La Divina: Rimmel's The Max Volume Flash Mascara

I have been testing quite a few new mascaras since discovering MAC's Studio Fix. All are departures from a clean, modern MAC lash. Rimmel's The Max Volume Flash is a larger than life mascara with a hot pink bullet-like container with an ultra thick, intense formula. The best and most crazy comparison I can make is MAC's Studio Fix is the "Katherine Hepburn of mascaras".

It is classic, modern and clean with no fussy tendencies. Rimmel's The Max Volume Flash mascara is pure Maria Callas. It is no wallflower and pure diva. It is bright lights and drama.

The volume is operatic. I can see the sparse lashed gal losing her mind over this mascara. It does not have any crunch factor and truly delivers an improved lash fringe with fullness and shine.

The Max Volume Flash boasts the biggest brush from the Rimmel line. The brush is slightly smaller in volume when compared to Maybelline(EDITED) Colossal mascara bristles. The formula is thick and a shiny black. It contains Collagen and Keratin to fatten and strengthen the lashes. You immediately notice the increased volume and definition in comparison to the results from MAC Studio Fix. It coats each lash generously and quickly with one swipe. This easy application is a great plus.

The drawbacks are the heavy texture. This prevents curl. I had to use my lash curler before and after application. My curl disappeared after a few short hours.

It also has some mess issues. It did not clump on the brush or lash. However, I did have some flaking issues. Nothing too serious. Just some small specks.
The scent is fairly strong. It smells like a mix of play-doh.

Overall, I think it is a solid performing drugstore mascara. It delivers on increased volume. It will not be holy grail material for the short lashed afflicted.

Rimmel's The Max Volume Flash mascara is currently at your local drugstore. It retails for around $7.

Visit http://www.rimmellondon.com/US/home.aspx for more details.

Disclaimer: This mascara was purchased at a local drugstore by Cavewoman and gifted to me.

Clean As A Whistle: MAC Studio Fix Lash

This is a very clean mascara. There is no mess, clumps, or smears. The tube is designed with a narrow opening that catches the brush during removal and re-entry. This helps eliminate mascara from gathering around the wand or junking up the bristles.

The thermoplastic synth-rubber moulded brush coats each lash with a generous amount of product. The brush is whippet thin with fairly small bristles. The spike-like bristles are erect and appear stiff at first glance. However, the bristles are pliable and oddly soft to the touch.

Studio Fix separates each lash with ease. The bristles act like tiny combs. My lash fringe looked separated, uncluttered and clean. It is a light look with little drama. This formula does not add volume, length or curl. The results are more modern looking.

Studio Fix mascara retails for $13.00($15.50 CDN) and is currently available at your local MAC counter. For more details visit http://www.maccosmetics.com/

It is available in Black Fix and Studio Brown.

Credit: MAC

DiorShow Extase Mascara

I have been testing a new Dior mascara. It is a flanker for Diorshow called Extase and is currently exclusive to Sephora. This mascara is touted as a treatment product that also delivers high impact lashes. The treatment centers on a "patented ceramid called SR38", which penetrates and repairs the lash. I have only been testing Extase for a few weeks so I can not attest to long term benefits or changes.

I have noticed a dramatic difference in the volume of my lash. It is fatter. Like it is encased in a snuggie. The mascara contains "spherical black pearl pigments that wrap around each lash for a 3D volume". It also contains something called "Metamorphosis powders" that double the size of the lash by 50%. It will help with thickening up whippet thin lashes.

This thicker formula weighs down the lashes and hampers any curl. In comparison to Dior's Iconic, this formula does not deliver a clean application. I experienced flakes and smudges.
Extase mascara features a tiered, dual fiber brush. The Sephora site states the brush contains black Elastomer fibers and gold Nylon fibers. These fibers deliver definition while providing a generous coating. I found the brush collected too much product.

My final thoughts are that Dior Iconic is a beast. No mascara can compare or compete including others in the Dior family.

Diorshow Extase mascara is currently available at your local Sephora and http://www.sephora.com/ for $28. It is available only in black. Let us know if you have tried Extase in the comments.

