Gone for a while...

I hope you enjoyed reading my mascara reviews extravaganza. The crazy thing is that I have at least 20 more mascara reviews to post! Eep.
Anyways I am on blogger hiatus starting now, since my baby is being born in less than 6 hours! I won't have much time for blogging in the coming weeks but you can be assured I'll be back!
Any suggestions of what sorts of posts you want to see in the future are appreciated.
more nail designs? foundation reviews? skincare? blonde hair care/bleaching?
I have a few BB cream reviews to do since I've recently tried a few more, I'll absolutely be posting those soon.
Wish me luck and a swift return to the makeup world :)
~ Lexa

YSL faux cils shocking mascara review

This was my very fist Yves Saint Laurent purchase. I almost bought touch eclat as well but just wasn't digging the price!

I want to start by mentioning I've never used the original faux cils mascara before, so unfortunately I cannot compare this version to it. From what I understand 'shocking' is supposed to be even more dramatic than the regular faux cils mascara, and the wands are made slightly different.


The tube is gold...I am sure most people like it but I don't. I think it looks tacky. I suppose I'm more of a platinum/silver/white gold type of girl.

The brush, is pretty messy to say the least. There are mid-sized bristles on it that attract varying amounts of product, making it hard to get an even application.
Lots of product gets onto the brush making it clump very easily.

YSL faux cils shocking brush:

The formula is very wet. This in combination with the brush design can be disastrous. It goes on thick and is prone to clumping.
It has a very strong rose smell that you will either love or hate. I personally don't like it. Thankfully, the scent doesn't linger too long.
It's very easy to overapply, I find that one or two coats is sufficient in adding lots of volume and some length.

Wearing two coats of faux cils shocking:

I love the dense carbon black color. It really makes your lashes stand out.
Unfortunately, this doesn't wear too well. After a few hours I get some flakes falling off my lashes.

For such an expensive mascara I expect more. I don't like the packaging, the smell, the clumping and most of all, flaking.
I think that this is similar to Diorshow blackout in terms of volume and pigmentation, and I much prefer blackout since it lengthens more and doesn't clump so easily.
I don't recommend this. If you are looking for a high end mascara with lot's of intensity I'd say go with Diorshow blackout.

Repurchase? No. I would like to try the original faux cils though.

Price: $36 CAD

Rating: 2.5/5

Prestige my biggest lashes mascara review

Alright, after non-stop raves and recommending this to everyone I know, here is my long awaited review of Prestige my biggest lashes.

One of the reasons I haven't reviewed it recently is because when I went to buy a new one in blackest black it was sold out. I waited months for the store to restock! Around here I can only get it at Pharma Plus it seems no other stores sell this mascara. I think people are catching on to this drugstore gem.

It comes in a pink tube, and really, whats not to like about that?
The brush is similar to the original Diorshow - big and fluffy. It coats all lashes nicely.

my biggest lashes brush:

One thing I love about this mascara is that the color is super black. It's one of the boldest blackest mascaras out there.
It makes your lashes look thick and full, and it can be layered for added drama.

Wearing my biggest lashes:

If you like Diorshow blackout, you will also enjoy this for a third of the cost!
There is hardly any difference in the end result. Both are dramatic, very black and make your lashes stand out. Both are also in my top 5 favorite mascaras of all time.

My biggest lashes has a somewhat dry formula, but it works well for layering. You can layer this many times for lots of length and volume. I find that even after layering it still keeps my lashes nicely separated.
If it starts to clump up a little I just keep running the brush through my lashes to evenly distribute the mascara.

This stuff holds curl well, doesn't smudge off or flake off. I have no problems with it at all. It's much better than Prestige my blackest lashes, don't even bother with that one it's a dud.

I highly recommend this to anybody who likes dramatic lashes. If you want length, volume, curl and kohl black pigment this is the most effective mascara from the drugstore.

Repurchase?Absolutely!

