Delayed Posting! Mascara Comparisons
L'Oreal Telescopic vs. Maybelline The Falsies vs. Benefit They're Real

[All purchased by me - the Benefit was a gift with purchase]



Wow I just posted this as a test and it worked!  Basically, since I am a total newbie at this blogging thing, I thought using Word would be an easy way to write blog posts.  HAHAHA that only didn't work a little bit.  I tried copying to Notepad and posting but that didn't work.... UNTIL NOW.  Sigh, this isn't as easy as some of the experts make it look.

Anyone who watches Viviannadoesmakeup knows that L’Oreal Telescopic mascara in the waterproof formula is her favorite mascara of all time.  While I also have a favorite mascara of all time that’s not in this post (will review once I repurchase), I wanted to try out some other options since finding a perfect affordable mascara is probably every beauty blogger’s dream.  I was also rotating around Maybelline The Falsies as well as a mini size of the Benefit They’re Real mascaras and thought since these are three pretty popular mascara options that I’d do a comparison between them.

I’ll rate them along the same characteristics: length, volume, curl, lasting power, removal and overall ease of application using a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best.

Top to Bottom: The Falsies, Telescopic and They're Real

Amateur artistic interpretation of results

L’Oreal Telescopic in Black

Length:  3 – this surprisingly didn’t do amazingly telescopic things to my lashes as the name implied, but it didn’t make them seem short and clumpy either

Volume: 4 – the wand adds a decent coat of mascara to the majority of my lashes and makes them look more intense with one sweep

Curl: 2 – this isn’t the waterproof one so I can’t overly fault this for not holding a curl better but it didn’t really enhance a curl at all

Lasting Power: 3 – not a ton of smudging with this but can’t say zero smudges

Overall ease of application: 3 – The wand is finicky because it’s a thin triangular comb shape which might throw people off who are used to a traditional mascara wand.  I found it pretty easy to maneuver actually but my main qualm was actually getting this back into the tube.  I bend this almost every time I tried to close it.

Maybelline The Falsies:

Length: 2 – does not do much for length and I find all of Maybelline’s variations on the Volum’ Express mascaras actually do make my lashes look a little stunted and clumpy with too many coats

Volume: 5 – the volume-boosting factor is where this mascara really shines and I can see why this is a popular product.  It builds up lashes easily and dramatically.

Curl: 3 – this was better than the Telescopic at holding a curl, probably because of the drier formula.  It won’t dry out your lashes like a waterproof formula will but the curl won’t stay quite as well either.

Lasting Power: 3 – same comments as the Telescopic.

Overall ease of application: 3 - This wand is a little strange and the way the bristles are spaced makes it really easy for me to smudge this on my eye.  If you’re careful you should be fine and this is a pretty subjective characteristic anyway.


Benefit They're Real

Length:  4 - the plastic bristles did a good job of creating believable length and was the most lengthening mascara overall

Volume:  4 – not every use yielded the same amount of volume as the Falsies did but more times than not, this left my lashes looking very full

Curl: 4 – of the three, this held curls the best and was probably due to the drier consistency of the formula.  Luckily, this didn’t increase how hard it was to remove at the end of the day.

Overall ease of application: 3 – I don’t prefer plastic bristles and this one kind of poked your eye a lot because the bristles are so long.  I think that the end of the wand, which is rounded, doesn’t necessarily make it easier to get to the ends.  However, this consistently gave my lashes good length and volume and held a curl well for a non-waterproof formula.

Conclusion:  I think the Benefit mascara is the best one of the bunch but I wouldn’t be willing to purchase this because of the ridiculous price and also because I have a mid-range mascara that I like even better (to be in a future post).  If I had to pick one at the drugstore to buy, the Falsies really impressed me and I think it’s one I would recommend to anyone looking for a volume enhancing mascara.

