Chanel Paradoxal Dupe!

Hi there!

Yesterday I went to Ulta and FINALLY found Revlon's new shade, Perplex! --$4.49
(You can see how long I've been looking if you follow my Twitter~ BeautyMaven8)

The hype about Perplex is that it is an AMAZING dupe of Chanel's much-coveted Paradoxal. However, Revlon is a better deal because you get 0.5 fl. oz for $4.49 while Chanel is 0.4 fl. oz. for $23. It IS gorgeous, but... Yikes!

Here is a picture of Chanel's Paradoxal~ I'm not fancy enough to own it. ;)




















Here are pictures of Revlon's try!










































1 coat:





















2 coats, 2 different lights:










































I actually believe it is an almost spot-on dupe!! Good job, Revlon! Maybe this will happen more in the future... hmmm... =)

The Polish-Aholic has some great pictures as well, since she owns both colors~ here is her post! Please check it out, her pics are great! She has the nails alternating with Perplex/Paradoxal.... and I thought the ones with Perplex were prettier, haha!!

What do you think? I give it an A+ for a great grayish-purple for Fall/Winter!!

Also, random-- but I found a clutch that matches my fancy shoes and Sparkle-Licious polish!!!!




























Until next time--
~Beauty Maven

Experience: Highlighting! Revlon Frost and Glow

Okay!

So this weekend, I had a NEW experience~ I got to highlight my friend's hair, eee!! I have dyed before, but never HIGHLIGHTED. It was so exciting!

Here is the kit we used:

Revlon Frost and Glow


















It's like most dyes where you mix together the dye, but this one you put in the little box it comes with~

















But first! You use the cap and crochet-like needle to pull the hair to highlight through the cap, ah! Once I got the hang of it, it actually was pretty quick. And you know, I can't even really explain HOW to do it, but I could show if anyone ever needs help, lol!






















Instructions for how to use the cap for what effect you want. Hehe doesn't she look so happy?

I think you can gather from the illustration what the cap looks like.
So here is a picture once her hair was pulled through the cap~























She pulled the rest of her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. You then apply the dye with a little spatula like tool (included) and then pile the hair on top and put this other loose cap on, to make sure you don't lean on anything with the dye, I suppose lol.

Ok so I'm a bad reviewer and forgot to take a BEFORE picture, so here is the most recent one I could creep on Facebook with her hair straight =):






















After!:






















ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?!
I was really super impressed with this kit! There weren't any chunks and the color is even and beautiful-- nice job, Revlon!

Makes me want to dye my hair!!!!

Have you ever used at-home dye or highlighting kits before? Tell me stories!!

Until next time~
--Beauty Maven

Review: Revlon Grow Luscious by Fabulash

Hello!!

Up today is Revlon's new Grow Luscious by Fabulash~ $8.99 at Walgreen's.

What it claims:
Get lashes that not only look instantly longer and lusher, they will also grow stronger day after day. Lash enhancing formula complements the natural growth cycle of your lashes and improves their overall appearance and condition with each use.

Sounds like a great idea! Let us see!!

First of all, let's look at some pics of how well this makes lashes "instantly longer and lusher."

One coat, and bare lashes to compare:

















Well, one coat was okay but I really wanted some LUSH lashes-- so!
Two coats:











Ok let me tell you-- I am not a fan of HUGE brushes. They're just so hard for about 90% of the population to use because most of use need to work in to the root of lashes and build and build color to get the desired effect. So, complaint #1.
























Complaint #2. This is actually my fault, because I picked up the waterproof version on mistake. Oops. But it was very hard to build and got clumpy and nasty very very easily. In the "Two Coats" picture above it doesn't look bad at all, but that took a LOT of work. And you almost have to do two coats to get a real "volumized" look. I thought I took a "clump" picture but I can't find it! Sorry.. just trust that if I don't want to spend the time making it work, you probably won't either, lol!

I have to admit, I'm a bad reviewer in this case because since it was so clumpy, I only wore it for about 2 weeks.. frustration.. but I didn't see any improvement as far as the "lash enhancing formula."

