A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Grey eyeliner, I’m a fan… grey mascara?  I knew I was gonna need some convincing…

Lancome’s Fall 2011 collection, which I’ve been previewing this week includes the popular Hypnose Drama mascara in a new shade: Gris Fatal.

They say…

In just one stroke, lash volume is magnified, customisable and offers women intenseley expressive eyes.  Hypnose Drama in Gris Fatal dresses lashes in this season’s it-shade, defining and sculpting lashes without looking hevaily “made-up”.

I’m a sucker for lashes.  Blessed with decent natural length and curl, I like my mascara to take things to the next level and always opt for the blackest of the black to tint them.  I have to say, the new shade doesn’t float my boat but it has opened my eyes (har har) to a previously untested formula!

Gris Fatal is a flat, darker than mid-toned grey that would suit anyone who finds that black mascara makes them look a bit ‘doll-i-fied’ (nice madeup word there).  Infact, my mother has stolen this from me and it looks fabulous on her.  For reference, she’s blond with sparse lashes, heavily hooded eyelids and piercing blue eyes, single-handedly – this shade has given her back an interest in cosmetics.  God help me.

So, while I won’t recommend this one for anyone who likes BIG lashes, it’s perfect for women (especially older women) who want a more natural, polished look.

And the formula?  Well, it’s lovely!  Nicely balanced, lengthening and volumising with zero clumps.  I do believe this is VexInTheCity‘s favourite mascara of all time (we were having a conflab about the merits of this vs. my newly beloved Benefit They’re Real just the other day!), so I will have to put my money where her big gob is and plump for it in black very soon!

Have you tried Lancome Hypnose Drama?  How about grey mascara – reckon you could rock it?

Lancome’s Hypnose Drama in Gris Fatal Mascara is priced at £20.50 and available at Lancome counters nationwide from 1st September 2011

* press sample

A few of you eagle-eyed ladies have spotted that I’ve been wearing a particularly impressive mascara over the last few days.  Nothing sneaks past you eh?

Well, now I’ve put it through its paces, I’m happy to reveal that it’s the NEW Benefit They’re Real! Mascara* which is due out for release at the end of August.

From the moment I had a sneak peek at the wand, I knew this mascara would suit my lashes.  My lashes are not very dark and quite fine but there’s plenty of them and they have a good, natural curl.  I need a smooth mascara that offers tip base-to-tip coverage and doesn’t clump to achieve maximum results.  I’m not too fussed about curl but it needs to stay put so I don’t get transfer to my droopy upper lids.

This is a killer mascara in all the best ways possible.

The brush is similar to the Boots No7 Exceptional Definition (another fav) mascara with the little trebuchet on the end but the formula is more impressive and long-wearing.  I don’t get any flakes or transfer with They’re Real! but it is a bit of a pain to remove.  I wouldn’t even attempt it without an good makeup remover or oil-based cleanser.

Now for the most important bit… what point is a post on a mascara without some before/afters huh?

Please tell me I DON’T need to point out which eye has the mascara on!

I’ve also added this photo below from the end of the day so you can see how long-wearing it is.  No flakes, no droop… just as good as new.

I’m having a good week of discovering must-haves!

Now, if you can’t wait until the end of August for the nationwide release… Benefit are having a 1 Day Flash Sale on the 6th August where you’ll be able to get your hands on it before anyone else.  See below for details and where to buy.

Benefit They’re Real! Mascara has the thumbs up from me and will be released nationwide from the 27th August priced at £18.50

* press sample

Do you know the last time I did a mascara review?  No, me neither… but it’s been a hella long time.  I used to do at least one a month but I ended up disillusioning myself seeing such little overall difference between the various tubes available.

One Mascara that I’ve always meant to pick up and try is the Max Factor False Lash Effect which I know often gets loads of praise from MUA circles.  I umm’ed and ahh’ed in Boots over whether to go for the original or this new spangly looking purple one.  I lived up to my girly stereotype and went for the spangly one.

See?  Spangly.

How about more important things though, like brush… formula… ability to falsify lashes?

They say:

False Lash Effect Fusion combines Max Factor’s biggest ever volumising brush with its latest lengthening formula to create thicker and longer lashes. For those girls who want an extreme lash look, they’ve come to the right place.

I say, the chunky brush is pretty nice… but I imagine that for those with short lashes it could be a nightmare.  I always have difficulty trying to detect whether the bristles are indeed bristles, plastic or rubber… these feel like stumpy old-style bristles to me but I could be wrong.  It’s been known to happen!

The formula is pretty good.  I hate thin formulas that practically drip off the brush (I’m looking at you Bourjois 1001 cils) but I equally dislike mascaras that last about 3 weeks before drying up.  This is middle of the road.

