L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara Review

To begin with, I was SUPER excited to try out this mascara. After seeing the commercials and hearing all the things they promise I was really hoping for great results.

The first time I used it, I didn't really like it at all. It was really clumpy, it took a long time to cover the white from step one and it didn't really come out as black as I would have liked it to; it still seemed kind of gray when it was wet. It didn't really make my lashes any longer and looked like a clumpier version of the mascara I had been using (Maybelline Define-a-Lash) and it makes my eyelashes feel hard, like really fake that I don't like at all. Also, taking it off was a pain. You have to take off your makeup, then take off your mascara, and then wash your face. Plus it was really messy coming off; little bits of the tubes ended up all over my face, in my eyes and all over my sink. The good things I did like about it the first time was that it really did last all day long, it didn't flake off, and it doesn't smudge at all. But that was about all I liked about it the first time.

After using it a few more times, I started to get the hang of it a little better. First of all, it still does look gray when you put the black side over the white, but as it dries it gets blacker, so don't get discouraged if it's still a little bit gray when you're putting it on. Another thing I noticed is that the more white you put on the longer it makes your lashes look, it really builds up on the ends. The white is definitely the key to length. I also figured out a way that works for me to take them off better. I run a cotton ball under HOT water, then squeeze some of the water out of the cotton ball so it cools off and doesn't drip down my face, I then hold the cotton ball on my eye for five to ten seconds, and finally, pinch my eyelashes between my forefinger and the cotton ball and gently pull away. They come off pretty well and don't make as much of a mess as just rubbing downward with the wet cotton ball. This is what it looks like coming off:
It's kind of gross and the first few times I was really scared that I was actually pulling my eyelashes out. Thankfully, it's just the tubes and all of my lashes are still intact.

Here's a side by side comparison of how they look against my lashes with nothing on. Beauty Tubes on the left, naked lashes on the right:This is without even curling them and there is a definite difference in length. All in all, I really like this mascara. I like the lengthening ability and the way my lashes look with it on but I really don't like the way it makes my lashes feel hard and crunchy and I don't like the extra step in taking them off so I probably wouldn't use it every day, but for special occasions or whenever I need a little more oomph without wearing falsies, I will be glad that this mascara is in my arsenal.

Love long lashes,
Jamie

Upcoming Posts

E.L.F. Haul/Review
Essence of Beauty Brow Kit and Brushes Review
L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Review

CVS Mini Haul

So I stopped by CVS today and had to pick up a few things from the beauty section to review for you guys. I only got a few things because I was kind of in a hurry so anywho, here it goes…

The first thing I picked up was the L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. This is something I’ve wanted to try for a super long time but for one reason or another I just haven’t gotten around to it so I’m pretty excited about trying that out. I got it in the shade blackest black and it was $10.99. For those of you who don’t know about this product, it’s a two step system that acts like eyelash extensions. The first step is a nourishing basecoat, kind of like eyelash moisturizer, it protects, nourishes and strengthens the lashes before you put on the “Ultra Lengthening Tube Top Coat.” The second step is the mascara part. The package says, “As the mascara sets, it envelopes your lashes in small tubes that act like lash-lengthening extensions.” It’s supposed to make your lashes look 80% longer without smudging, smearing, running or flaking. It’s also supposed to be clump-free (no spider-eyes) and long wearing. I haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet but I’m definitely looking forward to it.

The other things I wanted to check out at CVS were some makeup brushes. I’ve heard good things about the brushes from CVS’s beauty brand Essence of Beauty so I wanted to pick some up (specifically eye brushes) to give them a try. So one of the brushes that I picked up is called… well… it says on the package Dual Use Eye shadow Brush but it says on the brush Smokey-Wide, so it’s the Smokey-Wide Dual Use Eye shadow Brush, but we’ll just call him Smokey. So Smokey is a two-sided brush: one side is a pencil-shaped brush similar to the MAC 219 but with shorter bristles, it’s pretty densely packed and comes to a nice point, good for the crease or doing a smudgey-smokey look on the lash line; the other side is a big, fluffy, paddle-shaped brush, it’s really soft and it seems like it would be good for putting on a highlight or one color all over the eyelid but I have to say that this side of the brush smells absolutely horrible. I know it’s natural hair and everything but seriously it’s gross, even after deep cleaning it still smells. Even though the smell of the brush won’t affect its ability to do its job, I just have this thing where I feel like the smell is going to transfer from the brush to my eye shadow or to my face so I don’t want to use it. The pencil side doesn’t smell so I’ll still use that part, but if I can’t get the smell out of the paddle side, I’ll probably never use it. Oh, and that brush was $6.99.

The last thing I got was their brow/lid kit. It was also $6.99 but it has a bunch of stuff in it. It came with 3 different shaped brow stencils, which I’ll never use; a 2-sided brow pencil, black on one side, dark brown on the other; a little compact with 2 colors of brow powder, a taupe-ish color and a darker brown, it also came with a sponge applicator in it, which is kind of ridiculous to use on brows, but I guess you could use them on your eyes; it came with 2 brushes, an angled brow brush that’s fairly stiff, which is good for brows, and a two-sided eye brush, an angled shading brush on one side and a small smudger brush on the other side; and lastly, it came with an eye shadow trio, with really pretty neutral tones in it, a medium grey-brown and a deeper grey-brown and a really good highlighter that also works pretty well on the tops of the cheekbones to give that nice glow.

