Today I am going to review some mascara that I used. I want to start off by saying that I don’t think mascara is an item for which you need to spend a ton of money on. Any inexpensive mascara can give you good results if you know how to apply it. I feel that application technique is more important when it comes to mascara than the brand or mascara itself. A lot of mascara from different brands work pretty much the same for me. I have long and curly eyelashes so I don’t curl them. But if you have straight lashes, I recommend using an eyelash curler. I like to use mascara that volumize lashes without clumping. I start from the base of lashes and take my time to wiggle it so it builds volume. I make sure to brush the tip of lashes so it looks longer.

I have extremely sensitive eyes that get watery with a little bit wind or dust. So if I use regular mascara, black water runs from my eyes. So obviously I mostly own waterproof mascara. Even if you don’t have watery eyes, I still recommend waterproof mascara since they prevent any smudge or mess.

Waterproof Mascara:

Maybelline Volum’ Express Turbo Boost Waterproof in Very Black: Probably the best mascara for my eyes and lashes. Most volumizing mascara have HUGE brush that I can’t get in the inner corner of my small eyes. This mascara gives me the volume I need, yet doesn’t smudge while I put it on.

CoverGirl LashBlast Waterproof in Black: It’s a great volumizing and lengthening mascara. The brush is really big- so if you have small eyes like me it will be a problem getting in the inner corners. It has a strong chemical smell. You can only smell it when you open the tube, you can’t smell it once it’s on your lash.

Something I noticed about this mascara: I used it for 3 months till it dried out. While I was using it, it actually lengthened my lashes. Not only when I was wearing them, but it lengthened the lashes in general. When I stopped wearing this mascara and wore another one, my lashes went back to its original length.

Maybelline Intense XL Volume +Length Waterproof in Very Black: Really good lengthening mascara. It doesn’t volumize much. Thus brush is really big.

L’oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black: Really good volumizing mascara. The brush size is good for everyone.

Maybelline Define-A-Lash Lengthening +Defining Waterproof in Very Black: Great every-day wear mascara. Give natural finish – nothing extreme.

Lancome Hypnose Waterproof in Black: Gives a lot of volume, the brush size is also great. But I won’t purchase it again simply for the cost of it ($33 CDN).

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Waterproof in Black: Great volumizing waterproof mascara and the brush size is great. But it dries out VERY quickly (before 3 months). The price is also too much ($28 CDN).

Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof in Very Black: It’s a good defining mascara, but the brush doesn’t work for me. I make a mess every time I try to use it.

Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof in Clear: I use it for my brows in the days I want a very natural look yet I want the brows to be defined.

MAC Zoom Lash in ZoomBlack: It volumizes really good. The brush is big- so I can;t get to the inner corners. It dries out in les sthan 3 months. I won’t purchase it again.

Regular Mascara:

Too Faced Lash Injection: I think this mascara is over rated. It is just like any other mascara and I wouldn’t pay the extra bucks next time I purchase another mascara.

Benefit Bad Gal Lash in Black: This mascara is also overrated in my opinion. It is nothing special and I won’t pay the extra bucks again.

Rimmel Extra Super Lash in Black: It makes the lashes look really long and defines. But that’s about it.

Don’t Buy these Mascara:

L’oreal Volume Shocking Waterproof Mascara in Black: It comes with a primer in one end and mascara in another end. It doesn’t give any volume, rather it clumps all the lashes together. The mascara doesn’t have a brush, it’s a comb. But the comb is so sharp – it pokes the eyes and hurts pretty badly. If you accidentally poke yourself hard, it can damage the eyes totally. I will avoid this mascara and will ask everyone to avoid it as well.

MAC Splashproof in BlackSplash: It is water resistant but not waterproof. It dries quickly. And most of all it stings my eyes. I will never buy it again.

ELF Regular and waterproof Mascara Duo in Black: Doesn’t work and stings my eyes. Will never purchase it again.

I have bought these, I will try them after my current ones dry out:

Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Waterproof in Glam Black

Lancome: Definicils in Black

NYX Doll Eye Waterproof in Extreme Black

Rimmel Glam Eyes in Black

Lipliner is important to create a finished look. Lipliner makes a barrier between the lips and the lipstick, it makes the lipstick last longer and prevent bleeding. I personally use a clear lipliner everyday and like it very much. However, I really like to put an effort for special occasions and my colourful lipliners come in handy during those times.

