Volumizing? Defining? And other WTH moments....

Hermanas!!!

Curious fact before I forget. In Mexico, mascara is called rimel. Yup, like Rimmel London.

If you have been with us all week; you now know that getting luscious lashes is not just a matter of slapping on whichever mascara. Monday we shared Lash Savers, including some guidelines on what to look for when you are buying a new tube. Yesterday we dished about the pros and cons of primer and curling (or not!). Today we are almost getting ready to cyberapply mascara.

So let's pretend we are standing in the middle of Sephora *sigh*, with no budget problems *sighs again* and all the time in the world *triple sigh*, but without a salesperson trying to push their favorite mascara on us. How would we decide?

I say: think triple. I would like you to focus on three things. First, the type of mascara you want; second, the brush of the ones available and third; sadly enough, how much can you afford.

The titles cosmetic companies baptize their products with can be as puzzling as trying to sort out their ingredients (unless you are lucky enough like yours truly to have a hot Organic Chemist on call, mwahahahaha). But really, they can be confusing. So, how about mascaras? What is the difference between a "volumizing" and a "curl enhancing" one? Let me give it a try.

Volumizing mascaras claim they can make your eyelashes look full and yet soft. This is the kind I live by, since I am all about the dramatic look. Best in Class are (some reviews courtesy of Bee over at Clumps of Mascara):

Cover Girl Lash Blast (currently on my lashes)

Diorshow Iconic (on my I wantzzz it list)

Max Factor 2000 Calorie (one of my faves)

Volumizing mascara is best used -yo pienso- when you have somehow achieved curl and length through other means. If you have small lashes, not such a good idea as it can look clumpy. If you are going to use this baby, give it some time to set before patching up 3,000 coats. And always use a separator after.


Lengthening mascaras help you extend small lashes. Simple, eh? Not quite. Like, really chicas, how can you lengthen something finite? (great, now I am philosophical). Yet, seems you can. Best in class:

Lash Control Volume

Maybelline Lash Stylist

Rimmel Glam Eyes (Bella's review, B's review)

If you want tube technology, go for either L'Oreal Extend or Blinc Kiss Me. I have tried both and am partial towards L'Oreal, which is also much more affordable... as in half price affordable.

"Curling' mascaras are supposed to give you a curly angle to otherwise flat and sad lashes. I personally think this is nothing more than a myth (basic physics hermanas)... so I will not go into detail about these ones. They exist, and I would never buy one. If you have and love them (and hence think I am full of...) do share!!!

Defining mascaras are -after volumizing ones- my favorite ones. They tend to be much more thin in their consistency; and their ultimate goal or promesa is to separate and -surprise!- define your lashes. I like these ones for those very rare days where I want to look more natural (they occur, once in a blue moon). Another perk is they tend to feel quite light on your eyes. Best in class?

I personally love Lancome Définicils

Clinique High Definition

Revlon has a sleuth of defining mascaras, but I must confess I have not tried them.


Dios! This is one long post. I guess we will leave the thoughts about mascara wands and brushes for tomorrow. In the meanwhile, go back to dreaming about being in Sephora, with no budget restrictions....

Siempre , Bella.

To prime or not to prime, to curl or not to curl....

Hermanas!!!

Yesterday we talked about LashSaving tips. Today, continuing our Mascara'ing La Vida loca week; I want to talk about what we do -or should or could do- BEFORE we happily jump into actually applying mascara. Remember the mantra: make up is NOT a chore.

PRIMER

I was first introduced to eyelash primer by my beautiful cousin Mamita Financiera. One Christmas she gave me a tube of Estee Lauder's Lash Primer Plus. I remember it quite vividly. She said "I know, this is yet another step in your makeup routine, but you will be grateful". The woman is wise.

Not only was I hooked on primer; I realized that any mascara I applied after one or two coats of primer lasted longer, and its benefits showed more. Besides, primer helps me -and you- protect our delicate lashes. It is something worth investing some dinero on. Specially if you, like me, enjoy a good drugstore bargain for mascara.
Today, a lot of cosmetic companies make their own mascara primers; or sell the 2-in-1 sytems like, for instance, L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara, or Revlon's Lash Fantasy. My staple is still Estee Lauder's; but I am dying to try Urban Decay's Lingerie and Galoshes, and of course I always welcome sugerencias and tips from you all.

CURLER???

I must say, I do not curl. Ever. I don't for two reasons: First, I am blessed with nice and curly lashes (much with the help of mi madre, and her loving ritual of nightly ricin oil); and second; the idea of crimping my eyelashes makes my skin crawl and my poor lashes fear in terror. Even worse... I think eyelash curlers look eerily like torture devices...

However, I know that many of you simply cannot not do it. Since I am a complete ignorant of curling; I can only tell you what I have heard or seen other hermanas do. Most of you have of course heard (and if not, you kave now) of Shu Emura's Eyelash Curlers; which seem to be THE ultimate tool.



The other -and much more affordable- tool is a spoon. Yep, you heard me. My adored cousin La Beba, yet another makeup diva extraordinaire swears by this. She devotes more time with the whole eyelash pampering than anyone else I know. She curls with a rounded spoon, and then separates each lash (more on this later in the week).

