Makeup Madness Part 5! Mascara Monday!

It's been a minute since I did a makeup madness right? Ooops. Summer has been kinda busy.  But I figured I need to get rid of a lot of Mascara so a makeup madness would be really productive right about now.  I have 15 mascaras and only use about 3...also some are old...like a year old it's time for them to go! Now I will be the first to admit I keep mascaras past their recommended expiration date. Most people recommend getting rid of your mascara after 3 months to avoid eye infections, but a lot of mascaras have a 6 month expiration date printed on their tubes. (I just learned the cool makeup code that looks like a jar with the number of months it's good on it. My benefit products have it and they say 6 months.) So I'm going with 6 of when they dry out.

Here's what we're working with...

Wow this is a terrible picture...sorry.

Now I've never finished a mascara tube, I've never used one so long that it ran out- how much mascara are you people putting on?!?! I'm a two coat girl. So usually my mascara has to go bad before I pick up a new tube, but I'm going to be very forceful with myself and get rid of mascaras that are old...hopefully.

Let's start with my faves. Benefit makes some good mascara. My first Benefit mascara was the They're Real This little sample came in my Sephora Favorites kit that I got a lot of fave products from- good job Sephora. And it changed my eyelash life. I already have pretty curled lashes and they're relatively thick, but I lack length. I talked about it a little bit here. When it started to get dry-ish was right about the time the Benefit Roller Lash came out and I thought you know what I'm going to get that instead.  AND OMG it was even better than They're Real! This is a $24 mascara and it is worth every penny. Length, volume and curl! Like I said my eyelashes don't need a lot in the curl department but this stuff is amazing. My lashes look real and flawless with this on. I don't know how it does it. You can also use it in tandem with They're Real for more amazingness. I have a backup sample of my They're Real so I wont be repurchasing either right now, but both of these are over 6 months old now and need to be retired. I'm keeping both wands to try to help some of the weaker mascaras we'll talk about soon.  Both of these wands have rubberized bristles and they're kinda hard stiff bristles that hurt like a mother if you ever poke yourself in the eye.

My first foray into high end mascara came at the hands of my first Ipsy bag. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. This stuff gives you false eyelash looking eyelashes with just two coats. I even used this stuff during a show and got away with not having to wear eyelashes! It was amazing. When the sample started to dry out I bought the Pervserion/Subversion Duo from Ulta. The Subversion is a lash primer that's supposed to give added umph. I used it but I don't think it didn't anything too magical.  The full sized version of Perversion however is incredible. It's like the never ending tube of mascara. I have had it since September and it is still rich and creamy and applies as well as the day I got it.  Now considering it's been 10 months I am going to let this mascara go but it pains me because there isn't anything wrong with it! It's just old.  The bristles on these mascaras are fibery traditional bristles very tightly packed. Your lashes do clump a little bit it makes them so thick is doesn't really matter. Right now I don't need to repurchase but if I ever do a theatre show again I'll totally shell out the $22 for this mascara instead of buying flash lashes.

Maybe she's born with amazing lashes...or maybe it's Maybelline. Maybelline is the gold standard of mascara for me. I've used Maybelline my entire makeup wearing life. My first tube was one of those pink and green Great Lashes in Blackest Black and also Royal Blue. The Great Lash classic mascara tube isn't going to do anything spectacular for your lashes, it'll color them and add a little bit of length and separation, but beyond that you're on your own. This is a perfect mascara for no makeup makeup days. Pictured here I have Royal Blue that I purchased for the 4th of July. It's good for the lower lashes but not much else.  Maybelline's the Rocket is another great standard now with rubber bristles that are super short and get great separation in the lashes. This was my go-to before I found the high end ones. Then I've tried a few others the Colossal Pumped Up was a hand me down from my sister and like her I didn't find it too impressive and the Lash Sensational I got because it's supposed to be a dupe for the Roller Lash. I love the formula of it but the brush sucks, I'm keeping my Benefit brushes to see if they'll work with this formula. I'd probably purchase all of these again given the right circumstances or money limitations. Maybelline makes great mascaras. I'm only keeping the Sensational.


My last little group of high end mascaras leave something to be desired. I wish I had my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes because I love that stuff, it's right up there with my Benefit Mascaras. Another $20 mascara I got in an Ipsy bag and that stuff is the shit, so I had high hopes for another Tarte mascara Gifted. This stuff sucks! It's not the worst mascara I've ever used we'll get to that, but it's awful and should not be $20. Then I have a Clinique sample from my sister and a Lancome sample. All three of these are bristle brushes and all three have the same problem. THEY FLAKE! The Clinique one was really good for about a month but then started flaking terribly and the other two flaked from day one. I hadn't had a mascara flake on me in so many years I almost didn't no know what all the black specs on my face were from! I don't have very oily eyelids so I didn't know why my undereyes suddenly looked grey- these mascaras were smearing too! So they just didn't work for me so I will not be purchasing any of them and they're all being retired.

Last but not least my total failures. So two of these are cult favorites! The L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes in Carbon Black is what so many people go back to time and time again because they love the length and volume it gives. This did nothing for me. Spikey rubbery brushes that I usually like but the formula is so wet it wont dry and my lashes stuck together! It was the saddest thing ever! Then the CoverGirl Super Thick Lash was supposed to be a dupe for my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes and whoever said that should shut their dirty mouth because it's not.  Then the last one Volume Eyes from Model Co I got in an Ipsy bag and it just flaked and transferred so I didn't give it much of a try at all.  All three of these bad boys are going in the trash because one they're old now and two they suck.

