Hypes That Aren't My Types

"People just don't realize how much peer pressure, the desire for peer acclamation, influences them." - Frederica Mathewes-Green

Scrolling through Instagram it's easy to get sucked into drooling over tutorial after photo after promotion of the newest, most "hip" products that every makeup savvy lady is showcasing. I admit, that's how I keep most up-to-date on my future kit additions, and social media provides a fairly brainless, effortless advertisement for hundreds of makeup products that have just been released. Sometimes those products are life-changing, sometimes they're just hype and nothing more. Take the Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits for example: they're sold by the envied Kardashian clan so obviously they must be insanely high-quality, right? Not necessarily...did you know there are literally hundreds of dupes and shades in different brands that exactly match her line? Just Google it - here's a sample of just how much a name and proper marketing collaborate to prey on our feminine pop-culture sensibilities when there are, in this particular case, easily 54 duplicate products of the same thing.

So though I caved to the peer pressure of these two products, I took a more practical approach, purchasing Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow and Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation for the sole purpose of research. I have had a fairly disappointing result with both, proving that just because one person has fallen in love with a product doesn't mean you will too. Isn't that what reviews, ratings, opinion, and BLOGS are for?

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow - $7

I have been dubious of this cream eyeshadow trend because of the sheer fact that slimy liquid on a rapid, repetitive movement part of the body doesn't sound smart - hello creasing! But due to some positive reviews I read and a little Instagram touting, I purchased the matte shade "Tough as Taupe". It's a cool greige color, and I thought it'd pop my blue eyes well. Upon use, I found it dry and "tough" to apply with my fingers. It didn't spread well at all and came off with very little pigment which was very surprising for a cream shade. It was barely visible! I applied it over primer, and I will say that it didn't crease up, but it was so thin on my lid that I don't believe there was even enough product up there to have the chance to crease.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation - $25

The ABH foundation stick has a cream-to-powder feel, more powder than cream in a matte finish. The color I chose, "Warm Ivory", was a perfect match for me, and the colors span a very wide range which is increasingly more difficult to find in makeup brands, so I am thoroughly impressed with that aspect of this product. The matte finish is sheer and a tad troublesome to blend with a brush. I felt like I had to stripe on quite a bit of product only to find that it literally disappeared - I checked my brush to see if it had stuck to the brush instead of my skin, but it looked surprisingly clean. Magic, but not the good kind! By the end of the day, around my chin and cheeks it had collected in tiny dots around my pores and looked filmy and oily. Not cool, and you certainly can't trust every tutorial you see where they pack layer after layer on to get full coverage (or melt it - yep, I've seen some MUAs melt the tip of the stick).

Have any of you tried these two products? If so, thoughts? Yea or nay?