I have also recently heard about heat eyelash curlers; but the idea is more than I can bear.

Sooooo....curling or not curling is up to you. My take? Don't, if you can avoid it. And if you do, keep your tools in shape and clean, always. Perhaps you can give one of many curling mascaras a try before going at it with a passion; and maybe this way you can avoid unecessary stress in your already sensitive lashes.

What is your take? Do you prime? Do you curl? I want to know!!!

Siempre, Bella.

Revlon Matte Collection... Checkmate!

Hermanas!!!

First, gracias to all of you who showed me so much love and support through these past days; I really appreciate it. Things are coming back to normal slowly, and our lives go on.

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on my 1-2-3's for looking younger with makeup tricks; and one of those tips was to use matte eyeshadows. And I can tell you, it works like a charm. Not only does it make you look younger; it also makes you look oh! so much sexier.

I got a hold of Revlon's Matte Eyeshadow Collection after a weekend talking to some younger hermanas who love makeup but didn't know if they could pull a midnight blue smokey eye; so I offered to try it for them....

Checkmate!! I am in desperate and absolute love with these eye shadows chicas. From Revlon's website:

Soft, suede-like texture glides over lids smoothly and evenly.
Provides high-impact color and a soft matte finish.
Feels smooth and luxurious on the eyes.

Check, check, check. Three out of three.

These babies are highly pigmented, but you can certainly monitor how much to apply without much hassle, and hence avoid looking like a scared raccoon... which happens only too often to divas-in-training who have not mastered the smokey eye look. They feel smooth and do not go powdery like other e/s; but you do need to be subtle when you first try them. You can always add more color; but taking it off is a b.i.t.c.h....

I bought only two shades: Riviera Blue which is my first ever blue eyeshadow (before this I avoided blues like the plague, and in general I still do); and Aubergine is the most luxurious deep purple you can think of. Sexy, I tell you.

For those chicas who favor a Spring natural look; Revlon also makes pastel colors like Pink Innocence and Luscious Lime; and -oh yes!- neutrals that you can use as an all-over base like Peach Sorbet and Vintage Lace.

Now, they of course come with an itty bitty applicator. But, if you have followed the Café Beautique and other beauty blogs for a while; you know that those are made to throw away and be replaced by brushes, right???? For more info on brushes, cheack out this post. I cannot then report on the applicator because by now it is somewhere far, far away.

And, if that alone was not good enough reason to try them.... they last forever. I kid you not. I always test new e/s without primer to check out the durability; and these ones beat any other I have tried. After all, Revlon did create ColorStay....

So go matte, go misteriosa, go sexy. But, more importantly, go happy.

Siempre, Bella.

Café Review: Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup

Hermanas!!!

After years and years of being a 100% devout of MAX Factor pancake foundation; I decided to venture and check Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup out. Why? Because a long time ago I was also a follower of Revlon's color stay foundation; so there. That, and Jessica Alba looked fab in the advertisement --- shameless victim of advertisement, eh?

I bought the foundation in Medium + the primer. The claim for the foundation is:

Weightless foundation that goes on white and self-adjusts to match your exact skin tone. In 5 shades with a flawless finish. SPF 15.

Rojo, our resident chemist and beloved husband immediately cracked into a laughter so evil I felt like a high school dropout without a clue... He claims that there is no way that "skin matching thingie" can happen [insert 45 minute lecture on the properties of carbon and radicals and godknowswhatelse]. I used it anyway; and gave the offending man one of my mean Furia Mexicana looks (he has since redeemed himself).


I don't know about the matching your skin thing; but both the primer and the foundation are quite nice to apply. And my skin looks quite dewy and radiant. Now, if you have oily skin, DO NOT use this: it has the potential of making the dewy look become something greasy and nasty. It is-I think- quite oily. I took a look at my foundation brush after applying and it felt, well, greasy.

It did last all day and looked uniform. Coverage is not as good as my usual foundation; or maybe I am not used to the dewy look (I'm all about matte finishes). But I did not hate it (or you would have heard about it quite fast).

I would much more like if the packaging was with a pump; since something tells me I will not be able to squeeze everything out of the tube (toothpaste, anyone???). Same would apply for the primer, but that one has a transparent tube casing, so I shall forgive them.

Speaking of the primer; it works like a charm; and it does the trick. It feels almost like Smashbox's Photofinish (yup, for like 30% of the price!) and I quite liked it. This will most definitely be repurchased, si si si. From Revlon's website:

Evens skin for a smooth, virtually poreless appearance and creates a smooth base for lasting foundation.

-Lightweight, gel-like formula fills in pores and lines
-Clean, fresh fragrance refreshes your senses.

In short (because I sprained my wrist during an escapade to Trader Joe's today and I can't type), love the primer, semi-love the foundation. But for the price, it is quite the deal! Now, if you have serious discoloration going on, I would recommend you learn how to become a concealer mage. Like Rojo said: magical claims are usually suspect.

Siempre, Bella.