The Invisible Blush: Maybelline Expert Wear 'Dusty Mauve' (Swatches, Review)

This is a little strange because I had already posted this article, and then there was the blogspot outage and I lost this post!!! Suddenly I saw this in the 'draft' status in my list of posts, not the final post but may be the draft a just before posting. So I am putting this up again. I have lost on all the comments unfortunately, and there were quite a few! I don't know what happens to them :(

I wonder if you guys also faced something similar! And if you happen to remember your comments may be you could put them again :)

This was my first ever blush purchase. You may actually find it strange that I bought my first blush at the age of 28, but as I have stated earlier as well, make-up for me has been just about eye-liners and lipsticks for all this while..Here are the product details.

Product Range: Maybelline Expert Wear Blush

Shade: Dusty Mauve (50)

Price: Rs 209 for 4.5 gm

Claim: Oil free, Won't blog pores, Stay true color, Silky smooth texture

My Experience

Considering that I was buying a blush for the very first time, I wanted to make sure it was something not too colorful and close to my skin-tone. I picked this up from a drug-store and could not even check for swatches. And when I actually applied it, it was more than what I wanted it to be on my 'invisibility' parameter! It simply wouldn't show on my cheeks! It would show a very little shimmer in the day light, but there really was no color. It was the wrong shade that I had picked up for my skin color. Let's look at it a little more closely.

The Color/ Swatches

• The color has a slightly whitish tinge, if you look at the swatch on the finger.
• On my hand also you can see a light whitish shimmer, and that's about it. It shimmers in the sun but barely visible indoors.
• The color is more appropriate for very fair skin, my mistake :(

Likes

• Did not cause any break-outs.
• Very easy on the pocket, so you can play with the other shades.
• The texture is okay, not silky smooth but not too powdery either.

Dislikes

• I know I picked up the wrong color, the color that simply does not show. But I do like the shimmer, just that expected a little more.
• It has a whitish tinge, more appropriate for very fair skin, but I would have liked a pink tone.
• The pigmentation is not strong, you have to really build it up through multiple strokes. Again a shimmery blush will always have a weaker pigmentation as compared to a matte one.

Will I repurchase?

I don't mind experimenting with one more shade like the 'potpurri' or 'apricot flush'. They have a range of colors.

Recommendation

This is a nice color for very fair skin and I will not recommend it for the average Indian complexion.

Nivedita's Sigma Giveaway

Nivedita is holding a 100 followers giveaway. She is giving away is the famous Sigma Flat top Kabuki F80 famous for its efficiency at foundation application. The giveaway is open internationally till July 30 and the rules are simple. You can read more about it here.

Indian Vanity Case's Birthday Giveaway

Cynthia from Indian Vanity case is holding her birthday giveaway. The giveaway is open internationally till 12th June and the prizes are awesome. You can read about it here.

Maybelline Expert Wear Blush 'Dusty Mauve': Swatches, Review, Photos

This is a little strange because I had already posted this article, and then there was the blogspot outage and I lost this post!!! Suddenly I saw this in the 'edit' status in my list of posts, not the final post but may be the draft a just before posting. So I am putting this up again. I have lost on all the comments unfortunately, and there were quite a few! I don't know what happens to them :(

I wonder if you guys also faced something similar! And if you happen to remember your comments may be you could put them again :)

This was my first ever blush purchase. You may actually find it strange that I bought my first blush at the age of 28, but as I have stated earlier as well, make-up for me has been just about eye-liners and lipsticks for all this while..Here are the product details.

Product Range: Maybelline Expert Wear Blush

Shade: Dusty Mauve (50)

Price: Rs 209 for 4.5 gm

Claim: Oil free, Won't blog pores, Stay true color, Silky smooth texture

My Experience

Considering that I was buying a blush for the very first time, I wanted to make sure it was something not too colorful and close to my skin-tone. I picked this up from a drug-store and could not even check for swatches. And when I actually applied it, it was more than what I wanted it to be on my 'invisibility' parameter! It simply wouldn't show on my cheeks! It would show a very little shimmer in the day light, but there really was no color. It was the wrong shade that I had picked up for my skin color. Let's look at it a little more closely.

The Color/ Swatches

• The color has a slightly whitish tinge, if you look at the swatch on the finger.
• On my hand also you can see a light whitish shimmer, and that's about it. It shimmers in the sun but barely visible indoors.
• The color is more appropriate for very fair skin, my mistake :(

Likes

• Did not cause any break-outs.
• Very easy on the pocket, so you can play with the other shades.
• The texture is okay, not silky smooth but not too powdery either.

Dislikes

• I know I picked up the wrong color, the color that simply does not show. But I do like the shimmer, just that expected a little more.
• It has a whitish tinge, more appropriate for very fair skin, but I would have liked a pink tone.
• The pigmentation is not strong, you have to really build it up through multiple strokes. Again a shimmery blush will always have a weaker pigmentation as compared to a matte one.

Will I repurchase?
I don't mind experimenting with one more shade like the 'potpurri' or 'apricot flush'. They have a range of colors.

Recommendation
This is a nice color for very fair skin and I will not recommend it for the average Indian complexion.

