Mascara Wars (and an update)
Well what do ya know, it's been super long time between posts yet again this year. I've had a hard time with this blog lately. I still love makeup and want to do tutorials, but there's been an authenticity issue that I've been dealing with. On one hand, I love makeup looks that are smokey, fun, and actually using lots of makeup. That's kind of the point when you love makeup - to use it. And that's what I used to do. Play around with makeup and photograph it. While that's great, I kind of feel like I'm being a little fake because I don't wear makeup like that. I can't tell you the last time that I did a full eye makeup look. My day-to-day makeup is more natural. And while that's great and I love doing the natural looks, they tend to photograph the same, and you just end up with the same tutorial over and over again. So I could sit down and actually do my makeup, but I probably wouldn't leave my apartment or I would take it all off and re-do it with less before going out. Anyways, I hope I've come up with a solution...
It's a 2 part solution. #1. I'm going to do a tutorial only when it's a different style of look. On 95% of the other days, I'll just do the end result and talk about the products and such, because I do use different shadows and palettes, it's just all similar looks. And #2. I've discovered I love writing, so I'm actually going to write my thoughts on products. Or maybe I should say, attempt to write my thoughts on products, and makeup stuff in general.
So there we have it. I promise other posts won't be as long as this one. I just had a really long intro to get through. =) Let's give it a whirl....
So let's talk mascaras. I'm kind of a mascara junkie. I loooove mascaras. I'm lucky that they pretty much all work on my lashes - from the dry to the wet, volumizing to lengthening. But. I'm really picky. I have learned that I don't like mascaras purchased twice in a row. (I know, weird, right?) I fell in love with a Chanel one a while back, used it all up, and re-purchased. Makes sense right? Apparently not because I didn't like it. It just was lacking its luster. And that happens all the time. I get really excited about a mascara, re-purchase, and it's a no-go. I guess I just like to switch them up a lot?
I do have one mascara that breaks that rule though. It's the L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black. NOT the waterproof - it's just not the same. The regular is definitely my favorite, even through all the high-end brands I've tried. I've re-purchased it twice now. It's my fallback when I don't have one I like or don't know what one to try next. And sometimes I just like to take it out every now and then (which I totally did after writing this haha)! It's a dry formula that is THE blackest you can get. L'Oreal knows how to do a super black mascara. The only complaint I have is that it can be really hard to work with. You have to have patience, which I know is the last thing you want to hear about a mascara. But I promise, this one is worth it! It volumizes like crazy and is just so black, it makes me end up looking like I have false eyelashes on. Oh man. Love it!
I have 4 other mascaras in my drawer right now. Yes, I know. That's five total. FIVE. (Hi, my name is Jessica and I have a mascara problem.) And they're actually all drugstore mascaras. They are: L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, Maybelline The Big Eyes Falsies, L'Oreal Voluminous Mis Manga in Blackest Black, and NYX Color Mascara in Purple. Now I haven't used the NYX colored mascara much yet, so I'm going to skip talking about that one, and I've got a tutorial of the L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black which you can find HERE. (Btw, L'Oreal Carbon Black anything rocks.) So that leaves us with two mascaras to talk about.
First up, Maybelline's The Big Eyes Falsies. My first impressions of this were, eh, and do I really need a separate mascara for my bottom lashes? You're killing my dollar value when you cut divide the mascara into 2! Answer: YES! You NEED a bottom mascara. In fact, I just googled "bottom lash mascara". I guess Clinique has one, but it just doesn't look the same. Maybelline, please make this a separate, full size bottom lash mascara? Pretty please? I will say, the top lash is good. Not great, but good. I'd recommend it - it definitely seemed like what I remember the regular falsies mascara - that one was good too. It's a dry formula with a spiral brush. The bristles aren't close enough together for me though to really coat my lashes. I wouldn't say it volumized or lengthened, but like I said it's on par with the regular falsies mascara. But man, the bottom lash. Ugh. I can't get over it. I personally think it doesn't have much to do with the formula of the mascara, which seems about the same as the top lash formula. It's all the brush for this though. It's such a perfect size - such itty bitty, fine bristles, that I just works like a dream to separate and get each of your bottom lashes. This mascara is definitely worth a try for the bottom mascara alone. And if you liked the regular falsies mascara, you have to add this to your list to try.
The L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga. I've heard a lot about this and a lot of people say they like it. I have it in the Blackest black and while it's no Carbon Black, it's pretty close. Noticeably blacker than the Maybelline Big Eyes Falsies. In my honest opinion, The Big Falsies top mascara is a touch better, and the Voluminous Carbon Black is a lot better (who would have guessed, ha). There's just something about this one. I think it's because it's not memorable, other than it's blacker than the Falsies. I do still reach for it from time to time, but this one was just, eh, for me. It's the wand. The formula seems very similar to the Carbon Black, but this wand is not my favorite. I find I get the best volume with wands that have the bristles really close together. These bristles aren't. And I'm not sure what's up with companies and their fascination with odd shaped wands, but I have yet to find one that does something - anything - different. They're just a little bit weird to me. Someone's got to have a different opinion though! Please explain it to me, because I don't get it. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just not feeling this one. I'll update you if things change.
