No more droopy lashes for me!! Mascara review

In a previous post of mine (I think before i headed to Rome) I pointed out how i despised wet or humid weather because my curled lashes would always droop and go back straight (I have dead straight lashes). Some people had pointed out to "use waterproof mascara", but I have before!! In the past, waterproof mascara had made my lashes go straight again, it wouldn't hold my curls.
 But i decided to give it another try. As you all know if you have read my old posts, my now all time favourite mascara is "The colossal" by Maybelline; it gave my lashes a lot of volume and it held my curls amazingly well. So i decided to try the waterproof version:

Maybelline: The Colossal Waterproot formula

It's the same packaging as the normal mascara, but you can differentiate them by the shiny blue writing for the waterproof tube.

The waterproof mascara is amazing, it holds my lashes in place and it doesn't budge! I've tried this out for the past month now, it's been so rainy here in London so I had fun walking in the rain without an umbrella just to make sure the mascara works, people must have thought I was crazy for being so cheerful during such terrible weather! My lashes no longer droop when they get wet by the rain, hurray!

 I don't think the mascara would cope in a humid condition though, I left it on through a shower and the steam made my lashes droop again. A bad point would be the mascara gives me no volume unlike the non waterproof one. In fact, it actually makes my lashes stick together. However, i have overcome this problem! First i would apply the non waterproof on and build up the volume, after i let that dry for 5seconds i put a quick layer of the waterproot formula to set my lashes, and it works like a dream =)

I took this after a full day of uni (university) and it had rained that day.

Applied non-waterproof formulae first, then the waterproof formulae, my lashes didn't stick together as much and it's rain proof!

I would give the waterproof mascara 4/5 because of the fact it doesn't give my lashes volume, but at least it's rain proof! You cannot imagine how happy i am that now i'm immune to the rain!
Oh and by the way, waterproof mascara is a b*tch to take off! Grr!

I'll take this opportunity to also review the Maybelline falsies mascara too, which is this one:

The brush is curved, i don't mind this brush, it's quite easy to use. You can see the slightest fibres on the brush.

This mascara is the fibre formula, you can see the tiny fibres on the brush which extends your lashes when applied to make them look longer like false eyelashes. My honest opinion? I didn't really see a difference, nor did i see much length change. Volume wise, it's not as great as the colossal. Don't expect this mascara to be anything like fiberwig! I'd give it 4/5 because the price is great (£6.99), it's fine as an ordinary mascara for everyday use, it does give a little volume, but it's nothing special.

So i think many of you must have given up reading a while ago (sorry for the long post!), but for those that stayed, thanks for reading all the way! I leave you with my new favourite necklace i made recently:

My hand-made adorable necklace. Don't forget to check out my jewellery shop here.

Lots of love! xX <3

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara: Really Worth the Hype?

Rimmel has brought out a shiny new mascara with the most tantalizing of promises - not only does this is this supposed to make your lashes look longer and lusher, it's supposed to contain ingredients that promote lash growth, thus making your lashes grow and actually be longer after 30 days of use! Just check out their press release, which has these grandiose claims: "Instantly, lashes appear up to 80% longer. What's more, with continued use, they look fuller, stronger and lusher – up to 117% longer after just one month. Don't want to wait? Well, take a look at this figure: Consumer test results show that 88% of women saw longer, lusher and more numerous lashes after 1 week of usage."



That's a tall claim, and you know I love a challenge. And indeed, with my puny Asian eye and wimpy lashes (you know, short, sparse, and they GROW POINTING DOWN. WTF), I do personally believe that when it comes to mascara, I am a tough, tough customer. I have a few favourites, but none that I can call my true love, and so I'm always fiending for the next new thing. So while the jury is still out over whether I'm going to see longer, lusher, or more lashes after usage, I can tell you if, as a mascara (instead of as a treatment), it sucks or not.

The packaging of the Lash Accelerator is in a nice slim black tube, with holographic print declaring the mascara name. The cap is green. The outside is really sleek and pretty. The brush is your normal brush tapered at either end. Nothing special, really. But of course, the special thing about this mascara is not the brush, but the lash-growing formula, right?



First off, here's a picture of my eye, with no mascara at all. Try not to laugh, OK? I already said I had puny wimpy lashes! As you can see, my lashes are generally not my best feature. They're short, thin, and because I have what I like to call a "hooded lashline" (you know, when the lashline is covered by a fold of skin, much like the way some crease lines are hooded because they're covered by a fold of skin - it seems to mostly affect Asian eyes as far as I know), my lashes grow pointing downward. Thank goodness for lash curlers.