Products Worth the Hype
[All purchased by me, or given as gifts from friends]

Inspiration strikes at the strangest times and I scrambled for my notebook and pen yesterday as I jotted down categories that I felt a comprehensive review series could be based off of.  None of these are original ideas, just categories that I can group parts of my makeup collection into that I think would be interesting to read.  Briefly I think the areas I can cover over the next couple of weeks include the one you are reading, it's counterpart "Products not Worth the Hype", "Products I'm on the Fence About", "Cult Products", and "Under-hyped Products".  Look forward to those and intermittent random posts as I feel inclined.

For the first category, I have two bases from different parts of the world raved about by girls spanning an even wider distance.  Included are a couple makeup brushes that have gotten nonstop attention recently.

Skin 79 Gold Label Super BB Cream 
This is one of those products that ignited the BB cream fever, for me at least.  It was the first true BB cream I've ever purchased and is an all-around fantastic base.  It looks natural, adapts to my skin tone, has light-medium coverage and blends out imperceptive-ly (just made that an adverb- GRAMMAR!)

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 52
It's the closest thing I've found to the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in terms of finish, meaning it's barely detectable with a light-medium coverage.  It's hardly drugstore price in the U.S., but it's definitely worth checking out if you're not about to shell out for a very high end foundation but want similar results.

Real Techniques Buffing and Contour Brushes
Highly raved across the board by the blogging community, these synthetic hair brushes blend out products like a dream.  The Buffing Brush is my go-to for most foundations (except the very thin) and the Contour Brush has a myriad of uses.  Currently, I'm loving it for buffing powder around my T-zone area.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
As you saw a couple posts back, not all Color Tattoos are created equal.  However, this shade is cream eyeshadow perfection.  It's creamy, wears as well on me as a powder foundation and has enough pigmentation to be worn on it's own.  I very rarely find cream eyeshadows interesting enough to wear on their own but I'd make an exception for this one.

Wet n Wild ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palettes in Comfort Zone and Silent Treatment
These are soft, buttery pigmented shades that are easy to work with and come in a great selection of shades.  I think this is a strangely difficult combination to find in a drugstore eyeshadow but this formula is really top-notch.  For a fun variety of neutral and bright shades, check these out for $3-$5 each.

Real Techniques Base Shadow and Deluxe Crease Brushes
The eye counterparts to the last two face brushes I talked about, these brushes are an absolute must-have for me right now.  I use the Base Shadow Brush to apply and blend color effortlessly.  Something about the shape-how it's more tapered than the MAC 217 make me reach for this over my MAC brush every time.  I can say that I'd take a backup of this brush over the MAC 217 right now (crazy I know).  The Deluxe Crease Brush is an ideal brush for buffing into undereye concealer but I actually use it with a mineral foundation as a spot concealer and the combination is the best I have tried int terms of heavy-duty concealing.

Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me and Grape Vine
I had the original Baby Lips at one point after a successful Secret Santa gift exchange.  The two that stood out to me in the end were these two, especially Cherry Me.  I think the sheer red is a perfect shade for any skin tone.  It's my go-to easy lip in the colder months.  Grape Vine is just as the name implies, a grape-y shade that doesn't go too vampy.  Both of these can be built up to a decent opacity so beware when applying these without a mirror.  These are moisturizing and smooth just like others have said.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 Rose Shimmer
This was floating around the British blogosphere for a while and I was pretty impressed with the reviews.  I picked one up and determined that this would become my handbag staple.  A light, balmy gloss with only a hint of tint, this is very comfortable to wear and actually leaves my lips feeling more moisturized after it wears off.  

An encore and an appearance of two products I couldn't put into their own category because there was only one of each!

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original
Choose a scent that you like, spray into roots, go do makeup, brush out and voila- second day hair that looks presentable.  This is a lifesaver for oily skin girls like me and this is one of the best I've tried so far.  Very worth the hype.

Clarisonic Mia
You've heard enough about this I'm sure.  Basically, my rationale for including this product is that it is the only thing that actually minimizes the appearance of pores for me.  Blackheads are much less noticeable and there's pretty much no cleanser/treatment that has a similar result.  I see this more as a treatment rather than a daily use product.  

Hope you found that useful and stay tuned for more!