Bat Those Lashes Baby pt. 2

So much Urban Decay!!! Omgggg
I tried every mascara UD has to offer (and even a couple they don't anymore) and threw in a NYX at the end there too for good measure.

1. UD Perversion:

I actually love this mascara and it's become my go-to for several reasons: it's not very dramatic so easy for everyday, it glides on better than most, you don't have to work to coat every lash (which is great during the morning rush), it doesn't irritate my eyes even without primer, and it doesn't even flake off very easily or smudge. 

It definitely gives a nice boost to any makeup look and it's by far my most needed mascara. If I could only have one mascara, this would be it.

2. UD Big Fatty:

So tons of people at work swear by Big Fatty. Like totally devoted. I guess my lashers do look nice and thick, like a little more than the usual, and they're really fanned out, but they're def not as long as a lot of other options so don't show up with my eyes open and eyeliner on as well as other mascaras also. Another thing I don't love is that this mascara feels super heavy upon putting it on and really irritated my eyes for a long time until it was totally dry. So in this case, if you don't have sensitive eyes, and are looking for a thickening mascara, this is actually a really great option. 

The applicator on this wand is really pretty interesting though, it's basically a uniform cylindrical shape, pretty thick and long, with very short spikes to catch the lashes. I found this to make it a little more difficult to get the little hairs in the inner and outer corners. Also, I felt like despite the fanning that occurred, it was a little harder to get a uniform amount of product on each lash. So overall it's not one of my favorites ever, but it does look nice, probably just a little more caters to certain preference as opposed to an all around product. 

3. UD Supercurl:

Ok this is definitely a super easy, wear any day kind of mascara. The wand has a nicely curved applicator with different lengthed rubber spikes to really catch each lash and deposit some color on. It grabs the lashes so well even, this is a good mascara when in a rush cuz I didn't  even feel like I needed to comb them through when I was done. Omg, losing a step in the makeup routine?? Crazy.

So if I were to compare this directly to any mascara, it would be Benefit's Roller Lash, as that's another self-proclaimed curling mascara. They have very similar attributes and applicators, but they have the edge over the other in different ways. Supercurl really doesn't bother me the whole day- I really forgot I had mascara on and it was super lightweight, more so than Roller Lash. Where Roller Lash wins though, is definitely on length- my lashes definitely looked longer than with Supercurl. But there are photos on here for both, so you be the judge of which is better. 

4. UD Cannonball:

I love using waterproof mascaras for several reasons, but mostly cuz my eyes water like all the time, and my skin gets sweaty in summer and working out so its a lot easier to kee things looking good when waterproof. Cannonball is UD's only waterproof option (though I really hope there's a w/p Perversion in our future) and it really is a solid option at that. 

For being a waterproof mascara as its claim to fame, I feel like it does a really good job of really fanning out the lashes. The wand's applicator isn't my favorite, but it is a little interesting, as it's the classic bristle type brush, just with very short bristles to create a thin straight applicator. 

The only negative to this mascara is how it smudges underneath my eyes a little bit. The pic above is post shower so I could see just how waterproof it is, and it def flaked off a little bit. I will say it definitely doesn't show up with eye makeup as much as some of the others on this list, but I like how light it feels, and is non-irritating even without Subversion on underneath.

5. Lush Lash:

So UD doesn't carry Lush Lash anymore, but i know other countries still do, and it's kind of a nice mascara. it fans the lashes out really well and has good staying power, and i have coworkers who absolutely love it. It's just not my favorite. The applicator is nice, just the way i like it with the spiky rubber bristles, and it goes on really easy, but even though it's super light, it tends to get a little brittle and feels stiff imo. But look how long those lashes look! so this is another instance of having your own preferences.

On the bottom lashes in the pic above, I have NYX Color Mascara in Mint Julep from Ulta. This is kind of a super fun mascara. I do a lot of bluey-green looks, and this mascara gives just a little pop of fun, it makes me kind of want all the colors they offer. the applicator is really easy to use on bottom lashes too, as it's a teeny tiny skinny wand that easily hits all those little baby lashes without too much trouble. plus it doesn't bug my eyes, which is another plus entirely.

