The cheat's way to get rid of tired looking eyes in the morning..

Many a morning I wake up, look at myself in the mirror and wonder why I didn't go to bed earlier the night before.  Then I get distracted by what to wear and what the weather looks like outside and of course, the typical English dilemma of whether I should or shouldn't take a coat with me.

When I'm truly tired, I get puffy eyes that don't really look too sexy.  Until recently, I didn't really know how to get rid of them and to make myself look half awake.  I'd pile my makeup on and just get to work but you could see the underlying tiredness from a mile off.

I recently lost a lipstick and whilst searching for that, I came across a product that I haven't used since I got it as a freebie in Glamour magazine. And if you think it's a Benefit product, you'd be right.  Now I have never been Benefit's biggest fan and even now, I'm still not a fangirl.  I like some of their stuff but wouldn't go as far to call them must haves.  This might the closest I ever get to calling a Benefit product a must have.  Click here to see what else of Benefit's I have reviewed.

Anyway, the product I found was Benefit's eyebright.  I have used this a few times in the past as an inner corner highlighter but the colour was just far too stark against my skintone.  If you're white or Chinese, you can easily get away with using this as an inner corner highlighter but for us Indian, black and olive skinned gals, it's a no go.

I decided to try it on my waterline to see what it did and to my surprise, it managed to look quite natural.  I think Benefit are missing a trick not marketing it that way, I've read on their website and they say that you should apply it to the inner and outer corner of your eyes and blend.  Well, I say do that if you're not of a darker skin colour.  If you are of a darker skin colour then whack it on your waterline.

I team this product up with my trusty eyelash curlers (reviewed here and going strong on their second pad replacement), any mascara that is close to hand (I've been using the Prestige one as my other bottle finished and this is the last one I have left..and seeing as Boots have discontinued it, I won't be able to buy more, despite it being a fantastic thing and one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog).  I also use this Natralift Firming Eye Roll On from The Body Shop which I feel makes a difference..and the ball is very cooling on the skin.

If you've got more time then you could always put a decent inner corner highlighter on too, but as I am yet to find this, I have a bare inner corner.  The other thing that I tend to do once at work is line my upper lashline with some black eyeliner.  No flick though, I'm at work, not out knocking back the finest cocktails known to man.

And here's how it looks in its most basic way..

I'm not apologising for my eyebrows, I'm growing them out after someone f**ked them right up...

Now you might remember me hyping up Stila's Kajal pencil which is still all well and good but in the Summer months, it tends to be a bit too soft.  Fantastic for Winter though!

Talking of cocktails, I must warn you that if you like a decent citrus-y mojito, don't go to the Smollensky's in Canary Wharf as the people working there can never ever get this right.  Every time I go and ask for more citurs than mint, I end up drinking liquid toothpaste.  It's horrible and I have now given up asking for mojitos and I just stick to a bog standard glass of Chardonnay.

A KIKO Haul

Can it be a haul if all you buy is four things?

How many constitute a haul?

Whilst I think about that, you guys have a look at what I got from KIKO two weeks ago.

It was another trip to Westfield, somewhere that I feel I am spending far too much time these days.. But then, thinking logically about it, I don't have time to shop for makeup during my lunchbreaks so I get my fix on the weekends..and I've had to make these many trips for returns and the like.

Anyway! Here is what I picked up..

Everything here was on sale, the lipsticks were £2.50 each and I believe the mascaras were about £3.90 each.  I spent about £12.00 in total which is not bad for four products..

The lipstick is in a shade that a certain person I know refers to as "shit lips".  She said the same about Revlon's Mink which is my current HG lipstick for those days when you want to look polished but not done up.  It works fantastically on darker skintones but will make you pale ladies look like you've been salad tossing with a less than desirable bloke.

I can only apologise for this out of focus shot.  I took about five and somehow deleted all bar the one that was out of focus.

This differs from Revlon's Mink in that it is totally matte and does give me a slight corpse lip look.  However, that is easily rectified with some clear (non sticky!) gloss.  I like the Rimmel Stay Vinyl ones.

The mascaras, one is a cheap and cheerful version of Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara.  It was marketed as being for false lashes, but me being unable to apply those yet (must really get onto it..) has not been able to try it for that.  I can't see it not working well for lower lashes as the brush is practically the same as the Clinique one.  The other mascara is for massive lashes and I'm yet to crack it open.

I had a look at the other items on offer but nothing really grabbed my attention as the shop was quite busy and I wasn't in the mood the stick around and wait my turn...we all have those days!