Because of my eye's, ahem, unique features, I end up being a very demanding mascara consumer. I want length. Lots of it. I also want volume, and lots of it too. Oh and did I say it also had to hold a curl? I don't particularly care if a mascara is waterproof or not, because my eyes aren't smudgy by nature, so I generally don't have problems with mascara smudging. Washable mascara's just fine by me, and it's easier to remove too. It just seems that washable mascaras don't hold a curl as well as waterproof ones, which is a perpetual source of sadness for me.

So, this demanding consumer, with excited, bated breath, held up the glorious wand which promised her lash growth and lengthening. And she applied the mascara, carefully, attempting to reach every last lash (hey, if it really does help my lashes grow, I'm going to coat every darn lash there is!). And this was the result:



Umm, okay. I guess the hype for this one had blown my expectations out of proportion, because as a mascara, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, It lengthened decently, and it volumized well enough, and it did hold a curl after a fashion, but honestly, I can think of other mascaras that worked better for me. It made me sad, it really did, because I was so excited to use it.

And you know what else? This is on the smudgy side for a mascara. I guess this has to do with Rimmel mascara formulas, which tend to be on the "wet" side (I have previously noted this when using Rimmel's Extra Super Lash Mascara). You can see in the close up photo of my eye that there are specks of mascara on my eyelid - those are NOT because I can't apply mascara properly, but they're there because when I opened my eyes after applying the mascara, it smudged onto my eyelid. And I don't even have oily eyelids. So when applying this one (as with other Rimmel mascaras), you might want to leave some time for it to fully dry before batting your lashes excessively.

Okay, the demanding consumer thought, unwilling to give up. So maybe one coat wasn't very impressive. But what if I pile on two coats? So she put on a second coat, and combed through her lashes with a lash comb (because you know, if you apply more than one coat of mascara it does tend to get a little clumpy and you have to brush out the clumps). And this is what she saw in the mirror:



I don't know. Are you impressed? I mean, it looks better, but it's two coats. Two coats, and a lash comb. If I'm really honest, I'd say I'm underwhelmed, especially after all the hype, what with Zooey Deschanel taunting me with her overgrown lashes in the promo pics and all (I hate you, Zooey, I really do). And you can see that when I opened my eyes after applying the second coat of mascara, it smudged onto my eyelid again - leaving behind more smudge marks. Sigh.

I'm heartbroken, I really am. I wanted to love this, but I think it's just eh-okay for me. Of course, mascara is highly subjective, so this might just work for someone else. And to be fair, every other blogger seems to be giving it a positive review except me. So maybe it's just me - like I said, my Asian lashes are very special and demanding. Only 2 or 3 mascaras out of the many I've tried have made me happy, and even then not "OMG SO AWESOME" happy, just "this seems to be the best I can do for now" happy. Seriously. Why is it that everyone likes this mascara except me?! *Groans and kicks dirt* Right now, I'm still using it to see how it works as a lash treatment, and I'll update on how it functions in that respect, but for now, the demanding customer's neverending search for a mascara continues.

(This product was provided for review. Yes, it was provided for review and I said it was just okay. So obviously I'm not affilated or paid by the company, and this review represents my honest and complete opinion.)

Mascara reviews; Maybelline Colossal and Fiberwig finisher

Hi all,
So the first Mascara I can't stop smiling about is Maybelline's Colossal, it's so good!! I've been using it for 2 months now, before this i've been using Dior Show (in black) for years.

picture from Superdrug.com

The Colossal holds my curl just as well as Dior's and is so much cheaper. Dior show in black is around £20.50, and the Colossal is only £6.99. Both these mascara's build up volume, however the Colossal gives more volume than Dior in my opinion, it also does a good job of keeping my lashes separate. I really love this mascara and definitely will purchase this from now on, and it's great to know i'm saving money on a mascara which performs just as well as a high-end brand.

I normally apply two coats.

(+) Affordable
(+) Holds my curls very well, no panda eyes or smudging but very easy to remove
(+) Gives good volume
(-) If I apply more than 2 coats my lashes begin to look clumpy
Overall: 5/5 Definitely recommend this!!

 -----------------------------------------------

Now on to Fiberwig finisher;

Picture from amazon.com

Note to self: NEVER rely on a guy to buy you the correct make-up!

