Rimmel Wonder'Fully Real Mascara

Well it seems I have found my latest favourite mascara in the form of Rimmel's Wonder'fully Real.

I have been using this mascara almost on a daily basis for weeks now and just love how I can just apply one coat for a nice and natural look, or add 2-3 coats for a more defined and full lash look depending on what I am going for.

I have been using this mascara in the Shade 001-Black which is a really deep, true black shade. It has a very subtle scent that isn't too strong or overpowering and I hardly even notice it when I'm using it.

The applicator wand is very fine and kind of spiky and it works really well at separating the lashes without making them look too unnatural. 

It doesn't make my lashes clump together at all and I don't really notice much flaking off during the day either, even on a really hot day.

Here is a photo of my lashes before using this mascara and then after applying one coat (with no other eye makeup on):

Overall I seriously love this mascara and will definitely be purchasing some more in the future when this one runs out.

What's your favourite mascara on high rotation at the moment?

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Michelle xx


***This product was received for review but my opinions are unbiased and solely my own***

Rimmel Wonder'Full Wake Me Up Mascara

Lately I have had a bit of a new mascara crush and it comes in the form of the new Rimmel London Wonder'Full Wake Me Up Mascara in 001 Black.

The first thing I have to mention about this mascara is that is smells like cucumbers! It is the most unusual thing at first because I've never had a mascara smell like anything other than a faint chemical scent. I've especially never had a mascara that makes me want to take a whiff of it before I apply it every day and that is exactly what this one does to me because it's just so refreshing. It's like an addiction I tell you!

Fortunately though, if you're not a huge fan of cucumbers the scent doesn't linger around once the mascara is applied so you don't have to walk around all day getting wafts of cucumber whenever you blink.

The Wake Me Up mascara has quite a large brush that practically coats all of my lashes in one sweep. I do tend to struggle with mascaras that have such large brushes though because I have smaller, hooded eyes and I can never seem to manage to apply it cleanly on my lower lashes when using such a big brush. Consequently, I love using Wake Me Up on my top lashes but I usually fall back on one of my other mascaras that have a smaller brush when I am in a hurry and want to coat my lower lashes quickly without having to be too precise.

What I really love about the Wake Me Up mascara is the way it makes my lashes look long and luscious without being clumpy or spider-web like.

Before - Bare lashes

After - Wearing Rimmel Wake Me Up Mascara on top and bottom lashes

Of course, no product can ever be absolutely perfect and the one thing that I don't like about this mascara is the fact that on a hot or humid day it tends to migrate under my eyes and leave me with a bit of a 'panda eye' situation. Other than that is doesn't go flaky at all and stays put on any other day or if I use it for a night out.

Overall though this is a great mascara and one that I have been turning to on a regular basis.

Has anyone else tried this mascara yet?

Have a great week everyone!

Michelle xx

*** This product was provided for consideration but all opinions are completely my own***

Model Co Fibre Lashxtend Mascara

A few weeks ago I decided to purchase this mascara to try and have to say straight up that it really hasn't won me over like I wanted it to.

Here is a little bit about the Model Co Fibre Lashxtend Extreme Black Lengthening Mascara from their website:

The rich, glossy formula combined with innovative, inbuilt lash fibres gives you a false lash effect from every angle. FIBRE LASHXTEND lengthens and amplifies your own lashes to give you the ultimate length in an instant.  

This unique technology ensures voluptuous clump-free lashes that are smudge and tear proof. The water resistant formula delivers brilliant extension and high definition impact and unlike many other types of mascara, FIBRE LASHXTEND is dissolvable in warm water, wiping away with ease and saving you from panda eyes.

Why you need it:

• Creates incredibly long, high impact lashes.
• Inbuilt lash fibres create false lash effect.
• Clump-free, non-flaking formula.
• Water resistant.
• Easy, no-mess removal.

 So, after hearing such good things about this mascara and reading a heap of rave reviews, I couldn't help but want to try it for myself.

The brush itself is a really good size, not too big or too small, and the packaging has a nifty inbuilt mirror on the side which is invaluable if you need to reapply on the go.

I also have to say that even after a huge 12 hour work day, no smudging of the mascara occurred under the eyes which is the norm for me and my cursed oily lids.

So, there are definitely some good points to this product.

But, unfortunately, the small fibres in the formula and me just do not get along. In fact, they take every opportunity possible to try and escape from my poor little lashes.

