Rimmel London Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara Review

This mascara has been out for quite sometime and I've been meaning to try it out after I had read the stellar review it got over at clumpsofmascara.com. But new mascaras kept getting in the way! Finally I got my hands on a tube and I've been using it for about two months and I've got a few things to say about this mascara.

Rimmel's Claims: A big volume mascara that won't leave your lashes stiff or brittle, so you can build drama from day to night! Lycra Technology formula makes lashes look full and voluptuous while remaining soft MaxDensity brush covers whole lash line with one effortless coat to reveal and plump every lash.

Okay so this mascara does build up a lot of volume and it builds volume very well. The Max Density brush is very large. Almost too large (I've included the brush with a quarter for scale). I kept nicking my eyelids with the brush and occasionally I still do, but this brush takes a while to get used to. The denseness of the bristles do ensure that your lashes are evenly coated with, so that's another positive.

I don't understand how Rimmel infused Lycra into their mascara but somehow it works. My lashes didn't feel stiff or crunchy but I was able to build volume easily. I find mascaras that claim to make lashes soft aren't so good in the volume department Rimmel's struck the perfect balance.

I find this mascara didn't flake or clump up on me. Then again very few mascaras flake on me. This mascara doesn't make my lashes feel heavy. I can't speak to how this mascara holds a curl because I don't curl my lashes.

Now that one coat claim isn't exactly true. You do have to take the brush and comb through your lashes to get your desired effect. I'm not the sort of person who applies some mascara and then lets it dry and then goes over it again. I used to be and I find that's the fastest road to clump city. I apply a continuous coat until I'm satisifed with the way my lashes look. I took that approach with this mascara and here are my results.

I love it!

This is definitely one of my favourite new mascaras and I'm glad I finally got around to buying it.

Likes:
1. Formula keeps my lashes soft, not crunchy
2. Isn't too wet or too dry
3. Builds volume and length
4. Dense brush ensures defined lashes

Dislikes:

5. The brush is very large and took me a while to get used to
6. The packaging is a bit bulky

 A

My Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty

(Image by EwaGeruzel over on deviantart.com)

I've seen this going around the beauty blogs and I thought it'd be fun to participate!

Greed: What's your most expensive beauty item?
Easily my $59 Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. I've got a lot more drugstore makeup then I do high end.

Wrath: What item do you have a love hate relationship with?
Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream in Deep Sheer Tint. That stuff is complicated. On it's own it can be too light for my skin tone (and it's the darkest shade in the line!) and it's very greasy. But when I set it with a powder it gives my skin beautiful coverage and a light comfortable feel.

Gluttony: What brand takes up most of your collection?
Maybelline! Their products are fantastic and their prices are great.

Sloth: What product do you neglect most due to laziness?
My Essence liquid eyeliner pen. I love it a lot because it's so easy to use but I hardly use it because I never have enough time in the morning (really I don't make enough time for myself to use it in the morning!)

Pride: What product gives you the most confidence?
A good, lightweight, medium coverage foundation. My skin has some hyperpigmentation from past acne marks and when I've got a good foundation on I feel unstoppable. I feel like people are seeing beyond my acne scars and seeing the true me.

Lust: What item is at the top of your beauty Wish List?
The Tarte Skintuitive Lipsurgence Energy Lip Tint!

Envy: Which product looks great on others and not on you?
Cool pink lipstick! It's my favourite colour and I wish I could wear it on my lips!

Nyx Butter Lip Gloss Review

I bought my first butter gloss online last year because I wasn't even sure if Nyx was sold in Canada or where to find it. Cherry Pie was my first. After that I fell hard and bought six more in that same year. Now they're all available at Target Canada.

Claims from the Nyx website: Buttery soft and silky smooth, our scrumptious new Butter Lip Gloss tastes as sweet as a sugar cookie—and makes your lips look downright luscious. Swipe it on alone or over your favorite lipstick for creamy sheer to medium coverage that melts onto your lips and is never sticky.
Price: $8.99 at Target Canada

This gloss has no taste at all, so I don't know what Nyx is talking about with the whole "tastes as sweet as a sugar cookie" line. It does smell completely heavenly though. Coverage is medium to sheer with some shades like Sugar Cookie running sheerer while others like Cupcake are very pigmented. The gloss doesn't feel sticky on the lips at the outset but as time wears on it begins to feel a little tacky.

