Mascara: The best and the worst!

So, my main obsession when it comes to the world of make up is mascara.  I feel naked without it and I'll readily admit there was an occasion a few years ago when I skipped a lecture at university because there was a boy in there I fancied, and I had forgotten to double-coat my lashes!  

As I've said previously, finding a good mascara is something of a holy grail, and it's important to remember that lashes respond differently depending on their natural colour/curl/length/thickness. However, I feel given the amount of mascaras I've tried over the years, I'm in a position to give you a countdown of my top three best and worst in the world of mascara.  I hope to debunk media hype about some of the products we have shoved down our throats on TV and in magazines and how awesome they are, and give you a decent bargain revelation about a high street mascara you should all own.

The Worst!

Coming in 3rd place: Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara.    

Middle of the market price of £16, Clinique is a trusted brand, producer of the famous "three step" skin care regime that I have been devoted to for years and generally I love their make up.  I tried this mascara out of curiosity as it claimed to "work its thickening magic" to make my lashes look double the size, amazing!  Unfortunately, using it was a very underwhelming experience and it gave me that "I've used waterproof mascara" look, with no extra length or volume.  The brush is decent enough, but the mascara itself did nothing for me, sorry!

The 2nd worst mascara I have ever tried might come as a bit of a surprise, as it once claimed to be the worlds best selling mascara.  

The 2nd worst mascara: Maybelline Great Lash. 

A snip at just £4.99 in Superdrug, I still want a refund!  This mascara claims it will leave you with no clumps or blobs and will build your lashes so they look fuller.  It really was one of the worlds most popular mascaras at one point, but I've no idea why.  It did nothing for me except make my eyelashes look wispy and virtually non-existent. I really had to pile on the coats to make my eye lashes look anywhere near decent.  I expect a mascara in the shade of "very black" to give my blonde eyelashes a striking, jet black look.  This did not happen!  Maybe she's born with it?  Well if she wasn't, she's certainly not going to get it from Maybelline in this instance!

Coming in at number 1, the worst mascara I have ever used.... If you've read my blog previously you'll know this already.... 

The worst mascara I've ever used: Yves Saint Laurent Effet Faux Cils!  

Currently priced at £23 from Boots, and claiming to make your lashes look as good as false lashes, this tube of gloopy black mess does anything but!  I won't drone on about it too much, as you can read my previous blog entry for my full opinion on this mascara, but I would strongly advise against buying it!

The Best!

The following three mascaras are the ones I use myself on a regular basis.  It is hard to give them a ranking order, as they are good for different occasions and vary in price/brand, but I definitely do have an overriding favourite mascara.  Without further ado....

In 3rd place:  Dior Diorshow Black Out.

At the higher end of the mascara market, priced at around £23 from House of Fraser, this is a delicious mascara!  Best for a glammed up night out rather than dreary day at the office, the deeply saturated pigments in the black dye claim to re-create the intensity of Kohl.  This really does give you a wide-eyed look, it feels thick on your lashes and makes them far more noticeable.  If you are going for the subtle, all natural look then this really is not the mascara for you, but if you want smoky-eyed, seductive eye make up then I would definitely recommend trying Diorshow Black Out. I should also say that the Diorshow Black Out waterproof mascara is THE only waterproof mascara I've tried that doesn't look terrible.  It even held up as I cried my way through being Maid of Honour at my best friends wedding, amazing! 

The 2nd best mascara I've used:  Benefit "They're Real."

Costing around £18.50, this new product from the awesome Benefit is currently the UK's best selling mascara.  It has become something of a cult product and is on every make up fanatics "must try" list.  I really like Benefit products, but was not that impressed by their Bad Gal mascara that was rather popular, so held out little hope for their newest product.  However, I am pleased to eat a chunk of humble pie, as "They're Real" is a revelation!  Their adverts for this product are filmed WITHOUT lash inserts, which is a rarity these days.  I was amazed looking at the pictures, so decided I had to try it for myself.

What I think is best about this mascara is the brush.  The tip of the brush is designed to help you get the tiny lashes in the corner of your eyes, making your eyes look bigger.  The mascara itself gives great length and a lustrous black colour.  The great thing about this product is you can wear it with one coat in the day for a moderately intense look, and then stick on another couple of coats in the evening to really give you striking eye make up.  I am sure this is going to become a staple in my collection for nights out!

However, there is in fact one mascara to rule them all.... One mascara to thicken them, one mascara to lengthen them all, and in the darkness curl them (wow, that was lame!) 

Number 1: The best mascara in the whole wide world ever: Max Factor Masterpiece Max! 

What can I say about Max Factor?  Great make up, reasonably priced?  This mascara is middle of the market at around £9 and I have been using it for years.  The brush is fantastic, its long and slim which is my preference when it comes to mascara brushes.  It never clumps and rarely smudges, but I also find it is REALLY easy to remove at the end of the day, unlike many mascaras that take forever to rub off.

Masterpiece Max is a mascara you can wear every day to work, with one quick coat your eye make up looks good, but never over the top.  For a night out, I generally put three coats of it on, and will often use it as a base coat before applying a more intense mascara over the top for a really glam look.  It really gives my lashes the lengthened look I love, the tube lasts for ages and it is really quick to apply.  I could survive with this mascara alone if I had to, and it would definitely be the one I'd take to a desert island!  If you are looking for an all around awesome mascara that isn't going to set you back a fortune, this is the one for you!  

I hope that has helped you in your quest to find awesome mascara!

