Testing NEW launches from Maybelline

Hi friends!

For the past few weeks I’ve been doing one of my favorite things to do since I started blogging – testing new drugstore beauty! You guys know how much I love finding those good-quality yet affordable products that get the job done just as well (or even better sometimes) as the more luxury products can. I don’t mind a good splurge every now and then, but overall I like to save on my beauty products where possible. (If you’re more interested in this subject, check out this post I wrote last year about beauty spending habits.)

Lemme tell you, there have been some amazing new launches from Maybelline recently. I decided to treat myself during a recent CVS jaunt, and I picked up a few of their new Color Strike Cream-to-Powder Eyeshadow Pens, and their Brow Fast Sculpt. So in today‘s post we’re going to dive into these goodies and discuss!

OTHER MAYBELLINE POSTS 

Review: Maybelline Fit Me Blush

Maybelline SuperStay Ink Crayon vs. Matte Ink: Which should you buy?

 

COLOR STRIKE CREAM-TO-POWDER EYESHADOW PEN

• $6.99 – $8.99

Introducing NEW Color Strike, our 1st cream-to-powder eye shadow pen that delivers up to 12HR bold color impact in a strike. No fallout! No mess! Crease-resistant, fade-resistant, smudge-resistant. Strike it on! Available in 6 matte and 4 metallic shades.

– Maybelline Website

 

 

 

As soon as I saw the displays with these guys, I knew I had to snatch at least one. I loveeeeee products like this; anything to make eyeshadow application a breeze! I had something very similar in my collection years ago from the Italian brand Kiko, so the engineering (if you want to call it that) is definitely not new. Actually I think the whole idea of powder shadow pens originally came from Korea, but I digress.

If you’ve never seen or heard of an eyeshadow “pen” before, they have little sponge tip applicators that pick up and apply the product across your eyelids. The actual product is contained in the cap, so every time you unscrew the applicator from the cap you essentially pick up more product. If you need or want more product, you just dip the applicator back into the cap.

Just as in the name, the Color Strike Eyeshadow Pens have a cream-to-powder texture. Overall, I find them incredibly easy to use. They go on with pretty full-on pigment instantly and just glide across the lids; I do find that I have to dip back into the cap about 2 to 3 times (per eye) to get the maximum density of color. You really can’t blend out the product with the sponge applicator so you will need to bring in a brush, but I find that blending is a no-brainer. I haven’t gotten any harsh lines blending either a matte or metallic texture in this formula.

A word of advice: use a primer or some kind of base here! (I always use a MAC Paint Pot.) It makes the application process, the color payoff and the longevity so much better than if you apply over a completely bare lid. Over a primer, these don’t crease and the color doesn’t fade throughout the day. (Keep in mind though, I do not have oily eyelids.)

I have the colors Chase, a gorgeous warm tan matte, Hustle, a very sparkly bronze metallic, and I just picked up a third that didn’t make it into these blog photos – Flare, a cool taupey matte that’s very similar to Maybelline’s discontinued Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe. Just a bit of a warning, Hustle has a decent amount of fall-out during application, and little sparkles just seem to migrate down onto your cheeks throughout the day. A slight bummer, but otherwise the shades are beautiful.

Read this: MAC Paint Pots – my most used product of all time

 

BROW FAST SCULPT GEL MASCARA

• $6.99-$7.99

Brow Fast Sculpt® Gel Brow Mascara colors, tames, and shapes eyebrows in a New York minute. The pigmented eyebrow mascara formula colors as the mini eyebrow shaper brow brush shapes and tames eyebrows for all day naturally sculpted brows without the hassle.

– Maybelline Website

 

So, I’m kinda obsessed with this little brow mascara I must admit. I know that I get obsessed with brow mascaras quite easily (see: NYX Control Freak, or ELF Wow Brow), but this one is reallyyyy good people! You know why? In one word, hold. It’s all about the hold for me. It’s not even so much about the color, although the color is good here too. But if I can find a brow gel that both grooms and holds my hairs in place throughout the day – and it’s affordable – sign me up all day, every day!

The Brow Fast Sculpt is a dinky, unassuming little thing that you can just throw in your purse or travel bag, but all the magic is on the inside. It has a long brush on one side, while the other side is quite short and spikey. Honestly I don’t know what the distinction is supposed to be between the sides (if any), but this is what I do. I use the short side to deposit the color, and then turn to the longer bristles to comb the product through and brush my hairs up. (Sometimes I just use the longer bristles in a rush.) The result is full and bushy and beautiful brows! And best of all they barely move all day long, and I’ve tested this guy through 90°+ heat with humidity! Doesn’t budge on me; truly impressive!

I have the shade Soft Brown, which is a nice neutral tone, but it comes in a hefty 8 shades including a clear formula.

OTHER BROW GEL POSTS

Unruly brows? NYX Control Freak has it covered!

Is ELF Wow Brow a dupe for Glossier Boy Brow?

 

 

 

Are there any new launches from Maybelline that you love? I’d love to know!

xo, and be well, Erica

 

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