Review: L'oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Faux Cils

Voluminous False Fibre Lashes is the newest mascara in L'oreal's Voluminous range. This mascara is said to be a fibre volumizing mascara, the "lash sculpting fibre formula adheres to lashes for a volumized, sculpted lash effects. Lashes appear fuller, longer, sculpted and curled at every angle". I love the Voluminous line, so I had to try this out and see what it was all about. I think this is Lash Architect 4D in Europe (in a silver tube).

The packaging is really nice, it comes in a gold, shiny "expensive looking" tube, much like the previous L'oreal Million Lashes. You will notice straight away that the applicator (the wand and the handle) is very long, and can be difficult to work with at first, but you get used to it quickly. The brush is tapered, thinner at the tip and wider at the base, also it's angled slightly to the side (picture did not capture that). I picked up this mascara at Rexall Pharma Plus for about $11 Canadian, I've seen it for as much as $16 at Shoppers Drug Mart, best to get it on sale.

Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara, Comparison with Cover Girl Lash Blast

Benefit hit the nail on the head with their marketing for Benefit's They're Real Mascara, what women want most out of their mascara is the appearance that they are false lashes, but wait, they are real! We all know that the mascara advertisements that we see all contain women wearing false lash inserts, those results are not attainable alone. So does Benefit's They're Real give a pleasing result? And are the girl's boobs in the advertisement real too? I think the left one definitely looks fake, less shading on it or something, it looks weird. I guess it's up to you to decide.
 
I went back and forth about getting Benefit's They're Real because of the high price, normally I get drugstore mascaras and find some of them to be very good and comparable to that of high-end types. But I love trying out new products so I finally caved. Benefit's They're Real retails for $22 US and $29 Canadian, I got mine at Sephora, it's always sold on the Benefit website.

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Mascara

YSL Faux Cils to me is the epitome of fancy mascara, I mean the price of this is hefty! But I have heard that this mascara is one of the best and so I've always wanted to try it out myself.  It's advertised as a 'Luxurious Volume Effect Mascara for a False Lash Effect'. To me, volume is what I want most in my lashes, I have a decent amount of them, but always want them to look fuller and luxurious wouldn't hurt either! I received this product, along with a few others that I will be reviewing over the next week from StrawberryNet.com, my reviews are always honest however, and not influenced by anything other than how I personally feel about them.

Review: Physicians Formula Jumbo Lash Mascara

The Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara is the first mascara that I have used from Physicians Formula, I don't think they have many mascaras, in fact this is the first that I've noticed from them. This product had a "full rebate offer" on it, meaning that if you send in the rebate, you can get all your money back and try it out for free, so I couldn't say no to this! I paid around $8CAD for it, it was during a 40% off sale, normally it's quite expensive for a drugstore mascara.

Review: Rimmel Lash Accelerator

Another mascara review coming your way! Rimmel's Lash Accelerator is a mascara that I've been eyeing up for some time, however I kept finding it very expensive in drugstores around here (in Canada) so I picked it up and put it down several times. Lately, I've noticed it has gone down in price, I think mine was $7 at Rexall Pharma Plus. This mascara is one of those "lash growing" types. The advertisement claims that the mascara has "grow-lash complex" (a mix of bamboo extract, procapil and biotin) and that lashes will "look up to 117% longer in 30 days and up to 80% longer instantly". "Beautifully long, remarkably strong lashes, clinically tested". And that "95% saw a lengthening effect on bare lashes in 2 weeks". I love that Zooey Deschanel was the face for this campaign, she is totally cool, although I find she doesn't look like herself in these images, anyone else think that? And those false lashes that they put on her and thick eyeliner is ridiculous and takes away from the legitimacy of their claims.

Review: Maybelline One By One Mascara

Maybelline's newest mascara is "One By One". This one is meant to give "bold without the bulk" and provide bold and refined volume, specifically instant lash by lash clump-free volume. I guess this mascara, the brush specifically, is supposed to avoid that clumpy look that girls often get when they try to build up their mascara with too many coats. So is this mascara "the one", that mascara that we've all been looking and hoping for?

Mascara Mondays: Rimmel Glam Eyes

Today's mascara review is Rimmel's Glam Eyes mascara. I know it says "new" on the tube, but this one isn't new, just when I purchased this it was. I love the name on this one, Glam Eyes, it sounds classy and fancy. This mascara is supposed to be an "ultra-volume, high definition mascara". On the Rimmel website, this is also described as "Seductive Volume. Turn heads. New VolumFlex Brush styles lashes for sensational volume and instant separation. Ultra supple elasto-bristles groom each lash, lacquering them from root to tip for a spectacular 7 x more lash intensity. Big Lash Seduction. High Definition. Maximum lash impact. Impeccable definition. Smoothing formula glides through lashes, wrapping each one for ultimate volume yet perfect separation. Lashes look dramatically amplified yet sleekly defined - even up close and personal." I like the packaging of this, the tube is black and light pink with what looks like stockings or checkered top. I think Rimmel has really cute girly packaging for most of their mascara, and I am a sucker for them and have bought several throughout the years, despite hearing little or nothing about how good or bad they are.