Since being in store, I have looked at Naz's blog and seen this pencil, which looks gorgeous..but I don't really seeing it in-store?   I did see some cream blushes but I think I'm kinda over them now so I left them alone too.

I will be doing a full review on all the items when I've used them enough.

In the mean time, what are your opinions in KIKO? Is it cheap and cheerful? Or cheap for a reason?

A Revlon Haul

In Boots at the moment, they have certain Revlon products on sale for £5.00.

As far as I'm aware, it's on all mascaras and eyeliners and then on the lip stains.  I'm a bit confused by the whole affair though as when I checked online a few weeks ago, it was also on some lipsticks.  Now it seems to have been scaled back to only what I've mentioned above.  Online, they're still showing as in the promotion but it's not the same story in store.

I bought the following for a total of £20.  I've not heard much about the Just Bitten lip stains so I did a very un-beauty blogger thing and bought blind.  I've used the Grow Luscious mascara before (and I love it) but have yet to use the matching pencil.

Does anyone have any experience of the lip stains?  Anyone planning on picking some bits up?  I was quite surprised that they were reduced by so much as we seldom get these kinds of deals in the UK.  The Boots page for the promo is here..

Barbara Daly Lash Boost Mascara

The product featured here is a mixture of both my love of Tesco and my love of mascara.  I have never ever seen any Barbara Daly mascaras in Tesco before and I know exactly why this is.  In the Tesco where me and Simon shop, the BD display is at the end of the aisle and by the time I get there, I feel sorry for Simon because he's bored out of his mind wandering down an aisle crammed with makeup.  This is why I've never had time to properly look at her display.  I tried a different tactic once by approacing the aisle from a different direction but that didn't work as some div ran over my foot with a trolley.

Anyway, the mascara gods must have realised my plight and I was offered the chance to trial it.

Firstly, can I give a big thumbs up to whoever decided on the packaging.  I love it.  It looks sleek and actually stays sleek looking.  It's a lot shinier than my photos make out.  It's been rolling around in my bag for the past few weeks and there are no scratches on it. 

Secondly, the brush is an odd shape.  It looks as if someone has squashed the middle bristles.  We all know that the days of standard brushes are long gone and that mascara brush makers are getting more and more innovative.  A lot of the time these "innovations" fall flat on their face but I feel this brush shape is quite good.


I like the fact that it is called "Lash Boost" so suing for false representation will be super difficult as nearly all mascaras boost your lashes.

For those not as litigiously minded as me, I really like this as it is fantastic for a daytime mascara for me.  I whack on one/two coats in the morning and it holds up all day.  It not only manages to give my lashes a curl but it lengthens and thickens them perfectly.  You know sometimes you get a mascara that lengthens your lashes but totally forgets to add any volume to the base so you look silly?  This doesn't do that.  It manages to add the perfect amount of base thickness to length.

I was really surprised when I used this as I (to my shame) didn't expect much from it.  However, it has since gone into my top five mascaras.  I know I say that all the time but this has seriously impressed me.  I think I might buy my top five and play them off against each other at once to see how far I get.

Here is how it looked on the eye.  I realise now why the brush is the shape that it is, it lets you get the outer lashes in the first go.  The mascara manages to give my lashes such a good curl that I don't need to use my trusty lash curler.

The consistency of the actual mascara is just about right for this brush.  The last thing you want to be doing is dabbing the brush in and out a million times as that not only wastes time but also throws more bacteria into the mix.

It'll set you back about £6/7 quid and is available from Tesco.  I wrote my backup one off as a shopping expense because in my mind, anything bought whilst food shopping, doesn't strictly count as makeup..a policy that Simon is none too impressed with when the trolley has more makeup in it than actual food.

The importance of using eyelash curlers

I bought these Boots Lift and Curve Eyelash Curlers because there was some kind of eyelash curler insanity going around the office.  We tend to have those..at one time it was berry lip tints, then it was Laura Mercier's Pistachio Body Cream (which smells BUFF but is too expensive for me to justify buying it again as I use it up like it's going out of fashion) and then it was eyelash curlers.  I was going to pick up the Shu Uemura curlers but the SA's weren't too helpful so I moved on.

I used these and was amazed at how well my lashes curled.  They were all sort of pokey uppy (I told you I was shit hot on the technical terms) and my eyes looked really awake.  I only realised today that they also make it look as if I have lined my eyes when I haven't which is always a bonus if you're in a rush (as I always am).

However, I have an issue.

I need to use my left hand for my left lashes and my right hand for my right lashes, I'd prefer being able to use one hand for both eyes.  Is using both hands the norm with lash curlers or should you be able to do both eyes with one hand?  When I did use one hand for both eyes I found that the lashes on the left didn't curl as well (I had to do it in two steps) and also that the curlers gripped my skin.

