Eyes

Hi friends! Can you believe the weekend has come and gone again? We spent our Sunday together, at the Disney On Ice Rockin Ever After show and let me tell you, it was SPECTACULAR to say the least! Thanks again to my Mom and Dad ( Yiayia and Papou to Geovana) for surprising us with the best tickets! Right on the ice! Geovana spent the day on cloud 9, as did I! It was my first ice show and I can't wait to continue the tradition for years to come!

Today I want to talk about one of the most popular subjects for women.....makeup! I am a Junkie, self diagnosted of course and I will hop in the car in no time if I see a fancy new mascara advertised on tv......no joke, I will spend whatever it takes to fix this face ;) I used to spend a ridiculous amount on M.A.C. and Dior and others for mascara, but now, I focus the big dough on my foundation, powder, and blush all from Clinique (I have horribly sensitive skin and although everything else in my house is "chemical free" Melaleuca, I just cant bring myself to leave Clinique, theyve always done me right haha). Ive gone cheap on mascara and eyeliner lately and really have noticed a huge difference in the overall appearance of my lashes for the better!.......I also discovered the eyelash curler! YES, discovered, I know, I know, I must be living under a rock right?! BEST.DISCOVERY.EVER. If you dont have one, GET one. If you dont use one, TRY AGAIN. I never thought I needed it until I used it! I have tried EVERY mascara out there....every brand and I am telling you, these are the best of the best. You name it, Ive had it and I can say I will be heartbroken if any of these ever leave the market!

I have a terrible habit of leaving my makeup in the car and when you are dropping $50+ on a single tube of black magic it can be heartbreaking when the wand snaps off from the cold, or the mascara is runny from the heat SO I have switched to drugstore mascara, to alleviate the pain when I discover a broken runny tube! I decided I wanted to share my 4 top favorites and a few stragglers that almost made the cut! If you want a good tutorial thats basically "mascara for dummies 101" check out this makeup artists youtube video.....she gives a pretty decent step by step instruction on application:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl5jOgWpY2E

Now, let me start this with: I am NOT a photographer, I am not a model and I am NOT by any means a makeup artist....just a regular old gal trying to save money and look decent while doing it. I am going to share before and afters of my eyes so you can get the idea of what I am working with but please dont judge the uneven eyebrows that someone hacked a few months ago or the puffy, wrinkles under my eyes that are in need of some lift! haha

First up, my right eye before:

 

Quick 5 pumps of the lash curler:

 

 

And now, the mascara. For this eye I am using the following:

 

 

 

Benefits "they're real" is the most expensive I will be using, at $23 a pop it is pricey but I believe the best money can buy! I like it because it has a plastic applicator:

 

 

I always like to use 2 different mascaras for each makeup application, and with those 2, 2 different types of brush. So for this eye I am using the above plastic applicator, and then the traditional bristle as shown in the next 2 photos:

 

 

Together, they each do their given job and really make the last POP. Here is my right eye after 1 application of each above mascara. I used the "theyre real FIRST":

 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE RIGHT?! Below is my "before and after" I am in LOVE!!

 

Now, on to the left eye and 2 DIFFERENT mascaras

For this eye I did NOT curl the lashes first, I wanted you to see these 2 mascaras in action on their own ;)

 

Here are the 2 mascaras I used for the left eye:

 

 

And, their appropriate brush! Again, I used a plastic applicator first and the tradition bristle second. Now, the Almay one coat "get up and grow" advertises that it will assist in the natural growth of your lash.......Lets be serious here, its a gimmick. I used this mascara on its own for a full month and saw no result.....boo! But, I love the mascara otherwise! It really has a great one coat application!

 

 

So, here is my LEFT eye after one coat of BOTH mascaras:

 

Here are both eyes together! Not much of a difference, except I only used the curler on the right:

I dont know about you, but I think thats a drastic difference for someone who has short, straight, coarse lashes to begin with!

I love to experiment, and I am sure a few months from now I will be blogging again about something different that I am obsessed with but for now...these are it! I love that I have no clumping and I dont have to apply over and over. Also, I never ever use waterproof so the removal is as easy as pie with a little warm water, and tearfree Melaleuca kids shampoo ( because I am a big baby and cannot stand soap in the eyes!!)

Now, here are a few runners up!


The first, is great for thick, long lashes as it creates a great "cat eye" lash and curls as it dries.....I like this as a third for the above combos especially if I know I am going to be taking pictures

 

This next one is NOT for the messy mascara applier and I learned that the hard way! haha I am a blinker, and this mascara stays too wet too long therefore resulting in a MESS. I like how it looks, but it just wasnt the one for me.

This lash stiletto is a GREAT base ( as shown in the video tutorial) BUT it dries up in the tube SO QUICK!!!! I have given this one ample amount of tries but they ALWAYS dry up after less then a week, which is so disappointing because I love the long small applicator.

A few other of my beauty must haves:

The eyelash curler, my NEW best friend:

Clinque bronzer in 03 sunblushed....perfect for the winter "sunkissed" look. Dont forget your neck!

 

This is also a winter essential....and I love the inexpensive pricetag on elf makeup at Target!

This is the shimmering facial whip, which gives that sunkissed highlight to the upper cheek bone:

 

Liquid eyeliner pen......I have a hard time with this, because it always makes my lashes disappear! But, I learned that if I apply BEFORE mascara and not all the way at the lash base, then let it dry, apply mascara, THEN fill in the gaps....I have a much cleaner application without "losing" my lashes......Great for the cat eye:

 

This isnt the best "volumizing" lip gloss BUT I am out of Buxom which is the ultimate and got this at Cvs as backup and its darn close!

 

Clinque blush in 115 Smoldering plum (always reminds me of Eugene from Tangled haha)

Awesome color for over bronzer right at the cheekline, I always "smile like a donut" to establish the application point!

 

And, my go to powder ESPECIALLY perfect for foundation wearers!

My color is 07 Matte Neutral in the superpowder DOUBLE face makeup:

 

 

Thats it! I cannot wait to hear who tested, and loved the mascaras I talked about today! If you ahve something you think is better.......please share that too! And please remember, this is just my personal opinion and I am not a makeup artist......just a Mom who likes to experiment with my face :)

 

 

Until next time! Xo Elaine