Battle Mascara 9: CoverGirl Lash Exact Waterproof Mascara

Hi Everyone!  

I'm here with a Battle Mascara for this new CoverGirl Lash Exact waterproof mascara I bought a couple of weeks ago.  I've used it enough to have a good idea of what works and what doesn't work.

Behold, the before picture:

 

And now, the after picture:

 

Here are the product details:

 

So far, I'm loving this type of rubber bristle wand.  The bristles are short enough and spaced just right to deposit a good amount of mascara onto my lashes without clumps of product and space out my lashes.  

Curl:  A+

Lash Exact is great at holding a curl!  It lasts all day and even through a workout at the gym!

Length:  B

I don't think this mascara adds much to the length of my lashes as some other mascaras have.... *ahem* Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus.

Volume:  A+

This is one of the better mascaras I've used that gives better-than-adequate results on volume.

Smudging:  C-

Even with primer and powder, this mascara does smudge after a few hours.  I usually have to touch up and wipe my under eye area by 4pm on a normal work day.

Clumping: A+

Clumping is just not a factor with this mascara.  The wand is perfect for getting just the right amount of product.  

Overall, I like this mascara.  It delivers in all the areas that are my top priority such as curl and volume.  I can live with the smudging because it just requires some maintenance during the day.  

I think this mascara would be perfect for ladies with long lashes and defined double eyelids. 

Has anyone else tried this mascara?  I'd love to know what you thought of this mascara, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Battle Mascara 8: Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara

 

Above:  Lashes curled, no mascara.

 

 

Above:  Mascara freshly applied.  Left: no primer.  Right: with Too Faced Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

 

 

Above: After a day of work (9 hours).  Left: no primer.  Right: with primer.

 

 

 Top left: lashes curled, no mascara.  Top right: with mascara.

Bottom left: Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara.  Bottom right: Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

 

Comments:  The wand reminds me of a combination of the NYX Doll Eye and the Fairydrops Scandal Queen mascara wands.  I'm not sure if regular fiber bristles are the best for my lashes.  The density of fiber bristles keep my lashes on top of the bristles rather than let my lashes get into the bristles for a nice all-around coat of mascara.  For me, rubber bristles and lash comb styled mascara wands have worked better.

I don't think that I would spend money on this mascara.  It seems that the 2 high-end mascaras I've tried haven't given me the results that some of the cheaper drugstore mascaras have.

As always, these are my opinions based on how the mascara works on my lashes, so always remember the following:  Use what best works for you!  :-)

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Battle Mascara 7: Fairydrops Tokyo Scandal Queen Mascara

 

I've been wanting to try a high-end mascara for a while, just to see what all the excitement is about.  So I went to Sephora and picked this up:  Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara.

It comes in a very eye-catching package and it certainly looks very promising!

 

I only just figured out how to make my lashes stand out, and I think that the Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus did just that.  So I have high expectations for this Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara.  I think I paid $24 at Sephora.

 

 

 

The box says that this wand is unique.  But the 3-balls shaped (don't get thoughts, now), isn't that unique.  The NYX Doll Eye mascara (Battle Mascara 1 and 2) I had before also had a similarly shaped wand.  I think the uniqueness comes from the curve of the wand itself.  It's supposed to catch your lashes and coat and curl at the same time.

Battle Mascara 7: Fairydrops Scandal Queen vs Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus.

Keeping in mind that mascaras probably work differently for different peoples, I have to conclude that I am personally not impressed with the Fairydrops Scandal Queen mascara, other than for it's smudge-proof-ness.

Here are some pictures of my lashes with Fairydrops.

 

 Not impressed.

 

Not as much volume or length as the MM mascara.

 

 Lashes straightened out and most of the curl got lost.

Just a reminder, here's a picture of my lashes with Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus.

 You can see how curled my lashes remained!

 Final thoughts:  I am really disappointed.  I don't think that paying $24.00 for the Fairydrops mascara was worth it in my book.  I think I'm just going to stock up on Majolica Majorca's Lash Expander Frame Plus the next time I go to Taiwan.  For the price of one Fairydrops, I could have gotten 3 or 4 MMs.  For my purposes, I'm sure I don't need to look any further.

Have you tried Fairydrops Scandal Queen and did you have a different experience?

Battle Mascara 6: Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus vs CoverGirl Exact Eyelights

I think this is my new favorite mascara!  It does everything CG Exact Eyelights does and does them better...except for the sparkles.

When I compare the overall effect of retaining lash curl throughout the day, both mascaras perform superbly well.  My lashes retain their curl throughout the entire day and even through evening workouts at the gym.  Smudging is at an absolute minimum.  I've been using the MM Lash Expander Frame Plus without using a primer and the raccooning at the end of the day is so faint that I'm not bothered by it at all. 

Regarding the overall effects of making my lashes visible from a comparable distance through volume and length, I have to give a lot of points to Lash Expander Frame Plus.  The formula has these little hair fibers in it that stick to your lashes and add volume and length.  It doesn't matter if the hair fibers go on straight or not when you apply it with the flat side of the wand because the fibers straighten out when you comb through your lashes with the curvy side of the wand.

However, because the wand is so uniquely shaped, I feel that the propensity toward clumping is a lot greater with Lash Expander Frame Plus.  When I compare how Exact Eyelights performs with regards to clumping, I feel that CG wand performs a lot better to keep my lashes separated.

