Brand Boast | Maybelline New York

Hey guys! So I'm back with a second installment of my series called 'Brand Boast', and this one is going to be focusing on Maybelline New York. 

Maybelline began with a Chicago chemist named Thomas Williams who was trying to help his sister Maybel enhance her beauty in an attempt to win over the man she was in love with. She would use petroleum jelly to enhance her brows and lashes, but Thomas took it one step further by adding carbon dust into the petroleum jelly to further enhance her features. The creation was a success, and in 1915 Thomas Williams founded the company that is now a global giant.

Now that I've given you a run down of what the brand is about, let me break down why I absolutely love this company and its products so much!

Eyes
I'm starting off with eye makeup because well.. that's apparently where this company started, and that's where they are still rocking it 100 years later. Maybelline totally knows how to do eyeshadows well, and I feel like they just keep getting better and better. I think their best launch in recent years has to be the color tattoo cream eyeshadows however, they are amazing!
They also really know how to make a mascara - really - I can't even tell you how many I've bought since my mom first allowed me to buy makeup, but  I do know my first kind was the 'Great Lash' mascara, which I still buy to this day. Maybelline is the one brand that sends me into excitement mode with each and every new mascara - new formula, gotta try it!

Lips
I find I never used to gravitate towards Maybelline lip products, but in the past couple years I feel like I've been seeing more and more amazing things come from them. They've always have good lipsticks, but I feel like they took it to the next level with their releases of the vivid line, nude line and now they have a matte line. All amazing quality lipsticks for the price of about 6-8$ CAD. As far as lip gloss goes I was never completely over the moon about anything until the Color Elixir glosses were released, now they are my absolute favorite drugstore lip gloss - they seriously rock!

Face
With a wide range of products that do everything from prime, to cover lightly using a BBcream, to a full coverage foundation I feel like they offer something for everyone. Their powders are also some of my favorites from the drugstore - so finely milled and provide the perfect finish without looking over done. They also offer a variety of cream and powder blushes and bronzers to complete your look. The bouncy blushes have long been one of my favorite cream blushes from the drugstore, and who doesn't love a good cream blush product!



I hope you enjoyed this run down of Maybelline New York and my thoughts on some of my favorites from the brand. If you would like to see more of these 'brand boast' posts comment below and request my next brand to feature! 

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette | Review and Swatches

Over the years I'd heard so many different people talk about this little palette, and for the most part it was all positive reviews - good quality eyeshadows for an amazing price. I finally decided it was my turn to test it out, and for five dollars who can say no?

I'm just going to start this off by saying, if you don't already have this you need to get your hands on it. For about 63 cents per shadow (and good sized ones at that), you can seriously not go wrong. I was of course drawn to this one specifically because of the neutral lover in me, but they also have a palette with blue tones, purples and one with a brighter mixture of shades as well.

These shadows are seriously buttery and so easy to blend - probably one of the better formulas of eyeshadows you can find at the drugstore.

The palette is laid out perfect for beginners as well - each shadow is pressed with a suggestion on where to use each specific shade to create either a simple or dramatic look. I prefer the shades on the left side, but the brow bone shade on right is seriously gorgeous, and the definer color on the right is the most amazing duo chrome finish (the swatches do not do it justice) - in some lights its a dark brown, in others it's blue.

Let me know if you've tried this palette before, or if you are interested in it!

Naked 2 Palette Review and Swatches

Its been about a year and a half since I bit the bullet and got even more Naked in my life (Urban Decay Naked that is), and somehow I've yet to do my own personal post on my thoughts and swatches of the palette. I really have no clue how its taken me this long, but finally I am here with a post which I hope you will enjoy!

Compared to the Naked 1 there are many differences between the two, first and foremost being the exterior of the palette. The first Naked palette was velvety in texture with printed lettering on the front (as you can see in the picture below mine is extremely dirty and the letters have faded a ton since I bought it). Naked 2 has a hard exterior and snaps shut vs the N1 which had a magnetic closure.

If you would like to see a broader look into my thoughts of the N1, you can check out the post I did on it here. 

Just like with the first, there are 12 eyeshadows, but unlike the first they are much more taupe themed and on the cooler end of the spectrum. 

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper

Chopper is probably my least favorite shade out of the entire palette as it has a lot of chunky glitter and I tend to always have a problem with fallout when I wear this shade.

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

Tease and Suspect are absolutely my top two favorites from the entire palette. Tease reminds me a lot of one of my favorite Mac shades 'Quarry' which I love. Suspect is just the perfect shimmery taupe beige and I adore wearing it all over the lid and on the lower lash line for a quick and simple eye look.

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

Two of my other absolute favorites from the palette are YDK and Busted - combined together for an eye look you are totally ready for a night out. Also Verve is probably one of the best silver shades I've ever come across - it can be used subtly or built up for a huge impact. Blackout is also one of the best matte blacks I've ever had, and of course you can never have too many good blacks in your collection because they are just so versatile. 

Now if you were to ask which of the two comes out on top for me.. well the answer is still going to be the original Naked, but this is a really close second, especially for the fall and winter months.

Hope you enjoyed this review/overview and I'll see you in my next post!

Maybelline 'The Nudes' Palette - Review & Swatches

As promised in my October favorites post, here is my thoughts and opinions on The Nudes palette from Maybelline, and swatches of the shadows. 

As I mentioned previously in my favorites, I had been unsure whether or not there was a point in getting this palette. Yes its nudes, yes I love nudes, but I thought it may just be another mediocre quality nude themed palette taking up space in my collection, and I could just put the money towards something a little more expensive that is certain to be good quality. My mind was swayed after seeing several positive reviews from some of my favorite Youtubers and beauty bloggers alike however. 

Since picking this up around the end of September I've been using it almost daily and have been more than happy with my decision. It varies in price depending on where you go, but its between $10.99 - $14.99 CAD. You get 12 shadows - 5 matte, 7 shimmery/frosted. The palette also comes with a double ended applicator and several small charts on the back with suggestions on how to combine the shadows to achieve different eye looks. 

I find this palette to be quite versatile, with many different options and ways to wear it, from subtle to deep smokey eyes. Although a couple of the shades weren't quite as pigmented as I had hoped (specifically the black shade) I really can't say any major criticisms about the product as a whole - you're certainly getting your moneys worth!

I hope you found this little post helpful!
Post any requests in the comments, and also let me know if you have tried/are thinking of trying this palette out!