My Sweet Thing Fling for Spring

Maybelline New York's Sweet Thing collection is a limited-edition palette of Easter-egg-inspired pastel shades of eyeshadows, blush, lip gloss and nail color. Their tantalizing displays in drugstores are already selling out of many of these products. I went from Walgreens to Target to Walmart looking for the collection, only to find that the displays in those stores that already carry it were pretty much cleaned out. But I lucked out at CVS and managed to snag the last of some of the items that I purchased. These are the products that I was able to get my grubby little hands on.

Express Finish Nail Polish in Minty ($4.49)

Express Finish nail polish claims to dry in 50 seconds and to be chip-proof. This was my first foray into Maybelline nail polishes and it did not disappoint. Two minutes after I painted my nails (the photo above shows two coats), my dog started whining at me to go out. I was nervous about putting his leash on with wet nails, but my nails weren't wet. They had already dried, and two days later they still haven't chipped. I'm suitably impressed.

Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Peach ($5.49) and Color Sensational Lip Gloss ($6.49) in Sweet Caramel

When I was in 9th grade, the first blush I ever bought was Maybelline's powder blush in a shade called Fresh Peach. It's long been discontinued, but when I saw the Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Peach, it reminded me of my first blush. Unfortunately, when I applied it to my cheeks it looked like it was barely there. It almost looks like I'm not wearing blush at all. I fared better with the Color Sensational Lip Gloss in Sweet Caramel. It's a shimmery, slightly irridescent pale neutral gloss that tastes like a fruit smoothie.

Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Coral ($5.49) and Color Sensational Lip Gloss ($6.49) in Triple Yum

The Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Coral isn't your grandmother's outdated screaming-orange coral. It's more of a peachy pink coral. It's very pretty, and when I wear it, it looks like what I had imagined the Pinch of Peach blush would have looked like. It's definitely the stronger of the two shades. The Color Sensational Lip Gloss in Triple Yum is a pale but vibrant peachy coral. It complements the Pinch of Coral blush perfectly. I think I've found my blush and gloss combination of choice for this spring season.

The Sweet Thing displays provide coupons for $1 off each Sweet Thing product. I saved $5 on my purchase. If you see these displays, don't hesitate to get the colors you want because they're selling out as quickly as the stores are getting them in. Maybelline New York products are available at drugstores and at www.maybelline.com.