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Dior Beauty.

She's A Rainbow

Estee Lauder's Sumptuous Color Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

One thing I liked to do during the holidays is go "balls to the walls" with my eye makeup. I unleash my shimmer demon and experiment with bold color. This year I was able to experiment with different shades of mascara. This is a great way to add just a sprinkle or dash of color to the eye. I was initially afraid that it would look juvenile or too intense for non- runway life. Sumptuous Color coats the lashes with bold color without looking cartoonish. My lashes were still black but with a delightful cast of royal blue to a reddish plum.

Most mascaras in this genre are centered on the pigment punch and neglect doing anything else. They usually weigh down the lashes and are a mess. Sumptuous Color does a great job with separation, lift and length. It coats the lashes with an even does of color. The color cast was evident from the root to the tip. It might not be the best formula for curl or volume. But it did not weigh down my lashes even with multiple coats. It also avoided the pitfalls of the crunch factor. The lashes had a nice gloss to them.

The Emerald shade was the surprise hit of the testing. It was a clover green that was flirtatious, fun and so damn pretty. I did have hard time coordinating it with my eye shadows. It fared better with a nude eye.

Amethyst was a bright blue violet. There was no doubts on how pretty it was going to be. You only have to look at it to appreciate it's charms. I found it too be more fetching with a grey or brown eye palette rather than plum.

Amber was a tortoiseshell shade that appeared very warm and sable-like on my black lashes. It was fairly ho-hum on me. I am guessing that this will look amazing on fair or red lashed citizens.

I have tried many blue mascaras over the course of my life. Most weighed down my lashes with an electric blue hot mess. Sapphire was just a subtle cast of cobalt. I wore it only with brown shadows.

Last but not least...this gem is called Garnet. This is one serious gorgeous shade. It is a reddish wine color. It is flipping fantastic on dark lashes. The claret cast is stunning with every damn eye shadow shade from MAC's Coco Pigment to Bobbi Brown's Rockstar. This is the one to lose your mind over. However, as with almost all red based pigment products, you might experience some eye irritations. I suffered with eye discomfort the next day. It was worth it...because it is damn good.

The colors are deep yet subtle on the lashes. They provide a quick way to be festive and fun for the holidays.

I also tried Bare Escentuals i.d Beautifully Luminous Lashes in Diamond and Black Diamond. I found these difficult. When I first saw these...I lost my mind. They look like MAC dazzleglasses. You expect serious shimmer payoff. For the life of me, I could not get these mascaras to glimmer or show up on my dark lashes. I found that the shimmer fire was only evident when I actually closed my eyes. It looked lovely then. Like sparkling snow. With my eyes open and looking at the world....just a few glitter sparks here and there. The formula was light and it did not weigh down or crunch my lashes. I also had no issues with fly away glitter.

Estee Lauder's Sumptous Color mascara is available at your local Lauder counter. They retail for $19.50 are limited edition.

Bare Escentuals i.d Beautifully Luminous Lashes might be more difficult to locate. Diamond is sold out at various locations online. Black Diamond is from last year. It was wildly popular and flew off the shelves. They retail for $15.

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Estee Lauder and Bare Escentuals

Fight For Your Right To Party

Bobbi Brown's Extreme Party Mascara

This is a new mascara offering from Bobbi Brown. I am a tough critic when it comes to mascara. My lashes are pretty limp, short and resistant to all curl. They are the bane of my existence. The only mascaras that have successfully worked for me are Dior's Iconic, Prescriptives False Eyelashes, Exceptionnel de Chanel Intense Volume and Curl Mascara, Max Factor's Volume Couture, Lancome Definicils and Shu Uemura's Fiber Xtension.

Extreme Party is a good mascara. It provides great separation, extreme and exceptional layerablility and improved fringe action. Extreme Party dries quickly and leaves no mess. My lashes looked neat with no clumps, smudges or flakes. They also looked and felt soft to the touch. There was no crunch factor. This is a characteristic that sets it apart from my beloved Chanel and Shu mascara. The lengthening action was above average in comparison to every Bobbi Brown mascara. It also would stand up well to the competition listed above. Each lash was lengthened and thickened by the mascara. The curl properties is what comes into question. It did not add a spring to my lash. It did not weigh it down either. The lashes were poker straight. Like a lash visor. A very long lash visor.

