Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush: Rose Petal

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal

This post will conclude the series of items I've hit pan on that won't count toward my renewed Project Pan.

The Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal is the first cream blush that I tried, and I have to say, I love it. The mousse texture is divine- very soft, smooth, and airy. It does not feel sticky or greasy, and I find it extremely easy to blend. If anything, it might blend away too easily so don't overdo it. I find that this blush is best applied with a synthetic brush. I use one from Real Techniques.

The color is really lovely, a rosy pink shot through with golden shimmer. I don't find the shimmer to be obvious once it is on the cheeks. The color is neither too dark nor too light. On me, it looks like the perfect hint of a natural-looking flush. I never have to worry about overdoing it with this shade because it never looks clownish. It is very wearable and goes well with just about every look because it is so natural. This shade probably won't show up on darker skin tones but it should be beautiful on light to medium skin.

If it isn't obvious already, I highly recommend this product! I think it is probably my favorite blush because it is the most natural-looking one that I own. I will be sad when I use it all up, but I have no doubt that I will be repurchasing it in the future.

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal (rosy pink with golden shimmer)

Philosophy: Purity Cleanser

Philosophy Purity Cleanser

I finally used up the last of my Purity cleanser. My 4 oz bottle lasted me a good, long while. I used it almost daily from the beginning of the year until September .

I don't have very much to say about it other than that it is nice, light cleanser. It is refreshing but I don't feel that it offers a deep clean. I never came away with the squeaky clean feeling. For that reason, I used it as part of my morning routine when my face was void of makeup or other products. The directions suggest use for both morning and night since this is advertised as a "one-step facial cleanser." I don't feel that it cleans deep enough for me to use it at the end of the day.

The product is a creamy, pale yellow liquid that smells faintly like Fruit Loops to me. It does not foam. To me, it is neither drying nor moisturizing.

It retails for $10 for 3 oz, which is not at all a painful price to pay. Still, I have always used drugstore cleansers and they serve me well. I do not see the need for this higher end product. Purity did not do anything special for me so it's not something that I will be repurchasing. While it's a decent cleanser, it is not something I personally recommend just because I think you can get the same clean from a cheaper and more readily available drugstore alternative.

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation: Nude

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation in Nude

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation in Nude

I am quite proud that I made it through a bottle of foundation! That sounds silly, I know, but I'm just amazed at how much my makeup routine has changed over the last year. I had always feared liquid foundation because of the great risks involved in color matching and proper blending. I finally took the plunge with Revlon's PhotoReady foundation, which I began testing last year in December. I have to say, I love it!

I purchased two shades, Shell and Nude. Shell is the lighter one that I started off wearing first. However, I switched to Nude after I got a bit of sun. I even had to start mixing in a bit of a dark tinted moisturizer after my vacation! Nude is near finished now.

The PhotoReady foundation is quite liquid and blendable. It glides over the skin very nicely and leaves a lovely, dewy finish with medium coverage. I don't find that it looks heavy or cakey. I know that the light reflective particles in it turn some people off but I don't find them to be noticeable. They brighten the complexion without looking shimmery. The foundation also contains SPF 20, which is great! I know that SPF can cause white cast in flash photography but I have not really tested that out. I don't notice my skin looking odd in pictures so I think (and hope) that there isn't any problem there. I do have combination skin that gets oily in the T-zone. I don't find the foundation to break apart as the oil develops but the foundation does nothing to mattify or prevent oil from showing. I never expected it to so I don't mind this, but this may not be the best foundation for people with oily skin.

The packaging is nice and sturdy with a pump. One pump is enough for me to cover my face. The only qualm I have is that the last bit of foundation is hard to get. It also appears to be more liquid in consistency towards the end. It still works fine but it is slightly different.

I have very limited experience with liquid foundations so my knowledge is not vast or profound, but I personally love this foundation and recommend it highly! I know that the kind of foundation people go for will depend on their skin type and needs. This one is great for people with relatively clear skin who just need to even and brighten their complexion without looking heavily made up. These sell for around $13-14, which I find to be pricey for a drugstore product. However, Walgreens frequently has Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off deals on Revlon. I would take advantage of that to buy two shades so that you can make sure you have the one that's right for you, or maybe even mix them to get the best match. I think it'll be worth it!

Project Pan, For Real! + MAC Fluidline: Blacktrack

MAC Fluidline

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

I have completely disregarded Project Pan all year long, but I want to try for real this time. I'm finally at a point where I feel like there's nothing I can get that I don't already have. I also have a whole lot of products that have only ever been swatched and never yet worn! It's awful, I know.

My goal is to hit pan on 20 products. Here are the rules:

1. Hit pan (not necessarily use up) on 20 items before making any further beauty purchases.
2. Cosmetics and skincare count, but not bath and body products.
3. Exceptions may be made for limited edition or discontinued items.
4. Exceptions may be made to repurchase staple items (like skincare products) while still counting the item that was used up.

I will have several posts coming up reviewing products that I have already hit pan on/used up. These will not count toward my 20.

