A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

The new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara had me all confused.  It promises to promote stronger, longer lashes and with all these ‘lash enhancing’ products entering the mass market, I initially wondered if we were looking at another one of these.

We’re not.

Revlon’s Grow Luscious incorporates into it’s formula something that it calls unique fibres and phytopeptides complex which it promises will enhance the condition of your lashes thereby enabling them to remain strong and intact right to the end of their natural growth period.  This tries to prevent premature breakage, not grow your lashes ladies.

There’s no real way for me to accurately quantify those claims, but I don’t see any reason why a good balance of lash conditioning agents wouldn’t in some way help to keep your lashes in good condition in the same way a conditioner can keep your hair feeling softer and stronger.

It’s attractively (if rather simply) packaged in a green metallic-looking tube, minimalist in appearance.

The wand is VERY large, larger infact than my Benefit Bad Gal’s wand which is kinda my benchmark for large wands.  Those with smaller eyes or short lashes may struggle with application issues.

The formula is quite thick and perhaps a little dry but that’s a-ok with me.  I can’t stand ‘wet’ mascaras… I make a terrible mess with them and although the Revlon Grow Luscious does seem to attract a little gloop on the tip of the wand, it’s nothing I can’t wipe off on the edge of the tube.

The tips of my lashes are a little out of focus here… but I’m showing a comparison between the new Revlon Grow Luscious (on the right) and Boots 17 Wild Curls (on the left).

Boots 17 Wild Curls seems like a good comparison as a fellow high street offering that’s proving to be the one to beat at the moment.

It’s not so easy to tell in this image… but the Revlon does have the edge in the length stakes.  Not by a huge amount…. just by a whisker an eyelash 😉  It also smells kinda lovely… I know some of you laugh at me commenting on the smell, but some mascaras STINK!  It’s always nice not to have to hold your nose everytime you lift the wand to your eyes.

However, the Boots 17 Wild Curls takes the lead in the definition stakes… it defines each lash with greater precision and has an overall less clumpy appearance.

Final Verdict – The new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara is a nice, solid high street offering.  It hasn’t blown me away with incredible results and I’m not gonna tell you I love it.  I like it.  I’d like it more if it was a couple of pounds cheaper.

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara is available in most high street chemists (Boots et al.) and online, priced at £9.99

Forever on a quest for a kick-ass mascara, today I’m bringing you my thoughts on Jemma Kidd’s Lash Xtension Volume Mascara which I was sent a couple of weeks ago.

It promises both volume and length with a formula designed to promote lash strength and healthiness thanks to the help of some added vitamin A and E.  As an aside (and something I can’t accurately test because my lashes are already being artificially ‘boosted’) this Jemma Kidd mascara contains something called “BioBoost Complex” to stimulate growth.  It really is all the rage at the moment isn’t it?

I like the Jemma Kidd packaging style and this is no exception… it has that matte/glossy juxtaposition going on and looks embroidered, neat!

“What a stumpy little brush!” I exclaimed when I pulled the wand from the tube…

You can see that compared to the DiorShow… it’s only 2/3rds of the length with a chunky, short head making it ideal for those of us with smaller eyes or hooded lids.  I can get right to the outer corner lashes without blobbing (technical term) product on the hooded part of my eyelid.

I’d call this a “natural” mascara.

Yeah, I don’t really get excited over that term either.

On my left eye (your right), I’m wearing 2 coats of it.  This mascara excels in it’s buildability.  After taking the photo I thought I’d keep going… another 2 coats left me with lashes that were thicker at the base without clumping at the ends.  I don’t have watery eyes… but I didn’t notice any problems with flaking or smudging.

It’s not the most exciting mascara I’ve tried and it sadly doesn’t leave my lashes reaching for the stars but it is pretty foolproof.

If you’re looking for an everyday natural mascara that would particularly suit mature eyes and give you a foolproof application I’d really recommend giving this a go.  Add in the whole “BioBoost complex” selling point and perhaps you’ve found your next mascara?

2 eyes, 83 eyelashes (or thereabouts) and 2 mascaras.

On one eye, I’ve applied £21.50 worth of mascara (DiorShow Iconic)

On the other eye… £5.99 worth of mascara (Boots 17 Wild Curls)

There’s undoubtedly a difference, and the expensive mascara (on the left as you look at it) has done it’s job well.

But is the difference really worth £15.51?

Hand on heart, for me… I think it’s worth it.  My husband thinks I’m a sucker.

What do you think?

I’ve been using a lash growth accelerator product (Latisse) since the start of April and I’m pretty happy with the length of my lashes now.  I feel that it’s made them a little finer than I’d like them to be, but I’ll continue to use it once a week or so for maintenance.