A friend went to Hong Kong recently and I asked him to help me buy the infamous Fiberwig mascara. However he bought me the finisher instead, which is a smaller version with a tiny brush that is bent. 

Fiberwig, for those that don't know, is famous for their paint-on false lash effect, the mascara has tiny fibers which cling on to your lashes when applied and makes your lashes longer; to look like false lashes. 

The fiberwig finisher (also known as the tiny sniper- how cute?!) is designed for the hard-to-reach lashes such as the ones on the corners and your bottom lashes. 

I attempted to use the finisher on all my lashes, hoping it would perform the same as the normal fiberwig, however it gave me spider lashes!! Wasn't a great look.

I used it again after applying my normal mascara and only using the finisher on the lower lashes and the ones in the corner. The bent brush was very useful and made application so much easier, i didn't have to bend my arms all over the place and switch hands etc. The formulae, was unfortunately too wet for the fibers to work, none of them clung on to my lashes, but i'm sure the more i use it, the more it will dry up so the fibers will work better. 

(+) The brush is very handy to get all the difficult lashes

(-) The fibers didn't cling on to my lashes to make them longer

(-) Only suitable for lower lashes and hard to reach lashes, not as a proper mascara

Overall: 3/5, it's definitely something i don't need, I can pretty much reach all my lashes with a normal mascara, so i don't see a point in investing into another smaller mascara that does the same job.

I hope these reviews were useful!

*Do any of you ladies know a great waterproof mascara that holds your curls?*

Lots of love <3

Budget Beauty EOTD and LOTD: Beauty21's 3-for-£10

Much as I can be a sucker for anything pretty, packaged, and pricey, I do love discovering gems that aren't expensive, primarily because as a student on a limited budget, I'd have to starve myself for a month before I could even bear to entertain the thought of buying a Chanel eyeshadow. I have to admit, with my makeup obsession, I'd be tempted to do that, but I know that with my lousy sense of self-control (hence my immense stash of makeup and nail polish), I wouldn't even be able to starve myself for 5 minutes. So I usually attempt the cheapskate tactic of buying drugstore instead. Fortunately, there are plenty of awesome but inexpensive items out there to keep a girl on the budget happy.

Enter Beauty21, a cheap and cheerful online retailer that also dispenses advice on the side. In addition to being a retailer, they have an "Ask the Expert" section, courtesy of established makeup artist Sara Hill (an actual makeup artist! Not some badly-informed customer service personnel like some other companies *coughMACcough*), and they also have some interesting articles on their site. And shipping is cheap - local shipping within the UK is a mere £1.50, and overseas shipping is £4. That's a serious bonus for me - being a major cheapskate, I can't tell you how many times I've passed over a deal because I didn't want to pay shipping!

And since I've just admitted to being an I-want-that-deal-but-I-don't-wanna-pay-shipping cheapskate, my favourite section in the entire store is OF COURSE the 3 for £10 section (located HERE), encompassing a range of drugstore brands that contains a good array of drugstore products from staple brands (Rimmel, Maybelline, Bourjois, Sally Hansen), covering pretty much all the basics - lipglosses, eyeshadows, mascara, blush, and some nail treatments. I like it; it works out to be cheaper than waiting for the items to go on sale at Superdrug, and you get to mix and match across different brands, which rarely happens during drugstore sales. Some of the items are still in stores (like the Sally Hansen nail treatments, so if you're a regular user of any one of those it's probably cheaper to buy three at a go and stock up), and some of the items aren't carried in drugstores anymore, which is pretty cool if you like finding things you can't easily get in stores.

And since I wanted to prove that beauty doesn't have to cost a bomb, here's a demonstration of what you can get for your £10 in Beauty21's 3-for-£10 section:



I know! Isn't that adorable? It's a pocket-sized eyeshadow duo by the staple brand of European drugstores, Bourjois. This is the Petite Guide de Style Perfect Harmony Shadow and Contour palette. It contains two coordinated colours that you can use in a variety of ways to make your eyes pop. I got the colour 16, Crazy Baby.

Isn't that cute? I know you're going to want to see a picture of the inside of this little palette too, so here you are:



This duo consists of a shimmery vanilla colour and a forest-y ivy green colour. Isn't it pretty?