Are the results middle of the road too?  See for yourselves…

I see a good amount of volume and I love how the Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion has emphasised my lashline so heavily but I’m not seeing the length I was hoping for from this mascara.

I’m gonna try combining it with my favourite length-boosting mascara… who knows, I may stumble upon the ‘ultimate’ pairing!

You can currently purchase Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion for a very reasonable £8.99 (saving £3 off the original price) at Boots.

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Have you tried Max Factor’s False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara yet?  How about the original?

I know a few of you have been keen to hear about how I fared with my trial of Urban Decay’s Lush Lash System*.  I started the trial back in February and finished up the tube a few weeks ago.

The system promises lashes that are…

– 25% longer and thicker in 2 weeks
– 40% longer in 4 weeks
– 63% longer in 6 weeks

Sadly, I didn’t experience anything as impressive as those results.  Infact, I’m not really sure I experienced anything much at all.  See what you think (the top image shows the BEFORE, the bottom image is AFTER using the system for 8 weeks).

I think I see more fullness to my lashline… but no increase in length.  Or at least, nothing worth shouting about.  (On a side note, damn… I think I’m in love with my eye cream LOL!)

As a peptide-based lash growth system, it works on the premise of protecting the lashes you already have and strengthening new ones coming through, thereby increasing their life cycle.  This is probably why I’m seeing a slight increase in volume as the lashes that would have normally fallen out are still clinging on thanks to the fortification.

At £28 it’s an affordable alternative to the more expensive systems out there which include the likes of M2Beauté, LiLash and Revitalash but I can’t help but wonder if sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.

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Urban Decay Lush Lash is priced at £28 and available to buy online from BeautyBay, LookFantastic and HQHair

* PR Sample

First and foremost… this ain’t my find!  The delightful Virtues of Beauty told me to try this out when I asked for some brow gel recommendations on Twitter.

I hate the normal Great Lash mascara.  Hate. It.  This stuff though?  It’s good!  Especially for the money (I paid £2.99 on eBay).

I’ve been using it to hold my CURLY (yes, curly – thanks gene pool) eyebrows in place now that I’ve finally decided that I should pay them more attention.  There’s not a huge amount to say about this product except that it works.

The bristles do a good job of combing through and coating the hairs.  I’m not keen on how long this stuff takes to dry and for that reason, it means that I have to make using this… the very last step in my makeup routine.  I’d say that it takes a good 3/4 minutes to dry fully.  Until then, you have wet brows.

Once it has dried… it thankfully doesn’t leave my eyebrows crusty.  Just sets them nicely in place and stops me looking like Dennis Healy‘s lovechild.

What do you use to keep your brows in place?

Dare I say it?  Oh… I dunno… eek.  Can I whisper it?

Boots No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara is verging ever closer to holy grail!

Did you catch that?  I don’t like declaring stuff like that… I’m not even sure if I believe in ‘holy grail’ products… but my word, do I ever love this mascara.

I only picked it up because I wanted the free eyeshadow palette that came with it.

The brush is well designed, incorporating features from rival brands and merging them seamlessly onto the one wand.  I particularly like the spikey tip that ensures good product distribution into the corner lashes.  The other features on the brush include both long and short spikes which really do allow for a good comb through.

Something else that this mascara manages to avoid courtesy of a well-designed brush is product overload.  My mascara pet peeve is when a brush holds SO much product, it makes my lashes clump from 4 feet away.  I can really comb through my lashes with this over and over if necessary and they just. don’t. clump.  Amazing.

Before obviously on the left, after on the right.

That’s some definition right there isn’t it?  That’s also only one coat.  I do spend a little time combing through with this wand… not because I have to… but the application seems to perfect itself if you take 30 seconds to properly wiggle the wand about and ‘place’ your lashes.

This may look a bit spidery for some… in fairness, my lashes always look a bit spidery when I wear mascara with no eyeliner, I should probably make sure to apply some before the photos, but I quite like being able to show you how effective/rubbish the wand is at getting to the roots of the lashes.

Boots No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara is priced at £12 (but you can get it for £7 when the No7 vouchers are in circulation… I think the current lot expire today?)

Oh my… I nearly forgot one of the most important things I wanted to say about it!  Absolutely no smudges.  None.  Nada.  No flaking either.  It is a bit of a bugger to remove though… proper dedicated eye makeup remover/cleansing oil needed.

Have you tried it?  What’s your current favourite mascara?

High five – it’s a makeup amnesty!  Anyone fancy trying a new mascara?

How about a lovely deluxe sample of one of Clinique’s top-selling products?

