Maybe It's a Maybelline Haul!? (& a bit of a mascara rave)

Lol I couldn't help myself with the title there :P

Personally, Maybelline isn't a brand I often turn to at the drugstore. A lot of their stuff are pretty, but just not the style I enjoy.

However, their mascaras are a different story - to me, they are THE go-to mascara brand in the drugstore, and while not all their mascaras are amazing, I'll still be surprised if a girl's never tried a mascara from them! I can already think of 5 I've tried. My first ever mascara was the Volum' Express Turbo Boost, and I think I went through 3 or 4 tubes before I started exploring.

Anyway, does anyone else remember how AMAZING mascaras seemed when you first ever applied one? I remember realising what a big difference it could make, and absolutely LOVING that difference. But it was all downhill from there, and I never quite felt the same about a mascara - the one that came close was the Maybelline Colossal or MaxFactor False Lash Effect..

Until today :)

After my disappointment with the MAC Plushlash (which you can read about here) I was on the search for another mascara to use for the time-being, and the Maybelline Hyper Curl Volum' Express was the one I went for - and boy, I really did feel like I just popped my mascara cherry all over again.

I love the packaging, how it's slim - my MaxFactor False Lash Effect was not so loved by my stressed out make-up bag! I also adore the tiger print and the metallic pink, yom yom yom. And it's so SHINY!

When I first took a look at the wand I was like 'eh'. I have always been SOOOO skeptical about these kinds of wands, as I usually use big fat chunky fibre or preferably plastic wands and found them to work. I felt like these wouldn't separate enough or apply enough. But I thought I might as well find out when the price is less than a tenner (which seems to be a find in the mascara world these days!).

Ohhh how glad I am that I did! On first impressions, I find they make bottom lash application a lot easier, and apply a lot of product and clump a few lashes together which adds volume without making it look too clumpy, so it's absolutely amazing if you want spider lashes - like these!

I have never, EVER seen my lashes like that - EVER. You can see what my eyelashes look like w/o mascara here. They stayed this curled for the whole day, and  the volume and length is perfect. There was no excessive wet formula like with MAC Plushlash so it was great to use straight out of the box. I also never thought I'd like spiderlashes on myself, but I find it balances out my relatively small eyes!

To be honest, this is completely holy grail status and I haven't said that in a REALLY long time! I may have days where I will prefer a fluffier/lots of lashes look, but that's what my other mascaras are for :D

Apparently there's two kinds of HyperCurl Mascara as you can read about on this blog - and this one is limited edition. Is it true? I also checked on the Maybelline UK website, but can't seem to find it - does anyone know if it's available in the UK? Do I need to stock up like a madwoman?

Aaaand this is what I picked up when I was paying for my mascara.. it was less than £3, but I hate it when they leave stuff on the till, it's SUCH a good marketing strategy. I haven't used it yet but I read that it was good in somebody's blogpost (so sorry I've forgotten who :() so I picked the colour and smell I liked most - thank God cuz if the two weren't in one I would've stood there forever trying to decide. This one is Sweet Cherry, and I want to eat it.

So yeah.. I thought my perfect lash quest would be pretty long but it looks like it's coming along quite quickly :P

What's your favourite mascara?

Any from Maybelline? :)

<3yu

Bloody Lashes.

I wish I was blessed with decent lashes - I wont ask for TiffanyD, Lollipop26, long, spider eyelashes, but the least whoever made me could've done is to make sure I have longer eyelashes than my boyfriend.. (His lower lashes are probably about as long as, if not longer, than my top lashes.. I know. What the eff.)

So I thought I'd document the point at which my lush lash search is on - which isn't a very good one to say the least. The products I've been dabbling with are..

MAC Plushlash Mascara in Plushblack

.. and the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers

First off, this is not a proper review as I've only been using the Plushlash for a few days since my MaxFactor False Lash Effect ran out, and I already did a review on the Shu curlers (link above!).

To lay out the facts, my lashes are short, straight and stubborn. What seems to work for me are big plastic brushes and volumizing formulas - I think my favourite mascaras to date are the aforementioned MaxFactor False Lash Effect and the original Maybelline Volum' Express. But as MAC mascaras are the same price as drugstore mascaras here, I bought the Plushlash hoping it'll turn this..

into.. well, Cheryl Cole lashes, to put it mildly.