The first picture shows the lipliners and second picture shows them applied on the back of my hands. From left to right:

1. Revlon ColorStay Lipliner in Clear
2. MAC Cremestick Pearl Liner in GingerRoot
3. MAC Cremestick Liner in SummerFruit
4. NYX LipLiner Pencil in 817 Red Hot
5. Elizabeth Arden Lip Pencil in Blush
6. Elizabeth Arden Lip Pencil in Cocoa Rose
7. Annabelle Metalic lipliner in 305 Nude Lustre
8. ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Spice
9. ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Bark
10. ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Natural Blush
11. ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Bitter
12. NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in 704 Red Hot
13. Sephora Lips Pencil 405

My favourites from the bunch:

Revlon ColorStay Lipliner in Clear: This is my absolute favourite lipliner. I use it every day and think it should be a staple in every woman’s makeup bag. It’s clear, so it can be used under any coloured lipstick/lipgloss/lipstain. It works great – my lip products don’t bleed. I am very happy with this product and will repurchase once I run out of it. It’s inexpensive and can be found at any drugstore/Walmart.

MAC Cremestick Pearl Liner in GingerRoot: It’s a peachy brown colour – very versatile and can be used under a lot of lipsticks. It’s very creamy and easy to use.

MAC Cremestick Liner in SummerFruit: My lips are unevenly pigmented. So when I wear a lipstick that’s not very pigmented my uneven lip colour shows through. I like using this nude lipliner underneath sheer lipsticks.

NYX LipLiner Pencil in 817 Red Hot: Every girl gotta have one red lipstick. Red lipsticks tend to bleed the most (or it is the most visible when bled). This is a great lip liner to use under any red lipstick. It’s very creamy and easy to apply. It prevents the lipstick from bleeding.

Elizabeth Arden Lip Pencil in Blush: It’s a great soft pink lipliner. It’s very creamy and a nice colour to have in the makeup bag.

Okay lipliners:

Elizabeth Arden Lip Pencil in Cocoa Rose: It’s a dark plum colour. I don’t tend to use it a lot, but it would look beautiful on most dark skins.

Annabelle Metalic lipliner in 305 Nude Lustre: It is a brownish-plum colour. Very creamy and feels nice on the lips.

ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Spice: A brownish plum colour. ELF lipliners are not as creamy as MAC or Elizabeth Arden. But it still works and the colours are nice.

ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Bark: A brownish plum colour.

ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Natural Blush: A soft pink lipliner

“Don’t purchase” lipliners:

ELF feather Proof-Moisturizing Lip Liner in Bitter: This particular lipliner from ELF is very hard to touch, though the other lipliners from them are much creamier. I don’t like the colour either.

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in 704 Red Hot: This is a jumbo lip pencil. But it is too creamy as a lipliner- it wouldn’t prevent bleeding. If you want to use this as a lipstick you will need a lip brush. The colour is quite nice though – hot red like the name says.

Sephora Lips Pencil 405: It’s a glittery plum colour. It makes my lips looks even more pigmented and doesn’t goes with my skin tone at all. I got this for free at an event at Sephora – I still regret getting it.

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If you can have only one type of eyeliner, I say buy pencil eyeliners because they are versatile. It can be applied on the upper lash line (the skin right above upper lashes), lower lash line (the skin right below lower lash line) and your water line (the inside of the eyes- the wet part). Pencil eyeliners are also easiest to apply. Just hold it like a pencil and rim your water line. Stay close to the lash line when lining the upper lash line. If you line your lower lash line, it can look harsh. Smudge it with a pencil brush (a brush with an elongated and firm tip) for a smoky effect. Use a sponge tip applicator or Q-tip if you don’t have any brush. I mostly use Black eye pencils. So my reviews from today are going to be about black eye pencils.

I have medium dark skin (MAC NC42 Foundation). These are the eyeliners I am reviewing today. From right to left:

• MAC Technakohl Eyeliner in GraphBlack,
• MAC Eye Pencil in Black Funk,
• Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-tone Eye Definer in 003 (Trend Settler),
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in 061 (Jet Black),
• Urban decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero,
• Makeup For Ever Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil,
• Almay Amazing Lasting 16 Hour Eye Pencil in Precise Black,
• NYX Eye/eyebrow pencil in 901 Black
• Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil in Smoky Black
• Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx
• Maybelline Expert Eyes in Velvel Black

Best pencil eyeliner for Top or bottom lash line (on skin):

MAC Technakohl Eyeliner in GraphBlack is the best for top or bottom lash line. It’s true black. It is creamy – easily glides on skin. It is long lasting. It’s mechanical and the packaging is sleek – easy to travel with. GraphBlack is my absolute favourite.