<3

Vic

Yves Saint Laurent False Lash Effect Mascara

So let's face it, finding a mascara that works for you is a bloody nightmare.  I feel I've tried pretty much every mascara under the sun at some point, I am addicted to buying it.  I will happily admit that I am desperately in search of the holy grail of mascaras.  One that lengthens, gives volume, lifts, but doesn't clump.  So, imagine my ever-hopeful internal voice bursting out in a resounding cheer when I heard about YSL Effet Faux Cils.


This £22 mascara is apparently award winning, and claims to have a dramatic effect in just one coat.  It apparently gives you intensity, curl, length and volume, as well as a long lasting effect. Basically, it claims to make your lashes look false.  Hurrah, right?


Wrong.  


Shelling out £22 on mascara doesn't necessarily make me shudder, but it does leave me with certain expectations.  Specifically, I expect that it achieves at least some of its claims. Unfortunately for me, instead of giving me fabulously false lashes, it left me with thickly clumped spiders legs protruding from my eye lids, and made me look like a 14 year old who has stolen her mum's mascara and made a proverbial pigs ear (or eye) of applying it. I could not wear this mascara in public, ever.


Not only that, it took ages to remove it, and I tried everything from baby wipes to Clinique take the day off. I was about 20 seconds away from attacking my eyes with Cillit Bang.  


I had a fairly good opinion of YSL, due to the life necessity that is Touche Eclait, so I definitely thought their mascara would rival most others.  Sadly, I used it once and then stuck it in my "second drawer down", otherwise known as the make up graveyard, safe in the knowledge that next time my sister was over, it would magically find itself a new home in her make up bag, and I'd be none the wiser.  It's not like I was ever going to attempt to use it again!


Of course, I am aware that this mascara might work brilliantly for other people, but for me?  No thanks.

http://www.johnlewis.com/37512/Product.aspx

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver

So, there is a story behind how I discovered The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver.  Fairly recently, I was mooching around Freeport in Braintree with some friends and we nipped into The Body Shop, much to my delight as I needed an emergency lip balm!  I was looking around and saw a woman scoop up every bottle of this skin reviver from the shelf into her basket.  Now, this immediately caught my attention as I thought... Ooh maybe this is a cult product or a secret I've not heard about?!


Feeling as if I had no choice, I bustled my way towards this woman and tried to appear casual when I asked her why she was buying so many.  She informed me that she's never found a skin product like it, and her husband piped in saying "I'll give you a tenner if you find something that makes your skin feel nicer!"  She explained she was buying it as a Christmas present for all of her friends, and that it is wonderful under make up.  Of course, I was concerned that this woman was buying every bottle, but luckily one of the lovely shop assistants managed to find another box of the product in the store room, so I was able to buy one!


The product claims to give your skin a healthy glow, by enhancing radiance and boosting your skin's natural glow.  It also claims to be a good base for foundation.  You apply it in an upward circular motion after moisturiser and before foundation.


I've been using it for the past few days, and have to say, I really like it!  Although I fear my healthy glow is covered up by bronzer and pressed powder, I have found that this product is a fantastic base/primer to use before liquid foundation.  I've been able to blend my foundation more easily, and my skin feels and looks smoother and more silky.  It also smells lovely!  I'd suggest that using it as a primer is the best course of action, if you have an uneven skin tone and want a good base before applying foundation.  One tip I would say is that you need to apply your foundation before the skin reviver dries, so be quick!


The product is fairly cheap compared to a lot of primers out there, and I am planning on continuing to use it as an every day product, I use something else that I'll talk about later for special occasions.  


The other bonus is you could easily wear this on holiday without foundation over the top, as it does make your skin look more radiant and less tired.  It certainly isn't a miracle product, but it has definitely become part of my daily skin care routine, and even now 12 hours after I applied it, my skin still feels smooth!


So overall, I would recommend it if you are looking for a cheap-ish primer to help even out your skin tone and make it easier to blend your liquid foundation that you can use every day with no hassle.


Vic x

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/_en/_gb/catalog/product.aspx?ParentCatCode=C_SkinCare&CatCode=C_SkinCare_Moisturisers&prdcode=83285m&cm_mmc=FusePump-_-GoogleShopping-_-TagMan-_-Link

The start of something beautiful?

Hi lovely potential readers!  My name is Vic, I'm a soon to be 30 something Brit and self-confessed beauty product addict.  I'm not particularly vain, but I do care about my hair, skin etc and as a result, end up purchasing a lot of products. 


I used to read an awful lot of beauty product reviews, and most of them were obviously sponsored by cosmetic/beauty product companies, so never really gave honest opinions about how a product works.  I find this terribly annoying, as I really value objective opinions on the numerous expensive products the media shoves in our faces daily.


I think there a few worthwhile things you should note if you intend to keep reading, or have just started reading my blog.  Firstly, keep in mind that all of my reviews are products I have actually tried myself, more than once.  I have a specific skin/hair type, so if I talk about a product I haven't found great, it doesn't mean it won't work for you.  This is just MY opinion on how the product worked for ME. I have fair skin that is a little dry. I don't have spotty/oily skin so never by products with those issues in mind.  I have naturally ginger, somewhat frizzy hair (well, not now thanks to the wonder of some products!) so if you have poker straight super shiny hair, I'm sure nothing I use is going to improve on your already awesome locks!  


I am really happy if anyone wants to leave me recommendations of products to try, or personal opinions on products.  I think we all find things work differently for us, and all I'm ever trying to do is be honest and objective. 


So, without further ado, I shall get on with my first review!


Vic x