Price: $9.99 CAD

Rating: 5/5

Diorshow New Look mascara review

This is Diors newest mascara release, as always I have to try new things so I picked it up when I saw it.
I've tried lots of Dior mascaras including Diorshow, Diorshow iconic, Diorshow blackout and Diorshow Blackout waterproof.
I'm not a fan of most, but Diorshow blackout is pretty much the love of my life. I will post my review of that one soon!

New look has a special 'nano' brush to grab all lashes even tiny ones to get a full voluminous effect.
It's a pretty small brush, with little plastic bristles that range in size. The bottom part has longer bristles, and the top tapers off with very small ones.
It does an ok job of depositing mascara to each lash.

New look 'nano' brush:

New look is described by Dior as having a 'lash multipying effect, volume and care'. I'm not really sure what the 'care' part involves, it is apparently supposed to 'densify lashes'. I highly doubt it. I haven't seen any changes in my lashes since using it, and there are no special ingredients in this to really care for lashes.

Wearing 3 coats of new look:

This mascara gave me basic volume. That was just about it. I didn't get much length, and even after layering a few times it just kept making my lashes look fatter and shorter.
It didn't hold curl too well. I wasn't impressed, I felt like it made my eyelashes look short and stubby.
The formula is ok, doesn't smudge, clump or flake.

I really liked the packaging of this mascara. The tube is decorated with silver Dior designs. It feels nice and expensive.

If all you want in a mascara is volume, this is for you. It provides lots of volume and that's just about it. To me, it's a waste of money because I want curl and length!
There are much cheaper options out there that deliver volume. Off the top of my head I'd reccomend L'oreal voluminous carbon black which performs the same, if not better than this!

Repurchase? no

Price: $35 CAD

Rating: 2/5

Rimmel Extra WOW Lash mascara review

I've tried several Rimmel mascaras in the past. I only really liked and have repurchased is their eye magnifier. I have a few other short and sweet Rimmel mascara reviews here if you're interested.

Extra wow lash is marketed as a layerable type of mascara, basically you control if you want more or less of a dramatic look by building layers.

The brush is mid sized and has a somewhat fluffy wand, the bristles are large and dense.
I found it quite easy to use and it didn't get all messy like some mascaras do.

extra wow lash wand:

I played around with this mascara and it is totally buildable. It looks good with one or two coats, but really starts to look intense with 3-4 coats - and no clumping either.
That is a major plus in my books because I love layering mascara.

with 2 coats:

with 4 coats:

You can see it adds some length and volume, slightly separates too.
I found it didn't hold curl as much as I'd have liked, but it didn't weigh my lashes down either.
It has a basic formula that is sort of wet to enable lots of layering.
Wear wasn't bad but it did start to flake on me after 6 hours - this is mainly when I put on lots of layers.

Overall, if you are on a budget this mascara is a pretty decent one to get from the drug store. It's so cheap I say try it out! I found mine on sale, I think it cost $3.97 or something crazy.

Repurchase? maybe - if I am in need of a cheap mascara fix!

Price: $4.99 CAD

Rating: 3.5/5

Too Faced lashGASM mascara review

I admit it, I bought this mascara mostly because of the name. I ended up getting a back up too, because I thought I'd love it to death. It promises 'fluffy lashes, dramatic length and intense color'.

With a name like lashgasm, I was expecting to be really wowed. I've used Too Faced lash injection pin point mascara before, and I liked it a lot- so I figured this one would be good.

The brush has spiky bristles to grab your lashes and I found that it did a great job of coating every lash. It is a little bit sharp but nothing too crazy.

lashgasm brush:

The formula was decent, but a little bit odd. After applying a few coats I found that my lashes - bottom and top would stick together. Even after it dried it felt somewhat sticky, and especially my outer lashes would sometimes get 'tangled' together. Not cool!

It added some decent length and volume, and the color was really rich black.
I had no smearing or flaking with this.

Wearing lashgasm:

I found lashgasm held some curl. It's somewhat surprising since it was a sticky formula.
One problem I had was clumping. Trying to build layers was difficult, because it tended to stick all of my lashes together. The brush helps separate lashes, but a few coats will cause major clumps regardless.