Another thing I found.. If you have a mascara that is crap, curl your lashes and then apply it and see your mind change.  I thought that this Rimmel mascara wasn't all that but when I use it with these, it really comes to life.  I can't imagine how well it'd work with mascara that I love.

The proof is in the photographic pudding..

See the faux liner in the second picture?

You get replacement pads with these which I like as you don't have to fork out for a new curler when the pads go manky.  This brings me onto my next problem..how do you know that the pads have had it? And how do you replace them? I might have to Youtube that and see.  I've been using them every single day for about two months now and they don't seem like they need replacing yet.

As you can tell, I'm more than impressed with these..I don't think I'll get the Shu ones but then the devil inside keeps asking me that if the Boots ones are this good, how brilliant must the Shu ones be.

They cost me the grand sum of £6.64 but they with the Boots £5 off vouchers, you can get them for less than £2.  Get them here!

Benefit's Prrrowl..

Whenever someone mentions the word prowl, it reminds me of  a scene from Phoenix Nights (scroll to 7.28).  The way Brian Potter says prow-ul just cracks me right up.

Benefit's Prrrowl, although not as hilarious..is quite a useful addition to my forever growing makeup arsenal.

The mascara topcoat adds a nice subtle touch to you eye makeup that leaves people trying to guess what you've done.  It works better than traditional glitter mascaras that I've used as I find that the glitter is more densely packed here and the consistency is pretty smooth.

I find that the gloss works better over naked lips.  There's no photo of how it looks on the lips because I couldn't capture it in a way that showed it in its true light.  It is pigmented and spreads very well.  The shimmer is also consistently applied as it doesn't clump in places.

The lipgloss side smells like a proper new car does..my car lost that smell come the second week of January (boo!) but with a slight hint of peach.  It has blue shimmer in it..BLUE. SHIMMER.  That was more than enough to entertain my simple mind.  I like the way Benefit have used blue as that compliments the peach and seems to give the product something extra, something you can't find in every lipgloss out there.  The mascara side is nice too, I like the purple/turquoise glitter thing, using two colours really gives it something extra that most glitter mascaras don't have.

The swatches..

The gloss

Three coats on bare lashes.  This product is very hard to photograph up close but the effect is far more stunning when looked at from a distance.

If you're of the Asian persuasion and go to a lot of desi parties, shindigs, birthdays, weddings, pre-wedding parties, post wedding parties or just general desi get togethers then this will come in quite useful.  I've had to go to quite a few after work and this has been constantly in my handbag as it's easy to just whip it out and glamourise yourself with ease.  With this, I can keep my face on, spread some of the mascara topcoat over my liner and over my mascara.  Brilliant time saver!

I have been out and about trying to find a dupe for the gloss and I couldn't find one so if you can get away with wearing glittery gloss on a daily basis and you like this shade, pick it up because dupes are non existant.

I wouldn't have picked it out myself but now that I do have it, I'd recommend it if you can get away with wearing shimmery makeup. or if you need something quick to transform your makeup from day to night.  The mascara topcoat is fluid enough so you don't have some lashes coated in glitter whilst others remain bare and the lipgloss is pigmented enough to work on darker lips and the shimmer spreads well.

Prrrowl will set you back £19.50 if bought from their site (no link as it's currently not on there) or from their stores/concessions.  You can also pick it up from Boots, HoF and Debenhams (click the links to be take to the product).

Free Benefit Badgal mascara and makeovers at Debenhams

If you have nothing to do on Valentines Day (February 14th), why not hotfoot it down to Debenhams and get yourself yourself a free makeover and Badgal mascara courtesy of Benefit?


Alls you need to do is visit on of the 105 Debenhams stores with a Benefit concession, login to your Facebook profile via either the traditional route or the Facebook app, open "places" and then click on "check in". You obviously need to check in to Debenhams, which should feature on the list.

If you're one of the first 10 people to do this at your chosen store, you get yourself a travel sized Badgal mascara.  If you miss out that, it's still worth checking in as there will be free makeovers on offer all day.

Review: Revlon Grow Luscious mascara

I've had this a fair while now and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't open any new mascaras until I finished at least ONE old one.  It was torture knowing I had this in my drawer and couldn't crack open the wrapping and get to using..but I held on and when my Collection 2000 mascara went to the great mascara cemetary, this baby was ripped open with an amount of excitement which bordered on derangement.

