Maybelline Falsies Flared Review

Am I the only on that feels like Maybelline keeps releasing slight variations on the same mascara? They all have the same name, this one just has flared added to the name? I'm honestly not sure why they do that, since the mascaras all have very different brushes. I think they need a bit of help in the creativity department!

This new iteration of Volum' Express mascara promises to add volume by picking up every single little lash. The brush is a bit flexible, the wand is curved and has the nylon bristles (rather than molded plastic) that many of us are used to using.


I think my picture doesn't exactly do this mascara justice. In reality, there is a bit more volume in this mascara. It can be a bit difficult to apply, I really felt like the flexibility in the brush made me have to work to push the mascara onto my lashes. The brush kept flexing when I was trying to apply, really the flexibility seemed to work against me.

However, I do think this mascara offered good volume, some increase in length, and it held my curl all day. No issues with clumping, flaking or problems with removal.

Maybelline Volume Express

9

2 Steps to False Looking Lashes? DJV Beautenizer's Volume Lash

I wrote my Fiberwig Mascara Review nearly 4 years ago. At the time Fiberwig was the hot new mascara and it was flying off of the shelves at Sephora. I snagged my tube at Sephora in Chicago on Michigan Avenue. I happened to be standing directly next to the mascara display as it was being restocked. All of the tubes were gone within about 2 minutes.

If you read the comments in my original Fiberwig review, you'll see that Minty recommended layering Fiberwig over a volumizing mascara for a more dramatic look. This idea is perfect- the base of a volumizing mascara followed by Fiberwig, which really does have little fibers in it to add amazing length to lashes. Such a great idea!

DJV (the company that makes Fiberwig) asked me to try out Volume Lash as it was being released to the US. They recommend using it with the new Fiberwig XL, which came out this summer. When used together there are a few tricks to getting the best results, but the lashes at the end are well worth the trouble!

The first time I wore this mascara duo to work, I had about 5 conversations with complete strangers about my lashes. And were they real? How did I get my false lashes so perfectly applied and what was my secret? I also had a chat with my friend Pam about the mascaras, complete with writing down the names of products and giving application tips! Most people were shocked that they weren't false lashes, but were my own lashes. I also had a lot of issues with my eye wear on that day, every time I blinked my lashes pushed against the inside of my glasses so much that it was hard to completely close my eyes. And the glass was getting smudgy.


I took all of my before and after pics on a day that I was a bit light on the amount of mascara applied. I didn't want to make the mascara look crazy clumpy. I took the smaller pic above at the end of the day a few days later in which I'd used the duo normally, and had been kicking myself all day for not retaking a few before and after pics that morning. You can see that the volume and length are amazing, my lashes are up into my eye brows!

You should definitely check out the DJV Beautenizer website for some very helpful application tips. I've found that I need to wipe the wand very well with a kleenex before application or the clumps can just show up everywhere. I use the Volume Lash on my entire lash, wiggling it around to get a good application on all of my lashes. When the mascara is still wet I move on to the Fiberwig and apply this only to the last 1/3 or 1/4 of the lash. I want the fibers at the tips to create the extra length. Then I might use my metal eyelash brush to pull apart any clumps, but I've found that this technique avoids most of them. Once the whole kit and kaboodle is dry I then pull out my lash curler and use it only at the very base of the lashes. This creates a good curl that lasts all day (curling first makes it much clumpier during application and the lash will actually straighten out quickly).

Both mascaras are film-coating mascaras, so they create a coat of mascara around each hair. They are very smudge and flake resistant. During removal I use warm water and gently apply pressure to my lashes with my fingertips, kind of rolling the lashes and pulling down toward the tips to remove the mascara. Little pieces of mascara will just fall right off. If you try to use a regular eye makeup remover and rub you will end up with a difficult to fully remove glop of... gunk. Just don't do it. Use just warm water, a bit of pressure and your life will be much easier! I use makeup remover afterwards to fully remove my eye liner.

This is definitely the closest I've ever been to my ideal of having lashes that look false but are actually mine. I definitely call this a success!