So I just wrote the longest post ever on mascaras. Hmm. And now I need to know - what's your favorite and why? Which one should I try next? Because I'll be looking....in about a week lol.
It's a 2 part solution. #1. I'm going to do a tutorial only when it's a different style of look. On 95% of the other days, I'll just do the end result and talk about the products and such, because I do use different shadows and palettes, it's just all similar looks. And #2. I've discovered I love writing, so I'm actually going to write my thoughts on products. Or maybe I should say, attempt to write my thoughts on products, and makeup stuff in general.
So there we have it. I promise other posts won't be as long as this one. I just had a really long intro to get through. =) Let's give it a whirl....
So let's talk mascaras. I'm kind of a mascara junkie. I loooove mascaras. I'm lucky that they pretty much all work on my lashes - from the dry to the wet, volumizing to lengthening. But. I'm really picky. I have learned that I don't like mascaras purchased twice in a row. (I know, weird, right?) I fell in love with a Chanel one a while back, used it all up, and re-purchased. Makes sense right? Apparently not because I didn't like it. It just was lacking its luster. And that happens all the time. I get really excited about a mascara, re-purchase, and it's a no-go. I guess I just like to switch them up a lot?
I do have one mascara that breaks that rule though. It's the L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black. NOT the waterproof - it's just not the same. The regular is definitely my favorite, even through all the high-end brands I've tried. I've re-purchased it twice now. It's my fallback when I don't have one I like or don't know what one to try next. And sometimes I just like to take it out every now and then (which I totally did after writing this haha)! It's a dry formula that is THE blackest you can get. L'Oreal knows how to do a super black mascara. The only complaint I have is that it can be really hard to work with. You have to have patience, which I know is the last thing you want to hear about a mascara. But I promise, this one is worth it! It volumizes like crazy and is just so black, it makes me end up looking like I have false eyelashes on. Oh man. Love it!
I have 4 other mascaras in my drawer right now. Yes, I know. That's five total. FIVE. (Hi, my name is Jessica and I have a mascara problem.) And they're actually all drugstore mascaras. They are: L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, Maybelline The Big Eyes Falsies, L'Oreal Voluminous Mis Manga in Blackest Black, and NYX Color Mascara in Purple. Now I haven't used the NYX colored mascara much yet, so I'm going to skip talking about that one, and I've got a tutorial of the L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black which you can find HERE. (Btw, L'Oreal Carbon Black anything rocks.) So that leaves us with two mascaras to talk about.
First up, Maybelline's The Big Eyes Falsies. My first impressions of this were, eh, and do I really need a separate mascara for my bottom lashes? You're killing my dollar value when you cut divide the mascara into 2! Answer: YES! You NEED a bottom mascara. In fact, I just googled "bottom lash mascara". I guess Clinique has one, but it just doesn't look the same. Maybelline, please make this a separate, full size bottom lash mascara? Pretty please? I will say, the top lash is good. Not great, but good. I'd recommend it - it definitely seemed like what I remember the regular falsies mascara - that one was good too. It's a dry formula with a spiral brush. The bristles aren't close enough together for me though to really coat my lashes. I wouldn't say it volumized or lengthened, but like I said it's on par with the regular falsies mascara. But man, the bottom lash. Ugh. I can't get over it. I personally think it doesn't have much to do with the formula of the mascara, which seems about the same as the top lash formula. It's all the brush for this though. It's such a perfect size - such itty bitty, fine bristles, that I just works like a dream to separate and get each of your bottom lashes. This mascara is definitely worth a try for the bottom mascara alone. And if you liked the regular falsies mascara, you have to add this to your list to try.
The L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga. I've heard a lot about this and a lot of people say they like it. I have it in the Blackest black and while it's no Carbon Black, it's pretty close. Noticeably blacker than the Maybelline Big Eyes Falsies. In my honest opinion, The Big Falsies top mascara is a touch better, and the Voluminous Carbon Black is a lot better (who would have guessed, ha). There's just something about this one. I think it's because it's not memorable, other than it's blacker than the Falsies. I do still reach for it from time to time, but this one was just, eh, for me. It's the wand. The formula seems very similar to the Carbon Black, but this wand is not my favorite. I find I get the best volume with wands that have the bristles really close together. These bristles aren't. And I'm not sure what's up with companies and their fascination with odd shaped wands, but I have yet to find one that does something - anything - different. They're just a little bit weird to me. Someone's got to have a different opinion though! Please explain it to me, because I don't get it. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just not feeling this one. I'll update you if things change.
So I just wrote the longest post ever on mascaras. Hmm. And now I need to know - what's your favorite and why? Which one should I try next? Because I'll be looking....in about a week lol.