Mascara Monday: Maybelline Great Lash BIG Mascara

Maybelline's Great Lash BIG mascara is a step up from the original Great Lash mascara, the main difference is the brush is much larger. I know this mascara is listed as a favourite in many beauty magazines, but I never understood why because personally I hated the original, it was one of the worst mascara I've ever tried. I purchased the Great Lash BIG recently primarily for review purposes, it was $3.97 CAD at my Walmart, mascara does not much cheaper than that. This one promises "bigger brush, bigger lashes, buildable volume" (compared to the original Great Lash).

Mascara Monday: Clinique High Impact Mascara

I've been neglecting my Mascara Monday posts, so we are back into it this month. Today's mascara of choice to review is Clinique's High Impact Mascara. I got this as part of a gift with purchase some time ago. I haven't used it until recently, because I have a mountain of mascaras. The Clinique.ca website describes this mascara as "Kicks up the volume and length of each and every lash for a look that's lusher, plusher, bolder. Pure, deep colour only adds to the impact. Wear it once and you'll feel naked without it." This mascara retails for $18 CAD.

Mascara Monday: Prestige My Biggest Lashes

It's Monday Monday Monday! Mascara Monday! Nothing like starting your week with some mascara talk! Today's mascara is Prestige's "My Biggest Lashes" mascara. This mascara promises to give a "big lash effect". Sounds good, we all want big lashes, long and thick ones please! How does this mascara perform? Keep reading to find out.

Review: L'oreal Voluminous Million Lashes

L'oreal's newest mascara is the Voluminous Million Lashes. It comes in a metallic gold, shiny packaging. I got this for $6.99 - $1 coupon a few days ago at The Superstore (in Canada). Being a fan of the original Voluminous mascara I was curious how this one performed, especially with a name like "million lashes" I had expectations of it doing miracles. I have read mostly negative reviews of this mascara, but being a mascara junkie, I had to try this out, who doesn't want Eva Longoria's lashes right? Miiillllions of them!

Mascara Monday: Maybelline Define a Lash Volume Review

I apologize about my late post tonight, it's Thanksgiving Day in Canada and I've been spending time with my family. I wasn't going to post today, but since it's Mascara Mondays, I just couldn't miss a day! I look forward to writing these posts every week, I hope you enjoy reading them. I have a ton of mascara and this helps me evaluate my mascara stash. Today's mascara review is the Maybelline Define a Lash Volume. It comes in a pretty pinky red tube. It is described as a "zero clump volumizing mascara (that) creates voluptuous volume with clean definition." I got this in a pack of 2 for the price of 1 type offer.

Mascara Monday: Maybelline Full N' Soft Mascara

Mascara Mondays continues with Maybelline's Full n' Soft mascara. Maybelline makes some of my favourite mascaras and this is one of them. I have the waterpoof version here which is supposed to be better than the regular. There is also a Vitamin E version, but I have not tried that one and am not sure if they still make it actually. This mascara promises to give "full, soft and thick healthy-looking lashes without the brittle feel, no clumps, no globs, won't run, smear or smudge and helps prevent loss of lashes with patented waterproof quick-dissolve system which allows easy mascara removal." The non-waterproof version is also supposed to be 'washable', I guess that means it dissolves easily with water and does not need a heavy eye makeup remover to take it off. What I like about this mascara is it doesn't weigh down your lashes, allowing you to apply several coats and not get that brittle feel. I look for volumizing mascaras and this one does that for me.

Mascara Monday: L'oreal Voluminous Naturale

Today's mascara review is the L'oreal Voluminous Naturale, that's right, not the original or the Carbon Black, but the Naturale version that no one ever talks about. This is one of my favourite mascaras because it doesn't make my lashes brittle, gives nice volume and lift without looking caked on, and has a wicked cool applicator. The original Voluminous is a favourite of many people because it gives dramatic volume, whereas this one is more of a toned-down natural look. Reading the ratings for this mascara on Makeup Alley, it averages 2.9, I don't know why people dislike it so much, but then again, people have high expectations for mascara and everyone is looking for miracles, you need good lashes, then every mascara will look good on you, unless it sucks in general, then it won't.

Mascara Monday: L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara Review

Today's mascara is the L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara. The L'oreal website describes this mascara as "For clump-free, perfectly defined longer lashes. L’Oréal introduces new Telescopic® Clean Definition Mascara for lashes with telescopic length, perfect definition, and a clump-free, natural end result. The patented No Clump Brush™ cleanly defines and lengthens up to 60%." This came out a long time ago, and promised more than anything, clump-free lashes. The packaging is a tall, skinny silver bottle that resembles a telescope, I find the packaging to be kind of ugly but it's not what's on the outside that counts.

