I am extremely low maintenance. I remind my boyfriend of this often when he balks at the minutes it takes me to get ready before we leave the house. You could almost consider me NO maintenance. But this little challenge left me to be “that” girl at the gym with a completely made up face to go and sweat it out – all in the name of journalistic integrity. Can CoverGirl convert me? With the new Outlast All-Day Lipcolor and LashBlast Volume Blasting Mascara in hand, I’m ready to take them on. Lucky for them, I’m a die-hard mascara wearer, but lipstick? Not so much. Kissable lips, luscious lashes, and all of it easy and long lasting? We’ll see.

Blistex is about as far as I go when it comes to lip treatments. For some reason, I never took to lipstick. Years of dance kept me in bright red lip colour and I fear it tainted me for life. They always felt waxy, dried my lips out, and finding the right shade to complement my lovely pasty white skin was always a Herculean effort. Even when I got my makeup done by professionals, they’d generally ere on the side of gloss over colour. And I wasn’t complaining.

Anyone out there think wearing lipstick is a chore? The constant reapplication, the gorgeous red ring left on every cup (or cheek) you put to your lips, and the taste of it every time you reapply just made it an unnecessary evil for me. But according to Queen Latifah, CG has come out with a colour that not only stays supple on my lips for up to 16 hours, but comes in a range of 41 different colours to match any occasion. For $10.49, I get the tube of Lipcolor + a moisturizing top coat that gives the colour that “just applied” look, even if I put it on ten hours ago. To top it off, it purportedly doesn’t taste like I just bit the top off my favourite shade every time I lick my lips.

To ease myself into this challenge, I selected the neutral shade “Nude” but also chose “Always Rosy” for a little variety and you know what? I was seriously impressed. I put the Lipcolor on first thing in the morning and every time I looked in the mirror it was still very noticeable, as referenced by the “You have pink stuff on your lips” from my boyfriend every time I walked into the room (have I mentioned that I NEVER wear lipstick?). My lips felt soft all day long, I never felt or tasted that waxiness I remember from my dance related hooker-red days, and it didn’t rub off on anything. I did everything with this stuff: ate, drank, kissed…there was no way it was moving.

When it comes to my eyes, mascara is the only thing that I will consistently wear. It’s what takes me from death zombie to super hot working girl in the morning – at least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Once again, CoverGirl to the rescue. With its new moldtrusion brush (a.k.a. weird orange spiky thing) and volumizing formula, LashBlast promises “thick, full-looking, dramatic lashes,” all for only $9.49.

Being a bespectacled woman, anything I do to my eyes has to be exaggerated or they don’t get noticed. Glasses hide my little to no effort, so I need my mascara to be perceptible. With my freaky lookin’ brush in hand, I applied a coat of “Very Black” mascara to my morning lashes. Sorry Drew Barrymore but first impressions were…not amazing. The new wand has more bristles and picks up more mascara, leading, in my opinion, to more clumps. BUT, with a little coaxing with the brush and my fingers, my lashes definitely looked more striking than usual.

So, the verdicts are in. If you tell me that lipstick is essential in any woman’s purse and that CoverGirl’s Outlast All-Day Lipcolor is a must-have, then you’re preaching to the converted. You won’t see me in shades like “Eternal Flame” anytime soon but I’m taking baby steps. For mascara on the other hand, I’d probably lean for the LashBlast if it were on sale, but otherwise, I’d stick to my tried and true and just go for another coat.

For this low maintenance gal who’s in the process of converting, you’ll see me with bee stung lips and fake lashes walking to the grocery store in no time.

What we’re working on…

Next week, Stasia’s got The Goods on the new Reader’s Digest healthy lifestyle magazine Best Health.

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