Review! Clinique High Impact Mascara

Clinique's website says this about their High Impact Mascara:

Kicks up the volume and length of each and every lash for a look that's lusher, plusher, bolder. Pure, deep colour only adds to the impact. Wear it once and you'll feel naked without it. Ophthalmologist Tested.

After trying out several of the Rimmel mascaras, I decided to try out some higher-end brands.  When my lashes were super-short (before Latisse), mascara was usually an afterthought.  I hardly ever wore it, and when I did wear it, I didn't expect much out of it.  Now that my lashes are so long, I want them to be emphasized... A lot.

So, rather than buying a bunch of full-sized mascaras, I took advantage of Sephora's mascara package, Lash Stash.  For $45, I got 10 mascaras, a lash primer, a set of falsies and some lash glue.  I think that's a pretty good deal!

Anyway, the first thing out of the box was Clinique's High Impact Mascara in 01 Black. 

The Good:
- This goes on smoothly, without clumping.  It does tend to stick my lashes together, but brushing the wand through the lashes a few times separates them out nicely.
- It wears all day, and doesn't flake unless I rubbed my eyes.
- It's a nice daytime mascara.  It gets a good coat on each lash, and adds definition and color, like you would expect.
- I like that it isn't waterproof.  I want to be able to gently clean my lashes at night, and tugging at waterproof mascara is not my idea of a gentle cleaning.

The Bad:
- Nothing!

The Neutral:
- It's not very dramatic.  This isn't a mascara I would choose to wear for a daring, nighttime look.  Since I've been infatuated with my lashes after using Latisse, I want them to look daring and crazy-long and crazy-full all the time, so I would prefer a mascara that makes my lashes look very dramatic.  Like I said earlier, this mascara gives a nicely defined day time look, and I don't think this should count as a "bad thing".

The Verdict:
If you are looking for a good, not-to-subtle-but-not-too-dramatic mascara, I would recommend this one.

Pictures!

Before:

Afters!

Review! - Rimmel Scandaleyes Flex Mascara

I picked up another tube of Rimmel mascara, hoping to find one that I like as much as their Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara.

The Rimmel website says:
Get buildable, big volume!
Finally, a big volume mascara that won't leave your lashes stiff or brittle, so you can build drama from day to night!
SCANDALEYES LYCRA FLEX mascara featuring an exclusive flexible formula with Lycra Technology makes lashes look full and voluptuous while remaining soft, never stiff or brittle. The MaxDensity brush covers the whole lash line with one effortless coat to reveal and plump every lash. Because lashes never become stiff, you can create natural volume in the morning and build full-on scandalous false lash volume at night – without needing to remove your mascara.
Don't settle for brittle volume, get lashes that are full and flexible! Layer it on as thick as you dare!

The Good:
Yeah.  See "The Bad", below.

The Bad:
It clumped like crazy on the first application, first day opened.  Maybe I got a bad batch?  I added a tiny bit of boiling water to it on the second day, to see if that would break up the clumps, and no luck.  It was so clumpy that it was unusable.

The Verdict:
I threw it away.  It is possible that I got a hold of a tube that had gone bad, but I'm not going to bother buying any more Rimmel mascaras, except for the Volume Accelerator Mascara.  None of the ones I have tried have performed as well as that one, and I feel like I'm wasting my money.

Review! - Rimmel Extra Wow Lash Mascara

As part of my recent Ulta haul, I picked up a tube of Rimmel Extra Wow Lash Mascara.

The Rimmel website says:
Extra WOW Lash mascara, the new volume and lash building mascara with a 50% larger brush for WOW volume.  The supersized brush makes it easy to build soft to dramatic look with visible progressive volume up to 12X.  Lash building formula for highly defined lashes. No clumping.

Briefly, I was not impressed.  The wand was a bristle version of the Glam'Eyes brush.  Initially, that left me quite excited.  The excitement quickly faded when I started applying the product.  One coat will give you a very natural look.  Which is fine... if you aren't looking for that "extra wow" the name promises.  Two coats builds the look up a bit, but if you want to go beyond that (remember, we aren't in "wow" territory yet, let alone "extra wow"), be aware that clumps lie ahead.  Everywhere.  Oh, and it starts to get flaky tendencies with more than two coats.  I usually put on 5-6 coats to get close to my "is she or isn't she wearing falsies" look that I prefer.  Even then, it still isn't what I would call "extra wow", and with how many coats I had to apply, and how long it took to get it on there while avoiding clumps and stuck-together lashes... well, even the "wow" is gone.


Let's see some pictures...
Before, bare lashes, the tips of my lashes are too light to see without mascara on them:

Now, for the after picture, on YOUR left is Rimmel Scandaleyes.  On YOUR right is Rimmel Extra Wow Lash.  Both are in the shade of Extreme Black.  Scandaleyes is about 3-4 coats, and Extra Wow Lash is about 6-7 coats.

I used the two different formulas so you could see that it takes more effort to get the same look with the Extra Wow Lash as it does with the Scandaleyes.

I'm not disappointed enough to throw the tube in the trash, but it is going to be tossed in the drawer of makeup I keep on hand for emergencies.  It just takes too much time and effort to get it to look as dramatic as I like.

Full face!

Review! - Rimmel London Glam'eyes Mascara

Rimmel's website has this to say about Glam'eyes Mascara:

Glam’eyes delivers ultimate lash seduction thanks to its unique Volumflex brush. Coloured powder-pink for sexy boudoir glamour, its supple bristles are ultra-fine for sleekly groomed lash definition. Glam'eyes mascara wraps each lash with the creamy lash-building formula for lashes that appear styled with up to 10 x more volume and an 80% longer look.