Clinique are offering us this rather brilliant opportunity to take in one of our crappy old mascaras and exchange it at the counter for a deluxe sample of one of these alternatives!

You can choose between:

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Clinique High Lengths Mascara

The offer is valid from 29th October – 16th November exclusively in Boots and only while stocks last.

Absolutely no purchase is necessary but stop rummaging through your sister’s/mother’s/mate’s makeup drawers ‘cos it’s only one per client.  I SAW you!

I haven’t tried the High Impact (volumising) one yet, so will be hot-footing it down my nearest Boots/Clinique counter to give it a go.

If you want to see how the High Lengths (lengthening) looked on my lashes, click here for my review and some before/after shots.

Will you be ditching an old mascara and trading up for this offer?

I wanna know… which mascara will you be swapping and which of Clinique’s will you be choosing to replace it?

The new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara had me all confused.  It promises to promote stronger, longer lashes and with all these ‘lash enhancing’ products entering the mass market, I initially wondered if we were looking at another one of these.

We’re not.

Revlon’s Grow Luscious incorporates into it’s formula something that it calls unique fibres and phytopeptides complex which it promises will enhance the condition of your lashes thereby enabling them to remain strong and intact right to the end of their natural growth period.  This tries to prevent premature breakage, not grow your lashes ladies.

There’s no real way for me to accurately quantify those claims, but I don’t see any reason why a good balance of lash conditioning agents wouldn’t in some way help to keep your lashes in good condition in the same way a conditioner can keep your hair feeling softer and stronger.

It’s attractively (if rather simply) packaged in a green metallic-looking tube, minimalist in appearance.

The wand is VERY large, larger infact than my Benefit Bad Gal’s wand which is kinda my benchmark for large wands.  Those with smaller eyes or short lashes may struggle with application issues.

The formula is quite thick and perhaps a little dry but that’s a-ok with me.  I can’t stand ‘wet’ mascaras… I make a terrible mess with them and although the Revlon Grow Luscious does seem to attract a little gloop on the tip of the wand, it’s nothing I can’t wipe off on the edge of the tube.

The tips of my lashes are a little out of focus here… but I’m showing a comparison between the new Revlon Grow Luscious (on the right) and Boots 17 Wild Curls (on the left).

Boots 17 Wild Curls seems like a good comparison as a fellow high street offering that’s proving to be the one to beat at the moment.

It’s not so easy to tell in this image… but the Revlon does have the edge in the length stakes.  Not by a huge amount…. just by a whisker an eyelash 😉  It also smells kinda lovely… I know some of you laugh at me commenting on the smell, but some mascaras STINK!  It’s always nice not to have to hold your nose everytime you lift the wand to your eyes.

However, the Boots 17 Wild Curls takes the lead in the definition stakes… it defines each lash with greater precision and has an overall less clumpy appearance.

Final Verdict – The new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara is a nice, solid high street offering.  It hasn’t blown me away with incredible results and I’m not gonna tell you I love it.  I like it.  I’d like it more if it was a couple of pounds cheaper.

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara is available in most high street chemists (Boots et al.) and online, priced at £9.99

2 eyes, 83 eyelashes (or thereabouts) and 2 mascaras.

On one eye, I’ve applied £21.50 worth of mascara (DiorShow Iconic)

On the other eye… £5.99 worth of mascara (Boots 17 Wild Curls)

There’s undoubtedly a difference, and the expensive mascara (on the left as you look at it) has done it’s job well.

But is the difference really worth £15.51?

Hand on heart, for me… I think it’s worth it.  My husband thinks I’m a sucker.

What do you think?

I’ve been using a lash growth accelerator product (Latisse) since the start of April and I’m pretty happy with the length of my lashes now.  I feel that it’s made them a little finer than I’d like them to be, but I’ll continue to use it once a week or so for maintenance.

However, it means that I really need to use mascara nowadays to enhance these finer (but ultimately slightly longer) lashes.  And I’ve been trialling some lovely ones recently!

I thought I’d show you a high street one that’s grabbed my attention thanks to it’s light formula but lovely dark pigment.

Lash Extension Effect Mascara contain’s Max Factor’s longest mascara brush ever, which they claim helps you to reach every lash to deliver dramatic length.  Personally, I still struggled a little to reach those outer corner lashes…. L’oreal Telescopic Explosion still wins the “coating every lash award” for me.

A lengthening mascara as opposed to a volume or curl-giving product, it lengthens well.  The smell is quite off-putting and chemically… I notice this often with Max Factor mascaras, it’s an irritation but ultimately doesn’t stop me buying them.

