Beauty Review: L’Oréal Paris Paradise Mascara

Hello again guys; it feels like a while since I’ve done a beauty related review. Over the past few months I’ve worn make up a bit less (or less make up, at least) however it definitely feels like time for a new review. There was so much hype surrounding this mascara on blogs, YouTube and simply in general that I felt like I just HAD to buy it. The mascara that I’m reviewing today is the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara in the shade 01 Black. Priced at £11.99, it is a more expensive drugstore mascara however the packaging does also match that; with a rose gold cardboard outer that reminds me a lot of Benefit packaging, this mascara is definitely marketed and aiming for the drugstore high-end and it does look absolutely lovely. The actual mascara packaging is just as nice as the cardboard outer with the main body in a matte rose gold and the lid is a shiny rose gold with constrasting white typeface across the main body with the mascara name. At first glance, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was a L’Oréal product, visually it is very different to their other mascara ranges, a couple of which are shown in my photographs below. As much as I love the packaging, I do feel like this is a lot of money to drop on a mascara, but as I wear mascara more or less everyday I guess that isn’t too much but it is more than I would usually spend, to be honest.

One of the reasons why I was so excited to try out this mascara is that it has been constantly compared to the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, which is a product that I’ve personally never tried but have always wanted to. I did have some reservations as generally I do prefer plastic bristles on a mascara wand and this mascara has a soft fibred wand which I do find harder to work with but that said, I do have naturally full, long lashes so any wand does the job for me. The outer packaging boasts that this mascara gives Intense Volume and Spectacular, Long Lashes as well as being a Pleasure to Apply. Basically, a lot to live up to as all of those things sound pretty desirable. Personally, I like my lashes to look very full, separated and long; I love it when a mascara is visibly on my lashes and very dark black to stand out against my green eyes.

The wand is a fairly unusual shape; a curved hourglass shape, it is larger at the top and bottom and thinner in the centre so should be great at opening up the eye shape and lengthening the edges. Below it is the mascara wand on the left side, the centre mascara is Maybelline Lash Sensational and the mascara to the right is Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot, pictured together to demonstrate the clear differences in mascara wand shape, size and material. Personally I’ve found that plastic bristles grip to my lashes better than fiber bristles, but I can work with either kind if I have to. I was a little disappointed that the wand on the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara is fiber as I was expecting a plastic wand (not sure why I thought that...) but I’m dreaming of long, full lashes with this mascara regardless of the less preferred style of wand. Generally, I am quite a messy applier of mascara and this wand is pretty thick, so unfortunately I’m expecting a very messy look with this mascara; I’m terrible for having an unsteady hand whenever I apply mascara, oops. I’m hoping that this mascara won’t be a regret as I do feel like I was drawn to buy it due to all of the hype that surrounded it, but I’m planning to try it out everyday for a week with a number of different base looks to give it a fair chance as although already I’m having some reservations, I do want to be impartial to start with. Plus, the packaging is stunning so there is that to be positive about!

The formula is very thick, which I like in any mascara as that helps create a fuller look when on the lashes. However, it’s also a very dry formula which makes it difficult to work with; once it’s on the lashes that’s it. It doesn’t budge. In theory, that could be great, but for me that is an absolute nightmare because as I explained previously, I’m a very messy mascara applier; I need time to work the mascara into my lashes to achieve the shape that I like (long, full and separated; basically real lashes that look fake) and with this formulation that was impossible. The shape of the wand was actually pretty nice, I just wish that it was a plastic bristled brush as I feel like I could’ve worked with the mascara much better that way but obviously this was never going to be my favourite mascara because over the course of a week, I felt like chucking this mascara in the bin. As I’ve said, the mascara doesn’t budge once it’s on the lashes; it literally doesn’t budge to the point that it’s so hard to take off at the end of the day it hurts. I felt like I was pulling out my lashes each day, which is a definite dislike for me. This isn’t even the waterproof version, it’s the standard one! It looked nice on my bottom lashes but on the top... They just looked short and stubby, clinging to each other and overall I’m just not a fan. It’s not the worst mascara in the world, but it’s definitely one that I’ll never be reaching for ever again. 

The packaging is simply beautiful, but that’s not enough to make me want to give this mascara another chance. I hate the formula and the way that it makes my eyelashes look; for £11.99 I was expecting it to be so much better. In all honesty, I’ve used £3.99 mascaras with better results so I’m super frustrated with what I’ve spent for what I’ve got. In fairness, I do prefer plastic bristles so that may be one of the reasons why I hated this mascara so much as the fibers didn’t seem to grip my lashes fully, but at the same time I do love some other mascaras such as the Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot and that has a fiber brush so perhaps it’s more an issue with the dryness of the formula. I definitely won’t be using or buying the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara again and that’s a bit of a shock for me as usually I love L’Oréal products so I’m genuinely really disappointed as it was more than I would usually spend on a drugstore item. I also hated how difficult it was to take off when needed; my lashes actually hurt so much after scrubbing at them with micellar water, make up wipes... Not impressed. I’d give this mascara a 2 out of 5 simply because the shape of the wand was nice and the packaging is lovely, but the price is too much for the quality. Let me know your thoughts on this mascara in the comments!