DJV Beautenizer

7

Revitalash Full Volume Mascara and Primer

Recently I shared my Revitalash experience. Massively successful. So, I was pretty excited to try out this product duo. For some odd reason, lash primers make me happy (I must relish the though of making my eye makeup routine more complicated?). Sometimes though, those primers don't help much. For me, the ideal primer must actually do what it claims to do (add volume or length), not be a strange color (which will show through if you don't perfectly apply the mascara over it. White?? Worst color ever.) and finally, not make your lashes clumpy.


So, as you can see this is pretty much an amazing duo. They add volume, a bit of length and they hold the curl all day long. There are no flaking or smudging issues. While the mascara is pretty good when used alone, in combination with the primer there really is a boost in volume. The primer is a dark blue, though it dries to a darker navy. Not quite the black or brown that I would have preferred, though I had a hard time seeing that it was still blue once dried. It didn't seem to interfere with mascara application if there was no waiting time in between coats. And the best part, there were minimal clumping issues despite using 2 products.

This duo definitely gets a 2 thumbs up from me.

Revitalash

4

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara

My friend Amanda works at Sephora, and she recommended this mascara to me. I should state that she has amazing lashes and everything works well on them. Mine are good, her's are ahhh-mazing. (Quick aside to say hi to Amanda!) Apparently the Smashbox rep came in to Sephora, swiped a little of this across Amanda's lashes and she was in love. I bought some within 24 hours!

Per the Smashbox website:

Inspired by the on-set technique of layering a lengthening fiber mascara over a volumizing formula, our new studio-tested mascara exposes your longest, fullest lashes. No clumps, no flakes. Just maximum-impact, scene-stealing lashes.
• 104% increase in lash volume
• 32% increase in lash length
• 34-degree increase in lash curl

After all of those impressive looking numbers describing the effects of this mascara, a pic seems a tad anti-climatic. Really, I do think that the mascara looks good.

A few words of caution: The mascara tends to be goopy and can turn your lashes into spidery yucky lashes pretty easily. The mascara gets thick and sticks to the wand in big clumps. Easily avoided by wiping the wand with a kleenex. I know this is true of mascara, but it seems to be even extra true of this mascara. A small "nothing" clump that another mascara would laugh at becomes a much bigger issue with this mascara. Wipe the wand!

The brush really needs to be pushed on to the lashes to actually apply it. Once it is on there though... wow. This mascara does do a great job of adding length and volume. It can pick up every little lash and make it look huge.

At the end of the day my lashes barely deflated. No flakes or smudging in sight.

Smashbox

2

L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes: As Good As It Sounds?

When this mascara was released last year, it received a lot of attention. I wanted to try it, though I fully admit that I was a bit down on my lashes around that time, so spent less time and money on mascara (I've since fixed the problem). With the release of the Carbon Black color (I always pick the darkest black possible, Carbon Black is even darker than the "blackest black" in other mascaras), I had no more excuses. I had to try it out!

First, I have to fully admit that it was hard to review this mascara. I keep taking pics over and over. I couldn't tell my morning pics apart from my night pics. Seriously. Finally, I had a hair stuck in my lashes (yes! See below) and it helped things out. I could finally tell for sure that I had morning and night pics. I could post my review!



First, this mascara is pretty easy to use. The brush is plastic, with nicely spaced bristles. There is a "built in Clean Sweep system" to help keep the right amount of product on the wand and avoid clumps. It works perfectly, I never had to grab a kleenex to clean off a gloppy mess. The brush grabs every lash and does a good job of keeping lashes separated for the first layer. However, add extra mascara beyond 2 light coats at your own risk: it is easy for this mascara to enter the Tami Faye Baker realm of clumpiness. So, use only 2 light coats at the most, the pics above are 2 light coats (I don't use a lash brush to separate things for these pics. I do on my "off" camera days, but since most women skip that step so do I for my posts.) So, you can see that things do get a little bit clumpy, but not too bad.

I thought the mascara definitely added length and volume, but most impressive was how it maintained both in addition to holding the curl all day long. No smudging or flaking. It removed easily. I think I've found a new "go-to" mascara.

L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes

9

Revitalash: An Eyelash Conditioner that Works!