If you have a close look at the below pictures you can see the small fibres contained in the brush which are what eventually coat your lashes to make them look thicker and longer. You can then see the tiny fibres sticking out from my lashes once applied:

 

After only a couple of hours, those little fibres start to fall off from my lashes and love to accumulate underneath my eye in what looks a little like black snow flakes. When I have client meetings this really isn't a good look and it constantly made me paranoid every time I knew I was going to be seeing someone in close proximity. I found that I spent every single toilet visit during the day plucking black fibres off my under-eye area and after a few days it just got plain annoying.

Overall, I think this mascara is a great concept and for very short instances it can be a wonderful product to give you thicker, fuller lashes. Unfortunately, for longer periods of time, the fallout of those little fibres just isn't worth it.

Has anyone used this mascara before? If so, did it do the same thing to you that it did to me?

Have a great week!

Michelle xx 

 

Almay Intense i-color - Bold Nudes Collection for Hazel Eyes

I was fortunate enough to receive some of the Almay Intense i-color collection from Beautyheaven as part of their trial team a few weeks ago.

The products above are listed as follows:

1) Volumizing Mascara in Midnight
2) Defining Liner in Teal
3) Liquid Shadow + Color Primer for Hazel Eyes
4) Powder Shadow Trio for Hazel Eyes

The Almay Intense i-color range has been designed so that the colours complement your natural eye colour and make eyes appear brighter and more defined. I can't say that I hold too much truth in this concept as I didn't really notice my eyes appearing to look much different when I used this range as opposed to when I use other different colours.

(Almay Intense i-color Volumizing Mascara in Midnight)

The Volumizing Mascara was the most disappointing product in the range to me. Although it worked well when I was actually able to apply it properly (which was rarely), the brush is seriously made for someone with eyes the size of a giraffe because it did not matter what angle I used I just could not apply it to my eyes without getting it on my eyelid or in my eyeball. Frankly, this mascara wand now terrifies me and could be marketed as a great self-torture product.

(Look at the size of that freaking brush!)

(Almay Intense i-color Liquid Shadow + Color Primer for Hazel Eyes)

The Liquid Shadow + Color Primer was a product that really surprised me. I usually steer clear of liquid shadows as they never really work very well on my hooded eyelids and normally crease terribly after a couple of hours. This one however lasted the entire day on me and made a really pretty and simple subtle smokey eye when applied as a sweep all over the lid and then blended out at the edges. You have to work pretty quickly though before the shadow sets if you wish to blend it out as once it sets it does not budge at all! I even found that my regular eye makeup remover sometimes struggled to get this off becuase of how well its staying power is.

The Powder Shadows are nice enough to wear but are not very pigmented so need to be built up to the desired colour that you want. They are lovely and soft to apply and blend well to me without much fallout at all. The Hazel Eyes trio comes with a pale coral shade which is supposed to be applied all over the lid, a dark navy blue shade which is to be blended into the crease and a shimmery cream shade that is to highlight the brow bone.

I wasn't a big fan of all three colours used together but I did love using the coral and the cream and the blue and the cream together instead.

The standout product to me was the Defining Liner in Teal. This is an eye liner that I could live in. It's so buttery soft to apply, does not pull at the delicate skin around the eye even the slightest and lasts for hours without transferring to the top of my lid. It's also such a gorgeous shade that I just love to wear with a pale shadow as a base and nothing else.

(Left to Right: Powder Shadow Trio for Hazel Eyes, Liquid Shadow + Color Primer for Hazel Eyes, Defining Liner in Teal)

Here is a very simple eye look I created, and managed to remember to photgraph, one day while I was wearing the Cream highlighting shade all over my lid with the Navy shade blended into the crease and outer corner. I am also wearing the Volumizing Mascara in these photos:

 

Has anyone else tried this range before?

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Michelle xx



EOTD Featuring Savoir Faire Limited Edition Kit in 'Winter'



I couldn't help but start playing with my new Savoir Faire kit as soon as at arrived in my December Bellabox and this is one of the first looks I created and am really loving. It's a very subtle smokey eye using the burgundy and rust shades in the kit as the main look.

