I was given the opportunity recently (and let me tell you, I was crazy excited about it!) to review a mascara. Now, this isn't just any mascara - this is a lash-curling mascara - it's one that claims to eliminate the need for an eyelash curler. Being someone who cannot live without an eyelash curler, it would be an understatement to say that my interest was piqued. The BCL Lash Curler Express Curl & Long Mascara's marketing angle is that you will not need an eyelash curler when you use it, and that claim is boldly plastered onto their packaging (pictured above). The brush on this mascara is curved to help curl your lashes. Instructions on the packaging say to hold the brush at the base of your upper lashes for 3 seconds (presumably this creates the curl), and then apply the mascara in an upwards, zigzag motion. I will show you the results before I get into anything else - here are photos of my eyelashes with the mascara applied on its own, and then with the mascara applied after curling my eyelashes with an eyelash curler:

As you can probably tell, the BCL mascara is no replacement for a good ol' eyelash curl, but it comes pretty damned close! It was easy enough to apply - just hold at the base of the eyelashes and then apply upwards - so I didn't have any trouble with it. Another thing I love about this mascara is that it contains curl-keeping polymers, so my lashes stay curled all day no matter how humid or wet the day is. No flakes or smudges either, and yet it can be removed easily with warm water. I would recommend this mascara for those of you looking to get your eyelashes to hold a curl, to be used in conjunction with your eyelash curler. If you're going on holiday and want decent curl without the hassle of packing an eyelash curler, this is also definitely the mascara for you. It defines, curls and separates your lashes, but if you want thicker-looking lashes, you will need to layer a volumnizing mascara over this.

Hello readers! I am back in sunny (humid!) Malaysia, and if you follow my updates on Instagram and Facebook, you may already know that I had the pleasure of attending a couple of events, including an amazing Kiss Me event just over the weekend.


Kiss Me are in the midst of organising fabulous road shows throughout the country, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the one they organised at Sungei Wang, Kuala Lumpur recently. These road shows feature an amazing Kiss Me Makeup Station, pictured below, and was organised in conjunction with the release of their Brown Long & Curl and Volume & Curl mascaras, as well as the brand's expansion into new areas of Malaysia (you'll now be able to purchase Kiss Me mascaras at Watsons outlets in places like Penang and Ipoh). We were treated to go-go dancers, a makeup lesson, and a couple of hunky models!


I was lucky enough to receive both these mascaras for review, and so here are my thoughts:

Packaging

Both products feature the typical colourful, illustrated Kiss Me packaging, and the mascaras themselves have a curved wand (Volume & Curl) and a slightly diamond shaped wand (Long & Curl). Both wands are small enough to fit in the little corners of Asian eyes (score one for Asian makeup), and therefore pick your lashes up beautifully, even in the innermost and outermost corners of the eyes.

Product
I'm not one for brown mascaras, but I figured I'd give these a shot. I am a total convert now, especially when I pair this with my much-loved Naked Palette. The pink highlight tones of the Naked palette on my mobile lid compliment this mascara beautifully! It also looks a lot more natural, and let me let you in on a little secret - brown coloured mascaras make your lashes look thicker!

Performance
My benchmark for fabulous mascara, as you all already know, is the Majolica Majorca line of mascaras. I tested these out and have come to realise that I love Kiss Me almost as much as Majolica Majorca, but in different ways. For nighttime and dramatic looks, I would definitely still choose my Majolica Majorca, but for a more natural, defined, separated lash look with no clumps, the Kiss Me mascaras win hands down.

Kiss Me has managed to formulate their mascaras so that they deliver natural looking volume to the lash, without any clumpiness whatsoever. The result is defined, fluttery, girly eyelashes. LOVE.
As far as curling goes, both mascaras give my lashes great curl without needing the use of an eyelash curler. If you're worried about overusing eyelash curlers and damaging your eyelashes, you might want to look into these mascaras. They don't weigh the lashes down at all, which means more lift that lasts almost all day.



Both mascaras seem to perform almost exactly the same (both deliver beautiful fluttery lashes), so if they run out of one kind at your local store, you're probably fine picking up the other. The one (minute) difference that I should point out is that the lengthening mascara (Long & Curl) does lengthen the lashes just a tiny bit more. If you're desperate for length, the Long & Curl is the better choice.

