Heidi's Beauty Bag - Mascara Report

You all know I love mascara...and I am always looking for a newer, better, more perfect option. So here are a few options I have tried out lately. And I give them all good marks, too.

1) Maybelline Pulse Perfection ($12.99 at Ulta). Ok, I actually did not try this one out in person, having tried and been rather disappointed with Estee Lauder's and Lancome's "vibrating" mascara's. (Or as my fab friend Sherry calls them "mascara with benefits", hehehe.) However, bus stop & blog buddy, snaphappy tried it and swears by it. I'll be honest - my whole issue with the vibrating mascaras is just my own impatience - I feel like it takes too long and I can swipe the wand through my lashes in half the time (swipe swipe swipe wiggle wiggle done - repeat on other eye). But...if you are a fan of the pulsars, try it out, or you haven't tried them, this is a good way to start.

2) Cover Girl Lash Blast Length ($7.79 at drugstore.com). I tried the regular Lash Blast when it came out (how cute is the big orange tube?) but the large handle on the wand just felt awkward. This one, however, I really liked. Wand is great - no clumping. It's a perfect everyday mascara. Very good length and some volume. Not a rock star look, but not everyone is looking for that.

3) L'Oreal Telescopie Explosion Mascara ($8.99 at Ulta). Seriously check out that wand. I first fell in love with that wand when Givenchy came out with their Phenomen'Eyes mascara last year - but on me, the formula was too wet and I felt like the mascara never dried and my lashes were kinda gummy. Then again, to be fair, it was August, which may not be the best time to try out a new mascara, but I still returned it. However, the brush was fab! It gets every single little lash. So I figured I would just wait until someone else came out with a similar wand. And here we are, slightly more than a year later, and L'Oreal does. Really like this mascara - it does grab every single lash. My concern about the wand was that the little mace-like tip would take forever to coat the lashes (see comment above in #1). But it really doesn't take any more time. So, 2 thumbs up for this one. Nice length & volume, minimal smudging.

4) Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara ($22). Love this. Love love love. Really truly love. Ok, I probably wouldn't have actually purchased #2 & #3 (at Walmart) if I realized the BB one would be out this soon. And I've sorta abandoned them for this one. I didn't love their Perfectly Defined mascara, that came out this summer - like the Givenchy above, it was too wet for me - it took forever to dry on my lashes and I always ended up with the little tiny black dots all over my eyes - ugh, what a mess! But the Extreme Party Mascara...first of all, how can you not love the name? In terms of application, no clumping, great length & volume with not a ton of effort. But the reason it's called "extreme party" is that formula is supposed to stay flexible so that you can reapply whenever - including hours later on your way out to a party! And guess what? So true!

I can put this on in the morning and then add another coat later in the evening and my lashes just look better and better! And I haven't had any smudging with this either. I can't believe I am about to type these words, but I do believe this works better than my beloved YSL Faux Cils, especially because you can reapply later. The timing of this release is perfect, especially with all the holiday parties coming up in the next few months.

I do realize the irony of my typing about party mascara on a Saturday night at 10:00 pm as I sit here watching Rachel Zoe in my sweaters, hehehe, but what can I say - hubby out of town (bachelor party in Vegas), so I'm not a bachelorette myself, I'm a single mother this weekend. Fortunately, 1 soccer game was cancelled this afternoon due to the monsoon, so we had a quiet afternoon/evening - which is good since tomorrow is going to be CUH-RAZY! Many props to anyone who can do this, and I'm not trying to be flip here, I promise - I am exhausted. Of course, it's my own fault because after I caught up on Project Runway last night, instead of going to bed like I should have, I was sucked into watching The Negotiator with Samuel Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Have you all seen that? Love love love that movie - both actors are just fantastic on their own - but together...AMAAAAAZING. It gets me every time.

So tell me about your fave mascaras. I know GingerSnap loves her L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes and yogagirl is nuts about her Lorac.

Heidi's Beauty Bag - Mascara and Cleanser - because in my world, yes, they are related

I have discussed nail polish but haven't gotten to the other 5 million beauty products that I love. I am not particularly artistic when it comes to my makeup, but I do love reading about the latest innovations and products. And then go back to my usual routine 99% of the time. But I do switch it up occasionally...

Let's start with mascara. I go through a lot of mascara because I am very picky. I am constantly on the lookout for my HG mascara. That's actually Holy Grail, in MakeupAlley.com-speak, but my initials, too, so yay! And if you haven't ever checked out MakeupAlley.com, what are you waiting for? It's so great, ditch me and head over. You can come back later and we'll catch up then.

