Faves and Flops- Maybelline Edition

I was in Target earlier today picking up a few things for the house and on my way to the checkout, those brighter-than-the-sun lights of the beauty aisles drew me in again (damn them!).  I was really good and didn't buy anything this time but as I browsed, my blogging brain kicked into high gear and I thought up the idea for this post while standing in the Maybelline section. I saw products I thought were terrible and products I love, and while I've talked about most of them individually in blog posts over the years I thought it would be nice to put them all together in one place. Each product I mention here is one that I have strong feelings about one way or the other, so all the Maybelline products I didn't mention in this post fall somewhere between "I Love It!" and "No Thanks". Let's take a look!

Maybelline's Creamy Matte Lipsticks and ColorBlur Lipsticks are some of the few matte formulas I can wear because they're not super drying. They go on smooth, pigmented and don't drag during application. The new Vivid Matte Liquid on the other hand, was disappointing for me. The strong perfume smell is a bit too much for me...I can actually taste it, and I don't know if it was the particular shade I bought but it went on streaky. I much prefer the Revlon Ultra HD Liquid Mattes or the new Hard Candy Velvet Mousse Mattes.

I used the Instant Age Rewind concealer for years and seeing it again in the store made me want to buy another bottle (but I have too many new concealers to get through at the moment). I love how creamy it is and how it doesn't settle into lines under my eyes...it just makes my whole eye area look brighter and younger. The Better Skin concealer on the other hand, was too sheer for me and dried with a powdery finish, settling into fine lines...not a good match for my dry skin!

Maybelline has some pretty awesome mascaras...Lash Sensational, Full N' Soft, Lash Stiletto, the Falsies, Lash Discovery-I could go on and on. But the one Maybelline mascara I will never get is Great Lash. It has so many good reviews and I just don't understand. It doesn't do anything for my lashes...it gives very little length and volume and I get serious raccoon eyes from it. I've purchased it a few times over the last ten years or so thinking that maybe I'm crazy and this time I'll like it but nope... I don't get the hype!

Maybelline has come out with two brow products recently that I've really been enjoying. The Brow Drama Pro Palette has a tinted wax, nicely pigmented brow powder, and highlighting powder all in one kit. Plus the angled brush that comes with it is actually useable. I get great results with this kit! I'm also loving the new Brow Drama Pomade Crayon. I haven't had a chance to review it yet but it fills in your brows in one swipe...it's that pigmented. I like it a lot better than the Sephora Collection Brow Crayon I reviewed a while back and this one is cheaper. Plus, it helps to hold all the hairs in place at the same time. It's perfect for those mornings when I need to run right out the door quickly. But the Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara didn't work for me at all. The large ball tip on the applicator is wider than my eyebrows themselves so I ended up getting the product all over my skin...nope!

Foundation is one of those things that not everyone will agree on because there are so many different skin types and concerns. But Maybelline has two formulas that really work well for my dry skin...I like Dream Velvet for the days I want more of a soft satin/matte finish, and when I want more of a glowy complexion, I reach for Fit Me! Dewy + Smooth. Both of these formulas don't cling to dry patches or make my fine lines look more apparent. But Better Skin foundation is one that really didn't work for me. I felt like it sat on top of my skin and oxidized, turning orange on me after about an hour or so. Then after about 3 or 4 hours, it disappeared and it looked like I wasn't wearing foundation anymore. Overall, it was a total miss for me.

Cream blush is your best friend when you have dry skin and I find myself reaching for them a lot more in the winter. I really like Maybelline's Master Glaze Blush Sticks, because they're pigmented, creamy and easy to blend. On me, they stay on for a good 6-7 hours or so before fading. The Baby Skin Instant Cheek Flush on the other hand, was a disaster. It felt greasy rather than creamy, and barely left any color behind. It also disappeared when I started to blend it, causing me to add more which just added to the greasy, sticky feeling on my cheeks...yuck.

Maybelline has one of the best cream eyeshadows on the market (in my humble opinion) with their Color Tattoos, so I was confused when they came out with the Color Molten duos. They're a cream to powder hybrid which I like the idea of, but they're really sheer, don't pick up well with a brush, and fade really quickly. I was hoping they would be highly pigmented and long-lasting like the Color Tattoos, just with a softer, powdery finish (wouldn't that be the perfect combo?!) but alas, they didn't do it for me.

The Maybelline Color Elixirs are one of my favorite drugstore glosses because they're thick and dense like a balm, give lots of shine like a gloss, and go on rich and pigmented like a liquid lipstick. They're not sticky, feel hydrating, and have pretty decent staying power for a non-long wearing lip product. But I didn't really get the newer Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Glosses that came out back in the summertime. Every shade I tried went on almost completely clear and while they felt hydrating at first, they disappeared quickly taking moisture with them.

So there you have it...my favorite and least-favorite Maybelline products! I hope to do a Faves and Flops post for all the brands eventually. 

What are the best and worst Maybelline products in your opinion? I'd love to hear what you think. :)