Well, ultimately, I threw this away.  I tried it for two weeks, every day, and I did not like it.  The formula itself was fine.  It coated evenly, it didn't smudge, although it did have a tendency to flake more than the other Rimmel formulas I've tried, and it dried very quickly on the lash.  It did not give 10x more volume, and I did not get an 80% longer look.  However, I think that was because of the brush.

The brush SUCKS.  I've discovered I like a big brush, not a little dinky plastic wand thingie.  It took forever to just get one coat on, although it does do a great job of keeping the lashes separated.  I spent so much time trying to put on my mascara that I got irritated every day fiddling around with this thing.  You have to finish one lash set at a time, or the mascara will dry and you will be unable to apply another coat.  What I mean is, you have to do all the top lashes on your left eye until you are done.  Then you can do the bottom lashes on your left eye until you are done.  Then go to the right side and repeat.  It takes forever.  And the results are not that spectacular.

 On your left is the Glam'eyes.  On the right is Scandaleyes.  Both were applied with several coats, and I was really trying to make them look the same.  Scandaleyes took maybe 30 seconds to get that coverage, while Glam'eyes took about 2 minutes.  Two minutes is WAY too long to spend dinking around with mascara.

Here is the full face.

I tried to fit another spoolie (mascara wand) into the Glam'eyes tube so that I could continue to use the product without the annoying wand, but the opening was too small.  Boo!  I think if it wasn't for the wand, application would go a lot faster, and probably apply a lot thicker.  I did like how the wand had the longer, further-spaced bristles to separate the lashes... it would be awesome to have a spoolie that had those attached to a regular bushy bristle brush...

Verdict?  Like I said, after two weeks of trying to get it to work for me, I tossed it in the trash can.

Ulta Sale Haul - Brushes and Mascara

We were in the area of my local Ulta yesterday, so I dropped in really quickly to pick up another realTechniques stippling brush and a new Rimmel Mascara.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that both items were on sale, buy one get one half off.  So, I ended up with a few extra items that I would have bought soon anyway, and I got them cheaper! Yay!

realTechniques Stippling Brush
The website says:
This dual-fiber brush is the trade secret for creating airbrushed, high-definition results with all types of makeup:

• look pixel-perfect even in harsh light
• ultra-plush, synthetic taklon bristles are hand-cut and 100% cruelty-free
• self-standing for easy storage
• extended aluminum handle is light and easy to use

I say, this is my second stippling brush from realTechniques.  My first one is just fine, but since I use it both for my BB creams/foundation/tinted moisturizer and my cream or gel blushes, I wanted one for each.  These brushes are great.  I have a foundation brush, but it is more like a flat paintbrush, and I honestly never got the hang of using it for a light to medium foundation coverage.  This stippling brush makes it so easy to put on foundation and make it look perfect... it's kind of amazing, really.  I used to be a die-hard fingers or damp facial wedge girl, but now I'm quickly converting to the stipple brush.  I've only been using mine for a couple of weeks, but there has been no shedding yet.  The lady at Ulta said she's had hers for a year, and has experienced no shedding from her brush.

realTechniques Powder Brush
The website says:
Evenly apply powders and mineral foundations for smooth, high-definition results:

• look pixel-perfect even in harsh light
• ultra-plush, synthetic taklon bristles are hand-cut and 100% cruelty-free
• self-standing for easy storage
• extended aluminum handle is light and easy to use

I say, I haven't tried it yet.  Out of the box, it is lightweight, but not too lightweight as to feel cheap.  The bristles are very, very soft.  I have an old Bare Minerals brush that I've used for years now, and it's probably time to retire it.  So, this brush is meant to replace it.

UPDATE! - I tried out this brush, and it is amazing.  It is super-soft, and it picks up powder very well.  It distributes easily, and lays down the powder without disturbing my other products.  I totally recommend this brush!

Rimmel Extra Wow Lash
The website says:
Extra WOW Lash mascara, the new volume and lash building mascara with a 50% larger brush for WOW volume.The supersized brush makes it easy to build soft to dramatic look with visible progressive volume up to 12X.Lash building formula for highly defined lashes. No clumping.

Review to come later!  UPDATE - Here is the review!

Rimmel The MAX Volume Flash
The website says:
Take your lashes to the new MAX! Exclusive Quick setting ‘Lash Expand’ formula with Collagen to fatten and Keratin to strengthen. Lashes are pumped to full volume. Skinny to fat in 10 SECONDS FLAT. Our BIGGEST BRUSH EVER with unique ‘Perfect Fit’ technology for perfect loading of each lash. No clumps. 14 x lash volume with no clumps. 10 seconds flat!

Review to come later!

Rimmel Glam'Eyes
The website says:
Glam’eyes delivers ultimate lash seduction thanks to its unique Volumflex brush. Coloured powder-pink for sexy boudoir glamour, its supple bristles are ultra-fine for sleekly groomed lash definition. Glam'eyes mascara wraps each lash with the creamy lash-building formula for lashes that appear styled with up to 10 x more volume and an 80% longer look.

Review to come later!  UPDATE - Here is the review!

So, there's my Ulta haul.  I didn't shop very much, because my family was waiting on me and I just went in to get one tube of mascara and the stippling brush, so my branching out only extended to those similar items that were on sale.

Did anyone else go shopping this weekend?  What did you get?