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! 

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

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.

Staunchly Sylish applied to the outline of my lips

Staunchly Stylish applied all over my lips

MAC Lovelorn Lipstick applied on top

After eating a meal

My only complaint about this lip liner is that my lips seem to react to it, in that while it's on my lips I can feel a slight burn/tingle. I don't really notice it until I pay attention to it - that's how faint it is, but it's definitely there. I've had this problem with few lip products before.

Despite that minor flaw, I'm overall really satisfied with this lip liner and I would try additional shades in the future. Nice n Spicy looks like a nice (very similar) every day shade. For swatches of all of the shades of MAC Pro Longwear Lip Liners, check out Karlasugar.

*This post will be updated later with swatches.

The Round-Up

Pros:

• Glides easily across the lips without tugging.
• A good shade for daily wear - pairs well with most of my everyday natural pink and nude lipsticks. 
• Doesn't dry out my lips (although Temptalia found them to be drying - I didnt. Results will vary.)
• Long-lasting - lasts longer than any other lip liners I own. 

Cons:

• Looks a bit dry on the lips when worn alone.
• I'm not sure what ingredient it is, but I get a very mild allergic reaction to this lip liner. I can't tell when I'm wearing other products, but when I'm wearing it alone, I can feel a light burn/tingle. 
• It's a bit expensive for a lip liner. A standard MAC lip liner costs $15 and contains more product than the Pro Longwear Lip Liner which is $19.50.

Price: $19.50, MAC.

Pink with Glitter Reverse French Nails of the Day.

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.

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.

(This was my inspiration photo, courtesy of Lyndar the Merciless.)

I think the result was really pretty and girly! 

What do you think? Have you tried this?

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.

Nars Penny Lane Cream Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

Nars Penny Lane Cream Blush

Nars Penny Lane Blush ($28) is described on the Nars website as a nude pink. It's a very soft and delicate bridal pink with neutral undertones. If you look closely, it has a little bit of a white pearl, but it looks mostly matte on the skin. It's a great every-day blush that you can't really do wrong with. It's very subtle, yet it gives your skin a hint of color that your cheeks need to look healthy and lightly flushed. It's very similar to the effect MAC Cubic Blush would give me (one of my favorite neutrals).

Nars Cream Blushes are a cream to powder formula, and are very soft and creamy to the touch, but they blend into a seamless powder finish on the skin.

For Penny Lane in particular, I've used a few different methods - a small stippling brush, a foundation brush and my fingers. Because the color is so light, it's not a shade that you can easily overdo. So, I don't find a stippling brush to be necessary, as it doesn't apply enough color to the cheeks unless I pack it on the brush. Although I rarely like using my fingers for application of makeup, I find that the fingers give me the best control and color.

To be completely satisfied with the color, I usually apply two layers. I think this blush is best suited for light skintones, but can also work well for light-medium and medium skintones. I'm around the MAC NC35 coloring right now, and I can tell if I were any darker, it may start to show up ashy. If you're darker than the MAC NC40 coloring (medium-dark/tan), you may want to skip, otherwise you can use Penny Lane as a base for a neutral blush that suits your skin better.

Wearing Nars Casino Bronzer all over my face, with Nars Penny Lane on my cheeks and MAC Superb across the top of my cheekbones.

In this photo I'm only wearing Penny Lane on my cheeks.

I often pair this blush with a pink highlight along my cheekbones and it looks gorgeous. I feel that it almost needs that little extra pop. I've been pairing it with MAC Superb Extra Dimension Highlighter, and have been loving it! I've also been using it as a base for Nars Madly Blush, and they seem to work really well together.

The lasting power is decent, but it's not particularly long wearing. I find that it lasting power sometimes depends on the foundation I'm wearing. For instance, after 4 hours it has almost completely faded when I'm wearing Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, but it stays in tact much longer when I'm wearing Estee Lauder Double Wear.

Overall, I'm happy with Penny Lane and I know because of the light color and pigmentation, this is a blush I'll reach for often, and I'm pretty positive I'll easily be able to finish it up.

If you're on the lookout for a soft natural pink "no-blush blush" for every day, Penny Lane is a great choice. For a cheaper alternative with a similar effect, I like using L'Oreal Cherubic Magicsmooth Souffle Blush.

To read additional reviews for Penny Lane, check out Makeupalley.

The Round-Up
Pros:

• Very creamy, blends easily with the fingers
• Natural, powdery finish
• Gives the perfect amount of understated color to the cheeks

Cons:

• Lasting power could be better when worn solo - I typically need a touch-up mid-day.
• May not show up on medium-dark, tan and deep skintones.
• Because the blush is pretty sheer, I need a couple of layers on my medium skin - with daily use I can see myself finishing this blush quickly.

