Mascara Review: Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect VS Rimmel Day 2 Night

I was running out of my Covergirl LashBlast mascara (which I love!) and was in dire need of a great new mascara that would give me longer and more voluminous lashes. I had been hearing a lot of things about the Rimmel Day 2 Night mascara and the Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect mascara, so I did what I always do and caved into the temptation.


First off, this is my eye without any make up so you can see just how well these babies work!

And please excuse my horrible undereye circles, the weather in Hong Kong isn't being very nice to me. Screw you, allergies!

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara

Rimmel says: Rimmel introduces Glam’Eyes Day-2-Night, our first mascara that creates two dramatically different lash looks with just one brush. The secret is the magic double cap! During the day, choose the Length Cap for ultra-long, gorgeously defined lashes – perfect for those flirtatious encounters by the photocopier. And for night time, choose the Volume Cap, and plump your lashes to up to 15 times their normal thickness, leaving them voluptuously 

lush-looking and ready to party.

Source: http://www.rimmellondon.com

So as you can see, there are two wands in one bottle; one for length and the other for volume. The Length for daytime and the Volume to spice up the lashes for nighttime. 

This is what the Length wand looks like. The bristles are set further apart which really lifts the lashes as you can see in the picture below. I wouldn't say it is harder to use than a wand where the bristles are closer together, but because the wand is quite long, it takes a little more work precision-wise. 

1 coat of Length only 

The bristles in the Volume wand are thicker and and more tightly packed. This helps achieve the thicker looking lashes. This wand is easier to use as well because it is much shorter than the Length wand. 

Length + Volume, one coat each

What do I think of this mascara overall? I think it's great if you're willing to spend an extra minute to do your lashes every day. The fact that it has two wands is definitely a good thing when it comes down to precision, but when it's about the time it takes to get there you'll need another minute or two. The staying power of this mascara is incredible. It stays on for pretty much the whole day which is 10+ hours without smudging or flaking. If you are not accustomed to wearing mascara, this is one to try. Even with one coat of each wand, it feels weightless. I don't believe it is waterproof so may melt in certain conditions.

I have to say I am very impressed with this mascara and personally don't think there is a downside to it. There is very little clumping, if any. It shows how the wand and bristles make such a huge difference with the same formula. The mascara does what it says on Rimmel's website, which is create the perfect lashes for daytime as well as nighttime. I would definitely repurchase this one again. Lashes bring the whole make up look together after all, don't they? Now everything comes down to this: does it beat Bourjois's Volume Fast & Perfect? 


Available in brown and black.


Retails for £7.99 at Superdrug, on sale for £5.99 at the moment 

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

Bourjois says: Innovative new mascara : The new auto rotating brush instantly and evenly wraps around each lash for a false lash volume effect in 30 seconds flat!

The brush rotates 360° and coats lashes from root to tip with no overloading guaranteed.

The rotating motion continuously deposits all mascara from the brush onto the lashes and evenly spreads just the right amount of formula onto the lash fringe effortlessly and in record time.

The Volume Fast & Perfect mascara does the work of a professional make-up artist for you achieving volume and definition in just 1 step!

No need to dip the brush into the mascara tube twice. In only one stroke, lashes are evenly wrapped for maximum volume and a perfect false lash effect.

Source: www.bourjois.co.uk

I was really excited to try this mascara because of the rotating wand!

2 coats of Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

The bristle part of this wand is quite long, probably much longer than the average mascara. It's great because you can get to a lot more lashes while rotating the wand. As for the rotating aspect of this mascara, I love it. It helped me get right to the bottom/ root of my top lashes and coat the entire length of each hair with the product. It separates the lashes, but when repeatedly applied, it starts to clump a little. I personally liked this clumpiness as it made my lashes look more voluminous. The staying power of this is extremely good! It stays on for over 10 hours and does not flake or smudge. It is not a waterproof mascara, so be careful about where you are wearing it if you sweat a lot! Point to remember: it volumizes more than lengthens.


The wand rotates in two different directions so minimal effort is required when you apply it. The dual rotation makes it easy to apply mascara to both eyes (I find it harder to do the left eye as I am right-handed). One really great thing about the formula of this mascara is the fact that it contains jojoba oil (which is great for hair), vitamin E and natural waxes. These are all said to be good for the growth of the lashes! Come on, who doesn't want that?


The only downside of this mascara is the fact that it can dry out much faster than the average 3 month life of a mascara. Another downside if you are not accustomed to wearing mascara; it does not feel weightless. 


Does it do what it claims to do? Not entirely.


Available in black.