However, it means that I really need to use mascara nowadays to enhance these finer (but ultimately slightly longer) lashes.  And I’ve been trialling some lovely ones recently!

I thought I’d show you a high street one that’s grabbed my attention thanks to it’s light formula but lovely dark pigment.

Lash Extension Effect Mascara contain’s Max Factor’s longest mascara brush ever, which they claim helps you to reach every lash to deliver dramatic length.  Personally, I still struggled a little to reach those outer corner lashes…. L’oreal Telescopic Explosion still wins the “coating every lash award” for me.

A lengthening mascara as opposed to a volume or curl-giving product, it lengthens well.  The smell is quite off-putting and chemically… I notice this often with Max Factor mascaras, it’s an irritation but ultimately doesn’t stop me buying them.

One of the things that I really like about this mascara is how easy I find it to remove.  I own the non-waterproof version and this rinses away nicely with a cleansing oil.  I sometimes have to massage the oil into my lashes to shift stubborn mascaras, but this dissolves readily despite not smudging on me during the day.

Priced at £10.99 I’m almost loathe to call this a high-street mascara, it is… but it certainly isn’t budget friendly.

What do you think about the prices of high street mascaras nowadays?  They just keep going up and up!

My lovely cousin A. is 8 weeks in to her Trish McEvoy Lash Enhancer challenge!

Let me refer you lovely people to this post for the background info.

I’m a week early on the photo because she’s on holiday this week… but I thought it was worth taking anyway and my next update will be at the 12 week stage, by which time… results should be fully apparent according to the blurb with the product.

Anyway, enough gassing… have some pics:

Two months in means that she’s halfway through the £89 tube.  It’s on a par price-wise with other lash-enhancing products on the market, but backed by the reputable name of Trish McEvoy.

A. (who hasn’t seen these photos) believes that she’s experienced a change in the volume of her lashes… to her, they feel thicker and more luxurious.  She doesn’t believe that her lashes have grown in length though.

Giddyup lashes!  Week 12 awaits!

What do you ladies reckon judging by the photos?

When I saw the Clinique High Lengths Mascara wand a few months ago…

It gave me a shiver.  And not in a good way.  It looks freakin’ terrifying!  Organic… like it’s gonna whip me or bite me or something slightly kinky.  And I repeat, not in a good way!

Still… yano… I had to buy it anyway *blush*

I generally find Clinique’s packaging a bit fud… am I the only one?  My Mum has skirts with those big floral prints on ’em.

You can see the extent of the curve to the wand… it’s serious… and takes a little bit of positioning to get it to align with my lashes.  Infact, it doesn’t align THAT well at all on me, it’s obviously something that’s going to be hugely dependant on the shape of your lashline…

The green bit is flexible and despite it’s odd curvature, doesn’t cause me any problems taking it out or pushing it back into the tube.  It’s also worth noting that the brush seems to pick up a perfect amount of product each time it appears from the neck of the tube.

Once I’ve got the wand positioned the best I can manage, things get a lot more interesting!

Those spiky little teeth grab my lashes and I can FEEL the pull as I wiggle the wand through from root to tip.  There’s some proper resistance there as I comb the wand through… it’s almost poetic.  The effect is beautiful separation and definition.  I’ve never used a wand that does this so well.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara is a lovely lengthening mascara that (after a couple of run throughs) coats each lash with just the right amount of product and really does allow you to get right to the root of the lash without splodging product allover your eyelid.

We’re not talking false lash effect mascara superstardom here, but it’s a great product for lovely long lashes and one that I’ll happily repurchase.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara is a very reasonable £14.50 (considering high street mascaras are approaching that figure now!).  You can buy online or on counter.

As previously threatened, I went and picked up the new Bourjois Elastic Mascara yesterday. I ended up going to Superdrug to make the most of the £2 off promotion and ended up paying £6.99 for mine.

I know some of you think it’s daft.. but I kinda love the packaging! I have a billion mascaras, so being able to spot the one I want immediately is always useful. It does look a bit like a toilet brush holder though (well spotted Rhamnousia!)

The brush is one of those spikey bristle affairs… ideal for separation and lengthening, not so good for volume. The emphasis on the Bourjois Elastic Mascara is on lengthening, so I wasn’t surprised to see this brush design.

What I was surprised to see was the amount of product the wand picked up in those reservoirs. Too much. Combine this with quite a wet formula-ed mascara and I knew I was going to have issues with application before I’d even lifted the wand past my nose.

I was right. It actually reminded me a lot of the issues I had with the last Bourjois mascara I bought (1001 Lashes). Admitedly, 1001 Lashes has actually grown to become one of my favourites… but it took 3 months for the formula to dry out enough for me to fall in love.