Grow Luscious was released by Revlon at the time when "mascara with benefits" was the in thing..no longer did we (apparently) want a mascara to just make our lashes look longer, stronger, curlier and sexier but we also wanted it to make our lashes grow.  I'm not sure how that works as a gimmick as I find that good old Vaseline usually helps mine grow..and some brands should focus on making sure their mascara does the basics first, let alone runnning before walking.

At first I thought this was one of those mascaras that you had to use continually for 30 days or so until you saw some benefits.  I researched it (who said beauty bloggers were lazy?!) and found out that it was a hybrid mascara.

It makes your lashes look longer and more luscious (see what they did there?) on a daily but also helps them grow stronger in time..the stronger the lash..the harder it is to break I suppose.

A lot of people want their mascara to be packaged in a black tube, I don't know why that is but surely how the product works is more important?  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  I don't discriminate..I love the fact that tubes of mascara now come in bright colours because I often leave one in my bag and anything other than black is easy to find.  I've never lost my Maybelline Colossal before and I doubt I'll be losing this.

The wand is pretty long and pretty big, I wouldn't say chunky as it doesn't look cumbersome.  It looks like it gets the job done.  It's your standard mascara wand..no funny twig like bristles..it looks the way you'd expect a mascara wand to look.

And here's how it looks in the old lashes..I took the last two photos to show the amount of curl this mascara gives me but it's not entirely clear.  I've never used another mascara which gave me this amount of curl before.  Clarins managed it with this offereing but the Revlon one blows that right out of the water.  I never realised until I took those pics just how hard it is to take a photo of your eye at that angle, hence why they're not in the best focus.

This mascara has easily made it into my top 3 mascaras (the other two being this and this..the other third one was this by Boots No7 but it doesn't compete when this comes into the running).  The photos don't show how truly long it made my lashes..you can kind of see in the last photos but I was asked by about 10 different people if I was wearing false lashes.  My lashes are definitely thicker and longer.  You know sometimes when a mascara gives you these results and you touch your lashes and find they're rock solid? Not with this one, they stayed soft all day long.  When I open my eyes, my lashes hit the skin just under my brows..and that's just with one coat.  I had to steady myself when I imagined the results I'd get from two coats..or dare I even say it..THREE.

Another reason why I love this is because I've recently been doing the walking stereotype look a lot and I find that a lot of mascara don't highlight your lashes against the liner as much as you'd like them to..I like to see the lashes poking up over the liner and this is brilliant for that.

The mascara can be bought from the usual places and it retails for £9.99.

This month I have mainly been..

Given a very nice shade of  nail polish from my Grandmother.. (if only the staying power of the polish was as strong as the staying power of the aforementioned Grandmother).

Going food shopping and finding some brilliant bargains (it was originally £8)

Eating far too many of these..and I mean far too many, I ate three in one evening.

Stabbing myself with a quick unpick (cucumpuck to the Indians amongst us) whilst trying to liberate a mascara.  It was a futile mission as the mascara isn't that brilliant but it DOES hug your lashes.

So, I ask you:

Review: Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara

I bought this mascara totally on a whim the other week from Boots, mainly because you got a free eyeliner with it and I'd heard great things about the eyeliner.   

The mascara cost more than the eyeliner did and to a sensible mind, buying the eyeliner alone if that's what you really wanted would make more sense but I'm not a sensible person.

Plus, I quite like the packaging, it looks like a hybrid of Maybelline's Colossal and Stiletto.

The brush is MASSIVE, not chunky wise like my Prestige brush but length wise, it's pretty big (ooh err).  The mascara consistency itself seems ok, not too thick nor too thin.  Pigmentation is ok.  I know the review seems a bit wishy washy at the moment but that's all I observed of it.

I bought Ultra Black because brown doesn't do much for my lashes as they're black anyway.

What do Collection 2000 say?

"New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara provides sensational lashes that really stand out from the crowd. The unique 3D lash coating tube technology will plump and stretch each individual lash without clumping or smudging. New Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara also introduces the biggest brush yet from Collection 2000, and with new slim line, sleek and sexy packaging, it’s perfect to pop in your purse for a stylish pick up for your peepers! New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara is set to re-create the false lash look with the mere wave of a wand. Achieve phenomenal length and volume!"

What do I say?

Firstly, brace yourselves..this review bit comes with an extra order of rambling.

I've used it a few times since I bought it and my opinion kept changing until I settled on one view. The first time I used it, it just lengthened them and that was all.  No false lash effect at all.  

I used it again and coated my lashes about 4 times.  I applied each coat whilst the one before was still wet so it was easy to mesh them all together as one.  I think that the consistency of the mascara itself is pretty good in this respect, it doesn't dry so quickly that you can't build up your lashes.

