Shakeup Your Makeup

In addition to my post yesterday, I also bought essence's Lash Mania Mascara, which retails around $3.99 a tube.  Now, I'm big on first impressions, and when I pulled out the tube and looked at it, the first thing I thought was....

Dior Show Mascara!  Could we possibly have a dupe on our hands??

The brush in the essence Lash Mania mascara is quite similar to the Diorshow.  This is a larger brush, with the spiraled, individual bristles running down the brush.  I did notice this brush is a lot fatter than a typical brush, which is also reminiscent of the Diorshow mascara. 

The product itself is not quite as wet as Diorshow - but...that's not to say that it's dry in the tube.  It's just not as wet/thin as Diorshow.  Application was was a breeze.  Every lash was coated with mascara, and because of the fatness and consistency of the essence mascara, there was no clumping or glopping together of the lashes.  I also didn't get the smearing of mascara on the lid/under eyes that a lot of the fatter brushes tend to present - I think this has to do with the constency of the product as well.

On the other hand, although for the price I think this is an excellent mascara, there are a few things that this leaves me wanting.  For one, I don't think this has quite the lengthing power that some other mascaras on the market have, including Diorshow.  Yes, there is great volume and separation of the lashes, but the length leaves a little to be desired.  The color isn't quite as intense a black as some others, either.  Personally, I find that a really deep, intense, black mascara can really enhance the lashes and eyes, regardless of how thick or long they are. 

Overall, I really can't complain too much about the mascara.  I've been using this for two weeks and haven't switched back to any other tubes in my collection.  The pricepoint is unbelievable - there aren't even any other drugstore brands that come close to the $3.99 price tag this day and age.  The product wears well all day and doesn't flake or smear.  For a simple, not over the top dramatic mascara, this one is definitely worth a try!

Here are a few pictures of the essence haul I got at Ulta a few weeks ago.  I've been using the mascara for a while now, so I'll review that one in an upcoming post.  Today I wanted to show you the XXXL Shine lip gloss and the Crystal glitter eyeliner.

The eyeliner in Dazzling Silver is a mixture of irridescent glitter and silver glitter.  These are not large chunks, and actually apply quite sparingly, which I find to be a huge bonus.  This gives you the flexability of adding a little or a lot of glitz to your look.  The brush (pictured above) is a fine, synthetic hair.  The consistency of the formula isn't runny by any means, but isn't thick either.  If you click and look at the larger image above, you'll notice that there isn't anything chunky or gloppy, so this makes application a breeze.  Sorry I didn't take a closeup of the tube so you could see the glitter - I completely forgot!

I purchased the XXXL Shine lipgloss in Bubble Babe, which is a sheer powder pink with silver shimmer.  There really isn't any pigmentation to the gloss itself, its only the shimmer that has the color.  This is a great gloss for just a lot of shine on natural lips, or to add some shimmer and shine to a lipstick. 

The applicator is an elongated doe-foot.  I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of it, just because it's a bit ackward for me to use.  I actually prefer a brush to a doe foot. 

The swatches are above - lipgloss to the right and glitter eyeliner to the left.  I find that the eyeliner is great on top of black just to add some shimmer.  I applied two coats of each - can see the shimmer in both the gloss and the sparkles? 

I'll say that the price of the items in the essence line are really quite reasonable.  If memory serves, they ran from $0.99-$4.99 a piece, depending on the item. 

 

Bora Bora is a beautiful bright coral with silver shimmer.  The shimmer is very hard to capture with a flash, and seeing as we had rain the day I did this manicure, I couldn't get the picture taken in natural light.  As mentioned above, the bottles are smaller than the original Color Craze nail polish, which I appreciated, especially with the $0.99 price tag!  The consistency is very smooth, although a bit sheer.  I was concerned that I wouldn't get good coverage in two coats, but was pleasantly suprised once I applied.  Although the first layer went on thin, the second layer applied just the right amount of color.  Because of the thin consistency of the polish, the tips didn't get gloppy.  I was also worried that the silver frost would end up making the polish somewhat chunky, but this wasn't the case either.  Really, a great buy for $0.99, and a beautiful color for the summer, and could easily be applied ontop of darker shades to create a new look all together. 

Here is a close up of the bottle so you get a better idea as to the silver shimmer running through the polish - so pretty!

The two Limited Edition Solar Heat baked eyeshadows I picked up were Singe and Fiery - retail $1.99.  These are beautiful eyeshadows, which remind me of a smaller version of the Jesse's Girl Color Your World baked eyeshadows or the Maybelline EyeStudio Color Pearls Marbelized Eyeshadows.  Swelter is a swirled mix of ivory, bronze, sage, and olive green.  Once applied, it becomes this beautiful olive-taupe.  Fiery is a swirled mix of peach, gold and purple.  This one applies as more of a true taupe shade.  Both are pearlescent, so there is shimmer.  If you are looking for less shimmer, I would suggest the Maybelline versions. 

(Click to enlarge)

I wanted to compare the sizes of these to something we all know, so below is a shot of the Wet 'n Wild next to a MAC eyeshadow.  They are comparably sized, although the Wet 'n Wild does have a "domed" shape (see below), so you might get a little more shadow in it than an a MAC. 

Swatches below - the colors are gorgeous.  I will say, that Wet 'n Wild eyeshadows tend to be hit and miss, at least in my earlier experiences.  I absolutely love the Sand Castle palette, which is one of my every day go-to items.  I have not tried the new eyeshadows that have replaced their old formula, but would love to.  I have read such wonderful things about them, and the price is great for being on a budget. 

With that said, if these LE baked shadows are any indication of the new lines available, I'm totally sold.  These were smooth, creamy, and very pigmented.  The colors blended together effortlessly.  Where sometimes these types of mixed-shades have one color that overwhelmes the rest, not in the case of the two I picked up.  The colors worked together to create two beautiful, neutral shades.  I have tried these out for two days (one for each shade), and both wore the entire day without creasing, smudging or smearing.  I will run a couple of EOTD's so you can see the shadows on in the near future.

The colors are really quite beautiful in person.  The base of the liner has the hint of color (for instance, look at the swatch of Lavender below - see how the background shows the bright purple shade?).  The glitter then compliments the overall shade of the liner.  Because of their basic transparency, these are beautiful on their own for a subtle look, or you can apply over your favorite liner to add some *umph* to the shade.  I personally love to use these over black, but they are just as beautiful over any deep shaded liner. 

Disco Queen is a deep, almost-black, shade with various irridescent shades of glitter.  I get lots of blues, red and greens when I look in the tube, but upon movement you also see crystal, silver and golds.  This is a beauty of a shade! 

Lavender is just that - a bright and gorgeous irridescent purple.  There are also hints of blue, pink and turquoise in the liner as well.  This is so pretty on it's own, but I applied it over a basic purple liner and it just made it pop!

Below are all the other colors available, and from my memory, these are very true to life.  I just love the variety!