Bat Those Lashes Baby pt. 1

So many mascaras, so little time.

To be perfectly honest, I can't tell much of a difference in how every different mascara looks. I can tell how they feel after a few hours (sometimes), but I wanted to definitively figure out which mascara does what, and what ones I actually like. 

I have a lot of them, so this post has taken some time, and i'm showing them different ways to really get an idea of things.

This was starting to get a little crazy long, so I opted to break it up a bit and group brands together with a few stragglers thrown in.

here's the ones in this post, so let's get the ball rolling with Benefit!

1. Benefit's Roller Lash: 

Starting with Benefit's newest mascara, I do love Benefit and have been totally happy with their They're Real! mascara, so wanted to try this new one and see if it really curled my lashes all on its own. 

The wand itself is just the way I like it, with the plasticy-rubbery spiky wand, but unlike They're Real, it's really short bristles on a curved skinny wand so it's really easy to reach each lash, even those tiny ones in the corners.

I wouldn't say it necessarily curled my lashes like crazy, but it did make them look nice and defined, and also definitely longer, so it curled enough that they showed even with eyeliner. And on this one I feel like I could tell the difference between the eye with Subversion and the one without, cuz the one on the left definitely looks a little thicker especially toward the base of the lashes. I really like that I feel like I can't tell there's mascara on and that it makes a difference even with the thick liner on. 

2. Benefit They're Real!:

This is definitely one of my favorites, I've been using it for a while and I'd say it's definitely a solid one for special occasions cuz it really gives a good dark thick coat on the lashes and makes them look nice and long. The only thing that makes this not an everyday sort of mascara for me is its a bit heavy to wear, and I feel like I really notice I'm wearing it all day. I feel like this one needs a fair amount of help to not irritate me too. I usually wear Subversion underneath, combed out before and after mascara application, several coats, and if any curling is going to happen it needs to do so before the mascara, otherwise only a heated curler will work over the mascara. 

But despite any difficulty, it really holds up and doesn't smudge under the eye very easily, so it lasts all day quite impressively and truly finishes a whole look.

3. Benefit BADgal Lash:

Of Benefit's mascaras, this is definitely my least favorite. It's got the traditional bristled wand, but it's quite a bit thicker than usual. I find it not super easy to apply, you kind of have to go over and over to deposit some color, and it doesn't glide though the lashes as easily as say They're Real! or Roller Lash. 

I feel like it's not particularly thickening or lengthening, and when there are such better options, I kind of feel like this is one that's not worth it. Too much work for too little reward. 

4. Butter London Iconoclast:

Ok, this mascara is rad. No joke man, i never would have picked it up on my own, but a friend who works at Ulta recommended it, and I'm in love. So there are a bunch of reasons why this is a great mascara and I'll try to make logical sense, but it's so great I don't know if I can. 

SUCH LENGTH. MUCH VOLUME. my lashes look soooooo prettehhhhh. I didn't feel them at all all freaking day (which is Really saying something when your eyes are as tweaky as mine). The wand is everything i want–it's that nifty plasticy-rubbery applicator, nice and skinny, but—best thing ever—it's also got a spiky little ball on the end, similar to the Givenchy mascara applicator. OMG. Love. So it's super easy to use that ball and hit specific lashes, and the skinny part of the wand hits the rest while you're nailing those corners. It's great. 

Also, this is how they look after a mother fucking spin class. this mascara holds up. I am so down. Even after sweating like a pig and having that salty shit running into my eyes for 45 mins, it still looks good. ugh. yes. i will wear you all the time. be on me, iconoclast. stay on me. 

Oh, one more thing, your lashes are still soft!!! even after putting on like 2 coats, then putting on Mascara Resurrection later in the day, then two more coats. They are soft and pliable and feel perfect.

