Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance Mascara

I posted a bunch of selfies on instagram last week, not something I usually do, but in every single one someone went out of their way to compliment my "beautiful" eyelashes.  I'm lucky, my lashes are quite long naturally, as well as being black, and they curl quite well with a good mascara, but they are a little thinner than I would like, sometimes.  I use all kinds of mascaras, but have a particular fondness for anything that will give me daytime drag-queen lashes.  I want length, I want volume, and I want curl, but I mostly want my lashes to be visible, which means my mascara has be to be very, very, very black indeed, otherwise my lashes just look dusty.

Enter Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance Mascara.  Equipped with a scooped brush that hugs the lashes tightly, and has short, plastic bristles (always my favourite kind) of differing lengths and thickness on the wand, it combs through lashes easily, and deposits just the right amount of mascara with every sweep.  It's black, too, very black, and easily covers my lashes.  It adds curl, and a nice amount of volume, and I'm incredibly pleased with it.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now,  and it has rapidly become my "go-to" mascara. It applies nicely, without clumps, separates the lashes well, and doesn't run or flake throughout the day.  I'm a fan!  In the picture below, you can see just what a difference two coats of Grand Entrance makes to my lashes:

Before and after

So, a good brush, a great formula (I'll gloss over the ever-so-slightly tacky tube), and great lashes, no flaking, no smudging and no running.  What more could you want?  Currently it's on offer for £15 (a great price, and I'll be picking up backups for sure) but it'll normally be £22. 

The Fine Print: PR sample 


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Josie Maran Bright and Beautiful Collection

You know those nights when you're accidentally awake at 4am and find yourself mindlessly perusing QVC?  Well that happened last week, and two days later, I found the Josie Maran Bright and Beautiful TSV (today's special value) on my doorstep.  I've been pretty impressed actually, and thought you might like to see it too.  Click to read more:

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Hot on the heels of They're Real, Benefit are shortly launching their new formula mascara, Roller Lash.  Lighter and less claggy (and easier to remove!) that They're Real, Roller Lash features an innovative new brush:
 

Much smaller, and without the spiky ball on the end, the Roller Lash brush has tiny hooks on some of the bristles to catch and curl your lashes.  Let's take a closer look:

You can just see some of the hooks on the top row of bristles there.

It's a really nice formula, I was worried that it was going to be a bit too natural for me - I prefer a thicker, less everyday look on my lashes, but here's the before and after:

It's a good look.  Natural without being too invisible, and there is definite curl and lift.  I genuinely love the brush, it grabs the lashes and makes application a breeze.

There is a downside though.  Smudges.  I first noticed smudging around lunchtime after a 7am application, and it carried on whenever I wore it.  So, overall, love the brush, not a huge fan of the formula.   I'll be sticking with They're Real.

Roller Lash costs 19.50 and will be on counter soon - there's a free sample with the March issue of Elle though, so try it for free first!

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara

By Laurin

My favourite mascara ever is any mascara I’ve been using for about six weeks. The purchase of a new make-up item brings with it a flutter of excitement in my stomach, and yet my heart never fails to sink when I open a new tube of mascara. Why? Because I know I’m about to spend five god-damned minutes that I don’t even have wiping the brush unless I want to arrive in my office looking like the victim of an unfortunate tarantula attack on the Victoria Line. It takes me about a month of jiggery-pokery and wand acrobatics to use up enough product for a perfect application straight from the tube, only to find one morning four weeks later that it’s magically fused into a solid lump of black gunk overnight. Ain’t nobody got time for that. 

These are not cheap products. At the time of writing, I estimate that I have at least £100 of unsatisfactory mascaras in my make-up drawer, all paid for with money I earned myself. Current rejects include Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara, Benefit They’re Real! (also: stop using tits to sell me eyelash paint), Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme and yes, Estee Lauder Double Wear, which has singlehandedly ruined many a rocking smoky eye.

