Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Gloss in Plum Luster

After reading several glowing reviews of Maybelline's new Color Sensational lip glosses, I decided to pick one up at Walgreens.  I hemmed and hawed over several tempting shades, and finally settled on Plum Luster. 

Cute packaging, eh?

It's a beautiful, deep, reddish plum that is surprisingly pigmented.  It also contains a fine, silvery shimmer.  I prefer cream finishes on myself, but I don't mind the shimmer in this because it's so subtle.

Doesn't it look luscious?

This is a quintessentially autumn shade, though I would wear it year round.  It's dark enough to make an impact, but not overly vampy or goth. 

It's non-sticky and feels very comfortable on the lips.  Wear time is about average for a gloss.  I touch up every few hours or after eating or drinking. The scent is... different.  Vaguely fruity, definitely synthetic.  If you are a child of the 80's and 90's like me, you may remember the artwork of Lisa Frank.  Well, in fourth grade I had a Trapper Keeper notebook featuring fluorescent fruits as illustrated by Ms. Frank.  If those fruits had been scratch-and-sniff, they probably would have smelled something like this lip gloss. Fortunately for my sensitive nose, the scent doesn't linger after application.

Overall, I'm really happy with Plum Luster and am already plotting which shades to pick up next!

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Beige

As soon as I heard that Maybelline had released a few new, limited edition shades of their Color Tattoo cream shadows, I knew I had to have them.  Well, one of them, to be exact:  Barely Beige. I was hoping it would be the perfect everyday base shade for me, something to even out my lids and add a little intensity to whatever powder shadows I layer over the top.

In the pot, Barely Beige appears to be a neutral champagne shade with subtle shimmer.

Champagne-y goodness

Isn't it gorgeous?!?

 

Swatched on my NW10-ish arm

It is beautiful, but on my cool-toned skin it pulls a little too peachy for my liking. Based on the name, I was hoping for a truly neutral beige.  It reminds me of the Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten, though maybe not quite as golden.  (I'm going by memory here, as I no longer own Kitten.  I ended up giving it to a friend because it was too warm-toned for me.)  I actually prefer Barely Beige to Kitten. I found Stila's formula to be kind of dry and gummy, while the Maybelline formula is creamier.

I wear Color Tattoos over a primer, such as Urban Decay Primer Potion.  I don't experience any significant creasing or smearing, though I do notice some fading after 5 to 6 hours.  That is not a deal-breaker for me, however. 

While Barely Beige didn't end up being the perfect neutral base shadow for me, I think it's a gorgeous, versatile product.  If you are into cream shadows in the champagne/beige/peachy family, you will probably love this.