My lashes did not inspire any gawking from my co-workers. My lashes were not having a party. However, they were not studying at the library either. Extreme Party is currently only available in black and is easily removed with eye makeup remover or soap and water. In fact, this is the only mascara, that did not leave any smudges or specks the morning after.

Extreme Party Mascara is priced at $22 and is available at your local Bobbi Brown counter. Visit http://www.bobbibrown.com/ for more details.

Disclaimer: A press sample of this product was provided by Bobbi Brown cosmetics

Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Washable Mascara


"I am so dope, like Louboutin's with the red bottoms, you gotta have 'em, you glad you got 'em."
(Jay Z's I Know)


This is the latest mascara offering from Maybelline. The advertisments and packaging really play up the stiletto reference. The mascara packaging is a narrow black tube with a thin red sole. It is very Louboutin inspired and quite clever. It stands straight and does not topple over. You think that practicality in design is not appreciated in cosmetics, but many makeup users love when their products do not wobble like a weeble.

The mascara formula promises provocative length with black patent leather shine. The traditional bristle brush is fairly well spaced and not dense. It grabs each lash and excels at seperation. My lashes had improved length but were not shiny. It was more of a matte soot. It lasted all day with no mess. I had no smudges or flakes.
The mascara comes in three shades: Very Black, Brownish Black and Soft Black. It retails for $8.95 and is available at your local drugstore.

Visit http://www.maybelline.com/ for more information.

Credits: Bergdorf Goodman and Maybelline

Disclaimer: A press sample of this product was provided by Maybelline

CoverGirl Exact Eyelights Mascara Review

I have been caught up with the lash vibrator trend that I have been ignoring the new drugstore mascara offerings. This new CoverGirl mascara caught my eye due to the promise of eye brightening benefits. Eyelights come in a variety of shades to make your eye color "pop". I am all about trying to make my brown eyes look less....brown.
So...I grabbed the mascara for the blue eye folks.
It is called Black Sapphire. I loved the name and the blue steel shade just looked so new and fresh.

This might have been a poor choice for me. My lashes are black so the color does not show up very well. There was no eye brightening or eye popping movement. I can report that the rubber lash wand resists clumps and delivers on great separation and volume. Curl action is just fair.

Brown eyed girls can choose Black Pearl. This looks like a deep black metallic color.
Hazel eyes have a mascara shade called Black Gold while the gals with green peepers have a shade called Black Ruby. It looks like a plum metal.

It is currently available at your local drugstore counter.
If you have tried this mascara let us know what you think in the comments.
http://www.covergirl.com/sitemap.jsp

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman and CoverGirl
Disclaimer: I purchased this product at my local drugstore.

Chanel's Exceptionnel De Chanel Intense Volume and Curl Mascara

I have been testing this mascara for several weeks thanks to a local sales associate who kindly gifted me with a mini sample tube.
That's right kids...there are samples.

This mascara brush is unique in that it has bristles and a comb. This might the beauty equivalent of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The combination is simple and genius.
The bristles deliver volume and oomph while the comb delivers the curl.

The formula is a inky black that is fairly sooty in a spectacular way. It does not clump or smudge. My curls look full and curled to unprecedented heights. It is magic when used with my Tarte curler.
I used my curler before applying two coats of the formula. After the mascara dried, I used my curler again.

My local SA who has been blessed with a fine pair of lashes looked amazing. It looked like she had Shu false lashes on. However my one short-lashed friend received lackluster results.

This mascara is at your local Chanel counter and retails for $28. It comes in a variety of shades. Smoky Noir(black), Smoky Brun(brown),Smokey Marine(blue) and Smoky Violine(Violet).

Have you tested this mascara? What have been your results so far? Share your experiences in the comments.