Bittersweet + Mascara Resurrection

Got a short one today, it was spin class so I didn't do much with makeup, but ya know, why not wear three layers of lip type things and mascara? A workout is clearly not going to stop me. 

These pix are all post-class, so the mascara held up quite well considering i was sweating buckets, but what i really want to talk about is Mascara Resurrection. this came out in UD's spring 15 release, and it's a really neat product in that it's for later in the day to freshen up your mascara. You know, you do your mascara in the morning, and by evening maybe you want more on, or you want to get yo fabulous night groove on and need stylin makeups to match. It's typically not a thing to re-do mascara, and if you put more on it doesn't feel too great NOT ANYMORE with Mascara Resurrection. you just put a coat of this baby on and it glides through your already-applied mascara, making the lashes nice and supple to put on more coats. It's really pretty snazzy, goes on clear, and feels great. 

 

Look at how nice those lashes look. That's post-workout, post-mascara resurrection, + 2 more coats. 

I love this stuff.



So for mascara I used Butter London's Iconoclast, and on lips we have UD's Bittersweet lip liner, matte lipstick, and topped off with the Revolution High-Color lipgloss.

And side note, I may be in love with spin. I don't know how committed i'll be to going once it's no longer free, but damn. such a good workout and it really feels good. Like i don't feel like i'm dying or straining. Sooooo awesome.

Salem

Today was a hardcore Lime Crime day, cuz why not. I used their Venus Palette as well as their Salem velvetine, which I feel like really go together. It was yoga day again (which was suuuuper painful after a night of spin class btw) so i figured something a little easy for lipstick would be handy. I love the velevtines and have like 4 of them, and will definitely be buying more, FDA be damned!! But seriously, they are great. And the Venus palette is definitely great as far as colors go. I know I've talked about it before, but omg, the colors are sah prettayyyy even if the container is a bit on the cheap side, the eyeshadows are really nice and blendable. I just need to work on blending out my crease a bit more.. Also have on Lancome's Grandiose mascara and that Dr. Jart BB cream I was skin matched with at Sephora. So here's a closer look at my face.

Ooh such neutral, much brown. I actually love this lipstick so much it made me do silly faces.

And of course since it's a day that ends in Y, gotta get that Black Milk fix in the Luna and Lola muscle tank and The Catsuit– the best gym wear piece I own. It's a catsuit FOR THE GYM. so it's perfect for like yoga type things and i can  opt to not even wear a silly sports bra cuz so much support. so awesome. Loooooove. 

Sephora + Pantone Color IQ

Aright, I have definitely been a huge proponent of skin care as makeup and generally skip foundation in favor of a pore minimizer and sunscreen, but I decided with special events coming up I wanted to put a little more effort into my face.

For the first time in forever I put on my go-to foundation... Only to find that I hate it. It matched fine and all, but it felt so thick and heavy, and looked too cakey for my taste to boot. And this is without primer or powder- just straight foundation. So I set off on a mission to find the perfect lightweight foundation that would feel like I wasn't wearing anything.

Turns out, it's actually kind of daunting to just look at foundations, it's basically impossible to tell them apart. After looking at Sephora for a bit, I noticed they have this shiny new feature called Color IQ, where Sephora partnered with Pantone to create a whole host of skin tones to match with people's skin, and then foundations match to those tones. It all seems very scientific and you can learn more about it here. 

Anyhow, I went to Sephora, got my skin matched, and every foundation the girl tried on me Did Not match. So sad. So we did the skin matching thing again (which is supposed to work even if it's pitch black), got a different number, and lo and behold, the one she tried actually looked really good! It was still more than i'm used to, and it's a BB cream which i've always felt are a little too thick and heavy, but it's got SPF45, all sorts of other good things, and it's actually classified as a skin care product as opposed to makeup. So this was really a score. my new face makeup: Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm.

What's cool too is you can save you number match to your Beauty Insider account and look at other things that will match, which is actually a lot more detailed in store than online– you can look at foundation, concealer, or lips in store so you can go back and check out other things. I'll definitely be trying out other options now that i found something that has made me less unhappy with foundations, and less intimidated by looking for the right one.