I love the brush on this Bourjois Elastic mascara. It actually ‘grabs’ my lashes. I can feel the pull as I drag through from root to tip. It keeps hold of them like no other brush I’ve tried. So if that formula thickens up a bit after a couple of months, I could have an winning combination on my hands!

Having said that, once dried… it’s a slightly crusty mascara, this doesn’t really bother me – but I know some of you prefer more flexible and soft finishes. It doesn’t actually *look* crusty… but you can feel the crispiness going on!

The weird handle is actually another thing I love about the Bourjois Elastic Mascara. It makes me more ‘light handed’ with the wand and I find myself applying with fluttery light but sweeping strokes as opposed to my usual ham-fisted, poke yourself in the eye efforts.

Another cool thing about the handle is that you can ‘twizzle’ the wand whilst applying to get maximum coverage. Didn’t think about that did you?! Rolling the wand between my thumb and forefinger feels quite a natural action as I’m pulling the product through the lashes. Unfortunately, the action just encourages this damn formula to clump… I’m still clinging to the hope that with a bit of age, the formula transforms into something amazing.

Definitely lengthening… not volumising or even very defining (I’m blaming the formula).

I’m on the fence with this one.

Something I’m not on the fence about?

This promo image:

Seriously? Just. Sod. Off.

Bourjois, you may be my favourite high street brand… but you hands down win the sucky Photoshop bs eyelash promo image award.

EDITED TO ADD:

The above promotional image shouldn’t be on the website under Elastic Mascara apparently, some kinda mistake as it’s a few years old.. here’s the correct model image!:

New out this week is Bourjois’ Elastic Mascara… complete with rather funky packaging!

They were putting these out on the shelves of my local Superdrug last Friday but I couldn’t see any testers so was unable to check out the wand and brush – boo!

I was also on my way back from my sk:n appt so I didn’t wanna hang around too long with my uber-flushed red bits on show, but I’m going back into town this afternoon to check it out.

They say…

The new Elastic Mascara achieves 130% more visible length to the lashes with its innovative, ultra-lengthening elastic formula and lash-extending brush.

The brush is the essential partner to the mascara and has two parts: the reservoirs which release the formula along the whole length of the lash, and the long, fine bristles to stretch the formula and visually increase the length of every single lash.  All lashes, even the shortest and finest, are stretched to the maximum leaving them intensely smoothed and coated from root to tip.
I do love me a bit of lengthening mascara, there haven’t been too many new high street mascara releases recently have there?

Boots are currently offering a 3for2 on all Bourjois or you can head to Superdrug for £2 off!

Price: £8.99 / €12.99

****

I’ve recently had a bit of a mascara purge (threw away 7 of the damn things)… so I think I can treat myself to some new mascara love.

In other mascara news, I keep reaching for my YSL Singulier in an attempt to finish it off…  I’m just not that keen on it especially considering it’s price tag.   I’m kinda loving my L’oreal Telescopic Explosion (controversial choice?) but it’s a bit of a faff to apply…

I think I should get back on my ‘mascara series‘ wagon, I’ve been through so many tubes and forgotten to review them – bad blogger!

What are your current mascara favourites and will you be checking out this latest offering from Bourjois?

A few months ago (read 5… yeah, I’m slacking), I started trialling Mavala’s Double Lash that I’d picked up in an effort to improve the condition of my eye lashes which had been breaking and looking a little sparse ever since giving birth to my daughter.

Anyway, how did I get on?

Here’s how my lashes looked back in October:

…and here they were when I finished the trial at the end of December:

I applied Mavala Double Lash every night as directed for around 10 weeks.

They say:

Eye lashes are an essential element of face beauty. Double Lash contains proteins which strengthen, cover and protect the lashes allowing them to become healthy, long and resistant.

It is the natural active ingredients in Double Lash which stimulate growth of the lashes giving them a lovely luxuriant and silky appearance.

I think I see a teeny bit of difference if you use my eyelid crease as a benchmark.  I felt on occasion that my lashes were longer and thicker (particularly when I was wearing mascara) but I just wasn’t convinced that I couldn’t attribute at least some of those feelings to plain wishful thinking.  Unless there’s a significant difference with things like this, I think it’s pretty tricky to judge.

I didn’t experience any irritation using the product, and it literally took seconds to apply each evening.  But, I guess the crux of the trial can be summed up with this simple observation… I haven’t bothered to repurchase it.

Mavala Double Lash is available online priced from around £8.50

Tell me, do you see any differences?

01/02/2010 (UK Date Format) – This post is overdue an update.

