• My Mascara Wand Collection

    June 26, 2018

    Hi Everyone!

    After finishing a tube of mascara, I like to clean off the wand and keep it. I have gotten a lot of high-end travel-sized mascaras from Sephora, so, this way, I get to use a good quality brush to improve the mascara. I don’t know how accurate it was, but I once read that all mascaras (designer and drug store) basically have the same formulation- it’s the brush that makes the difference. Since mascara should only be kept for a few months, I personally don’t find it necessary to pay more than $15 for a mascara. I can’t justify spending more than that because I like to have different mascaras for different uses (day, night, natural, volume, etc.)

    Untitled design(1)
    Top: Essence Volume Stylist 18Hr Lash Extension, Maybelline Great Lash, Buxom Lash Mascara, Clinique Lash Power Flutter-to-Full, Lancôme Hypnôse Bottom: Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes, Maybelline Lash Stiletto, Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart, Wet N Wild Mega Protein, Too Faced Better Than Sex

    Most of them are nylon and have the tapered, cone shape. The 4th from the right is a silicone brush and it’s a bit skinnier in the middle. The Too Faced Better Than Sex and the Lancôme Hypnôse wands have that corkscrew shape. but the Lancôme one is skinnier. If I had to choose favourites, I think they’d be the Buxom, Tarte and Maybelline ones.

    If you follow me on IG or you’ve read my Dupe It Out post on mascaras, you’ll know that the cult favourite, Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, is one of my least fave mascaras. I’ve gotten a travel-sized tube twice and both times they dried out super fast, plus, the shape of the wand leaves my lashes looking clumpy and I have trouble getting in the inner and outer corners of my lashes.

    I decided to put the wand to the test to see if it was the formulation of the mascara that I didn’t like or if it was both the wand and the formula. After sterilizing the brush, I dipped it into my L’Oreal Voluminous Original Mascara and did one eye with the L’Oreal wand and the other with the Better Than Sex wand. The Better Than Sex mascara was leaving clumps on the end of my lashes and again, I had trouble getting in the inner corner of my eye to get the inner lashes. The wand collects a lot of product in the middle. The top pic is a clean Better Than Sex wand and the bottom pic is when it has the L’Oreal Voluminous Original mascara on it. So, now I know that it’s both the formula and the brush that I don’t like.

    Untitled design.png

    I think I’m one of the few people who doesn’t like the Better Than Sex OR the L’Oreal Lash Paradise. I should try the Lash Paradise with a different brush though, because I think I don’t like it because it has the same corkscrew shape as the Better Than Sex wand.

    UPDATE: I finally found a place in Canada that collects mascara wands. I’ve been hoarding these, but I really don’t use them and I’d rather it go to a good cause. In case you’re wondering, only about six of these were bought by me, the rest were deluxe samples. In a recent post on Facebook, Project Wild Wands Canada said that “Toronto Wildlife Centre is in immediate need of wands due to a large amount of bats that are there at the moment.” When I dropped them off, the volunteers didn’t seem to know anything about it, so I would suggest calling beforehand if you plan to drop by or mail them.

    You can mail or drop off to:
    4-60 Carl Hall Rd
    Toronto, ON
    M3K 2C1

    View this post on Instagram

    Yay! All clean and ready to send to Project Wild Wands Canada. I finally found a place in Canada that collects mascara wands. I've been hoarding these, but I really don't use them and I'd rather it go to a good cause. In case you're wondering, only about six of these were bought by me, the rest were deluxe samples. In a recent post on Facebook, Project Wild Wands Canada said that "Toronto Wildlife Centre is in immediate need of wands due to a large amount of bats that are there at the moment." You can mail or drop off to: 4-60 Carl Hall Rd Toronto, ON M3K 2C1 #projectwildwand #canada #torontowildlife #mascara #hoarder #collection #faves #makeup #discoverunder10k #makeupaddict #makeupmonday #mascaramonday #toronto #beauty #canadianbeautyblogger #makeupmess #flatlay #savethewands #wildlife

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    What are your fave mascaras? Do you hoard your wands too?

    Love,

    jen

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  • Dupe It Out | L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara vs. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

    December 19, 2017

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m comparing two best-selling mascaras: Too Faced Better Than Sex and L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara. Better Than Sex retails for twice as much as the Lash Paradise. I wanted to write this review before the Better Than Sex mascara dried out. I think out of all mascaras I’ve owned, the Better Than Sex mascara is the quickest to dry out. Continue reading to find out which one I named the winner!

    Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – I’ve tried this several times and I just don’t love it. It dries out too quickly and I prefer cone-shaped wands.

    Experience a Mascara so amazing… It’s Better Than Sex! This unique collagen-fueled formula thickens, lengths, and curls after just one coat. Swipe on 3 coats for the most luscious, dramatic, volumized lashes possible!

    L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara – This was a bit pricey for a L’Oréal mascara. Similar to the Better Than Sex, I just don’t like the wand.

