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!

Good morning and welcome to my blog in 2013! It feels so strange to be entering yet another year...

I focused a lot on lip products and brushes in 2012, but there was a product family that I was continually hitting pan on, repurchasing, and then just never blogging about. Yep, you guessed it: Eyeliners! Admittedly, the clue was in the title ;)


Maybelline 'Master Drama' Kohl Liner
I actually own this in black and brown. I bought the brown first on a whim, as during the Summer Maybelline released a load of new products and these were included in the line up. As I was going swimming later and was fully aware that a certain rugby player male type of eye-candy would be there, I decided to invest in some waterproof cosmetics. You know, just completely coincidentally.

Anyway, after a long discussion between myself and a friendly sales assistant in Boots who told me she owned this very pencil and used it on her eyebrows, I walked home with this. And it is incredible - so, so robust and waterproof. It lasted me two hours of swimming, which I was more than impressed with. On the hand, it persists for about a day with just casual handwashing.

I haven't actually tested out the black on the waterline yet, but I'm hoping it'll be more of the same story. Best part? This liner was about a fiver, and as Maybelline was 3 for 2, it worked out to be considerably cheaper.

The only downside for me is just how soft they are - it's easy to overapply if you're a little heavy handed (as I often am). I end up having to sharpen these fairly frequently, maybe every four or so uses. I'd still recommend them to anyone looking for a budget, waterproof kohl liner.


MUA Extreme Felt Eyeliner

This was my first felt liner (yes, I am always late to the game, and what?) so I have a little soft spot in my heart for it. It doesn't last too long, usage wise. Perhaps three weeks to a month of use before it dries out and the ink gets grey. But at only £2, it fits squarely into that "cheap and cheerful staple" category.


MUA swatch


Maybelline Swatch (closest brown to camera)


Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner - Black
This Maybelline offering is my second gel eyeliner (the first being Sleek's InkPot) and it has left a much better impression on me than my first.
It looks like the sort of thing that will stay moist for a long time - the lid is sturdy and seals tightly each time, and the frosted glass looks quite classy and evokes ideas of higher end brands such as Bobbi Brown. So I'm more than happy leaving the pot on my makeshift vanity.

For me, this is not a 24 hour liner, though. Out of all the liners I've posted, this gel liner actually survives the least amount of time before running; about six, seven hours. By the end of my college day, I end up with visible smudges by the corners of my eyes. It's quite disappointing. I've tried to remedy the problem by extending my eye primer over the parameters where it'd usually be, but it doesn't always stop the smudging. Boo.

 

In an attempt to cover all my unfinished business before 2012 sadly leaves us...The results of my trip to Westfield all those many moons ago. Et voila.

This five colour palette cost me £23.50. The sales woman was bitchy as well. And Inglot was sold out of many of the things I wanted to purchase. Overall, fairly terrible experience on their part.

 
Still, the mattes are pretty. It ultimately comes down to the product in the end. Does the product deliver? You bet it does.

Unlike most of the other mattes that I own, these don't require a white pencil base to be vibrant - though it does help, I won't lie. But a thick primer and maybe a cream shadow, and these will show up pretty true to colour on the lid with not many passes. They're easily blendable and aren't terrible on the fallout front (though they're not the best, but they're much better than my Sleek shadows, for example).

Would I repurchase? I don't know. I have tonnes of eyeshadow and let's face it, very few people regularly hit pan on eyeshadows unless they're doing makeup professionally. So I tend to spend less on powder eye products anyway. These were quite a steep price compared to my usual choices (Sleek shadows, Urban Decay box sets on promotion etc.) but the quality was quite improved. I'm undecided.

I'm so painfully late with these, I'm embarrassing myself. Oh well. Onwards and upwards, as they say.



Sleek Luminous Face Powder - already repurchsed two more. Until I find a superior pressed powder, this will do. It matches my skin tone well and doesn't mattify my face (I find I can look quite flat with some pressed powders as my skin is very dry) so yeah, winner.

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara - again, repurchased (see previous post). This, and my L'oreal two-step mascara, are my two favourites that I continually repurchase.

Superdrug Refreshing Toner - this was too drying for me. I wouldn't class it as suitable for sensitive skin (something I have, having had eczema as a child and sometimes getting very rare patches of it even now). I'd cleanse, remove my makeup, and rinse my face, and then use this. It just always felt very astrignent and I'd need to apply plenty of moisturiser before bed. Toner is fairly pointless anyway, so I won't be buying again!

E.L.F All over Cover Stick - I did like this as it was so thick and potent. A dab, with a light dusting of powder over the top, would cover any blemish really well. But it looks quite grey on my skin, and I have three Sleek concealers to get through, so this is on a back burner.

Honorary mention: Lady Diana Papaya Cream. I bought this because they claimed it had skin-evening properties and I'm anxious to be rid of my dark acne scars on my forehead. Pah.
It just dries your skin to oblivion. After a few days of use, I stopped using it on my face and started using it on my legs, wanting to give it another chance. A week later and the skin was literally peeling from my legs as if I'd had a sunburn. It was disgusting. I will never purchase this product ever again.

Still, I think five products is not too shabby for just one month? Pity I have so many others to get through...

Recently, No7 were doing one of their voucher promotions. Mum, knowing that their Exceptional Definition is one of my favourite 'cheap' mascaras, kindly picked one up for me.

I thought it looked different, so compared it to my existing Exceptional Definition mascara. Voila:



I didn't have an issue with the old packaging, and don't mind the new either. Both look good to me. I've noticed the other mascaras in the line up have changed as well, some with pretty drastic colour changes (like bronze to metallic lilac, I think).
The actual product inside seems to be no different, it works just as before. My only question is, does this mean that No7 as a whole is getting a bit of a facelift? I've noticed that Boots' other own makeup brand, 17, has also streamlined the packaging of some of its items (most notably the Mirror Shine lipsticks, which are no longer metallic aqua blue and barrel shaped but black and cuboidal in shape).

If it does mean changes to the brand, I'm all for them. But this is only speculation. I guess we need to wait for 2013 to see if anything will happen!

Am I going mad or has anyone else noticed the packaging changes?

Although MUA's Professional line gets a lot of the glory nowadays, let's not forget that it was the core line that intially drew in the budget hunters and, though it hasn't been expanded into for some time, it's still pretty damn solid. 




Red (Shade 13)


Pink (Shade 2)

 


MUA did add three or four pastel shades for Spring/Summer 2012. I picked up this peach one (Nectar)


The lipsticks are really decent for a quid each. My red lipstick broke during application on the way to college, which I wasn't impressed by, but the pink and the peach are still going strong. One thing I have to say - I've seen many people around the blogosphere claim that the bottom is a lip gloss pot. It's not. It really isn't. It's just soft silicone. Do not apply this to your lips, it smells vile.

That's all. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays (for those that were lucky enough to get time off).

I tend to wear nude nail shades most often in Autumn, and I decided to pair this one (Barry M, Dusky Mauve) with a glittery Miss Sporty topcoat to give it a feeling of transitioning between Autumn and Winter.




Apologies for the dry hands, Winter seems to just suck all the moisture from them, now we're well and truly in the season.