And yet, I dream. I dream of a day when I shall open a new tube of mascara, gently wave the wand across my eyes and gaze back in the mirror at my thick, fluttering, perfectly separated lashes. “Darling,” my husband Michael Fassbender calls from the next room, “do come back to bed and – “ Oh, are you still here? Hi!

Anyway. I am pleased to report that my dreams have come true (my mascara-related dreams, that is). I’d never heard of Max Factor Clump Defy until Superdrug re-launched it as part of a limited edition best sellers range to celebrate their 50^th anniversary. It is genuinely the best mascara I’ve ever tried, at any price point. The short, tightly-packed bristles (pictured below) means it comes out of the tube with exactly the right amount of product on it, which is to say, not very much at all.

As you can see, the brush is slightly curved, enabling it to cover more lashes in one sweep. Below, you can see my lashes with no mascara at all, and with one coat of Clump Defy (I’ve also used my Shu Uemera Eyelash Curlers before applying). 

I normally apply three coats of mascara, and you can see below the effects of two and three coats of Clump Defy. There isn’t a huge amount of difference, so you could probably skip the third coat.

If you hurry, you can pick up the limited edition dotty pink packaging, which I love because it makes finding this in my make-up bag a cinch. After all, the more time I save on my make-up routine, the longer I can spend in bed with my husband, Michael Fassbender.

Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara is available at Superdrug in limited edition packaging for £7.99 at the time of writing.

The Fine Print - PR Sample

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YSL Babydoll Collection - Lips, Nails and Mascara

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this collection to launch!  I first saw it way back in February, and I've used the mascara non-stop since ...  A mini-collection, consisting of glossy lip stain, mascara, nail varnish, and several eyeliner shades, I had to pick up the lip stain and nail varnish as soon as it launched last week, and I also picked up a replacement mascara as I've used my sample up entirely in the few months since the press launch!

I've had a fairly disappointing experience with the Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levre (or glossy lip stain) previously, but I HAD to have this one, a cool raspberry, this shade is completely up my alley.

You can see the slightly blue undertones around the edges there.  When the gloss is in place, it's a rather hot pink shade, but very rich.  Unlike my previous GLS-experience, this one actually does leave a stain behind:

This can actually last a day or so after application, I've noticed.    Here's how it looks after approximately five hours wear which involved cocktails, and tiny sandwiches:

It does have a tendency to feather a little after a few hours, I've noticed, which is annoying, but it is a super-lovely shade ...

I do love YSL mascara's, but one of my main bug-bears with them is that they dry out too quickly.  I had to stop using Faux Cils as I was finding a tube only lasted about a month or so.  However, the Babydoll mascara formula is a massive improvement over that, and my initial tube lasted three months before I noticed it was clogging slightly.  I like the compact, short-bristled brush, and the very black formula.  Here's how it looks on the lashes:

Yes, my eyes ARE different colours, thanks

(YSL Babydoll on the left, bare lashes on the right - uncurled in both cases)

You can see it has a significant lengthening and curling effect, and I love it for not being cloggy, even after applying a couple of coats.  I have noticed (with the second tube, but not the first for some reason), that you can get smudges after a long while in wear, which is slightly annoying, but it's not the end of the world.

And finally:

Whilst it's not a particularly unique shade, I do have to say that I really like the new YSL brushes, which are wide enough almost to cover my entire (tiny) nail in one stroke.

Anything caught your eye recently?

The Fine Print: Mascara was initially a press sample, but all products featured in this article were purchased myself.
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Honeymoon Makeup Bag

I didn't want to take a huge amount of products with me to Paris last week, so broke out a tiny sampling of tried and trusted favourites, and new bits that needed a good testing, and made do with one - ONE! - lipstick whilst I was there.  I figured, hey, it's Paris, there's a Sephora on the doorstep if it all goes wrong!

Luckily,  it didn't.  Here's what I took:

Clockwise from bottom left:
DJV Beautenizer Volume Lash Mascara: I get mine from Cult Beauty, it's simply the best tubing mascara I've used.  I love it.  I occasionally use it in conjunction with the same company's Fibrewig mascara which is better for lengthening, and hey, I get to sing Fibrewig to the Spiderpig theme for the rest of the day...

Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in LotsO' Latte and Fuller Fudge:  Both taupe-ish shades, though Fuller fudge has a touch more orange/copper in the mix.  These are simple, and easy to use, and are very silky to apply without dragging.  They take a bit of building up though, and I discovered that they do need a primer underneath or they crease and fade quite badly (albeit slowly).  I like them, but I don't love them, to be honest, I think I'd like them more if they were slightly more pigmented, and (ironically) a bit thinner.  I may try some of the less neutral shades and see how I like those.  

Daylight

Flash

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser in Glow: I love this.  I need a back up.  It's nourishing and gives good buildable courage with just a hint of a sheen.  It makes my skin look amazing.  I need a back up (possibly in a slightly lighter shade), did I mention that?

Illamasqua Liquid Liner in Abyss: My holy grail liquid liner.  This one is nearly dead after almost two years of almost-daily usage.  I need a replacement.

Green People Mineral Powder Blush in Peach (with Louise Young blusher brush): This is a delightfully soft blusher that gives you a slight glow without shimmer.  Very natural looking, and not too much on the orange side.

  
And finally: Givenchy Le Rouge in Carmin Escarpin: I'm a shallow so-and-so, and, I have to admit, that I mainly packed this because it's an extremely stylish lipstick, clad in chrome and leather, and, well ... Givenchy were kind enough to send me a sample that had been engraved with my name:

Who can resist such luxury?  Luckily for Givenchy (and the Lippie mush), the formula is a winner too.  Lightweight and matte, with great slip, it's a fabulous red lipstick, which felt perfectly at home in Paris! Lasting time is about average for such a bright colour, but reapplying is no real hardship, let's face it!

There we have it, seven products and a brush.  What would you take on holiday with you?
 
The Fine Print: Mixture of PR Samples, purchases and re-purchases, with more re-purchases to come.

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Guerlain SS13 Maxi Lash Mascara

A new mascara is always something to rejoice in, and a new mascara from Guerlain is always something to get excited about - how does this one measure up?

 Well, it's about a third of the size of their usual mascaras, which is refreshing!  And lovely to see more of the deco-style packaging that we've all come to know and love from the Rouge Automatic range.  But most important for me is the brush, is it a mega-brush that gets mascara everywhere except where you want it?  No, it's a weeny thin brush:

No, it's actually a nice thin brush.  Let's take a closer look:

 It's just a normal, thin, spiral-set bristle-brush.  Nothing particularly out of the ordinary here.

Guerlain describe this as a "Volume-Creating, Curl-Sculpting mascara", and claim that the blend of three polymers is innovative: "The first one wraps the lashes in extremely adherent oils, coating and thickening the lashes. The second one, made with supple waxes, acts like a conditioner, softening the lashes so you can sculpt them into just the right shape and style. The last one forms a thin film, coating the lashes to trap the wax and set the amazing curve.”  My mascara is in Noir, which is, in reality, actually a deep charcoal rather than a sooty black:

 
I'm a little disappointed that it's not very black, to be honest, but this does also come in a violet shade, which is something I'm going to have to investigate when it's released.

So, how does it look?  Well, take a look for yourself  (and please excuse the extremely scary photos)

  
Well, there is definitely lengthening, thickening and curling going on, it's actually a nice mascara.  But it's not a very dramatic mascara, and I like DRAMA with my lashes.  Of course, your mileage may vary.  It also has to be said that I'm suffering from thinning lashes on my left eye (on the right in the pics there), and this mascara hasn't done much to disguise that.

Will I buy it again?  Probably not, in all honesty, I think Mascara G does a much  better job for my requirements, but if you're looking for a nice everyday mascara, you could do a lot worse.  It'll cost £22 when it's released in January.

What's your favourite mascara?

The Fine Print: PR Sample

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