Finally, with regards to removing mascaras at the end of the night, you should know that I do not use waterproof eye makeup remover!  I use my all time go-to makeup remover and face cleanser, Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash.  CG Exact Eyelights leaves my lashes crisp and crunchy, like old-fashioned hairspray.  MM Lash Expander Frame Plus doesn't make my lashes as crunchy.  But both are demmed hard to remove!  Essentially, I wash my face 3 times and rub my lashes with J's baby wash each of the 3 times to remove the mascaras.  My hypothesis is that if the mascara is so hard to remove, then it's going to stay put and not smudge all day long. :)

Here are some close up pictures of my lashes.

My lashes are naturally short and not helped by my thicker monolids.  However, I'm converting my thought patterns that it IS possible for my lashes to be visible!  It IS possible for my lashes to look not just good, but REALLY good!  :-D

Here's a FOTD to finish off this post. 

This is what the actual eyeshadow looks like.

That's it!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

Battle Mascara 5: Rimmel The MAX Volume Flash vs. CoverGirl Exact Eyelights

Rimmel The MAX Volume Flash wp Mascara, $6-$7 at Wal-Mart

Fiber bristles, not rubber

Took too long to dry and smeared on my upper lids.  :-(

Lashes got lengthened and totally straightened out

 I don't like this mascara at all!  Nope, nope, nope!  And here's why:

To be fair, I should probably note that since finding a mascara that works (CG Exact Eyelights wp) the bar has be reset and is now really really high!  So, I do apologize if my grading of the Rimmel mascara seems harsh considering that the actual performance seems about the same as the NYX Doll Eye wp mascara (1st battle, 2nd battle).  But you know what they say: once you find THE ONE, you can never go back, only forward!

In the words of the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel: "Onward ho!"

If you have a trick for working with this Rimmel mascara, please let me know! 

Battle Mascara 4: CoverGirl Exact Eyelights Mascara vs. All Others

Hi All!  So, let me first preface this by the following:  Results depend on environment as much as they depend on your own genetic chemistry. :-)

Okay on to Battle Mascara 4! 

CG Exact Eyelights Mascara (I used waterproof)

This mascara has sparkles in it.  When it dries turns crunchy, which maybe dries out my lashes

 So, my score card shows CG Exact Eyelights is a great mascara.  It lasts the whole day and doesn't make me look scary by the end of it...in America.  I took this with me to Taiwan and Thailand.  I just gave up using it in Asia because the heat and humidity, mixed with my oils and sweat, broke it down fast.

I like that this mascara has sparkles in it.  Granted, I don't think people can really see them on my lashes, but I can and that's what matters. ;-)

I used two types (non-oily and oily) eye makeup removers to take this off because this is strong enough to stand up to the Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash that I use for my face.  Let me just conclude that you need the oily type to remove this mascara.

Here are a couple shots of my eyelashes with the CG Exact Eyelights wp mascara.  You can see the sparkles in some of them.  I really love they way it holds the curl!!  And side note: my left lashes are longer than my right lashes, it's not the mascara's fault!  haha.
 

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Battle Mascara: Maybelline Volum'Express One by One vs. L'Oreal Telescopic Explosion

I've been wanting to try the L'Oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara for a while because of the ball shaped wand.  I had read some unflattering reviews of this mascara but that still didn't stop me!  All in all, I'm glad I bought it and tried it out.

The battle results are in and as much as I want to love L'Oreal's mascara, my handy dandy logical decision making model is telling me that Maybelline is still the winner.

Let me just add other observations here.  The Maybelline mascara is great at holding the curl in my eye lashes all day long.  Seriously, the curl is still there when I'm ready for bed.  The L'Oreal mascara does hold the curl a long time, but when I'm ready for bed I can see that the curl has started to droop just a little.  Also, with regards to smudging, I think the Maybelline mascara starts smudging earlier than the L'Oreal.  However, L'Oreal's mascara breaks down later but much faster than Maybelline's, resulting in a darker smudge faster.

Below is a comparison picture of my curled lashes before and after mascara.  My left lashes are naturally longer than my right lashes.  I don't know how that happened or if it's permanent, but that's the fact for this set of pictures.   

The following pictures show a "time lapse" of the Maybelline and L'Oreal mascaras.

Okay, not such a great compilation of separate pictures but I haven't lost my point!  In my humble opinion, the Maybelline and L'Oreal mascara perform similarly except for curl retention.  So as far as battles go, the Maybelline Volum'Express One by One waterproof mascara is still the WINNER.

Thanks for stopping by!

Battle Mascara: NYX Doll Eye vs. Maybelline Volum'Express One by One

I've had to say goodbye to my Lancome mascara.  It's almost time for me to say goodbye to my NYX Doll Eye mascara as well.  So, I went out to Walgreens and got a new mascara in anticipation of being mascara-less.  Welcome to my vanity: Maybelline Volum'Express One by One in blackest.

I have to be honest and let you know that today is the first day of my using this new Maybelline mascara and I'm so excited by it that I felt compelled to post something.  But if my opinions on this Battle Mascara change from today onwards, I will update this post.

Click to enlarge

And below, we have the following pictures.  First up: NYX.  I think these pictures are a lot better than what I took in Battle Mascara 1 because I've finally learned how to position the camera and tilt my head and wait for good lighting opportunities.  *forehead smack*

Second, we have the newbie: Maybelline.  All these pictures of were taken today and the difference in curl between the NYX and Maybelline is astounding!

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UPDATE: 6/7/2011

I decided to experiment with the Maybelline Volum'Express One by One mascara and the NYX Doll Eye mascara.  Maybelline is great for retaining curl throughout the day.  NYX is great for not smudging.  Putting them together ought to give me the best results possible.  So here are the pictures from my experiment.  Here are pictures of my lashes 3 hours into the experiment.

Here are pictures of my lashes 9 hours into the experiment.

If only these two were ONE mascara, this would be the perfect mascara for me.  ^_^