Mascara Monday: Rimmel Volume Flash The Max Bold Curves Review

This is Week 2 of my Mascara Mondays series, last week I did the Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara, today it's Rimmel's Bold Curves. Next week, I promise it will be a brand other than Rimmel. I just thought I would do Rimmel first because there aren't too many reviews of these mascaras and I think they are pretty good, it's like they don't get enough hype. Rimmel's Bold Curves is described on the Rimmel website as "flirtatious flutters up to 14x more volume, it will also create unmissable lashes with up to 70% more lift. Exclusive formula with collagen thickens lashes, while keratin helps to make them stronger, sleeker and shinier. And with our biggest, most curvaceous Bold-Lift brush, you can max out every lash in a flash!"

The Bold Curves brush is very similar to the original Rimmel The Max Volume Flash brush (see image above), except it's curved, so it gives the impression that it will provide more lift to your curl. The formulation seems the same to me, it's thick, and not too runny. Both of these are in black. I like the packaging of the Volume Flash mascaras, this one comes in a green tube and the other one is pink (see image above). I actually like the 'wetness' of this mascara, I find some mascaras (ie Rimmel Sexy Curves) are quite wet. I am a bigger fan of the wire bristles vs the plastic wands that a lot of mascaras have nowadays. I prefer the curved one over the regular one too, I find it easier to apply.

The brush is quite large on this mascara, which I like because it means it can cover lots of lashes at once. The only issue I have with the brush itself is every time you take it out of the tube, you get a blob of liquid on the tip (removed in picture above), this happens with a lot of mascaras however. I use the bottom part to comb through my lashes and then I find the top part is good at combing out excess afterwards.

It claims to give "the biggest curve ever" I am not sure about that. I curl my lashes of course, and this mascara does not weigh them down, but doesn't give remarkable results either. Does it give volume? I find it does alright, nothing spectacular. For those of you looking for a volumizing mascara, I say pass on this one. Also, if you put too much of this on, ie too many coats, you will get spidery lashes.

I like the result that this mascara gives, it's great for the lower lash line, and it gives a light, fluttery result. Sorry the picture above is not really focused well, but you get the idea. There is some flaking by the end of the day with this one. I have the tendency to get some fallout on my upper lids right above the lash line, if anyone has any suggestions on how to avoid that, please let me know.

Have you tried Rimmel's Bold Curves mascara?

Mascara Monday: Rimmel Sexy Curves

Mondays on Productrater are now going to be known as "Mascara Monday", I will review a different mascara every week. I have read others bloggers do this and it's a neat idea. I have lots of mascara, so frankly, I can keep this up until like the end of the year, so hopefully you will enjoy this. I generally do not apply mascara to my bottom lashes just to fore worn you. I look for volume in my mascara since my lashes are long enough, but not full enough, in my opinion.

Today's mascara is the Rimmel Sexy Curves. I listed this in last month's favourites cause it's a pretty good mascara. It comes in a pretty shiny purple tube, which probably attracts most people. It comes in normal and waterproof, I generally buy waterproof mascara but I read that that one sucks, so I got this one instead. It retails at drugstores for about $7-8, just like any standard mascara. Rimmel's website describes this mascara as "Fuller figured brush – fuller figured lashes. Curves in all the right places! The first Triple Plump brush with 3x the curves for 70% curlier lashes. Voluptuous brush with CurveControl technology wiggles easily through your lashes quickly coating them. Exclusive brush design curves IN to maximize lash loading, curves OUT to curl and de-clump each lash for a complete curved look."

This mascara has the most unique wand ever. It's rubber, purple and has three bumps (what Rimmel describes as the "triple plump") on it with spikes. I think at first this is really hard to work with because the wand does not reach all your lashes at once because of the bumps on it. I have this in extreme black. I don't know if mine is drying up or what, but notice how the liquid does not cover the wand entirely? The wand is rubbery and does bend easily, which I like. The formula is very wet too.

bare eye

with Rimmel Sexy Curves

I think this definitely gives length, volume a bit too. I do find this crunchy though and difficult to layer because it dries so fast. I like being able to put a few coats on to build it up and with this I can't really do that. I do like the bumps on it though for getting into the corners of your eyes by your nose, I have a hard time doing that with other mascaras.

bare eye

with Rimmel Sexy Curves

The best part of this mascara is how it holds the curl, it keeps them as they are when you first apply the mascara, sticking straight up! So it does live up to the claim to give "curve". But as you can tell, I get little balls (clumps) through my lashes and even underneath my eye in the top picture, so there is flaking with this on me. It does not separate all that great either (with repeated coats) my lashes are sticking together.