Right now I've got six (in the order pictured above):
1. Peaches and Cream
2. Cupcake
3. Sugar Cookie (loved it so much I bought two tubes)
4. Cherry Pie
5. Praline
6. Gingersnap
7. Devil's Food Cake

I really really love them and I'd buy them all if I could.

The formula is lovely. Very moisturizing, glides on like butter. Lasts about four hours before needing a touch up.  It smells like vanilla cupcakes! Of course the smell disspates but it's so lovely I wouldn't really care if it never disspated.

I love the packaging and the slimness of the tubes (but they still have quite a bit of product in them at 8ml each). And the cream finish on all of them makes them so easy to wear.

I've included this picture to show you how the shades compare with one another.

A slightly cool toned red with a cream finish. Fairly pigmented. My first love and one of my favourites.

A neutral chocolate brown with a cream finish. Very pigmented. Such a wonderful nude gloss for those of us women of colour. I cherish this gloss because I know Nyx is the only brand that makes a nude gloss in a colour so deep. I wanted this shade as soon as Nyx announced their new shades.

A bold, cool toned fuchsia with a touch of lilac. Is a little sheer like Cherry Pie. This shade is a great shade to just throw on and add a pretty pop of feminine colour to the lips. I love the way it looks against my skin tone. I've actually finished my first tube because this was a shade I reached for so much.

A slightly milky, very bright pink with hints of coral. It's one of the most pigmented butter glosses out there. I thought it would be a warmer version of Sugar Cookie but its definitely different. I'm not a huge fan of this shade because of how pigmented it is! Generally I prefer semi-sheer lip colours and this one is just very pigmented. Stains my lips after the gloss has worn off.

A slightly milky, cool toned pink. Doesn't apply peachy on my lips (mine at least) at all. It's a sheerer and cooler version of Cupcake. I actually like it a lot because of how subtle it can be.

A blackened red with a slight hint of plum. Super pigmented and very gorgeous. I love how vampy this gloss is! Stains the lips after the gloss has worn off.

A chocolate brown with a hint of peach. Lighter then Gingersnap. So what's the difference between Gingersnap and Praline? I can't tell the difference myself with the tubes so I have to look at the names. Praline is peachier and lighter. Out of the two I prefer Gingersnap as an everyday shade to just throw on by itself. Praline is very nude on my skin, so nude I wouldn't wear it on my NW45 skintone without a smokey eye or at least some colour on my cheeks.

Likes:
1. The delicious scent!
2. How moisturizing these feel on my lips
3. Wide variety of colours in the range
4. Budget friendly
5. Slim, portable packaging

Dislikes:
1. Cupcake is too pigmented (For those of you who love highly pigmented products, this won't be a problem at all!)

 A

Goodbye Target Canada!

I woke up to the news that Target was pulling out of Canada. Target plans to close all 133 brand new locations. Somehow the news came as a surprise to me, despite the fact that Target had lost millions trying to expand into Canada. That wasn't surprising. I've been to Target quite a bit and I've noticed empty shelves and prices that don't compete with stores like Wal-Mart. Doesn't sound like a winning business model to me.

What's truly saddening here is that 17,600 workers are about to lose their jobs.

Recently, Target has expanded their Nyx line and finally the Butter glosses became available to the Canadian market. I'm really going to miss picking up a butter gloss as opposed to ordering it online and having to wait for it to ship to my house. Also we Canadians have to say goodbye to Pixi (there are so many lovely items I haven't tried yet!) as well as Sonia Kashuk and E.L.F.

Target has yet to announce a date as to when it's closing so if you're hoping to try out cosmetics for any of those brands mentioned, you should hurry!

Fair thee well, Target Canada, though we barely knew ye!

For more information check out this link http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/target-closes-all-133-stores-in-canada-gets-creditor-protection-1.2901618