And it even comes with a tiny little mirror. I'm not sure how useful a mirror if this size is, but gosh it's cute:



That's only one out of three items though. The next item I got was Rimmel's Extra Super Lash Mascara:



And here is a close-up of the brush. This is your typical mascara brush with a tapered end:



And for the last item, my personal favourite, Rimmel Stay Glossy Lipgloss in Mauve Addiction. You know I love mauvey, rosy lipgloss shades, so this is definitely up my alley:



And a look at the brush. This brush is pretty interesting, and I don't think I've seen a brush like this one yet. It's a modified doefoot applicator, where both sides of the applicator can be used to apply the gloss to your lips, instead of just one side like your typical doefoot. I think that's kinda cool.



That photograph shows just one side of the applicator. The other side is also similarly slanted to allow you to apply lipgloss with both sides, instead of one. Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty nifty. Then again, doefoot applicators are my favourite, so I'm biased.

Of course, it would be immensely cruel of me to post pictures of these items and not show you how they look once applied. So, I did an EOTD and an LOTD using the products above!

Here's my EOTD. I have to admit I cheated on this one, and supplemented it with a brown shade from the Sleek iDivine Safari Palette. But you get the idea:



The highlight and lid shades were from the Bourjois Crazy Baby duo, the crease/contour colour is a shimmery dark brown from the Sleek Safari Palette (for those of you who want to know exactly which shade it is, it's the shade all the way at the bottom right corner). And then I lined with Stila Smudgepot in Jade. The mascara is Rimmel Extra Super Lash.

Not too shabby eh? I did find that the Bourjois duo was not particularly pigmented - it was decent, but required a couple of layers for the colour to be true to pan. The shimmery vanilla shade was also less pigmented than the ivy green shade, but it's nothing that is too difficult to work with. I did notice that the instructions said you can use the shades wet, though, so perhaps if foiled they might be more vibrant, but I didn't try them on wet. These were all worn dry. I really should try out the ivy green wet though, it looks like it could be gorgeous when wet.

The mascara was just okay for me. I wore it a few times, and I think it's better at adding length than it is at adding volume. It was decent, but not spectacular. I think it might work best on girls who have lashes that are numerous but short. Of course, mascara is very user-dependent, and one person's holy grail can be another person's trash bin item (case in point: Maybelline Full n'Soft mascara. It's universally loved, but did jack squat for me). It does generally seem to get good reviews, though, which is why I tried it in the first place. *Mutters* Stupid wimpy Asian lashes...Makes finding a mascara so hard...*Kicks a rock* The consistency of this mascara is also on the wetter side, so I do think this will get better with more use as it dries up slightly and takes on a more creamy consistency.

Wear time on both items was pretty good. I wore this EOTD out for one day, and at the end of the day I experienced neither smudging nor creasing, and only slight fading. The mascara stayed put and didn't smudge. They actually fared better than I expected!

Anyway, on to the lipgloss! I somehow knew I would love this by just looking at the picture on Beauty21's website, and what do you know, I was right! Do I have lipgloss telepathy or what?

First, here's a picture of my naked lips, just so you can see how beautiful the lipgloss is and really appreciate it on me:



So now that I've made you suffer by looking at my naked lips, here is what Mauve Addiction looks like on:



Isn't it a beauty? I totally hearts this. It's a beautiful glossy wearable shade of mauve. When Rimmel called these Stay Glossy, they weren't kidding - these are really glossy! I can imagine these looking totally awesome with matte makeup everywhere else - the glossiness of the lips will contrast the matte makeup nicely. And I generally hate glitter in my lip products with a passion, but the glitter in this one doesn't show up much at all, so I think it's still work-appropriate. I also really like the formula of the lipglosses - they are similar to the Revlon Super Lustrous lipglosses, but slightly more tacky, which is a plus for me, because I do find the Revlons a little bit too "wet" for my liking, and wears off a little too fast. But they're similar enough, so if you liked the Super Lustrous range, you'd probably like this too.

In terms of weartime, these were pretty good, as far as lipglosses of this nature get. They didn't last past a meal (but then again I've yet to find one that does), but they definitely lasted longer than the Super Lustrous did on me, and they basically stayed on as long as I didn't eat. I really like this gloss, and the Nude Signature colour looks really pretty too...

For £10, I feel this isn't bad at all. It's almost a complete look - all we're missing is the blush. What do you think? Good value for £10?

(The three featured products were sent to me for review. I am not paid for this review. This review is my full and honest opinion.)