Price: $28, Nars (Sephora no longer carries Nars cream blush online).

Winner of the Pick Your Palette Giveaway!

The WINNER Announced!

I wanted to thank you all so much for entering my recent Pick Your Palette Giveaway! I had no idea I was going to receive so many entries. It was so much fun to host, and I loved reading through all of the comments! I'm already planning out the next giveaway, so stay tuned! :)

It literally took me over four hours to count all of the entries. I went through each entry, making sure to count every one and sort through any duplicate entries.

There were 833 entries in total, and the winner was picked at random using random.org.

Without further anticipation, the winner is....

Khalia @glamourandlove

Congrats! I'll be contacting you shortly!

I will also be announcing the winner of my Physician's Formula giveaway later on today. Thank you all again for reading my blog, and entering my giveaway!

Revlon Cherish and Charm Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains Review, Photos and Swatches!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains ($8.99) is a lip balm infused with a lightweight stain in a convenient retractable crayon.

These have been pretty popular in the beauty blogosphere over the past few months, and although I admittedly don't like giving into products that seem to be fads of the moment, I've read nothing but good things, so I had to give them a try.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are available in (12) shades: Honey, Crush, Darling, Cherish, Lovesick, Sweetheart, Smitten, Charm, Rendevous, Romantic, Precious and Adore.

I have two shades: Cherish, a light, cool-toned pink. The cool blue/purple undertones are so strong that when built, it looks rather purple on my lips. With a light wash, it's a pretty natural pink. The other color is Charm, a light, warm peachy nude.

The balms are very firm/waxy and keep their shape well. Even after several uses, they haven't placed much of a dent in the tip.

I would have never expected these balms to be moisturizing - you never really think of a product labeled as a "stain" to be anything but drying, but these are shockingly moisturizing on my chronic dry lips. I wouldn't use it to replace an actual lip balm, but they keep my lips moist and don't dry them out.

The pigmentation is very good. They are sheer, but very buildable. After the color has been on my lips a while, Cherish stays just about the same color and brightens just slightly. Charm darkens a little bit from a light nude to a light coral. If I wipe my lips off, Charm leaves an orange-red stain behind, which is something I really don't like about it. It's not exactly the look you want if you're going for a nude lip. Cherish leaves a bright pinkish-red stain behind.

After exfoliating my lips, I applied Charm and it seems to magnify every piece of dryness on my lips, that I didn't know existed. It gets much worse when the color is built as the color just looks uneven and it settles a bit odd on my lips. Cherish also doesn't apply as even as I'd like it to, but it's not as noticeable as Charm.

I don't see Cherish to be a shade I'll get much wear from. To me, it looks a bit cheap on my lips, and I'll most likely never wear it alone (maybe for mixing). I really like the way one layer of Cherish looks with a few coats of Charm on top. It creates a light, peach-pink shade that's perfect for every day.

After reading some reviews, I think I picked a couple of the most problematic shades from the range. I've heard much better things with the brighter pinks and red shades.

I love the fact that the balms are retractable - thank goodness! No need to hunt down a gigantic pencil sharpener.

Revlon Cherish

The stain Revlon Cherish leaves on my lips

Revlon Charm

The stain Charm leaves on my lips

One layer of Cherish with Charm on top

They have a slight mint scent that reminds me of Altoids or mint dental floss, but I don't mind. The lasting power is pretty average. I don't find it particularly long lasting, but the stain from Cherish lingers around a bit.

The packaging is really cute. Revlon does pretty well with the aesthetic nature of their products, and these little sticks are probably as chic as a lip pencil could get. The sturdy plastic tubes are colored to match the color of the balm, and the silver part at the bottom twists the product up and down. I never understood retractable products that only twist up, so if you twist too much, you're just crap out of luck.

For a good comparison of the often correlated Clinique Chubby Stick and the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain, check out The Sunday Girl.

Overall, I'm not all that impressed with these, but like I said, I most likely picked the worse performing shades from the range. I might give one of the bright pinks a try and then call it quits.

What do you think of these?

The Round-Up
Pros:

• Easy to use
• Moisturizing - feel great on the lips
• Retractable, no sharpener needed
• Provides nice shiny color to the lips and a leaves a light stain behind

Cons:

• Both shades applied uneven
• Charm gives the appearance that it will be the perfect nude, but it morphs into a coral shade, so it's not ideal if you want the muted lip look.
• Charm leaves an orange stain on the lips, which I'm not too crazy about.

Price: $8.99, at your local drugstore. Prices will differ based on location (they are typically cheaper at Walmart and Target.) Look in your Sunday paper for $1 off coupon for Revlon lip products. Right now CVS has a sale going on that if you purchase (2) Revlon Lip products, you get $7 Extrabucks. If you have that $1 off coupon, you're on the road to good savings!