Almay One Coat Multi-Benefit Mascara Review

Last month Husband and I purchased new contacts from Clearly.com and to my pleasant surprise, each contact package came with a free sample of Almay's One Coat Multi-Benefit mascara. While I'm not a big fan of Almay, I'm always up for trying out a new mascara, especially one that promises almost everything.

According to Almay, the "multi benefit formula delivers..." "massive volume, length, definition" and nourishment thanks to the inclusion of keratin as an ingredient. Often a mascara makes you choose between volume or length so I was pleased to see that this product offered both of those qualities.

Almay Intense I-color Volumizing Mascara

This mascara was one of the many free items I received from the Almay Picnic event I attended back in July. And like most of those other items this one doesn’t wow but, at the same time, isn’t a bad product.

I like my lashes to be long, lush and clearly defined. What I hate are spider lashes, when the hairs clump together to create pointy sections of lashes. However, the internet tells me that for some people, spider lashes are desirable. Those people should buy this mascara.

According to Almay, this product is all about two qualities: providing volume and taking “your unique eye color to new limits.” The four supposedly “expertly coordinated shades with eye-brightening crystals create multi-dimensional amplification.” I believe this means that this product is suppose to make my irises pop but I didn’t notice a difference.

Almay Intense I-color Smoky-I Kit Eyeshadow

This week is Almay week here on the blog as I’m reviewing a few of the products that I picked up for free at last month’s Almay Picnic event. The previous two Almay products I reviewed, Smart Shade CCLuminous Primer and Smart Shade Skin Tone Matching Makeup, didn’t wow me though they could be the right fit for someone else. My mixed feelings continue with the Intense I-color Smoky-I Kit eyeshadow.

Almay offers three different eyeshadow lines and this one, as the name suggests, is all about giving you a smoky eye. Says Almay, “Our eye-shaped compact enables mistake-proof application in three easy steps.” Four versions of this kit are offered, each one aimed at a specific eye colour, “The do-it-yourself smoky-i kit that intensifies your eye color.”

Almay Smart Shade Skin Tone Matching Makeup

As I mentioned in my last post, a few weeks ago I attended an event sponsored by Almay that resulted in me taking home a bunch of free goodies. This week on the blog is all about reviewing three of those items and today we look at the second one: Almay’s Smart Shade Skin Tone Matching Makeup.

I knew I’d have issues with this product as soon as I heard the name. Despite what marketing materials say, foundation can’t “match” your exact skin tone by sensing your skin’s colour.

This product line contains “just three skintone-adjusting shades” in order to simplify the foundation buying experience.  According to Almay, your chosen shade “adjusts to the natural tones and nuances of your skin with breakthrough new almay tonemimic™ shade-sensing bead technology which intuitively transforms to your skintone for all day natural looking coverage in your perfect shade.” How does a foundation, or any product, “intuitively” change colour? That’s simply not possible.

Almay Smart Shade CC Luminous Primer

A few weeks ago I attended an event sponsored by Almay that resulted in me taking home a bunch of free goodies. This week on the blog is all about reviewing three of those items starting with Smart Shade CC Luminous Primer.

This is my first experience with an Almay primer and I have mixed feelings on it.  According to Almay, “this new primer helps provide a luminous finish while prepping your skin for makeup application.” Initially I was a bit concerned about the “luminous” part as I thought it might leave my skin shiny or greasy looking. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case; instead, I ended up with bright, healthy-looking skin that yeah, you could describe as “luminous.”

I was also left with skin that felt quite smooth. A good primer basically creates a thin layer over one’s skin that fills in imperfections and creates a flawless canvas with which to apply makeup over. Based on touch, this primer does just that, creating that smooth surface that allowed for quicker and easier makeup application.

Almay Picnic

On Monday night, I found myself sitting on the Drake’s rooftop patio, drinking delicious lemonade and learning more about Almay products. I was there as part of the makeup line’s summer picnic party.

Myself and at least two dozen bloggers started off our evening with free food, free drinks and a pretty bag filled with Almay products. Then, after we’d all stuffed ourselves, Almay’s head makeup artist, Jackie, walked us through all of the products in our goodie bag and explained how we could use them to quickly, and easily, put together a polished look.

