cruisin' to ensenada

thank you all

I was in search for the best retractable kabuki brush. So I went onto the Sephora site, typed in 'retractable kabuki brush', and anticipated a long list of brushes to research. To my surprise, only one brush came up.

Too Faced Retractable Kabuki Brush $28.50
The bristles are sooooooooo soft!!! It's like putting on makeup using a teddy bear. This brush holds a lot of pigment so you can get the full coverage when needed. Retract it half way and get into those hard to reach places around your nose area. Overall, I do like this brush a lot. (Possibly because I don't have anything to compare it to). At first, I was hesitant to buy it because of the price. I'm still a little uneasy about it. I think I can find a brush with the same performance for less... gotta keep lookin'.

Sephora Brand Professionnel Platinum Angle Brush #22 $18
I'm sorry, but I'm a liquid eyeliner girl. I'll use pencil and set it with liquid (thanks for the tip Janet!) to really intensify my liner. When I line my bottom lashes, I set it with eyeshadow using this brush. It gets the job done... but $18 seems a little much.

Sephora Brand Professionnel Platinum Natural Dome Smudge Brush #13 $22
I kind of regret buying this brush. One of my biggest problems with applying eye makeup was blending. I don't think it's sole purpose is to blend. I mean, it gets the job done... but I don't think I'm satisfied. I wish I bought a blending brush from E.L.F ($1).

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion $16
Love this. The primer has a nice tacky consistency which allows my eyeshadow to last all day. Also.. before I bought this, I've been having trouble with getting my eyeshadow to go on smoothly. I think this primer helped a lot. I used Laura Geller's Spackle Eyeshadow Primer($23, got it for free as a Sephora Beauty Insiders gift), but it doesn't go on nude like Urban Decay's primer. Didn't like it at all.

Lately, I've been really good about not going crazy at Sephora. Although, I did buy like 23 items from E.L.F. Most of their products are only $1 each! I also used a promotion code to get a buy one get one 1/2 deal. That pretty much took care of shipping and handling. Can't wait till it arrives. I made sure that they sent it to my work so my mom doesn't freak out. hahahaha!

That is all. This entry is for you Nick. Don't be ashamed. Hahahaha!

p.s. GO BLUE!

Here it is.... (and it's LONG!)

As I’ve mentioned before, I rarely come out of Sephora without a tube of mascara. If I don’t purchase mascara, it’s because I got it as a gift for having 100+ points on my beauty insiders account. So let’s go down the list!

Keep in mind: This review and all my other reviews are made according to my personal taste and likings.

Imju Fiber Wig- $22

When I first heard about this mascara, I was impressed by its concept. It is a water resistant ‘micro-fine interconnecting fiber’ mascara. (Literally a fiber-wig for your lashes) Fiber Wig can definitely lengthen (which is a big plus for me) but you’ll be able to tell that it doesn’t really add thickness to your lashes. After using this mascara, I realized that mascara that adds volume is very important.

I would suggest this mascara to:

*First time mascara wearers
*For those how have sensitive eyes

*For those who have allergies

Overall: :T

Shu Uemera Fiber Xtension- $23

This is basically the same concept of the Fiber Wig. I bought this after finishing up the Fiber Wig in hopes that it would add more volume. I think that it did… but when the Laura Geller makeup artist was looking at my lashes, she couldn’t really tell if I was wearing mascara.

Overall: :T

Dior Diorshow Black Out- $24

I seriously don’t know what the BIG deal is about this mascara! It’s expensive and it clumps. It definitely adds volume (probably because it’s so dang clumpy) and I do like the intense black color. Other than that, it was very disappointing

Overall: :(

Covergirl out lash (waterproof)- $8.69ish

Don’t get me wrong, I love drug store products too!! What I liked about this mascara was that it adds the volume without the clumpiness (if you wiggle it in right). Not sure that it lengthened as much as I wanted it to, but it’s good enough. The one thing that that I really didn’t like about this mascara was that it was REALLY hard to get off.

Overall: :)

Two Faced Lash Injection- $8.50(small tube) $19.50(large tube)

I picked up the small tube in the travel size section that holds the register line at Sephora. I actually really liked it! It’s waterproof, lengthens, and adds a good enough volume for mascara that only costs $8.50! My only problem with this mascara is that it kind of flaked on me… Not all the time though. Regardless, I remember liking it!

Overall: :)

Benefit Get Bent Mascara- $19

I initially liked this mascara only because of the bent wand. But it didn’t get the job done. It was clumpy and most importantly, it wasn’t waterproof. Then I realized that you can basically bend most mascara wands! *Sigh… what a waste of $19

Overall: T.T

Laura Geller Mighty Mascara & Fortifier- $21.50

After the Laura Geller makeup artist couldn’t tell if I was wearing mascara or not, she convinced me to try this mascara. The fortifier is AWESOME. It really lengthened my lashes. This is when John started to comment that my lashes were getting longer. Also, she said there’s some kind of conditioner in the fortifier so it shouldn’t flake! As for the mascara, it was just O.K. It was kind of heavy and it was hard to keep my curls up.

Overall: :) (Because I liked the fortifier)

Vincent Longo The Curl Mascara- $23

Got this as a free sample with my Beauty insiders points… It wasn't water resistant so  towards the end of the day it started to smudge. I was pretty sad. However, I did like the bristles of the brush and I liked that the mascara didn’t come out clumpy.

Overall: :T

Blinc Kiss Me Mascara- $24

Look at the previous entry for review. I still love it! Doesn’t irritate the eyes! Good for first time mascara users!

Overall: :D

Sephora Brand Atomic Volume Mascara- $16

I got this as a gift for having 100+ points on my Beauty insiders account. It’s kind of similar to the Cover Girl Lash Blast with the cool bristle. Adds the volume without much clumpienss. I only used this once because it’s not waterproof. The sales woman at Sephora told me that people love it… I don’t doubt her because I usually go to her for help.

Overall: :T

L’Oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara- $6.99ish

I used to sneak into my mom’s makeup drawer and use her mascaras. (Now she sneaks into my makeup display case) Anyways this is one of the first ones that I purchased with my own money. The first few times I put it on, I liked that it gave my lashes volume and lengthened it pretty well. There was not much clumpiness and it’s waterproof. However towards the end, it started getting clumpier and clumpier. I don’t know if it’s because it was getting old or not…  

Overall: :) in the beginning and :T towards the middle and :( during the end

MMmph… so much money spent on mascara… Believe it or not, I used a few more drugstore mascaras. I can’t write a review about them because I don’t remember if I liked the products or not. This is a sickness.

Yesterday I got the Smashbox Bionic Mascara sample tube… I didn’t get to try it yet. Irene bought it and said she loved it! We’ll have to see!

Here are some mascara info/tips:

*    If you like the bent wand so that you can reach every nuke and cranny, you’re most likely able to bend the wands of mascaras you have at home! Give it a try!

*      Sometimes the tips of your wands can get clumpy which leads to messes. Dab the tip on a tissue and the problem will be fixed! (Learned this from the Tyra Banks show)

*      I know I've mentioned.. “always go water resistant”… I still mean it. Just find one that isn’t harsh on your lashes. I just learned that most water resistant mascaras gets harsh on your lashes so it becomes brittle and can fall off. Read the mascara casings! Fortifiers should help too!

*      Again, water resistant mascaras hold curls better

I’m no mascara/makeup guru or anything.... but I love to read about it and try new things out.

That is all. Hope this helped or was at least entertaining! :)