Press Sample Affiliate Link


So, I thought that today instead of sharing a mascara I would share something even better. Namely, an eye lash conditioner that works so well, I've decided to swear off testing this product category. I'm sure there will be other eye lash conditioners featured on this blog, but that's because I'll be bribing friends and family to take pics and review them for me. I'm going to use only Revitalash for now on.

I think this picture speaks for itself. I stupidly forgot to jot down the date of when I started testing Revitalash. But, I have emails about reviewing the product from May 2nd, so I believe it was about a week later that I had a tube in hand and was using it every night. So, it is definitely safe to say that this pic from late April (the before shot for a mascara that I didn't end up reviewing) is pre-Revitalash.



By late August I had about 3 months of use under my belt and there were some serious changes in my lashes. Again, in a pre-mascara image for an upcoming review, you can see that my lashes look much different. Both images show shadow, eye liner and my lashes are curled, no mascara has been applied. But in August my lashes are much longer and they appear thicker. I even had to lower the August image of looking up, my lashes wouldn't fit completely in the box!

So, what exactly is in this stuff? From the Revitalash website:

Does RevitaLash® contain a “drug” ingredient?
No. All of the ingredients in RevitaLash® are functional cosmetic ingredients that serve a cosmetic purpose

So, you aren't looking at a product that contains any drugs that will need to be monitored by a physician.

Here's the entire ingredient list:

Water/Aqua/EAU, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Dechloro Dihydroxy Difluoro Ethylcloprostenolamide, Biotin, Carmellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Swertia Japonica Extract, Biotinyl Tripeptide-1, Octapeptide-2, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Protein, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Glycerin, Cellulose Gum, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Phosphoric Acid, Disodium Phosphate.

While the listed peptides and anti-oxidants are frequently featured in my anti-aging checklist, I'm not sure that they're contributing greatly to hair growth. I bet they are helping out the skin surrounding the lashes more than the lashes themselves. Rather, I suspect that the Biotin listed in the ingredients is partially responsible for the lash growth. In studies looking at biotin and nail health it has been noted that Biotin use increases hair growth rates as well. In addition, the prostaglandin analogue (which makes it not safe for pregnancy) is important for the lash growth.

Revitalash is very easy to use. It has a small brush and the liquid is a clear, odorless liquid. Simply brush it along the base of your lashes every night. Easy peasy. The results for me have been pretty dramatic.

9/6/2011
I was lying in bed last night and realized I had completely forgotten to address something! Oh well, through the power of the internet, I can add it to the end of this post. Revitalash claims results in 3 weeks. I do think that my lashes were starting to grow at 3 weeks, so technically they were right, but it was about 6 weeks before I had the amazing lash results you see above. So, stick with it!

You can buy Revitalash at Nordstrom

Press Sample Affiliate Link

11

Mascara Mondays

So.... Obviously for mascara reviews I'm going to continue posting these pics. I think it is helpful to see how things look right before I apply (I even have my lashes curled), right after application and then after about 12-16 hours of wear, depending on the day. I don't wipe off any residue that might fall on to my cheek, I don't reapply and on these days I don't use a lash comb. Most women don't use one, so I skip that step on picture days to show how clumpy (or unclumpy) the mascara is with typical use.

Other things I try for with my mascara reviews: I've usually used a mascara for at least 4-5 days to get used to applying it, so I can let you know if I've discovered any tricks. I comment on how well I think things applied, how the volume, length and curl holding were initially and at the end of the day. If something is hard to get off I'll let you know.

I can't really think of any other items to include in these reviews, so let me know if you want any other info on mascaras! I should note that I've tried to take pics of the mascara from above, looking down on my lashes. So pretty, but soooo hard to duplicate in pic after pic for the same angle. I have enough problems getting a good pic just looking up. So, don't ask for those pics!

2

CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mascara

In the past, every time the words "natural" and "mascara" were linked, I inwardly groaned. "Oh sure, I'll try out your natural mascara," is what I said, but inside... I just knew to expect. Wimpy lashes that would rain down black powder and flakes onto my cheeks.

