Saturday, November 10, 2012

Weekly Poll Results - What's Your Favorite Drugstore Brand for Most/All of Your Needs?

What's Your Favorite Drugstore Brand for Most/All of Your Needs?

It's that time of the week again! The results of another weekly poll. If you haven't noticed already, each week there's a new question on the right-hand side of the page.

I was curious to see which are some of your favorite drugstore brands. It's hard to say which is the best because each brand might excel in a category, while another category is a complete fail. For instance, Revlon has amazing products - especially their face and lip products. But their mascaras stink! Maybe their PhotoReady Mascara is so-so, but the rest of them are a waste of money. (This is my opinion only of course!)

So my question was, What is your favorite drugstore brand for all or most of your needs? Theoretically speaking - if you happened to lose all of your makeup and were given the money to purchase a whole new collection, and you could only purchase everything from one brand, which would it be?

It makes my head hurt just thinking about it. But here are the results!

The results are...

Revlon - 74 votes (38%)
Covergirl - 13 votes (6%)
L'Oreal - 48 votes (25%)
Maybelline - 64 votes (33%)
Rimmel London - 14 votes (7%)
Milani - 6 votes (3%)
Wet n Wild - 20 votes (10%)
NYX - 44 votes (23%)
Physicians Formula - 8 votes (4%)
Neutrogena - 6 votes (3%)
Annabelle (Canadian Brand) - 2 votes (1%)
E.L.F. - 39 votes (20%)
Other - 7 votes (3%)

This poll is based on 191 participants.

The #1 crowd choice is Revlon with the first runner up being Maybelline and the second being L'Oreal.

I'd have to go with the crowd pick and choose Revlon too. My main focus of my makeup is having a good base makeup, and Revlon does some really good foundations - in my opinion, better than what the other drugstore brands have to offer (in terms of coverage and lasting power). I prefer long-lasting cosmetics, and with Revlon's Colorstay line, they have tons of products that will get you through the day with minimal touch-ups.

I'm also a big fan of Revlon's lip products - and some of their eye products aren't too shabby either. Also, I know this shouldn't really be a factor, but I thought it was worth a mention that Revlon has good eye appeal. Although I'm not a makeup snob, I still don't want messy, broken tubes and compacts before I'm even done using the product. The packaging on most of their products is very classy and chic and doesn't reflect the low price.

I do have to say though, if I really did have to only choose one brand, it'd be pretty hard to give up my Maybelline and Covergirl Mascaras.


(photo credits: makeupandbeauty, vampy varnish and lipglossiping.)

If you participated, let me know why you chose your answer! Is there one product in particular from the line that persuaded you to choose it? Or multiple products?

If you didn't participate in the poll, let me know which brand you'd choose! 

Friday, November 9, 2012

MAC Staunchly Stylish Pro Longwear Lip Pencil Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac staunchly stylish

MAC Staunchly Stylish Pro Longwear Lip Pencil 

MAC Staunchly Stylish Pro Longwear Lip Pencil ($19.50) is a soft, rosy-beige long-wearing and transfer-proof lip pencil with a creamy, "fluid-like" texture that glides to the lips with rich, saturated color.

Lip liner is one of those things that I neglect to use every day, even though I prefer the look of my lips with lip liner. I suppose it's mainly a convenience thing - I like a simple daily routine, and most of the time I just apply what I find is necessary. I do love lip liner though, especially MAC Lip Pencils. It's pretty much the major brand I use, with Oak, Stripdown and Subculture being my go-to shades. I became curious about their Pro Longwear line of lip pencils that launched late last year, as often times I only apply my liner in the morning and it's gone within a couple of hours, so finding a lip liner that will last me for several hours would be wonderful!

The formula of these pencils are pretty nice. They are no doubt creamy and glide easily across the lips. The liner doesn't tug or pull at the lips - just smooth sailing. They dry down to a budge-proof matte finish.

Alone on the lips, the pencil makes my lips look dry and crackled, as the formula really "clings" to the lips. So, I wouldn't wear it on it's own (or this shade anyway). I like wearing it as a base for my lipstick, or simply applied lightly on the outline of my lips and blended in. I don't find it to be drying when combined with another lip product. I also notice that when it's on my lips, it feels the slightest bit tacky - kind of similar to some formulas of long-wearing lipsticks.. dry, but somewhat sticky? Very minor, though.

MAC doesn't give a length of time that these lip pencils should last, but I find that it holds up really well throughout the day. It holds up well after my morning coffee, and partly goes away with a meal (which typically would be completely gone). If I don't eat or drink, it doesn't budge. It's hands down the longest wearing lip pencil I own.

mac staunchly stylish

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Pink with Glitter Reverse French Nails of the Day.

Reverse French Manicure with Glitter

I've been wanting to try a reverse french manicure with glitter for a while now after seeing several photos on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a shot today. I've tried the regular reverse french and liked it a lot, but I thought adding glitter would be a fun twist since I love glitter tips in general. 

I used french manicure guides that I purchased from my local beauty supply store, but you can use tape if you'd like (just make sure to cut it so it's rounded) or garage sale stickers, reinforcement stickers, etc.

how to create reverse french manicure with glitter

It's that easy! You just have to be sure that your glitter is completely dry, otherwise the sticker can pull the glitter off. As an alternative to glitter polish, you can actually apply a clear coat of nail polish to the bottom portion of your nail, and spill some loose glitter on top. 

For the glitter, I used Maybelline Color Show Sequins Nail Polish in the shade Gold's Night Out with Milani Silver Jewel FX on top. 

The color on my nails is Essie Lion Around. I picked it up recently at my local TJ Maxx.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Winner of the Physician's Formula Boost Your Beauty Giveaway!

The WINNER Announced!

I sincerely appreciate your participation in my recent Physician's Formula Boost Your Beauty Giveaway, and as always, your participation in each giveaway hosted on my blog. I love reading through the entries, and receiving feedback of what I can do to change or add, to make my blog better for all of you! Thank you so, so much!

There were 86 entries in total, and the winner was picked at random using random.org.

And, the winner is...


Jess

Congrats! I'll be contacting you shortly.

The Physician's Formula Boost Your Beauty Contest is still running on the Physicians Formula website until Dec. 16th. Make sure to enter for your chance to win a pair of diamond earrings worth $4,000 and lots of Physicians Formula Cosmetics! Entering is easy. Click here to enter.