However! I am a good researcher! =) So this is what I found:
"These products contain nutrients and amino acids that will increase the health of the lashes through their growth cycle. They will probably prevent lashes from falling out as much, and people may perceive that as increased thickness. But the products aren't going to make the hairs longer or thicker."
- Ophthalmologist Wendy W. Lee

(Which sounds a bit like my Lash Serum post awhile back~ and that makes me think of my Double Extend mascara, which I liked so much! I'm going to dig this puppy back out!)

What do you think? Have you tried this? What do you think of the mascara+serum trend?

Until Next Time!
~Beauty Maven

Review: Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain and Balm

Hello there!!

Well I had a lovely haul at Target recently. =)

REVIEW TIME!!


First up: Revlon's new Just Bitten Lip Stain and Balm, $8.99 at Walgreen's.

The shade I picked up is "Gothic" because I was feeling some BOLD red lips!!














This stain is neat in that it has a balm on one side, and the stain on the other, so you can just throw one product in your bag for touch-ups instead of TWO. Ugh... How annoying, lol.

Application:

At first it was a weeeee bit uneven~



















But after another go-over, it turned out nice!


























But don't worry-- it won't be as bold as the initial application, because as soon as you lick your lips, the "excess" comes off!





















However!- It did stay on very well!!

Although, it doesn't hold up to a fried chicken lunch..... siiiiigh....





















Which is where the nifty 2-in-1 product comes in handy!

(I just saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World so I'm in a "story-teller" mode, haha!)

Ok, now for serious:
This stain did do a pretty good job of staying on-- but it is not the best I've tried..
(And hold your horses! That review is coming later this week, I promise!)
It is nice to have the balm on the other end... but, 1. When I went to apply it, it BROKE OFF. Cry.. and 2. It's really nothing special. Sure, it hydrates, but it's not very shiny or has any longevity, etc.

A neat stain to play with, but if you are wanting a stain for the purpose of NOT having to reapply, I would skip this one~ it provides a nice, non-goopy color to your lips, but you would probably have to reapply once every hour/hour and a half.

Do you use stains? Like them? Hate them? Want them? Let me know!

Until Next Time~
Beauty Maven

Revlon Matte Eyeshadow

Hello! Hope everyone had a nice weekend~

I enjoyed "Review Week" so much I decided to keep going! This week I have some new eyeshadows for you!

Today I'm taking a look at the Revlon Matte eyeshadow collection. Not necessarily brand new, but matte eyeshadows are popping up in the beauty scene.

Here are the two shadows that I have --
Rich Sable and Vintage Lace. (What lovely names!!)

















Let me tell you about how I came about owning these two shades. The lighter shade is the boring story-- I wanted to find a nice cream, non-sparkly shadow to use on the brow bone so that my shimmery colors would stand out more. The end! But the darker shade I purchased because I had a pirate costume that I wanted to try and make my face look tanner and dirtier. My idea for dirt? Matte brown eyeshadow! Well, then I decided to play with it according to its real purpose, and was surprised to find that I -actually liked- matte shadow! Weeiiiirrd.... I mean, I am all about some shimmer. But I now know that matte has it's place as well!

Let's take a look~





















Here it is on-- Vintage Lace on brow bone, Rich Sable from lash to crease. No eyeliner* But smudged the shadow into the lower lash line.











In this picture I dipped my damp angle brush in the sable color to make eyeliner~













It's actually a really gorgeous, natural looking combination. I might have to try this more often! Funny how some items tend to be forgotten, with no good reason.. hmm.. Poor eyeshadow, haha!

Let me add this-- I believe that these matte colors are how celebrities like Kiera Knightly get that smudged/slept-in eye look.

Example:



























I found that the matte eyeshadow, though obviously not having any shimmer, was still very luminous. Also, as you see in the first picture of me trying it, since there isn't any shimmer in the color the focus is more on my eyes -- they look so green! This is all verrry interesting to me.. The matte shadow provides the definition and emphasis without competing. Nice!

If I were you I would definitely experiment with some matte colors--- it's fun to see just how different they look than shimmery ones! And these have a very nice, buildable and blendable consistency that is definitely worth the $4.99 price tag!!

This makes me want to try the blush... and lipstick... haha!!

What do you think? Have you tried any matte shades? Do you prefer them? Hate them? Leave me some feedback!

Also--- leave me a comment with anything you'd like me to reveiw/discuss. I'd be more than willing!!

Until next time~
Beauty Maven