So, when I heard that CoverGirl, the makers of my beloved LashBlast Mascara, I was really unsure of what to expect. Would this just be "Natural" a'la those mascaras you could buy that promised natural looking lashes (I never got those, why even bother with mascara then?) or would this be different?



I think it is different, though I couldn't quite capture the lashes with a picture. No matter how many days I took these pics, they look clumpy. In person they are not clumpy. I can only assure you that they are not. Instead, they have great volume and length, and hold curl very well. My lashes look just as good at the end of the day. And there isn't a collection of black gunk on my cheeks either.

Apparently a few of the synthetic ingredients have been removed and in their place you'll find natural ingredients. Like honey. I only noticed because my lashes actually felt a bit softer and lighter.

CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mascara

2

Arbonne Triple Action Mascara Review

Arbonne has just released a new mascara that promises to pretty much be everything a girl could want in a single mascara product Length, curl and volume? Yes please!

I found that this mascara does take a while to get used to using. The brush has very densely packed bristles, and while that meant every little hair was able to be picked up, it also meant that sometimes it can be hard to transfer the mascara on to the lashes or to not have the ultimate Tammy Faye Baker-Spidery lashes. It took a few days to get used to it, but it seems to require a little bit more wiggle to the wand for the best results.


While this mascara promised triple action, I don't think it delivered very well on the curl. My lashes were curled prior to application, and during that process somehow they seemed to come out a little bit straighter. I did however get great volume and some added length with this mascara. By the end of the day I still had my volume, most of the length but none of the curl left.

The day I took these pics I was having a horrible, horrible day with my allergies. There was some eye rubbing despite all of my efforts to not touch my eyes! Notice that even though this mascara isn't waterproof, it stood up to any tearing and rubbing beautifully! Not a smudge or flake in sight.

Arbonne Triple Action Mascara

0

Length and Volume in 1 Step: CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara Review

I've been doing mascara reviews with my before, after and after a day of wear photos. You've seen my admittedly average lashes look long, volumized and curled. Sometimes things smudge like crazy or refuse to come off even with a great makeup remover.

You likely know that I want it all- easy to apply mascara that gives me that amazing look, maintains the curl all day long, won't smudge or flake off and is easy to remove. The mascaras that can do this go into my "Holy Grail" category. If you take a peek there you'll see that very few have met all of these criteria. In fact, it's been 2 years since I've tagged a mascara as Holy Grail (that was Max Factor's Volume Couture- You can't buy it in the US any more). 2 years of pretty good, but not amazing mascara. I was forced to layer lengthening and volumizing mascaras. Until today.

Somehow, I was not surprised that CoverGirl managed to create another Holy Grail mascara for me. With their Lash Blast line, they have created an amazing volume mascara, an even better lengthening mascara, and now they've saved me the trouble of layering the 2 together by creating LashBlast Fusion.

I use 2 coats of this mascara, and the results are amazing. My lashes are noticeably longer, and much, much thicker. There can be a little bit of clumping if I'm not careful, but with the rubberized applicator brush I do think it's easier to avoid this than with a "normal" nylon mascara brush. (I'm just now realizing that the pic above was likely one of my "clumpier" days.) At the end of the day I lose a little curl, but the volume and especially the length are still there.

How does it compare to the Original LashBlast and LashBlast Length formulas? It's a little less volume than the original formula, but I do find that this is more lengthening than the Length formula. (Maybe it's me, but I didn't get a lot more length from that formula) Fusion really is the best of both worlds.

CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion

6

A Contest and Review: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes

I'm a big Tarte fan. This brand is somewhat small, meaning they have a smaller product line of products that just seem to work. They have great lip and cheek stains, fantastic foundations, great pigmented eye shadows, I really could go on and on. One thing about this company is that they have a great way to find Tarte Sale on their blog.

So, I am a bit surprised that it took me this long to review Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes. I guess I've been secretly hoarding it? It made it's way into my regular makeup stash a long time ago, and when Tarte offered one up as a giveaway on my site I knew I had to finally review it.

3

Lancôme's New Mascara, Oscillation!