Anyhow, here is a picture of my face. I went a bit light with the BB cream, just did a gentle brushing of it on. 

I also went really light with blush and bronzer cuz it was my first day of spin class at Soul Cycle in Fashion Island since my work had some sort of promotion for a free month in September. It was Quite Intense, let me tell you. these pix are from pre-spin, where my hair was nice, before it got all matted, curly, and soaked to my face. It was a great workout though, had a lot to it and went by super fast–definitely glad i brought a gigantic bottle of water with me too. But i was pretty stoked to bring my own motivation to class via my french fry gym pants (got soooo many compliments too, surprising how many people like fry pants) and super comfy twist back top so it was a great day (and both Black Milk).

Oh, and on my eyes, we've got the Electric palette and Lancome Hypnose Drama w/p mascara. I also totally forgot, to keep up with the lip thing, I was wearing a new Naked lipgloss in the color Naked. Cuz that's apparently what everything is named. 

This look was loosely based (like a sad messy quick version) on this rad tutorial by Hannah Renee, here.

woo! gonna kick that spin class's ass!!! (I didn't, as it happens. it definitely kicked my ass)

Bite me

Got kind of a fun one today, last time i was at Sephora I decided to use a few of my points and get this fancy Bite Beauty set. I'm definitely a sucker for red lipstick, and berry for fall always piques my attention, so I definitely took the opportunity for a new addition to the lipstick set. Bite is an awesome brand, I love everything I've tried from them, from dual-ended lipsticks to lip treatments, they offer a really solid product. If you need an excuse to try it out, there're always small sets near the cash wrap at Sephora for decently cheap.

So this is the fancy little fall set in Mimosa. So cute!

On eyes today, UD Naked palette, Smog 24/7 eyeliner, Heavy Metal Glitter liner in Midnight Cowboy, and Benefit BADgal Lash mascara.

I tailored today's look around the bright red plan, with a nice gold/bronze eye and black and white outfit. 

I had some fun with the patterns today, so went with a Nasty Gal bustier, old skirt from Anthro, Black Milk Card Suit hosiery, and Michael Michaud cherry jewelry.

I LOVE Michael Michaud– I've been collecting his jewelry for years now, and every piece is a work of art inspired by nature. Seriously, it's gorgeous. Go buy some.

And it's so close to fall!! Pretty much time to whip out the booties at any chance possible. Woohoo!

More Naked Omgggg

So another day, another lipstick, and today is featuring UD's Naked2 Revolution lipstick with the same color lipliner underneath.

I went so big and bold with the eyes, I really needed to balance out on the lips, and I hadn't used my Naked2 lipstick yet, so figured it was a good fit. It's definitely more of a yellowy base than the regular Naked lipstick (which is more pink), but it's definitely not as shimmery either so that's a big plus. I felt that it wasn't too yellow where it washed me out, and it still gave some color on the lips so the look actually looked finished. 

I was hanging out with a friend today to go shopping, so decided it was an excellent excuse to try out one of my fave makeup blogger's (Ahitsrosa) new videos with all these pretty blue tones. I had a good chunk of the products she used (and close enough for the ones I didn't) that I feel like it turned out pretty decent. You can find her tutorial here.

So colors we got going on here are:

UD 24/7 glide on eyeliner in Abyss; UD eyeshadows in Tonic and Dive Bar; Chaos (from the Electric palette); Freeze (from Vice3); NYX Mint Julep mascara on bottom lashes; UD Supercurl mascara on upper lashes with Subversion underneath; UD Heavy Metal glitter liners in Air Guitar and Spandex.

This is probably more eyeshadow than i normally wear (especially under the eye), but variety is the spice of life, so bring on the color!

Woo! So Menacing!

Matte Menace is one I hadn't tried before this look, not because I don't love pink (obviously), but cuz it can be a little hard to pair such a seriously bright color with other makeup and clothes. Hot pink is really a dominating color so even though it's gorgeous, it can be a touch tricky.

