Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara

I should have written this post AGES ago as this is possibly the best darn mascara I've ever used.

So many people told me to buy it but sometimes I hate the hype on products and can't help but want to rebel....

But when I got to America I went a little crazy and bought a lot, why not this beauty too?!

Benefit They're Real mascara is supposedly amazing for girls like myself, who have been blessed in the lashes department with super long ones....but unfortunately they do not curl.

Not one tiny little bit!

oh sure, they curl with an eyelash curler but spring back after a few minutes.

Heated eyelash curlers work better but still all curl is gone after an hour max, and to be honest I don't like using heated appliances by my eyes as they're sensitive enough!

So I was intrigued as to whether this mascara would actually work for me after so many useless products making their way into my make up bag previously

Anyway onto the packaging.

I love the metallic design on the mascaras but they always seem to scratch really easy and quite frankly look rubbish.

So far this tube is still looking pretty good though so we will see!

I love that they've used a bright colour and different font on the tube as it makes it stand out so much more and emphasizes the way it should be said!

I also like that it's quite chunky, I like mascara tubes like this rather than the thin ones that feel like they'd break!

The wand is also pretty sturdy which I find helps with application, you don't want it wobbling all over your face when you've finished the rest of your make up and get it all over!

The brush/comb effect is lush, and i found that unlike with other mascaras I didn't need to wipe the brush on my first use.

I always seem to find that doing that helps the brush not be as clogged up and therefore distributes the mascara much more evenly.

I really like this brush design and the formula for the mascara works really well.

It's quite thick when it has dried and this means that the curl is kept longer.

It also doesn't NOT flake or smudge down your face throughout the day woohoo!

Here's an iPhone pic of my lashes, not ideal but was the easiest way for me to take one.

Length and curl, yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

And they stay like this all day too, magic!

I'm super impressed with this and am more than willing to eat my words about not wanting to follow the hype.

I only wish it was a bit cheaper as I'm so broke right now and everything would be better if it was cheaper right??!

What do you think of this mascara? What's your favourite Benefit product?

I will be posting about another Benefit Beauty soon, I'm in love with it!

L xxx

NOTD Beetle Juice and China Glaze

Today is the end of our 21 day nail challenge but after spotting Make up Savvys 15 day nail challenge we've decided to extend it till tomorrow as we both wanted to try tomorrows theme (film inspired).

Today's nails are metallic. I kept the simple and did my favourite type of manicure a plain accent nail. 

I used Nail Envy Maintenance (my favourite base coat ever and the best in mu opinion, I read somewhere a while ago after using the original nail envy to switch the the maintenance version.) The colours I choose were China Glaze Coconut Kiss purchased from eBay ages ago and Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue purchased from the models own website. They are also available in boots.. 

Coconut Kiss is a gorgeous metallic purple. As with all China Glaze polishes it is a gorgeous finish and perfect in two coats.

Purple Blye is a metallic purpley brown blue colour and looks different in different lights. This polish I had an issue with. I bought it at Christmas time and have used it once since buying it and it has gone very gloopy and thick already. I'm not sure if this is just due to the consistency of beetle juice nail varnishes or all models own ones do this. It turns different colours in different lights and seems to have a fine glitter imbedded in it.

I really like the contrast between these two colours and how they go together. Coconut kiss is a colour I need to use more I really love the colour it comes out on the nails.

Have you enjoyed are NOTDs over the past three weeks? I'm going to miss having an excuse to paint my nails so much. Though I have been bad this week and bit all my nails off. I'm so annoyed at myself. I've not bitten them in over a year now and this week for some reason I've gradually bit them all down to stubs :(.

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Gradient Toadstool

Another of Make Up Savvy's challenges!

Today's is gradient nails which I was really excited about until........I couldn't find my sponges ANYWHERE!

So I had to improvise slightly...

Instead I picked 3 colours ranging from light pink to red and layered them on my nails in 3 stripes (kind of!)

If I'd had sponges these colours would have blended together really well but unfortunately that wasn't to be.

The base colour is 17 Supreme Shine in Simply Pink, the middle colour is No7 Cheeky Chops (post here-also in the photo) and the red is Barry M (262)

Then I used my dotting tool to do the dots, which hide a multitude of sins!

I tried my best to get the nails to blend and in some they did but others didn't look so great and this is a really cute toadstool look, ha!

I overloaded the dotting tool with the white nail polish from the Barielle Bridal Collection (Enduring) and blobbed it on wherever I felt necessary

I quite liked this design, it was fun and so easy to do, though does take a little whilst waiting for all the coats and the dots to dry.

What do you think of my ideas? I'm planning on getting some more sponges today so I can attempt gradient nail art properly....any tips??

L xxx

NOTD: Asiatique Red

Today following Make Up Savvy's 15 Days of Nails we decided to join again and this is my current favourite red:

My camera battery unfortunately died so I've had to use my phone so the above photo is taken without a flash and the one below is with flash so you can see the colour better.

This is Mac's Asiatique which i picked up from a Cosmetics Company store in Swindon a few months ago.

It's a beautiful bold red and these pictures were taken after one coat.

However I am a little careless and have chipped it already so will be applying another an a top coat as soon as I've finished this post!

It's such a stunning red colour, I'm really glad i picked it up as you always need a red in your collection that's like this.

It's not too orange, not too pink but not too blood red either, in fact its the best true red in my collection!

What do you think? Do you like Mac nail polishes?

This one is my first one and I'm really impressed with the consistency and it didn't take long to dry either :)

Make Up Savvy's blog can be found here, check out the other designs from the past few days including some from us!

L xxx