Check out the newest mascara from Lancôme! It appears to have a brush similar to many of my current favorites (like Lancôme's Definicils High Definition and Cover Girl's Lash Blast).

But, what really sets it apart it, of course, oscillation! Believe it or not, the brush oscillates 7,000 times a minute and is said to provide a 360 degree application of mascara around each lash.

I love the idea of a 360 application, though I admit something moving that quickly next to my eyes is a bit nerve-wracking. What do you think, could you try it out? I think I'll be picking it up as soon as the mascara is released!

Lancôme

1

MAC Mascara X

Check it out, another great mascara from MAC, the company that lately can do no wrong!

Mascara X is another fantastic mascara that creates long, lush lashes, holds curl all day long and seems to be completely resistant to flaking and smudging.



These results speak for themselves!

I put this mascara to the ultimate test, I wore it during my 30 hour call shift at work on Thursday night (I know. . . you all are really wishing you were me right now). I was up all night long and most of the day on Friday, and literally I looked as if I had just applied it when I got home on Friday afternoon. Even the best of mascaras usually lose at least a bit of their curl or manage to have some smudging. Not this one!

How does it compare to MAC's Plush Lash, a holy grail mascara? It's very similar actually. The only difference is that I have a tad less volume with the X, but I have only ever had the super long wear with X (Plush Lash had a very small amount of smudging when I put it to the 30 hour test).

I guess I know what mascara I'll be wearing every call day for now on.... If only I could find a concealer that lasted that long!

2

Max Factor Vivid Impact Highlighting Mascara

I know what you are thinking... Why on earth would I want to wear a pink and blue mascara??? Well, this product is a lot of fun, and a bit more subtle than you would think based upon looking at that double ended mascara wand.

This product was in large part created by the most creative makeup artist today, the darling of so many designers, Pat McGrath! She first used this mascara at the Fall/Winter 2007 Dolce & Gabbana Runway Show, and you could definitely use it to create a look similar to the Smokey Bright Eye featured in her Catwalk Look Book on the Max Factor Site.

I tried to get some pictures of myself wearing this mascara, and I have finally given up. Lighting issues led to very dark photos. Let me just say that this is a "typical" Max Factor mascara (which I know I've never reviewed on here, but pretty much any of them are a great choice, 2000 Calorie is a long-time favorite of mine), meaning that the mascara itself is fantastic. Both ends have the plastic/rubber brushes rather than typical nylon brushes, making clumping a near impossible event. The mascara produces both length and volume, and looks similar to Lash Blast on me. The mascara lasts all day, keeping my lashes looking long and lush and holding the curl without any flaking or smudging! It removes easily with eye makeup remover at night without residue.

This mascara creates a look that is much more subtle than you would think, which you can tell by looking at the picture here from the Max Factor site. The blue mascara is subtle, makes your eye look whiter and really highlights your eyes. Friends will comment on how great and awake you look, but very few will realize your mascara is a deep, dark blue! The pink is a dark rose (the swatch above is much more accurate than the picture of the double ended wand), and is a fun highlight for days that you're feeling sassy or are going out.

This product comes in lots of color combinations! You can check out the colors and how they look on the eye before you buy when you check them out on Max Factor's Web Site!

2

Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara Review

I'm not sure that there has ever been a rush for a drugstore mascara like the mad rush on Makeup Alley's Makeup Board for Cover Girl's new Lash Blast Mascara.

This mascara is another in their line of mascaras that promise curl, length and volume all from a plastic brush. The brushes are very different from the typical nylon bristle mascara wands. Instead, the brushes are made of rubber and plastic, and promise to keep your lashes from clumping with their more evenly spaced bristles. The Lash Blash wand is a bit different from other Cover Girl mascaras however. If you look at the inside of this wand picture, you'll notice that the inside of the wand is quite a bit fatter than other mascaras. The idea is that the mascara is pushed out further, depositing more on to your lashes.

Does it work? I've heard varying (but mostly good) reviews from others. I personally really love this mascara and I do feel that it's Holy Grail Mascara for me!

1. I want to look *almost* like I have on false eyelashes, but not quite. I want it all, length, fullness and I want my mascara to help my lashes hold the curl I put there.