Lady Gaga at American Idol 2011 to Mentor (or Shock?) the Contestants

Lady Gaga visited the American Idol 2011 to mentor the top 4 contestants. Everyone knew it would be interesting, but noone knew exactly how interesting. Besides making it interesting, she also shocked the contestants (and the producers) a bit. No, I am not talking about her make-up here, 'Bizzare' is her USP and she beats her own record on that parameter everytime! It was a little more than just the make up. Let's see what.

Shock 0: The Look

I am calling this as shock zero because while it is always expected that she would arrive in a newer and more bizzare avatar everytime, it still did make eyes open wide :). The black boundary around the eyes, multi colored and multi layered wig.. and whats with that big black dot!!

Shock 1: The Shoes

The shoes were what made me to write this article. While watching the show I felt that there was something more about them besides being typically super-tall. But since the American Idol logo was always placed on them, I thought of taking a closer look on the internet.

And the reason why the show producers had strategically placed the logo on those clear plastic heels is because they were  phallic!!!! They were made by the London fashion brand Void of Course and were worth $ 4500!! But it was not about just the money, not all rich can wear these stilettos!

Shock 2: Bringing out the Theatrical Best in Performances

Lady Gaga being super-drama herself wanted all the contestants let go of their inhibitions and bring out their theatrical best in their performances!  

She challenged Haley Reinhart, one of the contestants to make her performance of  Ben E King's 'I (Who Have Nothing)' a little more, well, "psycho."! Reinhart's instant reaction was of shock of course! But she coped up well.

Haley Reinhart

To another contestant, Scotty McCreery she said, "Get right in the center of that hot dog." ("I don't know where Gaga was going with that," McCreery admitted.) when she felthe wasn't properly singing into his microphone. She then told him to treat the mic like it was his girlfriend. 

Scotty McCreery

While  mentoring James Durbin to an Elvis track 'Love Potion #9', when she recommended Durbin swivel his hips like the King. "Get in your body a little more,' she suggested, and when he didn't immediately comply, she stood behind him, her hands on his hips, and moved them herself. He later confessed that he felt awkward and uncomfortable.

 James Durbin

 On a closing note, I have to admit that I am a huge fan of Lady Gaga myself because she is a rock-star and a trend-setter. She dares to things that no-one else can and in her own style. You can never 'not notice' her! And not to forget, I love her voice too. She is a great entertainer! But then you cannot also deny the fact that she is weird too, and I generally like covering weird stuff if they are entertaining too. Hence this article about her.

Images from mtv.com and other internet sources

Aishwarya at Cannes 2011

This is what our very own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wore at the opening ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival. She walked the red carpet in an Elie Saab Spring 2011 Couture gown in stone color. The one-shoulder lightly-embellished mermaid gown had a peplum at the waist and was pretty. I only wish it had a little more color, say a touch of pink or peach or lavender. 

This is a model walking the ramp in the gown we are talking about. And as you can see, Ash brought life in this pale gown when we compare it to the model's look. It looked much more elegant on her, fitted her perfectly and accentuated her envious curves (and some not-so-toned muscles)!

Make Up and Accessories

Her make up was simple with smokey eyes highlighted with shimmer and plenty of mascara. She wore nude lip-gloss on her lips and her cheeks were blushed bronze. She also wore black on her nails. The hair was styled in a French twist with a few strands let loose.

The only jewelry she wore were a pair of dazzling earrings and a chunky ring on her finger (from Chopard is what I heard). What she is wearing closely resembles this!

She was carrying a Jimmy Choo ‘Cosma’ clutch.

This is what she wore last year at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010, stunning again!

Pictures from Google Images, Compiled by Me

Though I am not a great fan of her acting, when it comes to the red carpet, she carries herself very gracefully.
Tell me what you think!

Swatched: Colorbar Lipstck/ Lip Color

While my husband was shopping for groceries in the 24X7 store, I quickly explored a few shades of colobar lipsticks (few=3 only). I wanted something long-lasting, so asked for their 'Full Finish Long Wear Lipstick' range. They have pretty and matte shades in this range and the SA claimed that these would stay upto 6 hours. She also suggested that the range that lasted even longer is the 'Extra Durable Lip Colour' range (which looked exactly like the Maybelline Super Stay Gloss with a doe foot applicator on one end and a gloss brush on the other). She claimed that they stay for 14 hrs! Here are the swatches. I was looking for a coral to red shades.

1. Long Wear Lipstick (Tempt Me) - Rs 550
2. Long Wear Lipstick (Get Ready) - Rs 550
3. Extra durable Lip Color (Fashion Fushia I think, not a 100% sure) - Rs 450

The Packaging

Full Finish Long Wear Lipstick

Extra Durable Lip Color

 Since it was groceries time, we were in a hurry and I could not make the purchase. And this is where I need a little help from you in deciding what to by. I liked the Extra durable lip color. I also wanted to test the actual durability of these.  

My Test and Observations

• To test the lasting power, I did not actually remove those swatches and performed my normal work at home.
• The lipstick could be easily smudged but the lip color was 'immovable' :). In fact it stayed on even after a bath!
• The lipstick was a range of pastel colors and  very light shine, almost a matte finish actually, the lip color had a nice shine to it.
• I came back home to check the shades online, but they looked absolutely different! So in case you're ordering online from Colorbar check out the shade in person first.

My Questions: To buy or not to buy and if to buy then what to buy..

• Have you used either of these products?
• What's the experience like?
• Do they last as long as claimed by the company?
• Are they moisturizing enough?

 Please help me with your thoughts and suggestions!