Balls with Spikes

Balls with Spikes:Go Go in Kill Bill and Givenchy's wand from Phenomen' Eyes Mascara

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 40, Maybelline Great Lash

It mystifies me that this product winds up on every "best of" beauty product list.
It's charms elude me.
I used it for years because I was conditioned that this was the best and only mascara.
I was duped.
I am very passionate on how this product sucks.
My lashes experience no improvement with volume, length, or curl when using this product.
There is only clumps and chaos.
I have no technique and have been cursed with short stumps for lashes.
Great Lash only makes the situation worse.

Who are these fans of Great Lash? I need to hear their voices in this post because I think the "beauty powers that be" have made them up. They are like the Sasquatch of beauty junkies.
They are rumored to exist...but no one has ever seen them.

Feel free to diss or gush over this product in the comments.

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 22, Armani Maestro Mascara by Koneko from Koneko's "Mostly" Beauty Diary

Visit her blog @ http://beautydiary.blogspot.com/

Armani Maestro...

Your first love. Hard to get over. Sometimes it can ruin many a future would-be love. Well, in my case, the comb mascara from Stephane Marais fits that description to perfectly. I've never been able to find a mascara that gets to the base of every single lash, separates, lengthens, and doesn't smudge. But then it was gone.

Many a worthy and admirable mascara has come my way, with perfectly wonderful attributes, but not all of the above. But when I learned that my favorite cosmetics line, Armani, was coming out with a mascara with a comb wand, hope was reborn! I predicted that Armani + comb mascara = perfection! Obviously, a lot of other people thought so as well, as it has become a cult classic. I already loved Armani Star Lash mascara. This glorious product gives my thin, puny, stick straight lashes a curvy volume I never dreamed possible. In fact, it would be my holy grail, except it smudges on me after a few hours. So I did have some anxiety about Maestro smudging..

The Maestro has 4 combs on the wand. The teeth are perfectly spaced so there aren't wide gaps to create huge goopy blobs of mascara on your lashes. They are also the right depth, so that they capture an appropriate amount of mascara from the tube. It deposits just the perfect amount on your lashes, and there is enough time between application and drying of the mascara to get the lashes the way you want them. You're not tugging through mascara that has dried too quickly. It also doesn't take forever to dry either.

My results were a lengthening and defined effect. Not too much volume for a volumizing mascara. No curl (but not touted to do so.)
The combs: I love the actual construction of each comb. As above, it's a more precise took than traditional brushes. But I am not too keen on 4 vs. 1, With a 1 comb design, I could easily get the lower lashes and the base of my lashes. I can never do that with a regular mascara wand or with the 4-comb deisgn, due to the architecture of my eyes. I have to pull my eyelid back or scrunch up my face, or twist my head a certain way-- yes, not very elegant, and that's why I like the single comb!!! And yes, it smudged. (but almost everything, even waterproof smudges on me)

I was in denial for several weeks. I tried to make this work. I really did. If anyone was going to fill the Marais void, it had to be Armani! But when the "time to replace" deadline came up, Armani went out the door.

Bottom Line:
Pluses: formula consistency, comb construction, great definition, precision, smooth application onto lash, length of time to dry, nice lengthening
Minuses: smudging factor, 4 combs vs. 1 comb, not too much oopmh

P.S. I've gotten over the Marais. But I do need to go back to Japan. I didn't realize they had a lot more single-combed mascaras there. And after all, that's where they made Marais!

Credit: Armani
Graphic: Melanie Parker
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer.

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 9, Diorshow by Patti aka Cavewoman

With a fan base as huge as the brush itself, Diorshow has established itself as a solid performer in the lash department. People either love it or hate it because of the huge, traditional bristle-style brush applicator, but it's the formula combined with that brush that makes this mascara worthy of cult status. It truly performs. There is really nothing else like it out in mascara-world right now.