MakeUp Review: Maybelline the Colossal Big Shot Mascara

Hello again; it feels like blogmas is taking over my life this December, haha. I really need to get myself more organised, I spent the majority of my days either writing non-stop to get posts ready in time for upload in the evening or taking photographs last minute, oops. Definitely need to step up my game, but I feel like despite this, I'm not doing a bad job of getting a post out each day. This post is another make up review, one that I'm really excited for as I genuinely love reading and writing posts like this; before I buy a product, I always read or watch reviews because I hate wasting money. I've always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras in general, so after seeing some good reviews of the Colossal Big Shot it was time to buy it and see how it worked for me. Priced at £7.99, I had high hopes that I would love this mascara as it is always useful to find another amazing drugstore mascara for a decent price, but that said, Maybelline mascaras generally average at a reasonable amount. I love pocket friendly make up products every day of the week.

The packaging is one that stands out in a crowd, shiny and gold alongside contrasting purple typography and a matching purple stripe along the lid. Staying true to the theme of the name 'big' is written larger than the other words which definitely draws your attention in. I do really like the design of the packaging, it's one that stands out even in a make up bag or storage even amongst other products. I took photographs that showed the mascara mixed in with other beauty related products to show how it looks in comparison, as well as demonstrate how it stands out due to the contrasting colour scheme used by the brand. Although the packaging is plastic, it feels hard wearing and it doesn't feel cheap, which is good as I'm always worried that make up is going to brake and spill all over the stuff in my bag (not something that I ever want to happen to me).

The wand is one that I generally like; on the whole I prefer to apply mascara with a large applicator, this is medium sized, with fiber bristles that are incredibly flexible. For me personally, I don't usually like fiber bristled wands because I'm a messy mascara applier and I find the fibers put little blobs of mascara all over my face, oops. However, this wand is a reasonable enough size that the fibers didn't do that as long as I was a little more careful (basically I had to apply the mascara slowly, not in a rush). It's a light wand, so that if you need to apply multiple coats it isn't too difficult and the formula is a fairly dry one, so the lashes don't stick together.

I love this mascara far more than I expected to, as on the whole I generally don't work well with fiber bristles wands, but this mascara definitely bucks that trend for me. The mascara applies evenly and nicely, with no excess mascara blobs anywhere on my face, plus the colour is a nice true dark toned black which is something that I love in any mascara. I know that I've mentioned on the blog before how much I love to have long, spidery lashes that pop and this mascara achieves that look for me with ease. The only downside that I can think of is that it takes about 3 coats before I'm satisfied so I'll definitely need to repurchase this mascara at some point because it won't last forever. I'm converted into trying out other fiber based mascaras now and that is saying something; even my boyfriend commented on my eyelashes, so it must be a winner as he never usually notices haha! My lashes look so volumised, lengthened and separated with only a hint of clumpiness. Honestly, I don't feel like I'll ever stop raving about this mascara, I love, love LOVE it.

MakeUp Review: Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Hello again guys; so it's day 7 of blogmas already and I hope that it's not only me that cannot believe how soon the Christmas and New Year season is approaching? It seemed so far away and yet in a couple of weeks it'll soon be upon us! This post is all about a mascara that I've been using recently; the Max Factor 2000 Calorie. I was tempted to buy it after seeing hat felt like millions of bloggers and YouTubers rave about it. If we start by looking at the price of the product, £7.99 isn't unreasonable for a decent mascara, in fact that is fairly average in price when compared to the other options available in the drugstores. In all honesty, I was expecting this mascara to be at a higher price point as usually Max Factor products are more 'high end' drugstore so it was a bit of a pleasant surprise, no complaints for the price. For the price, I had high hopes to love this product as the price is good enough that I consider repurchasing if necessary in the future.

The packaging is nice and pretty understated actually; a simple bottle in black with gold typography and a matching gold rim around the top of the base, below the lid. It doesn't stand out in a make up bag when in comparison to all of the brightly coloured, glossy packaging of other products, but when in a line of mascaras from other brands such as Maybelline, it does stand out for being fairly plain packaging. That being said, it is more about what it inside the bottle than the external packaging in a way; but overall it won't be the most appealing packaging to everyone but personally, I really like it. I deliberately look photographs that showcased the mascara surrounded by other beauty related products so that you as a reader can see how much this mascara has the potential to blend in rather than stand out in a make up bag or collection. 

