Lashing Out: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced put out a fabulous new mascara that could cause some confusion for ‘Dior Blackout’ mascara lovers. With the exception of the tube color and the price, I’m hard pressed to find any real differences  between the two. Both have a ‘larger’ brush (although Too Faced’s version features an hourglass shape that I’m not sure makes much of a difference), both add an insane amount of volume, and … unfortunately… both have the tendency to clump if you’re not careful. It’s possible to overdo it with this mascara.

The volume on this mascara is insane. It definitely lengthens as well… but it’s really all about the volume. I find that I have to wipe the brush clean to get the application right. You can easily pull too much product out at any given moment. If I wipe it, I’m much less likely to get clumps. This isn’t really a ‘multiple coat’ mascara. I honestly think you can get away with one coat, and be done.

Once on, the formula does not run or smudge in any way. Even my oily lids were no match for this mascara. It comes off easily with makeup remover or good old fashioned soap and water. I had no issues taking it off at all.

So, for the record, Too Faced’s new mascara is better than a lot of things… most notably much of its direct competition. As for the other thing… well… we all embellish from time to time, don’t we? 😉

Lashing Out: Make Up For Ever Extravagant Mascara

Hmmm… I’m not sure what Make Up For Ever was going for when they released the new Extravagant Mascara.

This mascara promises a whole host of things, like precision, lengthening, and volume… and well… 1 out of 3 ain’t bad.

Actually, it kind of is (bad).

 The folks at Make Up For Ever must have figured that adding a cool new shape to the container and a very interesting looking wand would make us forget that this  mascara is anything BUT extravagant. It’s actually kind of a pain in the butt to use.

I’ve found that this mascara works best when you take as much product off the wand as possible. If you leave that product on… your lashes come out heavy and gross and stuck together. I don’t know WHAT they were thinking. Really.

When you take nearly all of the product off of the wand, you end up with a good lengthening mascara (much like Volume de Chanel). But it’s such a hassle to do all of that, that you’re really just better off getting the Chanel mascara and leaving this one at the store. It’s $6 extra, with none of the labor. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

Sorry Make Up For Ever. You should have stuck with Smoky Lash.

Lashing Out: Lancome Hypnose Star Waterproof Mascara

No.

Lancome seems to have gone from the #1 selling most fabulous mascara ever (Definicils), to this not-even-remotely-close-to-drugstore-quality stuff that they’re hocking these days. I don’t even know what’s going on. I’m a major fan of the Hypnose Drama mascara… so this waterproof version of Hypnose Star (which doesn’t contain shimmer, by the way. It’s just a latex finish) seemed like a perfect companion for hot weather makeup.

It’s not.

The wand on this mascara is flat on one side and wide on the other. It reminds me a lot of the Armani Eyes To Kill Stretch wand. So I thought it would operate the same way. You apply the product with the flat side and use the wide side to comb it through. I tried it that way. Didn’t work. Then I tried it the traditional way. Didn’t work. So I just applied product using the flat side and hoped for the best. DIDN’T WORK.

Here’s what my lashes looked like… no matter HOW I tried to apply this mascara:

Barely enhanced. Minimal lenghtening, absolutely no volume, and mediocre separation. I had the nerve to even get a few clumps. Unacceptable… particularly from a brand that used to crank out some of the most incredible mascara formulas on the market.

Bless Nordstrom for their generous return policy, because I would have been so mad if I was stuck with this mascara. Dear Lancome… do better. No… really.

Lashing Out: Burberry Effortless Mascara

The Burberry Mascara arrived today. I wasted no time trying it out:

It’s a drier formula (not as dry as Guerlain Maxi Lash, but not as wet as say… Armani Eyes To Kill Stretch), and takes a good 3 coats to really shine. I found that if you pause for a few seconds between applying the coats, it builds very well. It’s a ‘clump free’ formula, so it goes a long way to lengthen the lashes, while adding a bit of volume.

This is a very clean formula that will leave your lashes looking… well… effortless. You can find out more about Burberry Effortless Mascara HERE.

Lashing Out: RBR Oxblood Panache

Spring has already sprung at Rouge Bunny Rouge! To celebrate the coming season, they’re releasing a new mascara in a deep reddish berry (?), called ‘Oxblood Panache.’

Now before you freak out over the idea of red lashes (I was a bit concerned initially too), consider this: most purple/aubergine/burgundy mascaras look amazing on hazel and sometimes blue eyes. You can boost brown eyes with these colored mascaras at the very tip of the lashes, or even at the base under a black mascara.

Color me intrigued. Burgundy is not a color I typically associate with Spring (it’s more of an Autumn/Winter shade to me), particularly in makeup, but I’d be willing to give it a whirl.

What do you guys think? Yes… No… Maybe?

Lashing Out: By Terry Terrybly Mascara (Iconic Bordeaux)

The new mascara from By Terry for Autumn 2012 is a frightening shade of red. They call it Bordeaux. It’s not. It’s red. That’s the bad news. The good news is, it’s actually not as scary in practical application.

I swatched this mascara two ways: alone, and with black mascara as a base. Here’s what happened:

Swatched alone.

Swatched with black mascara as a base.

I much prefer this mascara with a black base. It has more dimension, and it looks really flattering, even when worn without any other eye makeup. 

This was an interesting color for By Terry. I still much prefer the blue mascara from this line… but this is different, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

You can find out more about By Terry Iconic Bordeaux Mascara HERE.

Lashing Out: Hourglass Film Noir Mascara

Falling in love with a new mascara is always a challenge for me. I’m a bit of a mascara snob, and demand a lot of performance from this product. Sometimes, I admit, my demands are a bit unreasonable. But it’s my thing… so, yeah.

When Hourglass Film Noir Mascara was recommended to me, I wasn’t very excited. I think the brand is decent… but with the exception of the primer, nothing  has really made me shout from the rooftops. And given my history with mascara, I wasn’t so sure this one would live up to my expectations.

I was wrong.

The first thing I fell in love with was the size of the brush. It’s long and thin, but still holds an ample amount of product. I’ve outgrown the large brushes with tons of product on them. I now prefer a thinner brush, because I can be very precise about placement.

Out of habit, I took a whiff of the formula. It’s not entirely unpleasant, although it doesn’t hold a candle to the rose scented wonders of Armani and YSL. It’s just my thing. I like for products to smell good, but not overly perfumey. It’s a thin line, and more companies cross it more often than not.

Now, here’s why I love it. See how my lashes look like my LASHES, and not like they’re coated in mascara? Love that! Half of those lashes aren’t even mine… they ‘created’ by the mascara. It lengthens and slightly thickens without making it look like you’ve gooped on a ton of mascara to get the job done.

And, if that’s not good enough, your lashes don’t dry crunchy. I tested it by wearing it all day, then layering another coat on top at the end of the day. Worked like a charm. MOST mascaras can’t boast this function. And although it’s not waterproof (and not entirely smudgeproof, despite company claims), it does resist regular oil production during daily wear.

Overall, I’m a fan. I can wear this mascara with nothing else on my face, and not look like I’m wearing mascara. But it’s not as Basic, as say, Shu Uemura (Mascara Basic) which used to be my former ‘go to’ bare-faced mascara. You still get a good boost of length and thickness.

You can find out more about Hourglass Film Noir Mascara HERE.

*pr sample