I purchased this on the basis of feedback given on the Superdrug website.
Mascara by Miss Sporty, sadly this one does not live up to expectiations
But unfortunately for me all this mascara produced was spidery lashes. So despite its low price tag, other mascaras I tested far out performed this mascara by Miss Sporty.
If you want a good mascara at a low price point, then the NYC Showtime would be a much better investment for your pennies.
This is an excellent mascara. It provides volume and length and is a great everyday mascara, despite its theatrical title.
If you want a little bit of glam everyday, then this is the mascara for you.And considering its price point. 1.99, this one is a no brainer .Again I hear myself saying that this mascara is worth at least ten times its price.
What my reviews prove is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great mascara. They are out there and you don’t have to get out your credit card to buy them. This one is just pocket change; but don’t discount it. For less than two pounds this mascara is a strong contender for the best list.
Highlight with style
1 There is a fashion at present (perpetuated by Kim Kardashian) to severely highlight the areas around the nose, under the eyes and onto the cheeks. In a downward “V” fashion. This looks good on her because of the use of the Ben Nye yellow powder, which compliments her ethnicity and prevents her looking ashy in photo-shoots and in flash photography. It is not a good look for most people with fair to medium toned skin.
2 A swipe of highlight colour from the side outer corner of your eye upward towards the end of your eyebrow will also create instant lift. This is especially useful if you have had problems with darker shades of eye shadow and you are afraid of a muddy look. It creates a very clean and precise illusion.
3 Always carry two lipsticks, so that you can add a dab of lighter colour to your cupids bow and your bottom lip. This creates the illusion of a fuller lip.
4 If you are stuck in a rut with your eye shadow or have a hooded eyelid, add a touch of highlight colour to the centre of your eye lid. This can dramatically open the eye.
5 Highlighting just above your blush is great for younger women. If you have problems with dark circles or very puffy eye bags, highlighting will accentuate bags or darkness so avoid this and use tip no. 2 instead.
6 Dab a sweep of highlight down the centre of your nose to accentuate a straight nose.
7 Highlight just above you brow, (as well as below) to create instant lift to your eyes.
This product comes in a curved shaped barrel the wand is strangely curved as well.
MUA Mascara
I found this excellent for the top lashes. It really seemed to grab onto the lashes after I curled them with an eye lash curler. I used this with no lash primer. And it seemed to work really well. It really surprised me.
I have to say that it did not work so well for me on the bottom lashes. The curved wand caused a little bit of a problem here, But perhaps using a primer on the bottom lashes would help in this area. I certainly would not discount this product for this reason because it actually gave a nice volume and lash extension
As for the extreme curl, well perhaps compared to some other cheap mascaras it did hold the curl better. But not as well as something like the Lancome Hypnose (Which for me did not provide much in the way of volume, but it did hold a curl.).
This mascara is currently selling for £2.00 in Superdrug. and I have to say it performs better than mascaras I have tried which are ten times that amount. This mascara is a no brainer. It is a mush have.. I would definitely buy this again and it will surely find its way into my top ten once I have completed my mascara marathon.
Is the name Jordana unfamiliar to you? Well that may he because it is a family owned business in America who sell through drug stores.
As I am on a quest to find the very best mascaras and cut through the marketing blurb, I thought I should check them out and so had some flown over to the UK. Yes they are unavailable through the likes of Boots or Superdrug, so I went looking on Amazon and had some sent to me.
These are good quality mascaras. Two were made in the States and one was made in Italy.
My favourite was The Best Extreme Length mascara which comes in pink and black packaging, followed closely by the Best Lash Extreme Volumizing,this comes in lilac and black packaging. The Best Volume Extreme, which comes in a lime green packaging, did not really impress me at all. But I had to try them out, as a few Youtubers were saying that Jordana brand was very good and great dupe for the Mally mascara that I like, but comes in at the twenty five pound mark once you include postage and packaging from QVC
These three mascaras cost not me somewhere between ten and fifteen pounds in total including shipping. So that for me is a pretty good deal. And the two that I choose were definitely worth the wait.
If you what to read my Mally mascara review you can read it here
And check out the About page.
A push liner brush is a brush that has a square brush head and very stiff bristles. Just like the one below with the cream coloured handle. It is the perfect choice of all your makeup brushes to put on a liner colour.
The idea of these brushes is to push dark colour into the very base of the lash, creating what looks like a very thick lash line. It is also a perfect way to create a straight line at the base of your lashes without having to draw a thick harsh line.
I use mine with a Bobbie Brown liner colour. That would be the very darkest colour from this palette here.
Or I use it with a Laura Geller chocolate colour baked shade, as this give a more subtle look and is perfect for smoking out with a smudge brush like the one picture here.
I am a huge fan of push liner brushes and have purchased around three or four identical ones so that I create either a strong lash line or smoke it out with a smudge brush like this this fabulous No 7 brush Smokey Eyeliner brush from Boots.
Benefit They’re Real Mascara is in a word, good. it is one of the few mascaras that actually lives up to it’s hype.
