Review: Maybelline SuperStay 24H Lip Colour

I have many guilty pleasures in life: DVD buying, chocolate scoffing, illicitly reading blogs whilst at work, and also watching trashy TV; most recently The Only Way is Essex (for those of you who have been living on the moon over the past few months, or more realistically, don't come from Britain, TOWIE is a British reality television show based in Essex which shows "real people in modified situations." It's jaw-dropping, can-this-be-real? stuff - check it out if you haven't already!).

Anyways, one of the more fashion-savvy characters/actresses/call-her-what-you-will, Lydia Bright (who coincidentally has her own blog, The Runway Towards the Glamourous Spotlights), was wearing a BEAUTIFUL shade of red lipstick in one of the episodes (a still from the episode can be found here on Lydia's blog), and luckily in one of her blog posts she noted down where she got most of her outfits/cosmetics/accessories etc from. The aforementioned lipstick turned out to be....

...Maybelline Superstay 24H Lip Colour in shade 538 Crimson Crystal

I was so excited I was off down to my local Boots before you could say TOWIE, as I was sure it was going to be a designer make-up brand of lippie, but the Superstay, with it's RRP of £8.99 is a bit more realistic for my budget!

Similar to others on the market, such as Maxfactor's Lipfinity, the Superstay is a two-step, double-ended lipstick: Step one = Intensive colour and Step two = Conditioning balm, and (according to the Maybelline website) there are THIRTY colour varieties available, although I would imagine the number would vary according to stockists, as my local supermarket only stocks about five shades, and my local branch Boots about ten.

So what do Maybelline say?

No other longwear lasts longer. Period. Our micro-flex formula glides on and looks gorgeous all day.

No crumbling, no caking, no fading, no feathering, no transferring. The 24-hour lipcolour that stretches the limits of long wear.

And what do I say? Well I decided to keep a little lipstick diary of how the lipcolour faired during a typical day for me:

- 8am: Applied lip colour (**love** the colour!), waited until I (thought) it was dry, and applied balm. Looked fab!

- 9am: Cup of tea. Couple of red spots on mug, although nothing like the usual colour ring associated with normal lipstick!

- 10am: reapplied balm as my lips felt a bit tight and dry. Had a glass of water. Again, red spots on glass.

- 10:20am: ate a banana. (by this point I was running to the nearest mirror. Colour still looked fresh hurrah).

- 10:50am: another cup of tea.

- 12:30pm: Had a sandwich, some carrot sticks and another cup of tea (yes I am tea obsessed). Lips feeling a bit dry and flakey.

- 2:30pm: (guess what) another cup of tea and an apple. Applied more balm as lips feel tight and "bitty" - like they're flaking. Colour still largely intact, although starting to come away from inside "rim" of lips, and I feel like it is emphasising the lines in my lips, rather than making my lips look smooth

-3:45pm: cup of tea and yoghurt. Loads of transfer on mug!

- 5pm: Ended up having to reapply colour as I got  the fright of my life: looked in the mirror and most of the colour had faded leaving me with a horrendous clown-like line of colour round the edge of my lips! Lips still dry.

So what's my verdict?

I have to say i'm a bit disappointed. I had such high hopes for this product: on Lydia the colour looked stunning and uber-glossy (although I have a feeling she might have applied her own gloss on top), and i've read so many positive reviews. I am thinking however that possibly I didn't let the colour dry for the instructed two minutes I was meant to, and therefore i've possibly ruined the results from the start!

I do plan to wear it again as it is such a beautiful colour, and I suppose I don't really mind re-applying the product if I had to, but suffice to say it is NOT a 24 hour product, and I hate feeling paranoid that my lippy's worn off to leave me with some dodgy-looking liner!

In term's of Maybelline's claims of No crumbling, no caking, no fading, no feathering, no transferring, I have to argue and say that it does fade/crumble/cake, and rather than make my lips look smooth I felt you could see every little line on them. I would agree however that generally it doesn't transfer (i.e. I could press my finger to my lips and the colour wouldn't come off), and the colour when first applied is beautiful.

Have you tried the Superstay 24H or anything similar that actually lives up to the claim?

Melanie x



Maybelline 24H Superstay Foundation

Hello again peeps, I am trying my utmost best to not go and spend money today, so I thought i'd try and get some blogposts done.

I've just recently finished Bourjois's Biodetox foundation, and had originally planned on buying some Revlon ColourStay, but after hearing of a few other blogger's positive experiences with this foundation (such as Kelanjo) I decided to try it out.

What Maybelline say:

SuperStay 24HR Makeup stays comfortable and looks naturally flawless all day. Micro-Flex formula provides 24-hour wear and No Transfer Withstands heat, sweat and humidity. Oil-free, dermatogolist tested, fragrance-free. Suitable for all skin types

Available at most cosmetic stockists for an RRP of £9.99, I got mine at Tesco (yes I am never out the place!) on special offer for £6.49.

For your money you get 30ml of product containing an SPF 19 (why 19?!) in a bottle that comes with a pump lid (always a good thing to help reduce bacteria spreading).

As with a lot of highstreet/drugstore make-up companies such as Maybelline or L'Oreal, the colour range of the foundations can be very limited - in this case there are 8 different shades available, from 005 Light Beige to 070 Cocoa (colour varieties can be viewed online at Boots here), but of course the price is fairly reasonable that if you can't find your ideal shade you could always buy a couple and mix them.

I went for the lightest shade, 005 Light Beige, which I would still say is still slightly too dark for those with very very light/porcelain skin.

Previously I have ALWAYS struggled to find a good foundation colour match for my skin, but i'm really pleased as this one is almost unnoticeable when it is blended in, and adds a lovely "peachy" healthy effect and lift to my skin (blended in on my arm below - they say that the inside of your forearm or your wrist, NOT the back of your hand, is the closest colour to your facial skin colour - random fact!)

Below is me at 8am minus any make-up (slightly scary I know!):

Notice the uneven skin tone, redness/discolouration around my nose, shininess to the skin, and the spots/markings on my chin.

Now here is me with the Superstay on (but no other make-up as yet):

I applied this with my fingers then buffed over with a stippling brush. As you can see my neck and facial colour match, my skin tone is a lot more even, and most, if not all, of the imperfections have been effectively masked.

The foundation is definitely more of a matte finish than a "glowy" effect one (but I use Clinique City Block underneath and this helps promote a bit more of a healthy finish), and I would say it is a medium coverage foundation, although could easily be built up for a heavier coverage if needed.

I think Maybelline, along with other highstreet/drugstore cosmetic companies, are trying to develop their own "stay-put" foundations to rival Estee Lauder's Double Wear range. Revlon at the moment are definitely in the lead with their Colour stay foundation, especially since developing the foundation to cater for more skin tones and types, making the foundation available for normal/dry or oily/combination skin.

Whilst I wouldn't say Maybelline Superstay 24H stays on for 24 hours (after a day at work it can start to show wear on my chin for example) it is definitely more long wearing than other highstreet foundations i've tried previously (especially the Biodetox - I didn't like it at all!), and can often survive my weekend mid-afternoon naps! It also helps my blusher last a bit longer too, so far (**touch wood**) it's not made me break out, and instead of creating a mask like some long-wearing foundations, it looks natural ("my skin but better" as the reviewer saying goes!).

Photos of me below are around 5:30pm when I got home from work - with and without the flash.

 

If like me you have recently used up your foundation and fancy trying something new, but don't want to break the bank, then I'd recommend this - especially whilst it's on special offer!

Do you have any products you'd recommend I try?

Melanie x