I haven’t gotten to really play with any of this stuff yet but when I do, I’ll be back to do some reviews on those things. Oh! I almost forgot. I also got the Essence of Beauty Brush Cleaner. It comes in a spray bottle and is just meant for like spot cleaning, but we’ll see how that works out too. So be on the lookout for reviews of these things and also I ordered a couple things from mark. and from e.l.f. so be on the lookout for reviews on those things too!

Love,
Jamie

Comparison Study: Long-Lasting Foundations (First Impressions)

Ok, so I talked my sister into being another little guinea pig to review makeup on because we have different skin type (mine is really dry, hers is more combination) and sometimes products work differently on different skin types, especially foundation.

I really wanted to do my first review on foundations because really without a nice base, none of your other makeup is going to look as good. And I'm not trying to say that you need to wear foundation to have a great base; if you have really nice, even skin then you can most definitely skip foundation. But for me, and for a lot of other girls out there, we don't have the best skin, so we need a little help in that area.

So for me, I have a lot of redness in my cheeks and forehead and chin... basically everywhere, and I get breakouts every once in a while so I like to use a foundation with good coverage to even out my skin tone and help to hide some of my acne scarring and pigmentation. My sister has a pretty even tone in general and doesn't need as much coverage as I do.

Review time: I picked up two long-lasting foundations to compare and review. I looked for the most inexpensive one I could find and the one that claimed to last the longest.

So the first one I got was Rimmel London's Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation.
It says it lasts for 16 hours and it's transfer resistant (so it shouldn't come off on clothes or napkins or anything) and that it's anti-trace (I guess that means that it blends well and doesn't leave that line around your face? I'm not really sure) and oil-free. On the back it says, "Transfer-Resistant formula looks freshly applied for 16 hours. Enriched with minerals to help energize skin. Comfortable wear." It was priced at $6.49 but there was a coupon attached to it for $1 off, so it only cost me $5.49 and it's 1 fl oz./30 ml.

Ok, first off, I got the lightest color they carry, 100 Ivory, and it's a little too dark for my skin. I do have pale skin but I definitely wouldn't say I'm the lightest person in the world, so it's kind of strange that their lightest color is too dark for me. The formula is on the thick side and it doesn't spread and blend as easily as I'd like it to. It has a really nice scent while it's going on, kind of fruity and yummy; I really like the smell and it goes away after a couple minutes so your not walking around smelling like a fruit all day but it's nice as your applying it. As far as coverage, I'd say it's pretty light coverage. Some of the redness on both me and my sister comes through, especially on the cheeks. It looks like we already have blush on without actually applying it, which is good, I guess, if you don't want to wear blush, but for me I'd like to control my blush since I have so much redness and on my sister, she has uneven redness so it looks a little funny. It's also a little on the cakey side in the dry spots, like around my nose and near my eyebrows. As far as it's claims: I've only had it on for about an hour so I can't say anything yet as far as its 16 hour wear; their lightest color is too dark for me so there actually is a difference between my neck and face (again, not exactly sure what anti-trace means, comment below if you know); and as far as it being transfer resistant: I just wiped my face with a tissue and there is a little bit of tint on the tissue but it still pretty much looks the same on my face so that's pretty good.

So the next foundation I got was L'Oreal Paris Infallible Make-Up.

It says it's "advanced never fail makeup," lasts for 18 hours, has SPF 20 sunscreen in it, and has Smooth-Blend Comfort (whatever that means). Other than that it just says, tap bottom gently before using and apply before sun exposure. So there's not too much information on the bottle. Anywho, it's priced at $11.99 and it's 1 fl. oz/30 ml. I got it in the shade Classic Ivory 603 and it's basically the perfect shade for me, a little too pale for my sister.

The consistency is much thinner/liquidier than the Rimmel one. It smooths on really nicely so less product is needed to cover the whole face so it'll last longer. It kind of has a scent going on. I think it smells kind of like pepper, but my sister didn't smell anything so maybe I'm just weird. The coverage is good, kind of medium to full, I'd say, closer to medium. It covers my redness and evens out my skin tone really nicely. There is a tiny bit of cakeyness around my nose but really not too bad. It's not cakey at all on my sister so it's probably just because it's a really dry spot on me. Also when we first put it on, it kind of showed up in my sister's pores on her cheeks, mostly because the color isn't quite right for her so it looked strange; but it's evened out and smoothed out just fine. I also really like the way this one looks better than the way the Rimmel one looked. My skin texture looks so much smoother and nicer and softer than it does with the Rimmel, same with my sister. Don't know yet about it's long lasting-ness but I will definitely let you know after using both for a while.

All in all, we both agree so far that we'd much rather use the L'Oreal than the Rimmel. We're both going to continue to use both foundations for a while to really give you full reviews on them. So be on the lookout for that in about a week or two. Not sure yet what we'll be reviewing next so if you have any suggestions let me know!

Love makeup!
Jamie