I actually think I prefer this product without a lash primer because then you get too much volume and length, but if you have shorter lashes then a primer may make all the difference to you and this again would be your product of choice.
I don’t really have any negatives about this mascara. I actually think everyone should try it out. And this comes from a woman who has made it her mission to try mascaras at every price point to see where the good ones are.
They’re Real Mascara retails around the £22 pound price point. It will negate the need for lash primer for many and so this is a good value product in my opinion.
I really like it, and I am a tough critic, but when you find something that lives up to the hype it is a joy to shout about it. So go and buy one today!
If you would like the opportunity of a makeover with some beautiful picture to capture the moment, just call or email me, the details are on this website. there is no charge unless you are absolutely delighted.
Allison xxxx
The Elf cosmetics brow kit is almost identical to the Benefit Brow Kit.The Elf Brow Kit is under £4 where as the Benefit kit is currently £23.50 on the Benefit web site.
Both products contain coloured was and a brow colour and do a fantastic job of colouring in the brow.
There have been terrible stories in the news about a trade in fake cosmetic popular brands. Benefit is one of those brands. There are fake “There’re Real” mascaras made by unscrupulous people usually in China that may cause terrible damage to your skin and eyes. So when you come across a real authentic dupe by a reliable company then it’s worth buying up.
I know that the Benefit “There’re Real Mascara ” ( review coming soon) is made in France. When brands are made in Europe,North America or Japan you can expect to pay a premium. You can also expect a hefty chunk of your money to go on the marketing budget.
Elf cosmetics was designed to be a low priced brand of quality cosmetics,Their products are sold in Europe and across America in place like Target and drug stores.They do not have a wide high street presence in the UK. There is one shop in Wales and an Elf website. Their products are manufactured in China alongside many other well known brands.
Products made in China are OK if made by a trusted brand who comply with strict quality control to meet European and American standards. I would never ever knowing buy and unbranded cosmetic product made in China or the Far East.I lived in Hong Kong for four years and am so I have a particular insight into what and what I would not consume when it is made in the Far East.
At present Elf is a good brand with good products ( so far I have not had an issue with anything I have bought from them.) And I am really pleased to have found this wonderful brow set.
For a stunning makeover, by an experienced artist contact Allison by email or by phone.The makeover comes with a set of stunning picture for you to capture your best moment.
Allison xxx
Ok, recently I have been on a mission to review many mascaras that have received attention in the media and some that I have found to be popular without the hype. I trailed the review section for hours or research on the Superdrug wesite to find mascaras that have received a 5 star review with the public, and pitched them against some bigger named brands to see what the results were and see what really is value for money.
Lancome Hypnose is around the £22 pound mark here in Britain. A little pricey some would say, but others might consider it mid range. Whatever you viewpoint, this mascara is nice and performed well. I test with and without an eyelash primer. Without the primer it was ok but with the primer it performed much better. However that does seem to be the case for most mascaras.
Hypnose mascara
To me this mascaras lengthened and added a little volume. I would keep it because it really performed well on my bottom lashes and as I have a few missing on one eye, this has really become a standard test for me. Apart from that it did not dramatically add volume.
If you are looking for a mascara to fill in sparse areas and lengthen your lashes then is a mascara for you. If you are looking for volume, then perhaps another brand would be better.
This Hypnose mascara did not perform better than my drug store brand collection 2000 mascara so I would rather pay £4 than £22. If I could not get hold of my regular brand, this is definitely an alternative.
Every pound, euro of dollar that you spend on cosmetics probably ends up in the pockets of either one or two companies. Think that it crazy! Is your foundation by Bobbi Brown and your blush by Lancome? Is your mascara by Estee Lauder but your eyes shadow by Urban Decay? Is you lipstick by Clinique, but your bronzer by YvesSantLaurent ?
Well think again!
Here are the Estee Lauder brands :
MAC
Bobbi Brown
Prescriptives
La Mer
Jo Malone
Tom Ford
Smashbox
Clinique
Origins
Orjon
Here are the L’Oreal brands:
Lancome
Giogrio Armani
YvesSantLaurent
Biotherm
Shu Uemura
Helena Rubinstein
Urban Decay
Maybelline
Garnier
The Body Shop
Only one or two of them were a surprise to me. But I guess if a new brand starts making in roads into your market, what better way to get rid of the competition than to buy it up, and add it to your portfolio. As I concentrate on make-up I skipped over the fragrance and luxury handbags stuff. But you get the point.
So next time Maybeline bring out their next awesome mascara ( and lets face it, they have a few) why not wonder if it is so great, then why does Lancome need another version of Hypnose mascara to compete with it. And when Urban Decay launch another Naked pallet, will you wonder if it would just be cheaper to pick out a few brown shades from the L’oreal range.
Marketing is a wonderful thing, but knowledge is power.It is true some of these brands differ dramatically in what they offer the consumer. But next time you are seduced by the next big thing, think about where it is originating from, and whether it really is for you.