(Eyeshadow shades from left to right: Top row - Devout, Kinetic, Immortal & Bottom Row - Spicy, Liberating, Vivacious)

 

For this look I used the shade 'Kinetic' on the outer 'V', then applied some 'Spicy' to the inner half of the lid. I then used the shade 'Devout' to blend out the other two shades up over the crease and towards the brow bone.
Then just because I was being lazy and couldn't be bothered reaching for anything else, I applied the shade 'Immortal' along the top and lower lashes like an eyeliner.
I finished it all off with my Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara in Black.

This to me is a nice subtle way to dip your toe in a smokey eye without going too extreme. To make this a bit more night time appropriate I'd add more of the burgundy Kinetic shade to darken the outer 'V' a bit more and amp up the black liner a bit.

This is a lovely kit and the eyeshadows are very pigmented and so easy to blend. I can't wait to try some more looks and am especially keen to try 'Vivacious' next.

Has anyone else tried Savoir Faire eyeshadows before?

Michelle xx



New Mascara Love - Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara

I have to admit it. I'm a bit of a mascara hoarder and even if I don't do any other form of makeup on my face I refuse to leave the house without mascara on. I find that it just opens up the eyes and makes me look more awake, especially since I have quite small eyes.

Funnily enough, even though I have a secret obsession with mascara, this is the first one I think that I have ever actually reviewed properly on this blog. I really don't know why but will try and start to rectify that issue from this point on.

This brings me to my current mascara obsession, my Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara. I have received two of these over the past year in one monthly subscrption box or another and only just realised a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't yet tried either of them. Now that I've finally cracked one open I am so stoked that I have two because this is one of the best mascaras that I have ever used!

What the product claims:
'Bobbi's new gold standard for ultra-long, perfectly separated lashes. It's all about how the brush and formula work together: The bristles interlock with lashes like a zipper, so each individual lash is coated with rich, deep colour from root to tip. It's also curved to lift each hair like an eyelash curler. And since the formula contains elastic ingredients, it stays flexible between coats and won't flake.'

This is actually one of the most unusual mascara brushes that I have used before. It's very thin, which I love, and has very fine, stiff, rubber like teeth that grip your lashes like nothing else to give them a full coat in just one or two swipes.

In the below pictures I show a comparison between my lashes pre-mascara application and post with just one coat:

 

As you can see, the difference is astounding! The rubber bristles seperate and define each lash so well and never clumps or looks spider-webby (a pet hate of mine).

 

I have also tested this mascara in some extreme temperatures (think 37 degree day spent outside at a friend's birthday in the mountains where there was no air and it HAD to have been at least 5 degrees hotter underneath the god-awful BBQ area we were all cramped into!!) I can proudly say that there was not a lash out of place and not the slightest bit of droop or black making it's way down my face after a good few hours. Had I been wearing another mascara (I'm looking at you Lancome Hypnose!!) I'm sure I would have had terrible black splotches underneath the eye area in such an extreme test.

 

All in all I'm totally in love with this mascara and plan to use it almost exclusively during summer, especially when it's going to be a hot day.

 

Are there any other awesome mascaras you have been loving lately that I should know about?

 

Michelle xx

October Addictions

I surprisingly had quite a few products that I reached for often during the month of October. Due to being so stressed and strapped for time I had a tendency to use pratically the same products every day which is unusual for me as I have a tendency to get bored when I do that.

Here is what I loved using during the month of October:

I was mainly sporting a more neutral 'no-fuss' face during October and the above items were all awesome products that didn't require much effort to use.

1) Eyeshadows - B Collection by Bloom in Sahara Desert and Almay Intense i-colour in Trio for Greens. The Bloom eyeshadow is a no brainer soft coppery brown that is excellent as an all over the lid colour on it's own but also looks great with a little green or purple added into the crease from the Almay palette on days when I could be bothered making a little more effort.

2) Mascara - Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes. I love the way this mascara make my lashes look a mile long but I don't love the black smudges that end up underneath my eyes at the end of the day after using it.

3) Eyeliner - Models Prefer Kohl Pencil in Matte Black. Such a simple eyeliner pencil but it works wonders. It goes on so smooth and easily with no pulling at all and doesn't budge all day or night. Another quality product from this great brand.

4) Primer - Dr Lewinn's Skin Perfect Anti-ageing Primer. I will be posting my review of this soon but needless to say I love it and use it every day. Thank you Beauty Heaven for allowing me to trial such an awesome product!