I wasn't impressed seeing as I could get this result from one coat with my Maybelline Colossal and application was quite fiddly with this to get it up a nice standard.  Not false lashes by any stretch of the imagination, just lashes which had mascara on them and looked a bit enhanced.

I went back a few hours later and my lashes looked totally different, they're longer, thicker and look pretty good..I'm finally impressed.

Then I went back again and the mascara had flaked pretty badly which is not what you want on your under eye area as it's pretty hard to remove without giving yourself premature wrinkles.

It's a shame that you have to figure out a way to use it properly before getting any results. I don't think many people would carry on with it after 2 coats but 4 seems to be the magic number here.  5 gave me really heavy lashes.

Repurchase?

Nope.  If you're looking for a false lash effect mascara and don't mind coating your lashes up then get it.  If you want an everyday mascara that doesn't clump and stays on for ages then you should also get it.  If you want no fuss fake looking lashes then there are other mascaras which will do the job better.

Review: Clarins Wonder Perfect mascara

This is yet another post from my vault, I've given up calling it the draft "file" because blue moons show up more frequently than my draft posts.  Do take this into consideration when reading as I've probably made points which are now, no longer contemporary and have either gone down in history or passed by unnoticed by everyone bar me.

Here we go..

I was on my computer a good few Fridays ago "working from home" (read: trying to win a Giles Deacon scarf from the Nibbles Boutique..which has now already been worn by me for about a million years) and Charlotte twittered about Clarins giving away some free mascara and, well.. it doesn't take a genius to figure out what a mascara fiend would do having heard this news. I emailed Clarins on the Friday afternoon and my mascara made an appearance on Tuesday.  That's pretty speedy for a freebie.

Clarins claim it is "A high-glamour mascara which gives lashes incredible volume, length and curl! They are perfectly coated and intensely coloured from the first brushstrokes." 


They go on to say that "lashes are coated in an ultra-flexible film which thickens them from root to tip. They are visibly longer and curled while remaining light and supple. A high concentration of pigments creates an intense colour effect, from the base of lashes, to give a beautiful eyeliner effect. For a flawless make-up result from morning to night."

VOLUME. LENGTH AND CURL. AND CURL. I know I'm not the only one who wants a mascara to thicken and lengthen adequately.  Curl has never really been high up on my list of what a mascara should do but I think maybe now I should think twice..


Practically every mascara out there claims it will give you natural looking fake lashes (if ever there was such a thing) and a lot of them fall flat on their behinds.  My most notorious "false lash giver" is  Benefit's BadGal mascara which did nothing apart from smear everywhere.

So, let's see how we got on with Clarins, which by the way is my first high end mascara (I discount Benefit as being high end for some reason..)

The mascara:

The packaging isn't too standout and almost looks a bit dated.  However, this is only a sample and I saw the full sized product in Debenhams and it is packaged in a rather futuristic and sleek silver packaging with red writing..see it here.

The brush:

It doesn't look like any of the bigger brushes that I've had success with so I wasn't sure it would do anything..however, the coating of the brush didn't go unnoticed by me. It was covered just enough for me, notice how none of the bristles look clumpy yet are still covered enough. I loved the way it was coated properly but so that you could also see the bristles you were working with.

I wasn't holding out much hope for this little beauty at all..I tried it on yesterday and was pretty impressed by how well it performed after one coat.  I tried it out again and I'm still impressed.

Clarins have hit the nail on the head re. mascara consistency if you ask me.  I've always had mascaras which I felt were too clumpy when they came out on the brush so I'd have to be careful when putting it on my lashes, then I'd have mascara which was far too runny and would need a million coats before it showed.  The consistency of this mascara is great, it coats the brush but you can't see any clumps, no clumps on brush means no clumps on eyes.

After applying I did my usual mirror/glasses test and was majorly impressed.  This mascara has managed to lengthen my lashes which is no mean feat as they are pretty long already, thicken them at the base AND give them a killer curl.  I never realised before what a curl could do, my eyes look like little almonds..well chuffed, is I.  I've been using this mascara practically every day since I recieved it and it's nearly finished because the results I get now aren't the same as I got when it was brand spanking new. The eyeliner effect has disappeared slightly but that's my own fault really for using it so much.

I also noticed that it made me look as if I had put eyeliner on too which was great; a time saving mascara.  In my experience, mascaras which claim to thicken and lengthen always make your lashes rock hard so that if you accidentally rub your eye, you take half your lashes away.  This is not the case with this mascara, my lashes were soft and human like all day..

