NEW Makeup At the Drugstore! January 2016

There’s not much I love about January (especially in New England) but one bright spot is all the new makeup at the drugstore! It seems the drugstore brands have caught on to what’s selling at Sephora and Ulta and in response they’re coming out with “Naked” style eyeshadow palettes, contouring products, cushion compacts and more!  I didn’t find much to love at the drugstore last year, but the new crop of makeup looks promising!

I had so much fun shopping my haul, and even more fun trying everything so I could provide mini-reviews of each:

Maybelline Master Prime Long-Lasting Eyeshadow Base – $15.00

This eyeshadow primer is a really pretty shell pink that works well as an eyeshadow base. Eyeshadows apply smoothly and blend easily and it helps them last longer without creasing. Unfortunately, it’s not great on mature eyelids because the shimmery finish limits it’s use to the lower part of my lid (shimmer from eyelashes to eyebrows is not a good look), and it went on a little scaley looking.

Maybelline Face Studio MasterContour Palette – $12.99

This contour palette contains a bronzer/contour, blush, and highlighter, and a small brush that’s only useable for applying the highlighter. It comes in 2 shades, light/medium and medium/deep (I got it in light/medium). The bronzer looks like a good neutral color in the pan but it went on very warm and orangey and very light. The blush is a pretty bubble-gum pink, and the highlighter is actually a very nice pearl shimmer powder that goes on translucent.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil – $7.99

This gel eyeliner pencil comes in 6 shades. It’s super creamy so it glides on even crepey eyelids easily and stays in place all day — even in the waterline! I’m so impressed, I’m going back to get it in Charcoal and Soft Nude.

CoverGirl Nudes TruNaked Eye Shadow Palette – $11.99

CoverGirl released their Naked eyeshadow palette in 3 variations, Nudes, Goldens, and Roses. I loved the colors and the mix of mattes and shimmers in the Nudes version so that’s the one I bought. This is a very well curated group of shades and I especially love the medium matte taupe and the medium shimmery taupe but all the colors are very wearable.

Of the 3 palettes I picked up in this haul, this is by far the best. The eyeshadows feel very much like the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadows, they have good color payout and blend easily.

CoverGirl TruBlend Blush – $13.50

This new blush comes in 3 shades (light, medium, dark) so the color range is a bit limited. It’s a baked, marbled pink with swirls of gold shimmer that reminded me of the Milani Baked Blush I was in love with a couple years ago. The difference between the two is that the gold shimmer in the CoverGirl is more refined so you don’t end up with big gold glitter flakes on the cheeks by day’s end. The blush is a sheer matte that looks natural and the gold shimmer adds a lovely warm glow to the cheeks eliminating the need for an additional highlighting product.

CoverGirl The SuperSizer Mascara – $7.49

I bought this in hopes it would replace my once beloved ClumpCrusher mascara that suddenly stopped working for me last year. The SuperSizer is 100% better than ClumpCrusher at building length and volume delivering long, fluttery, separated lashes. It wears well for about 8 hours and then starts to break down slightly leaving a couple tiny flakes around the eyes, but no smudging. So all-in-all, pretty good.

CoverGirl Colorlicious Oh Sugar! Lip Balm – $8.99

Another thing I’m always on the hunt for is a non-drying lipstick and the Colorlicious Oh Sugar! lip balm delivers on it’s promise to moisturize as it adds a wash of color. It’s infused with vitamins and oils and provides a sheer tint that stains the lips so it’s fairly long-wearing.

Revlon ColorStay Not Just Nudes Palette – $14.99

Here’s Revlon’s attempt at a Nude palette called Not Just Nudes. It comes in 2 different shades: Passionate Nudes, and Romantic Nudes. This palette sticks to it’s traditional drugstore eyeshadow roots with the same size/shape pans and mainly shimmer/glitter offerings.

The color payout is good and they are easily blended, but the selection of colors is not as sophisticated as they could be with a mix of cool greys and warm golds that don’t seem to belong in the same palette.

Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara – $8.99

Revlon came out with 5 all new mascaras. . . one for every type of lash you could want! There’s Dramatic Definition, Volume + Length, Super Length, Ultra Volume, and for those who just can’t decide, Ultra All-In-One! I picked up Dramatic Definition (to try first) and Ultra All-In-One (to try if DD was good). I was psyched when I put on the first one and got lovely dramatic perfect lashes in two coats! Then I became less psyched as it started to smudge and flake off in under 4 hours. Needless to say the unopened one will be going back.

L’Oreal Lumi Cushion Foundation – $16.99

I’m on the fence about the cushion foundations. While I like the idea, the packaging and the ease of use, I think I’m paying a lot for the package and only getting half the amount of foundation. So I was psyched that L’Oreal came out with a lower priced option.

The foundation comes in 12 shades that are divided into C for Creamy Neutral and W for Warm. I chose C-3 which looks to be way too dark for me in the compact, but in fact goes on way too light for me. Shade selection aside, the compact was easy to use and the little puffer applicator actually applied the makeup really well.

I got sheer to medium, even coverage quickly and easily! Sadly, I should know better by now not to buy anything that says “LUMI” right on the label. . . as it’s just too “lumi”nous for me. Or in this case out right shiny to the point of looking greasy. Add to that the very short wear time of 3-4 hours and this is a real no-go for me.

Rimmel The Only One Lipstick – $6.99

This all-in-one lipstick is supposed to offer supreme long-lasting color, comfort, moisture and wear so you can get rid of all other lipsticks! It comes in 12 wearable looking shades and I got it in “It’s A Keeper”. The first thing I noticed was the VERY strong fragrance which just doesn’t appeal to me. It goes on creamy and smooth and made my lips look very nice. It has a low-luster shine that’s flattering on mature lips, but I didn’t find it long-wearing or moisturizing. It lasted about 2-3 hours and my lips felt dry and scaley after it wore off, so contrary to the name, It’s NOT A Keeper!

Wet N Wild ColorIcon Au Natural Eyeshadow Palette – $6.63

This palette comes in a few different shades, I got it in Nude Awakening at Walmart where it was being unpacked. I can’t find it online so it may be an in-store Walmart exclusive. The colors in the palette are really pretty and there’s a nice mix of mattes and shimmers.

The color payout is just okay and they tend to blend away and were not long wearing, even with primer. This was the most disappointing of the 3 palettes I tried.

Wet N Wild ColorIcon Contour Palette – $3.93

This contour palette comes in 2 shades, Carmel Toffee which is warmer/darker and Dulce de Leche which is a pinker/lighter version. The stores seem to carry one or the other but not both. Both powders in the palette are matte which is great for the contour, but not so great for the highlight. If I had known there was a lighter version I probably would have gotten that one and been happier with it, but neither of these powders worked well for me.

NYX HydraTouch Primer – $13.99

I find most foundation primers to be slightly drying, especially in winter so I grabbed this when I saw it! I’ve worn it a couple of times and it definitely helped my drying foundations to be a little less drying and flakey! It’s got a healthy dose of niacinamide and also contains soothing green tea, licorice root, and chamomile!

Jonh Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls Air Dry Waves – $9.99

I’d seen ads for this styling product and wanted to try it to see if it could really air-dry my hair without frizz. I followed the instructions (scrunch through damp hair & let dry) the first time I used it and was NOT thrilled.

I tried it again with more success by combing my hair, applying the foam, and then twisting my hair into a bun and letting it air dry. It took the better part of the day to dry but it came out with soft touchable waves!

Yes To Coconuts Melting Cleanser – $9.99

I can’t find this product on-line either so it may be an Ulta in-store exclusive. I love the idea of using an all natural coconut oil based product to melt away my makeup since it seems gentler and better for my skin than the Kirkland Wipes I currently use. I use the cleanser dry and massage it into my skin and eye area and it really does melt away the makeup! Then I rinse with warm water and do the 2nd step of my “double-cleanse” to wash away any oily residue and remove any last traces of dirt and makeup. I like this so much, it’s likely to make it’s way into my daily skincare routine!

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