So this mascara is pretty good in my opinion if you are looking for a curling mascara, I know curling mascaras do not generally give much volume, and that was my problem with this one. It even says it gives volume on the package, not really though.

What did you think of Rimmel's Sexy Curves?

Review: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Mascara

Lash Stiletto Voluptuous is a new(ish) mascara from Maybelline, I bought it for $8 CAD. I haven't tried the original Stiletto mascara (most reviews I read were bad), but this one intrigued me because of the curved brush and anything that promises volume is great for me! I love the packaging of this too, the red tube with the black tip on the bottom (made to look like a heel).

The brush on this mascara is really cool, I like curved brushes like this because they make it easier to get the little lashes in the centre of your face. And the bristles on this are also dense and short, which I like. It has a sort of wave to it, which is supposed to assist in plumping and stretching your lashes. Definitely a unique brush, kudos to Maybelline for that. I don't think many people know, but, you can get many mascara from drugstores in the curved variety, just look for it on the package. Also, mascara is a product that is not one size, fits all, mascaras work for some, and not for others, it's all based on how your lashes naturally are and what you need them a mascara to do for you. Also, I've read that this mascara doesn't last very long in the tube, people are reporting that it dries up within 3 weeks. I haven't had it long enough to really tell yet.

So the verdict... It dries quickly, so if you want to do extra coats, you gotta do it fast because your lashes will look hard and brittle otherwise. This is a very glossy formulation. I definitely got length with this one, as for volume, not so much. But I like the kinda fluttery effect that it gave. It did not flake on me and I really like it. I like how the cap screws on, so you know that it's really closed shut, many L'oreal mascaras do this.

I feel like I shouldn't like this because most of the reviews are on the bad side..but I do! It lengthens like a dream, separates and gives decent volume I think. And with this brush I can do what I can't with many others, apply mascara to my bottom lashes! It worked for me.

Review: Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Who doesn't want their lashes to look like falsies? Personally, I wish my lashes were full enough that I didn't have to wear false lashes (I don't wear false lashes for the record), but we aren't all blessed with fluttery lashes, so we turn to mascaras that give the illusion that we do, mascara after mascara. I think this marketing scheme is really effective because all women want their lashes to have that falsies effect, so people will definitely want to buy this mascara.

Maybelline recently came out with this new mascara called "The Falsies". It comes in a very cute purple tube, looks very much like the Colossal. I am a big fan of the Volum' Express mascaras from Maybelline, I have several, if not all of them and they are my favourite drugstore mascara. I like the semi big brush, it covers my lashes well,volumizes and separates well.

Review: Lash Blast VS. Lash Blast Fusion

I was so excited to try out the new Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion. We don't even carry this in Canada yet, and I hadn't even known it existed until I saw it on my recent trip to Chicago. I love the original Lash Blast and wanted to see how this new one performs in comparison. Please note, I have the Lash Blast Volume in the waterproof version, I prefer waterproof mascaras as they hold a curl better.

As you all know, Lash Blast (now known as Lash Blast Volume) was the original Lash Blast, in the orange tube, this is lots of people's HG mascara, it was meant to give volume. Lash Blast Length, in the yellow tube came next, it was meant for length. I didn't even pick that one up because of the poor reviews. Now, Lash Blast Fusion, in the purple tube is the newest offering, and it's meant to give volume AND length. Sounds good right? Let me tell you about it.

Lash Blast Waterproof (in Black) on Left and Lash Blast Fusion (in Black) on Right

The brush on the Lash Blast Fusion is the rubber type that most mascaras have. In the picture above, you can see the two mascara brushes are very similar. I am not sure why but the Lash Blast waterproof is a lot more glossy (which I like), the Fusion isn't very black, more grey looking there. The Lash Blast brush is a touch fatter (wider). The little bristles look identical on each brush. The length of the bristles look similar too, the original Lash Blast seems have to have bristles. So what is different about this new Fusion mascara? Nothing really.

Lash Blast on top, Lash Blast Fusion underneath

Lash Blast Fusion (Left), Lash Blast Volume (Right)

From the picture above, the Fusion looks like a bit more smoother application, but it might just be because my Lash Blast Volume is quite old so it gets clumpier. However, the regular Lash Blast is  blacker. I should of compared this to both non-waterproof version, but this was all I had and I couldn't find Lash Blast Fusion in waterproof at the store (does it come in waterproof?). Do my lashes look any longer on the left? Nope. Does the Fusion give more volume? Nope.

I paid $9.99 for the Lash Blast Fusion at Walgreens. I was so excited about it, but was left disappointed as the two mascaras are so similar. Would I buy this again? If it was waterproof maybe, but I could go with either the Lash Blast or Lash Blast Fusion since I think they are the same thing, just a marketing ploy to get people to buy it, don't be fooled!