The mascara wand is much smaller than I'm used to using; on the whole I prefer large, thick wands that add a lot of volume to the lashes, but we can't have everything we want in every product. That said, this wand was really easy to use on the lashes, particularly on the lower lashes and I was surprised by the lack of smudges (generally I'm a very smudgy mascara applier, not even lying!) although that is likely because of the wand being much smaller than I usually would use. The prdouct is nice and dark black which is something that I always want in a mascara and separates the lashes really nicely. The lashes look really long, but no particularly separated. Although, there is no clumps or sticky lashes, which is really nice and very unusual for me, haha.

All in all, I was happy with the effect that this mascara had on my eyelashes. As you can see from the photograph, the eyelashes are beautifully separated and look insanely long, without being spidery or clumpy. I've said before that I love my eyelashes to look spidery, and I do. However, I feel like this mascara will be lovely for work or everyday life as they're noticeably different but not as obvious. The price is amazing, as you don't need to apply much mascara to your lashes, only 1-2 coats so a little goes a long way. When you remove this mascara you need a lot of patience because it doesn't seem to want to come off, although I've found that removing this mascara with eye make up remover gel fares much faster results than make up wipes did, so that is something to bare in mind. I will definitely be purchasing this mascara again (once this one runs out) as I do feel like this is fast becoming a staple in my everyday make up bag. I wouldn't recommend this for nights out, but to boost your natural eyelashes this is perfect!

Makeup Review: L'Oréal Miss Baby Roll Mascara

Hello again guys; this post going to be about a mascara that everyone seems to be loving at the moment! The L'Oréal Miss Baby Roll mascara. In all honesty, I definitely gave into the hype surrounding it after seeing countless make up tutorials including it on YouTube. Firstly, the packaging is so pretty with the black body of the mascara against the mint green and pale pink of the lid that contrasts really nicely against the black and pink typeography across the centre of the outer packaging. The packaging was definitely designed with instagram and blogger potential in mind as it is so photogenic. In terms of price I'd definitely rate it as a mid-range mascara at a reasonable £7.99 and its available in various shops, although I managed to snap mine up for £5.99 on an offer, which was even better. I chose the non waterproof version as I generally don't have any issues with mascara wiping off my lashes onto my face. I was super excited to see if this mascara kept its promises of mega volume, length and curling lashes.

The wand of the mascara is unlike any I've ever seen before, however I was happy to see a plastic wand as I feel like (for me) the thick bristles of plastic brushes work well on my lashes. The wand is very thick, with an incredibly defined spiral shape along the length of the wand. The wand would fit any kind of mascara routine, for example whether you blink mascara on your eyelashes, wriggle it on or stroke it on, the brush will pick up any lash, however large or little. It is a very black mascara, which I love as I'm the kind of person who wants to have mascara really make their eyes pop and I generally buy the 'Very Black' or '100% Black' options wherever possible, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this mascara to be such a good shade for a regular black option. I do own a few mascaras from L'Oréal and I have found them to be very drying on the lashes; if you want to add a few coats you have to work quickly to reach your desired effect. I tend to work on my lashes a side at a time; right first and then left, adding roughly three coats to each upper eye lash and one coat to my bottom lashes.

I like how the lid has a satisfying 'click' shut so I always know if I've successfully closed it to stop it dying out, which is a nice, useful touch. Generally I do prefer a more 'wet' mascara as I find it easier to build up my lashes. My preferred lash style is definitely quite long, thick and spidery. I don't like wearing false lashes as I'm allergic to the glue so I'm always on a mission to find a mascara that will achieve a false lash effect whilst at a reasonable price. Although this is a 'dry' mascara, I was pleased to find that it is fairly easy to use, as long as you work on each eye at a time. The wand picked up my lashes so easily and coated them accordingly; the unusual spiral design of the wand seems to work wonders for curling the lashes and I'm the first to admit that I never use eyelash curlers as I'm too clumsy and too lazy; I don't even own any curlers, oops. I would say that it did live up to my expectations, but it exceeded my expectations in terms of volumisation as I've never used such a volumising mascara before! It is a fantastic mascara for curling lashes too, although I wish it gave a little more length but as my lashes are naturally quite long that's not a dealbreaker for me.