This is how it looked, glasses test has been included as I felt it illustrated the point (and it helps us specky four eyes see what it will look like on a day to day basis)

See, pretty impressive under glasses.  Excuse the mess on the lens, that is NOT lash dandruff (honest!)

 

This is just to show the length you get with the mascara, you can't see the curl too well here but I wanted to show that it holds up to all it promises, hence the million and one shots.

 

There is a minor curl here but that's because the mascara is running out (it took me that long to get a shot). I rambled on about the curl and the eyeliner effect but trust me, it is there. I've never lied to you lovelies before and I don't see what I'd have to gain from lying about this.  You get a mean curl from this mascara before it starts running out.

When I came to take it off I realised just how pigmented it was, I had to use two wipes on each eye to get it all off.  I have never ever had a mascara as pigmented as this one.

There is only ONE drawback to this mascara, I didn't notice it so much yesterday but noticed today that there is a fair bit of transeference onto your under eye area if your eyes get a tiny bit watery.  Most mascaras just flake off but this hangs around, not sure if that's a good or bad thing though.. Also, if you don't let it dry and close your eyes, you get the same thing. However, it was really easy to remove with a damp cloth.  Plus, if you poke yourself in the eye, your eye doesn't sting and go red which is also nice.  Clarins DO make a waterproof version of this mascara but I would like to get a sample of it first methinks just in case they have changed the formula.

Purchase?
Affirmative, chief. I would purchase the full size of this in a heartbeat.  In fact, once I've gotten through my remaining mascaras I think I will purchase this beauty because one coat gives you everyday stunning lashes and more than one gives you night time lashes. RESULT.  I'm super chuffed that for once, a mascara has written a cheque its arse can cash.  The mascara does have an ultra flexible film (no hardness) which thickens lashes, it does make lashes longer and curlier, the lashes are light and supple, there is a high pigmentation and you get the liner effect.    

Clarins, you have done me proud.

Wonder Perfect mascara from Clarins retails at £17.00 and is available in black, brown and blue.  That's quite reasonable for a high end mascara seeing as Maybelline currently have their Pulse Perfection mascara on sale for £14.67...well, it WAS £14.67 but now the PP is priced at "under £10".

Review: Revlon DoubleTwist Mascara

The lovely people at Revlon must have seen that I was a mascara fiend and they sent me the Revlon DoubleTwist mascara to review.  I got the mascara on November 19th and have been wearing it for a few weeks now.

This wouldn't be a review by me if there wasn't some waffling about the general procedure of getting the mascra and trying it, so here goes...

The mascara arrived in a pretty big Jiffy bag.  A bag which was pretty big considering I was just getting a mascara.  I opened the bag and found the mascara tube wrapped in black tissue paper, a little leaflet about the mascara and a lot of Revlon DoubleTwist mascara sweets. I quite like this little touch, it wasn't just one or two sweets, the bag was pretty full.
My first impressions were that the tube is MASSIVE.  It's the chunkiest tube of mascara I have.  I thought the Prestige tube was big but this is bigger. It's shorter than most mascara tubes though.  It contains 0.40 fl oz. of product.

For some reason I thought it would be double ended like the one from Maybelline.  The mascara look dry and wasn't coated on the wand as it normally is but I gave it a bash and my findings are below..

Revlon say:
"It's worth a double take..massive volume and remarkable definition.

You can have it all.  Volume and definition are achievable with one magnificent brush.  The NEW Revlon DoubleTwist mascara is the next generation of mascara with a revolutionary 2 in 1 brush that combines the lash building properties of a traditional brush with the comb-through precision of a moulded brush.  The result is enviable volume and definition with a rich colour impact."

What's the USP I hear you ask? Well, Revlon say that this mascara is.."the next generation of mascara technology:

• creates massive volume and remarkable definition
• volume boosting formula with intense pigments provides plump, luscious volume and rich colour impact like never before
• innovative spherical polymers or "swelling spheres" in the formula roll onto lashes to create increased volume and a smoother texture for a better application
• opthalmologist tested"
  

The blurb said all the right things to me as I would LOVE a mascara that makes my lashes look thicker and knockout.  My lashes are quite long and thick as it is but I'm always looking for a mascara which will take it to the next level.  So far, Clarins is the baby doing it for me.

I used to be in love with the Rimmel Extreme Definition mascara as it had a comb applicator and really let me get to the roots.  It didn't provide much volume but it worked a charm for lengthening etc..My demands from a mascara have changed as the mascara industry has itself made strides in what it can offer customers and now I look for a mascara which lengthens, thickens and can curl too (Clarins manage this perfectly).

