REVIEW: Maybelline Superstay Better Skin Flawless Finish Foundation

Maybelline Superstay Better Skin in Light Beige

I may have mentioned it before but I am obsessed with foundation. I hate my skin, it's red and blotchy, oily and dry, pale and generally it just irritates me. Of course, in the grand scheme of things i'm lucky, I do not have acne or anything like that, but years of obsessing over media imagery has left me with this desire for the unobtainable flawless face. When I heard about the release of this new foundation, I became obsessed, as it claims that it can actually treat and even out your skintone whilst doing the normal gubbins of making you look luminous and flawless. 

So, what up Maybelline?

"Dull, blotchy, uneven skin? Visibly improves your skin every minute you're in it.

Our first hydrating foundation with Actyl C and SPF 20. Flawless all-day coverage.

The formula helps skin look more radiant, fresher and even, with all-day wear."

Oh. Cool! Lets see some swatches...

Light Beige

Light Beige swatched

Light Beige blended out

When I bought this foundation, I was desperate to love it. DESPERATE. I'm pretty poor at the moment and I am always keen to find a staple product at a budget price that does the job adequately. After having given a good two weeks of testing, I am sad to say that I am a little disappointed.

So, the pros. It's a beautiful finish, it really is. You have a luminous glow, whilst letting your skin shine through, you look healthy and even, and I cannot fault the finish, I absolutely loved it. 

But that love wasn't to last.

You see, I am oily, but not ridiculously so, so when a foundation is called 'Superstay' I expect a level of longevity from the product. My first issue is that it never actually dries down, not totally, so I had to powder it, which is fine and dandy of course, but even with powder, the stuff starts to swim around my face with oil within two hours, and it kind of mixed with powder and sank into my pores leaving a bit of an unholy, patchy mess. I also primed with a primer that is generally brilliant for my skin, Mac Natural Radiance Primer but alas, the foundation was not a friend. 

As for improving my actual skin, it's week two, and the foundation is meant to take three weeks to have an impact, so i'll keep on with my test run for another week to see how things work out on that front. 

Oh, and a note to the pale girls. The palest shade is Light Beige, not ivory. I've seen much wailing and moaning about ivory being too dark. Well, yeah, it is, so don't order it. Order the paler shade. Easy!

So in summary. Great for dry skin. Not great for oily. Unless you're only planning on looking lovely for an hour. In that case, fill your boots.

You can purchase this foundation for £8.99 from Boots and Superdrug across the UK.

BYE.

REVIEW - Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara

Wow Maybelline, thats quite the mouthful of a name you've got going on there. Could it perhaps be because you make SO MANY mascaras now that you've started to have a bit of a laugh when naming yet another. For years I would hear the urban myth of the Maybelline 'pink and green' mascara before the brand hit these shores, and yeah, it's pretty good, but not the most perfect thing I ever used by any stretch. This was the early to mid nineties though....so, you do expect some innovation obviously.

Rambling.

Anyway, so, I have a ton of mascaras, a ridiculous amount. What with my lashes being straight, stumpy, and non existent without a good lashing of mascara. I have tried growth serums and got nowhere, so I have to rely on the good old fashioned method of about twenty coats of mascara. I have three favourite macaras, one being the previously reviewed DJV Beautinizer Volumising Mascara, the second being Diorshow Black Out and the third is the trusty YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara. I thought I had my arsenal sorted, but surprisingly, Maybelline have finally got me with a damn good mascara. Who'd a thunk it!?

Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara

So I gave this a go, and you can see the results below after two coats. Yeah, it's not totally clump free, but it separates lashes in a dolly eyed bambi esque way that I love, right from the root up, and it curls my stubborn lashes too, which is something that only happens when I use a very thick formula like YSL. 

My eye. At some point this week. 

So as you can see, it's pretty effective. It also doesn't smudge, but comes off pretty easily with make up remover at the end of the day. I highly recommend this mascara to anyone who wants curled, defined lashes with speed and ease! 

If you want to invest, this is available from boots for the bargain price of £5.99

Review - Maybelline Super Stay 24 hr Bold Matte - Shade 830 Prune

Hello!

Well, whoopsie, yesterday when I posted THIS review, I totally forgot to add all the shades I'd lovingly purchased in the hope they'd make dreams come real. Sorry for that ladies (and gents, potentially)

So here's a little catch up. If you want a review on the formula, again, go to the previous review of the Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Bold Matte's. This is just to show you what this guy looks like.

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Bold Matte in 830 Prune

The product has been swatched with two swipes, still wet.

As you will noticed, there is a little pink smear on my arm. Well, that is yesterdays swatch. Bear in mind I have had a bath, wiped my arm with make up wipes AND scrubbed with an exfoliating sponge. I am thinking that perhaps I was too quick to judge on their lasting power, and maybe the extent of the dryness of my lips had an effect on the quick fading. 

Bold Matte, Prune, dried down. 

Again, like the other three Bold Matte liquid lipsticks, this product took forever to dry down. At least six minutes of waiting, which most people can't be bothered with if you've got something to do with your life! However, the colour of this is STUNNING. A rich purple leaning pink, with zero sparkle or dimension, just flat as matte intends. I love the colour, and I love it on, I just wish I could get to grips with making it last and not flake off. 

If you want to take part in the Maybelline Bold Matte Party, please visit your nearest Boots or Superdrug store, where they are currently stocked before they pop up online. 

Review - Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Bold Matte (swatches etc)

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Bold Matte

Shades (top to bottom) 815 (fire coral), 800 (glamour pink) and 810 (peach cocktail)

With lipstick, there are a few specifics that i'm all about. Firstly I like them bold (after banning myself from always relying on Nars Tonkin because I feared the lipstick smear and fade situation), I like them long lasting and non fade, and I like them MATTE. Really really MATTE. When I saw these launching I knew that I had to get my hands on them. So, what do I think? It should be a marriage made in heaven....

Top to bottom - 810 Peach Cocktail, 800 Glamour Pink, 815 Fire Coral. 

So this is them swatched before dry down. As you can see, the colours are vivid, but i'm afraid this took two swipes, as one seemed to be rather translucent. I decided to take another picture after dry down...

Top to bottom same as previous picture.

So, dry down. All very well and good, but this dry down took TEN MINUTES. Thats a pretty long amount of time to wait when you're wanting to do your lippy and leave the house and not smear it all over your face. I tried again just with one layer but the result was too translucent to look right, it definitely needs that building, otherwise it looks patchy. 

So how does it last? Well, it does last longer than your regular lipsticks of course. 24 hours though? Nope, not on your ruddy nelly! I would say you get about three hours before it starts patching off. You can drink, eat and kiss, and it won't smear all over your glass or kissing partner, but it will flake off after a while. 

Do I like it? Well, despite the moans above, I actually do!? In a market that lacks matte options in the extreme, despite it having been a trend for about three years now, I'm willing to put up with the downsides and work with this product because after the work, the colours and beautiful, and you can get more wear than your average lippy, so it's not really the end of the world if your desire for these colours outweighs your need for them to live up to all their pie in the sky claims. 

If you want to go bold, and matte, get yourself to your nearest Boots or Superdrug and pick these up for £8.99. They are due online in the next two weeks too, but if you can't wait, you'll need to wiggle on down to the stores in person.