Sadly, what you see below are the effects. The top row shows my lashes just with the Shu curlers - amazing right? The bottom shows my lashes with Plushlash :/

Soooo not exactly Cheryl yet, am I? The application is really uneven with one coat and I can feel my lashes being weighed down. The effect above is 'okay' but imagine that with eyeshadow/eyeliner - it wouldn't show! I also hate how no matter how many times I run the brush through my lashes, it looks the same! The effect is actually really good when I let it dry and recurl and reapply, but lashes aren't exactly what I wanna spend precious morning minutes on!

At this point I'm having serious deja vu, and remember the Benefit BadGal Lash. I was heavily disappointed with it for about half a year - and then I randomly gave it another chance and I adored it!

Moral of the story? I'm just going to have to wait until the Plushlash dries up a bit. So the search goes on for the meantime!

What's your perfect lashes routine? :)

On a lighter note, I stocked up on my favourite eyelashes.. for 70p each :)

YOOOOM YOM YOM YOM.

Now I just need some DUO eyelash glue, and I am sore-ted.

<3yu

Favourite Products of 2010!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my Hiatus post. I've been having a great time with my family, but today we're having a chill night so I thought I'd take the time and figure out what my favourite products of 2010 are :)

This is honestly my first year being truly into make up and I think I started around March/April-ish, and it completely sky-rocketed after the creation of my YouTube channel in May. So you'll find that a lot of the things I put in here are things that I bought in the last half a year so.. excuse me if it's not ALL of 2010 :P

Enough babbling I think! :)

The Runners Up - in no particular order are..

(Top L clockwise: MaxFactor False Lash Effect; MAC Satin Taupe e/s; Duo-Fibre Stippling Brush; ELF Eyeshadow Brush; Sleek Storm Palette)

MaxFactor False Lash Effect Mascara I think it just a great all-around mascara, that helps to enhance rather than make me look unnatural. Love it.

MAC Satin Taupe deserves all the raving it gets - it's a brilliant colour, hard to dupe, and has been one of my go-to autumn/winter colour!

The Duo-Fibre Brush is something that changed how I see foundation - it's so much more fun and stress-free because of this brush :)

The ELF Eyeshadow Brush is the best e/s brush I had for a while in terms of quality and price, and is something I wouldn't throw away even if I have the MAC 239 now.

The Sleek Storm Palette probably leading the way as it is one of my first palettes, incredibly useful, and just so well-rounded.

Tied for 4th Place are..

 (L: Rimmel London's Nude Delight No. 700 & R: Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette)

Rimmel London's Nude Delight Lipstick No. 700 is my perfect nude that I have been searching so long for. I've never looked back on the day I got this and it was my go-to lipstick over the summer! It's hybernating atm and replaced by MAC's The Faerie Glen, as Nude Delight is very much a summer nude, but it will come back in a couple of months I'm sure :)

Coastal Scents' 28 Neutral Palette - you've heard me rave about this in the review. Go check it out here! :) In short, extremely usable, value for money, alternative while I grow my MAC collection, allows for new looks with matte colours, and everything else wonderful :)

3rd Place is also a tie with..

(LOL I'm such a cheat!)

 (L: MAC Blush in Style & R: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus)

MAC Blush in Style is my one and only MAC blush, and it has been that way for so long because it's my go-to blush, I love it, I know it looks good on me, and.. well, I love it.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish is like the stock room people in stores that you always forget exists but would be hopeless without! :P Something I reach for everyday, and something that is just so beautifully subtle and unnoticeable. It's light, it's barely there but has very good coverage.. I'm not sure what to say, I think other lovers out there know what I mean lol I forget its existence but does its job.. this is making me confused! LOL!

2nd Place goes to..

The Bodyshop Seaweed Series

This changed my skin. I'm sure the meds from the dermatologist did too, but this just cleanses my skin and maintains it so well. It just washes it to the right level - not too harsh, not too useless. It does the perfect middle ground for me, I feel like I'm just washing my face with water but.. better lol. God I really am confusing myself here..

& Favourite Product of the Year goes to..

MAC Studio Finish Concealer with SPF 15 in NC35

Alongside the Bodyshop Seaweed series, this concealer helped repair my teenage-acne prone skin both physically and emotionally (too deep Yu, too deep). Whenever I used other concealers and saw that they didn't cover my scars, I was very conscious of it and felt like my scars were too big to be covered, and therefore I required more coverage than everyone else cuz everyone else didn't seem to have scars. Guess they were using MAC Studio Finish Concealer :P

So there ya go! :) My lovely best friends of my make-up bag & sink (haha) - hope you guys enjoyed!

If you have any questions about the products, do feel free to ask :) & don't forget to link me to your yearly favourites! :)

<3yu

P.S. Keep an eye out for a video on this :)