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I was bored one day and decided to try a nail design! After scouring youtube for ideas I found this gradient design, which is actually a lot easier than it looks!  I like it so much I’m going to post step-by-step instructions tomorrow when I do my nails again.  I’m thinking purple!

Polishes used in the above photo in order from base to tip: China Glaze For Audrey, Sinful Colors Tampa Bay, L.A. Girl Disco Brights Funkadelic, L.A. Colors Color Craze Wired, and Revlon Midnight Affair. The glitter came in a set from Ebay!

Promise: “Instant false glam in a tube.  The Falsies mascara delivers a false lash look; giving you a full set of voluminous, bold, fanned out lashes and the appearance of no gaps from any angle.  The pro-keratin and fiber-enriched formula is designed to deliver immediate results, distributing volume and visible intensity to your lashes.  The patented “spoon” shaped brush helps fan lashes out.  The Falsies mascara is designed to give the appearance of no gaps and spaces.  In a wink lashes you didn’t even know you had look visibly thickened.” (Maybelline UK website).

Availability: It’s available where most cosmetics are sold.

Packaging: I like the packaging, I think the purple tube with metallic blue accents is cute.  Some may complain that it’s not sophisticated enough, but come on people, it’s just a mascara!

Wand: Uhhh… the wand is huge, and sometimes bigger is better, but I’m not sure this is one of those times.  It’s slightly curved with a flattened shape – they call it a “spoon” shaped brush.  The thing is, it’s wider than the width of my lashes, so whenever I apply this mascara I have to try really hard to not get it in my upper waterline or on my eyelid.  I do like the slight curve though, it makes it easier to reach all the little lashes.

Formula: This formula just doesn’t live up to Maybelline’s claims.  It doesn’t clump at all which is good, but certainly does not give me the false lash effect I’m after.  It doesn’t hold curl very well and provides hardly any volume.  I guess it lengthens a bit, but who cares about length when your lashes are as thin as mine??

Price: Nicely priced between $6-8.

I’d read a lot of positive initial reviews when this product first came out and I was so looking forward to this mascara being great, but in the end it’s just okay… 3.5/5 stars.

After two weeks of using L’Oreal’s Lash Boosting Serum I can honestly say this stuff works! I wasn’t completely sure until I compared this week’s photos to the photos I took before I started this experiment (see below).

Check in next week for photos from week 3!

This weeks photos:

A side-by-side comparison, before L’Oreal Lash Boosting Serum (left) and after just 2 weeks (right):

I see the most improvement at the outer corner of the eye!

There’s a Sally’s Beauty Supply where I live now!!  I very nearly passed out as I was driving by, but regained enough composure to pick up a few things (see below).  I’m itching to go back though, because like an idiot I didn’t get a Sally’s card, and I really want to try Palladio products.  Also, the Falsies mascara is finally available here, so expect a review on that soon.

And finally, a word of caution: if you buy cosmetics on Ebay like I sometimes do, be careful of sellers that randomly sell cosmetics.  For example, a seller who sells blush palette in a sea of electronics (as was my situation).  The palette I bought was fine except that it hadn’t been packed securely enough and two of the blushes were shattered when I received them.  Sellers who sell mostly cosmetics usually know how to properly package them.

Luckily I was able to salvage my palette by re-pressing the two shades with alcohol.  For a post on how to press pigments or repair them click here.   These pans are bigger than most so I used the cap of a hairspray can to press them instead of a quarter.

Shown above: 10 Pan Blush Palette (from Ebay), Gel Liner Trio (Ebay), Tweezerman Tweezerettes, Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows, CG Exact Eyelights Mascara in black gold, Maybelline The Falsies Mascara in blackest black, China Glaze Nail Polish in for audrey, Finger Paints Nail Polish in art you blue?, Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation in ivory 100.

After using L’Oreal Lash Boosting Serum day and night for a week straight, it’s still difficult to say if I can see results or not.  I think a few of my lashes may be a little longer, but I’m not sure. They certainly look healthier and well-conditioned though, so that’s a plus.

Check out the photos below and I’ll be back in a week with more shots!

The Product: L’Oreal Lash Boosting Serum.

The Claim: “Get visibly fuller, thicker natural lashes with less lash fall out” … “Apply daily under your mascara and at night to bare lashes to transform your natural lashes, and see more lashes in just 4 weeks!”

The Test: To apply the serum twice a day (morning and night) for 4 weeks, taking photos at the end of every week to track progress.

Here are a few photos of what my lashes look like right now without any product at all.  As you can probably see they’re short, pretty straight, and thin – so if this serum works on my lashes I’m willing to bet it will work on anyone’s!

I tried to go for a really flawless face for this bridal look – perfect skin with pink lips.  This would work best for spring/summer daytime weddings. I’m going to do a more evening appropriate look next in this series!

Products used:

Coastal Scents HD Foundation: ST-02

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder: medium sand

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer: shade 01

N.Y.C. Concealer Wheel

Elf Eyebrow Kit: dark

Rimmel Style & Shine (brow gel)

Everyday Minerals Blush: soft touch

N.Y.C. Matte Bronzer: sunny (I think this is no longer discontinued!)

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder: brighten (on top of cheek bones)

Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

28 Neutral Palette: vanilla (brow bone), light coral (lid), medium brown (crease), dark taupe (outer V & lower lash line)

Almay One Coat Nourishing Mascara: black (top lashes)

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara: very black (bottom lashes)

Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen: black (upper lash line)

Joe Fresh Sheer Lip Crayon: pink

Bath & Body Works Liplicious Tasty Lip Color: cranberry cocktail

*Tip: For a really flawless face you need five things: a great concealer, a medium to full coverage foundation, a highlighter, a blush, and a bronzer to contour with.

~ Conceal any dark circles and blemishes with the concealer.

~ Blend the foundation evenly over the entire face.

~ Again, conceal any blemishes that still may be showing through.

~ Apply blush to the apples of the cheeks sweeping a little back towards the hairline.

~ Contour the face in a “3″ shape – starting at the forehead just above the temples, bringing it down under the cheek bones, and finally back towards the ear and down to the jawline.

~ Finish with a light highlighter on the tops of the cheekbones, and any other place you would like to be highlighted (tip of the nose, cupids bow, above the eyebrows, and chin).