I’ve been having a moment with Maybelline lately. I really, really like their new Dream Cushion Foundation, their Inti-Matte Lipsticks, the 24K Nudes Eyeshadow Palette, and I just had a long conversation with a friend last week (Hi, Shakun!) who loves their Matte and Poreless Foundation, which is apparently the ish, so I’m dying to try it.
With all of that said, I started testing the new Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadows, which come out this month (Jan. 2017), assuming they’d be great.
Buuut…
They aren’t my favorites. 🙁
I love the range of colors and finishes (there are 20 of them) and the fact that they’re only $3.99 each, but I just haven’t been able to get them to work for me. I’ve used eight of the 20, and every one has been consistently sheer, rough and chalky. They go on patchy, and I have a heck of a time blending them.
I dunno! I mean, I know that my blending skills have deteriorated over the past month (the holidays…), but I don’t think they’ve gotten that bad. After five solid minutes of blending the khaki color with my blending brush on my lids, I still couldn’t diffuse the edges.
Sadly, these are a miss for me. I think I’ll stick to the 24K Nudes Eyeshadow Palette instead.
Kale: IT’S EVERYWHERE.
I sent El Hub to the grocery store the other night to get some spinach for a dish I was making, and I got a text from him while he was at the store: “There’s kale everywhere but I can’t find any spinach.”
Kale: IT’S EVERYWHERE.
At the Safeway by my house, they only have a small area for spinach, but like 12 different sections of kale.
Kale has been everywhere lately, and I have mixed feelings about it. I know that it’s super good for you, but I can only eat it if it’s steamed or completely obliterated in a smoothie.
There’s just something about raw kale that makes me feel like I’m eating an old shoe…but I’m trying to eat more of it because of how good it is for you, so I’m always trying new kale recipes.
This winter kale and quinoa salad from eatyourselfskinny.com is pretty tasty.
It’s a sweet salad with quinoa, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, walnuts (which you can candy) and a vinaigrette. It comes together really quickly, too.
The recipe calls for raw kale, but I steam mine.
This recipe, BTW, makes a lot of salad, so if you’re planning to eat it by yourself, just know that you’ll be eating kale FOR DAYS. I made it on a Saturday afternoon and was still eating it with dinner on Tuesday.
How do you feel about kale? If you have any good kale recipes, hook a girl up! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Don’t know either ! I have to try them !
Have you tried Milani ? I love everything they have !
Let me know ,
Michele
I have no real opinion on kale. I do eat it occasionally, but I dont rally look for it. There is a new super vegetable every few years, I think eating a balanced diet is still the best way to go. Kale only is a bit monotonous.
Oh, and the shadows? Sound like a miss.
If an eyeshadow goes on patchy and won’t blend it’s a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig pass for me!
I have a love-hate relationship with Maybelline, especially when it comes to their eyeshadows. They always look so pretty in the packaging, but when I try to apply them I get the same results as you: pretty sheer and chalky looking. Maybe they’ll work on their formula at some point?
It’s not your blending skillz…..I think it is the product.
I do like kale, cooked, but I don’t have it too often…spinach is my soul food, I have it pretty much every day.
Oh boo! I was looking at Cool Cocoa, Gold School and Linen. I’ll skip these if you say they’re doozies.
Bummer on the Maybelline singles! :/
Kale, oh kale… My favorite way to eat it, especially fresh, is more of a method than a recipe. I like it to be cut up in thin strips, almost like it’s crinkle cut paper. Then toss it with things like crumbly cheese (feta’s a good one), walnuts, olive oil, crumbled bacon, etc… and if the “extra bits” are the right size, the leaves hold on to them and it’s all super easy (and tasty) to eat. I guess in a sense it’s almost more like a slaw than a proper salad, which makes sense to me because kale is closer in texture to cabbage than to lettuce. There’s something SO unmanageable about trying to eat a leaf of kale. Just doesn’t work for me, lol!
Oh my these do look like a miss. Thanks for trying, Karen, so we don’t have to! Interesting they wouldn’t use the same formula as in the palette, which works so well.