Yup, it works! The volume is fantastic, curl stays put and the length is great!

2. I want my mascara to be easy to remove.
Removal can be a bit of an issue with this mascara. It looks like it's completely removed, then you wake up the next morning with smudges under your eyes. I've taken to removing it, then taking another cotton round with eye makeup remover and removing a second time just in case. With this method I get it all off.

3. The mascara should not be flaky.
I haven't had any issues with flaking or smudging.

4. It should be easy to apply
The only trick to this mascara is that the handle is very big, and holding it is a little bit awkward at first. I tend to get better results when I do a bit of extra wiggling back and forth during application.

5. It should be cheap and from the drugstore.
Yup, cheap and from the drugstore, the only issue seems to be finding it right now! The mascara doesn't seem to be in stock at very many places yet, and it seems to sell out quickly at stores that do carry it.

6. It shouldn't be clumpy.
The special brush really does seem to help prevent clumps while giving you long, lush lashes!

4

Fiberwig Mascara

Fiberwig Mascara is a prime example of interent buzz creating a mad dash!

For a long time, Fiberwig has been the best-selling mascara in Japan. This summer it finally crossed the Pacific and found it's way into a Sephora near you! In short order the mascara was reviewed by Lipstick is my Crack and Beauty Snob (who, it turns out, had been importing the mascara from Japan for years), and it was perpetually out of stock in Southern California! I have friends who swear by this, and will order it 5 tubes at a time from Sephora. I only managed to get this mascara by being in line at Sephora in Michigan Avenue when they restocked the mascara display about 5 feet away from me.

This is *almost* Holy Grail Worthy mascara. Almost! Let's see how it measures up to other Holy Grail mascaras:

1. I want to look *almost* like I have on false eyelashes, but not quite. I want it all, length, fullness and I want my mascara to help my lashes hold the curl I put there.


This mascara certainly delivers on length. In fact, due to the little fibers in the mascara, it adds several millimeters onto the length of your lashes, for length that you won't get from any other mascara. If you want length, Fiberwig can not be beat!

However, it doesn't thicken your lashes at all, but it does hold its curl all day long.

2. I want my mascara to be easy to remove.
Despite all of the special fibers, it's really easy to remove this mascara with just a swipe of a cotton round with Lancome's Bi Facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover

3. The mascara should not be flaky.
I haven't had any flaking issues

4. It should be easy to apply
As long as you pay attention to separating the lashes in between coats, this is pretty easy to apply and get good results.

5. It should be cheap and from the drugstore.
While not cheap, I do think the length from Fiberwig is worth the $19 price tag at Sephora. It's also available at Sasa.com for $12!

6. It shouldn't be clumpy.
No clumps, but this mascara is pretty easy to turn into very spidery lashes, which is not a look I like. I apply each layer and then brush out with my wire lash brush before applying the next coat.

Overall I do think that this is a good mascara if you're looking for length. The length is gives you is almost enough to overcome its other faults.

2

Mascara Week- The Tools!

In order to be truly serious about having massively thick and long eyelashes, you need the right tools. Namely, you have to have an eyelash curler, and a metal comb.

Every girl has to have an eyelash curler. Truly, if you don't have one, you are doing yourself a disservice! Using an eyelash curler before applying your mascara will dramatically alter how your lashes look once the mascara is on. The eye will look much larger and more open with curled lashes.

While perhaps the "best known" of the eyelash curlers is this version by Shu Uemura, there are many versions of this available at your local drugstore for $5 that I think work just as well. When applied, I prefer to crimp my lashes in at least 2-3 places: at the base of the lash, halfway up the shaft of the lash and sometimes at the very tip of the lash if I'm feeling sassy! Use the curler only on clean lashes (using it on lashes with mascara already applied will just clump your mascara and break your lashes), and crimp for abot 5-10 seconds before gently releasing. I get enough hold with a good mascara, but I know that some girls find their lashes just as straight as before about an hour after curling. To help with this issue, you can heat up your curler first. Hitting the curler with a blow dryer for just a few seconds will warm it up (don't let it get hot, the last thing you want to do is accidentally burn your eyelid!), and when using a warm curler you only need to crimp for about 5 seconds.