Diorshow The Original, I'll call it, is a dry-ish, thick formula that works really well to build volume and length on my stubby, sparse lashes. And it does the job quickly. I am so lash-challenged that I will not pass up the opportunity to buy and try every new mascara that I see, department store or drugstore. So of course when Diorshow was launched, I caved. I was thrilled to see lashes, long and thick lashes, with a minimal amount of time and effort. The brush catches all my lashes, and the dry formula grabs without clumping or flaking. Somehow Dior has managed to make a formula that is buildable, workable, and effective.
I can go back and forth from eye to eye and continue layering quickly. Work time is good, despite the dry formula. When the mascara dries on the lashes, it leaves them soft, no crispies!

Dior now offers a few alternative versions of the original formula. Blackout is a wetter formula that is supposed to be blacker. I think it just appears blacker because it is wetter. People who didn't care for the dry original might like the Blackout. And then there is Unlimited, which was designed to be used in conjunction with the original. This is the lengthening formula. You can use this one first, and then use the Diorshow on top of it. Be warned, this gives an over-the-top false lash look that is fabulous and lush, but better suited for evening looks.

The white tube in the photo is something I found on ebay. It was listed as a mascara primer, and what's inside the tube is white, thick and goopy, and has the huge Diorshow brush. I've never seen it at a counter in the USA, although my seller listed a California address. Well, I caved because I'm masc-curious. I can't say that it enhanced the effects of any of the Diorshow formulas, but they are so good on their own on me, that maybe the primer product wasn't even necessary. If any Blogdorf readers know of this Diorshow primer, please let us know in the comments. And please also let me know if it's just some weird counterfeit product. I won't mind.

Credit: Blogdorf Goodman
Disclosure: The product featured in this review was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman.

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 7, Lancome Hypnose by Patti(Cavewoman)

Each cosmetic brand seems to have its strengths and weaknesses. You might think "skincare" when you hear the name Clarins, for MAC you would think of the hundreds of beautiful eyeshadow colors, for Prescriptives you'll think of finding the perfect color match and formula in foundations, and for Chanel, those beautiful glossimers. When it comes to Lancome, it's mascara.
They do it best.

Miss Blogdorf and I were at the Lancome counter a few years ago, when Hypnose was launched amidst great hype and product fever and was receiving tons of press. She and I have the same lash issues. Could it be our shared Sicilian heritage that gave us stick-straight, short lashes? We wanted a miracle. We had hope for the hype of the Hypnose.

Our SA offered me the tester unit for Hypnose and a clean tester spoolie with which I could try out the mascara. I dipped well, knowing I was not going to re-insert the spoolie into the tube, so I wanted to get a good amount of the mascara on the tester wand. I stroked a few times onto my lashes, hindered by the terrible lighting at the Lancome counter, and wishing I had my magnifying mirror so I could actually see what I was doing. Not to mention my extreme farsightedness which makes applying mascara particularly difficult for me. No matter. I turned to Annie and she gasped. There were lashes, good lashes, long and thick lashes, right there on my eye! And it didn't take lots of extra coats or effort, it didn't take ten minutes of poking or stroking, this was the fastest and best mascara I'd ever tried. I had long, thick, lush, visible lashes! We both caved.

Often a product will achieve cult status quietly, through word of mouth, through posts on makeup chat boards, and through buddies raving to their buddies about some new fabulous product that ends the search for fabulous products. When Lancome launches a mascara, people run to the counters, because their reputation for good mascaras is well-known. There is a reason why Lancome mascaras have achieved their cult status.
And Hypnose mascara is the best of their best.

Credit: Patti/Cavewoman

Graphic: Melanie Parker
Disclosure: This product was purchased and reviewed by Cavewoman

Maybelline Define-A-Lash Lengthening Mascara

I splurged on this tube based on its Granny Smith apple color. It promised a fuller and longer lash fringe, so I ignored the little voice in my head that kept repeating that I had enough mascara tubes to fill a football field at home.

This mascara utilizes the revolutionary rubber wand. It has all the powers of Mr Fantastic. It can be bent in half and twisted in all kind of ways. The Chanel Inimitable and the Max Factor Volume Couture wands can not boast this feat. The Define-A-Lash wand is a "smidge" longer with similar bristles. The bristles do not extend to the top of the wand like Chanel or Max Faxtor.