So at the end of this Makeup Madness I know what I like and what I don't like in mascaras. I prefer a thicker dryer mascara formula with either short rubberized bristles or long fibery ones that are packed super tight together. I have ones I like in both the High End price and the Drugstore range. I hate spending $20 on mascara especially when a $10 sample will usually last me just as long. I'm currently working through my Lash Sensational and another tube of They're Real (sample size) and so I'm set for right now. I'll probably buy another Roller Lash next...it was just so good!

Previous Makeup Maddnesses include Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners and Lippies!

3 Quick Reviews! BB Cream, Micellar Water and They're Real!

I just wanted to a quick review of three products I've been using a lot of recently and how I'm using them.  The Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in light, the Benefit They're Real! Mascara in black, and the Simple Cleansing Micellar Water.  The BB Cream and Mascara I got in my Sephora Must Haves of little bag I bought in November and hadn't used too much until now and the Micellar water I've had all month and got at Target.

So lets start with the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in light. I was really excited to get this in my little Sephora bag but when I first tried to use it I didn't like it. I felt like by itself over my regular moisturizer is just sat on my face and never melted in. I looked extremely made up and it just wasn't what I wanted.  At this time the only BB cream I was liking was my Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream that had been discontinued. This was also before my IT Cosmetics CC cream that changed my life.  So I was being kinda picky.  Then a few weeks ago I saw a YouTuber talk about combining products because different parts of your face need different things and I thought hey maybe I can make this BB cream better. I used to mix my Olay BB cream with a NYX Tinted Moisturizer and loved it, so why not.  So I have started using this BB cream in two different ways. Sometimes I'll just mix a little bit in my with my Olay and it works great, I feel like the Olay gives it that extra umph to actually sink into my skin and it helps give my Olay a little more pigment.  The second way I've been using this is after my moisturizer and after my Olay BB cream I'll place this just on my cheeks and around my nose where I have excess redness, this seems to work great too.  I still don't love this BB cream but I've found a way to make it work for me so I can use it.  I wouldn't ever purchase it outright, but I wouldn't not buy another fun kit with it in it just because of it.  On it's own it's $39 and this is a full size I have.

Next the Simple Micellar Water.  I've been hearing about Micellar water for a while now. EssieButton talks about it a lot, you hear about Bioderma and such. But I always got the feeling it was something that was more prominent over seas and not so much in the US.  So just looking at the bottle someone with dry skin would probably be afraid it was something like a Toner but fear not this is not toner.  This is a cleansing water. It feels like water going on the skin, but has super magical powers that cleans and gets off tough mascara.  Afterwards your skin feels lightly hydrated but most importantly clean! Now I'll be the first to admit that I don't take care of my skin as well as someone who wears as much makeup as I do should.  I am a face wipe kinda gal and then I put on moisturizer, I don't like going to the trouble of using my Clarisonic everyday and I probably only exfoliate my face twice a week.  I'm lazy is what it is.  So this adds another step to my routine but it's a step I'm happy to do.  So I use this after my favorite exfoliating face wipes also from Target and most stuff still comes off! It's awesome. I just put a little bit of this water on a face round and go to town. If I'm wearing super strong mascara I may use a second round but usually one round both sides does the trick.  I don't even feel like I have to put my moisturizer on immediately after I use this, I can wait a few minutes which is so nice.  I will definitely be buying this again but probably not for a while, I've been using this all month and I have barely made a dent. It's only $6.99 at Target and Cartwheel usually has a coupon for Simple products once a month so no need to pay full price! If we start to get some other Micellar waters I may try them too but this stuff right now if great.

Last but certainly not least a sample of Benefit's They're Real! Black Mascara. Y'all this stuff is no joke.  Seriously.  I've seen Vloggers talk about this stuff a lot of the last year, it's a very polarizing product. People either love it or hate it. I've heard it doesn't thicken enough, that it lengthens too much and that it's impossible to get off.  I'm going to saw all these things are mostly true.  This is a lengthening mascara and it's a tougher one to get off.  But it's called "They're Real" so it's supposed to be natural looking.  Who in nature has super thick lashes that are also super long...I'll wait...no one. So this gives natural looking length with little volume.  But it's great.  It's also super black and long lasting.  This is where my new Micellar Water comes in handy, if I can't get this stuff off just put a little more water on a cotton round and hold on your lashes for a few seconds and off it comes.  I haven't found my lashes have fallen out or been too dry because of this stuff, so win-win.  I really like this stuff. I also find I don't have to curl my lashes separately because this wand helps lift them up so much. Also put on as many coats as you like because the formula is pretty thin and the wand is very ruberized it's very hard to get too much on your lashes. I've put on 3 coats before without any spider-ing.  Really great stuff.  Now the full size is $23 and as I mentioned before I'm not convinced I need expensive mascara in my life, but since it was a sample I'm happy with it.  But probably wont purchase it again in the future.

So those are my quick 3 reviews.  I'm going to try to do more quick reviews like this in the future, but I did cancel my Ipsy subscription because- I have enough stuff- so it'll probably be stuff I already have, things I'm trying to use up or new drugstore stuff.  Happy Friday!