I’ve been revisiting this mascara throughout January.  And the formula feels thicker to me now.  It’s less clumpy (although I still wouldn’t advise more than 2 coats) and I’m finding that it nicely defines my lashes.  I need to update with a photo, and I shall do that very shortly.  But I wanted to put this update in now as I saw that I was receiving a few Google search referrals to this page.

As it stands, I would repurchase this mascara… I’m not sure *why* I found it so hard to work with back in November, but it seems like a completely different formula to me now that it’s aged a little… I’m enjoying it so much that I took it on holiday with me as my only mascara, that sounds like a silly ‘compliment’.  But when you have as many mascaras in rotation as I do, it’s a big commitment!

When I was in Superdrug the other day, I was looking for some of Bourjois’ new makeup removers and skincare products when I spied this unremarkable looking tube on the shelves.

Bourjois 1001 Cils…

I adore mascara, I have no less than 7 unopened tubes sitting in my makeup drawers at home, waiting to be put into action, so of course… I had to buy another one.

With mascaras, innovation seems to be the buzz word “du jour” and it’s not about the formulas…  It’s all about the brushes at the moment.  I’ll happily admit that I’m a total sucker for this.  I love me a good explanation as to why a mascara brush is gonna make me look like bambi on steroids.

So what’s the USP of this one?

Bourjois says:

Say good bye to mascaras that only thicken or lengthen the lashes! Bourjois goes further and multiplies your lashes*

* visual effect

Excellent! How’s it gonna do that then?

The revolutionary patented** double helix brush has astonishing powers: with its twelve rows of bristles, it works on every single lash, even the very smallest. In just one application, every lash is reached and fully coated from root to tip without clumping.

** patent pending

Right-O… No clumping, Multiplied Lashes and a Double Helix Brush…

Double helixes rock. It’s true…

Think DNA, responsible for encoding all the genetic information in our sad little lives.

And how about the Double Helix Nebula, found in the middle of our very own Milky Way galaxy?

Not quite so impressive, but interesting nonetheless is Bourjois’ 1001 Cils Mascara Brush:

It’s a plastic spiked brush as opposed to fibre bristled, which usually works nicely for my lashes.  Do you have a preference?

The formula is quite wet… one of those “sneeze and you’ll *really* regret it” types.

The head of the wand is really flexible compared to the shaft.  When I was putting the wand back in the tube, I hadn’t quite aligned it properly and instead of it simply jamming and not going in the tube as what usually happens… the head flexed and “pinged”, flicking mascara on me. Nice.

It clumped on the first coat and spread itself over my eyelid thanks to the thin, wet formula.

I didn’t find it particularly lengthening, volumising or ‘multiplying’.  The only positives I have are that it contains a nice strong black pigment and thanks to the thin brush you can reach the inner lashes with ease.

Here’s some before > afters:

I wouldn’t repurchase.

Bourjois 1001 Cils/Lashes is currently priced at £6.99 in Boots (I can’t remember how much I paid in Superdrug), RRP: £8.99

This week feels like it’s dragging… and it’s only Tuesday!!  Let’s have a quick Eye of the Day for a few minutes distraction…

Eyes:

Inner Corner: B Never Too Busy… – B Delight
Lid: BarryM – #88 Winter Berry
Crease: E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow – Royal
Outer V: NYX Ultra Pearl Mania – Charcoal
Mascara: Rimmel Sexy Curves – Black
Eyeliner (1st Layer): MAC Fluidline – Silverstroke
Eyeliner (2nd Layer): eBay Infinity Liner – Black

Don’t know if it’s the ‘right’ thing to do, but I love layering my eyeliner like this.  I’m a total eyeliner fiend and have so many, it’s surely the only way I’ll ever get through them all!

Seriously, it’s a great way to wear a pop of bright colour along the lashline, without commiting yourself to making a statement with it.  I often wear gold and blue eyeliners in this way.

Ok, that distraction worked for about 40seconds… hurry up Hump Day!

Since having Leila, I’ve noticed that my eyeslashes have been breaking more often and generally looking a bit sparser than normal.

I’m not in the market for lash growth solutions like li-lash and revitalash, but I do want something that promises to keep them in tip top condition.

Enter Mavala Double Lash:

They say:

Double Lash contains proteins which strengthen, cover and protect the lashes allowing them to become healthy, long and resistant.

To be fair, I’m not holding out much hope, I’m sure it has all to do with post-pregnancy hormones and no amount of proteins is going to alter that.  However, Double Lash is inexpensive and I figured it can’t hurt to try right?

The bottle is huge! It would take me a year to get through that much product!  I’m going to apply it to my lashes (and brows) every night before bed and see if there’s any differences to be seen in 30 days time.

Here’s the obligatory “before” shots:

Mavala Double Lash is available online from FeelUnique priced at £8.25