Retails for £11.99 at Superdrug.

Who wins?

Rimmel Day 2 Night

Pros:

• 2 different looks
• Really lengthens and volumizes lashes
• Separates lashes well
• Not clumpy
• Stays on long
• Doesn't smudge or flake
• Easy to remove 
• Feels weightless

Cons: 

• None

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

Pros:

• Contains complex of ingredients for growth of lashes
• Volumizes
• Rotative wand 
• Doesn't smudge or flake
• Stays on long

Cons:

• Can feel the weight of the mascara
• If you don't like clumpiness, this is not one for you
• Dries out fast

As much as I love the innovative edge that the Bourjois mascara has, I don't think I will be replacing my old-fashioned 'manual' mascara anytime soon. The Rimmel mascara has given me a better finish and has a lot more pros and I fell in love with it the first time I used it. Don't let this stop you from trying out the Bourjois mascara though! It is good, just not as good. Plus it's good to try new things and get a feel of everything right? If you are willing to spend £11.99 on a mascara, try it. It's something creative and new you might actually love! 

Do you have any recommendations for a good mascara? Let me know!

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Review: ELF Studio line - Stippling brush

A quick little post for a brush I have been loving for a while now! After putting off buying this for so long as I already had a foundation brush, I finally caved in and bought it from ELF. I have to say, it is one of the best purchases I have made recently. The bristles are soft and just dense enough to give foundation application a flawless finish. I find that regular foundation brushes are okay too, but they lack that 'blending' that the stippling brush is able to do. The only downside to this brush is that it isn't as dense as say the MAC 187 brush, but then again that one is so much more pricey. This brush is well worth the price!


If you are not familiar with the super popular stippling brush, it has layered bristles that give a flawless finish when used to apply cream and liquid products. 

         

ELF says: This new antibacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more ansorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. Studio brush!

The layered bristles create a soft airbrushed look that's perfect for applying foundation or adding colour definition to cheekbones or highlighting with soft layers. Use this brush with any liquid or powder face product such as foundation, blush or bronzer to build your coverage from sheer to heavy.
(Source: http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/)

I would personally not use this with powder products as the bristles are not stiff enough to get a flawless finish without a lot of work. It is really effective however to apply foundation, cream blush and cream/ liquid highlighter. A necessary step when you're using this brush is to make sure you've blended out whatever you have applied properly. The bristles can cause streaks which is not a good look! However, to each their own, so no harm in trying it with powder products. You might be surprised! It picks up a decent amount of product and is a good size for a face brush.


Overall, I would rate this brush a 4/5. It helped me achieve an airbrushed look with my liquid foundation. As I said earlier, the only drawback to it was the density of the bristles. In spite of that, this brush does a great job. At £3.50 a piece, this baby is a great brush to add to your make up collection.




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Collective Haul (ELF, Sleek, etc.)

Hello peeps! I've been wanting to finish this post for the longest time and I finally got to it. Hope you enjoy! 


These are my first ever ELF purchases and I am definitely a happy bunny!

Left - Right, Top - Bottom

 Studio Stipple brush - £3.50

 Studio Powder Brush - £3.50

 Bronzing brush - £1.50

 Blending Eye brush - £1.50

Smudge Eye brush - £1.50

Lip liner in Mauve Luxe + sharpener - £1.50

Lip liner in Bark + sharpener - £1.50

Eyelid Primer - £1.50

Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara - £1.50

Liquid eyeliner in Black - £1.50

4 piece Bamboo brush set - £15 - including: 

Complexion brush

Concealer brush

Blending eye brush

Mini Kabuki brush

Brush bag

(I purchased this for £7.50 when ELF had a 50% off sale on Bamboo tools)

Mechanical Eyelash curler - £1.50

Natural Lash kit including adhesive gel - £1.50

All Over Color stick in Golden Peach - £1.50

Brush Shampoo - £3.50

Swatches

Top - Lip liner in Bark

Bottom - Lip liner in Mauve Luxe

All Over Color stick in Golden Peach

I'm happy with pretty much everything except for the Bronzing brush. Some of the hairs are bent on the side and when I smelled it, it reminded me of the plastic-y smell of the hair of dolls I had when I was little. In other words, you don't want your make up brush to smell of that. Everything else is pretty good though! The brushes are really soft, especially the Bamboo brushes. I'd like to specially mention the Eyelid Primer because it really exceeded my expectations! 