To start things off, I have included a photo of my nearly-finished MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack! This is a staple item in many people's collections, and for good reason. It is the best eyeliner I have ever used. It has the perfect consistency, somewhere between the creaminess of a pencil and the fluidity of a liquid liner. It glides on nicely, dries quickly, and is very long-lasting. It is also resistant to smudging after it dries. The opacity is good but requires some build-up. The color loses intensity as you blend it out, and I think also as it dries. I often end up going over the line with a pencil liner.

Fluidline does have its faults. It can be a bit fickle to work with. Sometimes it will smudge to places that I don't want it to go, and ruin what I've already done. I know that has a lot to do with my technique, but that goes to show that this is definitely not a foolproof product. I've been using this product for about two years now, and I still feel like my technique has yet to be perfected. It can get flaky if you go over the line repetitively. The consistency also changes as the product dries out, which it tends to do because the cap does not provide a perfect seal.

Despite these weaknesses, I still love Fluidline and will continue to use it. I like it better than pencil liners because those fade, smudge, and crease on my lids. I prefer it to liquid liners because I feel that it is more opaque and I like its creaminess. Finally, it avoids the fallout issues I have with mineral eyeliners, while again offering much better opacity and longevity. I've also used one up in Blitz & Glitz, which is a very dark brown with subtle golden shimmer. That one is great too!

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss: Cheers, Spice It Up

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss: Cheers, Spice It Up

L-R: Cheers, Spice It Up

Revlon has released a holiday collection of Colorburst lipglosses with matching nail colors. I decided to try out the glosses because the colors are fun and festive.

Cheers is a deeper berry-fuschia shade. It appears lighter and pinker in my photographs than it does to my naked eye. I like to think of this color as a "party pink." It does contain shimmer, but it is subtle. The finish looks more like a creme.

Spice It Up is a dark, vampy burgundy with obvious shimmer. It is quite goth but I also think it is so appropriate for the cold seasons. Holiday parties will be the perfect excuse for a shade like this!

These glosses offer great pigmentation while maintaining some degree of translucency (as glosses should). I love that they are not sticky. They feel nice and moisturizing with good slip. The applicators are wonderful. They're flat on either side, rather than angling toward a point like most. I'm not sure what it is about them but they allow for precise application. It's also nice that you can use both sides of the applicator, whereas with a typical applicator you would need to dip it back into the gloss to pick up more product.

I can't really comment on wear as I have not yet worn these out for an extended period. I had Spice It Up on for an hour or two just to try. The glossiness and color definitely wore off as I drank water and such, which is to be expected. Even so, there was pigment left on my lips at the time I decided to wipe it off. I also felt that my lips looked a bit plumper. These don't contain lip plumping ingredients but I think it was a combination of the moisture of the glosses and a bit of color bleeding that made my lips look fuller.

I believe that these glosses retail for $7-8. I got mine from Walgreens at Buy One, Get One 50% Off. I think that the formula and packaging of these are great, and the colors are perfect for the season. Even if these particular shades don't appeal to you, I would definitely recommend this line of lipglosses, which offers a good range of colors.

L-R: Cheers, Spice It Up

Cheers

Spice It Up

Nude lips

Cheers (with flash, which unfortunately makes it appear more sheer than in reality)

Spice It Up (with flash, which unfortunately makes it appear more sheer than in reality)

Sephora by OPI Nail Colour: Wild About Shimmer

Sephora by OPI Wild About Shimmer (with flash)

Sephora by OPI Wild About Shimmer (natural light)

Wild About Shimmer is a decadently shimmery polish with particles that reflect like moonstone or opals, in shades of gold, pink, and green. It is definitely beautiful. Layered over a dark polish, the shimmer is predominantly golden-toned. I wore it over L'oreal's Owl's Lust, a vampy red shade from their Project Runway collection. I thought that they looked quite festive together, and rather appropriate for the upcoming holidays.

It is difficult for me to comment on the wear of this polish. I experienced chipping more quickly than normal. I can't say for sure if that is due to the L'oreal red polish, Wild About Shimmer, or the Sally Hansen topcoat. I suspect that it is most likely due to the topcoat. I normally use Seche Vite and get at least a good week of wear with my polishes.

If you like the effect of this polish, then definitely go for it. At $9.50 a bottle, I do find it to be a bit pricey. However, the only drugstore alternative that I can think of is a limited edition Sally Hansen polish (Hidden Treasure) that went for $8, but the particles were different and I don't think it's available anymore. Wild About Shimmer should be readily available, and at a decent price point.

Wild about Shimmer layered over L'oreal's Owl's Lust (with flash)

Wild about Shimmer layered over L'oreal's Owl's Lust (natural light)

L'oreal's Owl's Lust

UPDATE 12/2/11:
I used this polish again, this time over a pearlescent whitish-pink shade that has similar tones to Wild About Shimmer. You can see that when used in this way, Wild About Shimmer looks much softer.
I used the Seche Vite topcoat this time and my polish is holding strong, so I will blame the chipping from last time on the Sally Hansen topcoat!

Wild About Shimmer over Gap polish (with flash)

Wild About Shimmer over Gap polish (natural light)