Here's a final picture of the before and after mascara lashes:


If you have any questions about this mascara at all, you can leave a comment below or (as many of you have shown is your preferred method of contact ;)) contact me on my Facebook page.

The Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl and Volume & Curl mascaras are available at select SASA and Watsons stores Malaysia-wide. The Kiss Me Makeup Station roadshows will be running till the 10th of June, so visit the Kiss Me Facebook page to find out when they'll be at a location near you.

The products featured in this article were gifted for the purposes of review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Hello everyone! I am reviewing a couple of great mascaras today - these have served me very well for the past couple of months and I thought I'd share their benefits with you guys!

Benefit BadGal Lash

Benefit: Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara is a sexy, sultry, pure unadulterated black mascara for full, voluminous lashes.

This mascara has been in the Benefit line for a while now, and I got my tube as a gift-with-purchase. When I first tried this, I wasn't very impressed, so it went to the back of my beauty drawer for a couple of weeks.

For some reason, the second time I tried it, I loved it! It made my lashes fluttery and pretty, and it didn't weigh them down, which is a huge plus. I love using this as an everyday mascara. The tiny bristles on this brush make it really easy to get the mascara all the way into the base of my lashes, so I can really coat it and build the base up.


Benefit They're Real Mascara

Benefit: Benefit They’re Real Mascara lengthens, volumises and curls lashes for a false-lash effect. The jet-black formula doesn’t smudge or dry out, giving each lash a long-lasting finish.

This mascara I received more recently, from the Melbourne Beauty Blogger Event. I find that this mascara curls a lot better than the Badgal, and the curl lasts much longer.

This mascara is a little heavier and clumps more easily than the Badgal, but I think it layers and builds more easily, resulting in a much more dramatic lash.

I also love the bulbous tip that this mascara has - it helps catch the small lashes in the inner corners of my eyes. The more spaced out bristles on its brush also makes it easier to catch small lashes on my bottom lashline. I also find it easier to apply on my bottom lashes without making a mess, which I so often do because my lashes are so sparse and short.


This product was provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Hi guys! Today I'd like to introduce to you a Korean brand that I've recently become acquainted with - Luview. They are a brand new cosmetic brand focusing on base products, and I have up for review today their star product, the Crystal Cover BB Cream, and their Gleam Full Long Lash Mascara.

Crystal Cover BB Cream


The packaging is gorgeous! It comes in a cylinder with a pink pearl finish. The pump mechanism works beautifully and pumps out just the right amount for the face. I also love that this comes with SPF 30 - sun protection is a big thing for me. I never leave the house without at least an SPF 30 on.

According to Luview, this cream is infused with tiny crystal particles that give the skin a luminous glow. Here is a picture of me with the BB cream applied with a buffing brush. I find that a buffing brush or a stippling brush is the best way to apply this cream, because it really works the product in. I found that applying this with my hands caused the product to just sit on top of my skin in a really unnatural way.


I don't see any obvious glitter or shimmer with this cream, which I am really glad for. I was worried that the aforementioned crystal particles would be too large and make me look like I blasted myself with a glitter gun. If anything, there is a subtle glow, but nothing you wouldn't find with other BB creams on the market.

BB creams are famous for providing great coverage for acne-prone skin, so this was something I made sure to take note of with this BB cream. The cream offered medium coverage for my little acne scars. In the picture above, I am not using any concealer, and you can still see faint scars on my cheeks.

It also evened out my skintone very well. It sets semi-matte, and I didn't need any powder or blotting papers to keep my skin reasonably matte throughout the day.

Overall, this is a good BB cream, rivalling a lot of creams that I've tried before. If you're looking for a BB cream with really good coverage, then you might want to try Missha, Skin Food, or Elishacoy. If you only need medium coverage, then this is definitely a BB cream you should keep in mind!

Gleam Full Long Lash Mascara


As with most other mascaras in the Korean and Japanese market, this mascara is a fibre-coat mascara. It is very buildable, and the fibres in this mascara are quite large.


This mascara extends, thickens, and defines my lashes beautifully. It is a little bit more buildable than my favourite Majolica Majorca mascara.

