buff it into my skin with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush as I find it hard to apply this with a brush alone. It lasts around 6 hours without primer or setting powder, but with both of these it lasts me all day.

 

Overall I am really impressed with this. I will be purchasing this instead of my Benefit foundation when it runs out as I think it's extremely similar and also a third of the price! I really want to try the powder and concealer now because if the foundation is anything to go by, they will probably be amazing!

 

This is £7.99 from Boots and Superdrug (and most major supermarkets too!)

Anyone tried this?

xx



Maybelline SuperStay 10hr Tint Gloss

Recently I have been trying to be more experimental with lip colours. I tend to favour more subtle colours, so this particular colour was a bit 'out-there' for me! That being said, I have gotten used to it and it's definitely growing on me.

 

 

 

The Maybelline SuperStay 10hr Tint Gloss (mouthful!) claims to provide a lasting colour with a vibrant sheen. It is available in 5 shades and claims to last up to 10 hours.

 

Essentially it is a lip stain, but with a glossy finish rather than the usual matte finish you get with lip stains. The texture of this is really odd, and I have to say I'm not personally a fan. It just feels like a really really thick lipgloss.

 

The applicator, which you can see above, is quite probably the worst thing I have ever used to apply a lip product! It's quite big, and I find it's not very easy to be precise when using it. I'd recommend using your own lip brush with this product.

 

Besides the texture and the applicator, I really like this product. The texture isn't too much of an issue though, as it calms down after a few minutes so you can barely feel you have anything on your lips.

 

The shade I have is 'Lasting Pink', which is a dark reddy-pink colour. There's not a massive shade range so there's not a huge amount of variety to choose from.

 

I find this does last a long time - I'm not sure it lasts 10 hours but it certainly lasts a good few! The glossiness sort of disappears after an hour or two so it just looks like a regular lipstain after this. I find this is quite drying so if you suffer from really dry lips like I do sometimes, I probably wouldn't recommend you use this if you're having one of them days.

 

Overall, I do like this and will probably look into purchasing some more of the colours - there's a plum one I really like the look of!

 

xx

 



Maybelline Coloursensational Popstick - 030 Pink Lollipop

Hello everyone!

I've been rather bad at posting regularly this past week, but I think I'm back into blogging this week and so today I have a 'Coloursensational Popstick' from Maybelline for you.

I actually saw an advert for these on the telly so I presume they are quite new, however I don't know for definate. I really liked the look of them so last time I was in Boots I picked up this one. There were 5 shades on offer in my Boots - Pink Lollipop, Pink Sugar, Cherry Pop, Citrus Slice and Crystal Pink. I swatched every colour on my hand and they showed virtualy no pigmentation, which looking back should have been a warning sign, but they just looked too cool to leave on the shelf, so I chose the brightest shade in the hope that this would be the most pigmented. They actually remind me of something I used to have as a child so I think that is what drew me to them.

The packaging of these is a lot like the Revlon Lip Butter packaging, except the lid is not quilted - the metal part looks exactly the same. Some people are going to think this is tacky and childish but I do quite like it and it seems very sturdy so you wouldn't have to worry about the lipstick getting damaged if you threw it into your bag.

Pink Lollipop is a bright, blue toned pink with blue/purple shimmer in the bullet. It is nearly see-through - it's a jelly like lipstick, but the colour is still really bright (if that makes sense!). To apply it feels just like a lipbalm, which I liked, but for me, this is where the positives end. The colour payoff is virtually nothing from this, and seeing as this is the brightest colour, I can't imagine the other shades being any better. Hence why I haven't included a swatch picture as there isn't much to see! They do smell AMAZING though, like sweets, haha! It does make your lips soft, but for £7.19 I do think it is very overpriced. It is essentially the same as a lip balm, which you can get a decent one for about £1.00. I think these are really just for the novelty value more than anything. They look funky, and if they were cheaper I would probably repurchase, but I think I'll stick to chapstick for now!

I hate doing negative reviews, but I don't want to put this on and be like "oh yeah this is awesome" when it really isn't. Coloursensational Popsticks are priced at £7.19 and are available from Boots.

Has anyone tried these? Had any better experiences?

xx

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid

I usually use Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation (review to come), but for days when my skin is super dry, I turn to this one as I find the Rimmel one clings to the dry patches. The foundation comes in a glass bottle with a pump dispenser and a clear plastic lid, and I used shade 010 Ivory (though I don't think all Maybelline foundations have the same shading as I found I am a "Nude" in Dream Matte Mousse, so I'd double check the shade if you were to purchase this).

Before I discovered Rimmel's Wake Me Up, this was my absolute favourite foundation. Being a poor student means I can't afford the high-end brands and so have to make do with the "drugstore" ones, but actually I really like this one. As I said, daily I normally use Rimmel, but this one is really good for dry skin as it just glides over the dry patches rather than sticking to them.

Maybelline claims that this is "the lightness of a mousse in a liquid foundation". This, though, I may have to disagree with. A little goes a long way with this foundation, and if you apply too much it will end up looking cakey. It doesn't feel incredibly light on my skin and I can definately tell I am wearing foundation with this. I prefer a medium coverage as I am prone to the odd spot here and there and this is amaing for that, it gives good coverage with a little product. The consistency is what I would call normal for a foundation, not too thick but not runny. It blends in easily either with your fingers or a brush, though it must be said that with the brush you will get a more even, flawless finish.

That said, I really like this foundation. It gives good, even coverage, and even though it isn't as light as a mousse which it claims (I didn't actually find the dream matte mousse very light though so maybe it's me?), it is still not too heavy as foundations go; I have used lighter and I have used heavier. I would definately repurchase this to have alongside Rimmel for those days when my skin is playing up and being very dry. Just to point out though, if you suffer with oily skin, I probably would steer clear of this because it does give you quite a dewy finish and if you had oily skin it may leave you looking a bit shiny.

RRP £7.99 from Boots, Superdrug etc.

Have you tried this? Which foundation do you use?

xx