One of the things that I really like about this mascara is how easy I find it to remove.  I own the non-waterproof version and this rinses away nicely with a cleansing oil.  I sometimes have to massage the oil into my lashes to shift stubborn mascaras, but this dissolves readily despite not smudging on me during the day.

Priced at £10.99 I’m almost loathe to call this a high-street mascara, it is… but it certainly isn’t budget friendly.

What do you think about the prices of high street mascaras nowadays?  They just keep going up and up!

When I saw the Clinique High Lengths Mascara wand a few months ago…

It gave me a shiver.  And not in a good way.  It looks freakin’ terrifying!  Organic… like it’s gonna whip me or bite me or something slightly kinky.  And I repeat, not in a good way!

Still… yano… I had to buy it anyway *blush*

I generally find Clinique’s packaging a bit fud… am I the only one?  My Mum has skirts with those big floral prints on ’em.

You can see the extent of the curve to the wand… it’s serious… and takes a little bit of positioning to get it to align with my lashes.  Infact, it doesn’t align THAT well at all on me, it’s obviously something that’s going to be hugely dependant on the shape of your lashline…

The green bit is flexible and despite it’s odd curvature, doesn’t cause me any problems taking it out or pushing it back into the tube.  It’s also worth noting that the brush seems to pick up a perfect amount of product each time it appears from the neck of the tube.

Once I’ve got the wand positioned the best I can manage, things get a lot more interesting!

Those spiky little teeth grab my lashes and I can FEEL the pull as I wiggle the wand through from root to tip.  There’s some proper resistance there as I comb the wand through… it’s almost poetic.  The effect is beautiful separation and definition.  I’ve never used a wand that does this so well.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara is a lovely lengthening mascara that (after a couple of run throughs) coats each lash with just the right amount of product and really does allow you to get right to the root of the lash without splodging product allover your eyelid.

We’re not talking false lash effect mascara superstardom here, but it’s a great product for lovely long lashes and one that I’ll happily repurchase.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara is a very reasonable £14.50 (considering high street mascaras are approaching that figure now!).  You can buy online or on counter.

As previously threatened, I went and picked up the new Bourjois Elastic Mascara yesterday. I ended up going to Superdrug to make the most of the £2 off promotion and ended up paying £6.99 for mine.

I know some of you think it’s daft.. but I kinda love the packaging! I have a billion mascaras, so being able to spot the one I want immediately is always useful. It does look a bit like a toilet brush holder though (well spotted Rhamnousia!)

The brush is one of those spikey bristle affairs… ideal for separation and lengthening, not so good for volume. The emphasis on the Bourjois Elastic Mascara is on lengthening, so I wasn’t surprised to see this brush design.

What I was surprised to see was the amount of product the wand picked up in those reservoirs. Too much. Combine this with quite a wet formula-ed mascara and I knew I was going to have issues with application before I’d even lifted the wand past my nose.

I was right. It actually reminded me a lot of the issues I had with the last Bourjois mascara I bought (1001 Lashes). Admitedly, 1001 Lashes has actually grown to become one of my favourites… but it took 3 months for the formula to dry out enough for me to fall in love.

I love the brush on this Bourjois Elastic mascara. It actually ‘grabs’ my lashes. I can feel the pull as I drag through from root to tip. It keeps hold of them like no other brush I’ve tried. So if that formula thickens up a bit after a couple of months, I could have an winning combination on my hands!

Having said that, once dried… it’s a slightly crusty mascara, this doesn’t really bother me – but I know some of you prefer more flexible and soft finishes. It doesn’t actually *look* crusty… but you can feel the crispiness going on!

The weird handle is actually another thing I love about the Bourjois Elastic Mascara. It makes me more ‘light handed’ with the wand and I find myself applying with fluttery light but sweeping strokes as opposed to my usual ham-fisted, poke yourself in the eye efforts.

Another cool thing about the handle is that you can ‘twizzle’ the wand whilst applying to get maximum coverage. Didn’t think about that did you?! Rolling the wand between my thumb and forefinger feels quite a natural action as I’m pulling the product through the lashes. Unfortunately, the action just encourages this damn formula to clump… I’m still clinging to the hope that with a bit of age, the formula transforms into something amazing.

Definitely lengthening… not volumising or even very defining (I’m blaming the formula).

I’m on the fence with this one.

Something I’m not on the fence about?

This promo image:

Seriously? Just. Sod. Off.

Bourjois, you may be my favourite high street brand… but you hands down win the sucky Photoshop bs eyelash promo image award.

EDITED TO ADD:

The above promotional image shouldn’t be on the website under Elastic Mascara apparently, some kinda mistake as it’s a few years old.. here’s the correct model image!: