Influenster: Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid™ VoxBox #Review #VividMatte

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I have been a member of Influenster for several years and love the VoxBoxes they share. I was beginning to think I was stuck with Virtual Vox Boxes for life when my dashboard had 4 going and no real products. I then received that Influenster e-mail, which makes you smile. I was getting a Maybelline VoxBox featuring the Vivid Matte collection. Hooray! I have come back to the VoxBox arena.

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Maybelline’s Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid has been spreading like wild fire and especially when some people shared it was a great copy cat to the Kylie Cosmetics’ line. Am I curious about the line? Yes. The price? No. Hey, I have other things I have my eye on and one thing I have plenty of is lip glosses, lip crayons, lip palettes, oh and the old fashion lip sticks (remember those 🙂 ). So, I keep buying because colors change, seasons change and it really is the one item that I don’t mind splurging a $10 here and there to see what the buzz is about. Copy cats can be colors and not always formulations and so far the two colors I received, #10 Nude Flush and #35 Rebel Red are vivid indeed. The collection features 10 colors in total and retails for $7.99 a piece. A pretty fair bargain!

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Verdict:

First, I was a bit puzzled by the formula. I blamed the plastic tube for the semi-gloss like finish the colors seemed to cast. I then open the first tube, the Rebel Red and the pigments are vibrant and just saturated with color, but not like any matte finish I have ever seen. I’m into paints from artistic to just plain old house paints and deciding on finishes is where I get stuck sometimes, because some rooms shed a different amount of light from our windows. The Vivid Matte collection would cancel all that, it would not matter what light or amount of it, from real to just coming from a bulb…..these beauties are not Matte. I don’t stop there because so what it’s not a real matte? I did feel they were still pretty. I open the tube and you do get a fragrance from the formula. It’s not faint and noticeable where the Nude hue is more like a sweet floral scent and the Red hue closer to a perfume/cosmetic scent. So far, okay. I apply the Rebel Red. Everything I have been rebelling against just went out the door. The consistency of the product is thick and opaque with a gloss finish. Not a translucent gloss by any stretch and a little goes a long way with at least this color. It’s a night color for me or at the very least a color I can mix with another if I feel daring in the AM hours. The product has a nice moist finish and not goopy like I was afraid it would feel like.

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Next, comes the Nude that has more of a purple note to it versus a pink or pale beige. There are no yellows or oranges in this nude color, it seriously owns purple! The less I apply, the more I feel it appears light enough to be called a nude like product but I mean this is me getting the wand out and using the tip to apply 2 dots at the top portion of my lip, and two on the bottom. There is no wand application going on here. Again, moist and the scent is more welcoming off this product than the former color. I prefer the Nude Flush over Rebel Red because maybe my full head on rebel days are over or I just need a slighter tan to not look so pale in this red. It’s starting to look more like Corvette Red on me. I do like the formulas though and found that application via a lip brush allows the product to flow better against the lip and you get an even finish. Again, these are opaque and not matte in finish, with the red having a more semi-gloss to it but the colors are vivid all the way!

Connect with Maybelline and view their Collections at:

 

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Influenster and Maybelline. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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EXUVIANCE® : Sheer Daily Protector Sunscreen Broad Spectrum, SPF 50 #Exuviance

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It’s been established, I’m a pale girl and when the sun even touches me, I then turn into a gorgeous (<—says no one) shade of pink, followed by red, and then I may or may not tan. I can handle the red and pink hues because it makes sure my “lobster girl” name sticks, plus I remind everyone that lobster’s have claws 🙂 It’s the latter part that I wish I could control and especially in areas I don’t want to tan (aka: age, get sun damage…..all that fun stuff). Having a perma-blush look is also not so flattering! My problem remains the same, where I want to add a SPF that is beyond 30 but it will not effect my make-up. It’s never a problem when I’m at home and walking around with a “naked face”, but it always is when it comes to applying foundations and going out in public. If I even get a foundation to work with a sunscreen, I then look oily or even a clam-y white hours later and this girl wants to swim in the ocean, not look like anything that comes in a shell from it!

Exuviance has been a guest on here before and I even shared attending one of those brand events at Ulta. The products, the brand to the people that work with them is something I enjoy experiencing because Exuviance is about making products that work for real people. Real people have temperamental skin and mine acts like a toddler that is throwing a fit at the market and of course blocking the aisle, so no one can pass! I get clogged pores to even bumps that make you guess they are the beginning of a pimple, then decided to take over and turn into a growth with no center, to then making me even entertain the idea it’s a bug bite. It’s like my bumps say guess what I am? In the end, my picking at my face wins and any idea of examining it’s remains is lodged nicely under the scar I created. I resigned myself that if I want real protection from the sun, I will suffer the toddler rage, which is my skin problems versus having to deal with the consequences of going SPF free.