Almay Amazing Lasting 16 Hour Eye Pencil in Precise Black. Very long lasting for top and bottom lash lines. It’s less creamy than MAC Technakohl, but still easily applied. It comes with a sharpener at the back.

Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx. Easily applied and long lasting. It’s mechanical, but not as good as MAC Technakohl and Almay pencils

Makeup For Ever Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil. It is long lasting – not too long. It’s also not very creamy.

Best Pencil Eyeliner for waterline:

First of all, have I found an eye pencil yet that stays on waterline for more than 2 hours? NO, I always have to touch up my waterline eyeliner. One trick is to powder waterline with a black eyeshadow – but my eyes are too sensitive for that.

MAC Eye Pencil in Black Funk. It is SUPER creamy. It glides on waterline. It’s true black. It’s discontinued –an alternative would be MAC Ebony eye pencil. However, since it’s so creamy and almost wet – it’s not long lasting.

Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil in Smoky Black. It’s creamy enough for waterline. Again – not long lasting.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in 061 (Jet Black). It’s creamy – so easily applied on waterline. But it’s not half as creamy as MAC Black Funk.

Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-tone Eye Definer in 003 (Trend Settler). It has a black eye pencil in one end and a white one in another end. It gives the same result as Rimmel Soft Kohl.

TIP: To make your eyes look bigger, line your waterline with a white eye pencil. If you are dark, then use a peach colour.

Okay eye Pencil for Both Water line and Top and bottom Lashlines:

Urban decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero. Lots of people love this – but it didn’t work for me. It stays put on skin okay (top and bottom lash line). It glides on waterline – but you have to touch up. What bothers me is that I medium dark skin tone and this eyeliner is not Black enough for me. If you have fair skin, this eyeliner may work great for you. But I only use for natural looks – not black enough for dramatic looks (for dark skin tones). For the price- I say it’s not worth it.

NYX Eye/eyebrow pencil in 901 Black. It’s not long lasting on skin and not very creamy either for waterline.

BAD eye pencil:

Maybelline Expert Eyes in Velvel Black. It’s not black – it’s grey. It is SO hard; I struggled to put it on my top lash line. I can’t imagine someone trying to put this on their waterline – it’s going to poke the eyes out. Stay away from it.

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[phpbay] Rimmel eyeliner, 1, “, ” [/phpbay]

[phpbay] Almay 16 hour pencil eyeliner, 1, “, ” [/phpbay]

So you put on all the makeup and look fabulous throughout the day and get nice compliments – great. It’s time to sleep and you don’t take off the makeup – NOT great. Leaving makeup on all night can cause nasty breakouts. Next morning you wake up – all the makeup in the world is not going to make you look beautiful. It is VERY important to take off all makeup at night. You should also clean and moisturize your face afterwards.

TIP: If you are extremely tired and don’t feel like taking off makeup, wash face, put on moisturizer – use Baby Wipes for sensitive skin. It will get most makeup out of your face. Just don’t make this a daily routine.

Great makeup removers:

Whatever makeup remover you use, remember to be very gentle around the eyes to avoid premature wrinkles. I have extremely sensitive eyes. I have tried a lot of makeup removers and most of them sting my eye (though they do the job of removing makeup). Best makeup remover ever is L’oreal Dermo-Expertise Gentle Waterproof Eye and Lip Makeup Remover. It comes in a 125 ml bottle. It has 2 phases – one darker which has soft oils and another clear phase. Before each use you have shake it up, so they mix to a homogenous colour. Apply it with cotton pads or balls. If you are wearing long lasting foundation, lip colour, waterproof eyeliner or mascara – this will get everything off.  It is one of the few makeup removers that don’t sting my eyes. It’s about $10 CDN (depending on where you buy it from).

Lancome Bi-facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover also comes in 125 ml bottle and has the same consistency and gives the exact results as the L’oreal one. But its $32.50 CDN. Though I don’t know difference between them, but I see no point spending 3X money on this when L’oreal Dermo-Expertise has the same outcome.

Okay Makeup Removers (for most people):

L’oreal Refreshening Eye Makeup Remover Oil-Free comes in a 125 ml bottle. It does not remove waterproof makeup. It stings my eyes badly. If you have sensitive eyes- stay away from it.

Neutrogena oil-free Eye Makeup remover. It removes makeup but stings my eyes.

Rimmel London Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Oil Free. It removes waterproof makeup but once again stings my eyes.

Clinique Take the day Off Makeup remover. It removes waterproof makeup but stings my eyes.

Elizabeth Arden All Gone Eye and Lip Makeup Remover. It removes waterproof makeup remover but stings my eyes.