Kale: Honestly, spinach is just as good! Let’s here it for variety and balance. In a few years, a new veggie will be all the rage. Chard is delicious, for example, but never gets the love! Kale is good, don’t get me wrong, but who wants all kale, all the time? I’d trust your instincts there, haha! I like it best baked and seasoned like chips. Or I buy kale sprouts or baby leaves – concentrated nutrition, none of the rawhide texture!!
Kale – I’m 100% with you on eating it only steamed or pureed in a smoothie! I grow the stuff in my garden, and even the baby leaves are tough. Not ideal to eat raw, but if you do I recommend the Lacinado variety – a bit smoother. I mostly grind it up in smoothies but it’s great in Italian wedding soup.
Hi back at ya Karen! These eye shadows looked so tempting! 🙁
I love kale smoothies, especially when blended with coconut milk, apple, vanilla and half a banana. I can’t wait for you to try the foundation and hear your thoughts on it.
Kale is really not my favorite, either. Unless it’s well cooked, it gets stuck between my teeth, which drives me nuts. To make it good, I tear off the stems, chop it up, and cook it with olive oil and garlic (or butter and sweet onion, but that’s better for collards), adding a tablespoon or two of water if necessary, for ten or twenty minutes, or until it’s soft enough that it’s not going to get stuck in my teeth.
I also have a good recipe for kale salad that I haven’t made in a while, but the secret is tearing off the stems and then slicing the leaves fine — then you dress it with a teaspoon or two of toasted sesame oil, some soy sauce and a little rice vinegar or lime juice — then, put it in a big bowl, and with clean hands, massage the heck out of it for five full minutes. This sort of “cooks” it, like it’s some kind of vegetable ceviche. Then let it sit in the frig for a little while while you make the rest of your dinner. It’s actually really good. I’ll have to see if I can find the complete recipe for you.
Haven’t really tried anything from Maybelline that I’ve fallen in love with, not even mascara.
I have kale, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, cilantro and roast chicken salad with spicy peanut dressing that I make in the summer. Sometimes I serve it cold and sometimes I warm the chicken and dressing up. I find the further in advance you put dressing on kale, the more it softens up. It also helps to chop it in really fine ribbons. I think the Tuscan kale (sometimes called Cavalo Nero or dino kale) is more tender than the curly kind.
The best way to eat kale is in soups and stews. TRUST ME. I make Italian recipes all the time, just add baby kale bags from TJ’s. It pairs great with beans too. It’s good in minestrone or pasta sauces. Even veggie lasagna. I make spicy sauce, I use TJ’s as a base, the arrabbiata sauce… add in penne cheese and kale… boom. Sausage optional. Super good. I also like it paired in sauces or soups with bell peppers and onions. The baby kale is good in Frittata according to my husband. I prefer curly kale of the adult variety, though I know there are others. The baby packed stuff and the adult curly keeps me on the kale train! My favorite is Kale and Cannellini bean stew!
Have you tried making kale chips? Just a little olive oil and Celtic sea salt. So easy and really tastes like a salty chip but it’s healthy lol. I also do an easy kale an white bean soup with onion sauteed in coconut oil, chicken broth, kale and white beans. Easy and delish! I bet you will love the Maybelline Matte and Poreless foundation. It’s amazing for us oily gals!!
Amber, I also love Kale chips. Need to make some SOON!
Blech, kale. I love baby spinach but kale raw is just not very good. I’ve thought about trying baby kale, but I think spinach provides most of the same nutrients and I like it better.
I’m with you–I HATE Kale. I went to Whole Foods tonight and it’s everywhere–ugh!
Ugh, I am so disappointed in myself but pretty much any recipe that is healthy would make me eat myself skinny, because I couldn’t eat it! Kale is gag-tastic, in my opinion. However, I do feel like I need to eat more veggies, so please talk about healthy eating so I can guilt myself into it. 🙂 Btw, the “cushion” powder was all we saw in Hong Kong. I have a feeling it’s going to be everywhere (like Kale!) in US drug and mass within the next year. If only lottery numbers were as easy to predict! HAHA!
I am upset that you discontinued the #70 brown tones, Maybelline!