The mascara formula does not smudge or clump. It is washable and does not leave a mess on the face. It separates the lashes very well and gives definition. The pigment is weak and the lengthening action is nothing to write home about.

So it was a bust.

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: I purchased this mascara at my local drugstore.

Prescriptives Here To Stay 24-hour Longwear Mascara

This is a water resistant mascara that can be worn alone for the waterproof benefits or over any Prescriptives mascara to deliver a water resistant shield. I used it successfully over my Chanel and Max Factor mascara.
This water proof mascara gives incredible lift and separation. It has a fabulous rubber-like comb that grabs each and every lash. I think this movement toward rubber brushes is the best thing to happen mascara.

The mascara formula is smudge, clump and flake resistant. There is no mess left on the eyelid or face.
The Teflon, polymer and specially treated pigment formula gives a soft, glossy finish to the lash. This patent leather sheen is what made me fall for it.
The only fault I have with the product is the lack of curling power. If you have straight stumpy lashes like myself...there will be no miracle for you here.

It is currently available at your local Prescriptives counter for $19.50
($27.50 for our Canadians friends).

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Prescriptives

CoverGirl's Mascara Volume Exact Review

Plump 'em...Dont Clump 'em

This mascara is designed to give easy high volume, clump free lashes. My lashes need all kinds of help. They need volume, curl, separation and length.

This mascara has recently won the CEW award for best mascara under $12. I was in doubt that it was better than Max Factor's Volume Couture.

Volume Exact's has a similar rubber brush to Chanel's Inimitable and Max Factor's Volume Couture. According to the press release the magic is in the bristles of the brush. Each "bristle contains two tiny micro-chambers, or grooves, that completely surround each lash, coating each lash individually and allowing more of the formula to coat every lash. " I can not rave enough over these type of mascara brushes. I am so hooked that I use my Max Factor brush in all my mascaras including Dior's Blackout.

Exact Mascara delivers on volume. It creates a bold lush lash. My lashes are not fan-like but they do appear to have multiplied in size and volume. There was no clumping issues but I did make a mess during the application. The Cover Girl Mascara was heavier on my lashes than Chanel or Max Factor. This made it more difficult to keep a curl.

I did a comparison of all three mascara wands. Max Factor and Cover Girl appear to have the exact same rubber brush. Cover Girl's wand is less slanted and the bristles are not as soft as Max Factor. Chanel's wand is significantly smaller in size with softer and denser bristles.

I prefer Max Factor's Volume Couture Mascara to all of the mascaras I have tested. It is a great value. It delivers on all its promises and has a great price tag.

Have you tested all three? Which do you think is better and why? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by CoverGirl Cosmetics

DiorShow Blackout Mascara

I have been testing this mascara for several months. I have been stalling the review because I can not make up my mind on how I feel. There are days that I am in love and think my lashes have never looked better. Then there are days when I want to hurl the tube out the window. I have never been so tormented on how I feel about a product.

The "smitten worthy" features of this mascara is the volume and lengthening power. This tube gives you lashes that are lush and long. It is like you have added a weave to your lash line. It is dramatic and impressive.

The color is more intense and rich than the original Diorshow. It is an inky and sooty black. It is also darker than my previous holy grail lash product, Shu Uemura's Basic Mascara.

What do I hate about this mascara?
That darn brush.

It is large, awkward and unwieldy. I have been wearing mascara since grade school so its not like I do not know how to handle a wand.
My lashes were clumpy, spiky and a hot mess.

How did I end up falling in love with this product?
I used my brush from Max Factor's Volume Couture.
It was like the heavens opened and a choir started singing.

Like the genius combination of peanut butter and jelly...these two mascara's make some beautiful lashes together.
It is everything I have ever wanted and more.

Disclosure: I purchased this mascara at Sephora.

Max Factor Lash Perfection Volume Couture Review

I am loving this Max Factor Lash Perfection Volume Couture in soft black. I have complained to anyone that would listen about the state of my lashes. They are short, stumpy, sparse and straight.
They bring me nothing but grief.

