Hello! Here are a couple of Maybelline's Dream Bouncy Blushes. They've been out for a little bit and I bought these at a BOGO 50% sale at my local Walgreen's. Original price, $7.99. Maybelline's sales pitch is HERE.
Real quick though- how funny is this promo picture?! They try to make it look like a fingerprint, but there aren't any skin lines (which I guess would be gross), so silly!
But I digress, on to the review! I picked up two shades, Candy Coral and Hot Tamale.
5.6 gram pots, very lightweight and with a flip saucer lid. Total for two: $14.00 or so.
I wanted to find out about the texture and the pigmentation, so I got a little greedy and dabbed at it before I took the product photo. Oopsy. First up, Candy Coral!
If you paw at it a little, you'll see fingerprints. This is a no no for me. But if you use a sponge, this thing tears apart.
Fingerprints- caught red handed...er, orange!
If you use anything firmer than a circular motion with one fingertip you'll get what you see below- or gaps in the product itself. I used a wet triangular sponge and look what happened. It looks like it's freakin' burping! It was visually distressing to see the underlying pan! It made me nervous, like one swipe and the whole gob will pull right out. I had visions of 8 dollar bills swirling over me like a Looney Tunes cartoon getting an anvil to the head. So very bad adhesion, a bit expensive for what you'll get, and well, I'll tell more in a bit.
Next color- Hot Tamale!
This is so pretty and look at how moundy it is all brand new. Like a perfect little hill of pink.
Until you touch it. Gah! I felt like a plastic surgeon trying to fix these things. I would dapple at it, move my finger about, secretly hoping to make the hole go away. It's unnerving to almost 'hit the pan' on a brand new product. Maybe I'm OCD about these things, but I don't want to see it literally falling to bits the day I flip open the lid. Tsk, tsk Maybelline.
So how did it perform? Here's one swipe on my arm of Hot Tamale. It's not a vibrant pink, more like a ruddy red based hue.
Then if I go back and forth three times from pan to hand (panhandling?) I get these stripes below and the tone of the shades does change- becomes more true to the pan. What is the texture like? It's a spongy, you-think-it'll-feel-like-lipstick-but-it-doesn't sort of texture that I would liken unto pomade almost. It's smooth, feels spongy with a lot of give and isn't wet- like flarp putty stuff you buy your kids at the dollar store and they squish it- you think it's wet but it's not. Either way, gives like a cream, but spongily, and isn't wet to the touch. I would say cream to powder, but with a slip that isn't chalky. But it smears around in the pan and I had to manipulate the product a little to keep it dome shaped and not like a footprint in the mud sort of indentation.
L to R Hot Tamale and Candy Coral, indoors without flash
I didn't notice any shimmer at all, but they apply with a nice flush, if you layer 6 or 7 times. Hot Tamale was a lot easier to use, so if I had any advice I would say to buy the really bright shades as they'll apply at half of their visual value. These require a lot of layering to show, which can be good or bad depending on what you want, but I think they're a lot of work and should've applied heavier with less effort. I think the shade range overall is a bit light for darker skin, but might make a good base for powder blush. I guess. But would I buy it for that- no.
The biggest fail was Candy Coral. It streaked and was a light orange and took 9 swipes to even get this color. I would not recommend this color. Hot Tamale took 5 or so to achieve a poppy-esque pink. I liked that one the best out of the two.
'Scuse the funky "I just woke up" face. I serously did just that and got straight to swatchin'. :)
Hot Tamale on the skin, nothing underneath. Pretty, right? I like this one! I give it a B+ or so. Could be more pigmented, could be $5 instead of $8, and should NOT rip or pull up like these do. Fix those issues and the novel texture would be a total score for me. I wouldn't buy these just to touch them though. I think however, this one is a keeper.
Candy Coral I tried to love you. I did. In this case, it's not me, it's you and I'm walking away. I returned you to Walgreens promptly as a matter of fact. It took looooooads to even get this on my cheek and if you apply this over foundation, you won't see it. I'm very pale, so maybe it just wasn't jiving with my skin, but I really had a very hard time with this color. So, try the darker shades and def. get these on sale. I love the texture and the name is cute- made me feel perky I suppose...but if I wanted that I would've spent my $8 on Red Bull.
Like? Love? Lose? Have you tried these?
