Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Popsticks

Ahh my first review after a whole month! And it's not going to be pretty. I'll be honest straight away and say that these products are the worst that I've ever tried from Maybelline which is usually a brand that I rely on for high quality drugstore makeup. Luckily I bought these Color Sensational Popsticks from Wilkinsons where they were only £3 each in a little bargain box. I'd be a lot more upset if I'd paid the usual £7.99 for them. I imagined that these were going to be something akin to a more waxy version of the Clinique Chubby Sticks. In theory this is great, a little sturdier and less prone to melting but still imparting sheer, shiny colour with a moisturising balm texture. Sadly these actually do nothing. I feel like Maybelline were relying on the gimmick of the translucent bullets to sell these and forgot to make them do anything.

One of the few praises I have for these products is the cute neon pink packaging. It's similar to what Maybelline uses for their other lipsticks but really fits in well with the bright translucent theme of the product. It also has a slight fruity scent which I personally don't like - it's very acrid and fake smelling. The colours themselves seem very vibrant and I loved the idea of a solid lip balm for Summer. However, if I'd wanted a clear lip balm, I would have bought one.

I don't even know if this is Citrus Slice or Crystal Pink as they are literally identical. There was really no point putting more than one swatch up. I wouldn't have been quite so heartbroken if it wasn't for the fact that these aren't even that moisturising! The only thing I can liken them to is very cheap children's lip balms. Waxy, thin and short-wearing. Just disappointing all round.

Final Verdict: It's pretty clear, I am very unhappy with these. If you're looking for moisturising colour I'd definitely recommend the Revlon Balm Stains or Lip Butters or even better, the Clinique Chubby Sticks. If it's just lip care you're after, save your pennies and get a Nivea lip butter - they're awesome!

Lauren

P.S. Thank you so much for all your kind and supportive words on my last post. I really appreciate your patience and understanding and am very happy to be back! I hope you liked this (particularly scathing) review!

Hello Again

So you may or may not have noticed that this blog has been quiet for almost a month now. Things took a turn for the worst with my Grandma's health recently and she ended up in hospital. She's been living with a broken hip for several months now and they're refusing to operate until her respiratory problems clear up since they don't know if she could survive the anaesthetic. Sadly her breathing only got worse and she had to spend a few days in hospital. She was discharged on April 16th (her 78th Birthday bless her) and I'm happy to report that she's feeling a lot better! She couldn't do anything around the house though so I've been spending a lot of time over there helping her out. She's literally the most important person in my life, we've always been close and she took me and brother in when my Mum died so she's essentially the only parent figure I have.

Honestly I've been feeling so miserable at the notion of anything worse happening that blogging just totally fell to the wayside. I actually had my birthday on April 23rd and spent two days in Cambridge with my wonderfully supportive boyfriend from April 30th - both things that I would have loved to share with you lovely people - but I just haven't felt up to it. As with most things, the longer I stayed away from blogging the harder it felt to jump back into it. I somehow felt that I'd no longer be any good at it or that people would no longer care about me and all sorts of ridiculous notions that one thinks when miserable and anxious about uncontrollable things. But my boyfriend sat me down and reminded me how happy this made me and that no matter what I may think right now, there are so many amazing people that really do care about my feelings and opinions, and that's everyone who cares enough to still be reading this right now. I was amazed today when I logged on to see that I actually had several new followers and even people asking where I was on Twitter. So I just wanted to say thank you and that Peachy Curves is going nowhere soon.

Lauren