An alternative to warming up your eyelash curler is to buy a heated curler instead. I have had this curler from Sephora for a year or two, and I'd say it works "ok." It is powered by a single battery, and when turned on the little comb does heat up. You are meant to put your lashes in it an hold the curler up so your lashes are in the position you'd like them. Honestly, it doesn't really curl very much though what curl you get does last longer.

Really, the metal comb is essential (and it's the thing that Tammy Faye was most definitely missing), and very few gals own one! I bought mine at Target (from the Sonia Kashuk line) about 4 years ago. I love it, can't live without it, and if it broke I thought I was up a river without a paddle, because I haven't seen them in stores (anywhere, not just Target) since that day I bought mine.

How exactly do you use this thing? I simply use it to comb out my lashes if they get clumpy from applying mascara. That's it. I will selectively comb those areas, spreading out the clumps results in much thicker looking lashes. Once I'm done I do wash the comb each day (I use a nail brush and let it dry on the counter, without cleaning the comb gets very junky very fast). I truly do think that a metal comb is essential, the plastic combs that you find in most stores do not have tines small enough to really unclump lashes.

Well, it does turn out that the combs are getting much easier to find in stores, here are a few options:

The Sephora Professionnel Platinum Lash & Eyebrow Comb #21 has 2 sides, one with your metal comb and the other with a brush to tame your brows! Truthfully though, since I was my brush nearly everyday, I do think that an ideal brush would be metal alone.

So, while it is $6 more expensive, I do think that the Vincent Longo #2 Lash Definer Brush is going to be a better fit. The metal brush is alone (no eyebrow brush to get gross) and it has nice long, thin teeth to really help you comb your lashes apart.

Images- Sephora.com

1

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara

As part of Mascara Week, I've decided to republish this review, with the addition of some pics of how great it makes my lashes look! While this mascara hadn't been released yet at the time I initially reviewed it, you can easily find it at your Elizabeth Arden counter now! Keep in mind that while I'll be reviewing 5 fantastic mascaras this week, this is the only one that contains ingredients to help improve the condition of your lashes.


At long last, I have found a second mascara worthy of Holy Grail Status!

Here are the "Holy Grail" Mascara Criteria:
1. I want to look *almost* like I have on false eyelashes, but not quite. I want it all, length, fullness and I want my mascara to help my lashes hold the curl I put there.

This mascara holds curl throughout the day, with 1 coat lashes become incredibly long and with a second coat your lashes become very thick and will look absolutely amazing! I feel as though I should be in a mascara commercial when I have used this mascara!

While it may be a bit strange to see pics of eyeballs, you can see pictures of me with and without the mascara above. I took the first pic right before applying the mascara, then I curled my lashes and applied 2 coats, which you can see in the second pic. In person the length of my lashes is even more impressive!

2. I want my mascara to be easy to remove. I only wear waterproof mascara when I'm either swimming or going to a wedding. The rest of the time, I want to be able to remove my mascara easily with eye makeup remover in 1-2 swipes, I should not be waking up with smudges under my eyes still.
There are no issues with removal with this mascara.

3. The mascara should not be flaky. At 4 pm I shouldn't look like I have big black mascara swipes in my circles, I have enough issues with darkness there.
No flakes were in sight!

4. It should be easy to apply (ie- not require many steps).
This is soooo easy to apply! The formula is not clumpy, it applies very smoothly and even with multiple coats it still behaves without creating spidery lashes.

5. It should be cheap and from the drugstore. I replace my mascara every 1-2 months (I'm a bit of a germ freak) and I don't want to spend $25 on a new tube, and I don't have time for a run to Sephora just for a new mascara.
I have decided that the price will not preclude a mascara from entering into Holy Grail status. At least Elizabeth Arden is widely available at ULTA and many department stores. This makes the mascara easier to purchase.

6. It shouldn't be clumpy. Poor Tammy Faye is dead, but I don't need to look like her.
No clumps are in site, despite multiple coats!