Overall, the Miss Baby Roll mascara has become my current go to mascara; I've actually been really impressed by it as I like the volumising effect in particular. Whenever there is a lot of hype surround any product there will always be those that love or hate it and in this instance I've been one of the lucky ones in that I love it. However there are a few things that irritate me slightly; I wish I'd bought the waterproof version as it does tend to smudge a little throughout daily wear, which is a shame (I've never had this issue before) and I also wish that the formula was a little more wet so that I could take more time to apply it. But those are quite trivial issues I do feel like the mascara works well on my lashes as they stay curled and volumised all day and it does add length although it does the other effects better. I would recommend this mascara to anyone who likes thick, fanned out lashes but be aware that it is a clumpy mascara. I personally like clumpiness as if I wear make up I want people to see it but I know some people hate clumps around their eyes! This mascara gives a beautiful bold effect and definitely makes eyes stand out from the rest of the face. For the quality, this mascara is definitely in competition with more high end mascaras such as the Benefit Roller Lash for less than half of the price. Let me know what you thought of this post down in the comments! :)

My Mascara Collection

Hello again! I thought I would follow on from my series about my Perfume Collection with other aspects of my make up and accessory collection. Over the past few years I've literally bought so many different mascaras, it's so difficult to find the perfect mascara. I like to have super long, volumised and thick eyelashes; as I don't like to wear fake eyelashes I do tend to like the thick, spidery look. To achieve this, I apply a ridiculous amount of mascara; on occasion I've known myself to apply over 3 different mascaras to get the desired look. I often purchase the 'very black' shade too as I like my lashes to really pop. I don't use eyelash curlers, but I do use curling mascaras whenever necessary. I think the main reason I don't like wearing fake lashes is I may have an allergy to the glue, so mascara is a huge must for me! Many of the mascaras that I've finished have gone in the bin so the ones pictured below as those that I'm using on rotation currently.

 

In the photograph above are one of my favourite ever mascaras and one of my least favourite. The Bourjois Volume One Seconde mascara in the shade black is literally like the holy grail of mascaras for me. Priced at £9.99, it is one of the more expensive mascaras that are available from the drugstore, but it's worth every penny. I've always had compliments on my lashes whenever I wear this mascara as it's super black, dramatic, lengthening and thickening. I've even been asked what lashes I'm wearing, so that's a sign of an amazing mascara. I love this mascara so much I've repurchased it around four times, it'll always be one in my make up bag. In fact, I've often raved about it in my favourites posts month after month on the blog! However, the Rimmel ScandalEyes Xxtreme mascara in the shade extreme black is one of my most hated mascaras ever! I just can't make it work for me and for £6.99, I did have high hopes as the word 'extreme' definitely persuaded me to buy it as it suggested that it would be a super dramatic and satisfyingly stand out lash effect. Sadly, I've found this mascara to be clumpy and too wet, sticking my lashes together in a mess. It's not the kind of mascara that's buildable in coats either as it just makes the lashes wetter and wetter, which is a shame. I was actually disappointed as I really like Rimmel products a lot.

 

Both of the mascaras in the photograph above are by L'Oréal Paris; actually they're not only the same brand but also a really similar design and concept. I was tempted to try these mascaras by the amount of good reviews they had. The Volume Million Lashes So Couture has a lovely brush; it's a delicate brush that not only is very ease to use, but it also allows me to get right to the roots of even my smallest lashes by my inner corners. It's a buildable mascara, I can use it for every day or a night out but the amount of layers I apply. I've found this mascara to be very lengthening and because of the delicate brush it adds Volume without clumping the lashes together. It gives the impression that I have really curly, fan-like lashes and I love the effect a lot; definitely a dramatic look once built up a little! The second mascara is the Volume Million Lashes Feline which has a lovely shaped brush; it's curved and extremely delicate so fits well against my eye shape when I'm applying it. It glides on the Lashes but I would say this is more of an everyday mascara, it's not as dramatic as the So Couture version, although it's equally great in terms of the formula. Both mascaras cost £10.99 so they're fairly pricey for drugstore mascaras but they're worth it as they do last all day without reapplication which saves on product overuse. 

 

If I'm honest, one brand that I can almost guarantee I could always find an amazing mascara from is Maybelline; every one that I've used over the years has worked really well for me. Two of these mascaras are actually the same one but in different shades. The Colossal Volum' Express in both black and 100% black. I prefer 100% black just because I really love the dramatic effect that the incredibly dark lashes have against my pale skin. One of the main reason that I love this mascara to the point that I don't even remember how many times I've repurchased it in the last 5+ years is the soft fiver brush; it feels very gentle to apply and it builds up to a really clump-free, volumises and separates lashes effortlessly. Reasonably priced at £6.99, it really is a classic and a must have addition to my make up bag. The Volum' Rocket Express mascara is one of my all time favourite mascaras and was a surprise purchase. I bought it on a whim as part of a 3-for-2 offer in Superdrug and have no regrets. It's honestly one of the best mascaras that I've ever used, especially for the bargainous price of £7.99. The brush is plastic and overly large, but it grabs every little lash, separates, lengthens and thickens to a ridiculously curly, fanned out lash look. I love it, I feel like I've got falsies on when in reality it's my own lashes. However I would recommend the waterproof as it does smudge a little otherwise. What mascaras do you guys love or hate? Let me know in the comments!