Palmer's Massage Cream for Stretch Marks - £5.87

I gained lots of weight after I came to England for university and ended up with a few unwanted stretch marks. I've used this cream before and it got rid of my stretch marks comepletely! Keep in mind though - it works best on stretch marks that are fresh or fairly fresh (reddish purple color). In the case of the permanent ones (white in color), it will make them fade, depending on how long you've had them. 

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream - £7.65

I love this product! I can actually see the skin on my face being 'repaired'. The only thing that bothered me though was that this costs £7.65 for 50 ml, which is a very small amount. It is definitely worth it though.

N-Spa Raspberry Milkshake Body Cream - £2.00

Such a gorgeous product. Very moisturizing, smells divine and best of all, the smell lingers for quite a long time! 

Sleek Blushes in Sahara and Flushed - £4.30 each

I am really loving Sleek right now. So affordable and great quality! The blushes have just the right amount of pigmentation and are not chalky at all. And at £4.30, can someone say bargain?

Sleek i-Divine eyeshadow palette in Storm - £6.49

This palette has all the right colors for both day time and night time looks. They are very pigmented and again, not chalky at all. I want to invest in all the Sleek eyeshadow palettes!

Avon Soft & Smooth wax strips - £3.50

Avon wax strips work like any other wax strips. Unlike the Veet and Nair ones though, this pack doesn't include the post-wax wipes, which leaves the parts you wax very sticky. The wax can easily be removed by rubbing some oil and then rinsing it with body wash/ soap.

Avon Foundation brush - £4.00

I love this brush! So soft and applies foundation beautifully. It's much smaller than other foundation brushes which makes it easier to get into the tougher areas of the face. 

Avon Luxe Lace Supershock Gel liner - £6.00

This product means what it says on the box. It really is gel liner in pencil form. I have never used a more creamier, darker and long-lasting eyeliner. Just saying. Go Avon!

VO5 Hot Oil Deep Nourishing Elixir - £4.07

I haven't used this yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. My scalp and hair have been kind of dry lately and I am really not enjoying it. Let's hope it works! I shall let you guys know how it works out!

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs in Medium Glow - £7.70

I think this is a miracle product. I have those little spots on my legs from shaving, and this hides them very well. Spray, rub and voila - airbrushed legs! If you want to hide any scars or marks on your legs, I would definitely recommend this. 

Aussie Take The Heat Leave-In Cream - approx. £5.50

(Purchased on offer - 2 Aussie products from a selection for £6.00)

I love things that not only make my hair smell pretty, but actually makes it healthier too. Aussie definitely does both of those. My hair smells great is visibly getting healthier! Did I mention it smells great? I straighten my hair all the time now, so need something to my hair thinning, going brittle and becoming flat. This product helps me achieve just that! 

Oilatum Cream - £5.99

I don't have eczema but I have dry skin in certain parts of my body like my lower legs, right above my ankles. I've found that Oilatum really moisturizes and softens the dry skin. It's very thick in consistency but that's probably because it's filled with magical stuff that acts on the dry skin. Really recommend for very dry skin. 

Aussie Take The Heat Deep Treatment - £4.69

I've been using this with the Leave-In cream and it is a great remedy for all the reasons mentioned above!

My mum sent over some perfumes she thought I'd like.

Guess Gold perfume

Top notes: Citrus, Golden apple, and Pineapple

Middle notes: A Heart Hyacinth, Pink pepper, Water lily, Jasmine and Rose

Base notes: of Vanilla, Musk, Sandalwood, Patchoul, Honey and Amber

It's so hard to describe scents but I am going to try. It's elegant and sexy. I recommend it for night time! See? Really hard to describes scents, but hey I tried. I have to say that the more I smell this, the more I like it. Love the bottle, super sexy.

Source: www.fragrantica.com

Calvin Klein - Secret Obsession

Top notes: Exotic Plum, Nutmeg (mace) and Rose de Damasc

Middle notes: Egyptian jasmine, French orange blossom and Seductive Tuberose

Base notes: Cashmere woods, Madagascar vanilla, Burnt amber and Australian sandalwood

This is definitely a scent for older women. I like it, but it's not something I would repurchase after I run out.  If I ever do that is. It kind of reminds of a perfume called Opium (not sure about the brand), which has that smell that reminds me of my grandma. I'm not a fan of the bottle either, it's uncomfortable to hold and spray. Or maybe it's just me?

Source: www.fragrantica.com

I needed a new wallet as mine was in pretty bad shape. My boyfriend was kind enough to get me a gorgeous one from his trip to the States!

I LOVE Michael Kors and I absolutely adore this wallet! I am seriously in love. Thank you lovely! <3 

Leave me a comment if you have any thoughts or questions.

Thanks for visiting!