Adding In Color: Mary Kay At Play

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My first makeup was from Mary Kay. One of my mom's friends sold it, and when I was in junior high they did a make over on me and bought me everything. It was all kinds of awesome. But, as a teenager I couldn't afford the makeup on my own, so I reverted to drugstore finds, and I just never really found my way back to Mary Kay.

Recently the brand approached me about trying out their newest Mary Kay At Play collection, and I have to say, once again it is all kinds of awesome. This makeup is really made for those that don't have a lot of time for their makeup, but still want to look good. So, me.

This collection is full of fun color for summer, but it is in really easy, fast forms. Think all over color sticks, eye shadow crayons and blushes that come with a matching highlighter. Because, yes. I love a little highlighter.




First up is the Mary Kay At Play Lip & Cheek Stick. Most lip and cheek sticks like this are formulated with very little pigment or at the other extreme, they are very pigmented. I find the more pigmented versions to be a bit easier to work with, and that's what the At Play Lip & Cheek Stick is like.

You can apply the Lip & Cheek Stick directly onto your lip or cheek, or if you want a lighter look apply with a fingertip. The product is softer than a lipstick, so it applies pretty easily to your skin. I found that it blends very easily with a brush or fingertip and as a blush it lasts all day. It's perfect for a pretty flush on a hot summer day! It does add pretty color to lips as well, I like to follow it up with a little clear gloss. Peach Pop was my favorite with my fair skin, but I know Razzleberry will be amazing for those with darker complexions.




The new Mary Kay Mineral Cheek Color Duo blushes aren't part of the At Play collection, but were released recently as well. Each of these blushes are well pigmented, blend really well with a brush and last all day. My favorite part is that they each come with a matching highlighter, you can see that each highlighter is a little different so that they compliment the blushes perfectly. I've been obsessing over Juicy Guava (so pretty with Peach Pop on the lips!) it's the perfect peachy color for early summer.

I love that the blushes come in these little plastic cases. You can leave them be in that case or else they easily pop out to be put into another compact. Mary Kay has empty compacts that will fit them perfectly, or you could create your own palette with a big empty palette.




I think my favorite product is the Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liner. Yes, we've all seen a lot of products like this in recent years. This is nothing new. However, I do think that this is one of the best shadow sticks out there, it performs just as well as my Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown shadow sticks, but is is fraction of the price. As an added bonus, these are double sided, so you get both the rounded shadow and a pointier liner/shadow in the same stick. Everything you need to create a pretty eye look in one!

I use this over a basic shadow primer. I tried many different ones, and it didn't seem to matter which I used, even just a concealer was enough. With a prepped lid, this shadow looked perfect at the end of long days, 14-15 hours without creasing or fading.

I have to admit that I've been using these shadow sticks almost every day for the last few days and haven't taken very many pictures. I'll share the few looks that I did take pictures of, but in general I've found that the liners can easily do double duty as a liner or shadow. It's easiest to draw directly onto your skin and then blend a bit with your fingertip. If you're going to add in a powder shadow, apply the powder after the shadow stick, everything will blend much more easily that way.

My favorite ways to use these sticks are as a fun punch of color right at the lash line, or the Caramellow and Rebel Rose duos both work really well for a complete look. I want to use the Iced Lilac for a purple smoky eye sometime soon, but just haven't had the occasion to wear it yet!



In this look my lid is washed with Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Rosegold and Driftwood is in my crease. I used the liner end of Mint to Be on my upper and lower lash lines, and then applied Mary Kay Eyeliner in Black closer to lash line, then blended very slightly with a stiff angled brush. I finished the look with a coat of Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara.



I do want to make a comment about ordering from Mary Kay. In the past you had to have a consultant. I admit that was part of the reason I've avoided the brand in the last few years, I'm already overwhelmed with product, I didn't want someone trying to sell me stuff! However, I purchased a few products to use with the At Play products, the Mineral Eye Shadows, Eye Liner and Ultimate Mascara, to use in this post. When I ordered from the Mary Kay website the shipping was super fast, and while technically my order was through a consultant, Mary Kay did everything for my order. So, if you’ve been worried about being contacted to buy things, try online ordering first!

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