Jackie's tutorial was a great one and contained the following useful advice:

• When applying any powdered makeup, bloat it first on the back of your hand, to get rid of excess, potentially shading product. 
• When applying eyeshadow, regardless of if it’s with your finger, brush or sponge, apply it in one steady application, with the applicator never leaving your skin. 
• Everyone’s eye skin is saggy and this sagginess makes it for harder, and more imprecise application. For eyeshadow, pull the skin up with your other hand to create a smooth, tight work surface. For eyeliner, pull the skin taunt and straight out to the side, “like a ruler” and then glide your product on. 
• If you have heavy-lidded, or deep-set, eyes, and you’re doing a smoky eye, make sure you apply the darker “crease” colour just below your brow bone. Yes, most smoky eye instructions, including the ones that company Almay’s Intense i-Colour Smoky i-Kit, say to apply this shade to the crease but depending on your eye shape, you may need to shift this colour up.
• Those with heavy-lidded, or deep-set, eyes should also always look down for at least 10 seconds after applying eyeliner or mascara, to allow those products to dry first. 
• When it comes to liquid liner, use the side of the brush for a more precise look, not the tip, and draw right along the lash line. 
• If you’re applying liner to your bottom lashes, use the “leftover” product on the brush, after you’ve lined the top eye. 
• If you want to add volume to your lashes, run your mascara through your lashes in a slow, exaggerated motion. 
• If you’re going to go for a heavily bronzed look, make sure to brush bronzer on your ears and possibly your neck and chest. When using an eye makeup removal pads, use one for each eye. 

While I was already familiar with some of these tips (that’s not to say that I always follow them), some of them are new and are definitely advice that I’ll be using.

I’ll also be using the items in my goodie bag. While some of these products are items that I received at the Spark Sessions, some of them, like the Intense i-Colour eyeliner are new to me and are products that I’m eager to test out. You can expect to see those reviews trickling out over the next few weeks so be sure to check back regularly to see what I think of these items.

Almay Color+Care Liquid Lip Balm And Lash Care Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Pads

Almay Week here on Stuff on Lindsay Bought is coming to a close with two product reviews today. Both of these products were items I received for free from Almay at the gifting suite it had set up at Spark Sessions.

At the gifting suite, we started by selecting two Shadow Softies eye colours. The colour options offered by this product are terrific. We then selected a foundation, a blush, a mascara, an eye makeup remover and then, at the end of the table, a lip balm. Unlike with the eye colours, the lip colour options were a bit disappointing. They all looked too bright and garish.

After almost grabbing a Color+Care Liquid lip balm in Apricot Pucker, I decided to go with Lilac Love. While the colour looked a bit intense in the tube, it didn’t look too bad when swatched.

Almay Shadow Softies

I rarely review multiple shades or colours of the same product.  Instead, I just review the lone shade/colour that I’m set, or, more likely, that I bought. I used to think that this approach was adequate but after my experience with Almay’s new Shadow Softies eyeshadows, I’m thinking that only reviewing one shade/colour might only be giving part of a product’s story.

I received two free, full-sized Softies from the Almay gifting suite that the company had set up at the Spark Sessions blogging conference. At the suite, we were allowed to pick two colours. I was immediately drawn to Moss, a shiny, gold-y-olive colour. I also grabbed Vintage Grape, since I don’t own a dark, non-shimmery purple.

Almay Smart Shade Mousse Makeup

Welcome to Almay week here on Stuff Lindsay Bought! Why is it Almay week? Because all week, I’ll be reviewing Almay products that I picked up at the company’s Spark Sessions blogging conference gifting suite. So yes, I’ll be writing about free products but don’t worry, just because I got them for free doesn’t mean that I’ll be giving them a free pass.

Let’s start with Almay’s Smart Shade mousse makeup. I was fully prepared to hate this product because it starts off with a lie. According to the Almay rep, and this product’s web page, it contains “smart shade sensing beads (that) instantly transform to your ideal shade.” Uh, no, that’s not how things work.

Almay Smart Shade Makeup

I picked up this foundation because it received top marks from Paula Begoun and because it seemed like it had everything I was looking for: lightweight coverage, effective SPF 15, a shade that would look great on me and lots of healthy stuff like grape seed, ginseng and ginkgo biloba to help actually improve my skin.

Unfortunately, it turns out that I’m not really looking for lightweight coverage because this product just didn’t do it for me. I would apply it and the results would look too natural, meaning acne marks and other blemishes were completely visible. If I had almost-perfect skin that just needed a bit of evening out, or if under-eye circles were my problem, this foundation would be perfect but since I need more coverage than this product can provide, it’s not for me.