5) Foundation - Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. The main reason I love this foundation is because it suits my skin tone perfectly which means I can be a bit quicker with my application of it and don't have to be pedantic about blending it in within an inch of its life. It gives me good coverage as well without being too thick and stays in place all day.

6) Face - Napoleon Ultimate Contour Palette. I've reviewed this palette here and it hasn't left my bathroom vanity for over a month now. Totally in love with this product and how quick and easy it makes contouring and highlighting my face.

7) Concealer - Mirenesse Icon Sealer. I have grown to love using this as my undereye concealer as it covers my dark circles excellently and doesn't end up sinking into my fine lines as the day progresses. It's the perfect shade for my skin tone as well so takes minimal effort to blend in. Anything that saves me time in the mornings is a big plus for me!

8) Lips - MOR Lip Nectar in Lychee Flower and ELF Lip Shine in Candlelight. I have been a definite gloss girl during October as it's easier to maintain with minimal effort. The MOR lip nectar is one of the best lip glosses I have ever used and I am in love with the subtle pink flush it gives my lips and the way it seems to stay on for hours. The ELF gloss was a very happy surprise that I got in one of the monthly beauty packs and is such a great nude that goes with anything. It also stays on for a surprisingly long time too.

So that's my list of favourites for the past month. Nothing too exciting but they were products that definitely made the month a lot easier for me.

If you've done a favourites post I'd love to know about it!

Michelle xx

My Favourite "Oh My God I'm So Late" Saviours

I'll admit it. I'm always late. BUT, I have a 'Get out of being late free' card as far as I'm concerned after having a new baby in March this year. No matter how organised I think I am, bub always has other ideas and yep, because of this, I'm always running late.

Because of this fact I have gotten into a bit of a makeup habit lately and have realised that there are a few basic products that I have been using practically every day because I know they are easy to apply, are good colours and get me out the door without making me even later than I usually already am.

These beauties are:

* A.S.A.P. Sheer Tint Moisturiser SPF15 - I have just realised that I left this out of the photo but if you want to see what it looks like I have reviewed it here. I am in love with this tinted moisturiser. It is so easy and quick to apply and it's just the best tinted colour I have come across as yet and gives a really nice even coverage.

* Australis Pressed Powder in Natural - Probably the best pressed powder I have ever tried and considering how cheap it was the best value too. It goes on so smooth and doesn't seem to crease in the fine lines of my face even after being on all day. I usually put this powder on top of the A.S.A.P. tinted moisturiser and that is usually enough to make my face look good to go.

* Clinique In-A-Rush Blush - I'm not sure if you can even still buy these but if you can I recommend getting one quick smart! This is the quickest and easiest and most convenient blush I have ever used. The blush is held in one end of the stick and the blush powder is pressed into the other end. You simply twist the end with the brush onto the powder to apply as little or as much colour as you want and then apply. So, so quick and easy.

* Bourjois Pump Up The Volume Mascara in Black - This is one of the best mascaras I have had in a while. It never goes clumpy or hard and makes my lashes look super duper long and thick. It's got a tilted brush so you can get right into the corners with ease. If I'm really in a rush a swipe of this on my top lashes is all I'll do to open up my eyes. Otherwise, two coats on the top and one on the bottom lashes will make my eyes really stand out.

* Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Super Shimmer in Lucky Penny - This is a great colour that looks pretty just on it's own because of the slight shimmer and it borders on being kind of a pinky brown. I usually just apply some of this all over the lid and am good to go. Being a neutral colour you don't have to be so cautious when applying it so when time is of the essence this is the eye shadow I always reach for.

* Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - I love this lip balm and always apply it first before applying any other gloss or lipstick. It's got a nice cooling effect and when applied it makes my lips feel hydrated and smooth for hours.

* Maybeline Colour Sensational Creme Gloss in Sugared Honey - This is an awesome lip gloss and has become one of my staples. It's a really pretty shimmery pinky plum colour that just about matches everything. It also stays on really well and never makes my lips feel dry or sticky.

Well, that's it for my favourite quick and easy "Oh My God I'm So Late" fail safe products. With the help of these beauties I can usually have a pretty decent face on in under 5 minutes. With a small baby who's sometimes screaming the whole time I'm trying to get ready just for the sake of it, I've really become to appreciate items like this that can save me time and even my sanity!

Does anyone else have any other products that are their favourite time savers?