However, I don't use this mascara on its own, because I experienced some problems with it in my first few applications. Because the fibres on this mascara are so large and therefore kind of heavy, they tend to travel before the mascara finally sets. When they travel, they can end up in that flesh in between your lashes and your eye, and poke at and irritate your eye. It's nothing drastic, but it is very uncomfortable.
I have found that the way to avoid this is to coat your lashes (especially the base of your lashes) with a volumnizing (this is my personal preference; you can use any kind) mascara, and then layer this mascara on top of that one, staying away from the base of your lashes.

When this mascara sets, it does not budge! Much like the Majolica Majorca mascara, it withstands water and humidity, and can only be removed with a makeup remover.

These products are quite affordable, and can be purchased online at the Luview store. Luview is also offering free shipping with the code OPEN2012, so get on there quick if you are interested!

This product was provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Here's what Illamasqua say:

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, our new Masquara in Raven (midnight black) reveals a heart of darkness with a new formula that lengthens, defines and dramatises lashes to extremes.
The happy union of our unique brush design and new smudge proof formula ensures lashes can last the whole night through.

I was sent this mascara to review a couple of weeks ago, and I have been using it everyday ever since. I mentioned before this post that I would only ever get drugstore mascaras, because they only last so long and there are some pretty good drugstore mascaras that can do exactly what the higher end mascaras can. When it comes to this particular mascara, I was wrong.

Let me tell you why I am particularly qualified to push this claim. I have sparse, stick-straight, stubborn lashes, that will not give the time of day to any mascara wand no matter what it claims to do. I have tried a couple of mascaras that I thought I liked, but that was all before I met this Masquara.



This mascara has given me the thickest, most voluminous lashes I have ever seen. Ever!! The formula really coats my lashes, is extremely buildable, and does not move! I am dead serious here - never have I ever had such lush, fat, thick lashes! I am a total convert! (Please note: I love thick, chunky lashes. If you're the type for fluttery soft, light lashes, maybe stay away from this product)

It does lengthen lashes as well, but its star quality is the fat-factor (yes, that is what I have decided to call it.). Surprisingly enough, it also manages to hold the curl in my lashes. I thought that it would weigh my lashes down, but it doesn't do that at all.

I love this mascara so much, but I do want to be impartial here. There are a couple of things about this mascara that might irk some people. The wand picks up a lot of product. And I mean a lot. How else would you be able to coat the lashes to that extreme, right? But this also means that your lashes can get clumpy, and a lot of the time, too much product transfers onto the lashes, so I have to be really careful when I remove the brush from the bottle, to check and see if too much product has come out on the brush.

The other thing I have trouble with with this mascara is the fact that the wand doesn't thin out very much. Having eyes as small as I do, a conical wand is something I prize highly in a mascara, because this helps me reach the lashes in the inner corners of my eyes, and my lower lashes. The wand on this mascara is huge, so I find that I stab myself in the eye a lot :/

I still think everyone should run out and get this mascara though. Seriously. It is life-changing.

Illamasqua's Masquara retails for AUD 40 at Illamaqua counters.

This product was provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Hi guys! The weekend is almost over - I hope you all made the most of it! I went out, had yummy Mexican food, took my dog to the park with my housemates...I had a good weekend :)

I also had the time to photograph a couple of tutorials, so look out for those in the coming days.

Today, I just want to share a few great tips that I've managed to collect from a number of sources (the amount of time I spend reading about beauty boggles the mind) about how to make the most of your mascara. This will be a quick post, and most of you probably already know these tips, but here they are anyway!

• Use an eyelash curler. This really opens up your eyes, and - for girls with short lashes - actually makes you look like you have lashes! Take the time to find a good eyelash curler that works best for your eye shape. I recently discovered Koji eyelash curlers, and I am in love with mine! Also remember to clean your eyelash curler! Otherwise, the curls aren't as pretty and you risk disgusting eye infections.

• Heat is good. Blast your eyelash curler with a hair dryer for a couple of seconds. It adds curl, and helps it last. Only a few seconds, though! It heats up reaaaallyy quickly.