    Take your lashes to paradise! Our 1st mascara for voluptuous volume & length. Soft wavy bristle brush holds maximum formula for a dramatic volumizing charge. 200+ bristles catch every lash for a full fringe effect. Smooth glide formula provides silky volume in one coat. Lashes are feathery soft to the touch.

    I’m going to start off by saying that I try not to pay more than $15 for mascara because I don’t want to spend that much on mascara when I’m going to be throwing it out in a few months (because three months is when you should throw out your mascara). I’d rather save on mascara and splurge on products for my base (foundation, primer, etc.). The high end mascaras that I do own are travel-sized ones that I got as rewards or in a kit.

    aaax
    Too Faced Better Than Sex (top), L’Oréal Lash Paradise (bottom)

    I think the Better Than Sex mascara has dried out a bit and there’s not as much mascara on the brush, whereas the Lash Paradise brush doesn’t look as hourglass-shaped because there is more mascara on the brush (I didn’t wipe off either brush to show you what they look like straight from the tube. When I applied them to test the two, I did have to wipe off some excess from the Lash Paradise.

    The first time I got the Too Faced mascara, I think it was dried out. It went on clumpy and my lashes weren’t curled. I prefer a tapered wand, the brushes on these two mascaras are hourglass-shaped. I wanted to see how smudge-proof the mascaras were, so I rubbed my finger across my lashes. The Better Than Sex mascara flaked onto my hand while the Lash Paradise didn’t. Both versions of mascara that I have are not waterproof, I just wanted to see how well they would do if I were to get caught in some rain. I sprayed my face with some face mist and blinked a few times, both mascaras smudged.

    I wouldn’t say either of these mascaras are on my top ten list, but if I had to choose a winner, it would be the Lash Paradise. When I tried the mascaras (one on each eye), the Lash Paradise held the curl of my lashes better. I do love L’Oréal mascara though, the Voluminous Original was one of the first mascaras I tried and I still love it. See my Best of 2017 post to see which four mascaras I liked best this year! I chose two high end ones and two drug store ones (one retails for $5.49).

    WINNER: L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara

    What are your fave mascaras? Are the Too Faced Better Than Sex and the L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise on your top ten?

    Love,

    jen

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  • Topbox | July 2016

    July 26, 2016

    Hi Everyone!

    I got my first Topbox in the mail and enough time has passed that everyone should have received theirs, so I wouldn’t be ruining what’s inside for anyone. Topbox sends a spoiler alert email anyway saying what’s inside the box, but since Canada Post was possibly going on strike and the delivery of the boxes may have been delayed, Topbox was sweet enough to include a bonus item as a thank you for waiting. I must say, the container that the makeup comes in is so cute. I even like the pattern. As soon as I opened the box, I could smell the hand cream’s scent.

    The contents of July’s box were:

    • The Face Shop Character Face mask (Pig-moisturizing)
    • Be Delectable Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream (coconut and cream)
    • Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
    • Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (Sea Buckthorn Berry- Obliphica)
    • Starlooks Gem Pencil Eyeliner (GP5B- Ultra Turquoise)

    I’ve used TheFaceShop’s character face masks (pig- moisturizing) before, so that one wasn’t a big deal for me. They’re moisturizing and my face feels soft after using them.

    The hand cream has shea butter, coconut oil and aloe vera. I’ve used shea butter hand cream before and I find that it smells really nice in the bottle, but once I use it, it smells different. Maybe because my body oils and chemicals are changing the smell, or it’s just how it smells once it’s outside of the bottle, but either way, it always smells nicer in the bottle.

    I’ve heard of the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, but I never pay more than $15 for mascara because I would prefer to have multiple mascaras for different uses (lengthening, volumizing, etc.) than only have one mascara. Since I usually stick to drug store brand mascaras like Maybelline and L’Oreal, this mascara was a treat for me, even if it is a travel size one. I compared it with another mascara I have (right now, I actually have about 6 mascaras and most of them were free- I got them from Sephora promos and Beauty Insider points). I believe I used Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Extravagant mascara on one eye and the Better Than Sex Mascara on the other. What a difference! I liked the Too Faced Mascara much better because 1) it didn’t look clumpy 2) my lashes felt super soft 3) When I used my finger to feel the lashes, no mascara came off on my finger (it did for the Make Up For Ever mascara). I probably wouldn’t splurge on the Too Faced mascara, but I definitely see why people love it.

    This was my first time trying dry shampoo, so I read up on how to use it. I absolutely love the smell of the shampoo and the little can it came in is adorable. It’s great for travelling and you want to freshen up a bit after a long drive or something. Given the normal price tag, I would never buy it, but, similar to the Too Faced mascara, I see why it’s popular.

    I got a bonus eyeliner in ultra turquoise. It has a bit of sparkle to it. It’s really pretty on and great for a night out. It’s not waterproof, so the colour smudges easily, but the sparkles stay on your skin. I was cleaning the swatch off my hand and the colour smudged off easily, but the sparkles went all over my hand where I had rubbed it off. There’s still a few sparkles that I missed with the soap on my wrist right now.

    I can’t wait to see what’s in next month’s box!

    What beauty subscription boxes have you tried?

    Love,

    Save

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