I sampled a few more mascaras this year. Some good, most bad. Mascaras are the one makeup item I'm more than content to be unadventurous with, seeing as about three work for me and no other do, so why not stick with what works?



Maybelline "The Colossal" Volume Express Waterproof
This was good! It's a sufficiently wet-but-dry formula that it doesn't end up all over my eyes, and it certainly is waterproof. The brush is chunky style, which I don't usually get on with, but it works perfectly with this formula.

Thumbs up from me.

Benefit BadGal Lash Mascara

This was a sample sized picked up from when Glamour magazine were giving away free Benefit bits and bobs, so perhaps not completely comparable with the real deal as it were, but I found this sample to be fairly bad.
It seeks out my eyelids and glues itself to them, ruining any eyeshadow/primer there. It doesn't really have any lengthening or curling effect, and doesn't even really do much in the way of volume. The only thing I can see it doing well is making my lashes darker, but I'd much prefer it did what it was meant to do first.


No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara

Seeing as I've repurchased this three, maybe four times (in fact, it was featured in one of my most recent posts) this mascara is clearly doing something right. It doesn't flake, is reasonably easy to apply, and the brush is in segments which means you can use different parts for different areas of the eye (i.e, shorter bristles on the lower eyelashes). I do think it's a triumph of mascara design. I hope Boots don't discontinue it any time soon.

Am I the only one with this problem of getting mascara all over my eyelid? Feeling rather clumsy!

Hey guys! After this post, there is one more (of the purple glitter polish) that was pictured in the very first haul and another Boots purple one that wasn't pictured, and then we can swatch the newer ones :P
This is from the Colorama collection by Maybelline. The colour is called "Jelly Bean"

The very first photo lies. The colour is a LOT more green. It's a bluey-tinged turquoise in shade and a greeny one in sunlight.
I had reservations about this colour originally. I painted a coat on and was just like, what? Is this going to be another Tropical Peach? It went on meh. A tad runny, and it looked really sheer on my nail which irritated me. It opaqued up while it was drying though (which took a hella long time). Despite the drying time, once it was dry, it really was dry - no amount of knocking could dent it, which I appreciated. And the brush was whack - splayed out everywhere - but I think that was due to the previous owner rather than any fault of the polish :P In the photos you see I've applied two coats. It has a foily finish and green shimmer. Yeah, it's grown on me.

Mascara time! These are two mascaras that I bought from TJ Hughes the other day.  
I got NYC Lengthening Mascara and Maybelline Define A Lash Volume Mascara.

 The NYC was really not good. I put a coat on my lashes and was like, "Eh?" It barely made any difference to my lashes apart from making them look slightly darker, which hello, I need no help with, because they're black already? I waited five minutes then mushed another coat on. And another. After loads of vigarous shaking and pulling, my lashes looked a little longer. A little. What a fail. The brush was soft and didn't really feel like it was doing anything. Not my thing at all.

The Maybelline was a lot better, though the brush felt a tad odd because it was so short and bristly, almost painful. Once you get used to the sensation, though, this is by far the superior product. It instantly seperates your lashes and actually makes them look longer and fuller, and I didn't need to put on a million coats.

*I paid for all these products myself. :D