As the brush is a new design, Revlon provide some application tips:
"Apply 2 coats starting from the base of the eyelashes extending to lash tips, wiggling mascara wand slightly from side to side for desired lash look.  Use the tapered tip to reach corners of eyes and bottom lashes".

What does "desired lash look" mean? Anyway, I followed these tips and even applied mascara to my lower lashes (which I normally never do).

How did I get on with it?
I think you guys have gone long enough without any pictures so I'll treat you, here's what I got in my parcel:

Firstly and most importantly, this is what the gorgeous sweeties looked like:

They're really nice..but my brother has appropriated the lion's share for himself.

This is the leaflet I got with the mascara, look how flawless they've made her skin look.  I'd kill for skin like that..

The tube of mascara, it's pretty thick and stumpy (not a bad thing) and it's actually red and not orange as my camera has made it look. I like the fact that the casing is not black as it makes it easier to find in your bag, I pointed that out as being a good thing in my Prestige mascara review. I like the fact that you can find something without having to root around for it.

 I got the following shade:

The brush is a hybrid, this is my David Bailey attempt:

And this is what it looks like without the mascara on it (click on the photo to see it in super close detail)

As soon as I took the mascara wand out I saw that the whole wand wasn't coated "properly".  I applied it and I got a decent enough result but clumping was evident.  I cleaned the wand and dipped it again and applied.  Once again the mascara stuck to the wand in a haphazard way.

The eyes, both alone and with the glasses test:

I kept on with the mascara and have now worn it for two weeks.  Over the period of the week my opinion on it has changed dramatically, mainly because I never apply mascara in the same way on any two given days.

I have to say that you do get bigger looking lashes etc..but you have to be careful how you apply it so that you don't get clumps.  If you clean the wand then that really helps matters. I found that the best way to apply it would be to do a swift criss cross action when putting it on. It is pigmented but I've used ones which are more pigmented.


I put it on again today and decided to take some "glasses test" photos for you guys and I saw that the mascara looks knockout from a distance, i.e. when you're viewed from a human angle. It really elongates and thickens the lashes. There is some clumping but you can get rid of that by cleaning the wand. I still think that Revlon need to work on the formula of the mascara a bit, make it a tiiiiiiiiiiny bit runnier and it will work a charm.

The only claim I really have an issue with is this:

"Innovative spherical polymers or "swelling spheres" in the formula roll onto lashes to create increased volume and a smoother texture for a better application"

I don't really agree fully with this claim.  I agree with the increased volume because my lashes do look mega but I don't agree with the smoother texture and the rolling formula as when you look close up, the formula isn't really that smooth as I saw definite clumps. The increased volume is deffo present though and your lashes don't harden up which is great.  Usually, the mascaras that promise length and volume make your lashes rock solid. This mascara keeps them soft all day long..plus there is no flaking..

Purchase?
Yes, but t'aint a first choice purchase.  I'm going to separate this part as I have mixed feelings about the brush and the formula of the mascara. Had I based the review on one usage, it would be a no as you have to learn how to use the brush and clean it to get decent results.

The formula
I LOVE the fact that it gives you bigger looking lashes but I don't like the fact that you have to master a technique re. application and that you have to clean the brush to get your lashes looking great sans clump. Revlon need to work on the fomula of the mascara a bit as it does (at times) obscure the usefulness of the new brush.

The brush
The brush, however, is deffo a hit with me, if Revlon work on the actual consistency of the mascara, they'd have a hit on their hands. I really like the fact that you get the larger plastic bits for bigger lashes and the brushy part for the smaller lashes. As I said, it's the consistency which holds back how good the brush is. Once I cleaned the mascara off it and re-used it, the results were 10 times better.

The US website states that it is available in four colours but the leaftlet states that there's only one shade, Blackest Black and RRP is £8.99.  Maybe we get the rest of the colours if this one takes off?

What the hell is that?!

Has anyone ever thought about why certain products are packaged in certain ways? Especially those which you find hard to use in their current state?  Ever wondered why some companies are hit and miss with their packaging?

I'm talking mainly about three products.

The first product is mascara.  I never know when my mascara is finished, no matter how much I use it, it never finishes.  I used a Rimmel mascara for a year and it was still going strong.  Now, seeing as you're meant to chuck your mascaras away every three months and you get a lot of product in each tube, I think that "someone" should come up with a way to make the shelf life of mascara longer.  Obviously that's not top of the agenda for many scientists out there who are trying to find cures for far more pressing issues but maybe some cosmetologists should look into that?

