Hit or Miss: Cult Status Vol 1

 I am going to start a little series which details my experiences with certain "cult" beauty items much coveted in the beauty community. If you are reading this blog, then you probably have heard many a "beauty guru" rave about the products I talk to in these posts. Please keep in mind, the views below are purely just my opinions and experiences. These products are highly coveted for a reason, if something really has not worked for me, it doesn't necessarily make it a bad product, it just means it is not for me. I hope some of my below explanations and recommendations are somewhat helpful. It seems that every other week there is a new "must have" item, and so much money can be wasted constantly chasing the latest and greatest. Some cult products have become an absolute staple in my routine, and some just sit in my vanity never to see the light of day. 

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Chi Chi Glamorous Nudes Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette 1 and 2

These palettes are marketed to be the ultimate neutral palette. I have not heard of a single beauty buff out there who does not own at least one of these babies. The first palette is warm toned with rich neutral hues, and the second is cool toned with taupes etc. I have to admit, I was a little slow on the uptake with these palettes. Urban Decay is not available in Australia any more (thanks David Jones), and the hunt for this palette actually lead me to the discovery of my favourite online beauty mecca Beauty Bay. I only own the first palette currently and have been resisting the purchase of the second one for some time now, because I LOVE NAKED PALETTE! I hear you say, I own a lot of neutral shadows already, why invest $50 in MORE neutral shadows?" Well, in my opinion, if you own THAT many good quality neutrals  then I would skip this palette. However, if you are looking for a one stop shop for neutral shadows, containing predominately shimmer  but also some matte shades, which can take you from day to night, then this palette is for you! This is generally the only palette I travel with. I cannot speak for the second palette, but the first palette is quite lightweight. Much more portable than my clunky Mac 15 Shadow palettes. There is a reason this is the highest selling palette of all time. The shadows are the creamiest consistency and have great pigmentation and longevity. Even cheeky Australian brand Chi Chi have attempted an, ahem, "version" of this palette also (pictured) Similar no?? 

Would I recommend?? Absolutely, but you do not necessarily need both. Pick the palette you are more drawn to. If you like cool tones on your eyes, choose the Naked 2. If you are more of a warm toned beauty, then the Naked 1 is for you. 

Moroccan Oil 

This one have been around for some time now, and it still has a large following. I turned to Moroccan Oil years ago, when my hair suddenly appeared to be INCHES shorter seemingly overnight. Upon questioning my hair stylist at the time, she informed me that my hair was that damaged, the ends had all broken off, making my hair shorter. Gasp! So much for all of the growth progress I had made. She recommended Moroccan Oil to me to keep the ends in tip top shape. I hadn't heard of Moroccan Oil at the time. I think it was quite new on the market but since it's release, it has become such a buzz product in haircare it has inspired most brands to develop a version of argan oil for their own lines. My hair was never as healthy as when I was using this product, and despite the hefty price point, I couldn't recommend this product more highly. I have tried one other hair oil treatment on the market:  Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment, which I find really weighs down my fine hair. I have since found an alternate way to use this product so it works for me, but it is absolutely not a replacement for Moroccan Oil. 

Would I Recommend? Without hesitation 

                                   

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara
The Falsies mascara by Maybelline has accrued such a following since it's release, Maybelline have released additional versions of the formula such as The Falsies Black Drama and The Falsies Flared. Every beauty guru and her pony have sung the praises for this mascara and I have definitely been a convert for many years now. I stumbled upon this mascara when it was first released in Australia. Not really having a go to mascara at that point, I picked this one up thinking maybe it was a fibre mascara (hence "The Falsies"). Despite my misguided attraction to the product, I grew to love the way it made my lashes look so long and thick. I especially loved how this product curled my lashes without a lash curler ( I was lash curler-less for a time following an unfortunate incident, where my faulty lash curler pulled out half of my lash line!). I used this mascara religiously for years until I came across my HG Benefit They're Real. The only criticism I have for The Falsies is that the product is a little wet and tends to clump the lashes for the first week or two of use, which is annoying. However if you can manage to push past this phase, this is when the magic happens! If you like a thickening, lengthening and curling mascara the The Falsies is for you. 

Would I Recommend? If you cannot move past the "wet" formula, and do not really want to "break in" your mascara, I recommend Covergirl Clump Crusher or Benefit They're Real. To be perfectly honest, while I do love this product, there are mascaras out there that are just as amazing and are amazing from the moment you open the tube



Revlon Lip Butters 
I have to say, I was quite intrigued by the Revlon Lip Butters. With their balm-come-lipstick formula that promised  the moisturisation of a balm with the colour payoff of a lipstick, how could I not be? I will not lie, but I was also totally seduced by the adorable coloured translucent tubes and large array of colours in the range. In Australia, I thought the $19.95 ish price point was quite high, but I waited patiently for Priceline to put them on promotion before I excitedly walked up to the counter and made my first purchase. Strawberry Shortcake was the colour I decided on, not wanting to invest too heavily in the collection before trialling the product. It was Summer and this girly pink hue was simply perfect. I wore this lip butter religiously for a few days. The staying power was amazing and I found I really didn't have to reapply that often, which made it perfect for work. Then it happened...the last thing that I expected from a BALM type lipstick. My lips became SO dry and cracked it was horrendous. I decided to blame the weather, since EVERYBODY was obsessed with this product and talked non stop about how moisturising it is, including my very own sisters! I made a few more attempts to wear this product, but I continuously found that by the end of the day, that same icky dryness was rearing it's ugly head. With a heavy heart I resigned this product to the depths of my lip drawer, never to be reached for again. 

Would I recommend? Wellllllllllll not really, but everyone seems to think this lip butter is super moisturising so by all means give it a try. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoos
The Colour Tattoos from Maybelline have received a lot of love from the beauty community since their release. These cream shadow bases proved to be a great drugstore competitor for Mac's Paint Pots and a much better alternative to Stila's Smudge Pots (which I find dry out after a few weeks). They were released in a good range of colours including one neutral in a taupe as well as metallics (Hello Bold Gold and Bad to the Bronze) and a few colours in teal, ruby, violet and jade for more specialised eye looks. They have since released a few more shades which include a champagne hue, which I thought was strange that they missed in the first release since it is such a basic. I feel like they are still missing a good skin coloured neutral for your everyday looks. This is where the Mac Paint Pots are better in my opinion. The formulation for the Colour Tattoo Base is creamy and easy to apply and has a good longevity. I do find the Mac Paint Pots to have a smoother creamier constancy, but the Colour Tattoos are half the price and a really great product. 

Would I Recommend?  Yes, but I still prefer my Mac Paint Pot in Bare Study for everyday and basic eye looks since the consistency is so smooth and creamy and the skin coloured shade helps to even out your skin tone on your eyelids. Stock up in the Colour Tattoos in the brights and metallics. They are great to have on hand to amp up your eye look. Save your money on these specialised shades over the Paint Pots, the quality is great and they are much more affordable. 

So as I mentioned before, the above opinions are just based on my personal experiences. I am in no way saying you should or should not buy a product, but I think sometimes it is helpful to hear two sides to a story before making a decision. ( For the bad ones at least, although I gave most of the above a rave review so never mind! ). Stay tuned for more instalments in this series are I work my way through my vast collection of so-called "must have" products.

Jen xox