• Build up a base. When you first start applying your mascara, place your mascara wand at the very base of your lashes, then 'vibrate' the wand there for about 5-10 seconds. Coat the entire base of your lash line like that.

• Zig-zag. Apparently, this is a controversial technique (it's funny how blown up arguments about mascara can get when there are so many more important things in the world to think about). Some say it works, some say never ever to use it. Personally, I find it helps catch all my puny lashes, so I like it. Start on the base you've already built up and zig-zag outwards.

• Use the tip of your wand. The tip of your wand coats the ends of your lashes really well, and lengthens them, too. I love layering at the outer corners, because then I get a nice doe-eyed look (very subtle, but it's there!).

• Layering works. Layering different mascaras on top of one another really does work wonders. Try starting off with a lengthening mascara, and then build it up with a volumnizing mascara. People will ask you if you're wearing falsies. #fact

• Powder your lashes first. I read that this is Jessica Alba's makeup artist's favourite technique to add volume to your lashes. Dust a loose powder over your lashes after curling them, and before you apply your mascara.

• If you have the time, try both brown and black mascaras. Brown is said to add volume, and black, length. Apply a brown (preferably volumnizing) mascara first, then apply black to only the tips of your lashes.

• Throw out old mascara. Mascara is only meant to last you 6 months. Throw out anything older than that, because chances are, the mascara will be dry and flaky, and full of bacteria.

• Buy cheap mascara. This tip is just something I personally like to practise, and isn't for everyone. In my opinion, you're going to have to throw it out in 6 months anyway. It's not worth buying crazy expensive mascara when some less expensive ones perform just as well. Some really good affordable brands I've tried include Max Factor, Australis, and Majolica Majorca.

TGIF, guys! I hope the weekend is flying towards you at hyper speed :)

I'm posting today about my makeup routine. This is my everyday makeup and the products I wear to ensure a long-lasting, oil-resistant face throughout the day.


Some of these products are actually pretty new to my everyday routine, but already they've proven themselves worthy as great products to ensure long lasting makeup that works for me.


So these are the products:

Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Foundation spf 15

I know a lot of people say that mineral foundation gives off a weird, fake finish. But I love the coverage, and more importantly, the oil control that this foundation gives me. I am a little sunblock-crazy, so before I put on my face everyday, I apply a nice, thick, gooey layer of sunblock to my face. Of course, this makes my face oily and really gross to look at. So far, this is the only foundation I have or know of that sits on top of that layer of sunblock well, and absorbs the oil continuously throughout the day so I have a shine-free face.


Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black

This liner is brand new to my makeup routine. I've only worn this out twice, but both have been for extremely long periods of time. My first time wearing it, I had it on for 12 hours straight - no touch ups at all. At the end of the day it was still exactly where I left it, as black as ever, and not at all dry or flaky, or oily and melted, for that matter. WIN.


Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus

A total b**ch to remove, but it lasts a heck of a long time. Double-sided comb - one for separating and defining, and the other for volumnising. A true black colour. Can't go wrong with this one. (Okay, except for that hard to remove part)


MAC Mineralise Blush in Gentle

Those of you who read my blog will probably have seen this blush appear in one too many of my FOTD/Tutorial posts. I love the nice flush of pink this blush gives me. The colour is a beautiful, natural rosy pink, with a slight hint of shimmer. Lasts all day too. And for someone with an annoying tendency to rest her head in her hands (all manners, all angles), that is saying a lot.


Red Earth Eyeshadow in Burnt Caramel

There's just something about this colour. It's a gorgeous, coppery, bronzy brown colour. It shines just right. It blends out really nicely, too. I use this to add a little dimension to my slightly hooded lids. I'm happy I found this colour. And on sale for $2, too :)


Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer

This conceals beautifully, doesn't cake, and lasts and lasts for as long as I want it to, as long as I set it with a little pressed powder (I can't be bothered with loose powder when I do my everyday makeup). I use this on the area under my eye too. It might look a little ashy on some people, but works great with my skin and undereye colour. I bought this baby as a last minute desperate resort before a night out. Best. Decision. EVER.


I hope you found this post of some use! What about you? Do you have any makeup staples? Any hidden secrets you wouldn't mind sharing? :)