I think mascara tubes should be clear so that you can see how much you're using and how much you have left so you're not caught short.  I can't see how having a clear mascara tube can be more expensive than having one which is plastic, coated in colour and then coated with text? Is it because manufacturers are scared that we won't like what mascara looks like? I think we're adult enough to realise it's just black stuff.  Lipglosses and clear mascara comes in clear tubes so I don't know why mascara gets special treatment? You could still print all the needed info onto the casing of the mascara so all laws would be complied with.

My second gripe is UDPP.  EVERYONE hates the packaging on this and those who don't are lying.  I don't know why UD haven't taken more notice of customers who dislike the packaging.  They took a slight bit of notice and changed the shape of the wand which doesn't really help matters because what do you do when you come into the bottleneck? I assume it gets stuck.

The shape of the bottle would mean (in my mind) that it can't be the easiest shape in the world to produce and that you'd need some nifty machine to carve out the exact same shape.  I'm sure it would be cheaper to just put the product into a squeezy tube a la Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I know UDPP goes off quickly when exposed to air but TFSI comes with a screw on lid which UDPP could mimic.

It kinda seems to me that UD KNOW how good their product is and can rely on the fact that people keep buying it and depotting it themselves so that THEY don't have to change the design of the product themselves.  Surely there are cheaper ways for them to make the packaging which would result in lowered costs of production for them and ease of use for the customer.  I personally wouldn't mind paying the same price for it if they changed to cheaper packaging as it is a really good product.

My last product is the Barry M blusher that everyone has been raving about recently.  Questions were asked as to why the Natural Dazzle packaging looked so nice whereas the blusher packaging made it look cheap.  Barry M's people stated that they made the choice to provide an affordable product over how the packaging looked.  That confused me a bit, if that truly was the reason then why did the Natural Dazzle come looking like the younger sister of NARS? Surely both would have been packaged the same?

At the end of that long rant, I ask you guys the following:

• Which products do you detest the packaging of?
• How would you improve packaging on certain products?
• How much of a role does packaging play when you're deciding to buy a product? e,g. are you put off by cheap looking products and more drawn in by expensive looking ones or is the actual performance the sole factor you judge a product by?
  

Review: L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara

Firstly, I’d just like to say that this month has been VERY review heavy on my behalf and there haven’t been near as many FOTD’s from me as I would have hoped. This is all going to change next month as I’m embarking on my face chart mission and I will be putting up at least ONE face a week from the Urban Decay face charts.

Now with the review..

This is going to be a really quick post about this mascara which I’m sure everyone has seen or at least heard of. I originally bought this mascara on the way home from work one day and then decided to return it as I saw and broke a tester model. In my defence I just touched it and the head rolled off.

That’s enough of my criminal damage antics for now...I returned that mascara and bought two Prestige ones which have been reviewed here already.

Fast forward a good few months and I find I’ve won a L'oreal goody bag which contains the aforementioned mascara.

I decided to test it out today and the result are not good.

The pictures will help me explain the point a bit better:

The tubing:

Many apologies for the cackhanded photo, not too sure what happened there. The tube is quite nice in that the shape is conical in nature and I like that, looks like it's eyeliner instead of mascara.

The brush:

I liked this because if you just use the tip, you get no mess on your lids. Be warned though, if ANY part of the brush which has the big black square around it, touches your lashes, it's clump city..

The eyes:

It looks as if the mascara has smeared my lids a bit but sadly that's not the case and my lids look like that naturally, boo! I swear I'm the only one who suffers from that ailment in the whole word.

Good points

The colour is a nice shiny black, it's the colour the Stiletto promised it would be

The lengthening effect is palpable, it's one of the best lengthening ones I've used

It's very easy to use, for those of you who get messy eyelids from conventional mascaras, this is a god send as it didn't mess my lids up at all

Bad points

Only lengthens and I want thickening so I may layer it up

It doesn't get into the roots AT ALL, the way you see my lash roots is the way they are without the mascara

Getting anything other than the tip on your lashes causes clumping and makes the mascara apply unevenly

Lashes feel very hard and clumpy

Purchase?

I don’t think I will buy this as I don’t really look for lengthening mascaras on their own, I have to say that I am quite impressed with how long they looked in the mirror but it’s still a no as it’s rather pricey for me. If it was about £4.00 then I would buy it but I wouldn’t spend £8.80 on it. If you want a purely lengthening mascara then you won’t be sorry buying this one as it does do that. Also, the packaging mentions fanned out lashes, this mascara gives you this so if you want wide looking eyes then purchase it. I, however, am fine with what I have, I think I may team it up with a thickening mascara and see what becomes of it.