Lately I have been smitten with Chanel's Initmitable mascara. The cutting edge brush gives me the seperation I crave along with some much needed oomph.
It is a fairly expensive mascara so I am thrilled that there is a drugstore alternative.

This new Max Factor mascara has a very similiar brush to the Chanel. They call it iFX Brush technology with volumizing micro channels. This sounds very sci-fi. In simple terms it has less bristles than a traditional wand. The Max Factor and Chanel bristles are made from a heavy duty rubber. This is the trick to their strength. These brushes separate lashes like no one's business.

The Max Factor mascara formula is less dramatic than the Chanel. This might be due to the fact that I am testing the soft black instead of the rich black color.
No one seems to able to top or match that great inky color of Shu Uemura.
I am thinking that I am going to dip my Chanel brush into my Shu mascara and see what happens.

If you tried this new Max Factor let me know your thoughts in the comments.

The Max Factor mascara is available on Drugstore.com for the discounted price of $5.59
http://www.drugstore.com/?trxp1=0&trxp2=0&trxp3=1%7C1

Photo: Drugstore.com
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer

The Great Mascara Hunt: Estee Lauder Lash Luxe

Review from cavewoman
photo from osmoz.com

The end of May has me wondering about how fast this month has gone by, and also wondering about the huge change in the weather in the last ten days. Annie and I went to Cleveland last week in cashmere sweaters. Today we're just in sweat.

I wanted to finish the few reviews that I've done with an apology to Annie for not reviewing more mascaras. I learned early in this project that I don't like wearing mascara every day because I tend to lose lashes that I can ill afford to lose.

But, I also wanted to pay tribute to one of the best mascaras I've ever used. Don't get your pen and paper out. This wonderful mascara was a limited edition from Estee Lauder, exclusive to Saks, and available only once. Of course I had to cave on it. I dug it out of my makeup storage case this week just to look at it. The mascara was named Lash Luxe, and it came in the most beautiful brushed gold tube, with the Lauder initials in script across a band below the cap. I opened the tube and to my surprise, the mascara was still moist and creamy! Let me tell you about the brush. It is a traditional bristle but it's twisted. It is hard to describe. The bristles are larger toward the tip. It makes perfect sense to me. I decided that I didn't just want to remember how good this mascara was, I wanted to use it again, and I did. With just a few strokes of the brush, I had the prettiest black fringe of eyelashes of any of the mascaras I tested for this project, perhaps the best lashes ever of any mascara I've used. That little weird brush gave the separation, length, and lift that I remembered. I think I put this mascara in my makeup case because I never wanted to be without it. I'm a stasher. I'm glad I stashed this one.

And so now I will ask the Lauder company to go dig around in their stash, too, find their archived tube of Lash Luxe, and beg them to bring it back.
Oh, I think I will ask them to bring back their Moisture Powder, too.
Product Rating, 10

Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman

The Great Mascara Hunt: Serge Lutens Mascara

Is there bourbon in Serge Lutens mascara?

Tbone from Brain Trapped in Girl's Body went to Barney's to test the Serge Lutens mascara.

Did it perform curling miracles? Did it give magical ooomph to her lashes? Is it the holy grail of all mascaras?Is it worth $50?

Here's a tidbit from her review:

This mysterious mascara comes in one color: black-brown. Serge is not about choice, people. To be more exact, it is about Serge's choice. He is telling you that to wear any other color of mascara is to live by less than optimal guidelines. It has no brush; instead, it uses a comb, like the now discontinued Stephane Marais mascara did. Lest you feel jaded, note that the Lutens mascara comb has a slight curve. Whether this makes a difference is for humans of greater sensitivity than I to discover.

Check out the rest of this review at: http://braintrappedingirlsbody.blogspot.com/

From Pulp Fiction:

Vincent: Did you just ordered a five dollar shake?

Mia: uh-hm

Vincent: That's milk and ice cream

Mia: last I heard...

Vincent: That's five dollars? You don't put bourbon in it or anything?

Mia: No

Vincent: Just checking

photo of Serge lutens from gettyimages/quote from Pulp Fiction via the moviequotes site.