A Few of My Favourite Things: October

Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara - I got to try this mascara thanks to Chickadvisor and I genuinely love it. It has a big brush so it is able to grab all your lashes in one swipe. I definitely recommend this if you love having volumionus lashes.

MAC Lipstick in Candy Yum Yum - I agree, this shade is slightly too bright and more suitable for spring and summer! But I like to break this out now and then because it's bright and it makes me happy. I think it goes well with a dark scarf and outfit. Who says you can't wear bright lipstick during the fall and winter?

Anastasia Beverly Hill Brow Wiz - This is a cult favourite and I can see why. I've tried a handful of drugstore brow pencil and keep going back to this one even though it's 3x the price. The pencil is pigmented and goes on so smoothly and easily, and it stays on all day. Definitely worth the splurge! 

Kylie Cosmetics in Koko K - I am obsessed with this shade. Its opaque (I can easily get away with one or two layers) and it is long lasting without being overly drying. It's not too bright so its appropriate for the fall and winter!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Full Cover Concealer - This has been my go to concealer. I use it in the summer when I can't be bothered with heavy foundation, and I use it in the fall and winter when my skin is drier and I don't feel like putting foundation on my dry skin. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way!

What have you been loving lately? (Makeup bag is from Shiseido)

XO Jenn

Maybelline Volum'Express The Rocket Mascara Waterproof Review and Photos

I took a risk when I purchased this mascara because a) I am not a big fan of plastic brishes and b) (especially because) this bristle looks a lot like the Covergirl LashBlast mascara that I did not like at all.

What I love most about this mascara is that it does not smudge a single bit, which is rare for me and I wear only waterproof mascaras. It also thickens my lashes very well - two coats usually does a sufficient job. The removal process is actually a lot better than I anticipated, especially seeing that this mascara did not budge on me during the day. I do the usual coconut oil and Up & Up (from Target) eye makeup remover routine as with every other waterproof mascaras and surprisingly, it is less of a process /hassle with this mascara. The previous combination was Mayelline Full n' Soft, L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara, and/or L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes or even even just layers of Full n' Soft alone took forever to take off.  The reason is probably because I end up layering a bit less due to it's efficiency in delivering volume and thickness. With this mascara, I haven't felt the need or desire to layer different mascaras on top of it as I usually do, because it thickens so well.

Even though this has long lasting powers, this mascara did not hold my curls well. This probably a consequence of layering a bit too mascara especially since I do go overboard with it - think "too much of a good thing is a bad thing". If you are not like me and use only about 2 coats of mascara, I am sure that this would give up nice dark lashes and would hold your curl well. This mascara does not give me any length. 

I think this mascara is pretty awesome and highly recommend it. It is a whole lot better than the lashblast because it does not smudge, is easier to remove and the bristles, even though they look so similar to lashblast, grabs your lashes better and coat nice really nicely. 

Right now, I am content with using this mascara only but even if I do feel like trying new mascaras, this would definitely be in my lash routine combination, and I would definitely repurchase this. 

P.S. I finally also got my Maybelline Falsies Flared in Waterproof to add to my stash; however, my excitement for it has been overridden by my current satisifciation with Rocket! Not to mention, Maybelline came out with yet another new mascara recently! I am excited to hear more about it but I am expecting it to be good as well. I don't think have tried a Maybelline mascara that I did not like! Keep 'em coming Maybelline! 

XO Nicole

My Collection: My Lash Stash

I was cleaning out my makeup train case for the new year and I found an overwhelmingly large collection of high end mascaras in there. These were collected from GWPs and Sephora. I thought it would be fun to include this in a "My Collection" post. In this little "lash stash" of mine, I basically have all the popular high end mascaras out there. More specially (in the order from left to right):

• BareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara
• MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Lash
• Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara
• Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara
• Clinque Lash Doubling Mascara
• Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara
• Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils
• Lancôme Definicils High Definition Mascara
• Lancôme CILS BOOSTER XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base
• Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara

The one huge downside to this collection is that I will probably never use any of them because I desperately need the waterproof formula to help retain my curl and to prevent smudging. Therefore, I will probably end up giving these away! I would still like to keep the MUFE Smoky Lash and the YSL Faux Cils just to try because I cannot resist them after hearing so many people rave about them!

What are your favorite high end mascaras?

XO Nicole

Cherry Culture Haul (Jordana, NYX)

I was watching Nurberxo’s blogTV one evening and she was mentioning how much she loved the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara so me, being the mascara junkie I am, I gave that mascara a quick google only to find outstanding reviews on it on makeupalley. The reviews were superb: lengthening, long wearing, volumizing, easily available, and dirt cheap. I could not pass this up - the only thing that did keep me from running out the door and stashing a few tubes of these was the fact that none of the drugstores here in Canada carry the Jordana brand. Thus, I had to resort to google, again, and I found that Cherry Culture sold this. Because international shipping on Cherry Culture depends on the weight of products purchased, I had to decide whether I should buy multiples, just in case I fall so in love with it that I would want/need backups or if I should just try one and if I didn’t like it, I would have no extras to get rid of but if I did like it, fork out some extra bills for the proceeding shipment. I bite the bullet and ordered three. Along with that, I picked up two lip products that were not readily available here as well. I do not own any lipliners whatsoever so I thought with Jordana’s unbelievably affordable price, it would not hurt to give it a go. The Jordana Easyliner For Lips shade I chose was "Tawny" - I had thought that this would be more of a nude colour but it's really a dark pink with mauvey undertones. The NYX Tinted Lip Spa was an impulse buy though ... and it's one that I regret! The color box on Cherry Culture had this shade looking like it would be a nude, peachy tint and the swatches I looked up was not what was reality for me; the lip spa turned out to be a bright and sheer pink I have a lot of sheer pink lip products so this one, I could have really done with out.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Jordana mascara is all that it is hyped up to be! I'm always on the hunt for an affordable HG mascara! ;)

XO Nicole