Bad Makeup Removers:

Olay mascara + Makeup Remover claims to removes waterproof mascara. It doesn’t remove all of the waterproof mascara. It stings my eyes.

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Anyone who ever wore make up, knows a little bit about foundation. They should also know that the cake-on look is so over. Modern day foundation has is light-weight and gives medium to full coverage. There are a few types of foundation. Creams foundation are best dry skin, powder foundations are best for oily skin and liquid foundation works on all types of skin. Tinted moisturizers are great for sheer coverage. Mineral foundations are good for sensitive skin and for sheer coverage. But everyone is different. To find your best foundation and your exact shade, you might need to try more than one or two foundations – which can get expensive. I think it is worth spending money on foundation since it is just that- foundation for the rest of makeup. Foundation needs to look flawless for eye makeup, blush and lip stick to look good. If face is even and blemish free, confidence comes from within.

Modern day women have to keep their makeup up with technology. If an event is video graphed, possibility is that the camera is High Definition (HD). HD cameras can pick up more than naked eyes. So even more blemishes can be seen – which is kind of scary. However, as technology is improving, makeup is also improving along with that. I have tried tons of foundations and will try to give brief reviews on a few of them.

High End Foundations:

Make Up For Ever’s HD Foundation is the holy grail of all foundations! It gives awesome coverage but looks amazingly natural on skin. It is very light weight for the coverage. The application is smooth and dries within a minute or two. It feels very light on the skin and the natural looking finish amazes me every time. It is $43 CDN but worth every penny. It has 25 shades – everyone should find their exact shade (or a better shade compared to other brands). It can be found at Sephora, Sears and some select Shoppers’ Drug Mart in Canada.

Vincent Longo Liquid Canvas Dew Finish Foundation. It has SPF 15 and called Radiant Glow foundation. It’s great for dry skin. It gives a glowy finish and has awesome coverage. I don’t recommend it for oily skin since oily skin doesn’t need more shine. The darker shades can be a bit orangey.

Mineralized Skinfinish Natural by MAC is a mineral powder, but it is pressed. I like that I don’t have to deal with the trouble of loose powder going all over the place. It gives a natural but dewy finish. It’s great for summer since it can be applied with a Kabuki brush within a minute. And none likes the feel of liquid or cream foundation on their face during summer (except for special occasions). However, it can be really shiny on oily skin and can look greasy in photographs.

Sheer Colour SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer by Stila has SPF 15 and is great for a natural look. They also made an oil-free version of this recently – which is even a better news to us oily-skinned girls.

Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation by MAC is a cream foundation is best for dry skin. It gives a dewy finish. It is a full coverage foundation and can look cakey if too much is applied. People with oily skin should avoid it.

Benefit makes some kind-a-gorgeous foundation. It is a cream foundation and is supposed to match every skin tone. Though I would not agree with the skin matching part. It also has a slogan on the package, “Fake it, don’t cake it”. But unfortunately I think it does look cakey.

Elizabeth Arden makes Flawless Finish Mousse Makeup. It has a good packaging, it comes out like a mousse, applies smoothly and feels good on the skin. And that’s how it is sold. However, it is $40 CDN and is a does nothing for the price. It gives a very sheer coverage. Within an hour, it starts looking really shiny and wears off very easily.

Budges-Friendly Foundation:

Revlon ColourStay Makeup Foundation is the best low-end foundation, period. They make two versions – combination/oily skin and normal/dry skin. There are quite a few shades to choose from. Some of the foundations have SPF 15, some have SPF 6 and some has none, I don’t understand the chemistry behind that. But it really lives up to its name. Once it goes on it won’t go on your dress and it lasts forever. The formula is very thick – designed to give full coverage. But it can be sheered out with a moisturizer.

My second budget-friendly favourite foundation is also by Revlon. Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup is great for the days when you want medium coverage. It has SPF 15 and looks natural.

Dream Matte Mousse Foundation by Maybelline is a great foundation for oily skin. It gives a matte finish.

ELF is the acronym for Eyes Lips Face. This website has a lot of products for $1 USD only (There are a few exceptions, i.e. Mineral and Studio line). But if you are ordering from Canada beware of the big shipping fee. ELF makes Shielding Hydro-Tint SPF 15 foundation. It has 4 shades. It is not the best, but it is quite nice for the price.

ELF also makes a mineral powder. It only has 4 shades and can look cakey after a few hours.

All Over Cover Stick by ELF is a cream foundation that comes in a stick and has 4 shades. It is very cakey – I only recommend it for theatrical makeup.