Brand Focus: Maybelline New York

Hey, guys! If you saw my Instagram, you'll know I did a full face makeup look using only Maybelline products! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to restrain myself to only one brand, but rather very refreshing. I feel like I'm so easily swamped with all the high end products I own/covet that I tend to forget that it's good to go back to the basics a little bit, so I created this simple every day look that is totally wearable during the winter, spring, summer, fall, day or night.

Here is a photo of the completed look. The only non Maybelline product I used was the brow pencil I used to fill in my brows. I used the Shiseido Brow Pencil in Deep Brown. This is one that I stole/borrowed-and-never-gave-back from my mom (love you, Mom...).

Onto the actual tutorial and review for this look! For the face, I used the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in the shade light/medium. This was the last one they had at Walmart (don't judge me, I'm poor) and I was super excited to try out a BB cream, especially since my skin has been ridiculously dry lately. I have to say, at first I wasn't completely floored by this product because I was so used to seeing the immediate full coverage of a foundation, but after a few minutes, the product definitely corrected my redness on my cheeks and forehead, and I could definitely feel the hydrating properties of this BB cream. If you're looking for an everyday natural looking face, I recommend this product. If you have super oily skin, this product may not be right for you, since it could feel greasy on top of an oily complexion. Similarly, as I said before, it is not full coverage, but does colour correct and smooths out the look of any bumps and imperfections. Obviously if you have pimples sprouting on your face, it won't cover those, but it brings me to the next product I used which was the Maybelline Instant Dark Circle Eraser. 
This concealer is super duper creamy which makes it really easy to blend. If you use this concealer, I suggest using a face powder to set it otherwise it will crease. True to it's name, this isn't one of those products that claims more than it can do. This concealer completely erasers my dark dark circles under my eyes (thanks a lot, school). Next, to erase the pimples sprouting on the side of my face, I used my Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer which also doubles as a highlighter. Thumbs up, Maybelline for that one! Recently, I've been kind of obsessing over highlighting my face in addition to contouring and nude lips. It's kind of a problem I willingly embrace.

For my cheeks, I have the Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 15 Rose Petal. This blush is either hit or miss with some people I feel. Maybe I just lucked out in the shade I chose or something, but the formulation of this cream blush is unlike any other I've tried. It really does have a "bouncy" feel to it and it's super easy to blend into the cheeks. You can use a brush to do this or, if you're like me and can't afford to splurge too much on tools, your finger. Also, to apply blush, avoid applying it directly to the apples of your cheek. Rather drag it up towards your temples. Applying it directly to your apples ages you and drags down your face. If you're in your tweens/teens you can get away with it (sort of) but otherwise, dragging it up towards the temples lifts the face as opposed to dragging it down.
Next up is the eyes. Here I used the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in the shade Bad to the Bronze. I talked about this product in my A. Awards of Beauty and I'm mentioning it again because it's that awesome. This is honestly a holy grail beauty product for me. It creates the quickest, most effortless eye look. I used this product every day during the summer and while I can't say it lasted 24 hrs, it did last through a whole shift (11 AM - 11 PM) both inside the restaurant and out on the patio in sometimes blistering, sometimes not so blistering weather. Just swirl your ring finger in the jar to pick up some product and apply it all over the lid, taking it up slightly towards the brow bone to create the illusion of a smokey eye. It's the easiest smokey eye product you will ever use, I can promise you that.
This step looks like it took ten minutes, when really? It only takes two.
Next, I took the pencil eyeliner (I don't know the name it wiped off the pencil *sadface*) and lined half my waterline since I prefer to go the sultry cat eye look.

This liner is probably not a waterliner, but it does the trick with this little trick I recently learned from a makeup artist on YouTube (dear gossmakeupartist, thank you). This trick actually works better with a cheap black (or other coloured, whichever...) eye liner pencil. Since most eyeliner pencils are constantly slipping and sliding all around the waterline, this Maybelline one I used being no different, it's hard to find a good liner that will stay put. Instead of blowing twenty dollars on an expensive eye liner, take your cheap pencil liner and grab a lighter. Stick the tip of the pencil into the flame for literally two seconds before pulling it out. DO NOT STICK IT RIGHT IN YOUR EYE AFTER YOU JUST SET IT ON FIRE. Please. Don't. Do not do it. Wait a few seconds and TEST it on the back of your hand before sticking it inside your eyeball. This is an age old trick which I feel has been forgotten with the influx of more and more makeup products and options for eyeliners. By melting the kohl pencil tip bit thing before sticking it in your eye, it causes the product to really grip onto the waterline and stay. It's a trick that will save you so much money (to splurge on other high end products we obviously need...).
For my top lashline, I used the Maybelline masterPrecise by Eyestudio Liquid Liner. This liquid liner makes doing a cat eye super easy, and I'm all about the cat eye look! I also have zero time in the mornings to perfect my cat eye technique, so this liquid liner with a felt tip really helps speed up the process!
For mascara, I used the Maybelline Big Eyes Waterproof mascara. It's a double ended type of wand thing. One side is for the top lashes, the other for the lower lashes. I haven't seen another brand do this. Either they have the primer on one end and the mascara on the other, or one wand for volume, another for length. I like that this one has a skinnier wand for the lower lashes since nothing sucks more than getting mascara all over your under eye concealer, and wiping it off only makes it even worse. The smaller wand also helps declump and reach the tiny lashes on the inner top lash line.
For my lips, I used the Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue Lip Balm in Just Peachy. Unlike the other Baby Lips, the Dr Rescue line is actually really moisturizing. I've used the clear one and the tinted one and both of them are amazing. This is a great product to have for those chapped lips in the winter time.
Finally, I topped off my lips with a swipe of the new Maybelline Color Sensationals Elixirs in the shade Nude Illusion. This gloss is the perfect nude gloss to wear every day and top off over any nude lipstick. Like I said, I have been obsessed with the nude lip look. The gloss itself is super creamy and not at all sticky or tacky, which I find to be the main issue with a lot of glosses. Another pro is this gloss is super pigmented. The colour you see in the tube is the colour you get on your lips. The lasting power of this is about an hour long before you should reapply. You don't need to apply it after an hour since you can still feel the creaminess of it, just the shine may not be so shiny. On a whole I really do love these glosses and look forward to collecting even more of them!

That is everything for my brand focus post, if you guys enjoyed it, please let me know! If you guys love/hate or have any other products by Maybelline you love or don't love, then definitely let me know in the comments! Thank you so much for checking out my post and I hope you have a great day, night, afternoon, morning, night, month, year, week, whatever!

XOXO,

A. Bean

Tweet

PSsssssssssst! - #beandrugstoregirl if you love drugstore makeup just as much as I do!