Retail Price Point: $42.00 via NeoStrata or Ulta for a 1.7 fluid ounce bottle.  Ulta has deals going all the time, like adding bonus items with purchase as it is, but also bonuses with exclusive brand purchases.  Amazon also carries the product and it’s sold by Exuviance too.

Exuviance sent me their Sheer Daily Protector Sunscreen Broad Spectrum in SPF 50. I immediately thought, someone at Exuviance knows me or they sent a drone out that saw what happens when this girl meets the pool. I then opened the bottle and squirted a small sample to inspect…….um,

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Yeah, it says sheer so I thought clear or a white formula that fades to clear. Plus, the formula is ultra light. Light enough to not feel, but thin enough to spread easily and evenly. I figured they mean sheer for normal people not my polar bear white skin. I still ventured forward and started reading the directions.

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Application:
It’s good to read things and this one matters. You shake the bottle for 15 seconds, which is longer than my 4 to 5 shakes I give things even though I consider myself a person that shakes with “meaning”. I will always shake things from condiments, inhalers, drinks if they must be shaken and even if I saw you shake it, I will do it again out of habit. Sort of like my 3 extra shakes will make up for the settling that happened in the time it took for you to pass me the mustard bottle! I shook and counted. I can say Exuviance is making my heart healthy with this early A.M. exercise. Then you simply apply a good layer, that easily spreads out and then quickly my skin absorbed it. You saw above where the product looked like it had tint……well, none was detected once applied. It’s seriously like that wall patch stuff that comes tinted and when it dries, it blends into the wall. This was that stuff and played the same way out where I could see where I applied and then magic….my skin went back to same hue I have but improved.

Ingredients (as listed on their Website); 

Active Ingredients- Titanium Dioxide 7.0%, Zinc Oxide 6.0%

Inactive Ingredients- Benzoate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Gluconolactone, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Alumina, Ammonium Hydroxide, Lactobionic Acid, PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Phenethyl Benzoate, Nylon-12, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate, Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Isohexadecane, Tocopherol, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Dipropylene Glycol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Sulfate, Methicone, Propylene Carbonate, Sodium Citrate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium Bisulfite, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77491 (Iron Oxide Red), CI 77492 (Iron Oxide Yellow), CI 77499 (Iron Oxide Black).

 

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Verdict:
Once the poof! happened and the product was not visible, I noticed my skin felt smooth and did not have a shine. I had a semi-matte finish and because my skin felt smooth, I skipped on my primer. Yup, I was going to see what this product was made of! Even my pores looked less visible, so why not?  I then applied my foundation, which is a sheer to medium coverage formula. Blended the same way as if I had applied nothing and realize my foundation has no SPF (hard to find) because I just want to avoid “skin happenings”. I looked and my skin’s appearance improved because my foundation applied and leveled out better once it set. I continued and started to wonder if I was sent water. This is too good to be sunscreen, feels too nice to even think I’m making a sunscreen pretend to be a primer and I expect SPF 50 protection? Nope, not gonna happen.

I then went out on that day and I had to do returns, plus shop……..at one of those outdoor malls! You walk the same distance as in a normal “indoor” mall but someone got a great idea to make things fancy-shmancy looking by making me try to walk in heels on cobblestone and outside like with real natural air and weather! I started to rethink my decision but it’s noon and I’m ready to go. I go and shop around. I have more problems with my heels and wish when they make self-driving cars, that it means the car comes to me, gets the bags, and goes back from hence it came! It’s getting hotter because my head feels it and my left arm is getting pink but my shoulder is a nice red glow. I walk into a store and pretend I’m interested in what they have to offer but it’s really the AC that I care about. Looking and my face feels that slight sweat feeling but I got to the AC in time. I look in the mirror and my face is still the same. No pink nose or cheeks and I only need to fix my lipstick. My foundation is a little glossy where I started to “almost sweat” but once dry, I’m set. Okay, maybe it’s not tinted water in a bottle!

I expected to write a review that was not glowing because I jumped and thought no-way is this product sheer and no way can any SPF product over 30 and even 50 be like this. I thought the 50 meant the amount of applications per day.  I was wrong (sowwy Exuviance). The next day, I expected the chin bumps but nothing and I realized after reading (yeah, I know I caught myself again when it came to what I said about reading directions), the product is called “Sheer Daily Protector”. It’s more than just sunscreen and you get a formula that protects, nourishes, and this a product that goes beyond what I understood sun protection was. I thought you stick to to the huge amounts of sunscreen, say a few positive words, and then hope for the best when you head out.  I even try talking nice to the sun!  I used the product the following day and because I know read and stuck, it’s also a product that can be used on the body.  I cover my decolletage (hey, I went to a fancy-shmancy mall 🙂 ) and even my left arm that is tanner than the other from when I drive.  I keep expecting to experience problems with coverage, protection to even small irritations but my skin pretends it can play in the sun…….I sort of go along with it because maybe, just maybe this year I can get a nice (but healthy) t-a-n.  Okay, I’ll settle for a glow!

Experience an outdoor mall but not before connecting with Exuviance at:

I received the above product(s) free of charge from NeoStrata (Exuviance).  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Paula Dorf New York: Perfect Color collection, Ecstasy color #Review #PaulaDorf

 

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Paula Dorf is a cosmetic company that carries lines from lip products, make-up brushes, eye-shadows, and even nails……you name it and Paula Dorf carries it, along with products that are of their own creation. This is where the Perfect Color collection lands because one tube of color is perfect for eyes, lips, and cheeks. Pretty simple and for me it’s a take on the mascara + lipstick and go= for those days I want to blame my alarm did not go off but in reality I’m moving at a snail’s pace.

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I have tried like products in the past from Nars and other companies so the concept is not new to me. I saw the tag at the bottom, which features the name of the color and due to the intensity of the color, I assumed it was a basic pink tag and not representing the color inside. Oh, so I wish I was wrong and the tag was even down played! I then think maybe the pigment looks intense but once I swipe, the color will apply and come off smoother and just be more likable. Um, I tried my lips and the product reminded me of make-up I wore in Junior High. You know when fluorescent pinks and hues were the “it” colors, I admit I wore some of them and I would have waited in line at Wet Seal and Contempo to score this back then BUT even then I cared about how a product felt and applied. I assume again maybe I need to exfoliate my lips and let’s blame the way the color floats and feels smothering and dry, on my own lips. I continue onward and realize my Husband is in the kitchen finishing up dinner while I’m doing this. I apply on my cheeks and even just dabbing lightly onto my finger’s tip and patting on softly, to then blending in……I don’t even look like I’m stuck blushing or had a bad sun burn, I look sort of clown-ish and I actually laugh at my own reflection. Being always positive, I still go forward because the package says eyes, lips, and cheeks and my eyes are just left to attack. I blame the box at this point and I use the left-over product from my cheek onto my eyes and I finally realize that I’m looking younger but not in a good way. I’m no longer in Junior High but now I’ve entered Elementary and when my parents bought me “Barbie” make-up and they were shocked that it was real make-up (after they saw my creation the next morning).

The box states, “light and creamy in flattering shades”. The product was:

  • Almost too powdery and felt like talc, sort of like corn starch feels in between your fingers. This makes blending a bear and also results in making your pores look larger than they are. So if you want to play opposites and show off all your pores can be, this is the stick for you.

 

  • Creamy it is not and because of that talc feeling I mentioned, it feels tacky and little sticky. Then when it sets, it dries on and is hard to take off. It also feels heavy on the skin and almost smothering. So, you show off your pores and then punish them by not letting them get any air!

 

  • Flattering shades…..this I can’t comment for the entire collection in this line because the website did not show this product and/or any of it’s kind. This shade goes beyond flattering or going with any skin tone. Think about that statement chair that people buy for a room that has no rules but is that wow piece…..this is this item but the statement piece is what drowned everything else out and when you think of that room, you can only picture that chair! I can’t even call it a color you can wear at night because sooner or later you will walk under a light and please forgive anyone that asks you if you are okay, you will look sickly pink if you really blended or bug bitten if you did light pats when applying.

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Back to my Husband making dinner and his reaction to the child that found a marker……..the man said, “what the …. “and even tried helping me. Maybe you put too much on and tried saving the one eye I made up by removing the pink off with a tissue. Pinky is winning. It won’t come off. It loves me. I tried oil and found that the color can be blended better with 1 drop of oil but then I was slicky pink. After washing my face, my wonderful Husband asks me to please not put that on and what the heck was it. I explain to him and all he hears is it’s and all-in-one product and he reminds me to repeat what we say about all-in-one products in this house, “they are not even good at doing one thing”. I thank Captain Obvious even though he did try to rescue me and even after dinner said there was nothing flattering or pretty about that stuff. I again promise to play “no touchies” with it.

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This was a difficult review to write. I looked at Paula Dorf’s site and spent a good 30 minutes getting lost and seeing so many pretty and interesting products. It was hard to believe this item came from the same company I was seeing on the screen. It did not match the style, quality or image the company has. It’s a goof and it has to be. It did not help not finding the product on the website until I clicked all products and saw that it was retailing for $32 and now for $16. Maybe this is an oops stick I got because the paragraph on the site talks about shimmering accents and this has none. I can say that the pigments are ultra powerful and come with Hulk strength that I wish my eye-shadows held!

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  • Promotions:

With each blog readers purchase, they will receive the gift of Paula Dorf’s mini No Color Glimmer, a gorgeously soft, lightweight powder to complete your look! The perfect accent to Ecstasy.
USE CODE: ECSTASY

Paula Dorf is giving away a makeup kit full of some of their favorite products! You can enter for a chance to win this Paula Dorf makeup kit ($125 value) here:https://promosimple.com/ps/66b5

 

Connect with Paula Dorf Cosmetics at:

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Paula Dorf.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

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