Nothing like a good lashing….

I’ll admit I’m a bit bin-phobic where make up is concerned. It’s not like I use it either; if I feel a product is past its best, and this applies especially to mascara, it goes into the big makeup case under my desk, never to return. While this is ridiculous in one sense it does have its advantages….an archive of makeup products I’ve used on myself and others in the past, just screaming to be reviewed for your reading pleasure. I would love to hear your comments and reviews, with so many products out there I’m sure to have missed some…

So, having crawled rather ungracefully under my desk, and emptied out all of the mascaras in the case I’m left with the following:

Urban Decay: Big Fatty (water-proof)
YSL: Effete Faux Cils, Everlong (these are old - bought new versions of both which are in use now, EFC in black and Everlong in brown)
No.7: Intense Volume, Lash 360, Dream Lash
No.17: Va va voom
Rimmel: Volume Flash, Magnifeyes, Extra Super Lash
L’Oreal: Lash Architect, Extra volume Collagen mascara
Benefit: Bad Gal Lash
MAC: Pro Lash
Maybelline: XXL Volume and Length, Great Lash (extra black)

So…15 out-of-use mascaras, and I had a clear out back in February (I wept...it was bad), and I have another three in use (2 YSL in brown/Black and L’Oreal extra volume collagen)…I’m ready to admit that I may be a bit addicted to my products…they say admitting addiction is the first step towards rehabilitation, we'll see about that…

Still, my financial loss is your gain, as I intend to fill you in on what I know about these, and some of the other products I’ve road tested working on other people in the past. Eventually I hope to be posting video reviews but until I get hold of a decent web cam, I’m afraid you’ll have take my word for it. I will try and track down some video reviews by other testers to add for your viewing pleasure later!

I’ve broken down the reviews by brand name, and as we're being that organised it may as well be alphabetic too! And to avoid an overwhelming page of literature, I think three reviews every day this week would be bite-sized enough to cram it in your work break :)…


xxx

Benefit - Bad Gal Lash

Company line – “Sexy, sultry, pure unadulterated black mascara for full, voluminous lashes. It's as BAD as you want to be!” and “Famously big, bodacious brush coats lashes with our super black formula.”

Review:
I first came across this as a student, it was very popular with friends, and curiosity got the better of me. Despite being quite pricey (RRP £14.50) I have to say it was a favourite at the time. Then again the height of fashion at the time was to cake as much blackest of black mascara as you could onto your lashes, for that extra over done “dramatic lash”. For that purpose this mascara is fantastic, layer away until you can barely lift those lids! It's dark, has a good thick consistency and is well covering. But beware, it clumps after the third coat, and will flake when applied in copious amounts. The brush is also a touch on the gargantuan side, and can prove tricky for those of you with smaller eyes/shorter lashes. I did notice however that this was relatively long lasting - a big plus considering it’s relatively expensive for a high street brand.

Pros: Dark, well covering, good volume and length, plenty of product, long lasting

Cons: flaky when over applied, the huge brush is awkward and product tends to be on the tip of the brush



Score – 8/10

xxx

L’Oreal: Lash Architect

Company line – “False lash effect mascara - for a glamorous spectacular look. Lashes look longer and thicker from every angle thanks to the '3D effect' formula, while the patented spiral brush gives volume and separation from root to tip.”

Review:
With Milla Jovovitch as its spokesperson and the new ‘Carbon Gloss’ update this is a high profile product. It makes bold claims for a mid-range product, and unfortunately fails to live up to them. While those with naturally long lashes will find its effect adequate at best, if you bought this product to effectively lengthen your lashes with its ‘3Deffect’ you’re going to feel short changed. The product itself is very thin and hard to layer up suitably, clumping on the second layer and pulling off already applied layers after 3. Unfortunately, I also found it had the tendency to flake around the eye.

It does have a few redeeming factors, for those of you lucky enough to have thick full lashes, the brush is strong enough to properly comb through your lashes and coat them all, in which case one coat is enough. Unfortunately, I feel the positive points end there. The mascara is terribly hard to remove, prepare for panda eyes, irrespective of how well you think you cleansed. I suppose it could be considered a plus that the product dries out so quickly you’ll only have to have clumpy panda eyes for a month. Overall not worth its mid-range price (RRP £9.98).

Pros: Dark, Strong stiff comb, beautiful spokeswoman (in my own personal opinion :) )

Cons: Thin product, clumpy and flaky finish, hard to layer, doesn’t deliver on hype, hard to remove, dries fast, over priced.



Score – 3/10

xxx

L’Oreal: Extra volume Collagen mascara

Company line – “L'Oreal gives you their secret to lash volume - an expert combination of a super-sized brush and a Hydra-Collagen enriched formula, for breathtaking volume.”

Review:
Ok after the last review I bet you're thinking “here we go again…” but you’d be wrong! I was pleasantly surprised when I used this on a friend for her wedding makeup. It’s very thick and dark, the brush is just the right side of chunky, and it bulks lashes up very quickly without clumping or gluing them together. There have been quite a lot of negative comments on this one, and I think it may come down to how experienced you are with chunky brushes, your own personal tastes and how much you wear. You can’t slap this on layer after layer, it’s just too think, but for a ‘single swipe’ mascara it’s great. It does have a strange smell, and some people I’ve discussed it with feel it’s a touch to irritant for their liking (probably this new fangled collagen ingredient).

It’s another mid range product (RRP £9.98) and while there are indeed much better products out there, it doesn’t fare to badly, definitely an improvement on L’Oreals’ previous efforts.

Pros: dark, thick and volumising

Cons: smelly, not suitable for sensitive eyes, a bit too expensive for what it does



Score - 6/10

xxx

So my opinion on three highstreet mascaras, three more to come tomorrow!


Video review of the day:

A quick review of a few products courtesy of panacea81, who I'm sure you've all been watching avidly for years now! Aside from giving a good review of the mascaras in her makeup bag (some I've covered in this blog, and some I haven't used before), she also shows you a few ways to test the quality of your mascaras. Make sure you keep an eye on her YouTube videos; they're invaluable for picking up tips on products, and seeing them in use...kinda like a try before you buy, but without the hard sell.....