This formula is very user friendly, easy to remove and results in long and thick lashes that stay perfect looking all day long.


Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara

5

Mascara Week!

Welcome to Mascara Week! This is what happens when I realize I have a huge number of mascaras to review– I put them all together in a big week of reviews! I will feature some great mascara reviews this week (one each day), as well as some great sites on-line and mascara tips.

What reviews to look forward to:
• Prescriptives False Eyelashes
• Cover Girl Lash Blast
• Elizabeth Arden Ceramide (I know this one has already been published, but I'll be adding to the review)
• MAC Plush Lash
• Fiberwig


I hope you enjoy mascara week as much as I enjoyed reviewing all of these mascaras!

0

Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara

Revlon's commercials for their new 3D Extreme Mascara promise that your lashes will become "25X fuller, 70% curvier and 80% visibly longer lashes." Given the large numbers associated with these claims, I had to check it out for myself!

If you've read back through my posts, you'll notice that I'm a bit of a mascara addict. For years I was not loyal to a single mascara, trying a new one with each tube trying to find the formula that would be my "holy grail." What is a holy grail mascara? It would meet these criteria:
1. I want to look *almost* like I have on false eyelashes, but not quite. I want it all, length, fullness and I want my mascara to help my lashes hold the curl I put there.
2. I want my mascara to be easy to remove. I only wear waterproof mascara when I'm either swimming or going to a wedding. The rest of the time, I want to be able to remove my mascara easily with eye makeup remover in 1-2 swipes, I should not be waking up with smudges under my eyes still.
3. The mascara should not be flaky. At 4 pm I shouldn't look like I have big black mascara swipes in my circles, I have enough issues with darkness there.
4. It should be easy to apply (ie- not require many steps).
5. It should be cheap and from the drugstore. I replace my mascara every 1-2 months (I'm a bit of a germ freak) and I don't want to spend $25 on a new tube, and I don't have time for a run to Sephora just for a new mascara.
6. It shouldn't be clumpy. Poor Tammy Faye is dead, but I don't need to look like her!

Having said all of that, I have been reluctant to try a new mascara, primarily because I have already been using an amazing mascara that is very nearly my perfect Holy Grail Mascara, L'Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara. The only thing that makes it not quite perfect is the 2 step bit, though I have that down to a science now (I'm on about my 6th tube or so), so it isn't a big deal. My eyelashes (which are not long) look thick, long and absolutely perfect all day long with this mascara!

Having said all of that, I'll finally tell you about this mascara!

3D Extreme is easy to apply. Revlon makes a big deal about the brush in their ad, and you can see a pic of it here from their website. Look at the picture I took above, can you tell that the brush looks like this? (All my pics enlarge if you click on them, so check out the bigger pic.) . . . . . . I didn't think so. Once the wand is pulled out of the tube, it is fairly caked with mascara. I have tried applying with and without wiping off the wand first, and truthfully I saw no difference between the two. The application is not at all clumpy, and I don't need to comb through with my lash comb at all.

With this mascara my lashes do look longer and thicker, but I'm not sure that the mascara lives up to it's big hype. 25x fuller? Ummm... No. 80% longer? Nope. And certainly not at all curvier. Although I do spend quite a bit of time curling my lashes each morning, by the time lunch rolls around, they are straight again. This is all quite disappointing after my trusty L'Oreal! The mascara is a little bit flaky as well. If I touch my eyes at all, I get raccoon eyes quickly. This is not good! However, if left alone no flakes are seen. I don't know about you, but I sometimes have problems not touching my face, so I usually end up with a bit of a mascara shadow.

Perhaps the most disappointing feature of this mascara is the removal. I have about 6 different eye makeup removers at home, including L'Oreal, Almay (gel and pads), Cover Girl, Revlon and Lancome. I have tried all of these to remove this mascara each night, without any great success. I have now resorted to using the Gel Almay twice and cleaning up with an Almay pad, and I often wake up to mascara on my pillow still. And, this isn't even with the waterproof version!

All in all, I would say that the results with this mascara are average. However, the difficulty with removal makes it slightly less than average. Save your money and buy something else.
Revlon 3d Extreme Mascara

11