I decided to keep it a little simple- hair up, easy patterned crop (reppin' that Black Milk, natch), and of course lots of black with my high waisted overalls. And who doesn't love Quay? Their sunglasses are so awesome. I want like every pair. About Last Night is the one on my face right now though.

The fall matte lip colors are really great though, they're not sticky, too slick, and stay in place super well so you don't need to worry about coverage so much. Plus, they go with every occasion so can be incredibly versatile. They're bold yet wearable, soft yet steadfast, and make a statement in the best way. Ugh. Just go buy like every color right now. 

Liar Liar

Felt like nice and easy things today, and since my dress was such a nice natural scape, I figured I'd go with a neutral makeup shindig to match.

So today we've got UDs Liar Revolution lipstick, 1993 lipliner, and Naked2 palette; Lime Crime Venus palette; Benefit's They're Real! mascara and High Brow. 

The lipstick wasn't bad, definitely not my favorite nude, but i feel like it was a solid option and it worked decently well with the 1993 liner, which is definitely becoming one of my favorites. Plus I'm really committing to this whole lipstick-a-day dealio.

Tried to go a little fancy with the eyeshadow techniques, and while I feel like it turned out ok, it definitely could have been better. I think next time I'll skip the black liner and instead opt for a nice dark brown pencil or liquid. I think I got too carried away with the nice line of eyeshadow and overcorrected with too thick of a wing. But oh well, practice makes perfect, and i definitely have a few upcoming events I definitely need to practice for... :)

Best morning ever though, woke up to a repost from Black Milk so life goal achieved, clearly. Seriously could not be more stoked 😍😍😍

And of course more Black Milk today with my Aurora Sky v. Amethyst inside out dress. I also wound up doing some #doublebm again with navy bummers... Wearing BM even when you can't see it (unless the wind gets a little frisky 😉)

Rapture/Ode to Lush

So in addition to today's regular programming (i.e. lipstick etc.), I figured I could talk about one of my favorite brands, Lush! This was going to be like a snippet thing, but then I realized I really did want to talk about the awesomeness that is Lush for a while.

I have been using their products for so many years I have truly lost count, and could probably go on and on about everything i use from them (I even got boyfriend to become a Lushie) but I'll try to condense it a bit.

I love using natural products with little packaging, and Lush makes it so fun. They also sponsor a lot of charities and donate to environmental and animal causes, which always makes me want to invest in a brand even more, so I can get things I want and help out in some way at the same time. 

I've used at least one version of almost every product they sell, and love it all, but I would definitely say a few of my favorites are the bath bombs, shower jellies, Lovely Jubblies, Lemony Flutter, Ultra Balm, and the masks. I also got bf hooked on the solid shampoos.

Don't Look at Me is a bright aqua, chunky mask that has lemon and rice in it, which made it a touch rough for my sensitive skin, but it smoothed on gently enough for me to be content. I don't love the smell as much as say Cupcake, but it's definitely preferable to Brazened Honey. I'm going to really try to use all the masks in weekly succession, as I'm typically pretty lazy about masks, using only my First Aid Beauty one (which I talked about in my skin care regimen post) once in a while. SO anyway, Don't Look at Me actually was pretty nice. it rinsed off super easy, and didn't scratch coming off, and also make my skin feel super fresh, almost like a minty sensation. I would also say it felt a touch softer than usual, and absorbed my moisturizer a little nicer for a great soft finish, and my face still felt nice and hydrated the next morning, not greasy. 

Do yourself a favor, and if you don't already love Lush, go become a convert. 

Anyway, today's look featured the UD Revolution lipstick Rapture, a nice dark rosey-mauve, paired with the Naked3 palette, Subversion/Perversion mascara, and usual brow shindig. 

It was yoga day at work again and I finally got a new pair of yoga pants from VS Pink, and a new pink strappy sports bra from VS so I worked my makeup around that. Cuz you know, on Wednesdays we wear pink. And finished everything off with of course some nifty Black Milk gym wear in their Ninja Hooded top.