Removal was difficult. It was like glue... I stopped using it because I had to tug on my eyes so much to take it all off.

There are some really nice things about this mascara and some not so great things... I personally didn't find it worked well for me. For the price I say forget it.

Repurchase? No

Price: $28 CAD

Rating: 3/5

MAKE UP FOR EVER smoky lash mascara review

Make up for ever aka MUFE is one brand I really enjoy using. I find the quality pretty good, although some products are hit and miss.

Smoky lash has been on my wish list for a very long time. Years. Now that I have a Sephora nearby smoky lash is mine!
The packaging is sleek and comfortable to use. I like the shape of it.

The mascara brush is mid-sized with little bristles shooting out from all angles and edges.
It really grabs onto your lashes and makes it easy to build up the volume.

smoky lash wand:

I found the formula quite dry. This was good for building layers and adding fantastic length and volume. It can be layered a lot without any clumping.
After a few coats my lashes looked long, defined volumized and curled.
I didn't find the blackness of it to be very intense. I've used many other mascaras that are darker in pigment and look much blacker.

Wearing smoky lash:

Unfortunately, after a few hours smoky lash flaked all under my eye area. I think this is because the formula is very dry. In this pic you can see the little flakes beneath my eyes:

I really like this mascara. It holds curl well, and doesn't clump at all.
Sadly, for me flaking is a major deal breaker. I don't have time for touch ups through the day and when I leave the house the last thing I need to worry about are specks of mascara flaking off my eyes.

I wonder if I got a drier mascara and this is why it didn't perform well. I also wonder if the waterproof version would be less flake-prone.

Overall this is a great mascara and I do recommend trying it in case it works out for you. Just beware that it might flake.

Repurchase? No, but I might grab the waterproof version in the future.

Price: $24 CAD

Rating: 4/5

Maybelline lash discovery mascara review & update!

I'm going to start with a little update before I move on to the review.
For those who don't know, I'm 9 mos pregnant - I'm also anemic and so very tired! I haven't been playing with makeup as much lately. My skin is suffering the worst acne right now since I was 14, so I really don't want to take many pics. Thanks hormones.
Anyways, this week I'm uploading all of my mascara reviews, I want to get them posted before the baby comes :)
So welcome to the start of my mascara review extravaganza!

Lash discovery mascara has always held a little mystery in my eyes. How does a mascara with such a tiny brush work?

For reference, here is the brush beside a Canadian quarter. Canadian quarters are the exact same size as American ones, in case you wondered the difference.

You can see just how tiny the mini brush is. It's absolutely the smallest mascara brush I've ever used.

One BIG problem with this little mascara is that the opening of the tube is not small enough to remove any excess product from the brush.
So, when you take it out to apply it, you will find there is a load of mascara on the tiny wand, and it will be a mess. To fix this problem I had to wipe excess product from the wand every time I went to apply it. Not cool.

It was a challenge to get used to applying mascara with the small wand. It reached all my lashes nicely and coated them. It added some length and volume but nothing spectacular.

Wearing Maybelline lash discovery* :

One thing I despised about this was that it really weighed down my lashes. It did not hold any curl whatsoever. I think it does this because the brush holds onto too much product as I mentioned above. It's a heavy formula and the weight just pulls down on your lashes.
*I need to point out that for the photo above I actually curled my lashes before applying lash discovery and then again after to get the curl back into them.

The formula is very wet and I didn't use it long enough to see what the result was when it got a bit drier. I imagine it would work better after it dried out slightly, it would grab less onto the lashes and maybe then it wouldn't weigh them down so much.

Overall this mascara gave me basic length and slight volume. It took extra work to clean the wand before applying and then curl my lashes again after I applied it.
I'm sure you can see why I didn't like this mascara very much at all. It's not available everywhere so I had to hunt for it, definitely a waste of time. I say pass on it!

Repurchase? No way.

Price: $9.99 CAD

Rating: 2/5