Anyways... the mascara issue probably stems from the fact that I used to have contacts. Got my PRK surgery about 5 years ago. Yes, PRK, not Lasik, as my corneas were too thin, which they do directly on top of the cornea, not in the nice little flap, so more discomfort and longer healing time - but still the greatest thing in the world and seriously, life-altering. When hubby decided to do it last year (lucky guy, thick corneas = Lasik), I told him that I would eat mac & cheese for 6 months if we needed to, because that's what a difference in my life it had made. I was so blind, I couldn't even see the wall chart at the eye doctor's office. But I have always been picky about mascara - I want the perfect one, yes, my HG mascara.

I have had a couple of close contenders lately:

1 - YSL Faux Cils Mascara. ($28.50 at Sephora, rating of 4.1 on MakeupAlley.com and 4.5 on Sephora) Lovely full, long lashes. Really doesn't clump. Stays pretty well. And how can you not love the pretty gold tube? It just feels glamorous...

2 - Clinique Lash Power. ($14 at Sephora, rating of 3.7 on MakeupAlley.com and 4.4 on Sephora) Love the tubing mascara. Stays on forever, until you gently rub off with warm water. Great summertime mascara. Not a huge amount of length and volume, but can build a bit.

And I've had some misses:

1 - *All* of the vibrating mascara (Estee Lauder TurboLash and Lancome Oscillation). These took WAY too much time. I am lazy about my morning makeup routine and I don't like anything that takes too long. So doubling my mascara application - particularly for not stellar results - that was a no-go for me.

2 - Givenchy Phenomen-Eyes - I love love love the applicator (you know, the one that looks sorta like a medieval mace), it is great. The formula on the other hand - it never felt like it dried, it always felt gummy. And I first tried it in August, so gumminess was particularly bad.

Which brings me to my new, amazing, fantastic mascara find - thanks so much to GingerSnap's suggestion on my Crash & Burn post. L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Lash Extension Effect Mascara. (And make sure it's the Beauty Tubes one, not the others, for which I cannot vouch.) Folks, that is a seriously long name, but it does live up to the hype. I have always resisted the 2-wand mascaras (see lazy note, above), but this one doesn't take any more time. I do the same total number of swipes, just from 2 different ends. And the bonus is that the wand is shorter.

I have always loved most mascara samples, more so than the full size products - and here's why - they have the short wand, so you actually have better control. Same with the L'Oreal Beauty Tube - the wand is short, so if you are holding in the middle, you have great control. I wore this yesterday all day. Wore it to boot camp class last night (with fab trainer, Mary Beth - we are doing 2-day/week boot camp instead of our pairs training, and this will take me to Memorial Day/pool opening - woo hoo!) . And did I mention it was raining outside? So there I am working out, in the rain, sweating, in the rain, laying on my back with my face up to the rain. Did it budge? Did it smudge? Did it run? No, no, and no. Granted I've only tried this out a few days, so I can't give the definitive report, but I think we have a winner here. So thanks again to GingerSnap for the excellent recommendation!!

Here's the other benefit of tubing mascaras and how it's related to cleansers... To repeat, I am lazy. I hate washing my face at night. With regular mascara, I just use face wipes. I love the Pond's Clean Sweep, Cleansing & Make-up Removing Towelettes. And I know that I should actually do a full-on face washing, but at night, just before bed, especially when it's chilly, I don't really want to get my face all wet. So I am normally content to use the Pond's wipe, and then apply eye cream and lotion (and Retin-A, if I'm doing it that night). Yes, I realize that I should wash/rinse, but it just doesn't happen all the time. But with the tubing mascara, because you get them off with warm water, I almost always end up washing my face, with actual cleanser that's good for it. So the tubing mascaras have a the double bonus of lasting on my lashes, and forcing me to wash my face.

So moving on to cleansers, I have 2 current favorites:

1 - (which may be my HG) - I love Alba's Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser, which I get it Target. I have seen the line at grocery stores as well, like Giant and Whole Foods. This is what I keep in the shower because the pineapple-citrus smell is so refreshing in the morning. I feel like it cleans really well without stripping my skin. Alba's Papaya Enzyme Mask is fantastic as well. I need to remember to do that tonight. Like I said, I am so lazy about my skincare regime in the evening.

2 - In the evening, if I'm not using a facial wipe, I'll use Olay's Definity Penetrating Mousse Cleanser. Also very good, but I'm a sucker for the truly tropical smell of Alba, so that's why this one is no longer in the shower. Still in rotation, though. And it has something a little bit scrubby in it (the "micro polishing complex"), so I feel like it cleans really well. But again, not too drying.

What do you use for mascara and cleanser? What works for you? And even more importantly, do you have any disasters to warn us away from?